Hebrews 10: (esv)
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
vs 14: has perfected
past tense, his perfection of us is a completed action, accomplished by a single offering. The word "perfected" connotes something that is complete, having nothing missing, having all parts in place. This is how God sees us through Christ.
who are we?
vs14: those who are being sanctified
a. our "perfection" through Christ's atonement is in no way affected by our present sanctification (or more personally, our struggle with being sanctified).
b. our sanctification in this passage is passive - we are being sanctified. We do not ultimately sanctify ourselves.
Reasons this is important for encouragement for those who truly know Christ:
- your status is secure, unaffected your failure to walk perfectly
- your failure is not an ultimate indicator of eternal reality, because you don't sanctify yourself, God does.
- the proof of accomplished perfection is in the struggle, or as Piper puts it, the move from lingering imperfection towards holiness.
Praise God.
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