Sanctification John 17:13-19 2/20/2005 Copyright by Mark Vaughan 2/2005 We continue our study of John s Gospel today in Jesus prayer in John 17 and we ll be focusing on verses 13-19. So let s begin by reading that in its context follow along in John 17:1-19; John 17:1-19. [READ] As we ve seen, John spent several chapters detailing Jesus time with the disciples on the night before His crucifixion. And this prayer in John 17 ends that special time with words spoken to the Father but also intended for the disciples ears. As we ve seen, verses 1-5 contain Jesus prayer for Himself and verses 6-19 are His prayer for His disciples and then verses 20-26 are Jesus prayer for those who would believe through the disciples. Today we focus on the second main request for the disciples, which is that the Father would sanctify them. And God s work of sanctifying or sanctification is not something that applies only to the disciples. Today s text has much to help us also as followers of Christ. Verses 13-19 teach much about God s work of sanctification. They answer questions related to the diverse ideas in today s Christianity about what it means to pursue holiness. For example, is sanctification a call to somber stuffiness and boredom? Some would say it means we should stay away from anything that the world considers fun. And they might even say that you are in sin if you even associate with worldly people at all or even that you should separate from any Christians who do not separate from worldly people. So is sanctification striving to stay as far away as possible from the world and not have any friends that are unbelievers? If not, then how do we be sure that we don t become like the world? Is there some special ceremony and experience that leads us into a higher, sanctified plane of spirituality? Some segments of Christianity say you reach a plateau of the sanctified life and that is what Jesus is talking about here. Some Christian groups even say that an emphasis on holiness is unnecessary if we really want to reach our world today. So what are we to think? Ideas in today s Christianity swing from one end of the spectrum to the other in applying these truths. We ve all probably been influenced by some of these backgrounds and tendencies and may not even realize it. So we need to know what Jesus taught and what to believe about how to be sanctified. More so, we can easily rationalize our own small drifts from the right path so need correction lest we stray even a little. Therefore, we need Jesus words in verses 13-19 that give us 6 truths to guard and guide our pursuit of sanctification. And verse 13 gives us our 1 st point that sanctification is given for your joy. 1
Note in verse 13: sanctification is given for your joy. [READ] As He has said repeatedly throughout these chapters, Jesus was leaving the world to go to the Father. But while here, He had a purpose for everything He spoke. He says clearly that His purpose in all of His words with the disciples this night was that they may have His joy made full. This echoes His purpose in John 15:11 when He said, These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. Jesus also gave this purpose in John 16:24 regarding prayer when He said there: ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full. Please understand this: Jesus is for joy; He is not against it. And what He told and offered and prayed for His disciples is available and applicable to Christians today too. This verse leads up to His request in verse 17 so this joy is part of His purpose for sanctification. His desire for sanctification is a desire for joy. Jesus is for your joy; He is not against it. All that He says and prays is for both our holiness and our happiness. I don t mean Jesus promises a giddy, silly feeling all the time or that He always gives easy, cheery circumstances. What I mean is that Jesus offers and wants a deep-seated, contented delight in the souls of His people. It is a pleasure in God that starts inside and shows outside. It is Jesus own joy that is linked to being close to God and becoming more sanctified by God. So though sanctification may increase our seriousness about life, it does not foster stuffiness or boredom. Pursuing godliness in life does not restrict fun. It redefines fun in the ways that we were created to enjoy life and it takes the delights of life far deeper. For example, instead of mountain hike being just good exercise and great views, it becomes all of that plus a personal time with the Artist of the views and the Maker of the mountain. Just like a sporting or entertainment event is more special if you know someone who is playing or performing, so everything is better if we know God. And that greater depth of experience fosters joy as we walk through life with God sanctifying us. So pray for and seek God s work of sanctification in your life because it is given for your joy. And it is a joy to be experienced in this world, not after it that is the 2 nd point we learn: sanctification is granted in the world. We learn from verses 14-15 that sanctification is granted in the world. [READ] Usually when the Bible speaks of sanctification, it refers to God s work to progressively grow Christians in holiness. The word sanctify means to set apart as holy to the Lord, to consecrate for a special purpose. 2
