VLadipo:
And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
John 17:9
I was touched by this scripture when I came across it sometime ago. Jesus made this statement in His passionate prayer for His disciples and all who will ever believe in and follow Him (John 17:1-26). I kept wondering; how could our Lord Jesus Christ need to be sanctified? Wasn’t He already sanctified being God Himself? According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary, to sanctify means to make something holy, to make something seem right or legal. Hence, when Jesus talked about sanctifying Himself for the sake of His disciples and would-be followers, He meant He made Himself holy so that they might be holy. You may then ask; wasn’t Jesus supposed to be holy from the onset of His life? The answer is no! No man born of a woman can be holy. When Jesus decided to come to the earth as a man, He did so through and through. He came to set an example of what it took to live a heaven-bound life. The Bible speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ setting an example for us to follow in 1 Peter 2:21:
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”
We must bear in mind that the whole essence of Jesus Christ coming to die for us was to save us from sin and the consequence of it - imminent eternal death in Hell and instead make us qualify for Heaven where we can enjoy everlasting life. If Jesus Christ did not come to die for us, we would have been doomed to live a life of sin and end up in Hell. John 3:16 says it all:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Every man(person) born of a woman who desires to make Heaven on the rapture day or anytime they die must as a matter of compulsion accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Personal Saviour irrespective of the background he or she may have come from, get baptised by water and the Holy Spirit and become sanctified. Jesus did these things for our sake. Of course, it wasn’t possible that our Lord Jesus Christ should give His life to Himself. Hence, that requirement was skipped. Next, He surrendered to Himself to be baptised by John the Baptist. John could not understand the rationale behind Jesus’ action but Jesus stood His ground and insisted that John the Baptist baptised Him to fulfil all righteousness (Matthew 3:13-15). Before Jesus got baptised by John, He spoke to Nicodemus about the basic requirements one had to meet to make heaven in John 5:3:
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Having said that, He made sure He met the requirement Himself by getting baptised. Immediately after His baptism by water, He got baptised by the Holy Spirit and got heavenly endorsement as the Son of God in Matthew 3:16-17:
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Having been baptised by water and the spirit, it was now time for Him to be sanctified. Who else could sanctify Him aside He Himself? Hence, He sanctified Himself.
Just like our Lord stated that He decided of His own accord and for our sake to lay down His life that He might take it up again in John 10:17-18, so did He decide to be baptised by water and the Spirit and to be sanctified. How does one get sanctified? One gets sanctified by the Holy Spirit and it can only take place after one has fulfilled the first three requirements for making Heaven.
There are many lessons to learn from Jesus’ actions. The scriptures states clearly in 2 Corinthians 6:2 that now is the accepted time and day of salvation. Giving one’s life to Christ kick starts the process of being qualified to make Heaven. Except for reasons beyond their control, every new convert is expected to go through water and Holy Spirit baptism. That is why it is dangerous for anyone who had shunned the gospel all the while when they had the time and opportunity to do so to think that they can just accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Personal Saviour when death is imminent, inevitable and at hand e.g. in a airplane that is about to crash, in a ship that is about to sink, in an inferno etc. The reason is that, at such times, anyone who has never at any time accepted Jesus will just not be able to do so. First of all, out of panic and the ensuing pandemonium, will they be able to remember the Lord? Second, who will make the altar call and lead them to Christ? Third, even if they are able to confess the Lordship of Jesus over their lives and ask for forgiveness of their sins, will they be able to get baptised and sanctified before they die? Only those who have already accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, have been baptised by immersion(water baptism) and the Holy Spirit, and have been sanctified when death wasn’t at hand can under such circumstances quickly ask for forgiveness of sin and a safe passage to
Heaven. You may ask: “What happens to those who were not baptised and sanctified but had already given their lives to Christ?” Well, every genuine born again Christian must seek to follow the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ by getting baptised and sanctified. Only those who had the intention of doing it but could not for reasons beyond their control may be excused.
That is why it is dangerous to dilly-dally and toy with matters of salvation. Indeed, now is the accepted time! Now is the day of salvation!!
In case you have given your life to Jesus Christ and you have not yet been baptised and sanctified, please do so now. If our Lord Jesus Christ could for our sakes decide to go through water and Holy Spirit baptism and then sanctify Himself, who are we?
For full scripture-enhanced details, please visit http://www.dailydevotionalsonline.com/devdetails2.php?devotional=scripturesexpounded&&postername=Temmy&&id=481
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