Spurgeon: July AM
* 07/12/AM
"Sanctified by God the Father."
--Jude 1
"Sanctified in Christ Jesus."
--1 Corinthians 1:2
"Through sanctification of the Spirit."
--1 Peter 1:2
Mark the union of the Three Divine Persons in all their
gracious acts. How unwisely do those believers talk who make
preferences in the Persons of the Trinity; who think of Jesus as
if He were the embodiment of everything lovely and gracious,
while the Father they regard as severely just, but destitute of
kindness. Equally wrong are those who magnify the decree of the
Father, and the atonement of the Son, so as to depreciate the
work of the Spirit. In deeds of grace none of the Persons of the
Trinity act apart from the rest. They are as united in their
deeds as in their essence. In their love towards the chosen they
are one, and in the actions which flow from that great central
source they are still undivided. Specially notice this in the
matter of sanctification. While we may without mistake speak of
sanctification as the work of the Spirit, yet we must take heed
that we do not view it as if the Father and the Son had no part
therein. It is correct to speak of sanctification as the work of
the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit. Still doth Jehovah
say, "Let us make man in our own image after our likeness,"
and thus we are " his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them." See the value which God sets upon real holiness, since
the Three Persons in the Trinity are represented as co-working
to produce a Church without "spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing." And you, believer, as the follower of Christ, must also
set a high value on holiness--upon purity of life and godliness
of conversation. Value the blood of Christ as the foundation of
your hope, but never speak disparagingly of the work of the
Spirit which is your meetness for the inheritance of the saints
in light. This day let us so live as to manifest the work of the
Triune God in us.