Page 265 - My Life Today (1952)

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A Practical Example of Sanctification, September 2
Sanctification
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church,
and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to
himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians
5:25-27
Here is Bible sanctification. It is not merely a show or outside work.
It is sanctification received through the channel of truth. It is truth
received in the heart and practically carried out in the life.
Jesus, considered as a man, was perfect, yet He grew in grace.
Luke 2:52
: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour
with God and man.” Even the most perfect Christian may increase con-
tinually in the knowledge and love of God....
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, or a day. It is a
continual growth in grace. We know not one day how strong will be our
conflict the next. Satan lives, and is active, and every day we need to cry
earnestly to God for help and strength to resist him. As long as Satan
reigns we shall have self to subdue, besetments to overcome, and there
is no stopping place, there is no point to which we can come and say we
have fully attained....
The Christian life is constantly an onward march. Jesus sits as a
refiner and purifier of His people; and when His image is perfectly
reflected in them, they are perfect and holy, and prepared for translation.
Every living Christian will advance daily in the divine life. As he
advances toward perfection, he experiences a conversion to God every
day; and this conversion is not completed until he attains to perfec-
tion of Christian character, a full preparation for the finishing touch of
immortality.
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