The Sequence of Sanctification, Pt. 1 (08/27/2000)

The Doctrine of Sanctification and the Two Major Divisions

Turn with me this morning to John chapter 17 don't know how wise that is to put praise before the preaching because then a preacher can't preach because he's Thinking about the goodness of God. We've been talking about fruit bearing you can turn that down just a little bit for me Greg.

Let's see just a little bit more. That's pretty good. I think we've been talking about fruit bearing lately and And going through a series on that and it is associated with directly associated with the doctrine of sanctification and so last Sunday We mentioned that today we're going to preach a doctrinal message on on this doctrine.

It's more of a teaching message and So I'd like to do that with you for a few moments we're going to be primarily in John chapter 17. But I want you to look at a couple of marvelous verses turn over and look at Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 10.

To start out with this morning. And while you're turning, let me start to lay up an outline in your minds. There are two Large divisions under which we can discuss the doctrine of sanctification. First one is called positional sanctification and the second one is called experiential sanctification or some people call that Experimental sanctification, but I don't like that one.

I like to call it experiential because it has to do with your experience in time. So as we've said in the last couple of studies the this particular study of all things takes you. It brings the the time the outside of time Concept of the Father together with the inside of time concept of us walking in time.

It brings those issues together. It brings together the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in a way in which we cannot fail to see it it Brings together the fact that God is outside of time.

God the Father is Not bound by time. He is the eternal I am the present tense all the time it brings that together with the fact that in Jesus Christ and by his Holy Spirit the Father can project himself into time and Walk with us and talk with us in the garden so It really brings it all together so remember that we have two big topics the positional sanctification and Experiential sanctification and then we'll have some other thoughts about it kind of woven into those two.

Let me get you to look at a verse that represents each of those two major Divisions first of all Hebrews chapter 10 and look at verse 10 with me. We might as well read I want verse 10 and verse 14. So I'll just read down through and and do all of them here.

This is so marvelous. We could read the whole book of Hebrews and study this in this book. But Hebrews fact we're gonna end we will end up with some more time in this book towards the end of the study when we get to experiential sanctification.

Well positional sanctification Hebrews 10 10 by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all and Every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins, but this man After he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever Sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

For by one offering he hath. Already, I'm gonna insert that just to help interpret it a little bit. He hath already perfected forever. Them that are already sanctified. Now that's positional and you see why as we read it, but you'll see a little more of that later now.

Let's give you an experiential sanctification verse just so you you see what I'm talking about. Experiential means in your experience it means in your day-to-day experience in your walk in this world in this time in which God has placed you and Always remembering that he is walking with you in time.

First John 3 and Starting with verse 2. This verse 2 kind of touches on both aspects. But verse 3 is going to be that the end time or the experiential aspect of sanctification. Beloved now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.

But we know 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 Purifies himself. Even as he is pure that phrase purifies himself is Experiential sanctification it happens in time now.

It's interesting just to jot down and on the margin of your notes there that Experiential sanctification has two sub parts one is Passive and the other is active. We'll just put it in grammatical terms.

And by that I mean even in time there is one aspect of it that God does to us Through the Holy Spirit Through his word and there's another aspect of it. There's we're supposed to do to ourselves. And I would call that the active part.

The passive part is what God does to us. So just kind of keep that in mind as we go through this study that gives you kind of groundwork and the terminology. That we're going to talk about. Let's talk for a moment about Positional sanctification.

Positional Sanctification in Time and Dimension

Let me give you some more subheadings and then we'll give you a couple of subheadings for Experiential and then I'm gonna spend the rest of time Tonight. No this morning talking about a little bit out of John chapter 17.

So Really the introduction is going to be the doctrinal part and the message will be out of John 17 Positional sanctification. Let me give you some subdivisions of that. First of all, let's call the first one positional sanctification with regard to time and dimensions.

