Sanctification II• Attitudes towards Sanctity• Christ as our Sanctification• Putting on Christ• Church sanctifies• Why we need Material objects sanctified• Some Practical meanings & Consequences

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place,

and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’” Gen 28:16,17

Reverence = Fear of the Lord

Realization of Sanctity of Place Fear of the Lord

Esau’s Attitude towards blessing: Desecration

- “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” Gen 25:30

- “lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.” Heb 12:16

Jacob’s Attitude towards blessing: Consecration Awesome

- “And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place!”

We need to change the attitude Towards sacred, holy, sanctified, consecrated objects and

lives

It is for our sake that Holy Objects are consecrated

• Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath• “And for their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also

may be sanctified by the truth” John 17:19

– People also are sanctified for the sanctification of others

• In exercising respect towards sanctified objects, we receive sanctification

In the World, people pay heed to different things… buildings, movies, cars, power, money

And they are effected by it

When we pay heed to the things of God, we are filled by His Holiness

Church gave us holy items through which we put on & maintain Christ in us.

We live as members of Christ & Temple of the Holy Spirit

Sanctify the world around us through that life

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

1 Cor 1:30

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Gal 2:20

We are Sanctified by Putting on Christ

Example of Marriage:• Before marriage, you think of I as an individual• After marriage, you think of I as a couple• Same applies to our union with Christ:– Before Baptism, I am an individual– After Baptism, I am in Christ

We are Sanctified by Putting on Christ

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” Gal 3:27

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him.” John 6:56

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ” Rom 13:14

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!” 1 Cor 6:15

We are Sanctified by Putting on Christ

By putting on Christ, we become Temples of the Holy Spirit

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

1 Cor 3:16

We are Sanctified by Putting on Christ

• Through Baptism we put on Christ• Maintain the Union through Communion• Help to rejuvenate our sanctity through

holy people and items

How we put on Christ & Maintain Union

Sanctify

Church Mission is to Sanctify the World through & for Christ

World desecrates what is Holy

Sanctification

“…for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”1 Timothy 4:5

2 Items Sanctify-Word of God

-Prayer

Through Mysteries, Church Sanctifies all things…Bread & Wine, Water, Oil, Incense, us, etc.

Sanctification

Everything the Church sanctifies, is through these 2 items, prayer & Word of God

Example: • Liturgy of Word & Liturgy of Faithful• All Mysteries• All Church Liturgical prayers

What can be sanctified?

• Time– Hours of Prayer, Sunday, retreats, etc

• Places– Church, monasteries, Bedroom, etc

• People– Pope, Bishops, Priests

• Objects– Altar, Mysteries, Icons, etc.

Why do we need Material Things?

• Jesus Himself is the Word made flesh– Highest expression of God’s sanctifying Grace

• St. John’s experience of Christ in:“that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life.”

1 John 1:1-the work of the senses that encounters material -if only hearing, then rest of the senses have no work

• We have bodies that experience material things

“For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift” Mat 23:19

“And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them”

Mark 6:13

“When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay”

John 9:6

There are many examples in New Testament that utilized materials

“And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue” Mark 7:33

“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons”1 Co 10:21

“We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat” Heb 13:10

Church initiates our Sanctification

We return & Sanctify the World

Christ lived our Human Life in all its details to Sanctify details• Working life• Family life• Social life• Personal life

“As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” Jn 20:20

“You are the salt of the earth… the light of the world” Mat 5:13

Practical Aspects of Sanctification• Separation is the beginning of Sanctification– If I have an unhealthy friendship, habit, attachment,

etc, it needs to be pointed out and removed• Separation is the work of the

Prophet/Servant/Parent• Separation seems painful because it includes

discipline, but it is joyful because it leads to God“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the

present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”Heb 12:11

Practical Aspects of Sanctification• being separated is in anticipation & preparation

for God-At shore of Red Sea, Hebrews were set apart from Egypt, but not yet in the promised land-The Disciples after Crucifixion were “set

apart” from the Jews, but not yet filled with the Holy Spirit (like Baptism before Chrismation)

• Only after disciples were purified by Christ, and set apart, were they able to be filled with the Spirit

• Sanctification of the body, mind, and soul leads to being filled with the Holy Spirit

Practical Aspects of Sanctification

• When we revere holy objects (Altar, Bible, Icons, Utensils, the Cross, Incense, Etc.) we grow in revering our own bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit

• Internalizing Reverence• Sanctity is brought to everything you touch

– Social Life, Work Life, Family Life, Personal Life

• Realizing Christ in everything around us (Goal)

Consequences of Understanding Sanctification

• Everything has been consecrated by Christ for us Christ’s love for us

• Change attitude from trying to be “good” to being HOLY

• Change our attitude towards holy things, “Take off your sandals” attitude… “the ground you stand on is holy” …realize the benefit of holy objects

• Realization of more opportunities to receive from the Spirit

Consequences of Understanding Sanctification

• Like the Church, you can sanctify your days, food, sleep, trips, etc., if you structure it around the 2 items; – Word of God– Prayer

Advice to Servants regarding Teaching lessons• Points to different grades– Idea of separation from the world for Christ’s sake• We aren’t different because we are Coptic or from

different culture, but as Christians we belong to Christ and the Church

– Issue of peer pressure & friendship– Media • “According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where

you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.” Lev 18:3

Advice to Servants regarding Teaching lessons

• Points to different grades– How to enter the Church & behave in it– How to approach Communion– How to pray, pay attention to the Gospels…