TO BE MADE HOLY

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17).

In His great intercessory prayer, our Lord spoke of the words which the Father had given Him, of giving them Himself to His disciples, and of their having received and believed them. It was this that made them disciples. It was their keeping these words that would really enable them to live the life and do the work of true disciples. Receiving the words of God from Christ and keeping them are the signs and power of true discipleship.

When praying to the Father, our Lord asks that He sanctify the disciples in the truth, as it dwells and works in His Word. Christ has said of Himself, "I am the truth" (John 14:6). He was the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. His teaching was not like that of the law which came by Moses. Jesus' words were more than a promise of good things to come. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63). Christ had spoken of the Spirit of truth who would lead into all the truth in Himself, not an actual experience and enjoyment.

It is more than a matter of knowledge or doctrine, but into it He prays that in this living truth the Father would sanctify them. "For their sakes," He says, "I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth" (John 17:19). He asks the Father in His power and love to take charge of them, that His objective—to sanctify them in the truth, through His Word which is truth —might be realized. His desire is that they, like Himself, may be sanctified in truth. Let us study the wonderful lessons given in this verse in regard to God's Word.

The Word Makes Holy

"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." The great objective of God's Word is to make us holy. No diligence or success in Bible study will really profit us unless it makes us more humble and holy. In our use of Holy Scripture, this must be our main objective. The reason there is often so much Bible reading with so little real result in a Christlike character is that "salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13) is not truly desired.

People imagine that if they study the Word and accept its truths, this will in some way benefit them. But experience teaches that it does not. The fruit of holy character, of consecrated life, of power to bless others, does not come for the simple reason that we only get what we seek. Christ gave us God's Word to make us holy. When we make this our definite aim in all Bible study, the truth, not the doctrinal truth, but its divine quickening power, can impart the very life of God to us.

"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." It is God Himself who alone can make us holy by His Word. The Word, separate from God and His direct operation, cannot accomplish anything in us. The Word is an instrument: God Himself must use it. God is the only holy One. He alone can make holy. The unspeakable value of God's Word is that it is God's means of holiness.

The terrible mistake of many people is that they forget that God alone can use it and make it effective. It is not enough that I have access to the office of a physician. I need for him to prescribe a cure. Without him, my use of his medicines could be fatal. This was true of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day. They made their boast in God's law. They delighted in their study of Scripture and yet remained unsanctified. The Word did not sanctify them, because they did not seek for this in the Word and did not yield to God to do it for them.

God Makes Holy

"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." This holiness through the Word must be sought and waited for from God in prayer. Our Lord taught His disciples that they must be holy.

He sanctified Himself for them, that they might be sanctified in truth. He also brought His words and His work to the Father with the prayer that He would sanctify them. It is necessary to know God's Word and meditate on it. It is necessary to set our heart upon being holy and make this our primary objective in studying the Word. But all this is not enough. Everything depends upon our asking the Father to sanctify us through the Word. It is God, the holy Father, who makes us holy by the Spirit of holiness who dwells within us. He works in us the very mind and attitudes of Christ, who is our sanctification.

"There is none holy as the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:2). All holiness is His, and He makes things holy by His holy presence. The tabernacle and temple were not holy in virtue of cleansing, separation, or an indwelling God. His taking possession made them holy. God makes us holy through His Word, bringing Christ and the Holy Spirit into us. The Father can only do this as we wait before Him and in deep dependence and full surrender give ourselves up to Him. When we pray by faith, "Sanctify me through Thy truth; Thy word is truth," our knowledge of God's Word will truly make us holy.

The morning watch is a sacred time. It is the time especially devoted to the yielding of ourselves to God's holiness, to be sanctified through the Word. Let us remember, the one aim of God's Word is to make us holy. Let this be our continual prayer, "Father, sanctify me through Thy truth."