Answers from church history on today's questions
What Christian writers said, from about AD 339 to 1930.
41 passages · 16 writers · 7 centuries
Barnes says sanctify in John 17:17 means to cleanse from sins, Calvin, Wesley, and Robertson say it means to consecrate, Henry and Brown say it asks for the carrying on and completion of a sanctification already begun in the disciples, and Spurgeon notes that Christ spoke of people already saved. Henry says the word of truth is the outward and ordinary means the Spirit commonly uses in beginning and carrying on sanctification, Hodge calls Scripture the specially appointed means, and Spurgeon says God works sanctification in us by the truth and by nothing else. Chrysostom reads the prayer as asking that they be made holy by the gift of the Spirit and of right doctrines, and Calvin says the truth is the light of heavenly wisdom by which God conforms the elect to his image. Owen calls Christ's prayer in John 17:17 the blessed spring of our holiness, and Watson says Christ prays for nothing but what his Father has a mind to grant. On verse 19, Barnes and Spurgeon say Christ's sanctifying himself does not mean purification from sin, since he had no sin, but consecration to God's service and will, Brown says the word means only consecrate as applied to Christ, Calvin says he consecrated himself to the Father so that his holiness might come to us, and Henry says he devoted himself to the work of Mediator.
13 passages · 9 writers · 1500s to 1900s
Calvin says the sanctification Christ asks for includes God renewing believers by his Spirit and continuing the renewal to the end, and that he asks the Father to consecrate the disciples entirely to himself. Barnes says the word means to render pure or cleanse from sins, and Robertson says it means to consecrate or set apart persons to God. Wesley says it means to consecrate believers by the anointing of the Spirit and perfect them in holiness by means of the word. Henry says the disciples were already sanctified, and he reads the prayer as asking that the work be confirmed, carried on, and completed. Spurgeon says Christ referred to people already saved, who were sanctified already in being consecrated and in a measure in being made holy in character, and that no one can sanctify a soul but Almighty God. Bruce says Jesus prayed for the disciples' sanctification in the truth with their growth and maturity in grace and their equipment for the apostleship in view. Owen calls Christ's prayer in John 17:17 the blessed spring of our holiness, and Watson says Christ prays for nothing but what his Father has a mind to grant.
1553 · John Calvin, Commentary on John, part 2 (chapters 12-21) 17.17
Sanctify them by thy truth. This sanctification includes the kingdom of God and his righteousness; that is, when God renews us by his Spirit, and confirms in us the grace of renewal, and continues it to the end. He asks, first, therefore, that the Father would sanctify the disciples, or, in other words, that he would consecrate them entirely to himself, and defend them as his sacred inheritance.
1674 · John Owen, Pneumatologia, or a Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit (Books I-V) 4.6
] Because he prevails for the actual sanctification of our natures, in the communication of holiness unto us, by his intercession. His prayer, John xvii. 17, is the blessed spring of our holiness: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” There is not any thing of this grace wrought in us, bestowed on us, communicated unto us, preserved in us, but what is so in answer unto and compliance with the intercession of Christ. From his prayer for us is holiness begun in us: “Sanctify them,” saith he, “by thy truth.”
1674 · John Owen, Pneumatologia, or a Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit (Books I-V) 4.3
All who unfeignedly believe in God through Jesus Christ are sanctified, and no others. Unto them is evangelical holiness confined. It is for them and them only that our Saviour prays for this mercy, grace, or privilege: John xvii. 17, “Sanctify them by thy truth.” And concerning them he affirms, “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth,” verse 19. And whereas, in the verses foregoing, he had immediate respect unto his apostles and present disciples, that we may know that neither his prayer nor his grace is confined or limited unto them, he adds, “Neither pray I for these alone,” — that is, in this manner, and for these ends, — “but for them also which shall believe on me through their word,” verse 20.
1692 · Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, Contained in Sermons upon the Westminster Assembly's Catechism 5.4
(2:) Christ prays for nothing but what his Father has a mind to grant. There is but one will between Christ and his Father. Christ prays, ‘Sanctify them through thy truth;' and ‘This is the will of God, even your sanctification.' I Thess 4:4. So then, if Christ prays for nothing but what God the Father has a mind to grant, then he is like to succeed.
