“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…” 1 Peter 3:15
In one of G. Matheson’s great hymns, he writes: “Make me a captive, Lord, And then I shall be free; Force me to render up my sword, And I shall conq’ror be. I sink in life’s alarms When by myself I stand; Imprison me within Thine arms, And strong shall be my hand.” The pursuit of Christ in the life of a believer begins with a true knowledge of Christ, according to the truths of Scripture, but then the reaching out of the soul to touch the hem of His garment by faith. Why? As in the account of the woman hidden in the crowd of people that surrounded Jesus one day, there was in her heart a knowledge of who Christ was. But her need of healing drove her to pass unperceived amid many who were desirous to see Jesus, and to hear His words. That which this woman possessed was not only a knowledge of Christ, and the certainty that He would heal her if she touched the hem of His garment. Her true, sincere faith would propel her through the surrounding resistance, and neglect of the crowd, to know, and prove, in reality the power of Christ healing. She could not, and would not, settle for just a knowledge of the truth. She would push through until truth became power in her own soul, and this by true faith.
George Matheson understood such a seeking, for he too had come by that path, and like the woman who was healed in Jesus’ day, his faith would result in the power of Christ being given to him in order to follow Christ and glorify His name. What form did this pursuit take for Matheson? It was the call of his heart, and prayer to God, revealed in his hymn. His plea was for the intervention of God so that, by His grace and mercy, Christ would enable him to “render up his sword,” or surrender the entirety of his life to Christ, so that Christ could be all to him. The key was not just a knowledge of who Christ was, but the certainty that He would answer his prayer, when prayed according to the will of God. God would grant to Matheson the grace to do that which only God can do in the heart. Grace would be given to surrender all resistance to God, in order to BE His alone and forever, to do His will for His glory. God’s grace was given to Matheson like that to the woman lost in a crowd. Matheson touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, and he was free, saved from himself, the world, and the devil, to love God, to sanctify Christ in his heart.
In what is termed by many as the High Priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus, found in John’s gospel, we find where He speaks of sanctification, the act and attitude of being set apart for God. He first qualifies this sanctification is something God does, and He does it “…according to His truth.” (Jn. 17:17) He then adds, “Your word is truth.” It is important to realize that this whole matter of true sanctification, and thus, surrender to Christ as Lord and Life, is only possible by the Spirit of God. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he writes that Christ IS the believer’s sanctification. (1 Cor. 1:30) All that pertains to this subject has its true origin and realized effect IN CHRIST. Again, in John’s gospel, we find Christ declaring: “I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” (17:19) Christ IS the capacity of the believer to set himself apart to God, to be His, body, soul, and spirit. It is as the believer trusts in Christ as his sanctification, that the God of peace sanctifies him spirit, soul, and body. (1 Thess. 5:23) Sanctification is surrendering one’s sword.
Dear Father, Make us wholly Yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.