NOW MAY THE GOD OF PEACE HIMSELF SANCTIFY YOU ENTIRELY: Autos de o theos tes eirenes hagiasai (3SAAO) humas holoteleis: (Romans 15:5,13,33; 16:20; 1 Corinthians 14:33; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Philippians 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:10) (1 Thes 3:13; 4:3; Leviticus 20:8,26; Ezekiel 37:28; John 17:19; Acts 20:32; 26:18; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Hebrews 2:11; 1 Peter 1:2; Jude 1:1)

Now (1161)(de) marks a  transition from the previous commands to a short but spiritually rich prayer (pray this prayer for your family members, your church members [by name], you pastor and elders [individually and by name]). And this prayer to God for sanctification is a fitting conclusion to the preceding exhortations to holiness, for it is only by His enablement they will be fully realized. God Alone is the Source of genuine sanctification, which makes this prayerful appeal to Him appropriate.

James Denney introduces this section with the comment that...

THESE verses open with a contrast to what precedes, which is more strongly brought out in the original than in the translation. The Apostle has drawn the likeness of a Christian church, as a Christian church ought to be, waiting for the coming of the Lord; he has appealed to the Thessalonians to make this picture their standard, and to aim at Christian holiness; and conscious of the futility of such advice, as long as it stands alone and addresses itself to man’s unaided efforts, he turns here instinctively to prayer: “The God of peace Himself” — working in independence of your exertions and my exhortations — “sanctify you wholly.”...

Notice the comprehensiveness of the Apostle’s prayer in this place. It is conveyed in three separate words — wholly, entire, and without blame . It is intensified by what has, at least, the look of an enumeration of the parts or elements of which man’s nature consists — “your spirit and soul and body.” It is raised to its highest power when the sanctity for which he prays is set in the searching light of the Last Judgment — in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Classic Commentary Collection. See AGES Software for their full selection of highly recommended resources)

Frame explains it as...

if Paul had said: “I have exhorted you to ethical consecration and to the things that make for peace, but God himself is the only power that can make the exhortation effective.” (Frame, J. E. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. 1912)

Calvin writes that...

Having given various injunctions, he now proceeds to prayer. And unquestionably doctrine is disseminated in vain,  unless God implant it in our minds... Paul, accordingly, knowing that all doctrine is useless until God engraves it, as it were, with his own finger upon our hearts, beseeches God that he would sanctify the Thessalonians.

Matthew Henry observes that...

He prays that they may be wholly sanctified, that is, more perfectly, for the best are sanctified but in part while in this world; and therefore we should pray for and press towards complete sanctification.

Himself (846) (autos) In the Greek sentence this pronoun is first for emphasis. Paul's emphasis is that it is God Who sanctifies us ("Himself sanctify you"), accomplishing His work in us. We are to cooperate with His work as just emphasized by a series of exhortations and commandments beginning in 1Thessalonians 4. But ultimately Paul wants to make it clear that sanctification is God’s work in us. Our part and God's part is clearly seen in Paul's exhortation to the Philippians to...

Work out (present imperative) your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in you, both to will (give you the desire to obey) and to work (energizing that desire) for His good pleasure. (See notes Philippians 2:12; 13)

Hiebert writes that as the God of Peace it is His "prerogative it is to bestow the well-known Christian peace upon those who have been reconciled to Him through Christ."

God of Peace - a frequent phrase in the NT...

Romans 15:33 (note) Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Romans 16:20 (note) And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Philippians 4:9 (note) The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.

1Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13:20 (note) Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,

Vincent comments that this phrase God of peace means...

God Who is the Source and Giver of peace. Peace, in the Pauline sense, is not mere calm or tranquility. It is always conceived as based upon reconciliation with God. God is the God of peace only to those who have ceased to be at war with Him, and are at one with Him (see notes Romans 5:1, Col 1:20, 1:21; 1:22). God’s peace is not sentimental but moral. Hence the God of peace is the Sanctifier. Peace is habitually used, both in the Old and New Testaments, in connection with the Messianic salvation. The Messiah himself will be Peace (Micah 5:5 "And this One will be our peace..."). Peace is associated with righteousness as a Messianic blessing (Ps 72:7 In his days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace till the moon is no more; Ps 85:10 Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.). Peace, founded in reconciliation with God, is the theme of the gospel (Acts 10:36 The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)). The gospel is the gospel of peace (see notes Ephesians 2:17; 6:15; Romans 10:15). Christ is the Giver of peace (John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.; John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.).