That sanctification ends when we leave this world and meet the Lord and are completely made holy in the presence of God. That is what the Bible and theologians call glorification. Sanctification happens up until that point. So we must be left in this world to experience sanctification. Eventually Jesus wanted the disciples to join Him in heaven He said He was preparing a place for them. But He had purposes for them to accomplish before God took them out of this world. So He prayed not for them to be taken out of the world but to be kept from the evil one as they lived in the world. And that is Jesus design for us too until His perfect time for us comes and our work is complete. But if you are like me, then sometimes you want Jesus to go ahead and finish and take you out of this world with all its sorrow and sin. Moses, Job, and Elijah all had such tremendous troubles in their lives that they cried out for God to take their lives. Undoubtedly the disciples would feel that way too as they faced hatred and persecution from the world in coming years. So Jesus prayer here prepared them for that temptation. And His words prepare us as well. Have you ever longed just to escape this world s troubles? I certainly have I ve been so consumed with my circumstances that I was ready for Christ to return to get me. And though I might make that sound spiritual, the reality is that it s usually out of self-pity rather than love for Jesus. It s usually a self-centered desire for escape from circumstances rather than a God-centered desire for heaven. And that misses part of God s design for keeping us here. We easily forget that we are not here primarily for ourselves. We are here to glorify God, to show the world that He is glorious and attractive and worthy of worship. And we show that by having responses that are attractive when our circumstances are not all that attractive. So sanctification is granted while we remain here in all the struggles of a fallen world. We remain here as testimonies to God s power in the world, not only in how we deal with difficulties but also by how God changes us. It s like when I see people who knew me as a kid and I tell them I m a pastor and they look at me like, really!? Yes, really God does amazing and powerful things, doesn t He? And He leaves us in the world to testify to His great power. But that is not easy when the world opposes us and when temptations entice us and that was especially true for the disciples. So Jesus asked the Father to keep them from the evil one. The devil has his world system of evil and its enticements to sin and its opposition to holiness. 3
And since that is real, Jesus prays for protection for His own. And He knew His prayer would be answered because His disciples had already started on the path of sanctification. They had already been led into new life by the new birth of the Spirit that made them different from the world. So He knew that they would be sanctified in the world. He knew this because of our 3 rd point today that sanctification is generated by new life. You can only grow in spiritual life if you are spiritually alive. You can t advance in the race if you ve never started it. And so Jesus restated the new life of the disciples in verse 16 to emphasize that sanctification is generated by new life. [READ] Sanctification is not a work that begins with our own power. It starts with the new life that is not of the world. The disciples had been born into a new life that was not the same as the world s life. They were no longer living under the same master and no longer had the same life and character as the world. They were now not of the world. The disciples were now partakers of Jesus spiritual life and they had entered this path of sanctification. Here the point for me and you: if you have not first entered new life by faith in Jesus, then you cannot grow in holiness. You can change some habits and may appear more holy. But unless you have been born again by the Spirit of God, you cannot grow in newness of spiritual life. We must start with the Gospel and then pursue sanctification. We must first be justified with God or declared right with God before God begins sanctifying us. We must first have what s called POSITIONAL sanctification before we can have PROGRESSIVE sanctification. Today, I am talking totally about progressive sanctification. But sometimes theologians will rightly define our justified standing with God as our positional sanctification. When we trust in Christ, we are given the position or standing as righteous in God s eyes. That is our positional sanctification we are set apart, or sanctified, positionally as right with God. And what I m saying in this 3 rd point is that our progressive sanctification is generated by our positional sanctification. Our progressive sanctification is generated by the new spiritual life that becomes ours when we trust Christ as Lord and Savior. So listen: if you are trusting at all in your perceived growth in holiness to get you right with God, then friend, you are lost. You are not a biblical Christian and you are not headed for heaven if you are trusting in any holy deeds that you do to earn credit with God. Some of you have heard me mention the article in last week s local newspaper discussing Ash Wednesday. 4
