Definite Sanctification

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: (Jude 1KJV)

The word 'sanctified' here in Jude 1 is in the perfect participle in the Greek, which means that it is a completed action in the past, with present effects. It refers to definite (complete) sanctification and not progressive sanctification. When a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are set apart for God's exclusive use and unique service.

Let me give some examples from the Bible to clearly show what the word 'sanctified' means in this verse. In the Book of Genesis 2:3, when God created in six days, and He rested on the seventh. The seventh day was sanctified (set apart) from the other days because God has rested from His Work. Then we see in the book of Exodus, when God gave the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, God gave a commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy, which means to sanctify the Sabbath Day, to set apart from the other six days. They were to do their work on six days, but set apart the Sabbath Day, and do no work. It was to be set apart from the other days.

Another example would be the Tabernacle and the furniture. God's Tabernacle and its furniture in the Old Testament was sanctified, set apart as the place of God's presence and for worship. The Tabernacle and its furniture were set apart for God, not like other tabernacles and furniture.

When we come to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, He was sanctified by God the Father as the Christ, the Anointed One. Jesus was set apart for the Father's exclusive use and purposes. The Book of Isaiah calls Him, 'The Suffering Servant'. Christ came to do His Father's will. He was set apart to be the Saviour of the World.

So just like the Sabbath Day was sanctified, the tabernacle and its furniture, and the Lord Jesus Christ was sanctified, believers have been sanctified for God's exclusive use and unique service, not just for one day (the Lord's Day) but for every day. Believers have been set apart by God for Him.

Now understand that Jude is not speaking about sinless perfection, or having complete sanctification, in the sense of no longer able to sin, but Jude speaks here about our position that God has placed us in, positionally set apart in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Every true believer has been born again in Christ Jesus, born from above, has been sanctified by God the Father. Every believer has moved from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light; from the kingdom of the devil to the everlasting kingdom of Christ. The Bible says a true believer is a new creation in Christ (2Cor. 5:17). This is the reason that all true believers can say, 'I am sanctified in Christ', which speaks of passed sanctification, positionally set apart.

Here is one more example- When a man and a woman get married and become husband and wife, they are set apart for his or her exclusive use and purpose as a husband or as a wife, completely, wholly and totally. The same with our Lord, believers have been set apart for Him, and not for this world. The Church (who is the Bride) has been set apart for the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Bride-Groom.

The called (Jude 1)

Jude is writing to believers in his epistle. In the first verse he writes, 'to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.' So "the called" can only refer to something that has happened to a believer and not an unbeliever. So what does Jude mean?

Jude is not speaking here about a call to a particular ministry, but a call to the Lord. The Greek word means "a saint or appointed to be God's holy ones, who receive the whole blessings of God, in time and eternity. It comes from the word in the Greek which means "to invite", which is found in Ephesians 4:1b KJV, which says, 'beseech you that ye walk worthy of your vocation wherewith ye are called.'

It is a divine invitation or call to the privileges of the gospel. Christians have come into the gospel privileges. Jude writes here about the internal call. The Bible says in John 16:8KJV, speaking about the Holy Spirit, 'And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement.'

The outward call is the preaching of the gospel. The Bible says in 2Thessonians 2:14KJV, 'Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.' The outward call is the preaching of the gospel, calling sinners to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to save them by His death, burial and resurrection. This is the outward call. Even unbelievers can have the outward call (the preaching of the gospel).

The inward call is the illumination of the Holy Spirit. The illumination is the convicting work of the Holy Spirit of God (John 16:8). For example, If you put a blind man into a dark room, and switch on the light, the blind man still will not be able to see the light, because he needs sight. The same with the gospel and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. There needs to be an outward call which is the light (the gospel), and there needs to be an inward call, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, to give the sight to embrace the light. The outward call and inward call go hand in hand when a person comes to faith in Christ. The gospel is preached and the Holy Spirit takes His gospel and convicts (works) on the sinner to enable them to embrace the light (gospel). The illumination is needed for a person to receive salvation. Only a person who has embraced the light (the gospel), responded to the inward call by God's grace, has spiritual sight, thus are the 'called'.