Okay. Time and dimensions. So that would be like big a under big Roman numeral one. All right. We're talking about positional sanctification. The first main idea is that we can talk about it with relationship to time and dimensions.

Well in that idea. The first thing we would look at is the end time vantage point. So let me give you some verses about that. Look at Acts chapter 20 in verse 32. Now let me put it this way when I say in time.

When we're talking about positional sanctification. It's what God does to us. But if we want to talk about it from an end time viewpoint and what we're doing is we're looking from time back. Outside of time.

So we're going to look backwards from our vantage point. We're going to go all the way back to the time when time began and then we're going to jump out into there somehow but. So the point is we're talking about things that perhaps happened before anything was made, but we're looking at it from now.

So we call that eternity past which really if you think about it doesn't make sense to say it that way. But it's from our viewpoint. Because if God is in the now all the time, he's the great I am. It's funny to talk about eternity past being past because it's always it's just now.

But from from our point of view in time, we can't think that way really very well. Can we because we think in sequence so we'll start from where we are this morning. We'll go back on the timeline all the way back to the beginning and then jump out into there and and we'll see Some of this happening now, let's look at Acts chapter 20 in verse 32.

Now remember all this fits under the category of positional and we'll describe more in detail what that is. As we go through this acts 2032 and now brethren I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and To give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Now the first part of that verse we'll use later when we come to the study on experiential sanctification. Because it talks about the word the Word of God and the fact that what you choose to do with it Will make a difference in time as far as how strongly you are built up.

It is no secret that those who are the strongest in The congregation are those who are in the word the most all other things being equal. But let's look at the second part of the verse for this morning right now because it deals with positional sanctification and I want you to notice it notice where it says and to give you an inheritance among them Which are sanctified.

I want you to look at the phrase are Sanctified them which are sanctified. Let me give you the grammar on it. It's perfect. It's in the perfect tense It's passive and It's in the participle participle mode.

So what does this mean? First of all perfect in the Greek is the same as it is in English. And I want you to jot this down if you don't already have it in your mind so that when we talk about it's in the perfect Passive.

I Want your mind to just click and know what this means? Perfect means It in the English and in the Greek it corresponds To the fact that it describes an action start right here. I got my messed up start right here.

It describes an action Which is viewed as having been completed in the past once and for all Not needing to ever be repeated. When you find something in the Greek language and in the English language, which is in the perfect tense past perfect tense, for example the perfect tense means That it is an action which has already been completed in the past Once and for all and will never need to be repeated again.

That is the tense that we find the phrase which are sanctified in in this verse. So in Acts 20 32 It's a very interesting verse because it brings the experiential in time aspect together with the positional Going back to where it started and jumping out into there.

Because what it says is that the Word of God right now in time as you choose and make choices To read it and to meditate upon it and to consume it will strengthen you and It's speaking to it will not strengthen everybody.

But it strengthens those that are his and it says this it's to you who have an inheritance among all them which are Sanctified but in the Greek language you're looking back into eternity past and it's saying this was you were sanctified once and for all.

And it never has to be repeated again. That tells you an awful lot about this act. What does passive mean? It means you did not do this to yourselves. I Didn't do this to me. It means someone far greater than us Did this to us and his name is the father?

And so It's perfect, which means it's already happened and it won't ever be done again. It's a once-for-all Concept and it's passive which means he did this to us. He did this To us. It's not something we can do.

It's participle, which is the same as adding an ING to it in English. So you might translate it this way That he is giving you an inheritance among them Who having been sanctified once and for all? Having been sanctified once and for all give you another verse where this is found in Jude 1.

It says Jude the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to them that are sanctified perfect passive participle. Them that are sanctified by God the Father. So who does we say it's passive is something done to us.

So who does the action to us God the Father and we are preserved in Christ Jesus and called. What a wonderful verse that is we'll talk about this preserved part in a few moments. So we see then that This is From an inside of time vantage point, but we're looking back to a place Where time is eternal to see where this happened to us and that amazing now.

