Is Jesus our Sanctification or does the Word of God Sanctify Us?

The answer is yes. Recently someone took issue with a quote I posted by Art Azurdia: "The word is the God appointed means by which you will be sanctified...." - Dr. Arturo Azurdia III

Visitor: Not very helpful in then long run. Jesus is my Sanctification, not my adherence to the Bible.

Response: Jesus cannot be bifurcated from His word. The Jesus of the Bible is our sanctification, not the Jesus of our imaginations. You cannot know God or Jesus apart from His revelation. We don't come to know Jesus in a void or through some mystical personal channel of revelation. Even Jesus himself testifies of the Scriptures own importance in the sanctification of the believer.

"Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. " (John 17:17)

And at the same time the Bible also declares that Jesus is our sanctification:

"...because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and SANCTIFICATION and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:29-31)

This is why we lay so heavy an importance of the means of grace (such as preaching). The Jesus we worship cannot be cut off from His word.

Also I want to point to some other words Jesus spoke which stress the true authority of the word. After the resurrection when speaking to the two disciples on the road (their eyes hidden from knowing who he was), notice that Jesus does not say "tada, look here I am". No He first points them to their astonishingly slow belief in the SCRIPTURE'S testimony about him.

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 14:25+

Also in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus also notice the emphasis Jesus puts on the word of God even over a miraculous event:

"...But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ "And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” Luke 16:29-31

Fri, 09/09/2016 - 12:52 -- john_hendryx

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