Completely Sanctified

My Utmost for His Highest

May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:23

‘Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.  Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him.’ CHAMBERS

Do you have control issues?  What I mean is do you have a struggle that rages within you.  The struggle I am referring to is between your flesh and spirit. Of all of the words that God could have shared with us .. He chose those that we read in the Bible.  Conclusion … they are important.  They are relevant .. they apply to us.  So when He says .. don’t love the world or the things of this world (1 John 2:15) … He says it because He knows that it will be a problem for us.  When He says you can’t love Me (God) and money (Matthew 6:24) … it is because it will be a problem for us. 

When He says “Be holy because I am holy”, (Leviticus 11:44) He knew that we will struggle with things that are unholy.  And when He says walk by the Spirit and not the flesh (Galatians 5:16) .. well, you get the idea.