Let's go beyond this just a little bit we can if you want to if you want to really Really jump off out there if you want to really get into the place where the father is right now. And I'm going to use the term Dimensions to describe this because that's the best way that I can understand at this point with with our understanding of the way Things are in in the world around us both from the word and also from nature that the book of nature that God gave us Science and so forth.

I'm going to use the term dimension because it's my theory anyway that the father is in a different dimension than we are. Now he's in a much higher dimension. There are some physics. People who study quantum physics who said that the day that Jesus entered into the room?

Without opening the door if you remember that that he had to be in at least the ninth dimension. As opposed to we being in a three-dimensional world he had to at least be in a nine-dimensional world and.

So the same man who wrote that says, but I think the father is in a an infinite dimension. Now what's interesting about dimensions is whatever dimension you're in it's impossible for you to understand the one dimension above you even.

So if we want to talk in the terms of four of a four dimensional or a five dimensional world. We'd really be it'd be difficult for us to even discuss it. We being in the three dimensions can look down and think a little bit about a two-dimensional world.

But we don't have time to get into that today, and I've talked about it before so some of you heard me Talk about that, but you can think of a two-dimensional world understand it because you're what you're one dimension higher.

But it's but if you were the person in the two-dimensional world you couldn't understand us. Okay, I have to do it. Let me just show you two dimensions is like this. It's as if you lived on a flat piece of paper.

So I'm going to draw Richard and Deborah. I'll let you all decide which one's which here. Okay. Can you see this? Okay. Now I want you to think about this. Richard and Deborah are in what may we'll call the flatland world.

Okay. Now if Richard wants to look at Deborah. You have to visualize that by turning the page this way. See here's Richard over here. He's going to look this direction, but he can only do it like this.

So if he looks To his left how does Deborah look to him in a two-dimensional world? Like a line. Now but if you and I look at I should have drawn some curves on there. I Should have made this more realistic if we look at this we see curves.

Sorry Richard all right, but Richard can only see it this way. Now if if we go into a third dimensional world though. And let's just say that God was in the three-dimensional world, which he's not he's beyond that that's where we are but You can pretend my finger is is the finger of God and God can come down to within one millionth of an inch of this paper and Neither Richard and Deborah can see his fingers.

It's not on the paper. It's not it. They can't see three dimensions. They're just food. They only look sideways. So I can actually get closer to both of them no matter how close Richard gets to her. If I represent God I can get closer to both of them at the same time.

Then either one of them can be close to each other at any time you see that because all I have to do is just come This direction and get close. Matter of fact I could draw you know Several hundred people on this paper, and I can get close to all of them at one time.

Where's they can't figure out how I can do that they can't even see me? Now what if I stuck my finger down into their world what would they see or what if we draw me. You want to do that? Let Debra draw me.

Oh. No, don't even want to think I know exactly what she would do. Okay, there's me. Okay. What are you laughing at back there notice? I didn't show that one as long as the others. Didn't have to well.

But what would they see even if I came down in their world a a line? But that's not really all there is to me is it? So That gives you an idea of how we can understand a dimension below us the two dimensions.

But the two dimension Flatland people here, they they can't understand us at all. Now if you take God, and you say he's in a an infinite dimension or whoever knows what it is exactly. How can we begin to think we can comprehend everything about that place in that time and him?

I started saying that time, but it's a one of the aspects of that dimension is there's no time there. So nothing happens in sequence. It's all now. So we can't figure out how it looks we can't figure out how to figure out how it works.

We just know that it is and so let's get into that place a little bit now. This is going to be kind of like looking at a straight line. But the wonderful thing is if I could be a straight line and be down in Flatland with Richard and Debra if I could talk to them in their language I could help them see more than just a line about me now.

They'd have to believe me though wouldn't they because they couldn't see it with their eyes. They would have to just believe me if I said hey Rich and Debra. I'm not a straight line and You're not either.

