ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION

CONTENTS:

Q.1 What is entire sanctification ?

Q.2 What are the changes effected in a child of God by the work of sanctification ? Q.3 Is
sanctification an ‘INSTANTANEOUS’ work of God, received immediately after
salvation as a ‘second blessing’?
Q.4 God is a God of miracles. Can’t He change us and transform us instantly at His Coming
as said by St. Paul in I Corinthians 15:51,52 — ‘we shall all be changed in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye’?
Q.5 After saying, ‘the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God’, St. Paul tells the
Corinthian believers, ‘but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God’ (I Cor.6:9,11). Were they not fit then
for the Rapture? Did they need further sanctification ?
Q.6 Many Bible teachers assert that a wholly sanctified life is impossible. What does the
Bible say about it ?
Q.7 The penitent thief on the cross was promised a place in Paradise. It is obvious that he was
not wholly sanctified; he was saved at the last moment. If all those who are saved at the
last moment are sure of a place in heaven or Paradise, why should we insist on entire
sanctification ?
Q.8 What is the ultimate purpose of being entirely sanctified ?
Q.9 What part does Christ play in the plan of entire sanctification ?
Q.10 It is said that all the sacrifices of the Old Testament point to the sacrifice of Jesus at
Calvary. Can you explain it ?
Q.11 St. Paul says, ‘... by the which WILL we are sanctified’ (Heb.10:10). What is meant by
being sanctified by His WILL ?
Q.12 How is the work of sanctification effected in the life of a child of God ?
Q.13 How does God sanctify the spirit of a child of God ?
Q.14 What are the activities of the soul in man? How does God sanctify it ?
Q.15 How does God sanctify the body ?
Q.16 Are consecrated ministers really needed to help the Church be sanctified and attain
perfection ?
Q.17 What rewards do the sanctified saints receive after their rapture ?
§§§§§§

Preface
It is sad to note that many of today's Christians are satisfied with the experience of
salvation, and unaware of the need for entire sanctification. The Lord Jesus Christ will appear
to gather, not those who have only the experience of salvation, but His saints who have attained
perfection. It is for this that He offered up Himself at Calvary (Eph.5:25-27). “Now are we the
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself, even as he is pure,” writes Apostle John (I Jn.3:2,3). From this we can
understand that the work of sanctification is something that should necessarily go on
continuously in everyone who is awaiting the Coming of the Lord. This is possible only if we
co-operate with the Lord. The Lord has taken upon Himself the responsibility of completing this
work of sanctification in those who completely surrender their spirit, soul and body to Him for
it.

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 We publish this booklet of Questions and Answers with the prayer that every reader be
found ready to meet the Lord when He appears to gather the perfected and victorious Church.
“The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth
you, who also will do it” (I Thess.5:23,24). Amen.
§§§§§§

1. What is entire sanctification ?

Entire sanctification is one of the sound doctrines of the Bible, as important as repentance,
faith towards God, baptisms etc. It is an experience of being completely purified in our entire
being - body, soul and spirit. To indicate it, St. Paul uses phrases such as ‘not having spot or
wrinkle’, ‘holy and without blemish’, etc. (Eph.5:27). It is the work of the God of grace in us
through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. This work of grace
makes us ready for His Coming. St. Paul therefore says, “And the very God of peace sanctify
you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thess.5:23). John, the apostle confirms it, saying, “...we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him (in character); for we shall see him as he is
(perfect and pure). And every man that hath this hope in him PURIFIETH HIMSELF, even as he
is pure” (I Jn.3:2,3). This was not just a wishful thinking among the saints in the early centuries,
but a daily practice. ‘... as he is SO ARE WE in this world’ says St. John (I Jn.4:17).
§§§§§§

2 What are the changes effected in a child of God by the work of sanctification ?

The work of sanctification makes a man naturally and spontaneously meek, gentle, kind,
and pure in love. Moreover, he keeps himself safe and pure from all manner of sins. He is dead
to sin and self. A calm settles upon his body, soul and spirit. The inner battles and turmoil are
over. His whole being (body, soul and spirit) is now fully led by the Holy Spirit. He has learnt to
live and walk in the Spirit, without grieving Him. Hence he is calm in the hour of trial, free from
the inward struggles of the former days.
He now has nothing to do with the old man through whom Satan, the prince of the air,
worked deceitfully, to re-establish his kingdom in his heart. All his carnal sins and passions have
been mortified by the Spirit of God (Rom.8:13) as he has learnt to ‘crucify the flesh with the
affections and lusts’ (Gal. 5:24) and offer his body continually as ‘a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God’ in order to serve God according to His will (Rom.12:1). The world is
crucified unto him and he unto the world (Gal.6:14) and hence all the desires and affections of
his body, soul and spirit are set on things above and NOT on things on the earth (Col.3:1,2).
He is able to live peacefully with everyone because the God of peace has sanctified him
wholly (I Thess.5:23).
His mind is renewed by the Word of God and his thoughts are pure. The Holy Spirit has
filled his heart and mind with the law of the Spirit, delivering him from the law of sin and death
which had enslaved him. Hence he is free from all kinds of defilement and from condemnation
(Rom.8:1,2).
Earthly trials may beat upon him like waves, but he remains steadfast, hid in Christ, the
Rock of Ages, because the work of sanctification has made him perfect.
Sanctification is a work of grace that is wrought in the inner man. It is not to be recognized
by outward ecstasies or miraculous attributes, but it is best known by its possessor, by the
indestructible perfect love, purity and inner rest he possesses. Sanctification removes every
disturbing element which interrupts the Christian's growth to perfection in love, faith, obedience,
etc. In brief, sanctification makes him a fruit-bearing Christian bearing the fruit of the Spirit viz.
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal.5:22,23).

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 It builds in his heart a perfect love that over- comes all evil; it creates in him a perfect
purity of heart that is constantly realized; it gives a perfect rest and faith in Christ that nothing
can disturb.
A sanctified man has a unique experience when he is faced with a trial or temptation. The
struggle is not within, as formerly, but he has the delightful awareness that the pressure is from
without. There is a great difference between having an enemy in the room with you and having
him locked outside the door. Sanctification puts the tempter outside and under control.
Sanctification brings a man to a state of being entirely cleansed and every sin is fully
purged or rooted out, so that he can love God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and
love his neighbour as himself.
Sanctification kills all carnal ambitions and desire for power and praise. It makes him
willing to be overlooked and unknown. The craze for place and prominence is removed. The eye
is not fixed on honour, status, position, promotion etc. All his thoughts are now turned towards
heavenly places, in being found in Christ, in winning Him, in being seated together with Him
and in being hid in Him.
He can be perfectly aware of the circulation of unkind statements, even slanders, and yet
be full of rest and peace all the time.
The work of sanctification puts an end to all uneasiness about the future. It enables him to
cast all his cares immediately upon Christ in prayer.
§§§§§§

3 Is sanctification an ‘INSTANTANEOUS’ work of God, received immediately after

salvation as a ‘second blessing’?

This view is not correct. If we instantly become altogether holy as He is holy, Apostle John
need not write “... every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure”
(I Jn.3:3). This Scripture shows clearly that ‘purifying himself ’ is the practice of a child of God
every moment of his life. While he purifies himself daily to become a partaker of His holiness
(Heb.l2:10), ‘the God of peace’ continues to sanctify him throughout his life, till he is found
‘wholly sanctified’. ‘‘And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ’’ (I Thess.5:23).
The doctrine of entire sanctification must be taught to a man as soon as he is saved or born
again, because Jesus offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice, as ‘a lamb without blemish’
(I Pet.1:19) so that we may become ‘partakers of His holiness’ (Heb.12:10) and be found as pure
as He is when He comes (I Jn.3:3). We are expected to be found, ‘not having spot, or wrinkle or
any such thing, ... but holy and without blemish’ (Eph.5:27).
It is worth always remembering the fact that the work of entire sanctification begins the
very moment a sinner gives his heart to Jesus Christ and accepts Him as his Saviour and Lord.
At new birth he is forgiven and regenerated by the inflow of eternal life from Jesus Christ into
his soul, and is cleansed and purified by His blood. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn.1:9). In the man who is
thus purified by the blood of Jesus, the work of ‘sanctification by the blood’ takes place day after
day. “If the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God?” reads Hebrews 9:13,14. Nevertheless, he is not entirely sanctified and
perfected in holiness instantly. He must be exhorted to purify himself by His blood daily and live
in His presence so that God may do the work of perfect sanctification in him moment by
moment.
St. Paul therefore exhorts all believers not to live a stagnant life, but boldly proceed towards the
perfect holy life for which Jesus shed His blood. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter

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into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us,
through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Heb.10:19,20).
Let us not forget that in the sacrifice of Jesus, we find all we need, including ENTIRE
SANCTIFICATION. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (I Cor.1:30). The other Scripture portion
that clearly states that the blood of His sacrifice can sanctify us and bring us to perfection, is
found in Hebrews 10:10,14: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all … For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified.”
Let us repeat that all that we need for our entire sanctification or holiness is found in the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, since it is written, “by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified” (Heb.10:14). Though we find all our purification, or entire sanctification and
perfection in Christ Jesus, we are not entirely sanctified or perfected all at once. When a baby is
born, it is washed and cleansed. It is a perfect child. There is no blemish in that child. All the
limbs are perfect and complete in themselves. In that sense, we ‘are complete in Him’ in Whom
is ‘all the fulness of the Godhead bodily’(Col.2:9,10); but, just as an infant keeps growing day
by day, we too are called to grow daily in order to become ‘partakers of his holiness’
(Heb.12:10). We are exhorted to ‘grow up into him (Jesus Christ) in all things’ (in love, faith,
knowledge etc. including holiness or sanctification) — “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph.4:13,15).
§§§§§§

4 God is a God of miracles. Can’t He change us and transform us instantly at His Coming
as said by St. Paul in I Corinthians 15:51,52 — ‘we shall all be changed in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye’?

We may ask you a similar question. Satan also is miracle-worker in one sense. He is
called ‘the god of this world’ (II Cor.4:4). All the sinners are in his hands. Can he not take an
ordinary sinner and make him the most corrupt, wicked person like himself, in a moment ? You
are sure to answer, ‘‘No, he cannot.’’ You are right. It takes time for a person to grow in sins like
lying, stealing, blasphemy, smoking, drinking, murder, adultery etc., because, he has to learn to
overcome his CONSCIENCE and wage war against all the moral and spiritual laws. This takes
time. So, Satan cannot make him a matured sinner in a day.
It is the same with entire sanctification. One has to unlearn what he had learnt when he
was a sinner and yield himself to the laws of God. This also takes time.
The transformation referred to in I Corinthians 15:51,52, does not point to the entire
sanctification of our life, but to the resurrection of the bodies of the dead saints who will be
‘raised incorruptible’, and also the bodies of living saints who will be made incorruptible ‘in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump’ (vs.52). God cannot perform such a
miracle of instant sanctification with our spiritual life, because man has a freewill. He has the
freedom to choose for himself, Christ or the devil, his own will or God’s will, earthly pleasures
or heavenly pleasures, holiness or uncleanness, carnal life or spiritual life etc.
When God desired to sanctify the children of Israel who came out of Egypt, He had to take
them through the wilderness, in order to humble them, prove them and know what was in their
heart, whether they would ‘keep his commandments, or no’ (Deut.8:2). Though He had clearly
told them that they were chosen to be ‘a peculiar (special) treasure unto (Him) above all people:
... a kingdom of priests, and an holy (sanctified) nation’ (Exo.19:5,6), they rebelled against Him
and lusted for flesh, fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlic etc. (Num.11:4,6). They kept
murmuring over and over again because of the way and because they lacked bread and water
(Num.21:4,5). In other words, they desired earthly blessings and not God's ways of
sanctification, whereby they might please God in all things, and learn to obey His will and
commandments.

