What a beautiful Bible verse! Jesus is about to be betrayed by Judas into
the cruel hands of the religious Pharisees. I always marvel that
demon-possessed people ran and fell at Jesus' feet worshipping Him, while the
religious Scribes and Pharisees sought to murder Him...
Mark 5:2-6, “And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,”
Luke 19:47, “And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.”
Isn't that mind boggling? I mean, people afflicted of devils were running to Jesus to worship Him, while the highly respected religious men in the community were conspiring to murder the Savior!
We learn some beautiful truths from the Gospel of John. Jesus is about to be betrayed into the merciless brutal hands of the Roman soldiers, in whom dwelleth “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” The Devil (the accuser of the brethren) inspired those soldiers to brutally beat the Son of God, spit upon Him, mock and berate Him, strip Him naked in public shame, and then ultimately crucify Him to a wooden cross. JESUS DID THAT FOR YOU AND FOR ME!
In John chapters 13-16 we find Jesus saying His goodbyes to His disciples, and spiritually preparing them for the traumatic events ahead (His crucifixion, Peter's denial and the disciple's suffering). John 13:1, “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” The Lord prepares them for after He is crucified and gone home to be with His heavenly Father.
In John 17 Jesus spends the entire chapter praying to the Father, pouring His heart out in great affection for His beloved friends who have followed Him for years. John 17:15-18, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” I explained what is going on in the surrounding chapters, so you can grasp the context in which Jesus prayed for the Father to “SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH: THY WORD IS TRUTH”! Carefully notice that it is God Who sanctifies the believer, and not we ourselves! God sanctifies the believer through THE TRUTH OF THE WORD OF GOD!
To be “sanctified” means to be “set apart.” It refers to the believer's growth in grace process as a child of God. What saith the Scripture? 1st Thessalonians 5:23, “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.” God wants each believer to be “WHOLLY” sanctified. Sanctification is a process that is facilitated through THE TRUTH of God's Word. The Christian believer is sanctified (made holy) by the inspired Word of God. John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” There are three aspects of sanctification which separate (to set apart) the believer: from the penalty of sin (justification), the power of sin (maturity), and the presence of sin (glorification). One of the most edifying sermons you'll ever hear by Pastor Jack Hyles is called: “Steps In Sanctification; Or, The Root Of All Heresy!” (MP3). In other words, we are saved in a moment by trusting Christ, but becoming Christlike takes a lifetime!
Jesus said that He sanctified Himself for our sakes. John 17:19, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” The word “sanctify” here does not refer here to personal sanctification, for Jesus had no sin and was already 100% holy; but rather, it refers to Christ setting himself apart entirely to the work of redemption. Hebrews 13:12, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” We are set apart from the curse of the law by the precious blood of Jesus Christ through faith alone.
Sanctified from Sin by the Inspired Word of
God
What
saith the Scripture? ...
John 17:15-18, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”
In the preceding passage of Scripture, the Lord is praying to the Father not to remove believers from the world, but that the Father would KEEP US FROM THE EVIL. This happens through sanctification by the inspired Word of God. What saith the Scripture? Psalm 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” What saith the Scripture? Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Either sin will keep a believer from the Holy Bible, or else the Holy Bible will sanctify a believer from sin.
Jesus is our divine intercessor in Heaven today. Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” What saith the Scripture? 1st Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”
Web visitors often ask me how to overcome problematic
sins in their life. The answer is to saturate your mind and heart with the
inspired Words of God. GET INTO THE SCRIPTURES!!! What saith the Scripture?
Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against thee.” One of the most effective
ways to combat sin in one's life is to MEMORIZE passages of Scripture. That
is what we just read in Psalm 19:11... THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MY HEART THAT
I MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST GOD!!! An idle mind is the Devil's workshop! When
sinful thoughts enter into our mind (lust, hate, envy bitterness, et cetera)
we must immediately CAST DOWN those wrong thoughts and BRING THEM INTO
SUBMISSION TO THE WORD OF GOD. 2nd Corinthians 10:5-6, “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; And having in a readiness to
revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” Jesus
commanded us in John 5:39a to “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES...”
The Mystery of the Godhead
I
don't claim to understand all the workings of the Godhead (aka, Trinity).
The Bible calls the Godhead “THE MYSTERY.” Colossians 2:2-3, “That their
hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches
of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of
the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of
Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The
Bible says Jesus is interceding in Heave for every believer. The Bible says
God's Holy Spirit is praying for every believer! Romans 8:26-27,
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the
hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” In Romans 8:9
that Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of Christ.” Romans
8:9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Notice the capital “S”
for Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit, which is also called Christ's Spirit.
There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), Who exists in the three distinct
persons of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew
28:19-20). This is indeed a mystery, but it is BIBLE TRUTH!
There is so much rich doctrinal meat here for the hungry believer. Carefully read the following beautiful related passage. Notice that “the Word of God” in verse 12 is referred to with the masculine pronouns “his” and “him” in verse 13. Jesus is “The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13b)...
Hebrews 4:12-16, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Jesus is our heavenly High Priest, our Mediator, our
Savior! Jesus is every believer's heavenly High Priest, physically sitting
on the right-hand of the God the Father!
There's a Woeful Ignorance of God's Inspired Word in This Apostate Generation
Heresy is flooding into fundamental churches today by the hour! ...
The Bible is not the book many American fundamentalists and political opportunists think it is, or more precisely, what they want it to be. Their lack of knowledge about the Bible is well established. A Pew Research poll in 2010 found that evangelicals ranked only a smidgen higher than atheists in familiarity with the New Testament and Jesus's teachings. "Americans revere the Bible—but, by and large, they don't read it,'' wrote George Gallup Jr. and Jim Castelli, pollsters and researchers whose work focused on religion in the United States. The Barna Group, a Christian polling firm, found in 2012 that evangelicals accepted the attitudes and beliefs of the Pharisees—religious leaders depicted throughout the New Testament as opposing Christ and his message—more than they accepted the teachings of Jesus. [emphasis added]
SOURCE: The Bible: So Misunderstood It's A Sin!; Newsweek, by Kurt Eichenwald - December 23, 2014.
There is a famine coming of the inspired Word of God in the world, because of all the many hundreds of counterfeit Bible versions. Men cannot be sanctified unless they have “THY TRUTH.” John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
I was listening to the King James Bible today and I heard the following passage, which says that Jesus' heart was moved when He saw that the people were scattered, “AS SHEEP HAVING NO SHEPHERD.” That is how I feel as I look at the apostate condition of the churches today! Matthew 9:36-38, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” All across the country people are naively following false prophets, like Evangelist Ray Comfort and Dr. John MacArthur, who are suave and appealing, but they are preaching a counterfeit plan of salvation. Oh, how God-fearing preachers and layman alike need to proclaim the inspired Words of God today!!!
