Focal Passages: 1 Corinthians 6:9-20
You may recall the episodes of “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” where we would get to go behind the scenes and see how things were made. I specifically remember the virtual tour of the crayon factory. First, the pools of colorful wax would be poured into a crayon-shaped mold to harden. Then, the figures would be wrapped up and transformed into the finished product. What a neat process to watch!
In this session we will discuss the process by which God makes us holy like Himself: sanctification.
First Corinthians 6 gives us three implications of holiness. The first implication is that we are set apart from our former way of living.
Paul reminds the believers in Corinth of how they used to live. He also reminds them they had been washed clean by Christ, meaning that they were no longer to partake in their old patterns.
The second implication of holiness is that we are made one with Christ. The ultimate implication of holiness is to bring glory to God.
We cannot be holy on our own.
Clearly, Paul is not writing to a group of perfect people. The process of sanctification can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We do have a role to play in our sanctification: resist temptation and posture ourselves before God so we can receive His help to live lives that are pleasing to Him. Yet, we can rest in knowing that it is God’s desire to make us more like Jesus … and He will!