WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2
Philippians 2:12-18
Philippians 2:13

"For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

SANCTIFIED BY THE TRIUNE GOD (1)

The name "God" in Hebrew is Elohim, a plural noun used with a singular verb, and replaced with a singular pronoun He, His, Him or Thou, Thee, Thy or Thine. This shows the Trinity of God – one living and true God with three Divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Triune God created the heaven, the earth, the seas, the universe, and all the living things out of nothing by His Word, but when God created human beings, God created man in His image and after His likeness with His hand and breath. The Triune God gathered together for this special work. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen 1:26) and "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen 2:7). Thus, human beings are different and far more superior to animals, even monkeys or apes. Animals die and are no more, and they do not need God’s salvation. However, human beings with their immortal souls do need God’s salvation due to Adam’s sins and their own sins. To save mankind from sins and to bring them to Himself, the Triune God had a plan of salvation:

1. God the Father gave His only begotten Son Jesus (John 3:16);
2. God the Son was willing to obey His Father, humbled Himself to become a man to die and rise again for mankind (Rom 5:8; Phil 2:5-8); and
3. God the Holy Spirit convicts and converts repentant sinners and regenerates them (John 3:5; 16:8-14; Titus 3:5).

To sanctify His children, the Triune God has to be with them and in them. "Even the Spirit of truth… for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you… If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:17, 23). We must appreciate the Triune God, who "hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ… For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil 1:6; 2:13).

THOUGHT: I must thank God for saving me and sanctifying me.
PRAYER: I thank Thee, Father, for salvation and sanctification.