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Be Ye Holy
By Dr. T.K. Koshy Vaidyan
Nov 2005

The word sanctification comes from two Latin words, “Sanctus” [holy] and “Facere” [to make] and it means “to make holy”. The chief Old Testament Hebrew word for holy is “Qados.” The basic idea involved seems to be “Separation from other things” - that is something or someone placed in to a realm or category separated what is common or profane.

In the earlier books of Old Testament, the holiness of God’s people is usually defined in ceremonial terms – describing the way in which priest were to be set apart for their special service or by which the people of Israel were to purify themselves through certain ritual observances. Later Old Testament books, however particularly the psalms and the prophets, describe the holiness of God’s people primarily in ethical terms involving doing righteousness , speaking truth, acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God [Ps.15:12, Micah 6:8]. The basic meaning of Qados, therefore, is that God’s people are to be set apart for God’s service and they should avoid whatever displeases Him.

The chief New Testament Greek word for holy is “hagios” and its derivatives. The noun “Sanctification” does not occur in the Old Testament and is found ten times in the New Testament. But the roots noted above appear in a group of important words which are of very frequent occurrence. These words are “holy”, “hallow “, “holiness”, “hallowed”, “consecrate”, “saint”, and “sanctify”.

Holiness in the New Testament means two things:
1. Separation from the sinful practices of present world
2. Consecration to God’s Service

It means totally dedicated to God and separated from that is sinful.

In the statement of the fundamental truths of the general council of the Assemblies of God, concerning sanctification we read:

“Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication to God [Rom: 12:1, 2; 1Thes: 5:23; Heb: 13:12]. The scriptures teach a life of holiness without which no man shall see the Lord [Heb. 12:14]. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy” [1Pet:1:15, 16].

Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death, and resurrection , and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit [Rom. 6:1-13, 8:1-3; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 2:12; 1 Pet:5].5

The definitions given by earlier Assemblies of God writers show that this statement does agree with what had been taught. Meyer Perlman, in a text book used by members of the early Pentecostal Bible Institutes, defines sanctification as the following:
1. Separation from Sin and the world
2. Dedication, or consecration, to the fellowship and service of God through Christ.

He identifies “holy” and “sanctified” as synonymous and adds that, “while the primary meaning of holy is that of separation unto service the idea of purification is also involved.”6

The founder of South Western Assemblies of God College, P. C. Nelson, says that “Sanctification exhibits the fruit of right relationship with God in a life separated from a sinful world and dedicated to God.”7 He emphasizes that it is not enough to be separated from evil. Devotion to the use and service of God is necessary. Earnest Williams agrees but puts a heavier emphasis on separation, where, “the believer cut loose from the world and sin, being made pure through the atoning work of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.”8 He states further that purpose of sanctification is “to enable the soul to live above sin, living for God instead.” The general superintend of Assemblies of God in 1986, G. Raymond Carlson concurs. He states that, Sanctification involves two great truths: the first is consecration, which he identifies as including separation from sin and dedication to God. For him the second truth is purification.9 The leadership in the Assemblies of God thus has continued to maintain that sanctification involves being dedicated, purified, and enabled to live a holy life.

According to Richard Watson, Sanctification is “that work of God’s grace by which we are renewed after the image of God, set apart for His service, and enabled to die unto sin and live unto righteousness. It comprehends all the graces of knowledge, faith, repentance, love, humility, zeal and patience and exercise of them toward God and man.”

Luther Lee defined sanctification as the “renewal of our fallen nature by the Holy Spirit received through faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood of atonement has power to cleanse from all sins, whereby we are delivered from the guilt of sin, which is justification, but are washed entirely from its pollution and enabled, through grace, to love God with all our heart and to walk in His holy commandments blamelessly.”

Thomas Watson, the puritan divine, says that, “Sanctification is a principle of grace’s savingly wrought work, whereby the heart becomes holy and is made after God’s own heart”. The Oxford dictionary defines sanctification as “the action of the Holy spirit in sanctifying or making holy the believer, by implanting within him of the Christian graces, and the destruction of the sinful affections.”

The ancient catechism expresses sanctification as “the work of free grace where by we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.”

Dr. Lockyer summarizes all these definitions and writes: “Biblical sanctification is the work of God whereby we are separated from the reign of sin unto God for His service.”10 According to the New Testament, the word sanctification has three closely related meanings:
1. Sanctification is God’s official act of setting us apart as His forgiven children [1Cor. 6:11].
2. Sanctification is the lifelong process whereby God makes a believer more and more like Jesus [1 Thes. 4:3, 5:23].
3. Finally, sanctification is the ultimate goal, the moral perfection that God’s children will one day attain [1 Jn. 3:1-3].

We will deal with all these different aspects of sanctification in the coming chapters.

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