For this purpose Christ gave himself for the church--"That he might sanctify and cleanse it." God gave him to the world that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life, for our justification; but Christ gave himself for the church, for our sanctification. The gospel commission of the apostle Paul specifies clearly the doctrine of sanctification, the "inheritance among them which are sanctified." He could not have been faithful to this commission without leading souls from "forgiveness of sins" into this "inheritance." His ministry and epistles to the different churches prove his faithfulness. Upon his first acquaintance with the brethren at Ephesus he asked them the question, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" And after three years of faithful ministry in that city, upon the solemn event of his departure from them, among his last words he reminds the church of the "inheritance among all them which are sanctified." Then about four years later, while a prisoner at Rome, he writes back to them his epistle to the Ephesians, which in every chapter sparkles with beautiful gems of thought upon the subject of sanctification. In his letter to the church of Rome we are forcibly reminded that this doctrine was prominent in his teaching, employing such terms as, "this grace wherein we stand" (Rom. 5:2), "our old man is crucified," "that the body of sin might be destroyed," "dead indeed unto sin," "free from sin" (Chap. 6), "married to ... him who is raised from the dead" (Chap. 7), "present your bodies a living sacrifice" (Chap. 12) "being sanctified by the Holy Ghost" (Chap. 15). These terms and others signify the precious experiences of sanctification. In the first and second epistles to the Corinthians we also notice the mention of this experience, and that there were some saints at Corinth that were sanctified (1:2, 30), although some were not, and were told that they were yet carnal. There were evidently only the two classes--sanctified and justified, in the church there, the same as is usually the case everywhere today. In speaking of the congregation, he says "But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God."--1 Cor. 6:11. In the second epistle, Chap. 7:1, he exhorts them: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God," and among the closing words of this letter, he says, "Be perfect."