1710–1714 · Matthew Henry, Commentary on John 17.17-19
The disciples were sanctified, for they were not of the world; yet he prays, Father sanctify them, that is, [1.] "Confirm the work of sanctification in them, strengthen their faith, inflame their good affections, rivet their good resolutions." [2.] "Carry on that good work in them, and continue it; let the light shine more and more." [3.] "Complete it, crown it with the perfection of holiness; sanctify them throughout and to the end." Note, First, It is the prayer of Christ for all that are his that they may be sanctified; because he cannot for shame own them as his, either here or hereafter, either employ them in his work or present them to his Father, if they be not sanctified. Secondly, Those that through grace are sanctified have need to be sanctified more and more. Even disciples must pray for sanctifying grace; for, if he that was the author of the good work be not the finisher of it, we are undone. Not to go forward is to go backward; he that is holy must be holy still, more holy still, pressing forward, soaring upward, as those that have not attained.
1754 · John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on John 17.17
Sanctify - Consecrate them by the anointing of thy Spirit to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by means of thy word.
1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: John 17.17
Sanctify them - This word means to render pure, or to cleanse from sins, Th1 5:23; Co1 6:11. Sanctification in the heart of a Christian is progressive. It consists in his becoming more like God and less attached to the world; in his getting the ascendency over evil thoughts, and passions, and impure desires; and in his becoming more and more weaned from earthly objects, and attached to those things which are unseen and eternal.
1871 · Alexander Balmain Bruce, The Training of the Twelve 26
This, in justice to them, their Master is careful to state twice over in this portion of His prayer. “They,” He testifies, “are not of the world, even as I am not of the world,” putting them on a level with Himself with characteristic magnanimity, and not without truth; for the persons thus described, though in many respects defective, were very unworldly, caring nothing for the world’s trinity, — riches, honors, and pleasures, — but only for the words of eternal life. Yet, notwithstanding their sincerity, the eleven still needed not only keeping, but perfecting; and therefore their Master went on to pray for their sanctification in the truth, having in view not only their perseverance, growth, and maturity in grace as private Christians, but more especially their spiritual equipment for the office of the apostleship. Hence He goes on in the next breath to make mention of their apostolic vocation, showing that that is principally in His eye: “As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” That they may be fitted for their mission is His intense desire.
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
Our Lord referred to the company of men and women who were already saved, of whom he said that they had kept God's Word: "Thine they were, and thou gavest them me." They were therefore sanctified already in the sense of being consecrated and set apart for holy purposes; and they were also sanctified in a measure already in the sense of being made holy in character; for the immediate disciples of our Lord, with all their errors and deficiencies, were holy men. It was for the apostles that Jesus thus prayed; so that we may be sure that the most eminent saints need still to have this prayer offered for them: "Sanctify them through thy truth."
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
No one can sanctify a soul but Almighty God, the great Father of spirits. He who made us must also make us holy, or we shall never attain that character. Our dear Savior calls the great God "Holy Father" in this prayer, and it is the part of the holy God to create holiness; while a holy Father can only be the Father of holy children, for like begets like.
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
Our Lord's desire for the sanctification of his people pervades the whole prayer; but it is gathered up, declared, and intensified in the one sentence that I have read to you: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." How invaluable must the blessing of sanctification be when our Lord, in the highest reach of his intercession, cries: "Sanctify them!"
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
Bullocks and lambs and sheep and turtle-doves, and so forth, were given by devout offerers, brought to the holy place, and dedicated unto God; henceforth they belonged to God, and must be presented at his altar. This is one part of the meaning of our Lord's prayer. He would have each of us consecrated unto the Lord, designated and ordained for divine purposes. We are not the world's, else might we be ambitious; we are not Satan's, else might we be covetous; we are not our own, else might we be selfish. We are bought with a price, and hence we are his by whom the price is paid. We belong to Jesus, and he presents us to his Father, and begs him to accept us and sanctify us to his own purposes. Do we not most heartily concur in this dedication? Do we not cry, "Father, sanctify us to thy service?"
1930–1933 · A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament: John 17.17
Sanctify (αγιασον). First aorist active imperative of αγιαζω. To consecrate or set apart persons or things to God. See Ex 28:41; 29:1,36; 40:13 . See Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians (1Th 5:23 ). This is done in the sphere (εν) of truth (God's truth), God's Word (not human speculation, but God's message to us).
