To be sanctified means to be made holy and set apart for the will of God. In Matthew 16 Jesus asks the disciples,”Who do people say I am?” Then he asks them, “Who do you say I am?” Peter says, “the messiah the son of the living God.” Jesus responds, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Jesus says, “on this rock I will build my church,” the greek word used for church is ekklesia. Ekklesia was the word used to describe the Roman senate. Ekklesia means “called out ones”. The senate was a group of people who were sent out by Caesar to establish his will throughout his kingdom/empire. Caesar didn’t have to leave his throne for his kingdom to expand, he would send his delegates in his authority and they would speak and act on his behalf.
We are the delegates of the kingdom of heaven on earth. Paul uses a couple of examples to help Timothy understand this reality.
2 Timothy 2:3-7
“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.”
A soldier is different than a civilian even though they both are citizens of the same country. A soldier is set apart for a specific purpose, to carry out the missions and purpose of his or her government. When you are set apart for a specific purpose you don’t get distracted by something that has nothing to do with your calling.
An athlete commits and goes all in to compete in whatever game they are engaged in. An athlete’s total focus is on preparation: sleep, diet, training, recovery. An athlete is set apart for the purpose of the game.
A farmer reaps a harvest because he or she planted seed. Essentially Paul says, “This is the mindset to please the commanding officer; This is the mindset to win the victor’s crown; This is the mindset to reap a harvest.”
There’s a reward to come and is created from work done here and now. We are set apart on purpose for the purposes of God on earth.