Eusebeia Bible Church - Pastor Ed Collins
The Doctrine of Suffering – Sanctified In Love
July 29, 2010
OUTLINE:
Experiential Sanctification is:
#7: Being a vessel of mercy, a show of God’s grace
Rom 9:23
And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy [grace in action], which He prepared beforehand for glory,
God’s Grace
The beauty of God’s mercy (grace in action) is that He continues to reveal to us beyond the point of salvation the magnitude of His work in us.
Rom 8:1-2
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Memories
Remembering your faults and things you’ve done wrong in the past should never have any power over you. God often uses those memories to shed light on the positive things related to spiritual growth.
Rom 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Luk 7:47 (NLT)
“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
Experiential Sanctification is:
#7: Being a vessel of mercy, a show of God’s grace
Experiential Sanctification is:
#8: Being transformed experientially into what we already are positionally
Rom 12:2
And do not be conformed [suschematizo] to this world, but be transformed [metamorphoo] by the renewing of your mind [by means of BD], so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
“Possessing” Positional Truth
Becoming a “possessor” of Positional Truth is tantamount to progressive sanctification. In other words, the more you “possess” specific Truths regarding your position in Christ, the more you advance in the spiritual life.
“become convinced”
from pistoo - means to receive confidence (by means of BD); resulting in confidence in life, history, your relationship with the Lord, your purpose in life.
“childhood”
from brephos - means a newborn child, infant
“inspired”
from theopneustos - means “God-breathed”, implying both inhale and exhale; something living inhales/exhales, pointing to the fact that the Word of God is “alive” (Heb 4:12)
“adequate”
from artios - mean proficient (not perfect), suitable, or adapted to something; points to the believer at spiritual maturity
Experiential Sanctification is:
#8: Being transformed experientially into what we already are positionally
His doctrines never fail.
His promises regarding His own faithfulness to us are absolute.
“these things”
Refers to any evil in the soul; eg: evil includes choosing to ignore what you are positionally in Christ
Experiential Sanctification is:
#8: Being transformed experientially into what we already are positionally
Experiential Sanctification is:
#9: Being transformed into the image of TLJC
Transformed
Being transformed into the image of TLJC means “possessing” His mind (Pro 23:7a; 1Co 2:16).
First Things First
There must first exist a righteousness by means of BD in your soul before there will exist a righteousness in your life in practice.
“having been filled”
from pleroo - means to be filled up to the highest possible quality
“the fruit of righteousness”
Refers to maximum progression relative to experiential sanctification; points to a mature ECS that is in the image of Christ
Experiential Sanctification is:
#9: Being transformed into the image of TLJC
Feeling Like It Isn’t the Issue
You may not “feel” like it, but think back to the Cross…how much did TLJC “feel” like hanging there?
Heb 12:2
…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross
