The Believer's Sanctuary

Sanctification, considered as an act of God, is presented to us in Scripture in more than one aspect. It means separation front that which is evil, and it means preservation in that which is holy. In the first we have the negative, in the second the positive aspect of sanctification.

It will help many an anxious believer who is seeking after practical holiness if, instead of being occupied with the process of being sanctified, he fixes the eye of his faith on Him who is Sanctification itself — on Him who is the sphere, in which alone the process he so much desires can take place. That sphere or region of holiness is referred to in the Word of God under various names. There is one, especially precious, in the seventeenth of St. John. Our blessed Lord is there praying for His disciples. His peti-

tion is, “Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me.” Literally, it is not through Thy Name — that is by means of, merely — but “in Thine own Name.” The name of God — which is equivalent to the Presence of God — God Himself — is here regarded as the sphere of their spiritual life, they were to be in His name. And the special attribute, “Holy Father,” brings before us the thought of the unsullied purity, the infinite holiness, of that place in which they were to be kept.

Hence, the believer is not only separated from that which is evil — he is introduced into that which is essentially pure — he is called into a new element, and therein to have his being — an element which is Divine holiness itself. This is to have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

The holiness of God, then, so soon as we are associated therewith, draws a deep line of demarcation between us and those who live under the dominion of their natural

instincts, and whom Scripture calls the world. The term * Holy Father,’ here characterises God as Him who has traced this line of separation between the disciples and the world; and the petition: * Keep them,’ has in view the maintenance of this separation. Jesus begs His Father to keep the disciples in this sphere of consecration, which is foreign to the world’s life, and of which God is Himself the centre. The words, “in Thy name,” make the revelation of the Divine character granted to the Apostles the enclosing wallj as it were, of the sacred region in which they are to he kept,” Such are the words of Professor Godet in his admirable commentary on the Gospel of St. John. How beautifully and clearly they explain the meaning of our Lord’s words; and how they help us to understand the nature of a believer’s sanctification!

There is a sphere, then, which is entirely separate from the world, and from all that is not of God. We have not to ascend into

heaven to find it, it is nigh thee. It is found where the need is felt — in the place of sin*s tempting power — here in this world of conflict and of trial. It is a region round which God has Himself placed His own barrier. We have not to erect our own fortifications, or build up our own walls against the evil. To be struggling to do this is to make ourselves the centre of our own sanctification. All that God would have His children to do is to enter into His Stronghold — to be garrisoned within His own Holy Presence — to be strengthened in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Again, as there is safety and protection, so also there is purity and power within the Sanctuary of His manifested Presence. We have not to think of sanctifying ourselves in atiy way apart from Him who is our Sanctification. Our sanctification is Christ Himself, and as such it is perfect and complete. To be sanctified, in a practical sense, we must know what it is by faith to dwell in Him, to

abide within the sphere of His hallowing Presence. It is thus that we become partakers of His holiness. Our practical participation of Christ is not perfect or complete, it must be ever advancing.

Let us not, however, be occupied too exclusively with the process of being transformed, but rather with Him who is the Author and Cause of our transformation. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to our souls in all His manifold relations. There is none more precious to the believer than this special aspect in which we are now contemplating Him. Oh to be kept within “the enclosing wall “of His own impregnable fortress — and continually to dwell within “the sacred region” of His owh sanctifying Presence!

“He shall be for a Sanctuary” (Isa. viii. 14).

I will be unto them as a Sanctuary for a little time ‘* (Ezek. xi. 16).

“Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence *’ (Psa. xxxi. 20). “His presence is salvation” (margin) (Psa. xlii. 5).