How God’s Word Transforms Us

May 2

Experience sanctification through the truth of God’s Word. What does it mean to discover sanctification by reading Scripture? Instead of merely reading words on a page, how can we allow the Word of God to read us?

17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

From our passage in John’s words, we see a reminder that the Son of God is praying for us to be “made holy in the truth.” Jesus is praying for our sanctification. [READ MORE: What is Sanctification?]

God does not sanctify, or make us holy, through the simple act of reading Scripture. Instead, He does it by allowing the Word of God to read us. There’s a distinction between reading the Word and letting it take the loving authority of your life.

So let’s ask the question: How does the Living Word of God work in our sanctification?

How Does God’s Word Work in Our Sanctification?

1) The Truth Begins to Matter to You

The Scriptures illustrate that it’s possible, even in religious systems, to be merely outward but not inward.

“And when He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’
Jesus answered them, ‘I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?’
And they discussed it among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe Him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.’
So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’
And He said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’” Matthew 21:23-27

Look at how the chief priests and elders deal with the truth. Jesus asked them to take a stand on a simple truth claim: Was John’s baptism from heaven or man? He asked them to take a stand and declare what they believed true.

So chief priests and elders ponder. If they say that John’s baptism is from heaven, they will be shamed because Jesus will show they are hypocrites. But if they act like they don’t believe that, then they will be shamed before the crowds.

On the other hand, if they say that John’s baptism is from man, the crowd may harm them because they all believed John was a prophet.

Since they don’t want to be shamed or for there to be a mob, they decide not to take a stand. So, instead, they say: We don’t know.

“Discipline toward holiness begins with the Scriptures (regular intake of the Scriptures and applying them to our daily lives).”

— Jerry Bridges, author

This is a prime example of how an outwardly religious person (a depraved mind) works. The chief priests and elders are thinking carefully and strategically: if they say this, such and such will happen. Yet if they say that, then such and such will happen.

Why are they reasoning so carefully? Because the truth is at stake? No, because their skin is at stake. It’s their ego on the line. They don’t want to be harmed or shamed. So instead of the truth being the utmost priority, they’re admitting that in their mind, they matter most.

Remember what Jesus said about what happens when everyone speaks well of you?

Jesus responds to that cavalier attitude toward truth in verse 27, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” In other words, Jesus, the Son of God, declares He won’t deal with people who treat truth that way. Instead, He admonishes their arrogant and cowardly prostitution of the precious reality of truth.

So, let’s affirm a few principles that we see in Scripture:

Principle in Salvation: Taking truth seriously is inseparable from saving faith.
Principle in Sanctification: Not taking truth seriously is impossible for sanctifying faith.

Jesus affirms that there’s a relationship between our development and the truth. We are being sanctified through His Living Word. God does not sanctify us by our reading the Word; God sanctifies us by the Word reading us.

When we see and hear God’s Word, we see things as they really are. When we are not sanctified, we see things as we are. When we are sanctified, we see things as they are.

I’m convinced this is why Jesus is praying for us. He knows the pull of the world and the tug of the distortions of our fallen nature that pull at us to see things as we are; rather than see things as they are.

If sanctification is happening in your Christian life, the truth begins to matter to you.

(Source: John Piper, Desiring God)

2) The Truth Matters For the Sake of Others

JESUS: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes, I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:17-21 (emphasis added)

Jesus is leading us to the life-giving power of Christ in you. It’s the love of God in you, His truth, that’s not only for you but for the sake of what’s being expressed through you and how you relate to those in your life. It’s how you care for the poor, unreached, oppressed, and those society has said are unlovable and unwelcome.

It’s not just about me; it’s about others’ sanctified. The truth God is developing in you is not just for you but for the sake of others.

“And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:28-29

We can realize how significant Jesus’ call for sanctification is, particularly in this age of Western culture. There’s an emphasis on cynicism related to the Church and God. However, be reminded that we’re the light of the world and a city on a hill that can’t be hidden.

3) The Truth Continues to Wash You

Truth is not static as it continues to wash over you. This is found in both the Old and New Testaments.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27 (emphasis added)

The Apostle Paul reminds us that marriage illustrates a far deeper reality: marriage between a man and woman is an icon of Jesus and His bride, the Church. It’s the atonement of Christ that cleanses our sins.

So we recognize in Hebrews 9:22 that he says, “Almost all things are purged by blood.” The Word of God has a strategic role in cleansing us. He clearly states “almost all,” which means that not everything is. Some things must be purged in another way. Ephesians 5:26 tells us we are cleansed “with the washing of water by the Word.”

Some things will be cleansed, such as things in our minds, things that deal with conduct, and things that have to do with character and attitude. These are all things that are cleansed by water.

“Mark it down – your progress in holiness will never exceed your relationship with the Word of God.”

— Nancy Leigh Demoss, author

We have the Word of God in the Bible, and Jesus says it contains power. It can cleanse a person’s mind because we can think only by what goes into the mind, concepts included in words.

Words are merely symbols of ideas that we use to reason. Then, we turn those ideas into action and conduct, which becomes part of our character and attitude.

When we believe God’s words, these words will begin to purify and cleanse the way we think. The imagery of God’s Word also includes the idea of cleansing power. It is likened to water because water cleanses.

We see this in Psalm 119, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word,” and also in John 15, where Jesus adds, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

The Word does not cleanse our sins (the blood of Jesus does that), but it does cleanse us! It cleanses our spots and heals our wrinkles. Wrinkles and age spots are related to dryness, oldness, dulled senses, and sensibilities.

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

You must let the water in the Word, that is, the spirit and the life in the Word, do a metabolic work in your organic being by adding new life elements to replace the old elements.

The Sanctified Christian Wash Cycle

Read Bible

Pray

Obey God

Trust God

Repeat

Just as we’re not to live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He’s saying just as we need daily nourishment, our normal pattern should be discovering the cleansing power of God from His Word.

This is a metabolic process and a discharge. We all know that metabolism occurs within us by which something new is supplied and added to us, and something old is discharged and eliminated.

This metabolism is the cleansing referred to in Ephesians 5.

Wrinkles surely do not come from the element of Christ but from the old Adam. The cross cannot remove these things or be cleansed by the precious blood. We need Christ as the new element of our organic constitution. When this happens, the elements of the old creation will be replaced.

Just as clear, fresh water cleanses our bodies, God’s written Word washes us deep inside our souls. It purifies our thoughts, scrubs our motives, cleans our conscience as we absorb it, and obeys its truths.

The primary purpose of reading the Bible is not to know the Bible but to know God. God does not sanctify us by our reading of the Word. God sanctifies us by the Word reading us.

TL;DR

God does not sanctify, or make us holy, through the simple act of reading Scripture. Instead, He does it by allowing the Word of God to read us.
How Does God’s Word Work in Our Sanctification?

The Truth Begins to Matter to You

Principle in Salvation: Taking Truth Seriously Is Inseparable from Saving Faith
Principle in Sanctification: Not taking truth seriously is impossible for sanctifying faith.