God our Sanctifier: Becoming Wholly His
By Ryan Dawson
Have you ever walked through a house while it was being built?
I remember when we had our house built in Kemptville. It was so exciting to see our house take shape from a set of architectural drawings. At first, there wasn’t much to look at, just a foundation, some framed walls, piles of materials and a lot of work happening on the job site. But slowly, the vision on the plans became a reality. I think that’s a helpful picture of what God is doing in our lives.
Our lives are like a spiritual house that God is building. God the Father is the Master Architect. The Holy Spirit is the General Contractor. And we are on the job site as tradespeople, participating in the work God is doing in us. The goal of the project is that our lives increasingly resemble Jesus, and that is what holiness is all about.
When we hear the word holy, we can sometimes picture something distant, intimidating or unattainable. I remember being about eleven years old and visiting a church with my parents. I remember the big stone building, the stained-glass windows and the minister wearing robes and a white collar. I had a sense that this was a “holy place”, but it also felt like holiness was something far removed from everyday life.
But biblical holiness isn’t primarily about being religious or looking spiritual. To be holy means to be set apart for God—to be wholly devoted to God. In that sense to be holy is to be wholly God’s.
God says, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45) And yet, amazingly, God doesn’t simply tell us to become holy and leave us to figure it out on our own. He says, “I am the LORD who makes you holy.” (Leviticus 20:8).
God is our Sanctifier. He is Yahweh-M’Kaddesh—the God who makes us holy.
This is such an important truth. We don’t become holy by trying harder to impress God. We become holy by surrendering ourselves more fully to God and allowing His Spirit to do His transforming work in and through us.
The Apostle Peter writes to Christians who were living in a difficult culture. Their faith in Jesus put them at odds with the values around them so following Jesus wasn’t easy. We can often feel the same way in the season in which we live.
Peter tells them to “prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control” (1 Peter 1:13) and then calls them to live as God’s obedient children and to “be holy in everything they do.” (1 Peter 1:15). In other words, roll up your sleeves, put your hard hat on because it’s time to get to work. That doesn’t mean we earn our salvation because we never could. As Dallas Willard famously put it, “Grace is not against effort—it’s against earning.” There is effort involved in following Jesus and if we want to grow to become more like Jesus, we need to employ the spiritual tools God provides: Scripture, prayer, worship, community, serving, generosity and obedience.
If we want to see our spiritual house built, we will need to participate in God's work. But we need to remember we’re not the architect, and we’re not the contractor, because God is. We are simply joining God in the work He is already doing. Peter gives us some practical direction for what it looks like to be wholly God’s.
1. Prepare your mind for action.
Holiness begins with what we allow to shape our minds. What are you filling your mind with? What voices are forming your values? What ideas are you allowing to become the blueprint for your life? God has given us His Word as our blueprint and His Spirit to help us understand and live in the way of Jesus. And there is just no substitute for daily time in God’s Word, where we allow the Spirit to shape us.
I want to encourage you to make some intentional space for God’s Word. Open the Bible and read slowly. Ask, “Jesus, what are You saying to me? What do You want me to do?” Seek to not just hear the Word, but to put it into practice.
2. Exercise Spirit-control.
Peter tells us to exercise self-control. The question isn’t simply, “Can I control myself?” The deeper question is, “Who is controlling me?” When the Holy Spirit is the General Contractor, He gets to direct the project of my life. That means bringing our desires, our habits, relationships, the way we handle money, our sexuality, our work, time and priorities under the loving leadership of Jesus.
Are there rooms in your spiritual house where you’ve put up a “Do Not Enter” sign? Is there an area of your life where you’re saying, “Jesus, you can have everything except this”? Today is the day to open the door of your heart and to give Jesus your “whole house”.
