Chapter 5 - Sanctification
There is more to God's call in
our lives than to merely receive His redemption so we can go to heaven when we die.
Consider this:
The true church is an obedient people.
This is a hard but true saying. To eat His flesh and drink His blood
(John 6:53-56) is to utterly lay down our lives for Him to accomplish His absolute and
perfect will in our lives. Nothing else matters.
The true servant is Jesus. Jesus was absolutely devoted to
accomplishing His Father's will. It was Father's will that led Jesus into Gethsemane. It
was Father's will that led Him before Caiaphas and Pilate. It was Father's will that
nailed Him to a cruel Roman cross. It was Father's will that He die upon the cross and
shed His undefiled blood for the sins of a defiled world.
The true church--those who are true disciples--are those who bear the
brand-marks of His servanthood (Gal. 6:17), who so render their own vessels dead to sin
that He can reign and rule as sovereign Lord in their lives.
The true church is an obedient people.
Three Dimensions of Man
There are three dimensions to man. He is a living soul with a spirit
and dwells in a fleshly body. He has been redeemed in his spirit. He is being renewed in
his soul which consists of his mind, will, and emotions. But his fleshly body is corrupt
and fallen and is subject only to the grave and decay. Only in that great resurrection of
the dead will the holy ones of God be redeemed in their bodies. At that time, they shall
receive for themselves their glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:35-50).
These three dimensions are all touched by the three feasts of Israel
and the three courts of the Tabernacle. Working from the inside out, the spirit of man is
redeemed and justified in the fulfillment of Passover. The soul (personality) of man is
being renewed day by day, sanctified, in the fulfillment of Pentecost. Then, in the
fulfillment of Tabernacles, when His holy ones are caught up in the air and gathered into
Him, they will receive their glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:49, 52).
The only healings of our present human bodies are temporary: "Though
our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16).
Growing Up
It is this inner man of the soul (personality) of which I now speak,
whose human spirit has been redeemed.
Having been redeemed, he has become a new creature in Christ Jesus (2
Cor. 5:17). He is a babe in Christ. He is to "grow up into Him in all things, who
is the head, even Christ" (Eph. 4:15). A maturation is expected.
He is to grow up into Him; that is, into Christ Jesus. He is to take on
the nature of His Father. He is to be conformed into the image of the Son (Rom. 8:29). He
is being transformed by the renewing of his mind that He may prove what is the acceptable
and perfect will of the Father (Rom. 12:2).
A process has begun in him that is intended to bring him onward and
upward into the high calling of God in Christ (Phil. 3:14).
There is only one way he can come into this upward calling and that is
through the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. Thus, we leave the outer court of
Passover and go into the Holy Place of Pentecost, carrying with us the sacrificial blood
of the Lamb. For we now need the power of His Lordship working in us.
Three Baptisms
In a sense we have three baptisms. Hebrews 6:1-2 reads, "Therefore
leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the
doctrine of baptisms..." Notice the plural on baptisms.
1. Baptism in water
We are baptized in water which is our first act of obedience having
come to Christ in faith. The children of Israel symbolized this when they crossed over the
Red Sea from Egypt (the world) into the wilderness (a time of testing and preparation).
The scriptures explain, they "were all baptized into Moses" (1 Cor.
10:2). The laver for cleansing in the outer court represents this baptism (washing) upon
redemption.
Those witnessing Pentecost asked what must they do. Peter answered
plainly, "Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins..." (Acts 2:38). This is the first thing every new
believer must do.
Water baptism is associated with the washing away of sins. In Acts
22:16, the apostle Paul is testifying to his conversion and how that Ananias charged him, "Arise,
and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
Any believer can baptize another believer in water. Water baptism
represents our baptism into Jesus--into His death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:4).
2. Baptism in the Holy Spirit
This second baptism, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, can only be done
by Jesus Himself. John the Baptist proclaimed that, "I indeed baptize you in
water unto repentance: but He that comes after me...He shall baptize you in the
Holy Ghost and fire" (Matt. 3:11).
This first occurred on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2.
Jesus Himself told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Father
at which time they would be baptized (immersed) in the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:4-5). "But
you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you..." (Acts
1:8).
The Holy Spirit is given for the explicit purpose of giving us the
power of His Lordship. If Jesus Christ is to be Lord in deed and not in word only, one
must be empowered with the Holy Ghost; one must of necessity be immersed in the Holy
Spirit of God. That's where the power is. One must of necessity go on from the outer court
of Passover to the Holy Place of Pentecost.
