Set Apart for Holiness
In the prayer of Jesus, he was very concerned about three things for his disciples...their unity, protection and holiness.
Three things Jesus prayed for his followers
- Unity - John 17:11 protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one.
- Protection - John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
- 3. Holiness v17-19
John 17:17-19
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Definitions –
Sanctify -
hagiazo (hag-ee-ad'-zo); to make holy, i.e. (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: KJV - hallow, be holy, sanctify., to set apart for divine or sacred purposes
Truth –
aletheia (al-ay'-thi-a); truth: KJV - true, truly, truth, verity.
not merely ethical "truth," but "truth" in all its fullness and scope, as embodied in Him; He was the perfect expression of the truth; this is virtually equivalent to His statement in John 14:6; "truth," not merely verbal, but sincerity and integrity of character, a way of living
John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
World-
Kosmos – the organized world systems, the orderly arrangement, including people
When He talks about in the world / not of it he is not thinking geographical but spiritual
“world” is not a place on a map but a spiritual domain – the way the world works
Lets read this passage again and break it down…
John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Sanctified by truth
- Only what is Holy can make holy - In the Old Testament thinking the holiness of God is opposed to what is secular or profane. The Holy God makes things holy
- God is God by virture of his distinction, His difference, his transcendence, his otherness in respect to all rest of creation
- Mountain, temple shovel, priestly garment, a people- that belong to him or serves his purpose should be considered holy and not used for common purpose
- In the Common Jewish Prayer; God sanctifies (consecrates) men through His commandments. Through his Word
- The process of being Made holy through:
- separation – cleansing / purifying – placing into God’s service
Distinguished separation / segregation
2 Timothy 2:20-21
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
- Cleansing / purifying
Sanctify them by the truth, you word is truth – without the objective guidance of historic revelation, the church becomes a ship without a rudder – God’s Word brings cleansing
John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
God’s word – the message of His way of living – is right, good and true and will have effect on the lives of those who will receive and respond to His word. We grow in holiness as we are able to connect God’s Word (His truth and ways of living) with our lives.
We must grow in wisdom and knowledge of His Word as well as experiencing God in our lives
3 lessons of Growing in knowledge of God’s Word:
1st lesson of knowledge – any experience that departs from the loyalty to Jesus is a mistake
2nd lesson = any experience that departs from God’s word is a mistake
3rd lesson = the Spirit of God never contradicts what has previously been given by Jesus or God’s Word
Here on Sunday’s we have a time we call God stories – an important part of our worship, to hear how God is working in someone’s life. there are times someone will share an experience and then share a verse of scripture that pertains to their experience. I long for the day when we begin to hear stories of how God’s Word is shaping someone’s actions and God stories are springing from the life of the person because God’s word is making a difference in their life.
- Placed into God’s service
Heb 2:21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
Sanctification is always for mission 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
It is God’s activity in the world bringing truth, light, salvation
Disciples have a mission similar to Jesus and should see their purpose for living is not their own but shaped by God for the mission he has for them
Over and over Jesus teaches, demonstrates and assigns actions to teach his disciples that he expects them to carry this message to the rest of the world.
Luke 10:1-3
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
After his death and resurrection and before he left earth to return to heaven he said…
John 20:21-23
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
We are set apart, made holy, sacred, for a purpose – to make others holy by the amazing message of God’s love expressed through his son Jesus…
We are Sanctified because of Jesus - Key verse of prayer
John 17:19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Self dedication to his greater mission
Jeremiah 1:5
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
What makes this important is that As a result of Jesus consecration, His disciples benefit “for the sake of” - the sacrificial death
John 6:48-51
48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
Jesus is recommitting himself to the mission assigned by His Father and this priestly mission involves his sacrifice
His sacrificial death provided the opportunity for our holiness and the purpose for our mission
Through His death on the cross the disciples experience something they never knew before. His sacrifice and death enables them to experience a new holiness, and identification, a deeper attachment with God and a reason to live
The challenge of Sanctification – relevance – “IN the world but not OF it”
Christians are to do the work of Christ in the world – His hands and feet, bringing the kingdom into reality wherever they go
When they face challenge and conflict it is the unity with Christ and one another that will serve a profound witness to their opponents
Over and over, when confronted, Christians from places such as Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Iran, Sudan, China, when they experienced severe persecution, the church’s unity so impressed its oppressors that many converted and joined its ranks
It is by your love that the world will know you are my disciples
As the church separates itself from the world, it begins to lose its ability to connect with those who are unbelievers living in the world. In other words, the pursuit of godliness may compromise the ability of the church to reach the world.
In the former Soviet Union, pastor Sergei Nikolaev writes about what happened when the church was isolated for seventy-five years. They had lost a common language with secular Russians, and unbelievers felt as uncomfortable with Christians as Christians felt uncomfortable about newcomers walking through their doors.
The answer – Jesus
- He lived the truth,
- Proclaimed the truth
- Called people out of the world to live the truth