3. Put your hope in God’s grace.
This one is especially important because spiritual growth can be painfully slow. Sometimes you look at your life and wonder, Am I actually changing? You may find yourself struggling with the same temptation or falling into the same life sucking patterns. It’s easy to feel that in many ways we should be farther along in looking like Jesus. I understand that because I feel that as well. But remember: God has not finished building you, and He has not finished building me. The work may feel slow, but the Master Architect knows exactly what He is doing.
Peter reminds us to put our hope in the gracious salvation that is coming when Jesus is revealed. One day, the construction will be complete. Sin and death will be gone and we will be fully conformed to the image of Jesus. So don’t give up. Keep showing up and trusting God and the Spirit to finish His good work.
And here’s the really good news: Jesus has already done what we could never do for ourselves. Peter reminds us that we were rescued from an empty way of life—not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, the spotless Lamb of God. (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Jesus lived the perfectly holy life we could never live, and He died the death our sin deserved. And through faith in Him, we are forgiven, cleansed and made holy. Hebrews puts it beautifully: Christ has “made perfect those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14).
Think about that. In Christ, we have already been made holy, and we are still being made holy. Our identity is secure, even while our character is still under construction. That means I don’t pursue holiness so God will love me. I pursue holiness because God already loves me. Jesus gave Himself wholly and completely for us. So, the only reasonable response is to give ourselves wholly and completely to Him.
What step do you need to take today to be wholly God’s?
Maybe it’s spending more intentional time in God’s Word or taking time to pray throughout the day. Maybe it’s surrendering a habit that is controlling you or choosing obedience where you have been resisting God. Maybe it’s forgiving someone who has hurt you or serving someone without recognition. Whatever it is step out in faith and surrender this to God, letting the Master Architect have His way. Let the Holy Spirit lead the work and then pick up your tools and join Him on the job site. Because this is the beautiful promise of sanctification: God is building something in you that looks like Jesus. And when we surrender ourselves to God, when we become wholly His, God forms us into a holy reflection of Christ.
So today, let’s give God the whole house. Be wholly His, and by His grace, He will make you holy.
Grace & Peace, Ryan
Have you ever walked through a house while it was being built?
I remember when we had our house built in Kemptville. It was so exciting to see our house take shape from a set of architectural drawings. At first, there wasn’t much to look at, just a foundation, some framed walls, piles of materials and a lot of work happening on the job site. But slowly, the vision on the plans became a reality. I think that’s a helpful picture of what God is doing in our lives.
Our lives are like a spiritual house that God is building. God the Father is the Master Architect. The Holy Spirit is the General Contractor. And we are on the job site as tradespeople, participating in the work God is doing in us. The goal of the project is that our lives increasingly resemble Jesus, and that is what holiness is all about.
When we hear the word holy, we can sometimes picture something distant, intimidating or unattainable. I remember being about eleven years old and visiting a church with my parents. I remember the big stone building, the stained-glass windows and the minister wearing robes and a white collar. I had a sense that this was a “holy place”, but it also felt like holiness was something far removed from everyday life.
But biblical holiness isn’t primarily about being religious or looking spiritual. To be holy means to be set apart for God—to be wholly devoted to God. In that sense to be holy is to be wholly God’s.
God says, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45) And yet, amazingly, God doesn’t simply tell us to become holy and leave us to figure it out on our own. He says, “I am the LORD who makes you holy.” (Leviticus 20:8).
God is our Sanctifier. He is Yahweh-M’Kaddesh—the God who makes us holy.
This is such an important truth. We don’t become holy by trying harder to impress God. We become holy by surrendering ourselves more fully to God and allowing His Spirit to do His transforming work in and through us.
The Apostle Peter writes to Christians who were living in a difficult culture. Their faith in Jesus put them at odds with the values around them so following Jesus wasn’t easy. We can often feel the same way in the season in which we live.
