May God, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV)
Being made holy and set apart are two terms used to describe sanctification. These two meanings have great significance in our Christian walk and life.
When God regenerates and resides inside us, He sanctifies and sets us apart. The process of sanctification begins the day we believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him to be our Lord. and continues till our very last day on Earth.
The Bible also uses other terms to describe sanctification as ‘becoming holy, imitating Christ, growing in godliness, maturing spiritually, dying to the flesh sin, being transformed, and renewing the mind’.
God’s role is to sanctify us, and our responsibility is to respond to Him by surrendering ourselves daily to His Spirit. the Lord will transform us until we resemble His image. It is progressive, just as a father corrects, nurtures and guides His children.
The goal of sanctification is to prepare us for service in the kingdom of God.
