Sanctify

Greek Word Pronunciation: hagi-AD-zo
Strong's Number: 37
Goodrich/Kohlenberger Number: 39
Key Verse: “... those who have been sanctified by faith in Me …” -- Acts 26:18

Hagiazo is a verb form of a Greek word that is translated into four different English words: hallowed, holy, saint, and sanctify. The basic meaning is “to set apart for God, to make a person or thing the opposite of ‘common’.”

Hallowed is found in Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:2, “hallowed be Thy Name.” God’s name is to be celebrated, venerated, and esteemed as holy everywhere. He is sanctified by Himself, by declaring Himself to be holy. And He is sanctified by others, when they fear Him, believe in Him, call upon His name, use it reverently, submit to His will, acknowledge His mercies, and regard His commands and ordinances.

Holy, in its various noun forms, is in reference to conduct befitting those separated to God in 1 Thessalonians 4:3; of God in Hebrews 12:10; and holiness of Jesus Christ which distinguished Him from mere human beings in Romans 1:4. Holy, as an adjective, indicates separation in moral and scriptural significance, from sin, and therefore consecrated to God, as sacred: of God the Father in Luke 1:49; the Son in Luke 1:35; the Spirit in Matthew 1:18; and of men in 1 Peter 1:15.

Saints, as used of believers, is not applied merely to persons of exceptional holiness, or to those having died, by exceptional acts of saintliness. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 refers to saints as “all who have believed.”

Sanctification is the state predetermined by God for believers, into which grace He calls them. Since every believer is sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:2), all believers are saints, sanctified or holy ones. Thus sainthood, or sanctification, is not an attainment. It is the state into which God, in grace, calls sinners, and in which they begin their course as Christians (see Colossians 3:12 and Hebrews 3:1). In ACTS 26:18, the verb is in perfect tense. It means that at the moment sinners put their faith in Christ, they became permanently cleansed of sin, separated from the world, and belong to God.