If one expects this renewal process, this growing up into Him to take
place, he must humble himself and receive this immersion in His Spirit.
It is not enough to learn more and more Bible. It's not enough to have
well-defined doctrines. It's not enough to be religious even in your daily life. It's not
enough to hear eloquent sermons on Sunday, sing in the choir, teach Sunday School, visit
the sick, and so on and on.
Unless a change is transpiring within the soul of man, unless he is
being brought to perfection, to holiness from within, he will not see the Lord.
Those who refuse this baptism will have to be content to be numbered
among those of whom the scriptures speak, "Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof..." (2 Tim. 3:5).
3. Baptism of His sufferings
We are first baptized into Jesus as expressed through the outward act
of water baptism. Secondly, we are baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire that we might have
His power to go on into His Lordship. Then, thirdly, through this baptism in the Holy
Spirit and fire, the way is made for us to be baptized into His sufferings. It is a
sharing in His sufferings. The Holy Spirit performs the baptism of suffering in our lives.
Matthew 20:20-23 tells about the time when the mother of James and John
asked Jesus if He would grant that her sons would sit one on His right hand and one on His
left hand in His Kingdom. Jesus answered, "'You don't know what you ask. Are you
able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I
am baptized with?' They said to him, 'We are able.' And He said to them, 'You shall drink
indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with...'"
Jesus was not mincing words here. They very well understood that this
baptism had to do with a suffering unto death, a participation with Him in His death
(Matt. 20:18).
Such is the consecration of overcomers. "And they overcame him
[Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved
not their lives unto the death" (Rev. 12:11).
According to Luke 22:31-34, Jesus warned Peter that Satan had asked for
him that he might sift him as wheat. He then comforted Peter by telling him that he had
prayed for him that his faith should not fail.
Peter boasted, "Lord, I am ready to go with you, both to
prison and to death." Peter really believed that he was ready.
Then Jesus told Peter that before the cock crowed three times that day
he would deny Him. And three times Peter did deny Him.
In John 21:15-19, we see that Jesus restored Peter. The original Greek
wording of this event reveals something very interesting between the two of them.
First, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. The Greek word agapeo
is used for this love which carries with it the idea of self-denial.
The Greek word that is used to convey Peter's answer was phileo
which has a more brotherly, affectionate, soulish, self-interest meaning to it. He did not
answer with the self-denial kind of love.
A second time Jesus asked, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love
[agapeo] me?"
The second time Peter answered with phileo as if to say,
"You know I love you affectionately."
Then the third time Jesus asked, "Do you love [phileo]
me?" As if to ask, is that all?
Having already failed once, Simon could no longer make such a boast as
is involved in agapeo. He could only answer with affectionate love.
Simon wanted so much to be able to say, "Yea, Lord," but he
knew there was nothing within his own strength to make such a vow.
Then, precious Jesus said to Peter (vv. 18-19), "'Truly,
truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you wished;
but when you are old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you and
carry you where you do not wish.' This He spoke signifying by what death he would glorify
God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, 'Follow Me.'"
Jesus was not simply asking Peter to follow Him out of the room. He was
calling him to follow Him unto death.
Peter's previous boasting later became God's promise. And after all was
said and done in Peter's life and ministry, he not only went to prison but to death,
following his Lord in this baptism of suffering. However, he did not go through this
baptism in his own time or strength--only in God's!
Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered (Heb. 5:8). "And
being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:8).
We are being brought to obedience, to servanthood, to sonship through
the things we suffer, through our participation in His sufferings.
Children, Sons, and Fathers
With regard to our being brought into sonship, we once again see things
unfolding in threes. Three in the Bible generally is the number that speaks of the
fullness of testimony.
1 John 2:12-14 speaks of children, sons, and fathers. Fathers are
children-centered. They care for the children. Sons are father-centered. They care for the
things of father. They want to fulfill his will. But children are typically self-centered.
And so it is in the Kingdom of God.
Those who remain in the outer court are children. Those who go on to
the Holy Place are sons. And those who reach the realm of maturity in the Holy of Holies
take on the nature of Father. They are Abrahams.
