Morning, July 12
Go To Evening Reading
“Sanctified by God the Father.”
Jude 1
“Sanctified in Christ Jesus.”
1 Corinthians 1:2
“Through sanctification of the Spirit.”
1 Peter 1:2
Mark the union of the Three Divine Persons in all their gracious acts.
How unwisely do those believers talk who make preferences in the Persons
of the Trinity; who think of Jesus as if he were the embodiment of
everything lovely and gracious, while the Father they regard as severely
just, but destitute of kindness. Equally wrong are those who magnify
the decree of the Father, and the atonement of the Son, so as to depreciate
the work of the Spirit. In deeds of grace none of the Persons of the
Trinity act apart from the rest. They are as united in their deeds
as in their essence. In their love towards the chosen they are one,
and in the actions which flow from that great central source they
are still undivided. Specially notice this in the matter of sanctification.
While we may without mistake speak of sanctification as the work of
the Spirit, yet we must take heed that we do not view it as if the
Father and the Son had no part therein. It is correct to speak of
sanctification as the work of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit.
Still doth Jehovah say, “Let us make man in our own image after our likeness,” and thus we are “ his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.” See the value which God sets upon real holiness, since the Three
Persons in the Trinity are represented as co-working to produce a
Church without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” And you, believer, as the follower of Christ, must also set a high
value on holiness—upon purity of life and godliness of conversation. Value the blood
of Christ as the foundation of your hope, but never speak disparagingly
of the work of the Spirit which is your meetness for the inheritance
of the saints in light. This day let us so live as to manifest the
work of the Triune God in us.