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Daily Devotions

1 Peter

1 Peter 
Day 
Day 3

"In sanctification of the Spirit"

Text: 1 Peter 1:2b

A RICH FAITH

The years spent with the Lord Jesus Christ saw Peter learn many deep and profound truths. Being a believer was not just knowing and accepting Jesus as Saviour. To truly follow the Lord Jesus would lead to an enriched faith.

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
in sanctification of the Spirit,
for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”
1 Peter 1:2

1. Relating to God as Father

a) This was a great truth (John 1:12).
b) But it would take some effort on our part to learn how to build a relationship with God as our Father in Heaven.

2. “In sanctification of the Spirit”

a) Our faith in the Lord informs us that the Holy Spirit is involved right from the start.
b) It is the Holy Spirit who regenerates us so that we experience what it means to be “born again” (John 3:3-8).
c) It is the work of the Holy Spirit to sanctify us.
i) He helps us to understand what it means to be holy.
(This is the essential meaning of the word “sanctification”.)
ii) He enables us to be holy before the Lord too.
iii) Sanctification is an on-going work.
iv) It is a work that the Spirit of God does daily to keep us sanctified.
v) It is a work that He does tirelessly, to help us become more sanctified.

3. “For obedience”

a) The phrase “for obedience” fits better in its relationship to the work of sanctification.
(The use of the comma is unfortunate for it breaks up the essential and original idea.)
b) The entire phrase therefore should read, “in sanctification for obedience”.
c) The goal of sanctification is not to become a hermit who lives in seclusion.
d) The essential goal of sanctification is for believers to be obedient children to God the Father.
i) This is essentially taught in the Old Testament.
ii) Obedience is evidenced when we honour God (Cf. Malachi 1:6).
iii) Through sanctification we understand obedience better.