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The Empowerment of Entire Sanctification |
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By Pastor Charles Heater Greeneville, TN |
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In John 14:15-16 Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and he will be with you forever.” Here we see the New International Version says advocate. The New American Standard says helper. The Holman Christian Standard says counselor. The King James Version says comforter. The Greek New Testament says parakleton, which occurs in two texts, John 14:16 and 1 John 2:1. The related word parakletos occurs in John 14:26; John 15:26; and John 16:7. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines these words as meaning, “in the widest sense, a helper, succorer, aide, assistant; so of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of gospel truth, and to give them the divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine Kingdom.” The full simple translation should be, “a Helper to come along side you and help you do what you cannot do by yourself.”
Basically, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live the complete Christian life. He is the One who convicts us of our sins. He is the One who draws us to salvation in Jesus Christ. He is the One who teaches us and enables our growth. He is the One in Whom we are baptized in entire sanctification. He is the One with Whom we are filled on a daily basis. He is the One Who continues to teach, enable and empower us to live the life of Holiness. He is the One Who gives us dying grace at the time of our transition to Heaven. Preeminently, He empowers us to love.
Empowered To Love God
John 14:15-21, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
The most tragic thing that was lost through Adam and Eve was the ability to properly love God. Before the Fall, they were in a position to reciprocate God’s love in a wonderful, powerful way. God had created them for this purpose. He had beings called angels who served Him because that is what they were created to do. He needed a being that would love Him and then serve Him because of that love; not merely from obligation. The greatest thing we regain in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, entire sanctification, is the ability to once again love God wholeheartedly. The Holy Spirit reveals God so thoroughly that we fall head over heals in love with Him. Once you allow Him to completely fill and control your life, how could you not love Him?
Once we fall in love with Him, we no longer fear Him. 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” The word translated fear has been defined as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” Thus, God wants us to serve Him from the standpoint of love and not fear.
He loves us in initial salvation. We fall in love with Him in entire sanctification. It is not, therefore, an experience to shun or to avoid; but one we should welcome or receive with open arms.
Next, the Paracletos empowers us to love Christ and His work. The Holy Spirit did not come to start anything new. He came to continue the work of Jesus Christ. Some are always talking about the new things the Holy Spirit is bringing to the church. Many of them are not even mentioned in the Bible. May I emphasis again, He did not come to start anything new. If something does not line up with the Bible, the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with it. The Bible is always the litmus test for what the Holy Spirit does and for what we are to do!
The Holy Spirit came to empower us to “testify of Christ.” This is what separates us from all other religions. Jesus Christ of the Bible is distinctive to Christianity. We are to proclaim Jesus Christ because to see Him is to see the Father. John 14:9, “Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father?’’” We are to testify by words and actions of the work of Christ. The Holy Spirit empowers us to love Christ and His work so much that we cannot help testify about it. We talk about what we love.
The Holy Spirit also empowers the Christian to love truth. John 16:12-14, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”
Those who are truly led by the Holy Spirit are seekers of truth. Nothing else will satisfy. This is how we are able to live “free from sin.” This is how we are empowered to live the life of holiness. It is not that it is impossible for us to sin. We have the capability of sinning until we get to Heaven. However, our love for Christ makes us not want to sin. I love my wife so much I do not want even to look at another woman.
Let me share my paraphrased version of an illustration I heard Dr. John Conley use. I have nine grandchildren. If you put a gun to my head and a gun in my hand then told me I had to shoot one of my grandchildren, I would say, “I can’t!” You might say, “What do you mean? Don’t you know how to use a gun?” I would answer, “Sure, I have used a gun since I was nine years old.” You would probably come back with, “Well, pull the trigger.” My immediate response would be, “I cannot!” It is not that I do not have the ability to pull the trigger. Love keeps me from doing so. My love for the truth of Christ is what keeps me from sinning!
Empowered to Love Others
Another empowerment of entire sanctification is a greater love for others. In Mark 12:28-34 when the scribe came to Jesus to trick Him by asking which of the commandments was the greatest, Jesus wasn’t tricked, He answered from the new covenant perspective rather than the old. He answered from the standpoint of love. He told this Jewish scribe that the greatest was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Then the second was to love your neighbor as yourself.
In the account of the Good Samaritan we learn that our neighbor is anyone who needs our help, not just the person who lives next door, or the person we like. Thus, the Holy Spirit will empower us to love others—all others without exception. Our love for them ought to compel us to do whatever we can to win them for Christ. Our love for others should cause us to live and talk in such a way as to lead others to Christ. This is not natural to our human mindset; we must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to love the unlovable and even our enemies.
Others Lord, help me to live from day to day In such a self-forgetful way That even when I kneel to pray, My prayer shall be for others.
Help me in all the work I do To ever be sincere and true And know that all I'll do for you Must needs be done for others.
Let self be crucified and slain And buried deep—and all in vain May efforts be to rise again Unless to live for others.
And when my work on Earth is done And my new work in Heaven begun May I forget the crown I've won While thinking still of others.
Others, Lord, others Let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, That I may live like Thee.
Thus, there is great empowerment in sanctification. We are empowered to love God fully. We are empowered to love Christ and His work wholeheartedly. We are empowered to love others unconditionally. Holy Spirit, may we preach in Your power, the power of love. May we teach in Your power. May we live in Your love. And when the time comes, may we die in Your loving power and embrace!
All Scripture references are from the New International Version Bible Hub, Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database (Copyright 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc., Biblesoft.com. Greek Online Dictionary
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling By Charles Wesley First Published in 1747
Love divine, all loves excelling,
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Come, Almighty to deliver,
Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Brothers John (the preacher) and Charles (the lyricist) Wesley are considered the fathers of the holiness movements. Their favorite term for entire sanctification was “perfect love.”
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