Think Wink.

Last Sunday, Pastor Tim preached an amazing sermon on John 17 and Jesus’ high priestly prayer for the saints. His text was John 17:14-19,

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

He noted in this text there is positional holiness, which means we have the position before God that we are holy. Jesus prays, the world has hated them because they are not of the world…They are not of the world” (John 17:14, 16). He likens it to marriage. Pastor Tim, everyday he wakes up, he is married. That is his position in life. He has the position of husband. Pastor then pointed out from the text Jesus’ words, “Sanctify them in the truth…And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they may also be sanctified in the truth” (John 17:17, 19). This also said that we must undergo the process of sanctification. We must strive to be holy. Everyday Pastor Tim wakes up, he must live as a husband to his wife. Based upon the fact and knowledge of that fact that he is a husband, he lives as a husband. Thus in the text, based upon the fact and knowledge of the fact that we have the position of being holy, we live and struggle and strive to be holy.

One text that he cited is Hebrews 10:14, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” But it is the Greek verb tenses that just stood out to me so much in this text. Two verbs are present in this text: τετελείωκεν and τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους. And it is these two verbs that I want to look at today.

First is the verb τετελείωκεν. It is a 3rd person perfect tense active indicative verb. The verb tense suggests an action that has been completed with abiding effects. The term is τελειόω which means to complete and accomplish. What the author is saying about the death of Christ is that it has completed those being sanctified and it that completing is inished and accomplished. There is nothing left to add to it. There is nothing the person who has been completed needs to add. It is done. This is the same tense and verb found in John 19:30, “It is finished.” The context of Hebrews 10:14 is speaking of holiness (see the participle at the end of the verse). We have been made holy. We have been made completely holy and that holiness abides with us. It does not go away. We have the position of perfection, holiness.

The second verb is τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους. This is a present passive, masculine, plural, accusative participle. This is very interesting to me. The accusative article suggests that the participle is a substantive adjective, an adjective that acts like a noun. The present tense of the participle indicates continuous and ongoing action. The passive voice of the participle indicates that the action of the verb is being performed upon the object, not the object is performing the action. The accusative case of the verb indicates that is is the direct object of the verb τετελείωκεν. The verb stem of τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους is ἁγιάζω which means very simply to make holy. The continuous nature of the verb indicates that the making holy here is ongoing and doesn’t end (though yes I know that when we all get to heaven we will have perfect bodies, but I am speaking of just the verb itself). It is a process. What is even more astonishing to me is that the verb is passive. The action isn’t being performed by who the verb is speaking of, it is being received. They are being made holy, they are not making anything holy. We don’t make ourselves holy, someone else does.

Hence we have progressive holiness. There is a process the we undergo during our lives here on earth by which we are being made to conform to the holiness of Christ. Everyday we live is part of this struggle. But this in no way contradicts what was stated in the first part of the verse namely that we are complete, perfect. We have the position of holiness and we undergo the process of being made holy. I think Pastor Tim’s analogy of marriage works perfectly. He is a husband, and based upon that information, he lives as a husband. Everyday we wake up, we know that as believers and lovers of Christ we are holy. And based upon that information, we live holy lives. But that living isn’t by our power. It is from outside of us. Jesus said it is by the truth and that God’s Word is truth (John 17:17, 19)! By reading our Bibles, the Holy Spirit conforms our thinking and thus our actions to be like that of Jesus: holy!

I am so excited to hear what Pastor Tim preaches this morning for his flock!

Related posts:

About Think Wink

James White on John 3:16, the Love of God, the Holiness of God

Mercy and Equality