Anyabwille: A good pastor must pray that the Lord would sanctify him and his people in the truth.

A good pastor must pray that the Lord would sanctify him and his people in the truth.

If a pastor does this, he follows the greatest example possible. The Chief Shepherd prayed for sanctification in the truth in his High Priestly Prayer:

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth” (John 17:15–17, 19).

Robert Murray McCheyne concluded that the people in his charge needed nothing more from him than his holiness. perhaps McCheyne grasped something of Jesus’s own heart. Jesus sanctified himself for the disciples so that they would be sanctified in the truth.

The sanctifying truth that Jesus had in mind was the truth of God’s Word. The Savior prayed, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). And so, those who follow the Chief Shepherd as under-shepherds must pray for Word-produced sanctification for themselves and the people in their charge.

Anyabwile, T. M. (2012). Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons (p. 115). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

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