The Holy Spirit SANCTIFIED FOR JESUS' SAKE
A new heart also will I give you, and new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Eze, 36:26.
God's people had been unfaithful to Him. They had profaned His name, and because of that the heathen got a wrong image of God. God wanted to set the record straight. He came with a message through Ezekiel: "Say to the house of Israel, I'm going to do something, but it isn't for your sake. It's for My holy name's sake. The heathen are going to know that I am the Lord when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes" (chap. 36:22, 23). This sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in cleansing us from unrighteousness. It is not primarily for our sake, but for God's sake.
Now look at verse 25 and 26 of the same passage: "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you."
Notice the sequence given here. First, God gives the reason why He is going to cleanse His people. Second, He says He is going to sprinkle them from all of their uncleanness and filthiness. And third, He's going to give them a new heart. Sometimes we say that the new heart is referring to the experience of conversion. This message was given to people who were already God's people. It is possible, therefore, to be among God's people and to have been born again, and in a sense still need a new heart. That heart that is given to us at the new birth is not necessarily a cleansed heart. This is demonstrated in the lives of godly people in Scripture. It is indicated in Steps to Christ, page 18, where it says that we will be given a new heart, leading to a new life. It doesn't all happen overnight.
Suggested here is an ongoing process that is the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not something we do for ourselves. The only part we can really play in the process is to be open to God's leading, and allow His Spirit to do His work. The way we can be open is to choose to respond to the Holy Spirit's promptings, and deliberately come into His presence day by day for relationship and fellowship with Him. It is this response on our part that enables Him to work in our lives.
A new heart also will I give you, and new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Eze, 36:26.
God's people had been unfaithful to Him. They had profaned His name, and because of that the heathen got a wrong image of God. God wanted to set the record straight. He came with a message through Ezekiel: "Say to the house of Israel, I'm going to do something, but it isn't for your sake. It's for My holy name's sake. The heathen are going to know that I am the Lord when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes" (chap. 36:22, 23). This sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in cleansing us from unrighteousness. It is not primarily for our sake, but for God's sake.
Now look at verse 25 and 26 of the same passage: "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you."
Notice the sequence given here. First, God gives the reason why He is going to cleanse His people. Second, He says He is going to sprinkle them from all of their uncleanness and filthiness. And third, He's going to give them a new heart. Sometimes we say that the new heart is referring to the experience of conversion. This message was given to people who were already God's people. It is possible, therefore, to be among God's people and to have been born again, and in a sense still need a new heart. That heart that is given to us at the new birth is not necessarily a cleansed heart. This is demonstrated in the lives of godly people in Scripture. It is indicated in Steps to Christ, page 18, where it says that we will be given a new heart, leading to a new life. It doesn't all happen overnight.
Suggested here is an ongoing process that is the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not something we do for ourselves. The only part we can really play in the process is to be open to God's leading, and allow His Spirit to do His work. The way we can be open is to choose to respond to the Holy Spirit's promptings, and deliberately come into His presence day by day for relationship and fellowship with Him. It is this response on our part that enables Him to work in our lives.
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