Sanctification — What Is It?
Text: John 17:17
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Doctrinal
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Define sanctification from its biblical usage — what the core meaning is and what it does not mean.
- Identify at least four categories of things, animals, and people that were sanctified in the Old Testament, and explain what the variety of applications teaches about the word's meaning.
- Explain what the New Testament's use of sanctification has in common with the Old Testament's — why the meaning does not change.
- State five specific agents or means by which sanctification occurs in the New Testament, and identify the primary means.
- Explain when a Christian is sanctified — at what point in the process of coming to Christ the sanctification occurs.
Thesis
Sanctification means to set apart — to consecrate something or someone for God's specific use or service. The word carries no inherent reference to moral sinlessness; it refers to the status of belonging to God, of being separated from common use for sacred use. In the New Testament the church and every person in it is sanctified in Christ — set apart from the world, consecrated to God — at the moment of entry into Christ. The means include the truth, the will of God, the work of the Spirit, and the act of Christ; all of these converge at baptism into Christ.
Burden
One of the first laws of intelligent investigation is to inquire into the meaning of things. Much time is wasted, and deception is multiplied, when people use a word before defining it. "Sanctification" is among the most misused words in theological discussion: it has been used to mean moral perfection, emotional experience, a second work of grace, and personal spiritual development. The biblical word means none of these as its primary referent. Before any of these applications can be evaluated, the word must be examined carefully — in its Old Testament usage, its New Testament usage, and the agents through which it operates.
Introduction
"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (John 17:17). This is the Lord's own definition of what sanctification involves and how it happens: it happens through the truth. The word is God's truth. The act of being sanctified is the act of being set apart by and through that truth.
The word "sanctification" (hagiasmos) comes from the same root as "holy" (hagios) and "sanctify" (hagiazō). The root meaning is separation — the movement of something from the realm of the common to the realm of the sacred, from ordinary use to God's specific use. This meaning runs consistently through every Old Testament and New Testament appearance of the word family.
I. The Biblical Definition
The definition can be stated positively and negatively.
Positively: to set apart for a special purpose; to dedicate to God; to consecrate; to make holy; to separate from other things or persons. The act of sanctification is an act of transfer — taking something out of the category of common or profane use and placing it in the category of sacred or dedicated use.
The sign that follows sanctification: when something is "set apart for God," it is always called holy. "Consecrate to Me every firstborn" (Ex. 13:2) — "set apart for the Lord all the firstborn" (Ex. 13:12). The firstborn that is consecrated to God is the firstborn that is holy. Sanctification and holiness are the same thing described from two directions: sanctification is the act of setting apart; holiness is the resulting status.
The Ezra example makes this concrete (Ezra 8:24, 28). Ezra set apart twelve men from the Levites to carry the vessels and gifts from Babylon to Jerusalem. These twelve were ordinary Levites — not priests, not elders, not distinguished by their rank. Ezra set them apart for a specific task. And then he told them: "You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy" (Ezra 8:28). The holiness of the twelve men and the holiness of the vessels they carried was the holiness of having been set apart for a specific service. They were not more morally pure than the other Levites; they were specifically dedicated.
II. Bible Examples
The breadth of the Old Testament's use of sanctification is important: it is applied to things, to animals, and to people — which means the word cannot be primarily about moral character.
Things sanctified. Mount Sinai was sanctified — set apart for the giving of the Mosaic law (Ex. 19:23). The mountain had no moral qualities; it was a geological feature. It became holy by being set apart for God's specific use. The tabernacle and all its vessels were called holy (Ex. 40:9-10; Heb. 9:13; II Chron. 5:5) — tables, lampstands, curtains, clasps of bronze. A person could sanctify their house to God (Lev. 27:14) or their field (Lev. 27:16-17, 21). Fasts were sanctified — "consecrate a fast" (Joel 1:14; 2:15-16). The Sabbath day was sanctified (Neh. 9:14): "keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). In every case, sanctification is the act of dedicating the thing to God — the thing itself remains what it was; its status before God changes.
Animals sanctified. All firstborn males were sanctified (Ex. 13:12). Animals offered in sacrifice were sanctified — set apart from ordinary use for the altar. The animal being sacrificed had no moral qualities that distinguished it from any other animal; it was set apart.
