Friday, January 22, 2016

Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.... (John 17:17)

I love to refer to the seventeenth chapter of the book of John as a key valedictory prayer of The Lord Jesus for believers before the conclusion of the His earthly ministry. He prayed to God for those who have come to believe in Him at that time as well as those that will believe thereafter (John 17:20).

Something featured prominently in this prayer and that is the word of God. In the sixth verse He said the believers had kept God’s word (which was how come they were believers).  

In the eight verse He said He had given the believers God’s word and they received and believed it. 

In the fourteenth verse He said  He had given the believers God’s word and because of this the world hated them (and this because the world hates Him). 

The world hated Jesus and the believers because of who controlled the world and those who are in it, Satan, the god of this world (1 Corinthians 2:3-4)

From the ninth through to the thirteenth verse, The Lord Jesus prayed earnestly for God to keep those that believe in Him (who He kept while He was still on earth) because He was leaving the earth, He was about finishing the work He came to do. This culminated in the seventeenth verse where He asked God to sanctify the believers through His truth, stating that God’s word is this truth. 

The word sanctify here is from the greek word "hagiazo" which means to separate from profane things and dedicate unto God or to consecrate or dedicate people to God.

It is only through the revelation knowledge the word of God (the truth) and acting on that knowledge that those who have come to believe in Jesus can optimize their lives in and relationship with God. 

A major reason why the Holy Spirit was given to every believer is for Him to continue to reveal this truth to us (John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:12). Jesus also instituted the five-fold ministry secondarily to bring these truths to believer’s attention (Ephesians 4:8-13) through time until He returns.

Satan being aware that what would protect the believer in this world and guarantee their well being is God’s word, has put himself to work ever since to ensure that believers do not get to know the truth. 

The words of Jesus however remains true till this day, and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). Whether or not you as a believer optimizes your walk and relationship with God here on earth depends on the extent to which you seek, embrace and act on God’s truth (His word).

Let us for a moment discount the fact that by Satan’s manipulations, believers have been deceived and sold lies rather than the liberating truth of God (even in our churches) and ask ourselves personally how passionately we are seeking the truth because of our love for God and desire to serve Him. 

Jesus said he that seeketh findeth (Luke 11:10). For those who would rather stand with the Lord and stay true to God no matter what it takes to get His will done in their lives His way, this blog is one of the resources/tools by which that objective can be achieved.

We will here present God’s truth, His word, under the auspices of His Spirit as it relates to issues of this life so that the seekers might find the truth and pointers to it, which they will meditate on (till believing) and act on to see the result of Jesus’ prayers for them in this seventeenth book of John. God answered Jesus’ prayers, you must appropriate the answer for yourself.

You can live in victory over Satan, the world and sin in the twenty first century. Lay hold on the truth of God and you are just about started. No one can do it for you so get to work, that is God’s expectation.

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all (1 Timothy 4:15).​



Pastor Gboye Omolayo is the Resident Pastor of Church@Allen, Allen TX, USA. He is a prolific writer and preacher who believes the efficacy of the word of God and the potency of the works of the Holy Spirit are still available to the Church today, as were at the Church’s infancy. He is the publisher of this blog.


1 comment:

  1. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” - John 8:32. Very profound write-up for a time such as this where lies sell and truth is suppressed in an abyss of perplexing denial. Looking forward to more refreshments from this oasis of truth.

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment or inquiry/questions. You are blessed!!!

Please note that comments may not show on the blog immediately after posting, but it sure comes up within 24 hrs.