May 26

Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. — John 17:17 BSB

When the gospel comes “not in word only, but also in power,” it comes “in the Holy Spirit,” meaning it is accompanied by the teaching and testimony of the Holy Spirit. It is this coming “in the Holy Spirit” that gives the truth its sanctifying influence on the heart. You may ask, what is this sanctifying influence? It is the imparting of holy feelings, heavenly desires, and gracious affections. In essence, it is the breathing of a sweet spirituality of mind into the soul, which is life and peace.

If we are among God’s people, He chose us in Christ “before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” When He chastens us in this life, it is “for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). This holiness of heart, this heavenly-mindedness, is what I mean when I speak of the sanctifying influence of truth in its power.

Has the truth ever come into your soul with any measure of this sanctifying influence? Have you ever longed to leave the chapel, go home to your room, fall on your knees, and enjoy blessed fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ? And when you did so, were you ever so blessed? Or perhaps, when alone—whether reading, meditating, or in secret prayer—did the word of God ever come into your soul with such sweet unction, savor, and dew that the very room in which you were seemed like holy ground? I recall when God revealed His dear Son to me in my sickroom many years ago—I was almost afraid to leave the room for fear of losing the sweet, holy feelings and the blessed spirituality of mind that I enjoyed there.

Depend on it, there is a holiness of heart and affection, an inward holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. And depend on it, whenever the truth comes into a believer’s soul, it comes with that sanctifying influence that not only prepares the soul for heaven but is a blessed foretaste of the inheritance of the saints in light.