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PURSUE PEACE WITH ALL MEN
AND THE SANCTIFICATION:Eirenen diokete (2PPAM) meta panton kai ton hagiasmon:
Ps 34:14, Mt 5:8 Pr 15:1, 16:7, 17:14 (Ep 4:3)(Ro 14:19). Ro 12:18 (Mt 5:9)
Pursue
(1377)
(dioko from dio = pursue, prosecute, persecute, also
pursue in good sense) means to follow or press hard after, pursue with
earnestness and diligence in order to obtain, go after with the desire
of obtaining.
The
present imperative
is a command to continually press hard after, moving energetically
toward the goals of something, in this case toward the goal of
peace with all men. Continually pursue this goal, like the hounds
chasing in pursuit of the fox. This is not a passive role
that one just lets happen; it is an active concept that one must
strive for.
Peace
(1515)
(eirene
from verb eiro = to join or
bind together that which has been separated) literally pictures the
binding or joining together again of that which had been separated or
divided and thus setting at one again, a meaning convey by the common
expression of one “having it all together”. It follows that peace is
the opposite of division or dissension. Peace as a state of concord
and harmony is the opposite of war. Peace was used as a greeting or
farewell corresponding to the Hebrew word shalom - "peace to you".
Eirene can convey the sense of an inner rest, well being and
harmony. The ultimate peace is the state of reconciliation with God,
effected by placing one's faith in the gospel. In eschatology, peace
is prophesied to be an essential characteristic of the Messianic
kingdom (Acts 10:36).
Peace is a condition of
freedom from disturbance, whether outwardly, as of a nation from war
or enemies or inwardly, as in the current context, within the soul. Peace
implies health, well-being, and prosperity.
Make it the habit of your life
to seek hard after peace with men and holiness before God, the holiness He desires
and which He alone can work in us as we work out our salvation in fear
and trembling.
Those who pursue peace seek to
forgive and to forget and to be kind and to be
thoughtful and be able to help others and be able to pray
for their enemies!
The exhortation is most likely
address the attitude those Jews who had come into the New Covenant
were to manifest toward the unsaved Jews who were in danger of
renouncing their professed faith in Messiah and of returning to the
temple sacrifices.
Expositor’s
Greek Testament says:
The circumstances of the Hebrews
were fitted to excite a quarrelsome spirit, and a feeling of
alienation towards those weak members who left the straight path. They
must not suffer them to be alienated but must restore them to the
unity of the faith, and in endeavoring to reclaim them must use the
methods of peace, not of anger or disputation. (Nicoll, W Robertson,
Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of print. Search
Google)
Sanctification (1377)
(hagiasmos
from
hagiazo = sanctify from
hagios =
holy, set apart, consecrated) literally means sanctification
and includes the ideas of consecration, purification, dedication and
holiness. The dominant idea of sanctification is separation from the
secular and sinful and setting apart for a sacred purpose. Holiness is
the state of being
set apart from sin and the world to deity (God) or the process of
becoming more dedicated to God. Sanctification is "the process by
which believers are set apart by God as a special people to grow
spiritually in personal holiness and to develop Christ-like
character."
Wuest
puts it this way
The word “sanctify” in the Greek
means “to set apart,” and the word “sanctification” refers to the
setting apart process. (Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
Hagiasmos
is used twice in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Ezekiel 45:4, Amos 2:11) and 10 times in the NT (these are discussed
below)...
Romans 6:19
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to
lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your
members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification...Romans
6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to
God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the
outcome, eternal life.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But by
His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God,
and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this
is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you
abstain from sexual immorality;4 that each of you know how to possess
his own vessel in sanctification and honor...7 For God has not
called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we
should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the
Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
1 Timothy 2:15 But women
shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in
faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace
with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will
see the Lord.
1 Peter 1:2 according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His
blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.
Hagiasmos
was used in the Greek pagan religions to describe buildings, altars
or offerings set apart for religious purposes. The object set apart
was thus declared sacred, holy, devoted to religious purposes. It
applied also to the worshippers. They were set apart persons, thus
religious devotees of the temple.
As explained
below, hagiasmos can refer either to a state of being
set apart from sin and the world unto God (equating with our initial
salvation) or secondly can refer to the process by which a
saint becomes progressively more set apart to God. Thus
sanctification in one use takes place at a moment in time
(salvation) but in the other use sanctification is a continuous
process until we are glorified. Peter uses hagiasmos primarily with
the former meaning. The Holy Spirit is crucial both aspects of
sanctification.
