And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV
Preceding this verse, Paul had expressed that wrongdoers would not inherit the kingdom of God. And then he identified some specific activities of persons who will be excluded from the kingdom. Some of these we might give an Amen to, while others we might feel strike a bit too close to home. But common to all of them is that they are contrary to what God expects of us.
A New Creation
In this verse, Paul expressed that some of the Corinthians used to live that way. But they had been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. They were no longer what they had been. Instead, they were a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and should shed the old way of life.
Praise God that he has done for us what we were unable to do for ourselves (Eph. 2:4-9). We have been washed; cleansed from our sin. We have been sanctified; set apart for God’s special purpose. And we have been justified; declared to be righteous in God’s sight.
As those who have been washed, sanctified, and justified, it is only appropriate that we live the rest of our lives here seeking to honor and serve the one who made that possible. Dare to live the rest of your life set apart in service to the king. Praise God for his indescribable gift (2 Cor. 9:15).
very nice to hear that God is doing and he still doing in our lives. I want to learn more about God’s word deeply, thank you for your teaching
That is a very good desire to have.
I have to wonder why there are believers holding to a doctrine of salvation where it is implied that sanctification is subsequent to justification, denying the order of salvation in 1 Corinthians 6:11 ?
There are two aspects to sanctification. I am sanctified, or set apart when I come to faith. It is my positional sanctification. But I am also called to make my actual life reflect that positional sanctification. My experiential sanctification is an ongoing process as I seek to live a holy life.
Thank you for this. I always wanted to be gay but i didn’t know if to was a sin. So i read on and stared think what wash, sanctified and justified in the name of the lord meant. Thank you for this.
Just to be clear, the Bible does teach that homosexuality is a sin. It is not something that glorifies God, and that should be the guiding principle for those who profess to follow Jesus. If he is Lord, then it’s not about what we want, but what he wants.