16 passages · 11 writers · 300s to 1800s
Chrysostom says the prayer asks that they be made holy by the gift of the Spirit and of right doctrines, and Brown calls God's revealed truth the medium or element of sanctification. Calvin says the truth is the light of heavenly wisdom by which God conforms the elect to his image, and that the Holy Spirit regenerates the elect by the word. Barnes says truth is a representation of things as they are, that in the sanctification of the soul God makes use of all truth, and that all that is contained in the Bible is fitted to sanctify the soul. Henry says the word is the outward and ordinary means of sanctification, the instrument the Spirit commonly uses in beginning and carrying on that work, and Hodge calls the Word of God the specially appointed means for the sanctification of men. Owen says the word is the instrument by which God works our holiness, and that the truth frees us from sin unto righteousness in holiness. Spurgeon says God works sanctification in us by the truth and by nothing else, and that it is the Father who sanctifies by means of the doctrine, which must be applied with spiritual power. Spurgeon also says false doctrine is never the medium of sanctification. Watson says the word is both a glass to show us the spots of our soul and a laver to wash them away, and Charnock says the first sanctification and its progress are wrought by the gospel.
c. 391 · John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John 82.1
“Sanctify them through Thy truth.” “Make them holy by the gift of the Spirit, and of right doctrines.” As when He saith, “Ye are clean through the word which I spake unto you” ( c. xv. 3 ), so now He saith the same thing, “Instruct them, teach them the truth.”
1553 · John Calvin, Commentary on John, part 2 (chapters 12-21) 17.17
The truth is here taken, by way of eminence, for the light of heavenly wisdom, in which God manifests himself to us, that he may conform us to his image. The outward preaching of the word, it is true, does not of itself accomplish this, For that preaching is wickedly profaned by the reprobate; but let us remember that Christ speaks of the elect whom the Holy Spirit efficaciously regenerates by the word.
1654 · John Owen, The Doctrine of the Saints' Perseverance Explained and Confirmed 10
The word is that revealed will of God, which is our sanctification, 1 Thess. iv. 3, and the instrument whereby he works our holiness, according to that prayer of our Saviour, “Sanctify them by thy truth: thy word is truth,” John xvii. 17. And that which, when we are cast into the mould of our obedience, is in some measure wrought, Rom. vi. 17, the substance also or matter being written in our hearts, is the grace and holiness promised unto us in the covenant, Jer. xxxi. 33. And that this is the improvement which ought to be made by believers of every gospel truth, or rather, that it hath an efficacy to this purpose, the apostle tells us, 2 Cor. iii. 18, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” By apprehensions of the glorious truths discovered in the glass or mirror of the gospel, we are changed and moulded into the frame and image therein discovered by the power of the Spirit, effectually accompanying the word in the dispensation thereof.
1674 · John Owen, Pneumatologia, or a Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit (Books I-V) 4.1
The prayer, also, of our Saviour for our sanctification is conformed thereunto: John xvii. 17, “Sanctify them in” (or by) “thy truth: thy word is truth.” And he sanctified himself for us to be a sacrifice, that “we might be sanctified in the truth.” This alone is that truth which makes us free, John viii. 32, — that is, from sin and the law, unto righteousness in holiness.
1675–1680 · Stephen Charnock, Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God 9
The gospel is the instrumental cause of our spiritual life; it is the cause also of the continuance of it; it is the seed whereby we were born, and the milk whereby we are nourished (1 Pet. i. 23); it is the “power of God to salvation” (1 Pet. ii. 2), and therefore to all the degrees of it (John xvii. 17); “Sanctify them by thy truth,” or through thy truth; by or through his truth he sanctifies us, and by the same truth he establisheth us. The first sanctification, and the progress of it, the first lineaments, and the last colors, are wrought by the gospel.
1680–1681 · Thomas Manton, Works, vol. VIII Several Sermons Upon the CXIX. Psalm, Sermon CLVII. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it
The word is very pure, as it maketh us pure if we diligently attend unto it: Ps. cxix. 9, ‘By what means may a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereunto according to thy word.’ It is not said, By what means may a young man guide his way; as if he were yet to choose, or were as white paper, indifferent to any impression. But by what means shall a young man cleanse his way? Man’s heart naturally is a sink of sin, and he delighteth to wallow in this puddle, as swine do in the mire; he hath gotten a tang and smatch of the old Adam. Now, is there no way to make his heart and his way clean? Yes, if he will take God’s counsel, and direct his life according to the word. A young man that is in the heat and strength of his lusts, he may be cured and cleansed. Christ prayeth, John xvii. 17, ‘Sanctify them by thy truth; thy word is truth.’ The work is God’s, but he doth it by the truth or his will revealed in the word. He hath reserved the power of his Spirit for this dispensation and way of institution of mankind. A moral lecture may make a man change his life, but it is the word of God that changeth his heart: his Spirit goeth along with his word. So John xv. 3, ‘Now you are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you.’ The word is the instrument of purifying sinners, and to get rid of their sins.
