The Sanctifying Work of The Spirit

[Christsfreeservant]

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.​

​

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:1-5 NASB1995)​

These words are addressed to the chosen (the elect) of God, of Jesus Christ, who have believed in Jesus Christ via God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus, a faith which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, not of human flesh. And this faith is divine persuasion as to God’s righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to turn from our sins and to follow the Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands.

We who believe in Jesus Christ with this childlike and God-persuaded faith in him are to now be different (holy, separate) from the world, for we are now to be being conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, by God. We are no longer to do as the world does. We are not to live worldly and ungodly lives, still living to please the flesh, and not God. And because we are different, we will be like strangers (aliens) to those who are not like us.

For this was God’s plan for our lives even before he laid the foundations of the earth, that we will be holy as he is holy, set apart from the world, and set apart for God and for his service. And it is his will that we obey our Lord and his commandments to us, in practice, by his grace, in his power. Thus, by faith in him we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin.

Now, only because of Jesus’ death on that cross can any of us be saved from our sins. For in his death, he put our sins to death with him, so by faith in him we will now die to sin. And because he did not remain dead, but he conquered sin, death, and hell via his resurrection back to life, we can now live in him and for him by his grace, in his power, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, by the Spirit.

Therefore, we who are truly born again of the Spirit of God, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord, will be those who have died with Christ to sin and who are now living holy lives, pleasing to the Lord, in walks of obedience to his commands. This doesn’t mean we will never sin or that we will be perfect, but that sin must no longer be what we practice, but now obedience to our Lord should be our daily practice, by his grace.

For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For it is God’s grace which sent Jesus to the cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we can now die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, in obedience to God, by his Spirit, in the power of God.

However, if we should disregard the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles, taught in their appropriate context, and if we should choose to believe a half-truth false and diluted and altered gospel message, instead, and so we continue in deliberate and habitual sin and in walks of disobedience to our Lord and to his commands, then we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed.

So we cannot claim this promise of “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” if sin is still our practice, and if walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands is not our practice. So, please study the Scriptures in context, and die to sin and obey God to the end.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Caution: This link may contain ads

The Sanctifying Work of The Spirit
An Original Work / April 24, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love