We move to a new section in Theology 101: The Basics. This post is about sanctification. Later posts in this section will cover the life of the disciple who works, by God’s grace and the Spirit’s empowerment, to live a sanctified life. Included is a table that explains the differences between forensic or declared or legal justification and sanctification.
Let’s begin.
I will paste this brief introduction in several posts in the sanctification and discipleship section.
I. Introduction
A. Introducing discipleship
I introduce discipleship in the sanctification process–and it is a process–because a disciple is a learner, follower, student, and apprentice of the Master. When we the saved and redeemed and reconciled live the life of discipleship, we can be assured that we can grow in holiness. Disciples follow only one Person, one Master, Jesus. By being his disciples we can, by God’s grace and indwelling Spirit, persevere in our faith and relationship with him.
Can a truly born-again disciple walk away from his relationship with God? I also introduce discipleship into the discussion to ensure, by God’s grace and his indwelling Spirit, that the follower of Jesus does not drift from his relationship with God.
The other reason I explore discipleship as growth in sanctification is that I do not believe we should ignore the first five books of the NT–all narratives–in the discussion on salvation and sanctification.
After all, the words disciple, make disciples (verb, four times), and female disciple (once in Acts 9:36) appears 266 times, though some are duplicated in parallel synoptic passages. In contrast, the word Christian appears only three times (Acts 11:26, 26:28, 1 Peter 4:16).
I concede, however, that the word disciple disappears after the book of Acts. So if you want to follow the epistles, you may take it out and insert the word believer. Sometimes I use this term, as well, particularly in the table, below. But personally I like the idea of a disciple of the Master following and learning from him, walking in the Spirit. So I keep both terms.
And finally, the words disciple or discipleship in the context of Theology 101 have nothing to do with the old Shepherding Movement. Its leaders became authoritarian. All I mean is that disciples follow Jesus and they themselves make disciples. But if you’re uncomfortable with those two terms, you may swap them out and put in Christian.
B. Next step
In this post, we assume that you have already repented of your sins and placed your full trust and faith in Christ. Your sins are forgiven. You have been justified. God’s free gift of righteousness is yours now, for it has been imputed to you. You are born again. Now what?
C. Lifelong journey
You have been launched into a lifelong journey of growing in holiness and conformity to the image of the Son. This process is called sanctification. Discipleship consists of activities and a lifestyle by which you grow in holiness and in conformity to the image of Christ.
D. Ethical justification
Sanctification is sometimes called “ethical justification,” by which you prove and demonstrate by good works–living the life of a disciple–that you have been forensically or legally justified, that you have been declared righteous. You work out what God has already declared you to be.
E. Life in the Spirit
The section on pneumatology shows that we disciples are filled with the Spirit. Sanctification and discipleship assumes that the Spirit lives in us. We cannot live a holy life without the Holy Spirit and grace empowering us.
II.. Hebrew and Greek terms
A.. Hebrew
Hebrew and Greek scholar William Mounce says the Hebrew adjective for holy is qadosh and is used 117 times. “It describes that which is by nature sacred or that which has been admitted to the sphere of the sacred by divine rite. It describes, therefore, that which is distinct or separate from the common or profane” (p. 337).
B.. Greek
In the New Testament, the Greek words are hagios (holy, sacred) and is used 233 times. The verb hagiazō (make holy sanctify, consecrate) is used 28 times (p. 338). Then Mounce gives us this nugget: “The proper sphere of the holy in the NT is not priestly or ritual, but the prophetic. The sacred no longer belongs to things, places, or rites, but to manifestations of life produced by the Spirit” (p. 338). In other words, when the disciple is filled with the Spirit—the Holy Spirit–he is on his way to work out this holiness day by day. It is a process.
III.. What Theologians Say
A.. Renewal theologian J. Rodman Williams
He teaches that the basic connotation of holy and holiness in the Old Testament is that of separation / apartness from the common, mundane, and profane things of everyday life. This is true of God in His total otherness, also of persons and things set apart for Him and His service (vol. 1, p. 60, note 41).
