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John 17:17 - Sanctification is .......

John 17:17; Sanctification is .......

John 17:17 (KJV)  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is 
truth. 

John 17:17 (EAV)  Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate 
them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. 

Sanctify means "to set apart for God and His holy purposes". The 
means of sanctification is God's Word. [Ryrie SB] 

A follower of Christ becomes sanctified (set apart for sacred 
use, cleansed, and made holy) through believing and obeying the Word 
of God. He or she has already accepted forgiveness through Christ's 
sacrificial death. But daily application of God's Word has a purifying 
effect on our minds and hearts. [Life Application SB] 

To be sanctified is to be set apart, or dedicated. It's not 
enough to "just believe." God calls all who believe to complete 
dedication to Him and His ways. 
How does a believer become sanctified? By the working of God's 
Word in his or her life. Scripture is not just a statement of 
standards by which we are to live. It is a powerful, active agent God uses 
to call us closer to Him, and to guide our steps. 
Don't expect your life to change if your Bible gathers dust on 
some shelf. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

Sanctification does not mean sinless perfection, otherwise 
Christ could never say, "I sanctify Myself" (v. 19), for He had no sin. 
A sanctified Christian is someone who is daily growing in the Word 
and as a result is separated more and more from the world unto the 
Father. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines] 

God's way is not to take us out of the world, but to take the 
world out of us. [Victor Bible Reader's Companion] 

The New Testament leaves no doubt that holiness is our 
responsibility.  If we are to pursue holiness, we must take some decisive 
action... 
The action we are to take is to put to death the misdeeds of the 
body (Rom.8:13).  Paul uses the same expression in another book: "Put 
to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature" 
(Col.3:5)....To put to death the misdeeds of the body, then, is to destroy the 
strength and vitality of sin as it tries to reign in our bodies. 
It must be clear to us that mortification, though it is 
something we do, cannot be carried out in our own strength.....  
Mortification must be done by the strength and under the direction of the Holy 
Spirit.... 
"How do we destroy the strength and vitality of sin?"  If we are 
to work at this difficult task, we must first have conviction.  We 
must be persuaded that a holy life of God's will for every Christian 
is important... 
Not only must we develop conviction for living a holy life in 
general, but we must also develop convictions in specific areas of 
obedience. 
These convictions are developed through exposure to the Word of 
God.... 
Obedience is the pathway to holiness, but it is only as we have 
His commands that we can obey them.  God's Word must be so strongly 
fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our 
thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions.  [Jerry Bridges; Time with God 
devotional SB] 

Sanctification begins in regeneration. The Spirit of God infuses 
into man that new living principle by which he becomes "a new 
creature" in Christ Jesus. This work, which begins in the new birth, is 
carried on in two ways--mortification, whereby the lusts of the flesh are 
subdued and kept under; and vivification, by which the life which God 
has put within us is made to be a well of water springing up unto 
everlasting life. This is carried on every day in what is called 
"perseverance," by which the Christian is preserved and continued in a gracious 
state, and is made to abound in good works unto the praise and glory of 
God; and it culminates or comes to perfection, in "glory," when the 
soul, being thoroughly purged, is caught up to dwell with holy beings 
at the right hand of the Majesty on high. But while the Spirit of 
God is thus the author of sanctification, yet there is a visible 
agency employed which must not be forgotten. "Sanctify them," said 
Jesus, "through thy truth: thy word is truth." The passages of 
Scripture which prove that the instrument of our sanctification is the 
Word of God are very many. The Spirit of God brings to our minds the 
precepts and doctrines of truth, and applies them with power. These are 
heard in the ear, and being received in the heart, they work in us to 
will and to do of God's good pleasure. The truth is the sanctifier, 
and if we do not hear or read the truth, we shall not grow in 
sanctification. We only progress in sound living as we progress in sound 
understanding. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Do 
not say of any error, "It is a mere matter of opinion." No man 
indulges an error of judgment, without sooner or later tolerating an 
error in practice. Hold fast the truth, for by so holding the truth 
shall you be sanctified by the Spirit of God. [Morning and Evening by 
Charles H. Spurgeon] 

God's Word needs to be understood and applied to life. You won't 
understand everything you read, but the more you read, the more you'll 
learn and the more you'll understand. From beginning to end, the Bible 
is about Jesus. It tells what happened to humanity, why we needed a 
Savior, and what God did about it. It tells of God's great love for us. 
It assures us of eternity. Ask God to help you "get it" when you 
read his Word. [The One Year Bible for New Believers re Luke 24] 

The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation of 
character. Christ prayed, "Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is 
truth." John 17:17. If studied and obeyed, the word of God works in the 
heart, subduing every unholy attribute. The Holy Spirit comes to 
convict of sin, and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love 
to Christ, conforming us in body, soul, and spirit to His own 
image. Then God can use us to do His will. COL99-102 

Received into the heart, the leaven of truth will regulate the 
desires, purify the thoughts, and sweeten the disposition. It quickens 
the faculties of the mind and the energies of the soul. It enlarges 
the capacity for feeling, for loving. COL99-102 

These truths were not given so that we might debate, but that we 
might surrender and worship. It is not a big head, but a burning 
heart, that proves we have grasped something of the meaning of God's 
eternal plan. [The Strategy of Satan by Warren W.Wiersbe] 

The most amazing thing about studying the Bible is that we have 
the direct assistance of its Author. God has not only provided 
guidelines for life, he is also accessible to us through prayer. "Help me 
understand the meaning of your commandments" (119:27) is the prayer of the 
psalmist. And he continues, "Teach me your decrees, O LORD" (119:33); 
"Give me understanding" (119:34); "Give me an eagerness for your laws" 
(119:36). It's a mystery, but somehow, when we read the Bible with open 
hearts, asking God to speak, it comes alive and changes us. Always keep 
the daily reading of his Word a top priority in your life. [The One 
Year Bible for New Believers re Psalm 119:129-152] 

A story is told of an aged Christian who had long grieved over 
her ability to remember what she read in the Bible. Day after day, 
as old age and infirmity drew on, she would read from the Book she 
loved, only to find that a few minutes after closing her Bible she 
could not recall a word. One evening, after going through the same 
experience again, she lay down to sleep, tired and discouraged, telling 
herself it  was useless to read what so soon passed from her mind.   
That night she had an impressive dream. She seemed to be 
standing, with a loosely woven basket in her hand, by the bank of a 
beautiful stream whose crystal waters flowed softly at her feet. By her 
side stood an angel in shining robes, who bade her stoop and fill her 
basket with living water.   
Again and again she tried to fill it, but the loose mesh, would 
not retain the water and it  flowed out again. Disappointed and 
disheartened, she turned weeping away; but the angel, bending tenderly over 
her whispered, "Look inside the basket, dear one." Gazing with tear 
dimmed eyes, the woman saw that the basket, which had once been soiled 
and dusty, was now white as the driven snow, sparkling in the 
sunlight.  And so it is with the word of God. Even though we may often be 
unable to recall what we have but recently read, if we constantly fill 
our minds and hearts with the word, it will exert its cleansing, 
life-giving power in our lives. By Leonora L. Warriner, Signs of the Times, 
January 31, 1939   

The Bible is the seed of the new birth <1 Pet. 1:23>, and the 
food of the new life, <1 Pet. 2:1-2>. (Matthew Henry's Commentary)