You just think you're a straight line, but you're far more beautiful than that. You actually have dimension to yourselves. You you have things about yourselves. You've never seen and will not see why you're on this in Flatland.

But someday I'm going to take you out of this place. And you're gonna see yourselves you're gonna see me as I am and then you're gonna be like me. Wow. Well, let's look at Romans 830. You didn't know physics preached so good did you.

Think that's good. Wait till you get in the Bible here in a minute. Romans 830. If we want to look at sanctification from the totally outside of time vantage point. We can do it with Romans 830 and it ceases to be called sanctification.

Has a new name moreover. Whom he did predestinate them also he called in whom he called them also. He justified in whom he justified them. He then he also glorified. Isn't it interesting that that's in the past tense from our vantage point which God's telling us it's done deal with me.

So if you jump off outside of time where the father is we're already glorified which is the end result of sanctification. Now in time where you have not yet attained have we? But from the father's vantage point we have because he sees us from his dimension.

He's not in Flatland only and He has to come down on that page in the form of Jesus Christ or his Holy Spirit in order for us to even deal with it and so Look at 1st Corinthians 611. I want to show you some interesting Interesting grammar that reveals some things in this verse and then also we're gonna look at 2nd Thessalonians 2 13 To discuss sanctification from the outside of time viewpoint.

Now. Remember we're still under the topic of positional. And you'll see why this this gets so marvelous as we understand more and more what positional really means. 1st Corinthians 611 and such were some of you.

We we were different before we were saved weren't we we were lost. But you are washed we were not only lost we were filthy. But you are washed. But you are Sanctified and we're gonna look at that in the Greek just in a moment this phrase you are sanctified but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Now this phrase you are sanctified is not in the perfect passive participle. It's in Errorist and that spelled a o r i s t and English doesn't have one of those. It's one reason God put this in the Greek I think.

Because the language can give us more colors. Eroist and in passive Indicative is the tense. Now errorist is very very interesting to me because not only do we know already know that we're dealing with an outside-of-time Dimension, but this places you there because let me give you the definition of aorist.

It means punctiliar action, okay, got it. Let's go on move right on. Punctiliar means now. Always like if you could draw a point and just be on that point all the time punctiliar. Without regard to time is what it actually means without regard to time.

It's like the best way to describe eternal now. And So we are sanctified in the punctiliar since in the errorist tense in the Greek language, it means. It's just it's your position all the time. It doesn't change.

Time doesn't affect it. It's without regard to time and it's passive still which means who did this to us? Let's be specific that actually the father. Now that's the Holy Spirit also, but as we come into time.

That's how he's going to project himself into time and do the experiential part. But this is a part that was already done. So you're right though Richard because the Holy Spirit's outside of time, too.

That's what's amazing about the Holy Spirit and in fact matter of fact, Jesus is too, but the Holy Spirit is. The is the father spirit so he is outside of time. Can do positional sanctification and he can extend himself into time and be in sequence and take part in the experiential Part two, which we'll get to later.

So I'm really glad you said the spirit because I was gonna say the father but it's both. Now because the the spirit is the spirit of the father, I mean he's one God now. This is interesting. Remember how the other one was passive participle.

This one is passive indicative. Now remember heiress means Pontellier without regard to time. Passive means the father did it to us indicative, you know what that means a statement of Fact you can't change it.

It's not like a theory. It is a very strong Statement. This is the way it is God says and that's just the grammar tells us that in first Corinthians 611 now if that weren't enough. Let's look at the second Thessalonians 2 13.

We may never get to John 17 this morning it'll be this afternoon probably. It's okay. There's only 12 points under John 17. I'm kidding if it were true I wouldn't tell you because my wife taught me a long time ago.

Don't tell them how many points there are. Because you get to about you know number seven you're going oh five more. Now we're gonna talk about the trumpets. Now we're gonna talk about the seals. Okay, second Thessalonians 2 13.