God’s majesty speaks of God’s awesomeness and majesty. “At the heart of divine majesty is the white and brilliant light of His utter purity. There is in God utterly no taint of anything unclean and impure” (p. 61).
B.. Louis Berkoff
Reformed theologian Louis Berkhof says that there is an ethical aspect of holiness. “The fundamental idea of the ethical holiness of God is also that of separation from moral evil or sin. Berkhof continues: that holiness is manifested is moral law, “implanted in man’s heart, and speaking through the conscience, and more particularly in God’s special revelation,” the Bible (p. 74).
C.. Herman Bavinck
Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck tells us that sanctification or the process of making a thing or person holy in the Old Testament “is something more than merely being set apart; it is, by means of washing, anointing, sacrifice, and sprinkling of blood (etc.), to divest a thing of the character it has in common with all other things, and to impress upon it another stamp, a stamp uniquely its own, which it must bear and display everywhere (Lev. 8:15, 16:15-16; Job 1:5).” (Reformed, p. 206). In the New Testament, “God’s holiness is finally supremely manifest in Christ, in whom God gives himself to the church, which redeems and cleanses from all iniquities” (ibid.). The Holy Spirit become the purifier and sanctifier.
D.. Summary
There are two spheres in God and the world he created: the sacred and profane. Wherever God moves, he makes the space sacred. He established the mobile tabernacle in the wilderness. He ordered the temple in Jerusalem. When Jesus “moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14, Message translation), he made the places where he ministered holy. The same is true for us. Through Christ, we make our spaces sacred. We must not be polluted by the world, the flesh (our sin nature) and the devil.
IV.. Analyzing Sanctification into Smaller Parts
A.. Literal meaning of the word sanctification
It literally means the process or act (-ion) of making (fic-) holy (sanct-). It could be called by the made-up and awkward term “holy-fication.” So once God consecrates you at your salvation-conversion, it becomes a process; don’t feel bad if you stumble once in a while. Just get up, repent, and realize that your walking in holiness is a long, long process of growing in Christ.
B.. Holiness or the sanctified life means separateness or apartness.
In the OT, Israel was called to be a separate and holy people. Deuteronomy 7:6 says that Israel were a people holy to the LORD God; the LORD has chosen them out of all the nations of the world. The people of the New Covenant are also a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people (1 Pet. 2:9). We are a holy or separate people. But this holiness does not withdraw us from the world, but encourages us to reach out to unbelievers. We can do this if we understand we are holy and evangelistic, holy while we evangelize, not holier-than-thou, but a streamlined life without encumbrances.
C.. Holiness or sanctification includes purity and cleanness.
In Exodus 19:10-11, before the LORD descended on Mt. Sinai, the people had to wash their garments, which was an outward sign of ritual purity. On the Day of Atonement, the people were to be cleansed from all their sins, indicating an interior cleansing (Lev. 16:30).
In the New Covenant, Jesus used the imagery of washing the inside and outside of the cup and plate, and it is not what goes into a man that defiles him (unclean foods), but what comes out of him—his thoughts and words, so be sure the heart is clean (Mark 7:18-19). Paul teaches us that Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds (Tit. 2:14). And he writes that we should cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in reverential awe of God (2 Cor. 7:1).
V.. Moral Perfection?
A.. Brief intro
This is not possible in our earthly bodies, though some verses in the Scriptures seem to speak of sinless perfection in the disciple, here and now: “Be ye perfect therefore as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). “We may present everyone perfect in Christ” (Col. 1:28). “Through one sacrifice he has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). “Strive for perfection” (2 Cor. 13:11). “No one who abides in him sins” (1 John 3:6).
B.. Greek word root (etymology)
The Greek word translated as “perfection” comes from the stem tel-. In context, this means moving or reaching towards a goal or end (as in “end-zone” in football). An acorn naturally grows towards being an oak tree, the goal; a baby dolphin grows naturally to be an adult dolphin, the end result. Humans also grow towards adulthood, whether they are in Christ or not. This is not to say that a human naturally progresses towards perfection, because the sin nature can drag him down. But in Christ and through the Spirit, the person does grow spiritually and morally towards the end-goal, to be like Christ or like the Father, which is spiritual adulthood or maturity.
