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September 19 - John 16-18
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17)
On the night before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven and prayed for His disciples. Among the many profound petitions He made, one stands out with remarkable clarity: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." This prayer reveals that God's desire is not only to save His people but also to transform them into the likeness of Christ. Salvation is the beginning of the Christian life; sanctification is the lifelong process of becoming increasingly holy through the power of God's Word.
The word sanctify means "to set apart for God's special purpose" and "to make holy." At the moment of conversion, believers are positionally sanctified and therefore we belong to Christ. Yet Scripture also teaches progressive sanctification, the daily work of the Holy Spirit in conforming believers to the image of Jesus Christ. This is the sanctification Jesus prayed for in John 17.
Notice that Jesus did not ask the Father to sanctify His followers through personal experiences, human wisdom, or cultural trends. He prayed that they would be sanctified by the truth, and then He identified that truth: "Your word is truth." The Bible is not merely a book that contains truth; it is truth itself because it is the inspired revelation of God. It exposes sin, corrects error, renews the mind, strengthens faith, and equips believers for every good work.
The world constantly pressures Christians to compromise biblical convictions. Moral standards shift, philosophies change, and popular opinion often contradicts God's commands. Yet the believer who is grounded in Scripture possesses an unchanging standard by which to judge every teaching and every decision. As we faithfully read, study, meditate upon, and obey God's Word, our thinking is renewed, our desires are purified, and our conduct increasingly reflects the character of Christ.
Sanctification is not accomplished by human effort alone. It is a work of divine grace through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. However, the Spirit uses the Scriptures as His primary instrument of transformation. Every passage learned, every promise believed, every command obeyed, and every truth embraced becomes a means by which God shapes His children into the image of His Son.
This truth also places a solemn responsibility upon every Christian. We cannot expect spiritual maturity while neglecting the Word of God. Occasional reading cannot replace consistent fellowship with the Scriptures. Just as the body requires daily nourishment, the soul requires daily feeding upon God's truth. A neglected Bible often leads to a weakened Christian life, while a treasured Bible produces steadfast faith and spiritual fruit.
Jesus' prayer remains God's desire for His people today. He calls us to live distinctively in a world that rejects His truth. As we submit ourselves to the authority of Scripture and allow its truths to govern our hearts, we become increasingly sanctified for His glory. May every believer echo the prayer of Christ by seeking daily to be sanctified by the only source of absolute truth which is the eternal, living, and unchanging Word of God.