Salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth

Salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth

2Thess.2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation is more than just God forgiving you your sins. Don't get me wrong. Forgiveness of sins is the first step in our salvation, but it's not only that. The salvation that Paul is referring to in the verse above, is more than just forgiveness of sins. There appears to be more information here than what many believers actually know about. What does it mean that it comes through sanctification of the Spirit.

People still remain confused or very negligent about this. Paul said in Ephesians, “Be ye filled with the Spirit.” Look at that statement carefully. That is your command and your responsibility, not God’s. God has already given us His Spirit. In 1Thess.4:8, Paul writes, “Who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit.” God has already given us His Spirit and tells us to be filled with the Spirit. This means that we need to act upon it. OK. But how? By getting into the written Word. The Word of God is Spirit and life, Jn.6:63. If we want to get the Spirit into us and be filled with it, we must partake of the Word of God. Unfortunately, this is not a priority for many. People don’t want to gather where the Bible is being taught. They don’t want to gather where doctrine is being presented. They don’t want to read their Bible at home, and then they wonder why they 'feel' so far from God, and they pray, “God, fill me with Your Spirit.” But it does not work that way! Our doctrine tells us how to be filled with the Spirit, and it's not at the church alter, nor by the laying on of hands, nor by various activities that make us feel good. The only place to find the Spirit and get filled by it is in the written Word.

So, when we talk about sanctification of the Spirit, as in the above scripture, what are we talking about? Paul mentions sanctification in Ephesians, and he says it like this: “That Christ gave Himself for the church, that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word.” So, sanctification of the Spirit and sanctification of the Word of God are one and the same. You cannot separate the Spirit of God from the Word of the Living God. The word that proceeds out of the mouth of God is the word of the Spirit. Christ said, “The words that I speak, they are spirit.” So, sanctification of the Spirit deals with a sanctification that takes place when we read and believe the King James Bible.

We learn from this verse that salvation, beyond being saved from hell, is through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Note the statement, “whereunto He called you by our gospel.” So, when we heard the gospel and we believed that gospel, God was calling us to this salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Then Paul continues, “whereunto He called you by the gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” You see that? Yet another dimension of salvation. What does it mean to 'obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ?'

Paul says, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” People think that’s about the redemption of the body. No, that's not it. What’s going to be manifested at the appearing of our Lord is the glory that’s in you, the glory you have obtained through this salvation. This is the salvation you are to be working out in your life. Many Christians just stop at being content with not going to hell, but there is so much more to be aware of; so much more that God desires of us. We are also to be active in working out this salvation.

Look at 2Thess.1:11: “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling.” You see that? What on earth is Paul talking about? These are verses that never get addressed in the Pauline Epistles. We've had these epistles all our life, but do we truly read and believe these things that Paul has written? These are important statements that Paul makes here. We must account for these statements and learn what they mean. '...that our God would count you worthy' means that there is something that will be measured. Some will be counted worthy and others not. Now, this is NOT regarding salvation from hell. We are long past that! This is to do with glory measured out, Rom.8:18, in differing quantities, 1Co.15:40-41, to those who are found worthy after the judgement seat of Christ. This is to do with honour, 2Tim.2:20-21, and a position of authority and power in the heavenly kingdom that will be inherited by the sons of God, Rom.8:19. This is the other part of salvation that many, many Christians are negligent of.

In the opening verses of 2Thessalonians, Paul had just commended these believers for their patience in tribulation and for their exceedingly abounding faith and charity. Their faith grows, and their charity is abounding so much that Paul gloried for these saints in all the churches. And then in verse 11 Paul says, “We’re always in prayer for you, that our God would count you worthy of ...” Worthy of what? Yes, take note. “That our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s joint glory. Christ will be glorified in you, and you will be glorified in Him according to the grace of our Lord. Friends, this is far deeper than just being saved from hell. God saves us from hell, but He is also saving us towards something. Many believers never come to learn this. They simply stop reading at this point and think that salvation is done, but it's not. There is more to it, and if we stop our studying concerning the content of these passages we are going to miss out on the 'more..."! Paul is telling us that God would give us glory, the glory of His Son, in the end that His Son may be glorified in you. But Paul’s prayer is that God would count us worthy of it. Are you worthy? 

Paul didn’t write nine church-epistles, our curriculum, just to inform you about being justified. He didn’t write all those letters just to tell you that you can go to heaven if you believe in Jesus. He wrote our doctrine to do a work of faith in us, and it’s this work of faith which allows us to grow up in Christ, beyond justification for heaven, towards sanctification and belief of the truth, pressing on towards the prize of joint glory in Christ, a position of honour in our vocation, and to fulfil a specific purpose in the ages to come. This honour and glory however will not be handed out to everyone; it is for those who press on in the doctrine, who grow in faith and application of the truth, and who, as a mark of Christ in them, suffer persecution, 2Tim.3:12, through their commitment to living godly lives according to obedience to the faith. Paul's doctrine, our curriculum, is the pearl of great price, the living waters, the very Spirit and life of God that we can partake in, learn from, be renewed by, and mature into the sons of God unto eternity. This book should not be neglected, and its words should never be ignored.