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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 1:2, 24, 30; 2:7, 9-10, 12; 3:16; 6:11b
In the foregoing chapter we began to consider Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 1:2: “To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours.” We have seen that for the church to be of God means not only that the church belongs to God but also that the church comes out from God as the source. We have also seen that the existence of the church comes through the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. In particular, the church is produced of God as the source. In this chapter we will go on to consider the church sanctified in Christ as the sphere and element and also sanctified by the Spirit as the application with the divine nature.
In 1:2 Paul speaks of those who have been “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” To be sanctified in Christ Jesus is to be sanctified in the element and sphere of Christ. Christ is the element and sphere that separated us unto God, made us holy unto Him, when we believed in Him, that is, when we were brought into an organic union with Him through our faith in Him.
To be sanctified in Christ first means that we are put into Christ. Christ is a holy sphere, a sphere of holiness. Not only is Christ holy — Christ Himself is holiness. Because God has put us into this Christ (v. 30), we have been put into the sphere of holiness. Now that we are in Christ as the sphere of holiness, we are sanctified.
In Greek, the word rendered “sanctified” is actually a verbal form of the word for holiness. The word for holiness is hagios, and the verb that means “sanctified” is hagiazo. To be sanctified is to be made holy. Therefore, to be sanctified in Christ Jesus is to be made holy in Him.
Do you know what holiness is? Real holiness is Christ. The holiness in this universe is Christ Himself.
Among Christians there are three main schools of teaching concerning holiness or sanctification. The first school teaches that holiness is a matter of sinless perfection. This concept of holiness was taught by John Wesley. According to this concept, holiness is equal to sinless perfection. Certain denominations, the so-called holiness people, practice a kind of holiness that is of the school of sinless perfection. Furthermore, these denominations may require their members to obey certain regulations in order to be regarded as practicing holiness. These regulations include rules concerning clothing, makeup, and the length of their hair.
The teaching that holiness is a matter of sinless perfection is absolutely not scriptural. There is no ground in the Scriptures for this teaching. As we will see, according to the Bible, real holiness is not a matter of sinless perfection.
In the nineteenth century the Brethren, raised up under the leadership of John Nelson Darby, showed from the Bible that holiness is not sinless perfection. Using Matthew 23:17, they showed how the temple sanctified the gold. It was the temple that made the gold holy. These teachers pointed out that although there was nothing sinful about the gold in the marketplace, it was not holy until it had been offered to God and put into His holy temple. Only then was the gold sanctified. Furthermore, using Matthew 23:19, these teachers proved that, according to the words of the Lord Jesus, the altar sanctifies the sacrifice. When an ox or a lamb was still in the fold, it was common. It did not become holy until it was offered to God on the altar. Doctrinally speaking, these Bible teachers defeated the teaching that holiness is a matter of sinless perfection. According to this teaching concerning holiness, holiness involves a change of position.
These Bible teachers also appealed to 1 Timothy 4:4-5, which says that food is sanctified by the prayer of the saints. When food is in the marketplace, it is common. But when the food is placed on the saints’ dining table and is prayed over by the saints, the food is sanctified by their prayer. This is a further indication that sanctification means a change of position.
In light of all these verses, the Brethren taught that holiness is a change of position. Originally, our position was worldly and not at all for God. But when we were separated unto God, our position was changed, and, as a result, we became holy.
This teaching regarding holiness is correct as far as it goes. When we studied the different schools of sanctification years ago, we agreed with the teaching of the Brethren, for we saw that sinless perfection is not genuine holiness. However, there is a strong basis in the Scriptures to say that holiness is a change of position. Although it is true that holiness is a positional matter, through our study of the New Testament we have found that sanctification is also a dispositional matter. This means that sanctification is not only a change of position; it is also a change of disposition. Therefore, the sanctification revealed in the Bible includes dispositional transformation in addition to positional change.
I believe that this brief review of the different teachings with respect to sanctification will be helpful to us as we consider the significance of Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 1:2 concerning being sanctified in Christ Jesus.
Holiness is actually God Himself, and God is embodied in Christ. Therefore, Christ is our holiness. As our holiness, He is the sphere and element of holiness. Through Christ’s redemption, God has put us into Christ. Now that we are in Christ, who is the sphere and element of holiness, we are sanctified, made holy.
When I was young, I could not understand how Paul could say that the Corinthians were “called saints.” The condition of the church in Corinth was poor, and this book describes the negative things that were among the Corinthians. It seems that even the name Corinthians is negative. Nevertheless, Paul could address these Corinthians as saints. In themselves they were Corinthians, but in Christ they were saints.
