Sanctify Yourself In Order To See and Obtain His Wonders

BIBLE STUDY #801 CHURCH IN THE HOUSES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4 -10, 2014

Topic: “Sanctify Yourself In Order To See and Obtain His Wonders” Hebrews 12:14, 18-25 In verse 14 we can see the holiness of God. The holiness of God is absolute and wonderful; our portion is to be clothed of His holiness, becoming holy as He is holy in the process of sanctification through the help of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is a process, a work wrought in the inner being by the Holy Spirit after the regeneration (regeneration comes after a period of deterioration due to sin when we convert, and God with His power makes us better doing His work in our body so that it may be more effective). Without holiness no one will see the Lord, without sanctification no one will be able to see Him as a son in the celestial glory. The Lord for being pure and holy will only be seen by the pure and holy. Without holiness you will not be able to enjoy Him who is holy Himself. When Moses went up Mount Sinai and found himself with God at the top of the hill, the people were commanded not to come even close to the hill. There was a prohibition on behalf of God; it was a severe command of prohibition (Hebrews 12:20 “…what was commanded. If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned, or thrust through with a dart”) The command was so serious and so strict that if a beast touched the hill they had to stone it or pierce it with a dart to kill it; how much more than that was that prohibition for a man if he touched the holy hill where God manifested Himself to Moses so that he could lead those people. By means of this act of prohibition God was leading the people to produce in them the knowledge of what sin was. They would know that if violating the command would mean death for a brutal beast, an animal that was unable to comprehend, how much more would this death mean for those who indeed understood the warning. That beast would end up dead if it came close to where God was. If an animal without wanting or knowing already had a death sentence by violating the command then all those men and women had to be careful not to sin, IT WAS THE TIME OF THE LAW FOR THEIR LIVES! What was seen was so terrible. (Hebrews 12:21 “… the sight was so terrifying that Moses said: I am trembling with fear”) It was the vision of God’s majesty. It was the revelation of God’s righteous demands and of His wrath against sin. The purpose of the law was not to provide the knowledge of salvation but the knowledge of sin. Where God is there cannot be sin. All this speaks of the distance between God and man because of sin. Paul, by revelation and inspiration, gives us this detail that Moses’ mind was affected; his body trembled. Moses and the people had the vision of God’s majesty. For such reason, we see that in order to see God, sanctification is necessary. Moses’ body trembled (Hebrews 12:22 “…But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.”) Moses and those people saw God’s majesty in that way, but we in these times, we who have believed, Paul says: “You have come close…,” that is, you have already arrived at Mount Zion, at the city of the living God, at Jerusalem the celestial, to the many millions of angels. This celestial Jerusalem is the Jerusalem of the spiritual church, the invisible Jerusalem where the first foundations were sprouted at the literal Zion. The law has its “Mount Sinai,” but faith has its “Mount Zion.” This Mount Zion is the celestial that symbolizes the combined blessings of the grace, all that is ours through the redemptive work of Jesus. The law has its “heavenly capital in the Highest.” When entering the presence of God we are surrounded by thousands of angels that for not having stains of sin they cannot join our own canticles of gratitude for they do not know the joy that brings salvation. “The spirit of righteous men made perfect.” (Vs. 23) This will happen to those who have died in Christ and sought to sanctify themselves for God. It will be in the resurrection when the judge appears and the happiness of the believers will be consummated by the union of the glorified body with the spirit. These saints are those who have died since Pentecost until today and are now in the conscious enjoyment of the Lord’s presence. These righteous await resurrection, the day their bodies will be raised from the grave in a glorified way and reunited with their spirits. They have loved sanctification, were justified by faith, they are blameless, they are pure because the value of the work of Christ. They expect to receive the glorified body. But, for that you have to live in sanctification, in holiness. This is the teaching that is given to us here. Let us love sanctity and search for it wholeheartedly, well, with the help of the Holy Spirit we will obtain it and will be perfected and spotless, pure. Then, just like these righteous men that Paul mentions here, we will also see God and be with Him in eternal glory. Let us sanctify ourselves so we can see His wonders! Amen.