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 Is it not so with us today? We desire material and spiritual blessings, but are reluctant to
surrender our body, soul and spirit for God to do a work of sanctification in us. Without a total
surrender of ourselves and our will to God in order to do His perfect will, we cannot easily
practise the glorious teaching of entire sanctification.
§§§§§§

5 After saying, ‘the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God’, St. Paul tells the
Corinthian believers, ‘but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God’ (I Cor.6:9,11). Were they not fit then
for the Rapture? Did they need further sanctification ?

The believers in Corinth were sanctified in a measure, but not ‘sanctified wholly’ to be
found worthy to meet the Lord in the air at His Coming.
Writing to the Hebrews, St. Paul says, ‘... we are SANCTIFIED through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all ’. He continues to say, ‘... he hath perfected for ever them
that are SANCTIFIED’ (Heb.10:10,14). In that sense the Corinthians were sanctified.
Though Jesus died on the cross for our entire sanctification, we need to grow in Him day
by day in order to receive that perfect sanctification. Though the believers in Corinth were in a
measure sanctified by the blood of Jesus, by the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit, they could
not continue in the life of sanctification because they remained as ‘babes in Christ’ without
further growth.
When we carefully study the epistles of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we can see that many
among them were not ready for the Coming of Christ or the Rapture. St. Paul discovered the
following sins, faults, blemishes and unsanctified natures in them.
1. There were contentions, ‘envying, and strife and divisions among them’ (I Cor.1:11;
3:3). Hence they could not be ‘perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same
judgment’ to be called the ‘body of Christ’ (I Cor.1:10).
2. When they ought to have grown and become ‘perfect in Christ’ they were childish and
‘carnal’, and not ‘spiritual’. They could not appreciate or relish solid spiritual food or sound
doctrines, but were satisfied with ‘milk’ or with the basic teachings of salvation, water baptism,
baptism in the Holy Spirit and gifts, and neglected deeper truths such as entire sanctification,
victorious life and the perfection in Jesus Christ (I Cor.3:1-3).
3. It is evident that some of them were against the ministry and teachings of St. Paul,
because they questioned his authority and sought proof of his ministry and revelations
(II Cor.10:8-14).
4. They gladly accepted false apostles who preached ‘another Christ’, ‘another spirit’ and
‘another gospel’, thereby giving room for Satan to beguile them (II Cor.11:1-4,13).
5. Though they were said to be endued with all gifts and ‘waiting for the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ’, some of them continued to be FORNICATORS like the heathen (I Cor.1:7;
5:1; 6:15-18), not realizing that their body was the temple of the Holy Spirit and that they were
‘bought with a price’ in order to ‘glorify God’ in their body and in their spirit (I Cor. 6:19,20).
6. They did not have a clear vision that they were called to reign with Christ, in this world
and in the next and to judge the world and angels. Void of this great vision, they sought the help
of worldly rulers and judges to settle disputes among them. St. Paul was very grieved about this
(I Cor.6:1-7).
7. They misused the liberty which they had found in Christ Jesus. They had forgotten that
they were saved by the Lord Jesus Christ from the dominion of Satan and his forces such as
demons, evil spirits and their idols, which they had once worshipped and which had held them
captive
(I Cor.10:20; 12:1,2). They once again entered into the ‘idol’s temple’, and began to eat what
was ‘offered to idols’ (I Cor.8:10). Thus they were found guilty of sin ‘against the brethren’ and
‘against Christ’ (I Cor.8:11,12).

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 8. Some of them, like the Sadducees, did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.
St. Paul questioned them saying, “If Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say
some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (I Cor.15:12). This might be the
reason why they neglected the sanctification of their body, but gave themselves to fornication
and gluttony (I Cor.6:13). God’s Word says that our body too must be sanctified if we are to be
caught up at the Secret Coming of the Lord (I Thess.5:23; II Cor.7:1).
9. God could not sanctify them because they mixed with ‘unbelievers’, ‘infidels’ and
idolaters. So St. Paul had to preach to them the doctrine of separation afresh (II Cor.6:14-18).
God can never sanctify those who are conformed to this world (I Jn.2:15-17; Rom.12:1,2). It is
clearly written in the Word that Jesus ‘gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from
this PRESENT EVIL WORLD, according to the will of God and our Father’ (Gal. 1:4).
10. Their spiritual poverty was due to their love for earthly riches. They were satisfied
with the abundance of material blessings they had. They had not learnt the art of freely giving
and spending for the Lord’s work or for the saints. They altogether lacked ‘the grace of God
bestowed on the (other) churches of Macedonia who, in spite of ‘their deep poverty’, took upon
themselves ‘the fellowship of the ministering to the saints’ with material gifts and offerings,
beyond their power’ (II Cor.8:1-5). St. Paul ‘robbed other churches, taking wages of them’ to
minister to this church but their life was not upto his expectation (II Cor.11:7,8; 12:15,20,21).
How can we say that such a church was entirely sanctified and ready for His Coming? Are
we not also guilty of similar faults and failures? Let us acknowledge our shortcomings as and
when the Spirit of the Lord convicts us and purify ourselves moment by moment so that we may
be found ready among His sanctified and perfected saints when He appears in the air for them.
§§§§§§

6 Many Bible teachers assert that a wholly sanctified life is impossible. What does the
Bible say about it ?

The one great desire of God is to bring man to His own ‘PERFECTION’. When God, Who
is holy, created man ‘in His own image’, He created him without any sin or blemish. ‘Sin
entered into the world’ only after Adam disobeyed God (Rom.5:12,19). If Adam and Eve had
remained obedient to God, they would have grown in holiness and become as perfect as their
Father in heaven, in holiness.
God has always desired that His children be perfect in holiness just as He is holy.
Therefore, He gave them the law through Moses so that they might live a holy life. God said,
“YE SHALL BE HOLY: FOR I THE LORD YOUR GOD AM HOLY” (Lev.19:1,2). He has
again said, “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and BE YE HOLY: for I am the Lord your God”
(Lev.20:7).
The Levitical priesthood could not bring the people of God to perfection since the blood of
animals could not remove sins (Heb.10:1-4). Further, the priesthood itself was found defective.
Hence, Jesus had to take over the ministry as the High Priest of the New Testament, ‘after the
order of Melchisedec’ (Heb.7:12,17). That is why St. Paul says: ‘‘IF THEREFORE PERFECTION
WERE by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law) what further need
was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after
the order of Aaron?’’ (Heb.7:11).
When God commanded the children of Israel to offer sacrifices for their sins, He insisted
that the animals that were offered should be clean and without blemish. This proves again how
much the Lord wants His people to be pure and without any blemish.
When God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle for Him, He clearly instructed him to
prepare three places, namely, the outer court (Exo. 27:9), the holy place (Exo.28:29,35) and the
most holy place (Heb.9:3). Into the holiest or the most holy place ‘went the high priest alone
once every year ...’ (Heb.9:7; Exo.30:10). While speaking of heaven as being a shadow of the
tabernacle, St. Paul teaches us that God desired that His children purify themselves to enter into

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the Most Holy Place of the heavenly tabernacle. He adds that till Jesus became the perfect
sacrifice for our sins and the perfect High Priest of the New Testament Church, ‘the way into the
holiest of all’ (in the heavenly tabernacle) was not revealed (Heb.9:8). In other words, none of
the Old Testament saints who died before Christ could gain entrance into the Most Holy Place in
heaven, because they could not live an entirely sanctified life. But now, we who have the
privilege of getting purified by the blood of Jesus, by the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit,
have the possibility of enjoying an entirely sanctified life.
We are, therefore, exhorted to live this perfect life HERE and NOW while on this earth
itself, by having constant communion with Jesus, our High Priest. St. Paul therefore says,
‘‘Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the HOLIEST (now, not after death ) by the
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that
is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us DRAW NEAR (now,
when we are on the earth, sincerely desiring sinless perfection) with a true heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure
water (conse- crating and cleansing our body daily). Let us hold fast the profession of our faith
without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised)’’ (Heb.10:19-23).
Further, both Christ and the apostles of the first century taught about perfection and made
it clear that it was absolutely necessary for the Church if it is to be raptured at the Coming of the
Lord. Let us quote some of these verses:
The Lord Jesus :
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt.5:48).
St. Paul :
“Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we
may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col.1:28).
“Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ” (I Cor.1:8).
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph.1:4).
“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph.5:27).
“And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet
now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Col.1:21,22).
“And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward
all men, even as we do toward you; to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in
holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints”
(I Thess.3:12,13).
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thess.5:23).
St. Peter:
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned
love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (I Pet.1:22).
“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found
of him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (II Pet.3:14).
St. John :
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (I Jn.3:2,3).
“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;
because as he is, so are we in this world” (I Jn.4:17).
The above Scriptures prove beyond any doubt, that perfection is possible and that the
Church that is to be caught up at Christ’s Coming should be found ‘glorious … not having spot,
or wrinkle or any such thing but … holy and without blemish’ (Eph.5:27).

