Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SANCTIFY, SANCTIFICATION

The act of making something or someone clean or holy. In Christian theology, sanctification is usually understood as an act or process subsequent to salvation which renders the believer holy in fact (as opposed to justification, which is a legal declaration of innocence).

In the OT, especially in the prophets, sanctification was understood as the whole process by which God is cleansing our world and its people. His ultimate goal is that everything — animate and inanimate — be cleansed from any taint of sin or uncleanness (Ezek. 36:25-29; 37:21-23). Heb. qdš occurs as a verb, “to be set apart, consecrated,” and an adjective (“sacred, holy” [thing, place, person, etc.]), whether that quality was applied to God, or places, things, persons, or times sanctified by (or to) God. The people were to be a “holy nation” (Exod. 19:6). In order to facilitate their sanctification, God established a holy priesthood (Exod. 29:1; 1 Sam. 7:1).

A less frequent term, Heb. ṭhr (“to be clean, pure”), describes cleansing in a physical, ceremonial, and moral sense. There are “clean” animals (Gen. 7:2, 8; 8:20) and “pure” metals (Exod. 25:11-39), “clean” people and things (Num. 18–19). The Lord’s words are “pure” (Ps. 12:6[MT 7]), his eyes “too pure to look on evil” (Hab. 1:13).

Something may be separated from God by sin and uncleanness. One can obtain forgiveness from sin by offering the appropriate sacrifice for sin; cleansing from uncleanness requires the appropriate purification ritual. Such rituals can be divided into water rituals, for people and things that can be cleaned, and fire rituals (usually destructive), for severely contaminated things, especially those which cannot be cleansed.

A person who has contracted uncleanness must bathe, wash his clothes, and wait until evening (Lev. 11:38; 15:1-32; Num. 19:11-13). Greater amounts of uncleanness required more complicated ceremonies and additional ingredients (Lev. 14:1-9; Num. 19:1-22). Under the right conditions, even water could be made unclean (Lev. 11:33-35). However, water from a spring (“living water”) or underground cistern was always considered clean. This is why “living water” became so important (Lev. 14:5, 6, 50-52; 14:52; 15:2, 13; cf. John 4:10, 11; 7:38).

Ultimately, the NT teaches that the sanctification of the world takes place at a personal and individual level. Those who choose to be sanctified by the Spirit must cooperate in the process (1 John 3:3; Rev. 22:11) — just as in the water purification rites of the OT. This process removes the sin but “saves” the individual. The Spirit’s role in sanctification begins before conversion with conviction (John 16:8-11), includes cleansing the believer at conversion (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:1-2), continually washing him or her from sin after conversion (John 4:10-14; 7:38-39; cf. 1 John 1:7-9), through guiding him or her in righteous living (John 14:26; Rom. 8:5-13; 1 Cor. 2:9-16).

Purification by fire included a variety of materials: clothing or leather with any kind of destructive mildew (Lev. 13:47-59) or a house from which mildew could not be cleansed (Lev. 14:33ff.; cf. Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen. 19:24; cf. Luke 17:29-30; and idolatrous Jerusalem, Jer. 4:4).

People who refuse to cooperate with the Spirit’s work of sanctification are punished with fire. God will use this method to “cleanse” the earth of the presence of sinful people (Isa. 66:24; cf. Matt. 25:30, 41, 46; Rev. 20:11–21:1; cf. 2 Pet. 3:10-13).

Timothy P. Jenney

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SANCTIFY, SANCTIFICATION

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)