What we have in 1:2 is the matter of being in Christ positionally. We should never despise our position in Christ. God has put us into Christ, and this makes it possible for us to experience the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. When we are in Christ, many positive things can be dispensed into us.
In 6:11 Paul says, “These things were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” In this verse washing, sanctifying, and justifying are not by the blood in an objective way, as in 1 John 1:7, Hebrews 10:29, and Romans 3:24-25. These are the subjective washing of regeneration as in Titus 3:5, the subjective sanctifying by the Spirit as in 1 Peter 1:2, and the subjective justifying in the Spirit as here. All these items of God’s salvation take place in us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, in the person of the Lord, in our organic union with the Lord through faith, and in the Spirit of God, that is, in the power and realization of the Holy Spirit. First, we are washed from sinful things; second, we are sanctified, separated unto God; and third, we are justified, accepted, by God.
In 6:11 the name of the Lord Jesus actually denotes His person. Hence, to be in the name of the Lord Jesus is to be in Christ. As we have seen from 1:2, this is a positional matter. However, to be sanctified in the Spirit is dispositional. When God put us into Christ, Christ’s Spirit came into us. Now we are sanctified not only in Christ; we are also sanctified in His Spirit.
To be put into Christ is a once-for-all matter. But to be sanctified by the Spirit is a lifelong matter. At the very moment we called on the name of the Lord Jesus, we were put into Christ. In this way we are now sanctified in Christ. Because God has put us into Christ, Christ’s Spirit has entered into us and has become the sanctifying Spirit within us. Now this Spirit is sanctifying us all the time and will continue to sanctify us during our entire life. Therefore, today we are still under the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
The sanctifying of the Spirit is actually the dispensing of the Spirit into us. This means that sanctifying is equal to dispensing.
We may use the simple process of making a cup of tea as an illustration of the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God. First we have a cup of plain water, and then we put a tea bag into the water. Little by little, the tea in the bag is dispensed into the water. Through the dispensing of the element of tea into the water, the water becomes tea. We may say that the water is “teaified” through this process of dispensing.
In making tea, we use boiling water, and then we stir up the water once the tea bag has been placed into it. This stirring up of the hot water causes more dispensing. The tea comes out of the tea bag and enters into the water to teaify it. This may be used as an illustration of the divine dispensing.
In our experience with the Lord, at times we may become cold. This coldness causes the divine dispensing to slow down. If we put a tea bag into cold water, it will be difficult for the tea to enter into the water. In like manner, it is difficult for God to dispense Himself into us when we are cold. For this reason He may use those in our family to “heat us up.” God may also use our situation at work or school to deal with our coldness and to make us burning for Him. Furthermore, He may use the saints in the church to stir us up. All this is a help to the divine dispensing. Then the element, color, flavor, and even essence of the divine tea will be dispensed into us. This dispensing is the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Have you ever heard that sanctifying is a matter of dispensing? Through our experience we have come to realize that the Holy Spirit is the sanctifying Spirit. This Spirit dispenses His element into us, and this dispensing of the Spirit is the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Therefore, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is simply to dispense His element and essence with His “flavor” and “color” into our being to make us “tea.” As a result, we become a good drink to the Lord and to others.
If you consider your experience, you will see that from the time you began to love the Lord Jesus, this divine dispensing has been taking place within you. At times you may have become cold; however, you were not able to remain in your coldness. Actually, it is not difficult to be burning for the Lord. On the contrary, it is difficult for us to be cold. Which is easier in your experience — to be cold or hot? From my experience I can testify that it is much easier to be hot than cold.
The real danger is that we may become lukewarm. Concerning this, the Lord Jesus rebuked the church in Laodicea, saying, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spew you out of My mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16). The Lord also told the Laodiceans to be zealous, boiling (v. 19, lit.).
We do not want to be either cold or lukewarm — we want to be hot, boiling. In order to make us burning for His dispensing, the Lord may use certain people or certain matters in our environment to heat us up and stir us up. God knows how to make us hot so that the dispensing of the sanctifying Spirit may work in us effectively. God makes us hot so that Christ, the heavenly tea, may be dispensed into our being.
This dispensing concerning which we have been speaking is for the existence of the church. The existence of the church depends on the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. This means that the church’s existence depends on God as the source, Christ as the sphere and element, and the Spirit as the application with the divine nature. Hence, through the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity the church comes into existence.
