The Pursuit of the Holy God - Church of God of Prophecy

To relate rightly to God—that is, to know and to follow God— required a progressive
transformative development. Participation in the Pentecostal worship and witness over
time produced an “effective” transformation in which lives were formed and shaped by
their experience of God…The Spirit would lead into righteousness. The Spirit would
search the heart and, by the Word, point out what was not like Christ and therefore carnal.
The Spirit would fill and lead in powerful witness. The Spirit would express himself
through gifts and fruit that are producing a divine character being formed in the believer
by virtue of participation in the divine life. The Father, Son, and Spirit, by the Spirit,
came to take up abode in the believer. 96
Presuppositions in the Past COGOP Formation
As we examine the Scriptures, we must keep in focus the pursuit of holiness intertwined throughout
the pages of both the Old and New Testaments. Our past presuppositions even in the Church of God
of Prophecy (hereafter noted as COGOP), was heavily influenced by the Holiness movement of the
nineteenth century. While this movement swept through Wales, Scotland, England, and the United
States with positive spiritual revival, it was also infected with some scriptural misinterpretations that
altered even the original teachings of John Wesley and James Arminius. So much so, that coined
phrases such as “entire sanctification,” “instantaneous sanctification” and “sinless perfection” began
to imbed themselves with new meanings into the movement to influence church beliefs and doctrinal
interpretations. Regrettably, these quick descriptions carried with them some incorrect inferences that
greatly affected most Pentecostal churches. The COGOP was not free from these less than accurate
incongruities.
Older tracts by the COGOP emphasized an instantaneous experience that was a one-time event. 97
Yet, these two documents give only some Scripture verses relating to sanctification and very little on
the ongoing process of holiness. In the same manner, the Holy Spirit is mentioned only as the third
experience, but no reference is made to the role of the Holy Spirit in initial sanctification or the need of
the Spirit to continue to impassion a believer to seek further sanctifying grace throughout their Christian
lifetime. The omission of these key components by other nineteenth century pioneers of the Holiness
movement was considered proof positive. The unintentional exclusion of several passages of Scripture
on maturing in holiness promoted the thinking among many that once they were sanctified, no need for a
growing experience was required after the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
In spite of this passion on the initial sanctification experience, there were exceptions that indicated a
need to allow the Holy Spirit to continue this pursuit of holiness. In the tract Sanctification a Second Work of
Grace, A. J. Tomlinson states that “sanctification as a definite work of grace subsequent to regeneration should be
desired by everybody” (page 2). Tomlinson declares that “to get sanctified requires a second trip to Jesus,
because He is made unto men righteousness and sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30)” (page 2). The first
trip to Jesus is to seek justification for forgiveness of sin, and “the second trip gets a work done that was
not touched by the first trip” (page 3). Tomlinson gives several Scripture verses, such as Hebrews 13:12-
13 and 2 Timothy 2:21, to ground his conviction that “Jesus sanctifies definitely when people come to
him properly” (page 3). 98
Even though Tomlinson stated that sanctification is a definite work of grace, he did not hold to the
idea of ‘once sanctified, always sanctified.’ In this same tract he said:
96 Steven J. Land. Pentecostal Spirituality. Sheffield Academic Press: Sheffield, England, 2001, Page 130.
97 A. J. Tomlinson. Sanctification A Second Work of Grace and Sanctification A Peculiar Treasure. White Wing Publishing
House: Cleveland, TN, undated tract.
98 A. J. Tomlinson, Ibid.
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