Christ, Our Sanctification

By Arthur J Licursi

1 Cor. 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (KJV)

Please notice, in the above verse, the words “Christ Jesus … is made unto us …righteousness, and sanctification”. The Scripture does not say, “Christ Jesus …was made” or “will be made” unto us “righteousness and sanctification”. This wording indicates that these listed things already belong to the believing Christian, and are the believer’s portion on a continuing basis, continuing to be ours “in Christ”. Thus, the Christ who indwells us as believing Christians, is now already our righteousness and also our ongoing righteousness by the sanctification we have in the person of the indwelling Christ as our new life.

Comparing Attain and Obtain

Righteousness and sanctification are not Christ-like aspects yet to be attained in our life.

To attain is to go through a process to gain something, by learning, or by earning. This is the basis of false religion. In attaining one would try to advance gradually, and … yet there is no assurance of when he will arrive, if ever. A gradual process will never attain to the Christian life character. This is the fallacy of the works based Christian life presented by so many well meaning, but sadly ignorant Christian organizations, ignorant of the sufficiency of His indwelling life. Under “works for righteousness”, you never will know if you have done enough, because we, in fact, cannot do enough. Thus, religion in this way presents or implies righteousness for the Christian in a false way, such that you must attain, through self-effort.

In contrast to trying to attain, 1Cor 1:30 says that Christ “is made” these three things to us: (1) righteousness, (2) sanctification, and (3) redemption. Thus, we have obtained these characteristics of Christ’s life, now in our spirit where we are now one with Him (1Cor 6:17), His life, and nature. We have Christ’s life and His nature, and thus we have acquired (already) something that was not your own. We obtain these overcoming characteristics of Christ’s life when He first receives the Lord by regeneration, when Christ came to eternally indwell our human spirit.

When did God make Christ our righteousness? God made Christ our righteousness when Christ died on the cross. We as believers received Lord Jesus as our righteousness at that time we received Christ in regeneration - the moment we were reborn of His Spirit of life. We did not have to cry for days before we received it His traits in our spirit. We did not receive it only after we apologized to God enough.

The Son of God had already died for us, while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8). As soon as we believed, we received His righteousness counted to us, imputed to our account, as our continuing and eternal status or righteous position before the Father. Similarly, Christ is our sanctification (Gk. hagiasmos, purifier). When gold or other materials are purified they are separated from the accompanying impurities that it may carry in its raw state. Sanctification is purity or holiness by the separation of the believer from that which is not righteous. Unfortunately, in the matter of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their sanctification, many Christians are going around in circles; wasting their time, laboring, trying to become sanctified, holy and righteous. They do not understand that this is the Lord’s ongoing work in our lives, which He accomplishes in us moment, by moment.

Receiving the Lord as our righteousness was in fact instantaneous. As soon as we believed, Christ’s righteousness was counted to our account. Sanctification now is the out-working of His righteousness in our daily living. In a similar way, we must also receive the Lord as our sanctification. It also is instantaneous and able … as we live day by day, trusting, yielding to, and relying upon Him. Sanctification does require that we remain yielded, submitted to Him, heeding Him, thus maintaining our union, living in accord with Him who indwells our spirit as our life and Lord (Lord, Gk. kurious, controller).

But here you might say, “Isn’t that need to trust or submit to the Lord, a self-effort work?”

The writer of Hebrews offers us the answer.

“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works… Hebrews 4:10a

Trusting and yielding to the Lord may seem to be a work if we do not understand the basis of our rest in Christ. Let me explain. Submitting to the life of Christ in us is a sort of work, … which is not to work. It is to let go and trust Him to govern our walk. It is a sort of work to not trust our own self-governed efforts. Such a “work” is not a work, since it is a “ceasing to work by self-effort”. In ceasing to work by self-effort we are not working but actually resting.

Aren’t Christians Supposed To Do Good Works?

To my previous comments “re: ceasing from our own works”, you might say, “How can it be that we should cease from our works when the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, tells us that we were “created … unto good works”? How can this be, aren’t we to do the works the Lord ordained for us to do, as seen in Eph 2:10?”

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10For we are his workmanship (Gk. poiema, “product”), created (Gk, ktizo, by the proprietorship of the manufacturer, who is Christ) in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephes. 2:8-10

From the above, in vs. 8, we see that we are “saved by grace through faith”, and in vs. 9, “not of works”, we are save through faith alone. At the same time however, we come under His proprietorship, His ownership leads us to either do, or not to do, whatever He desires to do through us.

