to God without being separated from sin. II. HOW MEN ARE SANCTIFIED We come now to the second question, _How are men sanctified?_ There are several parts to the complete answer of this question. 1. The first part of the answer is found in our text of this chapter, I Thess. 5:23, +"And the God of Peace himself sanctify you wholly and may your Spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."+ It appears from this verse that _God sanctifies men, and Sanctification is God's work_. Both the separation of men from sin and their separation unto God, is God's work. As it was God who in the old dispensation set apart the first-born of Israel unto Himself, so it is God who in the new dispensation sets apart the believer unto Himself and separates him from sin. Sanctification is primarily not our work but God's. 2. The second part of the answer is found in Eph. 5:25, 26, +"Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water by the word."+ Here we are taught that _Christ sanctifies the church_ and that _Sanctification is Christ's work_. The question, of course, arises, in what sense does Christ sanctify the church. The answer is found in Heb. 10:10, +"By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."+ Here it appears that Jesus Christ sanctifies the church by giving Himself up a sacrifice for it. By thus giving Himself up for it as a sacrifice Christ sets the Church apart for God. Just as the blood of the Passover Lamb in the 11th and 12th chapters of Exodus set a difference between Israel and the Egyptians, so our Lord Jesus by the offering of His own body has forever put a difference between the believer in Himself and the world, and has forever set every believer apart for God. The Cross of Christ stands between the believer and the world. The shed blood of Christ separates the believer from the world, purchases him to God and thus makes him to belong to God.