1 Peter 1:2-5
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
The power of salvation is in knowing exactly what was achieved for you (in which you have no input) and understanding the order and progression of the New Life. Please look at the scripture before us again. The first word in verse 2 is \”elect\”. What does it mean? It means \”picked out, chosen\”. The initiative is not yours; it is His. If you have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, it was because God elected you (chose and picked you out). This in itself is a powerful revelation.
Pause and reflect deeply on what it means to be saved
What unleashes the power of salvation or the power of God to save you (as a present continuous experience) is to pause to drink deeply into the ocean of God\’s revelation. Your limited human reasoning is not sufficient to sustain your salvation experience. You need a revelation to see into the mind of God.
\”Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…\”
This election is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. That means the Father chose you before the foundation of the world (Eph.1:3-4). This implies that all the mystical, supernatural support required to be all God purposed (predestinated) you to be is embedded in your election. Hence, your salvation (even though it required you to make a decision to come into the Kingdom of God) does not depend on your decision; it depends on God\’s decision – which is God\’s election of you. There is no power in your decision (although you needed to decide); all the power resides in God\’s decision to save you and make you His own before the world began.
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\”…through sanctification of the Spirit…\”
This election of God entails your sanctification by the Spirit of God. Now, this is where many people enter into troubled waters in their faith. When you reject anything that comes with the package of your salvation, you endanger your faith – this is when you experience contradictions that make you doubt your faith or make you a poor representation of the Christian life.
\”… unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…\”
The work of sanctification done by the Holy Spirit has a clear focus, a definite objective. It is to produce two things: obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. First, you must note that it is as the Holy Spirit sanctifies you that the obedience of Jesus is replicated in your life. You can\’t produce obedience on your own or else it will be a \”dead work\” through the force of legalism and extreme discipline that religion can impose on you.
The Release of the Power of the Cross
What about the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ? This is the constant release of the power of the cross into your life. The power of the cross is the power released through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which the devil cannot fight against (Col. 2:13-14). I wonder why the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ is contingent on the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit? Let\’s look at a Scripture that can help us:
Hebrews 11
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
From this scripture, you can see that the blood is what the Holy Spirit uses to sanctify us and if you sin willfully, you are trampling on the Son of God whose blood was shed for your cleansing. If you read from verse 25, you will have a broader picture and you will see that the Holy Spirit takes it deeply personal if you sin deliberately. Since He is the Spirit of Grace, grace and peace will be withheld from you. The ministry of the blood of Jesus is administered by the Holy Spirit and it deals with all the works of the flesh and every ancestral or satanic activity in your life before you got saved.
Finally…
The sanctification of the Spirit in your life brings the obedience of Jesus into your experience and stations a free flow of the blood to keep answering every adversary, curse and evil work that seeks to challenge your liberty in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 1:5 says, you are \”…kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.\” So, if you have doubts and uncertainties in your Christian experience, it is time to see what God has done so that you can cooperate with the Spirit of Grace for your sanctification and begin to live from the standpoint of victory. Hallelujah!