However, the tel– stem should be translated as “full maturity” or “maturity,” and the modern versions reflect the better understanding in most cases.
C.. No sinless perfection in this life
Therefore, there are biblical reasons to challenge the assumption that we can reach sinless perfection in this life.
1.. Journey of sins and failures
Much of biblical testimony says we are on a journey with failures and sins. First John 1:9 says that if we sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. And this is clear: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:10). The verses in 1 John about those who do not sin comes in the context of wild teachers—proto-Gnostics—who said that the human body is nothing, so it is okay to sin. John replied that anyone who sins—deliberately and care-free sins—is not of God, but of the devil (3:8). In other words, the teaching is devilish, so don’t fall for it.
2. Verb tenses
In those verses the verb tense is present continuous. Therefore, when they tell us things like he who is born of God does not sin could be translated: “he does not continuously and habitually sin.” Sinning flagrantly and with abandonment and flouting God’s law as the proto-Gnostics wanted them to believe is clearly wrong and immoral.
3. Paul denies sinless perfection here in his earthly body.
However, he is progressively going towards a goal. Philippians 3:12-14: “Not that I have already taken hold or have already been perfected, but I pursue so I may take hold of that which I have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained, but one thing: forgetting what is behind, I reach towards the things in front of me; I pursue the goal, the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Then it goes on to say that if you are mature, you will think in this way. The verb “perfected” and the adverb “mature” come from the same Greek stem tel-.
4. The Scriptures affirm that certain people are relatively blameless or righteous.
Noah was a righteous and blameless man (Gen. 6:9). Daniel, Noah, and Job are named as persons of righteousness (Ezek. 14:14, 20). In the New Testament Zechariah and Elizabeth are called righteous and blameless (Luke 1:6). Paul says deacons and elders are to be blameless (1 Tim. 3:10 and Tit. 1:5-6). He also says that we are to be preserved blameless in spirt, soul, or body.
5. These figures are righteous and holy, relative to others around them.
They were mature. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:13-14 that disciples are called to attain unity of the faith and the knowledge of Christ, to mature manhood (“mature” has the Greek stem tel– in it). Satan and people around them did not have grounds to accuse them of social misconduct.
Let’s use the example of your neighbor. Your visible acts of social misconduct before your neighbor should be so minimal—or nonexistent—that he says you are blameless and a good neighbor to him. He cannot claim that you have achieved sinless, moral perfection in your soul, but your outward behavior is exemplary. So this is relative or comparative righteousness or perfection or blamelessness, from an outsider’s limited point of view.
D.. What happens at death or the Second Coming.
The disciple will be entirely sanctified. First John 3:2 says that when Christ appears we shall be like him. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 teaches Jesus would establish our hearts blameless in holiness before God and Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus. So we will achieve sinless moral perfection only in heaven and the Messianic Age.
E.. Make distinctions
We have to distinguish between the goal towards perfection and the fulfillment of perfection. We allow God to work in our lives through the perfection of Christ, not ours. The thrust of Scripture is that sanctification is progressive. Galatians 5:16-26 says that we struggle against the flesh or the sin nature. Romans 7:14-25 also teaches the struggle. Finally, Peter teaches us that we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
F.. Two objections and replies
1.. However, Matthew 5:48 says Jesus’s disciples should be perfect as their Father is perfect
In reply, it would not make sense to say to be “fully mature” as the Father is “fully mature.” In its context this verse is talking loving your enemies and going beyond loving those whom you already love. What reward would you get for that? Even tax collectors do that. In the parallel verse, Luke says that we should be merciful as our Father is merciful (6:36). So perhaps we should say the Father is completely merciful and loves everyone. So should we, but only by his grace. Yet, one is allowed to say that we grow towards this perfectly or completely merciful and loving attitude. There is progress in the process, and then we will be perfectly complete when we die and receive our new bodies and more fully divine nature.
2. One option is to believe, as some Word of Faith teachers claim, that your spirit—the deepest part of you—is perfect, but your soul and body are not.
