Spirit in you Vs. Spirit with you-That Sanctification Journey

Have you ever had one of those times when you are reading something that you have read, like a gazillion times, but you catch something that you missed before?  That happened to me this morning.  It was one of those "whoa, stop, back the train up" moments!

I'm on week 23 of Disciple Bible Study and this week focuses on the second half of the Gospel of John.  What caught my eye happens to be in the second half of verse 17 in chapter 14 talking about the Holy Spirit:

"...You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you."

The note in the Wesleyan Study Bible says this:

"The Spirit is already with the disciples but will not be in them until Jesus breathes on them." 

 The thought that popped into my head was "there is a big difference between the Spirit being with you and the Spirit being in you!"  Then I started thinking about how many people are in this very situation?  Which then led me to ask myself how many times have I had the Spirit with me or even in me and chose to opt out on what I was being asked to do?  Ah ha!  Maybe this is the process of Sanctification that Wesley was talking about!

There have been times in my life when I have felt completely alone and totally abandoned.  But as a Christian I know that is not true.  The Spirit is with me.  I may not have realized it, or felt it, but I was never truly alone!  And in hindsight, looking back on those moments I can see where the Spirit was working in me in ways that I did not realize or acknowledge.  I think there are a lot of people who can say the same thing (in hindsight of course).  God was not only with them but working in them, they were just so overwhelmed or distracted to realize it at the time!

There are times though, when I know that the Spirit is not only in me but also working in me and asking me to do something that I am not so sure about doing!  You think to yourself, "well if God wants it done, you will just joyfully agree to do what is being asked of you."  WRONG!  At least in my case, that's wrong.  Yeah, there is this little thing called "free will" which can sometimes be the "opt out" choice.  And there have been times when I have exercised that choice!  Of course, you would think I would learn that no is not the best answer yet, time and again, I make the same mistake!  Yup, my name is Trudy and I still mess up on occasion!

Macarius spoke about this in Homily 15  Even some of the saints and leaders of the early church stumbled.  He described it as "not having obtained to perfect charity".  Nowadays, we would call that "perfect love".  It's no wonder that Wesley talked about the process of Sanctification being a journey of going from "glory to glory".  Hopefully, with time, as you mature you get better at following the lead of the Spirit but we're imperfect and sometimes we will "miss the mark".  I miss the mark and I have to admit it and ask for forgiveness.  I am reminded daily that grace is a wonderful thing!

Oral Roberts used to tell the story of how he started Oral Roberts University.  He said that he asked God why he was the one being asked to do this when there were others who were far more qualified.  He said the answer he got back was "I did ask them but they won't do it!"  Makes me wonder how many times God has had to ask someone else to do the things he asked me to do in the first place?  I shudder to think!

So for those of you who have been in a similar situation, take heart!  You're not alone.  The Spirit is with you. The Spirit is in you.  The journey of Sanctification continues and God's grace abounds!  You're going to make mistakes, but God will still love you and he will provide opportunities to use you to share his love!  I may not have faith in my ability but God...I have faith in HIS ability!  And I am so grateful that he can find ways to use imperfect me!  Trust in the Lord because he can do all things, no matter how imperfect we may be!

Wesleyan Terminiology Part 2: Justification and Sanctification

Now I know that understanding the old English in a Wesley sermon can be hard but I really encourage you to read all of Justification by Faith because the sermon does an excellent job of explaining what these terms mean.  Also, you will run across a word that Wesley uses in a lot of his sermons: vouchsafe.  In modern English it means to grant or to give as a favor.

Having said that, let's talk about Justification first.  Using Romans 4:5 as the basis, Wesley defines Justification this way:

 "...In consideration of this, that the Son of God hath "tasted death for every man," God hath now "reconciled the world to himself, not imputing to them their" former "trespasses." And thus, "as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification." So that, for the sake of his well-beloved Son, of what he hath done and suffered for us, God now vouchsafes, on one only condition, (which himself also enables us to perform,) both to remit the punishment due to our sins, to reinstate us in his favour, and to restore our dead souls to spiritual life, as the earnest of life eternal."

In other words, if you accept Christ as Saviour, by faith, God grants forgiveness of sins and there is a restoration of right relationship with God.  Justification.

Sanctification is considered by Wesley to be a "fruit" of Justification.  Although the slate is wiped clean, because we are human, the roots and weed seeds of sin still live within us and they can sprout again if we are not on our guard.  Thus, the saying "from grace, to grace to grace" came about.  I had a hard time understanding this at first because I have heard both terms used to describe the same exact thing.  Then I looked outside at my garden and the explanation clicked.

Here in Missouri we have some weeds that if you don't get them out early will continue to plague you throughout the growing season.  So I went out, garden fork in hand and turned every square inch of the upper half of the garden.  I dug down and pulled out 6 inch taproots, I pulled every runner root, dug every wild onion, put it all in a bucket and stuck it on the compost pile.  I dug it all out, I took all the weeds out of the garden, removed them completely.  The section was completely bare! 

A few days later, after a little rain and a little sun I looked out and lo and behold, there was a blanket of green on that bare ground!  Ah ha!  The light bulb went on in my little head.  I'm forgiven so sin no longer has control but the roots of sin still exist within me.  If I'm not careful they will sprout again!  Wesley put it this way in his sermon On Sin in Believers:

" Let us, therefore, hold fast the sound doctrine "once delivered to the saints," and delivered down by them with the written word to all succeeding generations: That although we are renewed, cleansed, purified, sanctified, the moment we truly believe in Christ, yet we are not then renewed, cleansed, purified altogether; but the flesh, the evil nature, still remains (though subdued) and wars against the Spirit."

Sanctification is an ongoing process.  It's spiritual work.  When a "weed" pops up, it makes you stop and ask yourself if this truly reflects the love of God at work in your life.  If not, then it's time to pray that the spirit renews, cleanses and purifies you so you can be further sanctified. 

For me personally, understanding these concepts was a huge relief!  I know that I don't always get things right!  Sometimes, I just totally and completely blow it, whatever "it" happens to be on my path!  Now, because I have a better understanding of what Sanctification means, I can recognize a mistake, I can admit to it, ask forgiveness, correct what I can and move on AND have faith that the spirit is still working within me!  I understand why it is so important to watch, guard and pray.  I understand why it is so important to read scripture everyday.  It's a spiritual battle.  The tools are spiritual.  Justification is the  good root.  Sanctification is the visible proof or "fruit". 

Thank you God that spiritual perfection is a process and not a prerequisite!