Other titles of God which exhibit a similar construction are as follows. Notice that God is the Source of each of these spiritual blessings!

God is the...

• God of glory, Acts 7:2
• God of patience, Romans 15:5 (note)
• God of hope, Romans 15:13 (note)
• God of all comfort, 2 Corinthians 1:3, cp. Romans 15:4 (note)
• God of love, 2 Corinthians 13:11
• God of all grace, 1 Peter 5:10 (note).

We see that the anticipation of Christ's imminent return for His beloved Bride, prompts (or should prompt) in her an attitude of expectancy and actions commensurate with that mindset. Remember that right actions always emanate from right attitudes. Paul's point is that the Bridegroom really is coming quickly and this certainty should marinate our minds and cause us work out our salvation in fear and trembling, purify ourselves for He is holy, cleansing ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord or the awe of what it will be like when we truly do see Him face to face!

John has this meeting in mind when he gently exhorts believers...

And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1John 2:28-29)

Guzik comments that...

The idea behind the word sanctify is “to set apart” - to make something different and distinct, breaking old associations and forming a new association. For example, a dress is a dress; but a wedding dress is sanctified - set apart for a special, glorious purpose. God wants us to be set apart to Him...

In all that he told the Christian to do in 1 Thessalonians 4:1 through 5:22, he never intended that they do them in their own power. More Christians are defeated on account of self-reliance than on account of Satanic attack. (1 Thessalonians 5 )

Morris agrees with Guzik writing that...

The way in which he effects the transition... indicates that it is only in the power of the God on whom he calls that his exhortations can be brought to fruition. ‘I have been urging you to do certain things, but it is only in God’s strength that you will be able to do them. (Morris, Leon. The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1957)

Calvin writes that...

under the term sanctification is included the entire renovation of the man. The Thessalonians, it is true, had been in part renewed, but Paul desires that God would perfect what is remaining. From this we infer, that we must, during our whole life, make progress in the pursuit of holiness.

Frame commenting on sanctify you renders it...

“Consecrate you throughout,” “through and through” (Luther). The note of consecration already struck (see notes 1Thessalonians 3:13 and 1Thessalonians 4:3; 4:4; 4:5; 4:6; 4:7; 4:8) is heard again. As in those passages so here consecration includes not only religion, devotion to God, but conduct, ethical soundness. (Ibid)

Elwell writes that...

The concern of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:22 has been that the lives of his readers be sanctified more and more. It is fitting, therefore, that he should in the end pray once again for their complete sanctification (Gk. holoteles, found only here in the NT, means “entirely,” “completely”). Sanctification is a process which begins with conversion and will be completed only when “perfection comes” (1 Cor. 13:10). (Elwell, W. A.. Vol. 3: Evangelical Commentary on the Bible. Baker Book House)

Sanctify (37)(hagiazo from hagios [see word study] = holy, set apart)  means to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing (in the OT altars, days, priests, etc were set apart) the opposite of koinos, which means profane or common.

Hiebert adds that...

The primary meaning of sanctify is "to set apart, to consecrate," but it also carries the thought of the resultant holiness of character in the consecrated. The note of holiness was already sounded in 1Thes 3:13 and 4:3-8. (Hiebert, D. Edmond: 1 & 2 Thessalonians: BMH Book. 1996)

Sanctify is in the aorist tense which usually speaks of a point in time, but which in this context according to Vine speaks...

not an act begun and accomplished in a moment, but a “process seen in perspective,” and so contemplated as a complete act. This is the case also with the word “keep,” tereo, in 1 Timothy 6:14 (that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ), where a momentary act is out of the question. These passages are complementary one to the other, here the divine side is presented, there the human, the action in each terminating only with the coming of the Lord, cp. Philippians 1:6 (note). Since those addressed were already saints, i.e., “sanctified ones” (see note on “saints,” 1Thessalonians 3:13 (note), and 2 Thess. 2:13), the apostle must be understood here to desire for them the continuous and complete realization of this calling, that by His power they might be enabled to live consistently with the fact that every part of their complex being belonged to God, cp. notes Ephesians 5:25; 26; 27 (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Hiebert agrees with Vine noting that...