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 The believers in the above-mentioned perfected group will inherit NEW JERUSALEM.
Concerning this city St. John says, “There shall in no wise enter into it ANYTHING THAT
DEFILETH …” (Rev.21:27). He also saw the holy servants of Christ standing on Zion; he says
that they were not defiled with women ‘and in their mouth was found NO GUILE: for they are
without fault before the throne of God’ (Rev.14:4,5).
§§§§§§

7. The penitent thief on the cross was promised a place in Paradise. It is obvious that he
was not wholly sanctified; he was saved at the last moment. If all those who are saved at
the last moment are sure of a place in heaven or Paradise, why should we insist on entire
sanctification

‘Paradise’ refers to the abode of the departed spirits of the children of God. (This Paradise
was in the lower parts of the earth before the resurrection of the Lord Jesus).
The spirits of all saints, whether only saved or sanctified, go to Paradise immediately after
their physical death. Therefore, the penitent thief also found a place in Paradise (Lk.23:43). This
Paradise has three parts, namely, first heaven, second heaven and third heaven. The spirits of the
dead saints will rest in these places, depending on the period in which they lived and on the
spiritual standard they attained. In eternity, heaven will be seen as three places, namely New
Earth, New Heaven and New Jerusalem.
It is said that Jesus went ‘far above all heavens’ (Eph.4:10). St. Paul tells us that he was
caught up to ‘the third heaven’. If there is a third heaven, it suggests that there are two other
heavens _ the first and the second. The third heaven is evidently for the sanctified and perfected
Church, because St. Paul heard ‘unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter’
(II Cor.12:4). It is a mysterious and special place to which none but the sanctified saints of the
New Testament can go. The sanctified saints rest here after death till they are resurrected at the
Secret Coming of Jesus. This third heaven corresponds to New Jerusalem which John the apostle
saw in a vision at Patmos. ‘New Jerusalem’ called the Bride of Christ is the inheritance and
abode of the perfected saints of the New Testament. St. John was told, “Come hither, I will shew
thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high
mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from
God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a
jasper stone, clear as crystal” (Rev.21:9-11).
We are told that the ‘pure river of water of life’ and the ‘tree of life’ are in this city called
New Jerusalem (Rev.22:1,2). In Revelation 2:7, we read once again of the same tree of life as
being ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. All this proves that the Paradise which St. Paul saw
in the third heaven belongs to the perfected saints of the New Testament or ‘the spirits of just
men made perfect’ who inherit New Jerusalem (Heb.12:23). They are over- comers who have
free access to the city into which the unsanctified or ‘anything that defileth’ cannot enter
(Rev.21:27). Only the overcomers can ‘eat of the tree of life’ (Rev.2:7). The penitent thief on the
cross will dwell in the New Earth with the ‘nations of them which are saved (who) shall walk in
the light of it (New Jerusalem)’ (Rev.21:24).
THE TABERNACLE IN HEAVEN
Both St. Paul and St. John refer to three distinct places when speaking of heaven. St. Paul
claims to have been transported to the third heaven, having crossed the first and the second. The
Mosaic tabernacle was an earthly model of the ‘true tabernacle’, ‘which the Lord pitched, and
not man’ in heaven (Heb.8:2). The earthly tabernacle had three places, namely, the outer court
(Exo.27:9), the holy place (Exo.28:43) and the most holy place or the ‘holiest of all’
(Exo.26:33,34; Heb.9:3). These three places represent the three ‘heavens’ which St. Paul speaks
of.
St. John saw three distinct places in heaven – the New Earth, the New Heaven and the
New Jerusalem (Rev.21:1,2). After he ‘saw’ these places he ‘heard a great voice out of heaven

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saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men ...’ (Rev.21:3).
New Earth
The New Earth is assigned to the saved people of all dispensations. Among them, those
who belong to the Period of Grace have the born-again experience and may have even received
water baptism. But they have no further spiritual experiences or growth in the knowledge of
God. Those among them who remain faithful to the light they have received will be known as
‘kings’. The New Earth will be lit by the glory of New Jerusalem - “And the city (New
Jerusalem) had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are SAVED shall
walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it”
(Rev.21:23,24).
Those who belong to the New Earth will be resurrected only after the Millennial reign of
Christ and the saints, whereas the sanctified and perfected Church will be caught up before the
Period of Tribulation (Lk.21:35-36; I Thess.5:1-9).
New Heaven
Those in New Heaven are in a higher place than those in New Earth. Saints such as
Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Joshua and other faithful judges, kings and
prophets who lived till the days of John the Baptist, all the general martyrs beginning with Abel,
and the martyrs of the Tribulation Period, will inherit New Heaven.
These saints should not be reckoned with the New Testament saints who will inherit New
Jerusalem. Jesus, the righteous Judge, says that the least of the New Testament saints will be
greater (in sanctity, honour and glory) than the greatest in the Old Testament. “Verily I say unto
you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist :
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt.11:11).
These saints of the Old Testament will be raised only after the seven-year tribulation which
follows the rapture of the sanctified Church (Rev.11:15-19).
New Jerusalem
When Jesus promised His disciples that He would ‘go to prepare a place for them’
(Jn.14:2), He had this ‘holy city’ in mind. He went ‘far above all heavens’ where God the Father
is enthroned in all His majesty and power, in order to start constructing this great and glorious
city which was shown to St. John ‘as a bride adorned for her husband’ (Rev.21:2), ‘having the
glory of God; and her light like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as
crystal,’ (vs.11), and made of ‘pure gold, like unto clear glass’ (vs.18).
What does all this mean? This city is being constructed by the very character–substance of
the perfected saints. By absolute obedience and submission to do the whole will of God, which
includes humiliation, suffering and death, they allowed the Spirit of God to form the very nature
of Christ in them. After having gone through all manner of trials they became victors; and their
faith proved to be ‘more precious than gold that perisheth’ and they are found worthy of all
‘praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ’ (I Pet.1:7). They will be enthroned
with Christ as His own Bride and as ‘joint-heirs with Him’ and will reign forever over those in
New Heaven and New Earth and over the angels. They are the overcomers who will inherit all
things. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my
son” (Rev.21:7). They will be caught up at the Coming of the Lord, before others are
resurrected.
Enough is said to show you that Christ is not coming to gather some ‘penitent thieves’ who
are waiting to be saved at the last chance, or even for the so-called sincere, but lukewarm
Christians, but for the overcomers and the ‘wholly sanctified’ and perfected saints of the New
Testament.
§§§§§§

8 What is the ultimate purpose of being entirely sanctified ?

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 To put it in brief, the purpose of entire sanctification is to find our rest in God. Man lacks
real rest until he finds it in God, and in Him alone.
When a man is entirely sanctified, peace like a river floods his soul continually. He
remains undisturbed under all trying situations. The peace of God reigns in his heart. To crown it
all, God Himself comes to rest in him. Thus one rests in the other, and both dwell together in
peace for evermore.
This work of sanctification takes place gradually, steadily, progressively and perfectly in
the life of a consecrated saint, till he is wholly sanctified. Perfect peace is the outstanding feature
of such a saint. Alarming news, unpleasant circumstances, humiliating situations and fiery trials,
do not disturb his peace. He manifests an undisturbed peace when the enemy comes as a flood
against him. Let us study how God brings about this rest in him.
At Salvation
When a man is saved, he receives joy. He testifies that the Lord has delivered him from his
bondage to sin and to Satan. The knowledge that he has passed from death to life, and that all his
sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ, gives him new joy. But, after some time he
finds in himself an inner warfare with the nature of sin.
At Water Baptism
At baptism by immersion a miracle takes place, as surprising as the total destruction of
Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, when the children of Israel crossed over safely to the other
side. The one who is baptized receives the grace to be delivered from the nature of sin which
troubled him even after salvation. Referring to this experience, St. Paul says, “God forbid. How
shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were
baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (Rom.6:2,3).
Yet the victory is not complete because he is still a stranger to the perfect nature of God
and is unaware of the will of God for his future.
At the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
At the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the triune God steps into his life to have fellowship with
him (Jn.14:20), to impart His rest, to manifest His love, to reveal His will and to bestow upon
him His attributes called ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ viz., love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Gal.5:22,23).
Jesus promised His disciples, “At that day (when the Holy Spirit came down to dwell in
them) ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (Jn.14:20). In short, by
being baptized in the Holy Spirit a man begins to dwell in the triune God and He in him. This
experience cannot last long unless he is prepared to make a solemn covenant with Him to do His
perfect will, to love Him and desire to imbibe His glorious, divine nature in his own life.
Speaking of this love-covenant, Jesus told His disciples, “He that hath my commandments,
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and
I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”. Again He says, “If a man love me, he will
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode
with him” (Jn.14:21,23).
At this juncture, a new warfare begins between the will of man and the will of God. He
knows for certain that Jesus Christ came down with a sinless body to redeem his sinful body, and
that He was chastised for his sin of disobedience and rebellion. But after a while, he begins to
lose his first love for Jesus, his Lover and King, and is tempted to ‘walk after the flesh’ and be
carnally-minded (Rom.8:1,5). He thereby grieves the Holy Spirit Who delights to lead him into
all truth and guide him safely day after day into an ever closer walk with God. He falls from the
grace of God and becomes a victim of fear, despair and discouragement. When he is convicted
of this backslidden state, he turns to God and seeks His pardon with a broken and contrite heart.
God readily forgives him and restores joy and peace to his soul. Now he learns to be spiritually-
minded and longs to be led by the Holy Spirit all the days of his life. The love-covenant is
renewed with God; and as a result, he rediscovers God’s peace and rest in his soul; and as he
continues to obey Him and do His will, God begins to rest in him. By his consecration and
surrender, his body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit. God is glorified in his body and in his

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spirit (I Cor.6:19,20). Where God dwells and reigns, there is perfect rest. It is this rest that is the
ultimate purpose of entire sanctification.
The blessedness of the eternal rest that comes as a result of entire sanctification can be best
illustrated by the Scripture passage that says, “And on the seventh day God ended his work
which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made”
(Gen.2:2). In Genesis 1:2 we read that ‘the earth was without form, and void’. Nevertheless, the
Spirit of God was moving upon the face of the waters to accomplish the work of creation. After
having created all things in six days, God ‘rested on the seventh day from all his work which he
had made’. In the same manner, ‘the God of peace’ will not rest until He has sanctified us
wholly, and made us altogether new and perfect, having conformed us to the very image of His
Son. Then He will rest in us for ever. The beauty of the sanctified life of the saints radiates as the
glory of Zion and New Jerusalem in eternity. Therefore, the Lord says, “For Zion’s sake will I
not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go
forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth” (Isa.62:1).
§§§§§§

9 What part does Christ play in the plan of entire sanctification ?

The complete plan of entire sanctification was predetermined to be accomplished in Christ

Jesus. St. Paul says, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all … For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified” (Heb.10: 10,14).
Christ was foreordained, before the foundation of the world, as a ‘lamb without blemish
and without spot’, for the redemption of man (I Pet. 1:19,20). Since man fell into sin, Christ has
appeared at the end of the world, ‘to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself’ (Heb.9:26).
Wherefore, John the Baptist bears witness of Him saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn.1:29).
Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice of love as written in the Epistle to the Ephesians,
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it (the Church): that he might sanctify and
cleanse it … that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or
any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph.5:25-27).
Christ had to be offered as a perfect sacrifice for the redemption of man. We read that
Christ was sinless or blameless from birth to death. St. Luke says that His conception was
without sin (Lk.1:35). During His lifetime no one could convict Him of sin (Jn.8:46). It is
written that He ‘did no sin’ (I Pet. 2:22), ‘in Him is no sin’ (I Jn.3:5) and that He ‘knew no sin’
(II Cor.5:21). His sinlessness is proved beyond all doubt by His resurrection, whereby He was
declared to be the Son of God with power (Rom.1:4).
Jesus not only became a perfect sacrifice, but He also continues the ministry of
sanctification in us as a perfect High Priest. In order to be found as a faithful High Priest, Who
can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, He had to be tempted in all points like we are.
Having overcome all temptations and sin, He is appointed as our eternal High Priest to make
reconciliation for us and to save us to the uttermost (Heb.2:17,18; 4:15,16; 7:25,26).
Having lived an altogether perfect life, Jesus is now seen as our Standard. At the same
time, He Himself is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2). We are expected to grow in
Him to His measure (of divine nature) (Eph.4:13). When we abide in Him and He in us, as
members of His Body, then He is able to not only sanctify us, cleansing us from all
unrighteousness, but also help us become partakers of His holiness and divine nature
(Heb.12:10; II Pet. 1:4). Moreover, He supplies us with an abundance of grace and righteousness
that they may reign where sin and offences once reigned (Rom.5:17,21). He uses His blood
(Heb.13:12), the Word of God (Jn.17:17) and the Holy Spirit (II Thess.2:13) to sanctify us
wholly and thus make us as perfect as He is.
We have our part to play in this work of sanctification.