People sanctified. The firstborn of males were set apart for God (Ex. 13:2). All Israel was sanctified — set apart from the nations: "you shall be holy, for I am holy" (Ex. 19:10; Lev. 11:44). The Levites were set apart from the other tribes (Num. 8:14, 17) — not because they were morally superior but because God had designated them for the service of the sanctuary. The house of Aaron was set apart from the tribe of Levi for the priestly service. Jeremiah was sanctified before he was born: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jer. 1:5). People also sanctified themselves: "Those who sanctify and purify themselves" (Isa. 66:17) — they set themselves apart through the act of dedication.
The range of the examples — from mountain to animal to prophet to the entire people of Israel — makes the point definitively: sanctification is not primarily about moral condition. It is about being set apart and belonging to God.
III. God Sanctified Things, Animals, and People
Just as people could sanctify things (Job 1:5 — "Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all"), God himself performed acts of sanctification. The agent of sanctification in the Old Testament could be a person, a community, or God himself. The act is the same in each case: the transfer of something from common to sacred status, from ordinary use to God's specific use.
IV. New Testament Sanctification
The New Testament uses the same word with the same meaning. The change from old covenant to new covenant does not alter what sanctification means — it changes who is sanctified and how.
Christ himself was sanctified. "Do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?" (John 10:36). The Son was set apart by the Father and sent into the world. And he sanctified himself: "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth" (John 17:19). He set himself apart — consecrated himself to the specific work of redemption, the sacrifice that his mission required. Christians sanctify him: "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts" (I Pet. 3:15) — set him apart as the Lord in the center of your life and allegiance.
Christians are sanctified in Christ (I Cor. 1:2, 30). "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus." The perfect passive participle — "those who have been sanctified" — describes a status already established. The Corinthians are not working toward sanctification; they are already in it, because they are in Christ. "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30). Christ himself is their sanctification.
The church has been sanctified (Eph. 5:26-27). "That He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word." The church's sanctification is accomplished through the washing — the cleansing that happens through baptism and the word. The result: "holy and blameless" (Eph. 5:27). "Holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling" (Heb. 3:1). "A holy temple in the Lord" (I Cor. 3:17). "A holy nation, a royal priesthood" (I Pet. 2:9). Every member of the church is sanctified and holy — the same language applies to individual and community alike.
All members are sanctified when they come into Christ or the church. The moment of entry and the moment of sanctification are the same moment.
V. How Are We Sanctified or Made Holy?
The New Testament gives multiple instruments by which sanctification is accomplished — they all converge at the same point.
Through the truth (John 17:17). The word of God is the instrument of the Spirit's sanctifying work. The truth that sets apart is the gospel — the word that calls, convicts, and commands the obedient response.
By the will of God (Heb. 10:10). "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." The sanctification is grounded in God's own will — not in human decision or achievement but in the divine determination to set apart a people for his Son.
By God (I Thess. 5:23). "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely." The agent is God himself — sanctification is ultimately his act in the person who receives it.
By Christ (Heb. 13:12). "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate." The blood of Christ is the specific instrument of sanctification — the price that purchases the people whom God sets apart.
By the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:16; I Cor. 6:11; II Thess. 2:13; I Pet. 1:2). "In the sanctifying work of the Spirit" (I Pet. 1:2). "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" (I Cor. 6:11). The Spirit is the agent who applies what Christ accomplished.
In Christ (I Cor. 1:2; Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3-4). "To those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus." The location of sanctification is the location of the Christian: in Christ. Entry into Christ — through faith expressed in the obedient act of baptism — is entry into the sanctification that Christ has provided and the Spirit applies. "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Gal. 3:27).
Application
Two applications follow from the definition:
First: the confusion about sanctification is mostly a confusion about what the word means. When "sanctification" is taken to mean "moral perfection" or "emotional experience" or "a second work of grace," every text about sanctification seems to demand something beyond ordinary Christian life. When "sanctification" is taken to mean "set apart for God's use, belonging to him, consecrated to his service," the texts make straightforward sense: Christians are sanctified — set apart, belonging to God, consecrated — from the moment they enter Christ.
Second: the status of sanctification is not the same as the ongoing pursuit of holiness. To be sanctified is to have the status of belonging to God. To pursue holiness is to live in a way that corresponds to that status. Both are real; neither eliminates the other. The Christian who is sanctified (set apart, belonging to God) is called to live as what they are — to pursue the practical holiness that their sanctified status requires.