Wuest
adds that
This pre-salvation work of the
Spirit is spoken of in Scripture as the sanctification of the Spirit.
It is the setting-apart work of the Spirit in that He sets the unsaved
person apart from his unbelief to the act of faith, from his standing
in the first Adam which brought him sin and death, to a new standing
in the Last Adam which brings him righteousness and life. This we call
positional sanctification." (Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
The
Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology has a note that helps
illustrate the meaning of hagiasmos writing that...
The generic meaning of
sanctification is the state of proper functioning.” To sanctify
someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use
intended by its designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write.
Eyeglasses are “sanctified” when used to improve sight. In the
theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the
purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he
or she lives according to God’s design and purpose." (Elwell,
W. A., & Elwell, W. A. The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
. Baker Book House)
The College
Press NIV Commentary states that...
The concept of sanctification
can be understood by comparing the sanctification of people to the
sanctification of the temple or its utensils. A sanctified building,
lampstand, or pot is designated to be used only in service to God. A
sanctified person has also been set apart for service. The Holy Spirit
both marks us for God’s service and empowers us to render that
service. (1 & 2 Peter : The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO:
College Press Publishing).
Writing to the Thessalonian
believers (whose faith had been shaken by false teachers cf
2Th 2:1ff) Paul reminds them
of the source and security of their salvation, explaining that they
are
"brethren beloved (perfect
tense = their
permanent state) by the Lord, because God has chosen you (election --
middle voice
= for Himself) from the beginning for salvation through
sanctification (hagiasmos) by the Spirit (God's part) and
faith (man's part, realizing that even faith is a gift) in the truth"
(2Th
2:13).
The Spirit uses
the Word of Truth (the Gospel) to convict men of sin, righteousness
and the judgment to come (Jn
16:8), to point them to safety in the "Ark" of Christ and
to set them apart from the world.
Using the verbal
root of hagiasmos (hagiazo), Paul declared to the
Ephesian elders
"And now I commend you to God and
to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give
you the inheritance ("imperishable and undefiled and will not fade
away reserved in heaven" - see note
1Peter 1:4)
among all those who are sanctified (hagiazo -
perfect tense
pictures their having been set apart occurring at a definite point of
time in the past -- the moment they were born again by faith -- with
the present result that they are still set apart, that blessed
condition continuing throughout this life and the one to come!)." (Acts
20:32)
What is "the" holiness
which the writer refers to?
Kenneth Wuest
feels that...
The exhortation is thus addressed
to the saved among the recipients of this letter, and in relation to
their attitude towards the unsaved Jews who were in danger of
renouncing their professed faith in Messiah and of returning to the
temple sacrifices. The holiness spoken of here is defined in the
context and by the historical background of the letter.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
Expositor’s
Greek Testament says
The holiness
which this epistle has explained is a drawing near to God with a
cleansed conscience (10:14, 22), a true acceptance of Christ’s
sacrifice as bring the worshipper into fellowship with God. (Nicoll, W
Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of
print. Search Google)
Henry Morris
offers this explanation stating that...
"Holiness" is the same as
"sanctification." As far as our position and standing before God are
concerned, we, as believers, have peace with God and are "sanctified
in Christ Jesus" (see note
Romans 5:1;
1 Corinthians 1:2). Without these (which means without salvation), we
could never hope to see the Lord. We still need to follow diligently
after peace and holiness in a practical sense, by His enabling grace,
if we would see Him in faith. (Morris,
Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing)
Ryrie
feels that the writer means that...
Without sanctification in life we
cannot see the Lord; i.e., worship Him acceptably. (The
Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody
Publishers)
Stedman
explains it this way...
But of even more importance is the
pursuit of holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord. Whether
this seeing of the Lord refers to the beatific vision of God (Bruce
1964:364), or to seeing Jesus at his Second Coming (Westcott
1889:406), it clearly precludes any who are not pursuing holiness from
having a close and vital relationship with God. The need to make every
effort suggests continuance and is perhaps better translated “pursue.”
As we have noted before, it is a mistake to take holiness as referring
only to righteous behavior apart from seeing it also as a gift of God
who imparts righteousness to the one who believes in Jesus.