1692 · Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, Contained in Sermons upon the Westminster Assembly's Catechism 6.5
John 17:17. The word is both a glass to show us the spots of our soul, and a laver to wash them away. The word has a transforming virtue in it; it irradiates the mind, and consecrates the heart.
1710–1714 · Matthew Henry, Commentary on John 17.17-19
Divine revelation, as it now stands in the written word, is not only pure truth without mixture, but entire truth without deficiency. [2.] That this word of truth should be the outward and ordinary means of our sanctification; not of itself, for then it would always sanctify, but as the instrument which the Spirit commonly uses in beginning and carrying on that good work; it is the seed of the new birth (1 Pet. i. 23), and the food of the new life, 1 Pet. ii. 1-2.
1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: John 17.17
Through thy truth - Truth is a representation of things as they are. The Saviour prayed that through those just views of God and of themselves they might be made holy. To see things as they are is to see God to be infinitely lovely and pure; his commands to be reasonable and just; heaven to be holy and desirable; his service to be easy, and religion pleasant, and sin odious; to see that life is short, that death is near; that the pride, pomp, pleasures, wealth, and honors of this world are of little value, and that it is of infinite importance to be prepared to enter on the eternal state of being. He that sees all this, or that looks on things as they are, will desire to be holy. He will make it his great object to live near to God and to glorify his name. In the sanctification of the soul God makes use of all truth, or of everything fitted to make a representation of things as they are to the mind. His Word states that and no more; His Spirit and His Providence do it.
1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: John 17.17
Thy word is truth - All that thou hast spoken - that is, all that is contained in the Bible. All the commands and promises of God; His representations of His own character and that of man; His account of the mission and death of His Son; of the grave, the resurrection, judgment, and eternity, all tend to represent things as they are, and are thus fitted to sanctify the soul. We have here also the testimony of the Saviour that the revelation which God has given is true. All that God has spoken is true, and the Christian should rejoice and the sinner should tremble.
1871 · David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on John 17.17
Sanctify them—As the former prayer, "Keep them," was "negative," asking protection for them from the poisonous element which surrounded and pressed upon their renewed nature, so this prayer, "Sanctify them," is positive, asking the advancement and completion of their begun sanctification. through—in. thy truth—God's revealed truth, as the medium or element of sanctification; a statement this of immense importance. thy word is truth—(Compare Joh 15:3; Col 1:5; Eph 1:13).
1872 · Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Part III, chapters XV-XX; Part IV, Eschatology) 3.20.1
Our Lord prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John xvii. 17.) There can, therefore, be no doubt that the Scriptures teach that the Word of God is the specially appointed means for the sanctification and the salvation of men. This doctrine of the Bible is fully confirmed by the experience of the Church and of the world.
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
Even God himself only sanctifies us by the truth. Only that teaching will sanctify you which is taken from God's word, that teaching which is not true, nor the truth of God, cannot sanctify you. Error may puff you up, it may even make you think that you are sanctified; but there is a very serious difference between boasting of sanctification and being sanctified, and a very grave difference between setting up to be superior to others and being really accepted before God. Believe me, God works sanctification in us by the truth, and by nothing else.
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
"Beloved, observe how God has joined holiness and truth together. There has been a tendency of late to divide truth of doctrine from truth of precept. Men say that Christianity is a life and not a creed: this is a part truth, and very near akin to a lie. Christianity is a life which grows out of truth. Jesus Christ is the way and the truth as well as the life, and he is not properly received except he is accepted in that threefold character. No holy life will be produced in us by the belief of falsehood.
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
We may maintain an orthodox creed, and it is highly important that we should do so, but if it does not touch our heart and influence our character, what is the value of our orthodoxy? It is not the doctrine which of itself sanctifies, but the Father sanctifies by means of the doctrine. The truth is the element in which we are made to live in order to holiness. Falsehood leads to sin, truth leads to holiness; but there is a lying spirit, and there is also the Spirit of truth, and by these the error and the truth are used as means to an end. Truth must be applied with spiritual power to the mind, the conscience, and the heart, or else a man may receive the truth, and yet hold it in unrighteousness. I believe this to be the crowning work of God in man, that his people should be perfectly delivered from evil. He elected them that they might be a peculiar people, zealous for good works; he ransomed them that he might redeem them from all iniquity, and purify them unto himself; he effectually calls them to a high and holy vocation, even to virtue and true holiness.