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 (1) We have to seek His presence with a sincere heart, coming boldly before the throne of
grace, in the full assurance of faith, trusting in His blood and in the finished work of His
sacrifice (Heb.10:19-22; 4:15,16).
(2) We have to purify our conscience by confessing our sins and forsaking them
(Heb.10:22). By confessing our sins, we put off the old man with his deeds (Col.3:8,9).
(3) It is written that we must come unto Him having ‘our bodies washed with pure water’
(Heb. 10:22). This speaks of being once baptized in water and then daily abiding in the truth of
baptism — that is, reckoning ourselves dead to sin and dedicating the members of our body as
instruments of righteousness (Rom.6:11,13).
(4) We have to confess our faith without wavering, believing that He is able to sanctify us
wholly and save us to the uttermost (Heb.10:23).
When we do our part of emptying ourselves, reckoning ourselves dead to sin and hold fast
to the profession of our faith, then Christ is able to live out His life in us (Gal.2:20). Thus we
will be found sanctified and pure like Him.
§§§§§§

10 It is said that all the sacrifices of the Old Testament point to the sacrifice of Jesus at
Calvary. Can you explain it ?

PASSOVER
When the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, the Lord commanded them to sacrifice a
passover lamb for their redemption. Passover (Heb. - Pasah) means ‘to pass over’. It points to
the day when God passed over the houses of the Israelites, preserving them from judgment and
from the hands of the destroyer (Exo.12:13).
Christ is called the Passover Who was slain for us (I Cor.5:7) because He was crucified in
our stead at Calvary, just as the lamb without blemish of the first year was slain in the place of
the first-born of Israel to preserve them from death, and for the deliverance of all the children of
Israel from Egypt.
Egypt signifies the kingdom of Satan. St. Paul says that we are delivered from the power
of dark- ness: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the
forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13,14).
1. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE LAMB IS TO BE CHOSEN:
(i) It should be taken on the tenth day of the first month of the year (Exo.12:2,3):
The first month : In that month two things took place: one is deliverance from Egypt, and the
other, setting out towards Canaan. This points to the beginning of our spiritual experiences. Our
spiritual life begins with salvation, when we accept Jesus as our personal Saviour. Our spiritual
growth is counted from the day we are saved.
Tenth Day : Ten shows the Law. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that
believeth” (Rom.10:4). Through the law one gets the knowledge of sin (Rom.7:7-9). In this
manner, when we are convicted through the Word of God that we are sinners, there is a groaning
to be delivered from sins. It is then that we choose the Lord Jesus Christ.
(ii) A lamb for a house (Exo.12:3): House shows our body or an individual (II Cor.5:1).
Salvation is an experience which each one must receive individually (Jn.1:12,13). Christ tasted
death for every man, for every man's personal salvation (Heb.2:9).
(iii) The lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year (Exo.12:5):
Without blemish : Jesus was a lamb ‘without blemish and without spot’ (I Pet.1:19). His birth
was holy (Lk. 1:35). He did no sin (I Pet.2:22). He knew no sin(II Cor.5:21). In Him there was
no sin (I Jn.3:5).
Male: This shows a victorious life. The Lord Jesus Christ overcame the world, Satan, the flesh,
self and sin. He overcame death and hell (Isa.25:8).
Of the first year : This points to Christ being innocent, meek and mild like a little child

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(Matt.11:29).
2. IT SHOULD BE KEPT TILL THE FOURTEENTH DAY (Exo.12:6):
The lamb which was taken on the tenth day should be kept for four days. This was done
in order to test and prove that the lamb was without blemish. Even so, our Lord's life was under
hostile scrutiny for four years. This was a test which proved His holiness (Lk.11:53,54; Jn.8:46;
18:38).
3. IT WAS KILLED IN THE EVENING (Exo.12:6):
Evening shows the end of a day and the lamb slain in the evening shows that ‘in these last
days’, Jesus was manifest in the flesh and was slain (I Pet.1:20; Rev.5:9). Evening also speaks
of the time when we rest after a day's labour. Even so, we who laboured and were heavy laden
(under the yoke of sin) enter into a rest by believing in the death of Christ.
4. SPRINKLING OF THE BLOOD (Exo.12:7):
Sprinkling the blood speaks of our hearts being purged by the blood of Jesus (Heb.9:14;
10:19-22). The blood was sprinkled ‘on the two side posts’ and ‘upon the upper door post’ of the
house (Exo.12:7). This speaks of the confession of our faith ‘with the mouth’ (proclaiming the
redemption power which is in the blood of the Lord Jesus) and believing ‘in our heart’ that God
has raised Him from the dead for our justification. Such a confession brings salvation
(Rom.10:9).
The destroyer not entering the houses on which the blood was sprinkled shows that there is
no more punishments for sin for those who have received the forgiveness of sins.
5. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PASSOVER SHOULD BE EATEN :
(i) Roasted in the fire (Exo.12:9): This speaks of the sufferings that Jesus had to endure for us
when He became a sacrifice for us (Isa.53:5). Eating the flesh which was roasted in the fire
signifies the blessings that we receive at salvation through the sufferings that He endured on the
cross.
(ii) With unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Exo.12:8): Leaven points to malice and
wickedness. We should put off these and live in sincerity and truth (I Cor.5:8). The bitter herbs
show a broken and a contrite heart ie., repenting for one's sins (II Cor.7:10; Psa.51:17).
(iii) Not raw or sodden with water (Exo.12:9): The experience of salvation should be through
comprehending the spiritual significance of the cross (sufferings and death of Christ) and not of
the letter, and also without diluting the spiritual import of the truth in any way.
(iv) The head, legs and the purtenance to be eaten (Exo.12:9): This speaks of Christ pouring
out His soul unto death and becoming the wisdom of God and the power of God in our lives (I
Cor.1:24) (head — wisdom; legs — power).
(v) With the loins girded, and shoes on the feet, and staff in the hand, and in haste
(Exo.12:11).
Loins girded: This speaks of the loins of our mind being girt about with truth and beginning our
journey towards heavenly Canaan with a firm determination (I Pet.1:13; Prov.16:32; Eph.6:14).
Shoes on the feet: This shows a readiness to obey the Word of God as we begin our spiritual
journey (Eph.6:15).
Staff in hand: This speaks of firmly holding on to the promises of God in escaping the
corruption that is in the world through lust in order to partake of the divine nature (II Pet.1:4).
Eating in haste: We should not delay to receive the experience of salvation (II Cor.6:2). We
should not be negligent (Rom.12:11).
After the children of Israel came into the wilderness, the Lord commanded them to offer
other sacrifices and offerings, some of which are:
1. Burnt Offering (Lev.ch.1)
2. Meat Offering (Lev.ch.2)
3. Peace Offering (Lev.ch.3)
4. Sin Offering (Lev.ch.4)
5. Trespass Offering (Lev.ch.5)
Although Jesus became the Passover Lamb for us, for our redemption from sin, He had to
become a burnt offering, meat offering, peace offering, sin offering and trespass offering in order

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to sanctify us wholly and make us ready for His Coming. The sacrifices of animals in the Old
Testament Period could not take away sins. The sacrifices could not perfect the conscience of
even the priest who offered it (Heb.10:4; 9:9). But Jesus became a perfect sacrifice, full and
complete, in order to make us pure and perfect like Him (Heb.10:10,14).
BURNT OFFERING
Jesus bore our sins and became a burnt offering for us, an offering and a sacrifice of a
sweet smelling savour (Eph.5:2; Heb.10:5-7).
MEAT OFFERING
Jesus became a meat offering by offering Himself to do the whole will of the Father
(Heb.10:7). “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work,” He said
(Jn.4:34).
PEACE OFFERING
When man sinned the peace between God and man, between man and man, and between
man and animals, was lost. Jesus became a peace offering in order to reconcile man to God and
man with man. He has broken down the middle wall of partition and abolished the enmity in His
flesh and so made peace (Eph.2:13-16).
SIN OFFERING
Jesus Who knew no sin was made a sin offering for us that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him (II Cor.5:21). This righteousness of God is the state of ‘not
knowing sin’.
TRESPASS OFFERING
The trespass offering was offered for one who transgressed the law. The sacrifice of Jesus
became an effective trespass offering when all our transgressions and iniquities were laid on
Him (Isa.53:5,6).
Thus Jesus is become not only our Passover Lamb but also a perfect sacrifice in order to
sanctify us wholly and bring us to perfection.
§§§§§§

11 St. Paul says, ‘... by the which WILL we are sanctified’ (Heb.10:10). What is meant by
being sanctified by His WILL ?

When God created Adam in His own image, he (Adam) was seen as a part of God Himself

possessing in a measure, His holiness, glory, love, power, wisdom, immortality etc. Abiding in
this
life depended on his remaining in fellowship with God, in full submission and obedience to His
will. God was his Father, and he was the first earthly son of God (Lk.3:38). But through his
disobedience, “sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned ...” (Rom.5:12); further, by his disobedience he not only forfeited all the
heavenly blessings and his relationship with God, but also became the enemy of God by his
wicked works: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled” (Col.1:21). In order to restore man to God, Jesus had to take
human form to accomplish all things which Adam failed to do through disobedience. For this e
had to abandon His own will and submit Himself to the will of the Father. That is why He said,
“In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come to do
thy will, 0 God” (Heb.10:6,7).
St. Paul’s argument is that, if one man’s disobedience could affect the entire human race so
as to make them disobedient to the will of God, how much more could the obedience of Jesus
Christ Who fulfilled the whole will of God on behalf of the fallen man, enable the true believers
in Christ to perform the will of God whole-heartedly and gladly? It is through the spirit of
obedience that we are sanctified. Whatever we need for entire sanctification and perfection is
available in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, “for by one offering he hath perfected for ever them