The reply to this belief is that it does not make sense because the Scriptures teach progressive sanctification of the whole being (see Roman numeral VI). You grow as you go. Another reason this belief in a perfect human spirit does not make sense is that when you face judgment, God will not treat you like a three-flavored ice cream cone—spirit (vanilla), soul (strawberry), and body (chocolate). And then he won’t say to you at judgment: “Since your spirit is perfect, I don’t need to judge it, so I’ll lay it aside. Instead, I’ll judge only your imperfect soul and body.” No, God sees you as a whole person, and sin infects all of you, spirit, soul, and body, and sanctification is for every part of you. We are a “package deal.”
G.. Warning against pride
It would create pride to believe you cannot sin in this life, after salvation and regeneration (reborn). You might strut around and claim you are perfect, through sanctification. Or it may lead you to hypocrisy because inevitably you will fail and sin, and then your words and deeds won’t match up. Or it could lead to striving and anxiety to walk on a tightrope that God never laid out for you. You may give up your faith. Or it could lead you to fear the final judgment because you don’t know whether you have done enough good deeds or been good enough in your humanity to secure your salvation. All of those options will eventually lead to self-destruction.
VI.. Consecration
A.. God’s point of view
When we are set apart, God sees us as holy. Please note, though, that 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that “[…] Christ Jesus, who has become wisdom to us from God, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” He already is our sanctification or holiness. It’s a done deal. However, perfection does not mean morally sinless, but complete maturity and growth towards the goal of being like Christ. We are positionally or declaratively sanctified, but not actually sinlessly perfect in our experience. But we instantly experience sanctification because the Holy Spirit lives in us.
B.. Working out holiness
Our holiness must be worked out as we live. Consider again this truth from 1 Corinthians 1:30. Christ has become our wisdom, but we are not perfectly wise every moment of every day, are we? No. But we can experience wisdom day by day. Similarly, he has become our holiness or sanctification, but we are not now perfectly holy or sanctified, but we can experience it.
To illustrate, once again, think of a pure white cloth covering a tall glass of water, just above the rim. Imagine the water has some dirt in it. Positionally we are holy in Christ (the white cloth). He has put the white robe of holiness on us. Now God is presently getting the dirt out of the old water by pouring in new water through the white cloth. The water spills over, and the dirty water will eventually leave and be replaced. This process takes a lifetime of growing in Christ. (J. Rodman Williams, Renewal, vol. 2, pp. 83-86).
C.. Summary
Don’t be anxious about whether you exhibit enough holiness. Let it flow out of you by the Spirit living in you.
Further, sanctification or holiness does not mean you separate yourself from the world by living in a monastery or in a closed-off Christian community. How, then, could you proclaim the gospel to the lost world? It means that as you interact with the world and its evil, you pray and allow the Spirit to maintain your life in Christ. Dirty jokes at work? Pray and drift away from the conversation or excuse yourself naturally, without a “holy show” that makes lost sheep feel isolated. Were you once an alcoholic or drug addict, yet God set you free? Don’t go back in to that world. You might fall back in it. If God clearly calls you to go back into that old world, in order to witness to your old friends, don’t go alone. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two (Mark 6:7). However, holiness can be friendly, not “holier than thou.” It just means you do not have to absorb the world’s pollution.
Sanctification is about life in the Spirit. You must live in the Spirit and watch the fruit of the Spirit grow: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). You must work with God to see the fruit grow in your inner being and behavior in society.
VII.. Sanctification of Spirit, Soul, and Body
A.. Brief intro.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our life penetrates into those three parts.
B.. The human spirit
It needs sanctification. The spirit is the deepest part of human nature. A synonym is the heart. God immediately encounters man in the spirit or heart. But sin has alienated the human spirit from God, so God needs to redeem and save it. God’s Spirit witnesses to our spirit that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16).
However, the human spirit needs to be purified and refined every day. 2 Cor 7:1 admonishes us to cleanse or purify ourselves from every defilement or pollution of body and spirit. This is a daily prayer.
Ephesians 4:31-32 says to put away all bitterness, rage, anger, slander, brawling, and slander and instead to be tenderhearted and forgiving. Heart can be interpreted as spirit.