But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you brethren. Beloved of the Lord now that phrase. That phrase right there takes you all the way back to Deuteronomy 6 verses 6 and 7. He's only talking to the beloved of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6 and 7 says. Those are his people whom he has known from the foundation of the world and his love was placed upon them before he made anything. It had nothing to do with their merit. It had nothing to do with anything They did to the Israelite nation.

He said I didn't choose you because you're the greatest of nations. In fact, you're the most nothing of the most nothing it says in the Hebrew. He says I choose you because I loved you. I Choose you because I loved you and it goes all the way back to eternity past and so he says Brethren beloved of the Lord those that the love the Lord has loved always.

This is written to those that God's love has been upon from eternity past and he says because God hath from the beginning Chosen you that sounds good in English, but man, it sounds really good in Greek from the beginning chosen you to salvation through Sanctification this is where our doctrine comes in for today of the spirit and belief of the truth.

We're into he called you by our gospel. That's in time to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's in time and beyond time into eternity future. The whole purpose of this is that you might be to the obtaining that what does obtain mean to get?

For one's self. This is that you might get for you that you might have let's put it this way that you might have The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ while you're here and when you get there Christ in us the hope of glory.

And if we do get to John 17, you'll see that. Yeah. I mean we will get there the Lord willing. But now let's go back though from this little phrase where it says because God hath from the beginning Chosen you to salvation.

From the beginning the word from is the little Greek word Oppo now I warned you this was a doctrinal lesson this morning. There's a teaching time. I want you to get some of this in your notes oppo literally means to separate from and then proceed forth from out of so so It's like it's in a place and it separates from it and goes out of it.

That's what this little word means. And so when it says because God hath from the beginning Chosen you the word beginning is the word RK in the Greek language. Which means the origin of all things the origin that the great origins of anything you see and know.

From out of that place Is where this choosing took place? Are you with me? If you go back to the origin, which means the great Beginning of everything, you know and see in the universe and you go back to that place.

Separating from that place and coming out from it. Is this choosing that he has done and He has chosen us unto Salvation but it's through the channel of sanctification which is of the Spirit and Belief of the truth and the two Jesus said my word is truth.

So it's the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that makes this come to pass in time. But never forget that it came forth was separated forth and came out from another place and dimension that has no time in it and it came to us from that place and so it is positional in the sense that it is Beyond our comprehension.

It is outside of time. It has nothing to do with time. It's punctiliar. You learn a new one today now He hath chosen us this is fascinating. To me and that's really all I have to do is interest myself and and I can keep preaching.

So if I get bored, we're all in trouble. If you get bored, I just keep right on moving. Mm-hmm. He hath chosen in this verse is a little different than in the verse we just looked at. Because this is in the second aorist.

Isn't it great when you love to know Greek, you know, not only have aorist which English doesn't even have but we got two of them. But the good thing for us English speaking beings is that the second aorist as far as we can discern is Basically the same and so what does it means mean it means punctiliar action?

That is the concept of the verb is considered without regard for past present or future. That's what it means the second aorist tense. I'll give you a definition. It's very similar. It's the same really as the air aorist.

Punctiliar action that is the concept of the verb being considered without regard for past present or future Time so we take time out of the picture. So he says God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation he takes time out of the picture.

So that means this didn't happen in time. This happened before time or outside of time. Now. This is in the middle voice, which is a little different we've been talking about active and passive which is what English has.

Greek has one another one called middle the middle voice and This is interesting. Let me give you a definition for this the middle voice in Greek Indicates The subject performing an action upon himself.

We kind of have reflexive I guess in English, but We don't really have exactly the middle voice, but this pictures the subject Performing an action upon himself and for his own benefit. Let me give you just a simple example in grammar the boy groomed himself.