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that are sanctified” (Heb.10:14). “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And
ye are complete in him” (Col.2:9,10). These Scriptures show clearly that we are not only
sanctified by His sacrifice, but also receive all His divine nature or the fulness of God by the
sacrifice of Christ. But such blessings can be received only by those who abandon their own
will and dedicate themselves to do the whole will of God, as Jesus did.
Some stop with the blessings of the atonement, such as new birth, water baptism, healing,
baptism in the Holy Spirit, gifts etc., and remain ignorant of the fact that dedication of their
WILL is absolutely necessary for God to do the work of sanctification in them. When sin entered
man it brought about a separation between him and God, and also disorder and confusion within
himself. Body, soul and spirit ceased to be united to do the will of God. They became divided
among themselves. Sometimes, the body refuses to co-operate with the spirit as remarked by
Jesus: “... the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt.26:41). When a man is not
saved, he delights in fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind (Eph.2:3). His mind becomes a
battlefield or the ‘stronghold’ of Satan who fills it with pride and rebellion against the
knowledge of God (II Cor.10:5). Even after new birth and other spiritual experiences there can
be inner warfares and conflicts, if our body, soul and spirit are not completely surrendered to
God to do His will. Among the Galatian Christians there were those who quarrelled, biting and
devouring one another (Gal.5:15). Though they had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, they
were carnal. They resisted the Holy Spirit. So St. Paul exhorts them saying, “But if ye bite and
devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in
the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and
the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the
things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Gal.5:15-18). All
inner disorders, rebellion, and warfares can be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit only
by consecrating our body as ‘a living sacrifice unto God’, with a view to doing His perfect will
(Rom.12:1). In such a dedicated life, neither the world, nor sin, nor Satan can have a claim over
us. God’s power and presence will rest upon us. His Spirit will lead and guide us and transform
us into His very image. As we grow spiritually, led by His Spirit, the Spirit itself will bear
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Rom.8:14-16). Neither sin, nor death
will have dominion over us. St. Paul says “For the law (authority or power) of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law (authority or power) of sin and death”
(Rom.8:2). Further, we will be able to have perfect control over all the ‘deeds’ or the ‘motions of
sins’ of our body by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:13). Above all, as St. Paul says, we
will be ‘transformed by the renewing of (our) mind; that (we) may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect will of God’ (Rom.12:2). Let us, therefore, abandon our self-will and
consecrate our body together with our soul and spirit, that we may obtain the grace to be
sanctified by the sacrifice of Jesus and to do the whole will of God.
§§§§§§

12 How is the work of sanctification effected in the life of a child of God ?

The work of sanctification is effected in the life of a child of God in three ways namely, (i)
by the blood of Jesus (Heb.13:12) (ii) by the Word of God (Jn.17:17) (iii) by the Holy Spirit
(Rom.15:16).
Sanctification by the Blood:
The blood of Jesus is without spot, and it is able to purge our conscience (Heb.9:14). St.
Paul speaks of how we are justified by the blood of Jesus (Rom. 5:9), and purchased by His
blood (Acts 20:28; I Cor. 6:19,20). It is through His blood that we have redemption (Eph.1:7;
Col.1:14); it is through the blood shed on the cross that we have been reconciled to God, and we
now have peace with Him (Col.1:20); it is by His blood that we are sanctified (Heb.13:12); it is
through the blood of the Lamb that we overcome Satan (Rev.12:11). These are not mere empty
statements, but promises which have eternal power, which we can discover, as we apply them to

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our lives. The blood of Jesus is called the ‘blood of the everlasting covenant’ (Heb.13:20). It is
through the blood of Jesus that God has made an eternal covenant with us, and it is as we apply
the blood of Jesus to various aspects of our lives that we establish this everlasting covenant.
Thus, having our confidence firm in the power of the blood of Jesus, we are exhorted to enter
boldly into the Holiest, into the presence of God, by the blood of Jesus (Heb.10:19,20).
When we truly repent of our sins with a deep conviction, and confess them, not just to ease
our conscience, but to forsake them altogether and live a sanctified life (Prov.28:13), we are
forgiven and at the same time we are cleansed and purged by the blood of Jesus (I Jn.1:7-9;
Heb.9:14). With this the work of sanctification by the blood begins in us (Heb.13:12). The Old
Testament saints could not enjoy this experience, since the blood of animals could not take away
sins. Though they enjoyed forgiveness of sin, their sins were not taken away. Hence there was a
‘remembrance of sins’ in their lives. The blood of the sacrifices could not purge their conscience
(Heb.10:1-4). So Jesus had to become the true sacrifice ‘for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the first testament’ (Heb.9:15).
At new birth we are reconciled to the Father Who has called us through His Son (Col.1:20)
that we might be ‘holy and without blame before him in love’ (Eph.1:4). Hence, St. Paul says
that we are justified by His blood that we might be reconciled with God (Rom.5:1,9). From here
sanctification becomes a continuous and progressive special feature in the life of a child of God.
We need a daily cleansing by the blood of the Lord Jesus in order to keep ourselves pure from
the impurities in our thoughts and conscience and from other faults and failures. Thus we are
kept from Satan, the acccuser of the brethren (Rev.12:10,11). This is made possible because
Christ is, not only our sacrifice, but also our High Priest Who entered into the Most Holy Place
with His own blood (Heb.9:12; 10:19-22); He ever lives to make intercession for us before the
Father (Heb.7:25). Constant cleansing by the blood of the Lord Jesus which leads to progressive
sanctification, is needed, if we are to be found without spot or wrinkle and blameless at the
Coming of the Lord.
Sanctification by the Word:
The Word of God also does a work of sanctification in us. Jesus said to His disciples,
“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (Jn.15:3). He also prayed
the Father, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth” (Jn.17:17). Again, St. Peter says,
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth ...” (I Pet.1:22). Sanctification is
achieved in our heart as we study, meditate and obey the Word of God. This is why St. Paul says,
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you (in your hearts) richly in all wisdom” (Col.3:16). The
psalmist says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”
(Psa.119:11).
Whatever God does, He does through His word. He created everything by His word
(Gen.1:1,11,12). He revealed Himself to the children of Israel by His word. “The Lord sent a
word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel” (Isa.9:8). Moses reminded the children of Israel
saying, “Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast
heard, and live?” (Deut.4:33). God commanded them to ‘not add unto the word …
neither… diminish ought from it’ (Deut.4:2). In other words, He commanded them not to alter
His word. In the wilderness they were taught to live only by the word of God that proceeds out
of His mouth, that they might learn that man ‘doth not live by bread only’, but by His living,
faithful word (Deut.8:3). Joshua who succeeded Moses, testified that God was faithful to
accomplish whatever He promised. “Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the
Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath
failed thereof” (Josh. 23:14). In short, whatever God did in the Old Testament, was according to
His word. In Isaiah 55:11 God says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in
the thing whereto I sent it”.
In the New Testament also God does all things by His word. We are given to understand
clearly that Christ was the creative Word of God and that that Word was with God and that that
Word was God (Jn.1:1). Since the first man failed to obey the Word of God, Jesus came down

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from heaven to fulfil the Word of God. Jesus manifested the power of God’s Word during His
lifetime. Many demon-possessed people were brought to Him and He cast out the spirits with
His word and healed the sick (Matt.8:16). He raised the dead by His word. For example, He
raised Lazarus who was dead for four days, by His word. He cried aloud and said, ‘Lazarus
come forth’; immediately the dead young man rose alive and came out of the grave
(Jn.11:43,44). His word not only cast out devils, healed the sick and raised the dead; it also had
the power to purify the lives of His disciples and followers. He said, “The words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (Jn.6:63). He told His disciples, “Ye are clean
through the word which I have spoken unto you” (Jn.15:3). He exhorted His disciples to
continue in His word (Jn.8:31).
St. Paul says that the Word of God effectively works in those who believe (I Thess.2:13).
Therefore, the Word of God has an important work of sanctification to do in our spiritual life.
Though in a general sense, the Word of God has a claim over us at new birth, sanctification by
the Word begins at water baptism (Eph.5:26). Though St. Paul was convinced in his mind that
the law was good and that he had a deep desire to obey it, he discovered a disobedient and
rebellious nature that was inherent in him _ ‘a warring law’ in his members, bringing him into
captivity to the ‘law of sin’ (Rom.7:15-24). Being over-powered by these laws, he could not by
his own strength obey the Word of God. When he was in that desperate state, torn between the
‘warring law’ in his members and the ‘law of his mind’, it was revealed to him that he could be
delivered from that warring law which brought him in to bondage to the law of sin. God showed
St. Paul that he could enjoy a miraculous deliverance in baptism to rejoice in His Word and obey
it, and walk in newness of life by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom.6:4-6; Col.2:12).
Let us analyse how we receive the ability to obey His Word which sanctifies us, and
willingly and fully do the will of God. Being buried into the death of Jesus Christ Who
accomplished the whole will of God, and being raised ‘as those that are alive from the dead’ by
faith in His power (Rom.6:4,11), we are not only freed from sin and its disobedient nature
(Rom.6:7), but we also receive a new life to ‘live with him’ (Rom.6:8), sharing the will of the
Lord Jesus Who did the will of God in His body (Heb.10:5 -10). Just as ‘disobedience’ became,
as it were, the evil gift of the devil to Adam, the obedience of Jesus is given as a gift to us who
obey God’s Word in baptism. St. Paul’s argument is that ‘by one man’s disobedience, many were
made disobedient and sinners’ . If that is logically true, then by the obedience of one (i.e. Jesus
Christ) shall many be made righteous or obedient (Rom.5:19). So St. Paul concludes that we can
receive Christ’s own obedience in us, if we are buried with Him and raised up together with
Him. Thus we are alive thereafter, to do the will of God.
But we must decide to do the will of God always, on the principle, “he died for all, that
they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them,
and rose again” (II Cor. 5:15). Therefore, after taking the correct baptism by immersion we are
exhorted to offer or dedicate the members of our body as ‘instruments of righteousness unto
God’, so that ‘sin shall not have dominion’ over us, or reign over us (Rom.6:11-13). This act of
surrender should be done daily and continuously.
Sanctification by the Holy Spirit:
After we receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit
(II Thess.2:13; I Pet.1:2; Rom.15:16).
The Holy Spirit does many things in our life. He bestows on us the ‘gifts of the Spirit’
(I Cor.12:4), quickens our mortal bodies when we are weak and sickly (Rom.8:11), comforts us
(Acts 9:31; Jn.14:16; 16:7), helps our infirmities (Rom.8:26), leads us to deeper truths
(Jn.16:13), etc. But the greatest ministry of the Holy Spirit in us, is to sanctify us, transforming
us into the image of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Rom.8:29).
The continuous work of purification by the blood keeps our heart and conscience pure and
free from the guilt of sin and dead works (Heb.9:14). At baptism, we die to the nature of sin, and
our heart is made soft and tender, not only to receive the Word of God, but also to do the will of
God revealed in His Word.
After we receive the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit convicts us either by the Word or by His

