Morning By Morning #194

…sanctified by God the Father…

Jude 1 KJV

…sanctified in Christ Jesus…

1 Corinthians 1:2

…sanctifying work of the Spirit…

1 Peter 1:2

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

We should always note the oneness of the three divine persons in each of their gracious works. Many believers unwisely prefer one above the other or make distinctions between them. For example, they think of Jesus as the embodiment of everything wonderful and gracious, but regard God the Father as severely just and devoid of kindness. Equally wrong are those who overly stress the commands of the Father and the atonement of the Son, while minimizing the work of the Spirit.

When it comes to works of grace, none of the persons of the Trinity act independently of the others, for they are as united in their works as in their essence. They are in total harmony in their love for their chosen ones and undivided in every other action that flows from their great central source.

We should take special note of this when it comes to sanctification. While it is not wrong to say sanctification is a work of the Spirit, we must be careful not to think the Father and Son have no part in it. To be fully correct, we should refer to sanctification as the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Jehovah’s words still stand: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” (Gen. 1:26); thus, we continue to be “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). The Lord places great value on holiness since all three persons of the Trinity are working together to produce “a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

Therefore, as a follower of Christ you must place great value on holiness—on a life of purity, including godly speech. Value the blood of Christ as the foundation of your hope, but never speak disparagingly of the work of the Spirit or the Father, “who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:12).

May our lives today exhibit the work of the Triune God.

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

The Trinity is a difficult concept, and though the word trinity is not in the Bible, it is biblical. A helpful way to consider the three persons of the one God is to think of the Father as “the Will of God,” the Son as “the Word of God,” and the Spirit as “the Power of God.” All three persons are involved in each work of God.

Consider the birth of Jesus. Mary was told, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you…So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). John said of the Son, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Later he wrote of the Father, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16).

And all three were involved from the outset of Jesus’ ministry: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:16 – 17).