The psalmist says that his spirit faints in him and his heart dismayed (Ps. 143:4).
And David prayed after his sin with Bathsheba and his plotting the death of her husband that God would create a clean heart in him and renew a right spirit in him (Ps. 51:10). Yes, this is the Old Covenant, but people still needed to repent, even in their spirits.
Paul writes to the Thessalonians that God would establish their hearts blameless in holiness (1 Thess. 3:12-13). Heart and the deepest part of humankind—the spirit—go together and need to maintain blamelessness.
And in Romans 2:15 the conscience is placed alongside the heart, where the law is written on it, and the conscience bears witness to it. The conscience is the moral part of the heart or spirit. It is a gift of God so humans who lived before or far way from the law of Moses can still live decent and respectful lives.
A clean and clear conscience is imperative for the disciple. Please study these Scriptures: Acts 24:16; 1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3; Hebrews 13:18; 1 Peter 3:16-21.
Renewal theologian J. Rodman Williams writes:
All three of these biblical terms, ‘spirit,’ ‘heart, and ‘conscience,’ refer to man in his responsible nature before God. In salvation, there has been a renewing of the spirit, an alteration of the heart, a purifying of the conscience. However, although this has occurred essentially (man has a new spirit / heart / conscience), there is the need for further sanctification. (vol. 2, p. 95)
C.. The human soul
It too needs sanctification. The soul is also the inner life of humanity through which the spirit expresses itself. It is the living and conscious soul or self. The mind, will, and feelings are all aspects of the soul in action.
When sin invaded, the soul was darkened and turned away from God. When salvation enters the person, the mind can ponder the things of God. Yet the soul needs daily purification.
Let’s break the soul into these parts: the mind, the feelings (emotions, desires, passions), and the will.
The mind needs to be renewed. Romans 12:2 says that we must not be conformed to this world, but we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The word “transformed” is the source of our word metamorphosis. Think of a caterpillar being transformed.
But how does this happen? Our mind needs to be renewed. And the best way is to inject into the mind wholesome things, like Scripture. Philippians 4:8 says to think on everything that is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. We must counteract our soulish impulses that pull us down towards darkness and sin and raise it up. We think on Christ and his being seated at the right hand of God; think on things above (Col. 3:1-2).
As 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, we must take very thought captive. It has to be a deliberate strategy. It does not come automatically.
Next, the feelings, emotions, passions and desires need to be sanctified. Paul says the desires of the flesh oppose the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:17). We must crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal. 5:24). Paul writes to Timothy to instruct people to deny ungodliness and worldly desires (2 Tim. 2:11-12) and then he writes a little later to shun youthful passions (2 Tim. 2:21-22). And 1 John 2:15-16 says not to love the world—the cravings of sinful humans. The lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has done—none of those things come from the Father. So the feelings, emotions, and desires need to be sanctified.
The other part of the soul—the will–needs to be sanctified, too. This can be summed up in all the above verses, because outside of Christ the will is in bondage to cravings and desires and passions. Romans 7:14-20 describes the man who struggles with what he wants to do or not wants to do but does the opposite. Only God can set him free from the power of sin. It is the process of sanctification.
D.. The body
Finally, it needs sanctification. The body houses the soul and spirit. When the body dies, we go to be with the Lord, and then the bodily desires evaporate or die with the body. But that has not happened yet. Our bodies drag us around, if we let them.
We already saw that 2 Corinthians 7:1 says to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. First Thessalonians 4:3-4 says the will of God is our sanctification, which includes abstaining from sexual immorality and to know how to possess his own vessel (body) in sanctification and honor. Our bodies are members of Christ, so we should not mix them up with a prostitute (1 Cor. 6:15). We are not our own, but we were bought with a price, so let’s glorify God in our bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20). But sex is not the only sin of the body—intoxication and gluttony (overeating) are problems too. Proverbs 23:20-21 is clear about not hanging out with drinkers (and other intoxicants) and the gluttonous. Bodily appetites must be controlled, or else we will die a premature death.
