Are You Sanctified Through Christ?

This post was written by Anthony Delgado on September 5, 2008

Are You Sanctified Through Christ?
In the following passage Paul expresses his thankfulness for the Corinthians. Paul addresses the characteristics of their sanctification as well as acknowledgment of his own sanctification through the evidence of confirmation in Jesus Christ of the Corinthians. It is interesting that Paul always thanks God when others show evidence of salvation.

Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 NAS

Thankfulness
Paul thanks God for the Corinthians. He thanks God because they have been saved through grace and that they are enriched in Him (love, grace, mercy, etc.). This enrichment comes through in their speech and knowledge so that they express the character of God. This enrichment came as confirmation of their salvation. They were sanctified in Christ. Another element of this confirmation is that they had all spiritual gifts present within the church so that they can fully serve God. This is a picture of God’s faithfulness. He provided the gifts to the Corinthians through fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ so that He could be glorified by them when they are presented before the throne of God as blameless.

Characteristics of Sanctification
1. Church of God.

They were addressed as a church of God. In these times, where you were from (or of) said a lot about your character. The identity of ‘church’ says that they are a collection of people, gathered for a higher purpose, an ecclesiastical separation from the group which is not the ‘church’. To say that they are ‘of God’ is to specify a purpose and an affiliation. For example, if you were the King of England, you would be by definition, a ruler, your purpose would be to rule over England and your affiliation would be the English people. So, the church of God is a collection of people identified by an ecclesiastical separation which is for the purposes of God and to be affiliated with him. We can draw the application that if we identify ourselves as a member of a Church of God, we should not be affiliated with the non-ecclesiastical, the secular, and should act in accordance with the will of God and be affiliated with Him for His glory.

2. Saints by calling. To be a saint it to be a follower of Christ.

There is a lot of discussion about the balance between free will and predestination. My understanding is that there is a plan for the kingdom of God (Christians post-resurrection, Israelites pre-resurrection). If one man chooses Christ, he/she will be a part of that plan. Some people, such as Paul, certainly seem to be handpicked and called to a higher purpose so this is not to suggest that God does not call people to specific tasks, ministry, etc. Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (NAS). This suggests that the men whom God knew before creation would choose him, would be conformed to the likeness of his son, blameless.

3. All who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; “(NAS). Notice it says Jesus as Lord not Jesus is Lord. All we say and know (like the Corinthians and like Paul) should identify Jesus as Lord. Check the context here. Paul is about to convict the Corinthians in following verses about following false prophets who do not identify with Jesus as Lord, but do say that Jesus is Lord as a means for financial or prideful gain. It is not likely that a great number of the Corinthians were following false prophets or he would not identify them as “those who call on the name of our Lord”, but certainly there significant was means for concern and we should be concerned about this today as well.

Paul’s Sanctification
Back on the topic of Paul thanking God for the Corinthians; Paul’s recognition of their sanctification and of their salvation is recognition of fruit being produced in his own life. By this we should be challenged to examine ourselves. Can we say that others have come to know Christ or that our brothers and sisters have been encouraged in Christ through our actions? If so, thank God for the fruit. If not, we have work to do.

Related posts:

  1. Prayer for Fellow Disciples of Jesus Christ
  2. How to Lead Someone to Christ
  3. Live According to the Spirit not according to the Flesh
  4. Differences between Denominations
  5. Sin Paid in Full
  6. Analysis of 1 Corinthians 14: 34, 35

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