Old Testament scholars discovered that the concept of the saint in the Old Testament became more and more ethical. In Paul's preaching, as reported in the book of Acts, there is another example of the ethical use of sanctification.
THE GENERAL EPISTLES
THE THEOLOGICAL USAGE
34; Sanctification usually means that consecration of a Christian believer, by which he is freed from sin and enabled to realize God's will in his life." [18]. 34; Sanctification is therefore the perfection of the Christian life or progressive purification of the soul."
A PRESENT POSSESSION
All agree, however, that the goal of sanctification, as understood in Protestant thought throughout the centuries, is the removal of the principle of evil that still infects the believer's nature, or complete liberation from sin.
T. Purkiser Chapter II
THE SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
12:10, we read that the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "the spirit of grace and supplication," will cause tears of repentance to flow from those who pierced the Lord of glory. The great eschatological sign that the end time has dawned, says the prophet Joel, will be the pouring out of God's Spirit on all flesh without distinction of race or calling (Joel 2:28-32).
CHRIST AND THE SPIRIT
CHRIST'S BAPTISM
The importance of the two baptisms, John and Jesus, must not be overlooked. Both, by their very nature, must be actions that take place at a given time.
PAUL AND THE NATURE OF THE SPIRIT'S WORK
The Spirit gave this gift so that "unknown tongues" would not be spoken at Pentecost. As the inimitable Uncle Bud Robinson - "The Will Rogers of the Holiness Movement" said: "When I was converted, I got something I never had; when I was fully sanctified, I lost something I always had." .
BIRTH OF THE SPIRIT AND BAPTISM WITH THE SPIRIT
34; And God, who knows the hearts, testified to them and gave them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and make no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9).
PURITY THROUGH THE SPIRIT
As Vincent Taylor has said, "The broad stream of New Testament teaching about people 'filled with the Spirit' is related to conduct, duties, service, insight and holiness. The Spirit is 'Holy' and his power is directed to sanctification and righteousness to life.
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
It is almost inconceivable that the human spirit can be thoroughly conditioned by the Spirit of God and at the same time stained and stained with carnal pride and ambition, selfish anger, envy, resentment, hatred, bitterness, internal conflict, lovelessness, and all the other evil brood of the carnal mind.
RECEIVING THE SPIRIT
This is the rebaptism of the group by Paul, before the Holy Spirit came upon them. If the coming of the Spirit, as has been claimed, was only their regeneration, then St. Only in the fullness of the Spirit there is the maximum development of spiritual stature and grace.
T. Purkiser Chapter III
MORAL PURITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Hebrew term for clean in these references, taher, is defined in the Harkavy Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary to the Old Testament as “to be clean.” It is classified as one of the 'Wisdom Psalms' because it deals with the great problem posed by the prosperity of the wicked and the adversity of the righteous. Some of the conclusions he drew have been disputed by other equally competent Wesley -scholars.
PURITY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
To men and women of this character the Holy Spirit came in a manner comparable to Pentecost. Peter described it to the church in Jerusalem: "And God, who knows the hearts, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing them their hearts by faith". (Acts 15:8-9). Richard Taylor's memorable words, "Peter went right to the heart of Pentecost showing that Pentecost goes right to the heart. It does so in the fullness of its cleansing from all inward sin.
PAUL'S USE OF "KATHARAS"
Paul summarizes the salvation purpose of our Lord as "to deliver us from all unrighteousness and to purify for himself his own people who are zealous for good works R.S.V.).
JOHN AND CLEANSING FROM ALL SIN
Now, should we desire to read the passage from the human point of view rather than from the divine side, we must begin with the human predicament: "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (verse 10). 34; If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (v. 9). 34; But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin" (v.7).
THE HEART AS THE OBJECT OF CLEANSING
34; But thanks be to God that you were servants of sin, but from the heart you have obeyed the kind of teaching that was delivered to you" (Rom. 6:17). Here and in a number of other references that may become granted, the heart thinks, considers, chooses, feels, and obeys. The heart is represented throughout Scripture in three conditions: it can be deceitful and desperately wicked, the natural heart; it can be divided, "double-minded," the regenerated but unsanctified heart, or it may be pure, the consecrated heart.
T. Purkiser Chapter IV
SIN AS DYNAMIC
It is the repair of a rift that exists between persons, and the establishment of a new relationship of reconciliation and fellowship. Rather, it is what we are. It is to be situated in the dynamics of personality, in the motivations, attitudes, inclinations and attitudes of living persons. It is in this light that we must turn to the teachings of the Bible.
THE OLD TESTAMENT VIEW
If there were no humans in the universe, there would be no moral qualities, good or evil. 34; that depravity of the whole nature of man, which is commonly called original sin," and that it is also taught that this sin is inherited; secondly, that no explanation is given in the Old Testament of the reasons for this inherited depravity, except the supposition that the race is a unity and every member of the race is sinful because the race is sinful. In the term used here for unrighteousness (avon), Schultz sees sin as a condition, a condition that is contrary to divine harmony.
