a) God the Father.
1 Thess. 5:23, 24, R. V.--"And the God of peace himself sanctify
you wholly. . . . Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also
do it." God's work is here contrasted with human efforts to achieve
the preceding injunctions. Just as in Hebrews 12:2, and Philippians
1:6, the Beginner of faith is also the Finisher; so is it
here; consequently the end and aim of every exhortation is but to
strengthen faith in God who is able to accomplish these things for
us. Of course there is a sense in which the believer is responsible
for his progress in the Christian life (Phil. 3:12, 13), yet it
is nevertheless true that, after all, it is the divine grace which
works all in him (Phil. 2:12, 13). We cannot purify ourselves,
but we can yield to God and then the purity will come. The "God of
peace," He who reconciles us--is the One who sanctifies us. It is
as if the apostle said: "God, by His mighty power will do for you
what I, by my admonitions, and you by your own efforts, cannot
do." See also John 17:17--"Sanctify them through thy truth." Christ
addresses God as the One who is to sanctify the disciples.
b) Jesus Christ the Son.
Heb. 10:10, R. V.--"By which will we have been sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." The death
of Jesus Christ separates the believer from sin and the world, and
sets him apart as redeemed and dedicated to the service of God.
This same truth, namely, the sanctification of the church as based
on the sacrificial death of Christ, is set forth in Eph. 5:25,
27--"Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he
might sanctify it." Christ is "made unto us . . . sanctification"
(1 Cor. 1:30). See also Heb. 13:12, R. V.
c) The Holy Spirit Sanctifies.
1 Pet. 1:2--"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit." 2 Thess. 2:13--".
. . . Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." The
Holy Spirit seals, attests, and confirms the work of grace in the
soul by producing the fruits of righteousness therein. It is the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus who gives us freedom from the law
of sin and death (Rom. 8:2). He is called the _Holy_ Spirit,
not only because He is absolutely holy Himself, but also because
he produces that quality of soul-character in the believer. The
Spirit is the executive of the God-head for this very purpose. It is
the Spirit's work to war against the lusts of the flesh and enable
us to bring forth fruit unto holiness (Gal. 5:17-22). How wonderfully
this truth is set forth in the contrast between the seventh and
eighth chapters of Romans. Note the unsuccessful struggle of the
former, and the victory of the latter. Note also that there is no
mention of the Holy Spirit in the seventh, while He is mentioned
about sixteen times in the eighth chapter. Herein lies the secret
of failure and victory, sin and holiness.