If we pursue righteous behavior
only as a means to “seeing” the Lord, we will eventually find
ourselves with the Pharisees. They were blindly ignorant of terrible
failure but claimed a relationship that did not really exist. But if
we truly practice a continual reckoning of ourselves as already
righteous within by a gracious act of God on the basis of the death
and resurrection of Jesus, we will find ourselves strongly motivated
to live righteously and inwardly distressed at any failure to do so.
This inward distress will bring us again and again to the throne of
grace for forgiveness and recovery. We will progressively be
“transformed into his (Christ’s) likeness with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). That is
what is meant by the exhortation to “pursue holiness, without which no
man shall see the Lord” (KJV). (Hebrews 12:14-17 Dangers to Watch For)
John
MacArthur explains it this way...
This verse is not easy to
interpret, and has been a problem for many sincere Christians. At
first glance, it seems to be teaching salvation by works—if we
successfully pursue peace and sanctification, we will be saved and
will see the Lord. The truth is, however, that a person who is not
saved cannot pursue either peace or sanctification, at least not
successfully. Only the Christian has the ability, through the Holy
Spirit, to live in peace and in holiness. “ ‘There is no peace,’
says my God, ‘for the wicked’ ” (Isa. 57:21) and any
righteousness men try to produce apart from God is as “a filthy
garment” (Isa. 64:6).
I believe the writer is speaking of
practical peace and righteousness. Positionally, in Christ, Christians
already are at peace and already are righteous, but practically we
have a great deal to do. Because we are at peace with God, we should
be peacemakers. Because we are counted righteous, we should live
righteously. Our practice should match our position. Otherwise the
unbeliever will stand back and ask, “Why don’t you practice what you
preach? If you don’t live like Christ says to live, why should I
accept Him as my Lord and Savior?” (cf. 1 John 2:6).
Pursuing peace primarily relates to
loving men, and pursuing righteousness primarily to loving God. If we
love men, we will be at peace with them, and if we love God we will
live righteously. (MacArthur,
John: Hebrews. Moody Press
or
Logos)
Holiness is that
which only comes from God as a free gift of His matchless grace. In
this epistle it is pragmatically explained as a drawing near to God
with a cleansed conscience (10:14, 22), a true acceptance of Christ's
sacrifice as bringing the worshiper into fellowship w. God. It is not
throwing away your confidence, not shrinking back to destruction, not
falling away, not drifting, not hardening your heart, not living in
continual disobedience. But it is being holy as He is holy by holding
fast, by enduring, by pressing on to maturity, by diligently seeking
Him, by believing that He is, by believing that He is a Rewarder.
WITHOUT WHICH NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD: choris oudeis opsetai (3SFMI)
ton kurion:
Without (5565)
(choris from chora = land from choros = field or
place usually where cattle range or chasma = thru idea of empty
expanse) as a preposition it means apart from, separate from (at a
space, separately) and thus is a marker of dissociation, indicating a
distinct separation from something.
No one (3762)
(oudeis from ou = not + dé = but + heis =
one) means literally "but absolutely not one" and thus no one,
nothing, none at all. It emphasizes not even one!
See (3708)
(horao) means to discern clearly (physical or mental). it is
not merely act of seeing, but also actual perception of object.
How do we see Him today? By
faith (Heb 11:1, 27) As far as our position and standing before God are
concerned, we, as believers, have peace with God and are "sanctified
in Christ Jesus" (Ro 5:1; 1Co 1:2). Without these (which means without
salvation), we could never hope to see the Lord. We still need to
follow diligently after peace and holiness in a practical sense, by
His enabling grace, if we would see Him in faith.
There is another way some
interpret this verse. Practical holiness is a proof of new life within
and thus if a
person is not growing more holy, it raises the possibility that he may
never have been made positionally holy by grace through faith. When the Spirit of
Holiness invades and indwells a person, He imparts a new desire to be
pleasing to God (Ezekiel 36:27) and this new heart is manifest by that person
living more and more a life separated unto God His Father. It is a
matter of cause and effect. If Christ has been received, the rivers of
living water will flow.
How do we apply the truth in
this exhortation? The way to finish well in life’s marathon is to
pursue peace and holiness making every effort to live in peace with
all men and to be holy. We must learn the runner’s lean, continually
stretching ourselves forward to peace and extending our entire beings
toward holiness!
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