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own voice, of any sin lurking in our life. If we repent and yield ourselves, the Spirit of God
begins to ‘mortify the deeds of the body’ (Rom.8:13) and ‘strengthen the inner man’ with power
and might (Eph.3:16) ‘according to his glorious power’ (Col.1:11) so that we might overcome
sin and Satan.
The Holy Spirit is spoken of as ‘fire’. John the Baptist taught his followers that Jesus
would baptize His faithful believers with ‘the Holy Ghost, and with fire’ (Matt.3:ll). What does
this fire represent? God commanded Moses to build an altar of burnt offering to offer sacrifices
(Exo.27:1; 38:1). When Aaron offered the burnt offering on that altar, “...there came a fire out
from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat, which when all
the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces” (Lev.9:24). The offering of the burnt
sacrifice is a type of the removal of all our carnal, selfish and earthly desires by the sanctifying
fire of the Holy Spirit. With this view in mind, St. Paul says that we, the Gentiles, should be
offered as a sacrifice, ‘accept- able, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost’ (Rom.15:16). Unless we
place upon the altar our carnal and earthly desires, and consecrate our bodies daily and
continually to God, the Holy Spirit cannot purify and burn these basic desires. Signifying this
fact, God told Moses to command Aaron and his sons, saying, “This is the law of the burnt
offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning,
and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it” (Lev.6:9).
When we consecrate our will to God and dedicate our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy,
accept- able unto God (Rom.12:1) continually, the Holy Spirit takes over the work of
sanctification step by step, as mentioned below.
1. The Holy Spirit preserves us from the law of sin and death which ruled over us, and
brings us under a higher law called ‘the law of the Spirit’ (Rom.8:2) which helps us share the
righteousness of God (Rom.8:4), cultivate a spiritual mind, overcoming the carnal mind, and
receive ‘life and peace’ (Rom. 8:5,6), and mortify ‘the deeds of the body’ (Rom.8:13; Col.3:5).
2. He does not stop with mortifying ‘the deeds of the body’, but helps us bring forth ‘the
fruit of the Spirit’ (which) is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness and temperance (Gal.5:22,23).
3. Now that our heart is already washed and our conscience purified by the blood of Jesus
Christ (Heb.9:14;10:22), it ceases to be ‘tables of stone’. Instead, it is miraculously changed
into ‘fleshy tables’, to be used by the Holy Spirit to inscribe the law of God; not the Old
Testament law which brought condemnation, but ‘the law of the Spirit’ which gives life
(II Cor.3:3,6; Heb.10:16,17).
4. Sanctification by the Holy Spirit includes the removal of all earthly desires from our
hearts so that we may set our affection ‘on things above, not on things on the earth’, (Col.3:1,2),
and tune our lives with Christ in order to reign with Him. To achieve this end He enlightens our
eyes of understanding to see (1) the hope of His calling, (2) the riches of the glory of His
(heavenly) inheritance in the saints,(3) the exceeding greatness of His power ‘which he wrought
in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places’ (Eph.1:18-20). This helps us to count all earthly pleasures and gain as ‘loss for Christ’,
even as ‘dung’ (Phil.3:8).
§§§§§§

13 How does God sanctify the spirit of a child of God ?

Man is a tripartite being, with a body, soul and spirit. When God breathed into man, He
passed a part of His own spirit into him, and that became the spirit of man. This was so, that
through the spirit man might contact God. Man is world-conscious by the five senses of his
body, God-conscious through his spirit and self-conscious through his soul.
Now, the spirit and the mind which comprise the thought realm, are inter-connected. That
is why we read of the phrase, ‘the spirit of your mind’ (Eph. 4:23). The mind of the
unregenerated man is corrupt. It is ruled by Satan, called the prince of the power of the air

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(Eph.2:1-3). Satan first gains entrance into the mind through the eye gate and the ear gate. It is
said that 80% of the knowledge comes through the eye gate and the other 20% through the ear
gate. Thus while we were sinners, Satan, the ‘prince of the power of the air’ worked in our spirit
and made us children of disobedience, thereby severing our spirit from the Spirit of God.
Satan has built a stronghold in the mind, filling it with vain imaginations and thoughts that
exalt themselves against the knowledge of God (II Cor. 10:5). In the days of Noah, man became
so wicked that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually
(Gen.6:5). In the epistle to the Corinthians, we read that Satan affects the mind by bringing a
veil between God and man, and thereby blinding the eyes of understanding (II Cor.4:4; 3:14).
But when Jesus redeemed us, He redeemed both our body and spirit (I Cor.6:19.20) and
therefore we see that both the body and the spirit should be consecrated, for the sanctification of
the spirit. Writing to the Corinthians, St. Paul says, “Having therefore these promises, dearly
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (II Cor.7:1). The
‘filthiness of the spirit’ refers to impurity of thought and the rebellion and disobedience of our
spirit. That is why St. Paul says, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor.10:4,5). These weapons refer to the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, the Word of God, His promises etc.
We read of various qualities of an unsanctified spirit which we need to overcome. The
spirit of the unsanctified man is ‘hasty’ (Prov.14:29), is easily provoked (I Cor.13:5) and is
haughty (Prov.16:18). Such a mind is not steadfast with God (Psa.78:8). A carnal mind is not
subject to the law of God (Rom. 8:7). But God is able and is willing to sanctify our spirit.
Nevertheless, we have our part to do by consecrating and renewing our mind by the Word of
God and purifying our conscience continually. This is made possible by a life of separation. In
II Corin- thians 6:14-16, we read that we are to be separate from unbelievers, the unrighteous,
those who live in darkness, infidels, idolaters etc. Then we have God’s promise that He will be
our God and we shall be His people and He will be a Father to us and we shall be His sons and
daughters.
We need to consecrate our eyes and ears since they are also related to the spirit and mind.
We read, “Who is blind but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he
that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not;
opening the ears, but he heareth not”. This is called righteousness (Isa.42:19,20).
Next, our mind must be renewed through the Word of God (Eph.4:23). In Colossians 3:16,
we read, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom”. Again, we read that we are
purified by His Word. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you,” said
Jesus (Jn.15:3). He prays, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (Jn.I7:17). At the
same time we should keep confessing our faults and ‘put off ... the old man’ (Eph.4:22).
Another important factor in the sanctification of the spirit is the purifying of the
conscience. The Old Testament saints could not purge the conscience by ‘the blood of bulls and
of goats’, says St. Paul because it could not take away their sins from their conscience
(Heb.10:1-4). But now we have the privilege of purifying our conscience from dead works and
all impurity, to serve the living God, by the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit
offered Himself without spot to God (Heb.9:14). This purification helps us to follow peace with
all men, and to be at peace with God.
With all this we have to be filled with the Holy Spirit and learn to be led by Him. Only the
Spirit of God can lead our spirit. Thus we will be able to rule our own spirit. Then the Spirit of
God will bear witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God (Rom.8:16).
When we have done our part, God’s promises become real to us, and He Who promised is
faithful to give us the victory. As the Holy Spirit leads us day by day, our spirit becomes an
overcoming spirit, having authority over sin, Satan and anything that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God. That is why the Preacher says, ‘he that ruleth the spirit’ is better than ‘he that
taketh a city’ (Prov.16:32). In order to reign with Christ we need a wholly sanctified spirit which

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overcomes all things. Christ’s victory over Satan on Calvary was evident in His being able, in
the spirit, to bear and endure all things quietly.
The spirit, it is said, makes ‘diligent search’ (Psa.77:6). We also need a sanctified spirit to
seek the Lord and to worship Him in the spirit. Again St. Paul says that, apart from our mind
being renewed, we need the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him
(Eph.1:17), so that we may grow in knowledge and spiritual understanding. In Proverbs 20:27 it
is written, ‘The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord’. Hence, when the mind is sanctified, God
begins to reveal deeper things which ‘eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man’ (I Cor.2:9,10).
The Lord also promises in the New Testament, saying, “I will put my laws into their hearts
and in their minds will I write them” (Heb.10:16), so that we may know the perfect will of God
and please Him in all things. When we have a really sanctified mind or spirit, we can hold on to
the promises of God and the Lord Who is faithful, is able to cause us to triumph in all places and
be made more than conquerors.
§§§§§§

14 What are the activities of the soul in man? How does God sanctify it ?

As we have already seen, man is God-conscious through his spirit, world-conscious

through his body and self-consious through his soul. The soul is self-conscious in the sense that
it is the seat of man’s will, whereby he is endowed with the freedom of choice — to decide and
act as he wishes. That is why man is called a living soul. Also, when we consider verses like –
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek.18:4), “O that there were such an heart in them, that
they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always” (Deut.5:29), “Daniel purposed
(willed) in his heart” (Dan.1:8) etc. – we understand that it is the soul that is held responsible for
committing sin and not the body or spirit, because the soul is the seat of man’s freewill. The soul
is also the seat of emotions such as love (I Sam.18:1), bitterness (Job 7:11), grief (Job 30:25),
anguish (Rom.2:9), desire (Mic.7:1) and joy (Isa.61:10).
For a perfect life of holiness free from inner conflict, sanctification of the spirit alone will
not do, because though the spirit and the soul are distinct in their responsibilities, they are inter-
dependent in their operations and are always knit together, being known as the ‘inner man’. Just
as the outer man has a head and a body, the ‘inner man’ is formed by the spirit and the soul and
they dwell together in the heart and hence the expression – ‘the hidden man of the heart’
(I Pet.3:4). Since the spirit which governs the thought realm dwells together with the soul in the
heart of man, it is said, ‘from within out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts’ (Mk.7:21,22).
Though the spirit dwells together with the soul in the heart, its region of activity is the mind,
which is fully governed by it, whereas the soul has full control over the heart.
Some attributes of the heart:
First of all, the heart is the seat of emotion. Many different emotions are attributed to the
heart, of which the following are but a few. We read that Jacob’s heart fainted (Gen.45:26);
similarly we read of sorrow of heart (Lev.26:16), discouragement of heart (Num.32:7,9),
gladness of heart (Deut.28:47), bitterness of heart (Prov.14:10), astonishment of heart
(Deut.28:28), brokenness of heart (Psa.34:18), and we read also of a trembling heart
(Deut.28:65).
Again, the heart is the seat of will (that is, willingness, decision, steadfastness, obedience,
etc.). Solomon speaks of how a man’s heart devises his way, that is, his will (Prov.16:9). We are
also commanded to love the Lord our God first of all with all our heart (Lk.10:27) and to do ‘the
will of God from the heart’ (Eph.6:6). We should incline our hearts to perform the
commandments of God (Psa.119:112). David obeyed God from his heart. He said, “When thou
saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek” (Psa.27:8). St. Paul
also speaks of steadfastness of heart (I Cor.7:37).
Then the heart is the seat of wisdom. Solomon asked for, and received, a wise and