Some insist that the aorist here points to the crisis experience of entire sanctification," but it is generally accepted that the action is best viewed as constative (An aorist tense verb that, along with other contextual features, presents the action simply, in summary, or as a whole. Also called complexive, comprehensive, global, historical, punctiliar, simple or summary), a process of sanctification occurring during this present life and viewed as consummated at the return of Christ. Even those who insist upon the meaning of an initial crisis experience stress that it must be followed by a continuing process of sanctification. The completion of that process is in view here. (Hiebert, D. Edmond: 1 & 2 Thessalonians: BMH Book. 1996)

Wuest writes that hagiazo does not mean...

merely “to set apart,” but in the case of the pagan word, “to set apart for the gods,” and in the case of the Christian word “to set apart for God.” The worshipper of the pagan god acquired the character of that pagan god and the religious ceremonies connected with its worship. The Greek temple at Corinth housed a large number of harlots who were connected with the worship of the Greek god. Thus, the set-apartness of the Greek worshipper was in character licentious, totally depraved, and sinful.

The believer in the Lord Jesus is set apart for God by the Holy Spirit, out of the First Adam with the latter’s sin and condemnation, into the Last Adam with the latter’s righteousness and life (cf 1Cor 15:22,45). Thus, the worshipper of the God of the Bible partakes of the character of the God for Whom he is set apart. This is positional sanctification, an act of God performed at the moment a sinner puts his faith in the Lord Jesus (1Cor 1:2). The work of the Holy Spirit in the yielded saint, in which He sets the believer apart for God in his experience, by eliminating sin from his life and producing His fruit (cf notes Galatians 5:22; 23), a process which goes on constantly throughout the believer’s life, is called progressive sanctification (1Thes 5:23). When our Lord sanctifies Himself, He sets Himself apart for God as the Sacrifice for sin (John 17:19; Hebrews 10:7).

When man sanctifies God, “the word denotes that manner of treatment on the part of man which corresponds with the holiness of God, and which springs from faith, trust, and fear” (see note 1 Peter 3:15)” (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

Vine adds that...

A number of things are "sanctified" in the NT - (a) the gold adorning the Temple and of the gift laid on the altar, Matt. 23:17, 19; (b) food, 1 Tim. 4:5; (c) the unbelieving spouse of a believer, 1 Cor. 7:14; (d) the ceremonial cleansing of the Israelites, Heb. 9:13; (e) the Father’s Name, Luke 11:2; (f) the consecration of the Son by the Father, John 10:36; (g) the Lord Jesus devoting Himself to the redemption of His people, John 17:19; (h) the setting apart of the believer for God, Acts 20:32; cf. Rom. 15:16; (i) the effect on the believer of the Death of Christ, Heb. 10:10, said of God, and 2:11; 13:12, said of the Lord Jesus; (j) the separation of the believer from the world in his behavior— by the Father through the Word, John 17:17, 19; (k) the believer who turns away from such things as dishonor God and His gospel, 2 Tim. 2:21; (l) the acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christ, 1 Pet. 3:15.

“Since every believer is sanctified in Christ Jesus, 1 Cor. 1:2, cf. Heb. 10:10, a common NT designation of all believers is ‘saints,’ hagioi, i.e., ‘sanctified’ or ‘holy ones.’ Thus sainthood, or sanctification, is not an attainment, it is the state into which God, in grace, calls sinful men, and in which they begin their course as Christians, Col. 3:12; Heb. 3:1.” (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Richards makes an interesting point noting that...

A basic distinction must be made between the OT and the NT doctrines of holiness. In the OT, the holy is that which is set apart from the common so that it is isolated for God's service. In the NT, holiness is a dynamic process. The holy is actually the common, infused now by God's Spirit and transformed for his service. Thus, our sanctification has to do with God's transformation of us into persons whose actions in daily life are expressions of the Lord. (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)

Hagiazo primarily conveys the idea of separation from and consecration to the service of deity in secular Greek but to God Almighty in the Biblical context. Believers are to separate themselves from profane things and dedicate themselves wholly to their Holy God. As alluded to in the notes on the verses that use hagiazo, there are 3 aspects of sanctification...

