A brief meditation designed to snap you back into the restoring power of God’s love.
2026-01-18
Sanctified
How often do you find yourself disappointed in yourself? You commit to doing what you know you should, such as stopping smoking, eating healthier, avoiding foul language, or developing a good habit like praying or exercising. I still struggle with many habits, thoughts, and actions I detest, things I learned from the environment I grew up in, and that still surrounds me. I know I’m not alone.
If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are surely more aware of the ongoing struggle between our spirit and the damaging influence of this self-centred world, which constantly assaults our souls with temptations and disguised invitations to follow a path opposite to God’s will. This is nothing new. From Adam to Jesus, and into the present and, who knows, for how long into the future, the struggle between holiness and worldliness is part of our human existence. See how the apostle Paul opened his letter to the spiritually struggling church in Corinth around the year 55 AD.
Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:
To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:1-3).
If you have not read this letter yet and don’t know anything about these Corinthian believers, you might think they are the perfect fellowship, “Sanctified in Christ, called as saints,” people who “call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord…” This may suggest they were close to moral perfection. Even the following verses reinforce that impression.
I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:4-9).
Yes, they had received plenty of God’s grace, “all speech and all knowledge,” and were “not lacking any spiritual gift,” etc. But when you read the rest of the letter, you discover they were fighting with one another. Some caused divisions, others were involved in sexual sins, others discriminated against the poor, and most of them were confused about what freedom in Christ means. They looked very much like everyone else in the pagan world. So why did Paul call them the church of God and sanctified?
Paul knew who they were to God, even if they didn’t realize it. They were sanctified. Sanctification is not something we achieve through great effort and good behaviour; it is the identity God gives us through the redemptive work of Jesus and the communion of the Holy Spirit. That’s why Paul uses the phrase “sanctified in Christ.” In other words, outside of Christ, there is no holiness or sanctification.
To be a saint doesn’t mean being morally infallible, never succumbing to temptation, or always doing what is right before God. Being sanctified means being counted among those whom Jesus has invited to follow him into his kingdom and out of this world. It is a journey of trusting, learning, obeying, growing in the knowledge of Jesus, and resisting, in communion with Christ, the constant pressure of this world. He is the Saviour, not us. He is the one who sanctifies us, not us. He is faithful even when we fail Him.
So when you feel the world’s alluring invitation to fit in, remember who you really are, a disciple of Jesus, sanctified in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
In His faithful love,
Alvaro Palacio.
gcitorontoeast.org 