January 21, 2022
John 17:17 NIV
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
CONSIDER THIS
I love double domino Scripture texts. I discovered another one today. John 17:17.
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
I’m not into numerology or secret Bible Codes by any stretch, and the chapter and verse numbers are not part of the inspired text. It still feels like a holy serendipity to me, kind of like a bingo, when a text like this lands in the double domino zone. 17|17
- Sanctify them by the truth;
- your word is truth.
I love how Jesus makes THE TRUTH synonymous with GOD’S WORD. They are one in the same.
So if God sanctifies us by the truth and his Word is truth then God sanctifies us by his Word. So what does it mean to sanctify or to be sanctified? Thanks for asking. It means to be made holy. But what does that mean? To be made holy means to be consecrated. But what does that mean. To be consecrated means to be set apart as a vessel for Divine purposes. That which is sanctified is prepared to be anointed and filled with the Holy Spirit. The Word sanctifies. The Spirit fills.
It doesn’t stop there. It can’t stop. That’s the problem with a lot of teaching about holiness. Because holy literally means “set apart,” it gets translated to mean to live apart from any possible contaminating people or influences. It becomes a caricature of biblical holiness and people come up with absurd phrases like, “holier than thou.” Holiness gets equated with being super religious. And who wants that!* Holiness actually means super-related; super relatable to God, oneself and others. The Word sanctifies. The Spirit fills. And the Son sends. Check out v.18
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
Sanctified. Spirit filled. Sent.
Rinse. Repeat.
It begins with sanctified. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
It makes sense then that we would want to be utterly saturated by this super relatable Word. . . when we lie down, when we wake up, when we walk along the road, with our children, with our friends, written on our gates, our doorposts, on our foreheads, on our hands, and in every way impressed on our hearts.
Sanctified. Spirit filled. Sent.
Rinse. Repeat.
That’s Double Domino 17|17.
THE PRAYER
Yes, Lord, sanctify us, sanctify me by the truth. Your Word is Truth. I want to be sanctified by your Word. I am weary of trying to sanctify myself by my own best intentions and dedicated efforts. Show me that the way is as simple as being saturated by your Word. You are the sanctifier. You are the Spirit filler. You are the sender. I am a humble participant. At least that’s what I want to become. Make it so. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
THE QUESTION
What is your notion of holiness? Have you had a caricatured idea of it? Do you want to be holy—in the way of Jesus? What would that look like? What if it became about beholding instead of behaving? What if we are actually made holy by being in contact with the Holy One and his Holy Word?
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
3 Responses
I understand that consecration/sanctification is the process by which God through the operation of the Holy Spirit transforms and then grows us both individually and corporately into the mature image of Christ. Our part is: in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1) So that God can: melt us, mold us, fill us and use us. This is my sincere prayer.
Amen. Thank you J.D. for the insight today. Weaves perfectly into my week and College student ministry!
David Wilkerson’s wife told him he was trying to hard. I recently read The Cross and the Switchblade for the first time. We work hard to get stuff done for God then ask Him to help us finish it up. Must be our nature, or my oun stubbornness. Good prayer. Bless y’all. Hank