The Acts of the Apostles
The Growth and Expansion of the Church to the Ends of the Earth
Acts 13:1-28:31 (40)
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey (18:23-21:16) (11)
(3) In Light of Their Duty (20:28-32)
(a) Their Duty Described (20:28-30)
(b) The Sphere of Their Duty (20:28b1-2)
(c) The Peculiarities of Their Duty (20:28b3-d)
(d) The Dangers Associated with their Duty (20:29-32)
(1) The Nature of the Danger (20:29)
(2) The Origins of the Danger (20:30)
(3) The Response to the Danger (20:31-32)
(a) They Must be Watchful (20:31)
(i) The Call to It (20:31a)
! be alert lay awake, guard, watch; vigilant,
aware
(ii) The Expression of it (20:31b-c)
! admonish to impart understanding; to set right, to lay on the heart; instruction, warn, remind, correct
(b) They Must be Secured (20:32)
(i) In God and His Word (20:32a)
! commended to place before; to entrust
(ii) In Their Salvation (20:32b)
(a) The Power of the Word (20:32b1-3)
! able power; inherent power, capability
(b) The Accomplishment of the Word (20:32b4-19)
(1) Spiritually Constructing Them (20:32b4-7)
! build construct
(2) Spiritually Enriching Them (20:32b8-19)
! give produce, grant
! sanctified consecrate, make
holy, set aside
Preparational sanctification focused upon the work of the Holy Spirit prior to and during the conversion process whereby He makes the sinner ready and able to repent and believe the gospel, so that he might be saved (1 Pet. 1:1-2).
Positional sanctification refers to the new status of the sinner accomplished by the working of the Holy Spirit that has set him apart from the masses of condemned humanity and placed him in an unchangeable standing with and before God, a saint (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11).
Progressive sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the believer in which the Spirit perfects the believer’s new status of holiness through the steady reduction of sin’s hold and influence in his life and the steady increase of the manifestation and control of God’s influence in his life, by His various means (Rom. 6:12-22; 2 Cor. 7:1; Phil. 2:12-13; 1 Pet. 1:14-16). Most of us, when we hear of the idea of sanctification, this is the meaning that comes to our minds. Finally, there is prospective sanctification.
Prospective sanctification, the conclusion of the progressive sanctification process, at which time the Christian, having experienced within them the continual conforming work of the image of Christ, will be brought into absolute and perfect conformity to the purity of Jesus Himself (Eph.1:4; 4:13; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 1 Jn. 3:1-3). We would tie this to glorification.
