“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

The will of God is more than a simple wish or hope that God has to sanctify His children. God’s will is His command, and what He wills, He accomplishes in every aspect of His saving His children. It is according to His eternal purpose and will that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, “What doest Thou?” (Daniel 4:35) How then has God accomplished the salvation of His children? How are God’s children sanctified?

1.) By His electing grace in Christ Jesus:The elect were sanctified (set apart) to Holiness (Christ their Holiness) by the Father from eternity in electing Grace. God’s children are sanctified positionally as vessels of Mercy rather than those who are vessels of wrath, 1 Peter 1:2, Jude 1:1.

2.) By redemption in the LORD Jesus Christ by His death at the cross: As the High Priest of His elect people, He sanctified Himself for them so that they are made in the likeness of His image upon completion of His cross work, 1 Corinthians 1:30, John 17:19. We are not justified in one way and sanctified in another. We are sanctified as well as justified by the Grace of God. We are sanctified as well as justified by the blood of Christ. Faith is the evidence of having been sanctified by God the Father and the Son, not the cause, Ephesians 2:10.

3.) By regeneration of the Spirit of God: God’s children have been sanctified by the Spirit of God. This means being set apart experientially by the new birth, and made alive by the Spirit of Christ indwelling His elect redeemed ones, “…sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth.” (1 Peter 1:2) To continue in this sanctified state (set apart in conversion) is the preservation of the saints...set apart and kept by the Spirit of Grace.