True hope purifies, provides guidance, and leads us closer to Christ. With step-by-step instructions, the Chief Apostle explains how sanctification works.
Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted a divine service in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA on Sunday, 16 November 2025, in which 905 brothers and sisters took part. The sermon was based on 1 John 3: 3: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
True faith and hope lead to purification
Every divine service is the professing of true faith in Jesus Christ. True faith means that God came to earth out of love for humankind and became human in order to bring us back to God. And we profess our faith in our calling and in our rebirth out of water and the Spirit. This is the only way Jesus can give us eternal life. The only way we can enter eternal and perfect fellowship with God is in the likeness of Christ. “Our hope is that Jesus will come and lead us into His kingdom,” the Chief Apostle said.
This hope is not a wish or a dream, he continued. “This hope is a confident expectation of a divine promise.” This means that we are absolutely convinced that this will happen. We do not just wait for it but act accordingly and prepare ourselves. “If this hope lives in us, it guides our decisions and shapes our lives. That is true hope.”
Accepting God’s will
According to our Bible text, we must be purified to enter the kingdom of God. “Here it says we have to purify ourselves.” Cleansing consists of several steps. First, we must renounce evil and accept the will of God: “We accept that God tells us what is good and evil.”
“Only Jesus Christ can cleanse us from our sins.” Nevertheless, we must cleanse ourselves to ensure that we can obtain grace. And to obtain grace, we must be aware of our transgressions without looking for excuses. And we must repent and be resolved to change. “God is not obliged to forgive us. We must ask him very humbly.”
Self-purification and how it is done
This is followed by the second step, self-purification.
- Those who are pure are true, sincere, and reliable as Jesus was. We must behave “the same way, regardless of whether someone is watching us or not”.
- Not only our words and deeds must be purified, but also our thoughts. Those who have a pure heart are reliable and can be trusted. Their yes remains a yes, and their no a no.
- Jesus served selflessly. He was pure love. “We follow Christ and serve Him out of love, not out of self-interest.”
- True salvation is in heaven, not here on earth.
- Purifying our own hearts. Free yourself “from convictions that are not the convictions of Jesus Christ”.
- See others as Jesus sees them. “He considers every human being as a soul He wants to save and for whom He died.” Regardless of who the person is or where they come from.
Listen, sanctify yourself, and do what Jesus says
There is another aspect to purification, namely sanctification. God has called and chosen His children to serve Him. The Chief Apostle explained that we need to concentrate on what Jesus expects of us:
- Some Christians think that they have been sent by God to fix everything on earth on His behalf. “But Jesus never said that.” In fact, “We are here to help our neighbour be saved.” The only solution for the world is the return of Christ and the new creation.
- Pointless discussions and foolish disputes are a waste of time and energy. It is not important whether Job really existed or in which New Apostolic tradition we grew up. What is important though is: “What is the message for me? What does God want me to do?”
- The effectiveness of prayer is not in how long we pray or how many words we use. “Pray with your heart and with your faith, and work,” the Chief Apostle said, adding, “Do something good for God and for your neighbour.”
“Let us purify ourselves in order to concentrate on what really matters: the mission with God from Jesus Christ,” Chief Apostle Schneider summarised, before adding, “And let us prepare ourselves to enter the kingdom of God, where everything will be pure and true.”
Photo: NAC USA