At the end of the article, a man was quoted as saying that observing Ash Wednesday means a lot to him because it helps us remember that we must atone for our sins. [The Roanoke Times, 2/10/05, p. A-5] Friends, that is a lie; that is not the Gospel. The death of Jesus Christ alone can atone for our sins. No amount of holy deeds or rituals or anything can atone for our sins or add to the atonement that Jesus paid. So if you are not trusting fully and only in Jesus work to give you right standing with God, then you are still under God s wrath. The holiness we pursue must only be a result of new spiritual life that God gives as we trust in Christ alone. And thereby we must not combine or confuse positional holiness with practical holiness. Positional sanctification is our justification and right standing with God that forever declares us righteous in Christ. Progressive sanctification involves what God is doing practically in our lives to grow us in holiness day by day. That progressive sanctification is what I m focusing on today. And it is what the Bible usually refers to when it speaks of sanctification. That progressive sanctification is generated by new life. It does not produce or earn new life but it is produced by new life and is a result of new life. So where there is new life, sanctification will appear. If someone is truly born again, progress toward Christlikeness will be evidenced. If you are saved, then you will grow in holiness. So if you have no holy living and no holy longings, you need to question whether you have new life. A pursuit of holiness is an identifying mark of a true Christian because sanctification is generated by new life. But lest anyone think that we have no responsibility in this work of God, Jesus points out the means God uses to sanctify. Jesus words in verse 17 are rich treasures to direct our energies rightly in pursuing sanctification. Verse 17 gives us our 4 th point about sanctification today. Jesus says in verse 17 that sanctification is guided by the Word. We ve seen that sanctification (1) is given for your joy; (2) granted in the world; (3) generated by new life. Now 4 th ly, read verse 17 to see that sanctification is guided by the Word. [READ] As I said before, this is Jesus 2 nd main request for the disciples in this prayer and this whole section revolves around this appeal. Jesus desire was for the disciples to be set apart unto God. That s the general, basic meaning of the term sanctify even as it s used of vessels in the OT that were purified and set apart for holy use. And it also involves a setting apart for God s work, like a priest or Levite was sanctified for a specific purpose. 5
All of that is involved in Jesus desire for His people to be sanctified. And the means He uses to do that is His Word. It s not through a ceremony or ritual or reciting something or through some event or emotional experience. It is through a growing knowledge and application of the truth. And that truth is objective it exists as a real and supreme standard of right and reality. And where do we find that truth? We find it in the Bible, in the Word of God. Jesus made it clear that God s Word is the source and authority for truth & everything else must be evaluated by that standard. And Jesus calls it God s own Word when He refers to the revelation of God in the Scriptures and in Himself. The Bible is not a book of a bunch of different men s ideas about God collected together with traditions or mistakes. It is God s Word and as Hebrews 4:12 tell us, it is living and active. So as we read and meditate upon God s Word, His Spirit takes it and applies it to our lives and we are sanctified. That s the work of sanctification. Sanctification is guided by the Word. And just as growing in the knowledge and application of truth is a process, so also sanctification is a process. Sanctification is an ongoing growth in holiness. It is not an instantaneous snap that happens overnight or a jump to some special sanctified level. It is a continual development of Christlikeness in His people. In this hostile world of temptations to lead us away and difficulties to get us down, we need God s Word to continually sanctify us. If we want to be more holy and happy and more faithful and fruitful, we must spend time in God s Word. That s not all that complicated to understand, is it? If not, then why don t you spend more time in God s Word? Why don t you know more of the truth and why don t we continually meditate upon and passionately apply it? The world, the flesh, and the devil are at war against us and they work overtime to keep us from God s Word. So go hard after the truth strive to know the truth. You know there are parts of the Bible or doctrines of the Bible that you don t know that well go study them. You know there are areas of your life where you are tempted or need growth, go study what the Bible has to say about them. If you need direction or help or study aids, just ask. I could go on and on and on about the centrality and sufficiency of God s Word for all of life and ministry. 6
We could read Psalm 19:7-11 or Psalm 119 and 2 nd Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 nd Peter 1:3-4 and so many more verses attesting to the treasure and tool that God s Word is for our lives. Please do not underestimate the value we must place on God s Word. Sanctification is guided by the Word. And as we know more of the Word and are changed more by the Word, we become not only more holy but also more useful. And that s what Jesus says in verse 18. [READ] Here s our 5 th point today: sanctification is geared for outreach. God doesn t sanctify us here so we can sit in a closet. God makes us holy to spread His glory through us to the world. Sanctification is geared for outreach! The Father had sent the Son to seek, serve, and save the lost world. And similarly Jesus sent the disciples into the world. The disciples and by extension Christians today too are sent by Christ into the world to spread His glory. As verse 15 said sanctification is not an escape from the world. But more than that, sanctification is not a pursuit of isolation from worldly people while still remaining in the world. You maybe have heard it said that we must be in the world but not of the world. Christians must be in the world but not of the world. That biblical thought comes from these verses. We are not to live like the world or be of the