Sanctified for the Holy New Jerusalem
“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Heb. 2:10-11). Christ is sanctifying us His believers, His brothers.
Both Christ and we are all of One, that is, all of one Father, and Christ is not ashamed to call us brothers. The way that Christ, our elder Brother, leads us into glory is by sanctifying us. In other words, the way God “sonizes” us is by sanctifying us. This matches the thoughtt in Ephesians 1:4-5, which says that God “chose us…to be holy” unto sonship. To sanctify us is to make us holy, and to be made holy is for our full sonship….Although God is the unique holy One in this universe, He has chosen us to be holy as He is. He sanctifies our entire being—our spirit, soul, and body—to make us His holy bride, the holy city, the New Jerusalem (1 Thes. 5:23; Rev. 21:2).*
First Thessalonians 5:23 says “the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete.” It clearly states the three parts of our human being. This verse also assures us that God will sanctify us wholly, entirely (in quantity) and completely, fully (in quality). This full and complete sanctification prepares us for the holy and pure New Jerusalem.
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* From page 19 of Ed Marks, The New Jerusalem—A Corporate Person, Affirmation & Critique Monograph, A&C Press, © Living Stream Ministry (2025).
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Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The text of this Bible is at text.recoveryversion.bible; this too is © by LSM. A New Testament of this Bible, with outlines for each book, 9000 footnotes, and 13,000 cross references, is available in multiple languages for free from Bibles for America, Bibles for Canada, Bibles for Europe, Bibles for Australia, Bibles for New Zealand.
