#772 1689 Confession Sanctification

13.1 Those who are united to Christ and effectually called and regenerated have a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the power of Christ's death and resurrection. They are also further sanctified, really and personally, through the same power, by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them. The dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the various evil desires that arise from it are more and more weakened and put to death. At the same time, those called and regenerated are more and more enlivened and strengthened in all saving graces so that they practice true holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. 

Therefore be alert and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.… Acts 20: 31-33

For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. 7 For anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Romans 6: 5-7

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.… John 17: 16-18

from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,… 

will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do infinitely more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,… Ephesians 3: 15-20

Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!… Romans 6: 13-15

gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.… Galatians 5: 23-25

so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.… Colossians 1: 10-12

1 Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit,perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.… 2 Corinthians 7: 1-2

Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be debilitated, but rather healed. 14 Pursue peace with all men, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. 15 Be careful that no one falls short of the grace of God, so that no root of bitterness will spring up to cause trouble and defile many.… Hebrews 12: 13-15

13:2 This sanctification extends throughout the whole person, though it is never completed in this life. Some corruption remains in every part. From this arises a continual and irreconcilable war, with the desires of the flesh against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. 

 but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.… 1 Thessalonians 5: 21-23

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. 20 And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.…

So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s Law. 23 But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.… Romans 7: 18-23

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit,and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to one another, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.… Galatians 5: 16-18

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.… 1 Peter 2:10-12

13:3 In this war, the remaining corruption may greatly prevail for a time. Yet through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part overcomes. So the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. They pursue a heavenly life, in gospel obedience to all the commands that Christ as Head and King has given them in His Word. 

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. 16 From Him the whole body is fitted and held together by every supporting ligament. And as each individual part does its work, the body grows and builds itself up in love. 17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.… Ephesians 4: 15-17

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3: 17-18

Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit,perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.… 2 Corinthians 7: 1-2

Sanctification

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#755 1689 Confession Creation

4:1 In the beginning God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was pleased to create or make the world and all things in it, both visible and invisible, in a six-day period, and all very good. He did this to manifest the glory of His eternal power, wisdom and goodness. 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.… John 1: 1-3

1 On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. 2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.… Hebrews 1: 1-3

…7 He commands the sun not to shine, and seals off the stars. 8 He alone stretches out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea. 9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.… Job 9: 7-9

…3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me! 4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?… Job 38: 3-5

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.… Colossians 1: 15-17

…29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth— everything that has the breath of life in it— I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.…Genesis 1: 29-31

…19 For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.… Romans 1: 19-21

4:2 After God had made all the other creatures, he created humanity. He made them male and female, with rational and immortal souls, thereby making them suited to that life lived unto God for which they were created. They were made in the image of God, being endowed with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. They had the law of God written in their hearts and the power to fulfill it. Even so, they could still transgress the law, because they were left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject to change. 

…26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”… Genesis 1: 26-28

…6 But springs welled up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils,and the man became a living being. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.… Genesis 2: 6-8

…28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found a virtuous woman. 29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” Ecclesiastes 7: 28-29

…5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate it. 7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.… Genesis 3: 5-8

…14 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the work of the Law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them.16 This will come to pass on that day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.… Romans 2: 14 -16

4:3 In addition to the law written in their hearts, they received a command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as they obeyed this command, they were happy in their communion with God and had dominion over the creatures.

…16 And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it,you will surely die.” 18 The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”… Genesis 2: 16-18

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