(1) Past (positional) Sanctification - This refers to the time of our initial salvation, which was wrought by the atoning work of Christ, at which time we were clothed with His righteousness, we were given a new nature and we were freed from the power of sin and death. This a one time event, never to be repeated.

(2) Present (progressive, experiential) Sanctification - This aspect of sanctification proceeds from past sanctification and deals with present Christian living. It is the process in which believers are working out their salvation by the Spirit’s power, who sets us more and more apart from the world and more and more conformed to the image of Christ. This is the aspect to which Paul's prayer in 1Thes 5:23 relates.

(3) Future (ultimate, perfect) Sanctification - Glorification when God makes believers free of even the desire of sin, free of the fallen flesh nature, and joined with our transformed, glorified bodies for all eternity.

MacArthur writes that...

The Puritan Thomas Watson stated it this way,

[Sanctification] is a principle of grace savingly wrought, whereby the heart becomes holy, and is made after God’s own heart. A sanctified person bears not only God’s name, but His image” (Body of Divinity [reprint; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979], 167).

In all of Paul’s epistles, whenever he moves from doctrinal exposition to practical exhortation (Ed note: E.g., doctrine in Ephesians 1-3; duty in Ephesians 4-6), he has this aspect of sanctification in mind (Experiential sanctification). His passionate prayer for the Thessalonians and for all believers was that through experiential sanctification God would progressively conform them to holiness. (MacArthur, John: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Moody Press or Logos)

There are 28 uses of hagiazo in the NT...

Matthew 6:9 (note) "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed (aorist imperative) be Thy name.

Comment: When we pray hallowed be we are asking God to make His Name holy, a Name that people will treat as holy and not as profane. We are saying "Treat Thy Name as holy", the idea being that the Father would secure before the whole world in a final and decisive way the holiness appropriate to His Name, to which human beings will respond with praise and adoration. In fact, in Ezekiel God promises to answer this prayer declaring "I will vindicate the holiness of My great Name which has been profaned among the nations, which you [unfaithful Israel] have profaned in their midst. Then the nations [Gentiles] will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. [Ezekiel 36:23] The psalmist Solomon prays "And blessed be His glorious Name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen." [Ps 72:19]

Matthew 23:17 "You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold?

Matthew 23:19 "You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering?

Luke 11:2 And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed (aorist imperative) be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.

John 10:36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified (set apart for a specific task) and  sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God '?

John 17:17 "Sanctify (aorist imperative) them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

John 17:19 "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

Acts 20:32 "And now I commend (entrust to the care of God and His word, to deposit for safekeeping!) you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (perfect tense)

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (perfect tense) by faith in Me.'

Romans 15:16 (note) to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, that my offering of the Gentiles might become acceptable, sanctified (perfect tense) by the Holy Spirit.

Comment: Hagiazo here refers to the moment these Gentile sinners were set apart and made saints - the moment of salvation (so called "positional sanctification") with perfect tense pointing to the permanence of their position in Christ (which should give you assurance regarding eternal security).

Denney explains that “The offering which Paul conceives himself as presenting to God is the Gentile Church, and the priestly function in the exercise of which this offering is made is the preaching of the gospel.” (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament)

MacArthur writes that "In faithful fulfillment of his unique apostolic calling, Paul’s supreme offering to God was a multitude of Gentiles, who by virtue of the Holy Spirit’s power had been sanctified and thus made acceptable for fellowship with the Father. Like Paul, every believer who is instrumental in winning a soul to Jesus Christ presents that convert, whether Jew or Gentile, as a priestly offering to the Lord." (MacArthur, J: Romans 9-16. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos)

1 Corinthians 1:2 to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified (perfect tense)  in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

Comment: John MacArthur explains that "They were saints because they had been sanctified (hagiazo), set apart from sin, made holy in Christ Jesus. According to Scripture, every true believer in Jesus Christ—whether faithful or unfaithful, well known or unknown, leader or follower—is a set apart person, a holy person, a saint. In the biblical sense, the most obscure believer today is just as much a saint as the apostle Paul. This is the believer’s position in Christ. Holiness, in that positional sense (Ed note: Synonymous with "positional sanctification"), is not a matter of good works, of holy living. As Christians we should live holy lives, but holy living does not make us holy. To the extent our living is holy, it is because, in Christ, we already are holy and have the counsel and power of His Holy Spirit. We are holy because the Sanctifier (the One who makes holy) has already sanctified us in response to our trust in Him (Heb. 2:11). Christ’s work, not our own, makes us holy. We are “saints by calling.” That refers to the efficacious call of God to salvation (1 Cor 1:24, 26). (MacArthur, J: 1Corinthians. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos) (Bolding added)

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified (aorist tense), but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.