THE NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING
34;The further conclusion to which the passages of the Old Testament lead us are these: First, that what is specifically called original sin is very clearly taught, viz. third, this sinful state is involuntary in the sense that it is the result of no choice. of the individual. Fifthly, though changed and subdued by saving grace, the sinful state of man's nature continues in the regenerate state until it is treated in complete sanctification.
NEW TESTAMENT DESCRIPTIONS OF INNER SIN
In this passage, "flesh" is clearly used to describe the sinful state of the human soul. Vine writes, "Broadly speaking, the carnal denotes the sinful element in man's nature by descent from Adam; the spiritual is that which comes by the regenerating [and we would add, sanctifying] action of the Holy Spirit." [68]. He contrasts the carnal person with both the natural man (2:14), that is, the unconverted person; and with the spiritual man whose character is spelled out in the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Gal.
THE CARNAL AND THE HUMAN
One of the perplexing problems in the Christian life is distinguishing between the carnal and the human. This brings us to another of the great New Testament synonyms for holiness, the crucifixion or death of the sinful self and of the self in relation to sin. We must first note that the New Testament speaks both of the death of the carnal principle or the sinful flesh and of the believer's death to sin.
THE DEATH OF INNER SIN
As for the flesh, the carnal nature, or the old man, the cure is to put it off or die. Much ado has been made about the use of the term eradication in connection with the sin nature. This is one of the most common misunderstandings encountered regarding deliverance from indwelling sin.
DEATH TO SIN
But she is dead to the law of the married state, and she is free to marry another. 6:1-14, that baptism is both the symbol and the pledge of this death and of the life that follows. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we should also walk in newness of life" (vv. 3-4).
THE PARADOX OF DEATH AND LIFE
T. Purkiser Chapter V
PERFECTION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
34. The great progress made by Hebrew and Jewish thought was in the knowledge of the perfection of God. The strong ethical inclination of the prophets caused them to cling to holiness and righteousness as marks of His Perfection. Of the approximately two hundred and thirty synonyms for perfection, approximately seventy-two relate to the character of man.
PERFECTION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
An important summary of the biblical meaning of perfection is found in the article contributed to A Theological Wordbook of the Bible by R. Nor do we find any authority in the Bible to speak of perfection as the end state of an ever-increasing goodness that does not expand. by the individual or society. Our obedience in faith is not the beginning of some vague progress in a shadowy moral way, but is the acceptance of grace, which is always whole, complete, perfect; and in the power of this encounter our life is lived.
WHAT KIND OF PERFECTION?
A particular whipping boy has been the phrase "sinless perfection." Few, if any, defenders of the sanctity of the scriptures use the term, but it is commonly used by opponents of the doctrine. For these reasons, I would not make the unqualified statement, "There is nothing improper in my life." It could be terribly misunderstood." [87]. A scar, brought home from a well-won field, where you would only faint and give up."
PERFECT LOVE
God's love is the emanation of his holiness, not as a necessary law, but as a saving grace that returns us, all fallen and defiant, to his full, rich, harmonious, eternal life. Love is perfect, not in quantity but in kind, not as strong but as holy. And holiness is perfect, not as remote, not as merely pure, but because it is asserted in saving grace.
VALUES IN THE CONCEPT OF PERFECT LOVE
If the great revelation of God is in the cross, and the great gift from the cross is the Holy Spirit, then the revelation is holiness, holiness that works outwardly as love. God's holiness is his self-sufficient perfection whose passion is to establish itself in the unholy by gracious love. All these elements are included in the Christian ideal; but most of all its dependence on the work of God in Christ is seen, and its illuminating power is greatest when it is interpreted as perfect love for God and man." [94].
T. Purkiser Chapter VI
SALVATION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
To put it in the technical language of the scholars, salvation takes on an eschatological aspect. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Could it be that we seek to build the Servant's Kingdom - without following the Servant.
SALVATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
And the redeemed of God shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy upon their heads;. She took the form of the Son of David, the victorious King; and it took the form of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Vine gives as one of the meanings of Soteria (salvation) in the New Testament: "The present experience of God's power to deliver from the slavery of sin.
FULL SALVATION
Ryder Smith asserts, "It goes without saying that Paul's exposition of terms such as 'justify' and 'sanctify' is an exposition of salvation.
SAVED TO THE UTTERMOST
Henry Alford notes that some take the phrase "to the end" (Greek, eis to panteles) to refer to time, and says, "But this is not the use of the word. Phillips' translation, "It means that he may save fully and completely those who draw near to God through him the Amplified New Testament gives fully, perfectly, finally and for all time and eternity" as its amplification of the phrase "to the end. Christ has become our Wisdom in the obedience of the Spirit that brings that "fear of the Lord" that He is.
T. Purkiser NOTES
The More Excellent Way: The Scriptural Basis of the Wesleyan Message (Winona Lake, Indiana: Light and Life Press, 1952), pp.32-38. Or it may be spoken of as Evangelical Perfection in so far as it is presented to us as a part, and the crowning part, of the Gospel." Wesley to come to the defense of the term perfection, but there is evidence that it was not .his choice.