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understanding heart (I Kgs.3:9,12). Though the mind is active, when we use our wisdom the
mind is controlled by the heart. We read that Reuben had great thoughts of heart and great
searchings of heart (Judg.5:15,16). As we have already noted, Jesus said that it is from the heart
that evil thoughts proceed.
The heart is also the seat of conscience. Our conscience has its abode in the heart.
Exhorting us to enter boldly into the presence of God, St. Paul says, ‘having our hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience’ (Heb.10:22). He speaks of how he served God with a pure conscience
(II Tim.1:3). We read that David’s heart (or conscience) smote him (I Sam.24:5).
Finally, the heart is the seat of character, both good and bad. We read of a froward heart
(Psa.101:4); a proud heart (Psa.101:5); a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations (Prov.6:18); a
subtle heart (Prov.7:10); a deceitful heart (Jer.17:9); a perverse heart (Prov.12:8); a backsliding
heart (Prov.14:14). But we also read that Jesus is meek and lowly in heart (Matt.11:29). ‘‘Let it
be the hidden man of the heart ... the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit’’ (I Pet.3:4). The
character of holiness is also formed in the heart. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for
they shall see God” (Matt.5:8). Further, we read of ‘charity (love) out of a pure heart’ (I Tim.1:5)
and of a ‘true heart’ which can approach the presence of God in full assurance of faith
(Heb.10:22).
The heart of a sinner:
The heart of a sinner is a spacious house, and it can accommodate all the lusts and
pleasures of the world. The counsel of John the Apostle is, “Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of
the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that
doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I Jn.2:15-17). When a man opens his heart to the world,
there is room made in the heart for the devil. The heart can also accommo- date a legion of
demons, as was the case of the demoniac of the country of the Gadarenes (Mk.5:9).
The heart can become a store-house for all types of sins and lusts. Jesus said, “For from
within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,
covetous- ness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviouness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness : all
these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mk.7:21-23). Sin originates in the heart
and the heart is a fertile soil for the growth of sin. When room is given for these sins to grow in
the heart of man, they begin to establish the very nature of Satan in the heart, and the works of
the flesh are made manifest in his life. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lascivious- ness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and
such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do
such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal.5:19-21). Finally, the kingdom of Satan
is established in the heart, and the heart becomes the throne of Satan. Jesus said concerning the
house of the strong man (Satan), “How can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his
good except he first bind the strong man?” (Matt.12:29).
The method by which the soul is sanctified is the same as in the case of the spirit —
separation from sin and things unclean, purifying our conscience by the blood etc. When we ask
Jesus to come into our hearts, He dislodges Satan and cleanses us of all sin. However, we should
allow Christ to reign in our heart, and co-operate with Him in continuing the work of
sanctification in us. In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus talks of a man who was satisfied in that his
heart was swept and garnished. Here, He referred to a heart that was washed by His blood but in
which He was not allowed to stay and reign. Therefore, this man ended up in a worse state than
ever.
The greatest power that can purify the emotional reactions of the soul or the heart, is the
love of God. It is true that God fills us with His love, but we have to grow in our love for God
and the saints. The love of God which is shed abroad in our hearts, heals the broken-hearted,
soothes the wounds caused by bitterness or anger, casts out fears, brings comfort to the weary,
and strength to the weak. Hence we need to be filled and refilled with the love of God. Anything

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that disturbs or defiles the purity of such a love should be confessed and forsaken.
While building up our love we must build up our faith too, because faith and love go
together. In Galatians 5:6 we read of ‘faith which worketh by love’. Again in Ephesians 3:16-18
we read that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, and that thereby we are able to understand
every aspect or dimension of the love of God. Referring to the children of Israel, God says that
they are a people who ‘do always err in their heart’. This was because they had an ‘evil heart of
unbelief’, and did not build up their faith in the Word of God. We need both faith and love.
Otherwise, the heart will depart from God.
The soul is easily drawn to the things of the world by the five senses of the body. Hence
we must learn to ‘set our affections on things above, not on things on the earth’ (Col.3:2).
Worldliness, love for the world and its pleasures, is the weakness of the soul. The soul of the
foolish, rich man was attached to worldly goods. That is why he said to his soul, “Soul, thou hast
much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Lk.12:19). The
pleasures of the world choke the heart, and hinder the Word of God from bringing forth fruit
(Lk.8:14).
In I Peter 2:11 we are warned to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.
Solomon was a man of God, who, after having established the kingdom, built the temple of God.
Yet in his old age, it is written that his heart was drawn away by strange women (I Kgs.11:4). It
was the lust of the flesh that made such a wise king so foolish in the end. That is why St. Paul
also tells Timothy to flee from vices like youthful lusts, love of money, etc. (I Tim.6:9-11;
II Tim.2:22).
In Proverbs 4:23 we see the exhortation, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it
are the issues of life”. This necessitates constant cleansing of the heart. King Nebuchadnezzar
built Babylon, and so his heart was lifted up (Dan.4:30). When God blesses our ministry, our
hearts should not be lifted up. Therefore, we have to constantly examine our heart and keep it
humble, for God searches the heart (Jer.17:10). He tries the hearts and the reins. We have to
stand before such a God to examine and purify ourselves. Saints often cried to God and besought
Him to purify their hearts. Even King David prayed saying, “Search me, O God and know my
heart” (Psa.139:23). This should be our attitude also. Further, for the sanctification of the soul,
we must do the will of God from our heart (Eph.6:6), and draw near Him with a true heart
(Heb.10:22).
Unless we do our part, God cannot purify us. This is why St. James tells us, “Purify your
hearts, ye double minded” (Jas.4:8). When we do our part, the Lord will sanctify our heart and
help us grow in His love and holiness and preserve us until His Coming.
§§§§§§

15 How does God sanctify the body ?

Let us first consider why God created a body for man, and how it became corrupt and
sinful.
Unlike the angels who are spirits, man needed an earthly body since he was made to dwell
on the earth. Hence it is written, “The first man is of the earth, earthy”(I Cor.15:47). The
physical body was, more or less, the home of the inner man. Man was not created naked, as
some believe. He was clothed with the glory of God, which was given to him for beauty and
protection. The only way Satan could subdue Adam, was by tempting him to sin against God and
disobey His commandments. When Adam disobeyed God, the glory of God departed from him,
and he became naked. Thereafter, “all (his gene- rations) have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Man became a slave of Satan, sin and death; his body became sinful
and mortal (Rom. 6:16; 7:24). This was our state before we came to Christ. By fulfilling the
‘lusts of our flesh’ and the ‘desires of our mind (Eph.2:3), and by yielding our ‘members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin’, we were ‘servants of sin’ and ‘unrighteousness’ (Rom.
6:13,17). God’s desire is to deliver man from corruption and sin, and to restore the glory that he

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lost through sin.
The Body of Christ
It became necessary for God to prepare a sinless body in order to redeem our body from
the curse of sin, death and hell. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats
(offered by the saints who lived before Christ for the remission of their sins) should take away
sins” (Heb.10:4). Therefore, Jesus took upon Himself a human body, immaculate from birth, and
preserved blameless, till it was offered for our sins at Calvary. He said, “Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me … Lo, I come … to do thy will, O God”
(Heb. 10:5,7). This body was tried in all points for thirty-three and a half years. He proved
Himself faultless and blameless, having overcome all temptations. Therefore, when He was
crucified and buried, death and hell had no power over Him. The grave could not hold Him
back. He rose victorious, having triumphed over them all. These are His own words, “I am he
that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell
and of death” (Rev.1:18). Bless His Holy Name.
By His death and resurrection, He cancelled sin and abolished death once and for all, for
those of us who believe in His finished work (II Tim.1:10). We appropriate this blessedness
through the three-fold experiences of being born again, being baptized in water and being filled
with the Holy Spirit. At salvation, when we are born again, our sins are forgiven and we are
delivered from them. Water baptism brings us to the experience of being dead to sin, while
baptism in the Holy Spirit quickens our body to overcome sin as those that are alive from the
dead. It is no more the old sinful body that we have. “Old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new” (II Cor.5:17).
An Overcoming Body
We should not forget that our body which is now redeemed through the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ still faces trials and temptations in this world, as before. However, we will discover two
blessed experiences. Firstly, sin has lost its hold or dominion over us. Though apparently the
trials may come with greater force, the abundant grace which abounds where sin abounds, will
enable us to be dead to sin. “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they
which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ” (Rom.5:17). Secondly, we will begin to overcome all temptations through the
indwelling presence and the power of the triune God. That is why St. Paul says, “I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”
(Gal.2:20). Again we read, “... as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom.5:21). “If ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Rom. 8:13). Though Jesus can sanctify our body
through the finished work of Calvary, He cannot accomplish it unless we surrender our body to
Him entirely. St. Paul therefore exhorts us saying, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service” (Rom.12:1).
A Living Sacrifice
Some do not believe in the dedication and surrender of their body to God. They give their
heart to God, (so they say), to keep themselves from hell, but keep back their body to do their
own will and pleasure. And they wonder why they are continually living a defeated life, being
overcome by temptation and trial.
Those who desire the sanctification of the body are exhorted to present their body as a
living sacrifice unto God. Let us see why we should dedicate our body to God.
1. In our ignorance, we had surrendered our body to sin which had dominion over us. St.
Paul says, “Ye were the servants of sin … But now being made free from sin, and become
servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Rom.6:17,22).
Only an yielded body can be sanctified wholly and be transformed to bring forth fruit unto
holiness and righteousness (Rom.6:19).
2. From the Scriptural point of view, it is evident that our body does not belong to us any

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more, but to God Who redeemed it. The Redeemer has every claim over it. He wants to dwell in
it. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God
in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Cor.6:19,20).
3. The body of Jesus was a body prepared to do the will of God. Jesus said, “A body hast
thou PREPARED me: … Lo, I come to do thy will, O God” (Heb.10:5-7). Therefore, our
redeemed body must be prepared to do the will of God. It is the love of God that constrains us to
do the will of God. St. Peter says, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to
the will of God” (I Pet.4:1,2).

