“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
The Basket Case Chronicles #55
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11).
When Paul tells the Corinthians “and such were some of you,” he is saying that God’s company of saints is made up of what used to be the worst of the worst. They were all sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:2), they were all called to be saints (1 Cor. 1:2). That is to say, they were called to be holy ones. According to this passage where were they called from? When a mother calls her children in for dinner, she calls them in from the backyard. Where did God call His saints from? The answer is that He called them from fornication, idolatry, adultery, and sodomy (1 Cor. 6:9). He called them from thievery, covetousness, drunkenness, reviling, and extortion (1 Cor. 6:10).
In the name of Jesus (that is, by the authority of Jesus), three gifts were given to this rabble. The gifts were made effective by the Spirit of God—He is the one who brought the gifts to bear. The three gifts are washing, sanctification, and justification. In the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit cleans us up, sets us apart, and declares us righteous.