Sanctification is the act of making something or somebody clean or holy. In Christian/Messianic theology, sanctification is usually understood to be an act or process subsequent to salvation which renders the believer qadosh or holy (set-apart) in fact (as opposed to justification, which is a legal declaration of innocence).
In the Tanakh (Old Testament), especially in the nevi'im (prophets), sanctification is to be understood as the whole process by which Elohim (God) is cleansing the world and its people. His ultimate goal is that everything - animate and inanimate - be cleansed from any taint of sin or uncleanness (Ezek.36:25-29; 37:21-23). The Hebrew qodesh occurs as a verb ('to be set apart, consecrated') and an adjective ('sacred', 'holy' [thing, place, person, etc.]) whether that quality is applied to Elohi9m (God), or places, things, persons, or times sanctified by (or to) Elohim (God). The people of Israel were to be a "qadosh (holy, set-apart) nation" (Ex.19:6) and in order to facilitate their sanctification, Yahweh established a qadosh (holy, set-apart) priesthood (Ex.29:1; 1 Sam.7:1).
A less frequent term, tahor ('to be clean', 'pure') describes cleansing in a physical, ceremonial, and moral sense. There are "clean" animals (Gen.7:2,8; 8:20) and "pure" metals (Ex.25:11-39), "clean" people and things (Num.18-19). Yahweh's words are "pure" (Ps.12:6`), "His eyes too pure to look on evil" (Hab.1:13, NRSV).
Something may be separated from Elohim (God) by sin and uncleanness. Under the Old (Mosaic) Covenant, forgiveness from sin was obtained by offering the appropriate sacrifice for sin; cleansing from uncleanness required the appropriate purification ritual. These rituals were divided into water rituals for people and things that could be cleaned, and fire rituals (usually destructive), for severely contaminated things, especially those which could not be cleansed.
An Israelite who contracted uncleannness had to bathe, wash his clothes, and wait until evening (Lev.11:38; 15:1-32; Num.19:11-13). Greater amounts of uncleanness required more complicated ceremonies and additional ingredients (Lev.14:1-19; Num.19:1-22). Under the right conditions, even water could be made unclean (Lev.11:33-35). However, water from a spring ("living water") or underground cistern was always considered clean and this is why "living water" became so important and why Yah'shua (Jesus) uses it as a metaphor for eternal life (Lev.14:5-6; 6:50-52; 14:52; 15:2,13; cp, Jn.4:10-11; 7:38).
Ultimately, the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament) teach that the sanctification of the world takes place at a personal and individual level. Those who choose to be sanctified by the Ruach (Spirit) must cooperate in the process (1 Jn.3:3; Rev.22:11) - just as in the water purification rites of the Tanakh (Old Testament). This process removes the sin but "saves" the individual. The Ruach's (Spirit's) rôle in sanctification begins before conversion with conviction (Jn.16:8-11), includes cleansing the believer at conversion (1 Cor.6:11; 2 Thes.2:13; 1 Pet.1:7-9), continually washing him or her from sin after conversion (Jn.4:10-14; 7:38-39; cp. 1 Jn.1:7-9), through guiding him or her in righteous living (Jn.14:26; Rom.8:5-13; 1 Cor.2:9-16).
Purification by fire included a variety of materials: clothing or leather with any kind of destructive mildew (Lev.13:47-59) or a house from which mildew could not be cleansed (Lev.14:33ff.; cp. Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen.19:24; cp. Lk.17:29-30; and idolatrous Jerusalem, Jer.4:4).
People who refuse to cooperate with the Ruach's (Spirit's) work of sanctification are punished with fire. Yahweh will use this method to "cleanse" the earth of the presence of sinful people (Is.66:24; cp. Mt.25:30,41,46; Rev.20:11-21; cp. 2 Pet.3:10-13).
(10 July 2019)
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