That's the closest thing that English has to to the middle voice the boy groomed himself it is Active in the sense that he did the action to himself, but he did the action not only to himself. But he did for his own benefit.

Now that is the tense. This is found in so think about this because what it says is God Has from the beginning chosen you to salvation. You know what the Greek tells me he did it for his own benefit. He did it for God not for us but don't we benefit from it secondarily and Sometimes in our little flatland world.

I lost Richard and Deborah. But here we are. Sometimes all we look at is the fact he did it for us, didn't it? That's okay. I mean if that's all we know if that's where we start when we first get saved.

That's okay, because we're looking at straight lines and we're saying God saved Jesus died for me. That's okay with me but when God comes down on that flatland and you look at him as a light and he says I'm not a line and You're gonna go out of this place where you can see and I'm gonna tell you something deeper than that I died for you that Jesus died for you.

He's gonna say Jesus died for me Gee Jesus died for me in the middle voice because I chose you in the middle voice. Which means I did this for my own benefit. Because I love you so much. I did it for me.

Because I love you, and I want you with me and where I am there. Shall you be also? Just the Greek just the grammar from this verse tells us this. But we're bound to give thanks always to God for you brethren Beloved of the Lord all the way back to the beginnings when he loved us because God has from the beginning chosen you for himself.

To salvation to benefit himself to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. You know one reason we Baptists believe once saved always saved is because God did the saving for himself not for us.

He did it for his benefit. He's not going to let it go or he wouldn't have done it in the first place. And he hath chosen us and it's also indicative which means what simple statement of fact not a theory.

Not something debate. God says this is the way it is and That's pretty amazing so we talk about Sanctification from the point of view of the fact that it's positional with regard to time and dimension now.

Let's talk about for a second here positional from the point of view of actual position. In other words, I mean It is the state you are in because God has placed you there. It is the position you're in because God put you in that position.

It's the family you're a part of because he is birthed you into that family his family. It is the occupation that you have because he's given you this occupation. You're his servant you're called to be a Key a priest and a king and Your children of the king.

It is your position. Let me give you one good verse that points out and stresses that first grant first Corinthians 1 2. So not only are we sanctified with respect to outside of time in time and the dimension aspect.

We're sanctified with regard to actual position our state our place. We're in you might even say citizenship. We're made citizens of his kingdom. That's a position. He put us in. But look at this verse on position 1st Corinthians 1 2 unto the Church of God, which is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord both theirs and Ours.

What a what greater position then could we have then to be in Christ Jesus? So our sanctification is positional it is Something that is beyond anything we can do to damage it. It is something that we did not achieve on our own.

It is passive means the father did it to us from his point of view. It's active and He did it as a benefit for himself. We can't touch that. It happened before we came into this world just like a baby doesn't decide to be born to his parents the parents decided and The parents don't have the baby for the baby.

They have the baby for the parents because the parents want a baby. And the father did the same thing to us and so it is positional. It comes from outside of time to us and it's positional in the point of place and state and citizenship and occupation and name.

And all that we are and I'm not even close to where I wanted to get this morning. But you're out of time because you're not excited as I am anymore because you're sitting there and I understand that. So we're gonna pick this up right where we left off next time and really and truly we haven't gotten close to the good part yet.

But this was pretty good to me this morning, let's stand and have prayer together. This doctrinal lesson certainly took us into the heavenlies and so We'll have a word of prayer. When I get through praying if anyone would like to come and just spend a few moments with the Lord.

Are you gonna play? And Paul will play in just a moment as soon as we finish praying you. You do what the Lord wants you to do and what you want to do at this time of the service for father. We thank you for your word.

We thank you for the grand heights. It takes us beyond our Comprehension into a place that doesn't have time a place that never changes a place where you are immutable unchangeable and You tell us that our sanctification came from you from that place and therefore it is immutable and unchangeable cannot be affected by us or any other creature in the universe or time itself and We thank you for that aspect of sanctification.