¹⁷ “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

How does God sanctify His people? According to Jesus sanctification relates to the truth, particularly the truth of His Word. The word “Truth” is one of the important words used in the Gospel according to John. Occurring 26 times, we first encounter it in the prologue, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This was a defining aspect of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was the Word in the flesh, and He was full of grace and truth.

What is particularly interesting is that truth is inseparable from grace. In a world that has rejected the Word from the beginning, God continues to inject His truth, the Word, into the world. There is no principle of “fairness” or “ought-ness” to which God must conform. There is no moral imperative in the universe that dictates that God must give us the truth. He does so from within His own being, and for no other reason than He is a gracious God. He provides the truth about our dilemma of being fallen creatures, and He provides the truth of the solution to that problem – the way of salvation, the Person of salvation—that is the Word, the truth. And He provides the way to life. He clarified the cryptic message of the Old Testament, as John writes, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Remember, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

For disciples of Christ, the truth is how God sanctifies us. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:21). In Christ, we worship “in truth” (John 4:23-24). The truth will make us free (John 8:32). Followers of Jesus Christ are completely centered on the Word of God. Simon Peter said it well, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

What does this mean for us today? Our sanctification is not dependent on our “spiritual disciplines.” Religious orders and cults would have us believe that holiness comes through religious activities, rituals, burning of incense, subdued lighting, vows of silence or fasting, self- flagellation, and myriad of forms of self-denial. But Jesus, who is the Word and the Truth, points in a different direction. God uses the Word to set us apart. We live by the Word of God. It is our life, our breath, our food, our sustenance. Nothing else will bring true sanctification.

Lord Jesus, I am committed to the Truth, the Word of God. For it is through the Word that I grow in my knowledge and relationship with You.