Renewing the Spirit’s Passion for Holiness
1 Peter 1:1-16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15
Jim Davis
1 Peter 1:1-2
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: NIV
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1 Peter 1:13-16
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." NIV
The words “holy” and “sanctify” go right over our heads. Today sanctification, holiness and are reserved for those who have their images engraved on stain glass windows of cathedrals. However, to be holy and sanctified simply means to be set apart for God’s purpose. His purpose is to salvage the mess this world is in—one heart at a time.
When I was growing up as a child we had everyday dishes, and we had dishes we used on special occasions. We didn’t always have dishes for special occasions. But I remember my oldest brother, Fred, joining the Navy. He visited seaports all over Europe. He sent my mother a set of expensive china. He sent her a set of crystal, and also some nice silverware. But we never used these for everyday. They were only for special occasions—Sunday company or Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. They were set apart for special purposes.
God is seeking to set us apart for his holy purposes. He is really seeking to bring us back to his original purpose for us. The world is in the shape it is in because we haven’t live our lives for God’s purpose. We have used the freedom he has given us to our own selfish ends.
When you take something that was made for a specific purpose and use it in a way that was never intended, often it is never the same. When I was a kid we often used our old everyday silverware for something it was not intended to be used for. We would use a bread knife for a screwdriver. We often warped the knife; it was never the same.
I have used my wife’s eyebrow tweezers for a pair of small pliers. I have warped them to a point where you can no longer grasp an eyebrow. Once this is done it is difficult to salvage them to be useful for their original purpose. These items usually end up in my tool box unfit to serve their original purpose.
I have a meat fork that was used for something it wasn’t supposed to be used for. It is all bent out of shape. It can still be used for a meat fork, but it will never be the same as it was when it was new.
Somehow we have lost sight of God’s purpose. The world has placed its claim upon us. Our lives are out of focus. We are so bent out of shape that we think it is the natural way to live.
God desires to salvage our lives despite our natural bent. Holiness and sanctification is about God calling a lost world back to his original plan. It is about calling each of us back to the purpose for which he sent us into this world.
Sanctifying Work of Holy Spirit
Becoming a child of God is allowing God to set you apart for his holy purpose—his original purpose for your life. God chose to forgive us through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. This restores us to the original position humanity enjoyed in Eden before sin entered creation. Immediately, upon becoming a child of God you are sanctified and considered to be holy. The word “sanctified” is the word from which we get the word “saint.” You don’t have to accomplish a miracle. You may not have your image engraved in stained glass.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. NIV
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. NIV
God “chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is accomplished through our willingness to obey the truth the Holy Spirit reveals.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s work in our world is to bring out God’s design in creation. He was there in the beginning giving direction to creation. He was active in bringing our lives into being. He continues to be active as he seeks to persuade us to heed God’s call for our lives. The Spirit of God contends with us to bring about God’s purpose. When God decided to destroy the world by a flood, the lord said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years" (Genesis 6:3). As Noah built the ark the Spirit of God contended with men; when they refused him they died in the flood.
Later in the days of the judges, “The Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him” (Judges 6:34-35).
A Spirit Controlled Life
It was a Spirit filled passion for holiness that led and empowered Christ and those first disciples. The Spirit not only led them to the baptistery, he filled them with his powerful presence. Paul admonishes us not to be drunk on wine, but filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18-19). A life filled with the Spirit produces spiritual strength and demonstrates the power of God. Living holy lives requires the power of God’s Spirit.
I like Christ view of his kingdom as a field. He spoke of sowers going out to sow seed, and the kind of ground the seeds fell upon. Paul says we are God’s field (1 Corinthian 3:9). God created the heavens, the earth and man. He placed man in the garden to till the ground. It was Adam’s job to till the ground; it was the Holy Spirit’s job to make things grow.
God’s kingdom is a place where we till the soil, plant and water the seed, and God gives the increase through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. The soil we cultivate is the hearts of men and women. The seed we plant is the word of God.
What we allow to be sown in our hearts is crucial. Our modern day world is constantly bombarding us with the seeds of corruption. Our sinful nature longs to cultivate the heart for their reception. It’s the natural thing to do.
Galatians 5:16-18
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Mass Media is bombarding us with information that feeds the sinful nature. It is overwhelming. Most are fed a constant diet of ungodly ways to live.
Galatians 5:19-21
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The Spirit is at work sowing seeds to produce the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-26
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. NIV
We reap what we plant and cultivate. The only way to change the dynamics of our world is for the kingdom of God to be established in every heart.
Galatians 6:7-10
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. NIV
Allowing our fleshly passions to drive us to do God’s work will lead us to live a life of self-destruction.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. NIV
Imagine someone being burned at the stake being driven to make the sacrifice out of fleshly passion. What is gained? Nothing!! There is a lot of passion in the world today, and much of it is misdirected. It is driving us toward our own self-destruction. The Holy Spirit wishes to reestablish God’s claim on your life for the purpose of salvaging your life. His ultimate purpose is to make the kingdoms of this world the kingdom of Christ.
What Is Salvation?
Salvation in its simplest form is deciding to allow God to work his will in your life. This is as simple as it gets. Determining that God is going to reign in my life requires a radical way of thinking, which results in allowing God to recreate the way I think. The Lord’s Prayer introduces us to God’s ideal of salvation.
Matthew 6:9-15
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. NIV
Jesus prayed, "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The kingdoms of this world must become the kingdom of God. Christ must rule in every heart.
Jesus made the most definitive statement about God’s house saying, “My house will be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:12-13 NIV). They had turned it into a den of thieves. In this house of prayer, our prayers focus on getting God’s will done in our lives just as his will is done in heaven. This is the true definition of God’s church today—restoring God’s order to our world one life at a time—one heart at a time.
Romans 12:1-2
12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV
Salvation is about establishing a new world order. The only way to establish a reliable new world order is for God’s will to reign on earth. The only means to salvaging our world is to allow God’s will to reign on earth as it reigns in heavens. The kingdoms of this world must become the kingdom of God. This is God’s ultimate and final goal for this world. John’s revelation reveals God’s ultimate goal.
Revelation 11:15
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign for ever and ever." NIV
A new me is the beginning of a new world order; it’s the essence of salvation. God’s kingdom is established on earth when we come to Christ, with a determination to allow him to rule in our lives, as he rules in the heavens.
Revelation 1:5-6
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. NIV
When we initially come to Christ he frees us from the guilt of sin. Then he adds us to his kingdom for the purpose of salvaging our lives as our lives are directed by his will. Christ takes us and makes us into a spiritual priesthood built up into a spiritual house designed to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5
4 As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. NIV
1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. NIV
Conclusion:
The flesh encourages us to go it alone, it says, “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it. And hold on for dear life.”
Jesus says to his disciples, “When you get to the end of your rope, don’t be anxious, simply trust in what God is about to do through you through the leading of his Holy Spirit.
John 3:5-8
5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." NIV
Death to self in baptism is the key to renewing the Spirit's passion for holiness.
Romans 6:1-4
6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. NIV
Following the Spirit's instruction is the key to becoming a new creature in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:16-19
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. NIV
Bible Study Questions
What is a definition of the word “sanctify”?
How is one considered to be holy?
What does it mean to be saved?
What is the driving purpose of the Holy Spirit’s work in our world?
Discuss Christ’s view of the kingdom of God as a field?
How does mass media affect God’s efforts of salvaging the world?
How difficult is it to cultivate our hearts to produce the fruits of the Spirit?
How does Christ explain God’s purpose in the Lord’s prayer?
How does Peter explain Christ kingdom in 1 Peter chapter 2?
What does it mean that God’s house will be called a house of prayer?