Post #36: The Indwelling Holy Spirit Today | KJV Right Division (Week 2)

Post 36 · Sanctification in the Grace Age (1 Cor 1:2)

"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." — 1 Corinthians 1:2 (KJV)

Who? The Corinthian church — notably called 'sanctified' and 'saints' despite being the most troubled church in the New Testament.
Dispensation: Grace Age — positional sanctification (what we are in Christ) precedes and is the basis for practical sanctification (how we live).
Key: Sanctification: positional (set apart in Christ at the moment of faith) vs. practical (growing in holiness day by day). Both are real; neither earns the other.

The Corinthian church was a mess — divisions, immorality, lawsuits, abuse of communion, disorder in worship. Yet Paul addresses them as 'sanctified in Christ Jesus' and 'called to be saints.' This is positional sanctification: by virtue of being in Christ, every believer is set apart, declared holy, belonging to God. This positional reality does not change with behavior. Practical sanctification — the daily process of being conformed to Christ's image — is the outworking of what is positionally true. The Grace-Age pattern is always indicative before imperative: 'You ARE holy (in Christ) — now LIVE holy.' Law reverses this: 'Live holy enough and you will be accepted.' Grace begins with acceptance and works outward from there.

Application: Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Notice the list of what 'some of you were' (v.10-11) followed by 'but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified.' Paul uses their past sin to point to their present standing. How does this change the way you think about your own failures? Does positional sanctification make practical holiness less important or more?

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Prayer: Lord, thank You that I am sanctified in Christ — set apart, declared holy, belonging to You — before I have done anything to deserve it. Let that settled identity be the spring from which holy living flows, not the reward I earn by it. Amen.