same character and motivation and lifestyle as the world. In that sense, by the life inside and out, we are not of the world, as Jesus said in verses 14 and 16. We dare not try to become like the world to win the world. And we dare not be drawn into worldly ways by the deceitful work of the devil. We must be so clearly separate in our morality and motives that we expect the world to hate us and what we stand for. But we must live in the world in order to make a difference. We must be engaged with our world because Jesus did not intend to take Christians out of the world. Instead, He wants Christians to be salt and light in the world. And we need to hear this because we are comfort-loving Americans who can easily rationalize our Christian comforts too. We love our families and the blessings of having Christian homes and we love other Christian families and the blessings of common commitments as fellow Christian families. And it s great to have Christian friends in our neighborhoods and at our workplaces and to do Christian things with Christian themes at Christian places with Christian faces. But if that s all we do then we are missing the point of remaining in the world. 7
God hasn t left us here to isolate ourselves in monasteries or convents, whether those are formal places or informal patterns in our lives. Sanctification is not to take place in isolation. It is to take place in the world and be demonstrated to the world. We must not assimilate into the world and become like them. But we also must not isolate ourselves from the world and not care about them. That s how we must be in the world but not of the world. Jesus sends His people into the spiritually complacent, confused and combative world to represent Him and tell others about Him. We can do everything else better in heaven. So we need to be warned against thinking that God is sanctifying us just for us. He is not increasing your holiness so that you can hide it. He does not grow you in the knowledge of His Word so you can sit around knowing why everyone else is wrong and never telling them. He doesn t transform our lives so we can shake our heads at the problems around us and roll our eyes in contempt at their folly. Sanctification is geared for outreach. God makes us holy so we can be pure channels of His truth. Don t strive to be holy merely so you can be different from other people and avoid them and their problems. Strive to be holy so you can prove God s solutions to life and then get your hands dirty helping others apply those solutions. We gather as a church to worship and be built up in the truth, but that s not merely to smooth out our lives. It also has an outward focus. We gather so we ll be more fruitful when we scatter. All that we do until God takes us from this earth has an outward, evangelistic thrust to it. That includes missions and evangelism as well as other service. It may be training younger believers in the basics or in how to have a Christian home or how to do biblical evangelism. But we must have an outreach focus if we are going to apply this 5 th point that Jesus makes to us. So what are you going to do about that? What can you do to reach out even just to people who come to this church or people you already know? Can you plan to have someone over for lunch on Sundays? Can you be praying for and planning chances to evangelize? What can you do to direct your life outward? Do it get involved in the world and make a difference. And pray for us as a church to do it better. May God help us care about the world we live in. 8
Sanctification is geared for outreach. And lastly, we see 6 th ly today that sanctification is grounded in Christ sanctification is grounded in Christ. Read verse 19 with me. [READ] Jesus set Himself apart as the Suffering Servant so that the disciples and believers of all ages could be sanctified. Jesus consecrated Himself to be the spotless, pure Lamb of God sacrificed for sin so that His followers could be holy. He voluntarily gave Himself for the sake of all of His disciples through time so that we could be saved. His perfect sacrifice completely atoned for sin and His perfect life fully provided righteousness. And He applies His atonement and His righteousness to all who trust in Him alone for new life for now and forever. Sanctification is only possible because of what Jesus Christ has already done in coming to earth, living without sin, dying as a Substitute, and rising again. Without the life and work of Christ, no sanctification could happen. So Jesus said that He set Himself apart so that His followers could also be set apart unto God. So if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then I urge you to do so today. Give up on yourself and begin the joy-giving, Word-guided, new life that Jesus gives today. And Christians, please look at our precious Jesus and see His compelling concerns for His people. He revealed that sanctification is generated by new life and given for our joy. Sanctification is granted in the world and geared for outreach. And it is guided by the Word and grounded in Christ. Meditate upon these truths and see how they might grow you in sanctification this week. Let the truth sink deeper into your soul and make a difference. Understand this biblical doctrine of sanctification and enjoy applying it for the rest of your life. And as Hebrews 12:14 says, Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Pray with me. His work of sanctifying Himself is the basis for God sanctifying anyone else. Only by coming into a relationship by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone can a person enjoy sanctification. Sanctification is grounded in Christ. 9