1899 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 45 (1899) 2616
Sanctify them through Your Truth: Your Word is Truth. We cannot afford to give up God's Inspired Word because it is a means of our sanctification. If this is taken away, it is not such-and-such a dogma, as they call it, put into the background, but it is the Truth of God that would sanctify us which is discarded, it is God's own Word that is flung to the dogs!
12 passages · 10 writers · 300s to 1900s
Barnes says "I sanctify myself" does not refer to personal sanctification, since Christ had no sin, but to setting himself apart entirely to the work of redemption, and Spurgeon says it was his consecration to the fulfillment of the Divine purpose. Brown says that applied to Christ the word means only to consecrate, but applied to the disciples it adds the idea of previous sanctification. Calvin says Christ consecrated himself to the Father so that his holiness might come to us, and that the Spirit cleanses us by the holiness of Christ. Henry says Christ designated himself to the work and office of Mediator and sanctified himself as the sacrifice, and that the real holiness of Christians is the fruit of Christ's death. Robertson says Christ's act helps believers but does not take the place of their personal consecration. Bruce says Jesus speaks of his own sanctification as a means toward the disciples' apostolic sanctification as the end. Augustine says that those who are sanctified still make progress in sanctification by God's grace, and that to sanctify them in the truth is to sanctify them in Christ. Athanasius says that by sanctifying himself Christ showed he is the Sanctifier and not the sanctified, and that he sanctified himself for our sake so that we might share his anointing. Chrysostom says that in contrast to the type, the sanctification now is by the truth itself.
c. 339–360 · Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses against the Arians I-III (Orationes contra Arianos) 1.46
For the Israelitish kings, upon their being anointed, then became kings, not being so before, as David, as Hezekiah, as Josiah, and the rest; but the Saviour on the contrary, being God, and ever ruling in the Father’s Kingdom, and being Himself He that supplies the Holy Ghost, nevertheless is here said to be anointed, that, as before, being said as man to be anointed with the Spirit, He might provide for us men, not only exaltation and resurrection, but the indwelling and intimacy of the Spirit. And signifying this the Lord Himself hath said by His own mouth in the Gospel according to John, ‘I have sent them into the world, and for their sakes do I sanctify Myself, that they may be sanctified in the truth.’ In saying this He has shown that He is not the sanctified, but the Sanctifier; for He is not sanctified by other, but Himself sanctifies Himself, that we may be sanctified in the truth. He who sanctifies Himself is Lord of sanctification.
c. 339–360 · Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses against the Arians I-III (Orationes contra Arianos) 1.47
If then for our sake He sanctifies Himself, and does this when He is become man, it is very plain that the Spirit’s descent on Him in Jordan was a descent upon us, because of His bearing our body. And it did not take place for promotion to the Word, but again for our sanctification, that we might share His anointing, and of us it might be said, ‘Know ye not that ye are God’s Temple, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?’ For when the Lord, as man, was washed in Jordan, it was we who were washed in Him and by Him. And when He received the Spirit, we it was who by Him were made recipients of It.
c. 391 · John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John 82.1
“I offer to Thee a sacrifice.” Now all sacrifices are called “holy,” and those are specially called “holy things,” which are laid up for God. For whereas of old in type the sanctification was by the sheep, but now it is not in type, but by the truth itself, He therefore saith, “That they may be sanctified in Thy truth.”
c. 406–421 · Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John (In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus CXXIV) 108.2
Sanctify them in the truth.” For so are they kept from the evil, as He had previously prayed that they might be. But it may be inquired how they were no more of the world, if they were not yet sanctified in the truth; or, if they already were, why He requests that they should be so. Is it not because even those who are sanctified still continue to make progress in the same sanctification, and grow in holiness; and do not so without the aid of God’s grace, but by His sanctifying of their progress, even as He sanctified their outset? And hence the apostle likewise says: “He who hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The heirs therefore of the New Testament are sanctified in that truth which was adumbrated in the purifications of the Old Testament; and when they are sanctified in the truth, they are in other words sanctified in Christ, who said in truth, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” As also when He said, “The truth shall make you free,” in explanation of His words, He added soon after, “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed;” in order to show that what He had previously called the truth, He a minute afterwards denominates the Son. And what else did He mean by the words before us, “Sanctify them in the truth,” but, Sanctify them in me?