Conclusion
Sanctification means to set apart — to consecrate, to transfer from common to sacred use. The Old Testament applied it to mountains, vessels, animals, and people. The New Testament applies it to everyone who has entered Christ. The Christian is sanctified — set apart by God's will, through Christ's blood, by the Spirit's work, in the truth — at the moment of entry into Christ. The church is a sanctified community. Every member is, by virtue of their membership, holy — set apart, belonging to God.
This is not an achievement to be worked toward; it is a status to be lived from.
Invitation
The sanctification that the New Testament describes is entered through the process Christ described and the apostles commanded: believing in him, repenting of sin, confessing his name, being baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (I Cor. 6:11) — being washed, sanctified, and justified in that single act of obedient faith. The person who has not yet come to Christ has not yet been set apart. The door is open.
Believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Repent. Confess his name. Be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). And be set apart — consecrated, made holy, belonging to God — in that moment.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctify / Sanctification | hagiazō / hagiasmos | To set apart, consecrate, make holy — to transfer from common to sacred status. | Used throughout as the defining term of the sermon's subject. | The primary meaning is status — belonging to God, set apart from common use — not moral perfection. The breadth of OT examples (mountains, vessels, animals, people) establishes this definitively. | John 17:17; Ex. 13:2, 12; I Cor. 1:2, 30 |
| Holy | hagios | Set apart, consecrated — the resulting status of something that has been sanctified. | Used throughout as the predicate that follows sanctification: what is set apart is called holy. | Holiness and sanctification are two aspects of the same reality: sanctification is the act; holiness is the status. A mountain, a vessel, an animal, a person — all can be holy in this sense. | Ex. 19:23; I Pet. 2:9; Heb. 3:1 |
| Consecrate / Set apart | hagiazō (also: aphorizō — to separate, mark off) | To mark off, separate from, assign to a specific use or person. | Used throughout for the various agents and instruments of sanctification. | The word describes the decisive act by which something is placed in the realm of the sacred rather than the common. It is done by God, by people, and by Christ — always with the same result: the thing set apart belongs to God. | Jer. 1:5; John 17:19; I Thess. 5:23 |
| In Christ | en Christō | Located in Christ — union with Christ as the sphere in which spiritual realities are found. | Used in I Cor. 1:2 for the location of sanctification: "sanctified in Christ Jesus." | Sanctification is not achieved outside Christ and brought in; it exists inside Christ and is entered when the person enters him. "In Christ" is the location where every spiritual blessing — including sanctification — is found (Eph. 1:3). | I Cor. 1:2, 30; Gal. 3:27 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| "Sanctify them in the truth" — the Lord's own definition | Intro. | John 17:17 |
| "Set apart" = "holy" — Ezra's twelve men | I.c | Ezra 8:24, 28 |
| Mt. Sinai sanctified — things can be made holy | II.1a | Ex. 19:23 |
| Firstborn males sanctified — animals and people | II.2-3 | Ex. 13:2, 12 |
| Jeremiah sanctified before birth | II.3f | Jer. 1:5 |
| "Sanctified in Christ Jesus" — status at entry | IV.1c | I Cor. 1:2, 30 |
| "Sanctified through offering of Christ" — God's will | V.2 | Heb. 10:10 |
| "Washed, sanctified, justified" — in Christ and the Spirit | V.5 | I Cor. 6:11 |
| "Baptized into Christ" — where sanctification is located | V.6 | Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3-4 |
| Baptism for remission — entry into sanctification | Invit. | Acts 2:38 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 142. No primary text stated; doctrinal/definitional — John 17:17 used as the governing text ("Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth"). OCR corrections: "lll." → "III."; "SANCTJFIED" → "SANCTIFIED"; "B)" → "By"; "SANCTIHED" → "SANCTIFIED." Doctrinal audit: sanctification defined from the breadth of biblical usage (things, animals, people) as "set apart for God's use" — not moral perfection; the NT application developed without weakening the status/reality of Christian sanctification (I Cor. 1:2, 30); the moment of entry into Christ established as the moment of sanctification (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3-4; I Cor. 6:11); five agents/means carefully distinguished without setting them against each other; invitation retains full obedient response (Acts 2:38).
