Pure Gift: Holiness And Sanctification
"Our sanctification is accomplished through the sacrifice of Christ (John 17:19; Eph 5:26; Heb 9:14; 10:14)"
-John Kleinig (Sharing in God's Holiness)
"When God calls us to holiness he calls us to himself."
"Human beings cannot produce holiness for themselves; they must receive it entirely from God. It therefore follows that all self-fabricated holiness is abhorrent to God, for all those who would make themselves holy act as their own gods; they seek God's glory for themselves.
God's holiness is communicated by his presence, and that presence is given in the divine service. This means that for Luther holiness is not a moral concept, but a liturgical reality, for true holiness comes from the true worship of the Triune God. Thus, an object is holy if it is "separated from profane use and consecrated for sacred and divine service."
Christians are holy because they are separated from ordinary life and hallowed for a life of worship through their faith in Jesus. He is our Holy One, since he alone makes us holy He therefore is our sanctification (1 Cor 1:30)"
-John Kleinig (Luther on the Reception in God's Holiness)
"Since God alone is holy, human beings can be holy only through him. Holiness is therefore never a human achievement; it is always a divine gift."
"God did not keep his holiness to himself, nor did he use it to distance himself from his sinful people. Instead, he joined them on their earthly journey so that he could share his holiness with them. They did not sanctify themselves; he sanctified them. He made and kept them holy. They drew their holiness from him, and him only. God emphasized this by his repeated use of the formula for divine sanctification in the book of Leviticus: 'I am the Lord, who sanctifies you.'"
-John Kleinig (Leviticus: Concordia Commentary)
"[God] promised to make and keep his people holy. God's repeated use of the divine formula for sanctification [I am the Lord, who sanctifies you] showed that he shared his holiness with both the priests and the whole congregation of Israel through their contact with him and his holy things at the sanctuary. His promise to sanctify them was connected with his promise to be their God. He had rescued them from Egypt so that he could be their God and share his holiness with them. This promise of sanctification continued throughout Israel's history. His holiness never was their own possession apart from him. It was always received anew from him, like nourishment for the body from food, through their involvement in the divine service."
-John Kleinig (Leviticus: Concordia Commentary)
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