1553 · John Calvin, Commentary on John, part 2 (chapters 12-21) 17.19
By these words he explains more clearly from what source that sanctification flows, which is completed in us by the doctrine of the Gospel. It is, because he consecrated himself to the Father, that his holiness might come to us; for as the blessing on the first-fruits is spread over the whole harvest, so the Spirit of God cleanses us by the holiness of Christ and makes us partakers of it. Nor is this done by imputation only, for in that respect he is said to have been made to us righteousness; but he is likewise said to have been made to us sanctification, (1 Corinthians 1:30,) because he has, so to speak, presented us to his Father in his own person, that we may be renewed to true holiness by his Spirit.
1710–1714 · Matthew Henry, Commentary on John 17.17-19
The merit he had for them is another thing here pleaded (v. 19): For their sakes I sanctify myself. Here is, (1.) Christ's designation of himself to the work and office of Mediator: I sanctified myself. He entirely devoted himself to the undertaking, and all the parts of it, especially that which he was now going about—the offering up of himself without spot unto God, by the eternal Spirit. He, as the priest and altar, sanctified himself as the sacrifice. When he said, Father, glorify thy name—Father, thy will be done—Father, I commit my spirit into thy hands, he paid down the satisfaction he had engaged to make, and so sanctified himself. This he pleads with his Father, for his intercession is made in the virtue of his satisfaction; by his own blood he entered into the holy place (Heb. ix. 12), as the high priest, on the day of atonement, sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice at the same time that he burnt incense within the veil, Lev. xvi. 12, 14. (2.) Christ's design of kindness to his disciples herein; it is for their sakes, that they may be sanctified, that is, that they may be martyrs; so some.
1710–1714 · Matthew Henry, Commentary on John 17.17-19
] The real holiness of all good Christians is the fruit of Christ's death, by which the gift of the Holy Ghost was purchased; he gave himself for his church, to sanctify it, Eph. v. 25, 26. And he that designed the end designed also the means, that they might be sanctified by the truth, the truth which Christ came into the world to bear witness to and died to confirm. The word of truth receives its sanctifying virtue and power from the death of Christ. Some read it, that they may be sanctified in truth, that is, truly; for as God must be served, so, in order to this, we must be sanctified, in the spirit, and in truth. And this Christ has prayed for, for all that are his; for this is his will, even their sanctification, which encourages them to pray for it,
1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: John 17.19
I sanctify myself - I consecrate myself exclusively to the service of God. The word "sanctify" does not refer here to personal sanctification, for he had no sin, but to setting himself apart entirely to the work of redemption.
1871 · David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on John 17.19
be sanctified—consecrated. The only difference between the application of the same term to Christ and the disciples is, as applied to Christ, that it means only to "consecrate"; whereas, in application to the disciples, it means to consecrate with the additional idea of previous sanctification, since nothing but what is holy can be presented as an offering.
1871 · Alexander Balmain Bruce, The Training of the Twelve 26
That they may be fitted for their mission is His intense desire. Hence He proceeds to speak of His own sanctification as a means towards their apostolic sanctification as the end, as if His own ministry were merely subordinate to theirs. “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Remarkable words, whose meaning is obscure, and has been much debated, but in which we may at least with confidence discover a singular display of condescension and love. Jesus speaks here like a parent who lives for the sake of His children, having a regard to their moral training in all His personal habits, denying Himself pleasures for their benefit, and making it His chief end and care to form their characters, perfect their education, and fit them for the duties of the position which they are destined to fill.
1886 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 32 (1886) 1890
In the Lord's case it cannot mean purification from sin, because our Savior was undefiled; his nature was unblemished by sin, and his actions were unspotted. No eye of man, nor glance of fiend, could discover fault in him, and the search of God only resulted in the declaration that in him God was well pleased. Our Lord's sanctification was his consecration to the fulfillment of the Divine purpose, his absorption in the will of the Father. "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God." In this sense our interceding Lord asks that all his people may by the Father be ordained and consecrated unto holy service. The prayer means, "Father, consecrate them to thine own self; let them be temples for thine indwelling, instruments for thy use." Under Jewish law the tribe of Levi was chosen out of the twelve, and ordained to the service of the Lord, instead of the firstborn, of whom the Lord had said, "All the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself." (Numbers 8:17.) Out of the tribe of Levi one family was taken and dedicated to the priesthood.
1930–1933 · A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament: John 17.19
The act of Christ helps us, but by no means takes the place of personal consecration on the part of the believer. This high and holy prayer and act of Christ should shame any one who uses the livery of heaven to serve the devil in as does, alas, sometimes happen (2Co 11:13-15 ).
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