When God saves a person "he is a new creature [in Christ]; the old passed away; behold, new things have come" (2Co 5:17). He becomes a heir of God's promises and is said to have a "position" in Christ. But having been reborn he needs to grow, and as he progresses, he is said to be experientially advancing. But it takes the work and grace of the Holy Spirit to establish this new creature and to build upon this foundation. This is called sanctification. It is a basic principle with God. In the beginning "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made" (Ge 2:3). God set this day apart to himself and made it holy. It becomes that way because, as Joshua told the people, God is "'a holy God'" (Jos 24:9). "For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself" (Heb 6:13). Amos prefaced his prophecy with "the Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared" (Amos 6:8). Another time a prophecy began with "the Lord God has sworn by His holiness" (4:2). Not only is God the ultimate authority, his fundamental characteristic is holiness. "The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times" (Ps 12:6). "Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor" (Hab 1:13). The essence of his being is perfection. However, he is separate and distinct from his creation. Furthermore, man lives in a sinful world because of the Fall and is not holy. Therefore he must be cleansed and God is the only one who can do it. How did it get that way? The serpent tempted them in Eden by disputing God's truthfulness saying, "'God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God'" (Ge 3:5) implying that he was keeping godliness to himself. But God's creation is not synonymous with God himself. When Eve ate the fruit it was as if she was saying I will be equivalent to God. The Antichrist "exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God" (1Th 2:4). However, "God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification" (1Th 4:8). Therefore, "this is the will of God, your sanctification" (:3). God instituted a plan to restore Israel and even prophesied the end result (Ezekiel 36,37,47; Jeremiah 17,31; Joel 2; Zechariah 14).