We see in v10 that there are “works” that we are to do are to spring from the Lord Himself, ordained by Him. We were prepared to do such works. The Christ in us prepares us to do the works He desires by giving us His will and desire. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philip. 2:13

Together, these verses also tell me that the works we are to do are not prompted by the letter of the word but by the living word Himself, Christ, who is working within us.

The writer of Hebrews says we are to repent or turn away from dead works (Heb 6:1b). A good work is one that is prompted by the indwelling Lord. A dead work is one that is usually prompted by self-interest in appearances to look good. The contrast in these words is interesting - it does not say good works vs. bad works, but good vs. dead; implying that the good work is a living work. Only the works of the Lord through us are living works. Works done by our self are dead works.

Working To Rest?

“So how can we rest by ceasing to work and at the same time work unto the Lord?”

Let me give you an example of this kind of work while resting. Consider the first time you learned to float on water, on your back. It was a sort of work to make our self let go to trust the water to hold us. In the same sense our sanctification is like this. We must turn to Him; let go of our self-reliance to trust His life in us, to trust and follow His life leading us in this or that way. We as a self-soul have a choice to abide in that sanctifying, restful, union with Him, or … to turn our heart away,  NOT  trusting  the flow of  His prompting from within, making His sanctifying indwelling life that is already in us as our new life, of no effect (Gal 5:4).

If we try to advance in sanctification by self-effort, expecting that we will arrive one day at sanctification, we deceive our self, we will never attain it. Sanctification is a spontaneous state of being when we, as an individual self, yield to live in that moment, are in accord with the indwelling Christ - abiding in Christ, walking according to the Lord in our spirit. Living in union and obedience to His inward prompting or limitation, we are sanctified automatically.

When we are tempted and retaliate for some injustice perpetrated toward us, or when are tempted and speak out contrary to His life in us we become separated from Him who is our sanctification, we’ve turned away from Him within, yet when we turn our heart back (2Cor 3:15), choosing to yield to His inner restraint, He is then our inward spontaneous sanctifier.

Hearing Him

The Bible, precious as it is, with its laws, precepts and principles, is not our sanctification. Many mistakenly labor under the laws that God gave and through Moses. It is the living Christ alone in our spirit, who is our living sanctification, as we listen to Him. We all know His inward voice of sanctification; we need only then to yield to the living One. Jesus said, “He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” John 8:47 We must never mistake the Scripture called the word of God (the logos, meaning the expression of God), for God’s words spoken to us individually, directly and personally. In this verse the word “words” is the Greek word “rhema”, meaning the spontaneous instant and living words spoken by God’s Spirit into the spirit of a man. In this way we all hear Him speaking from within our spirit.

Thus Jesus prayed to the Father, saying in John 17:17;

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

The word “truth” is alethia, meaning, the uncovering of what is real. That which is real is that which is eternal, and the Eternal One is God Himself. Christ, the living word is the only eternal reality and He is revealed, in reality, within us. Bible study alone will not do, Christ can only be genuinely revealed from within by our experience of His life in us. God, in Christ, as the indwelling Spirit in our spirit is the truth expressed to and in us. We hear Him within by the sense of His indwelling life, and that “word” of truth within is what has the power to sanctify or separate us from that which is not righteous.

Yield

Let me give you an example. When you see the “yield” sign as you enter a highway of traffic, it means you do not bolding enter however you may want, rather you submit to the oncoming traffic and drive in accord with what the traffic permits, this is how you enter the flow of traffic. So it is with our yielding to Christ. We live in accord with the inward flow and sense of His life in our spirit, either permitting or limiting us. Christ’s indwelling life is then made our living sanctification. As soon as we listen to our spirit’s conscience we are limited, separated from that which we need to be separated, as we walk with Him.

Our sanctification is according to His life operating in us as our life. Life and sanctification are things we are to enjoy as the fruit of His indwelling life. This is our state of being when we are alive, in relationship with the indwelling Christ. We know that “he that hath the Son hath life”, but His life can’t be enjoyed by us until we receive and trust the working of His life. Sanctification is purely a function of trusting His ongoing life within us.

The more we learn to trust and obey Christ within, the more His life and nature renews our soul to a new mindset (Philip 2:5), but never do leave or graduate from dependence upon His life as Lord and the Sanctifier from within. We cannot be sanctified for tomorrow - because we are sanctified by our continuing dependence tomorrow, moment, by moment. We can live by His life in us as our life, as the Lord of our daily life.

So sanctification is not an event - it’s the ongoing state of Christ’s righteous life being lived out through us as we yield to trust Him. Just as we know that those who try to establish their own righteousness will never be saved, in the same way, those who try to establish their own sanctification will never live overcomingly in peace and rest. <END>