Peter tells them to “prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control” (1 Peter 1:13) and then calls them to live as God’s obedient children and to “be holy in everything they do.” (1 Peter 1:15). In other words, roll up your sleeves, put your hard hat on because it’s time to get to work. That doesn’t mean we earn our salvation because we never could. As Dallas Willard famously put it, “Grace is not against effort—it’s against earning.” There is effort involved in following Jesus and if we want to grow to become more like Jesus, we need to employ the spiritual tools God provides: Scripture, prayer, worship, community, serving, generosity and obedience.
If we want to see our spiritual house built, we will need to participate in God's work. But we need to remember we’re not the architect, and we’re not the contractor, because God is. We are simply joining God in the work He is already doing. Peter gives us some practical direction for what it looks like to be wholly God’s.
1. Prepare your mind for action.
Holiness begins with what we allow to shape our minds. What are you filling your mind with? What voices are forming your values? What ideas are you allowing to become the blueprint for your life? God has given us His Word as our blueprint and His Spirit to help us understand and live in the way of Jesus. And there is just no substitute for daily time in God’s Word, where we allow the Spirit to shape us.
I want to encourage you to make some intentional space for God’s Word. Open the Bible and read slowly. Ask, “Jesus, what are You saying to me? What do You want me to do?” Seek to not just hear the Word, but to put it into practice.
2. Exercise Spirit-control.
Peter tells us to exercise self-control. The question isn’t simply, “Can I control myself?” The deeper question is, “Who is controlling me?” When the Holy Spirit is the General Contractor, He gets to direct the project of my life. That means bringing our desires, our habits, relationships, the way we handle money, our sexuality, our work, time and priorities under the loving leadership of Jesus.
Are there rooms in your spiritual house where you’ve put up a “Do Not Enter” sign? Is there an area of your life where you’re saying, “Jesus, you can have everything except this”? Today is the day to open the door of your heart and to give Jesus your “whole house”.
3. Put your hope in God’s grace.
This one is especially important because spiritual growth can be painfully slow. Sometimes you look at your life and wonder, Am I actually changing? You may find yourself struggling with the same temptation or falling into the same life sucking patterns. It’s easy to feel that in many ways we should be farther along in looking like Jesus. I understand that because I feel that as well. But remember: God has not finished building you, and He has not finished building me. The work may feel slow, but the Master Architect knows exactly what He is doing.
Peter reminds us to put our hope in the gracious salvation that is coming when Jesus is revealed. One day, the construction will be complete. Sin and death will be gone and we will be fully conformed to the image of Jesus. So don’t give up. Keep showing up and trusting God and the Spirit to finish His good work.
And here’s the really good news: Jesus has already done what we could never do for ourselves. Peter reminds us that we were rescued from an empty way of life—not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, the spotless Lamb of God. (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Jesus lived the perfectly holy life we could never live, and He died the death our sin deserved. And through faith in Him, we are forgiven, cleansed and made holy. Hebrews puts it beautifully: Christ has “made perfect those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14).
Think about that. In Christ, we have already been made holy, and we are still being made holy. Our identity is secure, even while our character is still under construction. That means I don’t pursue holiness so God will love me. I pursue holiness because God already loves me. Jesus gave Himself wholly and completely for us. So, the only reasonable response is to give ourselves wholly and completely to Him.
What step do you need to take today to be wholly God’s?
Maybe it’s spending more intentional time in God’s Word or taking time to pray throughout the day. Maybe it’s surrendering a habit that is controlling you or choosing obedience where you have been resisting God. Maybe it’s forgiving someone who has hurt you or serving someone without recognition. Whatever it is step out in faith and surrender this to God, letting the Master Architect have His way. Let the Holy Spirit lead the work and then pick up your tools and join Him on the job site. Because this is the beautiful promise of sanctification: God is building something in you that looks like Jesus. And when we surrender ourselves to God, when we become wholly His, God forms us into a holy reflection of Christ.
So today, let’s give God the whole house. Be wholly His, and by His grace, He will make you holy.
Grace & Peace, Ryan