Set-apart-ification (part 2)

by Tyler Zach

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In my last blog, I tried to show you that God uses a "shaking" in our lives to sanctify (set us apart) to be used for His purposes:

"The funny thing is that the only way to separate the DNA from everything else is to shake it violently in the machine. Do you ever feel that God is shaking you violently through pain, tragedies, rebukes, hurricanes, etc.? Well, perhaps He is using those things to sanctify you… so that you can finally be used for His Kingdom purposes. This “setting apart” process is never smooth, but always comes with tension."

Well, I was reading some Hebrews (Message version) today and here is what I read:

"His (God's) voice shook the earth to its foundations; this time - he's told us this quite plainly - he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern." The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered."

I really missed an important piece of the puzzle in my last blog. Yes, we are being continually set apart from the world - as I write this - so that we can be used for God's purposes. And yes, we are being continually cleansed from our former sins, being made perfect in the image of Christ.

But, there is something bigger going on here. Often, we think that God is going to separate the sheep from the goats in the end. You know, draw His people to Himself and send the other group away from Himself forever. But, could it be, that He is already in the process of doing that? The Old Testament prophets claimed that the Messiah would usher in the new Kingdom. And many people in Jesus' time didn't want to believe in Him because they were expecting a Kingdom to go along with the King. But the Kingdom that Jesus spoke about wasn't a physical Kingdom, but a spiritual one. There is in fact a spiritual Kingdom among us right now!

So, what if our perception of God's "separating sheet and goats" mentioned in the bible (a physical separation in our minds) was really an analogy for His spiritual dividing up between those going to hell and those going to heaven? Could that being going on right now in the heavenly realm?

I'm not stating this as truth. I'm just expressing my thoughts and questions in writing. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think there will be a physical separation in the end? Or do you think that God has started the separation already through His process of "setting us apart?"

Set-apart-ification

by Tyler Zach



Zach and Ben, two of my best friends, are really smart. Off the top of my head, smart people have two main privileges. One, smart people can communicate with and understand other smart people. And two, smart people get to use complicated equipment… that most people don’t know how to use… let alone know what it is.

This is the case for a piece of equipment that my friend Ben uses in the lab. It is called a centrifuge. The dictionary (written by smart people) says that a centrifuge is a piece of equipment that puts a substance in rotation around a fixed axis in order for the centrifugal force to separate a fluid from a fluid or from a solid substance. In other words, you put some stuff in the machine so that the machine will separate the stuff into two separate stuffs. Make sense?

When most people (in Christian churches) hear the word sanctification they think of words like “holiness”, “cleanse”, “purify”, etc. All these descriptions are good, but the literal root meaning is the best: to set apart for special use or purpose. That is why I titled this blog “Set-apart-ification.”

The question I hear most Christians ask is “What is the will of God for my life?” And most Christians don’t like the answer that God gives in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” We respond to God, “Be more specific! Let me know if I should pursue this job or that, or go out with this person or that person.” But God simply reminds us that His will for us is “to be set apart for special use or purpose.”

Let’s go back to the centri-thingy analogy. In one of Ben’s experiments, he puts some cells in a tube. The machine shakes (in a circular motion) the tubes many-times-a-minute. The goal is to separate the DNA from other stuff surrounding/clinging to it. Then, he can analyze and use the DNA for other purposes. Ben said the DNA rises to the top of the tube while the other junk descends to the bottom.

Do you see a light bulb yet? How ironic is it that the DNA, which was intelligently designed, gets caught in a mess of “stuff” – just like we, being intelligently designed, get caught in a world full of sin. Just as Ben had to sanctify (set apart) the DNA to use for special purposes, so God needs to sanctify (set apart) us for special purposes. Just as the DNA isn’t much use to Ben when it mixed in with the other particles, we aren’t very available to be used by God when we are caught up in the world.

The funny thing is that the only way to separate the DNA from everything else is to shake it violently in the machine. Do you ever feel that God is shaking you violently through pain, tragedies, rebukes, hurricanes, etc.? Well, perhaps He is using those things to sanctify you… so that you can finally be used for His Kingdom purposes. This “setting apart” process is never smooth, but always comes with tension. If you are a Christian who goes to church every Sunday, but isn’t experiencing a continual tension within your soul – then you might not be allowing God to set you apart.

The Highest Good

by Tyler Zach




Picture in your head an excited baseball fan going to watch his favorite team play. Wouldn’t it be weird, if after the game, he kept boasting about a great 7th-inning home run but forgot who won the game?

Or picture this scenario: A guy and a girl are madly in love with each other. The guy decides to propose to the girl and she says yes! But the next month, all she can think about is the diamond on her finger. Wouldn’t it be weird for her to enjoy the ring more than her fiancé? What if the girl always talked to her friends about her diamond but never talked about the love she had for her fiancé? How would you like to be the guy?

Well, this happens all too frequently in Christianity. We amaze and awe ourselves with the idea of heaven, the gift of salvation, miracles, growing churches, and other really great things. But, if that is all we ever awe over or settle for, then we might be missing the greatest gift of all… God Himself.

“Until the gospel events of Good Friday and Easter and the great promises of justification and eternal life lead you to embrace God himself as your highest joy, you have not embraced the gospel of God. You have embraced some of His gifts. You have rejoiced over some of His rewards. You have marveled at some of His miracles. But you have not awakened to why the gifts, the rewards, and the miracles have come. They have come for one great reason: that you might behold forever the glory of God.” – John Piper, God is the Gospel

Sometime I have to catch myself when I’m sharing my faith because I become guilty of making God’s gifts my highest good… not God Himself. I say things like, “You should become a Christian because you’ll get to experience heaven… where there is no suffering, total peace, etc,” or “You need to believe in Jesus so that He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life.”

I’m sure that you might say truths (similar to the ones above) too! However, I am convinced that if we stop there, we are shortchanging God’s Glory. Things like eternal life, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and fellowship with other believers are all really really great things! But they aren’t the highest good! Eternal life is the promise that provides us with an opportunity to be with Jesus face to face. His sacrifice on the cross was required for our sins to be paid for so that we would be able to be with Him face to face. The Holy Spirit’s guidance illuminates the bible so that people can see spiritually and accept the gospel…so that they can be with God face to face! Do you see? Everything eventually points upward to the highest good of God Himself.

God is our greatest treasure. To be with God Himself is our ultimate need and desire.

Which do you think about more: God’s gifts or God Himself? Having a mansion in heaven or seeing God face to face?

Are “enjoying God forever” the most frequently used words in your vocabulary? I challenge you to meditate on your relationship with God and to honestly evaluate what your heart really cherishes the most.