Comment: To be sanctified is to be made holy inwardly and to be able, in the Spirit’s power, to live a righteous life outwardly. Before a person is saved he has no holy nature and no capacity for holy living. But in Christ we are given a new nature and can live out the new kind of life. Sin’s total domination is broken and is replaced by a life of holiness. By their fleshly sinfulness the Corinthians were interrupting that divine work. (Ibid)

1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

Comment: Wuest notes that "In the case where the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband, and the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife, it “clearly cannot signify the sanctification in its fulness which the NT divine and saving work produces; for a personal faith is required in the object of it, which is in this case denied. Still it is unmistakably intimated that by virtue of the marriage union, the unbelieving side in its measure participates in the saving work and fellowship with God experienced by the believing side"  (Ibid)

MacArthur adds that "In God’s eyes a home is set apart for Himself when the husband, wife, or, by implication, any other family member, is a Christian. Such a home is not Christian in the full sense, but it is immeasurably superior to one that is totally unbelieving. Even if the Christian is ridiculed and persecuted, unbelievers in the family are blessed because of that believer. One Christian in a home graces the entire home. God’s indwelling that believer and all the blessings and graces that flow into the believer’s life from heaven will spill over to enrich all who are near." (Ibid)

Ephesians 5:26 (note) that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

1Thessalonians 5:23 (note) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify (optative mood) you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 4:5 (For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude) for it (everything created by God) is sanctified (present tense) by means of the word of God and prayer.

Comment: BKC explains that "All the seemingly “ordinary” things of life can then become extraordinary as they are consecrated (hagiazo) by the Word of God and prayer (Ed note: in context especially gratitude or thanksgiving). In the light of the Scriptures a Christian recognizes God’s good hand behind the things provided, and offers thanksgiving to the Lord. In this way the ordinary things so easily taken for granted (some of which are forbidden by errorists) become sanctified (set apart from common things) as occasions for worship and praise. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor or Logos)

2 Timothy 2:21 (note) Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified (perfect tense), useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

Hebrews 2:11 (note) For both He who sanctifies (present tense) and those who are sanctified (present tense) are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren

Comment: "He Who sanctifies" is the Lord Jesus Christ. "Those who are sanctified" is  present tense, passive voice which could be paraphrased "those who are continually being set apart from the world and to God" which describes our present state of progressive sanctification ("present tense salvation" -- see the Three Tenses of Salvation) which describes our daily being conformed to the image of God's Son, which will culminate in our being "like Him" (1 John 3:2-3) (glorification).

Hebrews 9:13 (note) For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled (made "common" or unclean, violating the state required for ritual holiness), sanctify for the cleansing (purifying, making ritually cleansed and acceptable to offer worship in the setting of the Tabernacle) of the flesh

Comment: In the OT the worshippers were "set apart" from whatever ritually defiled them by the blood of animals, which effected only an "external" cleansing, not an internal one (contrast this effect with that brought about by the blood of Christ in Hebrews 13:12 below).

Hebrews 10:10 (note) By this will we have been sanctified (perfect tense)  through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Comment: Here the writer's use of perfect tense pictures a past completed event with present ongoing effect/result. Note also that sanctified is in the passive voice, indicating we are being acted upon by an outside force [God and His will] Who takes a sinner and sets them apart as a same person. Furthermore note that the perfect tense shows  in the strongest way the permanent and continuous state of salvation into which the believer is brought and in which he lives, which is especially significant if you wrestle with the issue of eternal security - even the verb tense underscores the truth of "eternal security"!

Hebrews 10:14 (note) For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (present tense).

Comment: This verse can be amplified as follows - "Those who are continually (present tense) being (passive voice = subject acted upon by outside source, ie, the sanctifying work of the Spirit)  set apart from the world and unto God".

Here the reference is to ongoing sanctification or so-called "progressive sanctification" (= "present tense salvation") which is a continuous process in this life and is te