4. This body is sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption, the day Christ comes
for His sanctified Church. It is sanctified by the blood of Christ, the Word of God, and the power
of the Holy Spirit — the filthiness of the flesh is removed so that it might be changed into an
immortal, incorruptible, powerful and glorious body like unto the glorious body of Christ.
Hence, we must cleanse our body by the blood of Jesus continually, confessing the sins of
our flesh, or anything we have done to grieve the Holy Spirit by word or deed, and constantly
surrender our body to Him, so that the Spirit of the Lord may quicken it and lead us day by day
to perfection.
§§§§§§

16 Are consecrated ministers really needed to help the Church be sanctified and attain
perfection?

Yes. These are those who have made themselves wholly available to Him by consecration.
They are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers given by Christ to the Church,
“for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a
PERFECT MAN, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph.4:11-13).
Let us observe the following points in the light of Ephesians 4:11-13.
God expects His saints to be ‘perfect’, matured saints, having grown to the very measure,
stature, and the fulness of Christ in sanctity and divine nature. To help the Church attain this
perfection, Jesus has appointed these five kinds of ministers viz. apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers. They are called the gifts of Christ.
Christ expects them to dedicate themselves fully to Him, to do His will, obey Him and
serve Him. He says, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple”
(Lk.14:26). By forsaking their all — their people, kindred, family, possessions and their own
life, they become His bond-servants or prisoners of Christ (Eph.4:l), so that He may be able to
give them as “gifts” to the Church, in order to do the ministry for which they are called.
Consecration also leads them to a closer walk with God whereby they are able to practise
what they preach. They purify themselves moment by moment to be as pure ‘as he is pure’ (I
Jn.3:3). They grow to the full measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, so that both by
knowledge and experience they can preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all
wisdom; in order to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (Col.1:28).
By living a wholly dedicated life, counting all their earthly ‘gain’ as ‘loss’ or even as
‘dung’, they are able to comprehend ‘the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus’, obtain
‘the righteousness which is of God by faith’, experience ‘the power of his resurrection”
(Phil.3:7-10), manifest the life of Christ in their own personal life and ministry, and become ‘a
pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting’ (I Tim.1:16).
God reveals His hidden mysteries to His consecrated servants. When the disciples came,

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and said unto Him, ‘Why speak thou unto them in parables?’ He answered and said unto them,
‘Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is
not given’ (Matt.13:10,11). Mysteries such as ‘the mystery of his will’, ie., in the fulness of
times all things which are in earth and in heaven should be gathered together in one, in Christ
(Eph.1:9,10), and ‘the mystery of Christ’ ie., we, the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with Israel
and share all the ‘unsearchable riches of Christ’ (Eph.3:4-8), etc., were not revealed to the Old
Testament saints ‘in other ages’ (Eph.3:5) and were ‘from the beginning of the world hid in God,
who created all things by Christ Jesus’ (vs.9). The consecrated servants of God have the gift and
grace, not only to understand these mysteries, but also to teach them clearly, and ‘make all men
see’ these mysteries, with a view that they may ‘press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus’ (Phil.3:14).
True consecrated servants of God are like faithful shepherds. They “feed the flock of God
... taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready
mind” (I Pet.5:2). They are like mothers who know how to feed their children. They feed the
‘babes in Christ’ with ‘the sincere milk of the word’ that they may grow (I Cor.3:1,2; I Pet.2:2).
They are gentle as a ‘nurse (nursing mother) cherishing her children’ (I Thess. 2:7). They know
how to give ‘strong meat to them that are of full age’ (Heb.5:14). Their only desire is to see that
every member of the Body of Christ grows up ‘into him in all things, which is the head, even
Christ’ (Eph.4:15).
Dedicated servants of God preserve the Church from erroneous doctrines, heresies etc.,
which cause young believers to be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive”
(Eph.4:14). St. Paul left Timothy at Ephesus that he might ‘charge some that they teach NO
OTHER DOCTRINE, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister
questions’ (I Tim. 1:3,4).
Sometimes, internal trouble may crop up in the Church, caused by people like Diotrephes
who loved pre-eminence in the Church (III Jn.9); there may arise some others ‘speaking
perverse things, to draw away disciples after them’ (Acts 20:30). There are yet others who may
turn to be ‘unruly’ and ‘disorderly’ (Tit.1:10; II Thess.3:6) and cause divisions in the Church.
‘These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts’ (Jude 16). They defile the
Church and destroy sincere souls who are called to grow to the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ. True servants of God take these problems to God in prayer and supplication,
to know how to solve these problems and rescue sincere souls.
Finally, servants of God are there to share the personal problems of the growing saints.
They are there to ‘comfort the feeble minded, support the weak’ (I Thess.5:14) and establish
them in the faith when they pass through trials and temptations (I Thess.3:1-3).
These ministers are used by God as seen above, that the Church may grow as a body, ‘fitly
joined together’, being nourished by His Word, united in love, serving one another ‘according to
the effectual working’ of His power in each member (Eph.4:16) so that the Church may be found
perfect, ‘unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ with all his saints’ (I Thess.3:13).
§§§§§§

17. What rewards do the sanctified saints receive after their rapture ?

It is humanly impossible to express in words all that awaits the raptured saints as their
rewards. Every kind of good work, from giving a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, to
forsaking one’s all to serve the Lord, will be richly rewarded. But it is not given to us to know
all things in detail now. St. Paul says, “We know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away ... For now we see
through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as
also I am known” (I Cor.13:9,10,12). We can vizualize only in a measure, all that awaits us in
eternity.

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 Some of the important rewards awaiting the raptured saints are mentioned below:
1. They will ‘win Christ’ — their ‘Bridegroom’ or their ‘Husband’ (Phil.3:8; II Cor.11:2)
because they suffered all things joyfully in order to win Him, even as He endured all things for
‘the joy that was set before him’, that is for the joy of winning for Himself a Bride that is
without ‘spot or wrinkle’, and ‘holy and without blemish’ (Eph.5:27; Isa.53:10).
2. By winning Christ, they inherit all things which belong to Christ, Who is the Heir of all
things (Rom.8:17; Rev.21:7).
3. Their body will be as glorious as that of Jesus. “We shall be like him; for we shall see
him as he is” (I Jn.3:2). The purpose of creating a body for man was to display ‘the praise of the
glory of his grace’ (Eph.1:6). But it was sin that cut him short of this glory (Rom.3:23).
However, the sanctified and perfected saints will shine, some as the sun, some as the moon and
some others as stars, according to their labour. The glory of one will differ from the other
(I Cor.15:41-44).
4. They will reign with Christ, sharing the power and authority of His throne (Rev.3:21).
All the angels and the saints of various other dispensations will be under the power and guidance
of these glorified saints of the Church of the Period of Grace (Eph.1:20-23).
By submitting their will to God in love and humility, they become ‘more than conquerors’
in all their afflictions and trials through Christ Who loved them. Hence, they are found worthy to
reign with Him. St. Paul says, “If we suffer (with him), we shall also reign with him”
(II Tim.2:12).
5. The glorified saints being the Bride of Christ will inherit NEW JERUSALEM which is their
eternal home or abode. This is what Jesus went to prepare for them. “I go to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also” (Jn.14:2,3).
6. The 144,000 consecrated servants of God will inherit ZION, the abode of the triune God.
It is the highest and most glorious place in eternity. “These are they which were not defiled with
women; ... These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth ... in their mouth was
found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Rev.14:4,5).
When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two tables of testimony in his hand, the
skin of his face shone so brightly that the children of Israel were afraid to come near him. The
glory was so blinding, that they could not look upon his face, unless he covered it with a veil.
Similarly, the glory of Zion, it is believed, will be so great, that many will not be able to bear to
see the real glory of Zion or that of the Trinity except through the consecrated servants of God
who will dwell in Zion.
One might ask whether it is possible at all to see the Father and the Son in heaven. Yes, it
is possible. We see that God the Father and the Son are the light of New Jerusalem (Rev.21:23).
The Father and the Son have the power to diminish their glory so as to be seen by all in varying
measures of glory, according to the spiritual state or attainment of the saints in the various
regions in heaven. Jesus, Who was the ‘brightness of his glory and the express image of his
person’ revealed Himself to all when He dwelt on the earth and He said, ‘ He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father’ (Jn.14:9) But no one will be able to see the Father or the Son in the fulness
of their glory, except those who have fully grown to share their glory.
The saints who are raptured will receive personal rewards too.
i. Fine linen garments clean and white: (bright - margin) (Rev.19:8): These reveal the
righteous works of the saints.
ii. Right to eat of the tree of life (Rev.2:7) : The tree of life which is in the midst of Paradise
represents Christ. By eating of the fruit of the tree of life i.e. by experiencing Him more and
more, the sanctified saints grow in life i.e. they keep growing in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus
(Jn.17:3) even in eternity.
iii. A crown of life (Rev.2:10): This is for those who were faithful unto death.
iv. A crown of righteousness (II Tim.4:7,8): This crown is for having ‘fought a good fight,
finished their course, and kept the faith’. Only those who ‘love His appearing’, those who live in
the hope of the imminent return of the Lord, can finish their race on such a victorious note.

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v. A crown of glory (I Pet.5:2-4): This is for the faithful servants of God who fed the flock of
God ‘not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind; ... being ensamples
to the flock’. The souls whom they led to perfection turn out to be for their glory. Addressing the
Thessalonian church, St. Paul writes, “What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not
even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ? For ye are our glory and joy” (I
Thess.2:19,20).
vi. Hidden manna (Rev.2:17): This refers to deep revelations of God. In eternity, the sanctified
saints have access to all the mysteries of God, to all the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. “Now
we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know
even as also I am known,” says St. Paul (I Cor.13:12).
vii. White stone bearing a new name which no man knows (Rev.2:17):
A white stone is a precious stone. Saints who have joyfully and patiently suffered for
righteousness' sake, being strengthened by the love of God (Rom. 5:3-5), become precious and
transparent in eternity.
A new name known only to the Lord and the receiver, speaks of the intimate relationship the
sanctified saints will have with the Lord in eternity.
viii. The morning star (Rev.2:28): One of the names of Jesus is ‘the bright and morning star’
(Rev.22:16). Jesus becomes a great reward to those who brought the hope of a new life to those
who ‘sat in darkness and in the shadow of death’ (Matt. 4:16).
ix. Made a pillar in the ‘temple of my God’ (Rev.3:12): Those who faithfully shouldered
heavy burdens and responsibilities in the Church, especially servants of God, who, like James,
Cephas and John (Gal.2:9), were as pillars in the Church, and lived an exemplary life, will
continue to serve Him with greater honour and glory than the others in the temple of God in
heaven.
x. The ‘name of my God’ (Rev.3:12): This is the Father’s name which will be written upon the
consecrated servants of God who dedicated themselves to the whole will of God
(Rev.14:1;22:3,4).
xi. The ‘name of the city of my God’ (Rev.3:12): The name of the city of God being written on
a person shows that person becoming a part of that city (Rev.21:9,10). As already mentioned, the
sanctified saints receive New Jerusalem as their inheritance.
xii. ‘My (Christ's) new name’ (Rev.3:12): Jesus was given this name, the name above every
name, when He humbled Himself. “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Phil.2:8,9). Saints who have
similarly humbled themselves, receive this name.
All these eternal rewards and inheritances are said to be ‘incorruptible, and undefiled, and
that which fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us’ (I Pet.1:4,5) in contrast to all carnal and
material things which are as grass and all the glory of man which is as the flower of grass; ‘the
grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away’ (I Pet.1:24).
May the dear Lord grant us the grace to ‘continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel‘ (Col. 1:22). Let us ‘set our affection on things
above, NOT on things on the earth’, and ‘seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth
on the right hand of God’ (Col.3:1,2).

*******

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