Outline
D
Sanctification is the subjective activity of holiness; it is holiness in action:
１
Sanctification is the resurrected Christ as “the Spirit the Holy,” the sanctifying Spirit in our spirit, working Himself as God’s holy nature into our being to make us the holy city—1 Thes. 5:23; Rom. 6:19, 22; 15:16; 8:4.
２
The divine sanctification is the holding line in the carrying out of the divine economy, the process of God’s organic salvation as God’s move to deify man, making man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead—Heb. 2:10-11; Eph. 1:4-5; Rev. 21:2.
３
To live and serve as a minister of the new covenant is to walk in newness of life and serve in newness of spirit as a laboring priest of the gospel of God in order to present the saved sinners to God as an acceptable offering sanctified in the Holy Spirit—Rom. 6:4; 7:6; 15:16.
E
The ultimate goal of the dispensing of the Triune God is that God would be expressed through the Body of Christ for His glory in the church—Eph. 3:20-21; Rom. 8:19, 21, 28-30; 16:27:
１
The oneness in John 17 is the church; when the oneness is realized in a thorough way, by the full denial of the self, the Son glorifies the Father in the church—vv. 1, 21-23.
２
This indicates that wherever there is the proper church life, there is the glorification of the Father, for the church life expresses the Father.
３
To live and serve as a minister of the new covenant is to do all to the glory of God for the exaltation of Christ—Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 1:20; 2 Cor. 4:5.
F
The dispensing of the Triune God as life according to His righteousness, through His holiness, and unto His glory is for us to become the New Jerusalem with Christ as our solid foundation of righteousness, our pure constituent of holiness, and our radiant expression of glory—Rev. 21:2, 9-11.
G
Thus, the Spirit, as the processed and consummated God, and the bride, as the processed and consummated church, are joined to become a loving pair of one entity in life for eternity—22:17a; cf. 1 Cor. 6:17.
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 12:5 So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.16:27 To the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Sanctification is primarily an individual matter, whereas glorification is mainly a corporate matter. Suppose I lose my temper with my wife during the day. This damages my personal sanctification. Although I confess to the Lord and receive His cleansing, I may have no sense of the glory in the meeting that night…However, suppose I stay in fellowship with the Lord all day, even when my wife gives me a difficult time. Everything that happens during the day only helps the process of sanctification. Therefore, in the meetings, I will be able to sense the glory. This illustrates the fact that the more sanctification we experience, the more we will participate in the glorification.
Glory, the expression of God in the church, is God’s goal in His dispensing. However, sanctification is the process, and righteousness is the supporting ground. Therefore, the dispensing of the Triune God is according to His righteousness, through His holiness, and unto the goal of His glory. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 627-628)
Today’s Reading
The tabernacle of the Old Testament shows us that the Triune God is for our enjoyment. There are three parts to the tabernacle—the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. In the outer court is the righteousness of God, in the Holy Place is the holiness of God, and in the Holy of Holies is the glory of God…In the Holy of Holies is God Himself. The Ark of the Testimony is the very embodiment of God, and inside the Ark is the hidden manna, which signifies that God is our enjoyment. At the conclusion of the divine revelation, the New Jerusalem is called the tabernacle of God (Rev. 21:2-3). This tabernacle is the total, ultimate, and central outcome of all the work of God in this universe.The book of Romans…includes the steps of justification, sanctification, and glorification to meet the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. The first step of justification…from Romans 1:1 to 5:11…tells us that we are sinful and under God’s condemnation, but through the blood of Jesus, we have been justified. From 5:12 through 8:13 is sanctification, and 8:14-39 talks about glorification…To be sanctified means to be mingled with God…God has not only justified us but has also put us into Christ. God has identified us with Christ, has grafted us into Christ, and has made Christ one with us. We are now in Christ…Christ is the Spirit, and this Spirit is the Spirit of life [v. 2]. He is in you, you are in Him, and you have to learn to live not by yourself but by Him and in Him. To live by and in the Spirit of life is to be in the process of sanctification. Sanctification means to be mingled with the divine nature. Only Christ in His divine nature is holy. Romans 8:14-39 tells us that after we are justified and sanctified, we will be glorified.
Romans 9—11 is a parenthetical section that talks about God’s selection. Chapters 12 through 16 reveal the Body life. Thus, the book of Romans reveals the tabernacle of God. Justification through Christ’s redemption is in the outer court, sanctification is in the Holy Place, and glorification is in the Holy of Holies. The church life is the mingling of the Triune God with His chosen people. The three stages of justification, sanctification, and glorification embody the church life, the Body life. The church life is the Triune God (God as the source embodied in Christ and realized as the Spirit) mingled with His chosen people. These chosen people are justified, sanctified, glorified, and built together to form the tabernacle, the Body, the church. This truth is the seed of all things related to God’s purpose. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 2, “The Tree of Life,” pp. 157-159)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “Concerning the Lord’s Recovery,” ch. 5; CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Spirit with Our Spirit,” chs. 2, 12