Artwork by “BiblePhile, Artstation” with permission.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love. Ephesians 5:1-2.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
What does it mean to live a sanctified life? It means to live your life in Me, it is the abiding life.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:3-5.
And how is it that you abide in Me? By abiding in My Word.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7.
If you continue (abide, remain) in My Word, then you are truly My disciples and then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. The sanctified life is the free life where there is nothing holding you down in adictions, anger, revenge, hatred, jealousy, anxiety, bitterness, or immorality. Truth will keep you in the light.
There is only one absolute truth and that is My Word. And My Word is a light to your path and a lamp to your feet. It is not penance, fasting, giving everything including your life away, but in hearing, speaking, and doing My Word that holiness comes. That is how you renew your mind to a sanctified mind, the mind of your God, for I have given you the mind of Christ.
But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16.
Now I will give you not just two, not just three, but four “witnesses,” that is Scriptures that tell you the basics of a sanctified life.
First consider Romans 12:1-2.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.
This scripture shows you the pathway to a sanctified life. First, you present your bodies as agents and instruments for good rather than impurity and evil that harm the Body of Christ. Everything you do is either increasing the glory of every member in Heaven and on earth of My Son’s Body, the Church or diminishing it. Use your dominion authority over the earth to take back territory that Satan has stolen from you or your family. Use your dominion authority to release good into the earth and your and others’ lives.
And after getting your bodies submitted to the heavenly flow so that they too are instruments for good rather than evil, you must renew your mind to be transformed (metamorphoo, which is the process of turning a caterpillar into a butterfly—from the same body but a whole new creation) so that you may know My good, pleasing, and perfect Will for your life and the purpose and plan for all life. And there are different levels here of harvest depending upon your interest, enthusiasm, and diligence in hearing, speaking, and doing My Word. The first level is knowing My good will for your life, and that I liken to the milk of the Word and the thirty-fold return. You then have opportunity to know the pleasing level of My Will which I liken to the meat of My Word, that is, revelation for the more mature, and here the return is sixtyfold. And then the highest level is that of My perfect will for your lives which is the honey of the Word and the hundredfold return. When My Words become sweet to you and the delight of your heart, you are ready for more revelation and promotion, the perfect Will. To he who has more will be given, until he is overflowing.
And that leads us to our next Scripture on the road to sanctification.
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48.
And do not feel overwhelmed at that for that is the sanctified life and it is setting you free not binding you up. I define how to be perfect through My servant James: “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” James 3:2.
When words are many and loosely said, sin is not wanting. Death and life are in the power (hand) of your tongue. I am very careful in what I say and where I say it. Why? What I say comes into being. And that is controlling your mind. That is transforming your mind to the new creation you are in Christ. Watch your words and guard your life!
And what comes next? But I think by now you see what I am looking for: Me in you. In other words, I am looking for you to think, speak, and act like Me. For that is holiness. I AM holy and so are you when you renew your mind to think like Me, that is, reprogram your mind and heart to operate in My Word as your ultimate authority, guide, and teacher. My Word and My life in you by My Spirit in you, which is grace (My divine life flowing into you by My Spirit as a branch on the vine) will make you holy. My Word will sanctify you and set you apart as holy.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14-16.
It all comes down to how I made you—in My image and according to My likeness. True holiness is to imitate Me. And how do you do that? You abide in My love and live that love each day.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love. Ephesians 5:1-2.
Clearly lying, cheating, stealing, gossiping, speaking in sensuality and lust, anger, envy, strife, and the like are not walking in love and are not imitating Me but imitating the devil. And he is not holy.
“By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.” Ezekiel 28:16.
It is abiding in My Word that you are set free from the works and lusts of the flesh.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:2-4.
Holiness, the sanctified life is a rest of abiding in Me and letting My life, by My Spirit in you, do His great work in you. Let Him be your counselor, guide, and teacher, for He is My breath in you. And it was there in the Shabbat, that is, My rest, that I sanctified the first man and woman by My Word. And so it is with you. Make it a priority in your life to be aware of Me on purpose by conversing with Me. And you learn My voice by reading, speaking, meditating upon and taking your rest and comfort in My Word,
Each day we walked together and I shared My Word with them. And they shared theirs with Me. But when sin came, they hid from Me and no longer shared sweet fellowship in My Word. They left My rest, you never hear after that day that Adam and I spoke with one another again. Not because I did not want to communicate, but he cut off communication. Sin defiles and turns garments of the majestic beauty of holiness into naked shame. Remember what I told Moses he must do for his brother as My high priest so that he could minister to Me as consecrated in holiness? I told him, “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me.” Exodus 28:1-3. And I gave very particular instructions as to the materials to use and the various garments to make. These garments were made of gold and blue and purple and scarlet material and the fine linen, with precious jewels on the breastpiece with rows of precious gemstones engrave with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel so they would be before Me as he ministered. And I directed Moses also to have a plate of pure gold fashioned and to engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, “Holy to the LORD.” This was to be fastened by a blue cord, to the turban for his head so that hung down on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron would take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, with regard to all their holy gifts; make them acceptable before Me as holy. Exodus 28:36-38.
Let Me jump forward here before I go back again for I speak the end from the beginning, and so should you or it means you have no plan, no goal, and no purpose. Just as I clothed you (compassed you about) with the beautiful glory and splendor of holiness in My Shabbat (rest) when I formed you, Psalm 8:5, so now in the naked and stripped state in which Adam and Eve put themselves and all their biological descendants, I again clothe you who are born again by the Spirit in Jesus—those who become a NEW creation in Christ, you who join again with Me by My Holy Spirit in you, I clothe again in the beauty of holiness. I clothe you in the garments of Salvation (Yeshuah) and the robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10. For all who are baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ. Galatians 3:27.
I have fulfilled in Jesus (Yehsuah) My Words in Psalm 149: “For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation (YESHUAH).” Psalm 149:4. I have again clothed you in the beautiful glory and splendor of My holiness in Christ. “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels,” Isaiah 61:10, “that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:27.
Jesus is your Shabbat, He has reconciled you with Me and pulled you back with Him into My very bosom. He has prepared a place for you in My rest by His death and resurrection and when I raised Him from the dead I raised you with Him and seated you there with Him in My rest. He is Lord even of the Shabbat, the Sabbath day.
I love you. Abide in Me and I in you and you will bear much fruit for sanctification produces in kind.