Having been a child, we never lose that childlike nature. It is the
only way we can come into the Kingdom. We are born into it as babes. Having been a son, we
never lose that. Even as fathers we remain privileged as children in Father-God's house,
and we remain servants as sons in Father-God's house. All three natures remain. But we are
to grow up into Him.
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things"
(1 Cor. 13:11).
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
As children, we are self-centered. We are subject to the discipline of
the Lord to bring us to maturity (Heb. 12:5-11).
If we willfully despise this discipline and thereby reject God's
process to grow us up into Him, we shall remain self-centered and self-seeking and thereby
miss the whole idea of discipleship.
If we are self-seeking, we are carnal, fleshly.
If we are fleshly, then we are idolaters. We worship ourselves and are
given to our own wills instead of God's.
If we are idolaters, then we are harlots. All idolatry in the Bible is
viewed as spiritual harlotry--going after other gods. Spiritual harlotry is anything for
self.
Consider who Christ is coming for when He returns. He is coming for "a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). He is coming for a people who have been
separated from sin, self, the world, and the domain of Satan. The bride is the one of whom
Revelation 19:7 speaks, "...His wife has made herself ready."
Christ is not coming for the harlot nor for a people with harlot
hearts. He is not coming for a rebellious bride. He is coming for and will gather up unto
Himself those who have eyes only for Him, who are radically intent upon following Him
wherever He goes (Rev. 14:4).
The true church is an obedient people.
The only way one can come to this place of obedience is through the
baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. It is the baptism "in" the Holy Spirit. We
are immersed, filled, soaked, saturated, consumed in the Holy Spirit of God. Who wouldn't
want that / Him! And He's all for the asking if the intent of our hearts is right.
It is not a doctrine to be debated or an experience to be sought after
or rejected. The baptism is a relationship with God in the power of His Holy, divine
Spirit.
He, the Spirit of truth, is the force that projects us onward into the
high calling of God in Christ. You cannot get to the Holy of Holies of Tabernacles without
first doing service in the Holy Place of Pentecost.
Baptism in water takes place in the outer court of Passover. The
baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire takes place in the Holy Place of Pentecost. Both
baptisms have as their ultimate spiritual goal to bring us to the only baptism that really
counts--the baptism into Jesus where we are wholly, totally crucified with Him and raised
up in Him--where we have become, as it were, Him.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me"
(Gal. 2:20).
To be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God is to be filled with His
praise, His power, His purposes, His plans, His program, His perfecting processes, His
purging, His purifying... His everything.
This is the sanctification process without which we shall not see the
Lord (Heb. 12:14).
Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles Compared
Before leaving this chapter, let us see how this sanctification process
fits into the three feast days.
Healing and deliverance are given in Passover (not in Pentecost as many
Pentecostals assume). Passover is the cross. The cross is the laid-down life. Many are
preaching a salvation without the cross. Yet, there is no salvation apart from the cross;
that is, the laid-down life. To preach a salvation without the cross is not the true
gospel.
Pentecost is the power of Passover. We must be baptized (immersed) in
the Holy Spirit and fire for us to live the crucified life. The indwelling Holy Spirit is
our ability to walk in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Passover without Pentecost is law. Jesus is the law written in our
hearts. He is also the ability in us to live according to that perfect law of liberty.
Thus He gave us His Holy Spirit that we might be clothed with power from on high. To
accept the Jesus of Passover and reject the Holy Spirit of Pentecost is to know what is
right and not have the power to do what is right. Therefore, we are left under the law. It
remains for us to do what is right in our own strength.
Pentecost, however, without Passover is deception. When we do not
understand that Pentecost is the power of Passover, we tend to go for the
"blessing." We seek the gifts for the sake of having the gifts. These become
ends in themselves. But the gift of the Holy Spirit is given that we might know Him
(Jesus) and the power of His resurrection.
Pentecost will always point onward to Tabernacles, which is the
fullness of Passover; that is, the cross and the laid-down life.
Healing and deliverance without the cross is superficial. We are not
healed and delivered because we are baptized (immersed) in the Holy Spirit and fire, but
because we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
Tabernacles is being gathered into Jesus. We are seeing the first
fruits of that historical event now. We have had the fulfillment of Passover and
Pentecost, but have as yet to witness the fulfillment of Tabernacles.
Tabernacles is the goal or completion of Passover made possible by
Pentecost. Salvation comes at the end. It is consummated in Tabernacles.