VIII.. Sanctification throughout the Disciple’s Life
A.. Sanctification at the beginning
When you are declared righteous (justified), you begin a new journey. However, your experience in righteousness is not flawless or morally perfect. You are positionally or declared righteous because Christ is your righteousness. You are in him, and union with him is your righteousness. This union in Christ means that declared righteousness is not a fiction.
In the New Testament, the verb “sanctify” is used in the past tense, (disciples have been sanctified), present tense (disciples are being sanctified), and future tense (disciples will be sanctified).
His sanctification or holiness instantly fills your heart and soul and spirit. Now you work out what God worked in your mind and body and spirit.
In contrast to the Old Testament system that could never perfect the persons who sacrificed animals and drew near to God by the blood of bulls and goats, Hebrews 10:14 says that Christ’s sacrifice has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified or being made holy. The verb “perfected” is in the past tense that indicates a one-time action, but the participle “being made holy” (or “being sanctified”) is in the present tense, indicating continuous action.
Likewise, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, quoting this verse one more time:
From him [God] we are in Christ Jesus, who has become wisdom to us from God, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Cor. 1:30)
Now let’s interpret Hebrews 10:14 and 1 Corinthians 1:30 a little more closely. Perfection does not mean morally sinless. We are positionally or declared sanctified, but not actually sinlessly perfect in our present experience. Consider another virtue in 1 Corinthians 1:30. Christ has become our wisdom, but we are not perfectly wise every moment of every day, are we? No. We grow in wisdom through the Spirit’s guidance and Scripture reading over a lifetime. Similarly, he has become our holiness or sanctification, but we are not now perfectly holy or sanctified every moment of every day. We grow in holiness or sanctification. We catch up to his holiness over a lifetime.
Hebrew 9:14 teaches us that the blood of Christ purifies our conscience from dead works so we can worship the living God. The verb purifies is in the present tense, so it is an ongoing process.
Acts 26:18 says that Jesus told Paul that Paul’s mission was to open the eyes of the unbelievers and turn them from darkness to light, so they can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who have been sanctified by faith in Jesus. The tense of the participle is in the perfect tense, so it is in the past and completed.
Hebrews 10:10 says we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once and for all. “[H]ave been made holy” is a participle in the perfect tense, so it too is completed action, but then see v. 14, where the same word is a participle in the present tense. So in one section of Scripture, we have the past and present sanctification. The lifetime process of sanctification—past and present—cannot get any clearer than that.
First Corinthians 6:9-11 lists some common vices of Paul’s days (and ours), as he reminds the Corinthians of their old way of life: immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, and robbers. “Such were some of you,” he adds. Then he proclaims the good news: “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (v. 11). The series of “buts” is emphatic, really, really emphatic. You used to be those things, but now you are sanctified. So sanctification or separateness from those things has already begun.
For example, let’s say that before God saved you and filled you with the Spirit at conversion and subsequently, you were addicted to meth or cannabis. Now he saves you. Christ is your sanctification, and he calls you to be separate from unclean meth or cannabis. (Sanctification is related to your being separate from unclean things). Your sanctification or calling to be separate is instant, but you have to work it out, through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit helps you to get rid of the drugs. Only the Spirit can help you in the “holy-fication” or sanctification process. All those verses speak of the beginning of the new disciple’s life.
B.. Progressive sanctification day by day.
Philippians 2:12 says, “Work out your salvation.” The command is in the present tense, so it could be translated as “continue to work out.” It is a process in our present life.
At the beginning of our Christian walk we are sanctified or set apart from the pollution of the world, and Christ has become our holiness or sanctification. We stand right now in his (invisible) white robe. As we move along in our Christian walk, he still works on us and calls us to be holy.
Recall that in Hebrews 10:14 the participle “being made holy,” which is in the present tense, so it could be translated, “continuing to be made holy.”
First Peter 1:15-16 says, “But just as the One who has called you is holy, you also are to become holy in all your conduct, for it is written, ‘Be holy as I am holy’” [Lev. 11:44]. Being as holy as the Holy One is a high standard for us to attain, but there it is. Once again, we grow in our positional or declared holiness—positional or declared because Christ has become our holiness (Phil. 2:12; 1 Cor. 1:30). Now we work it out in our experience because he fills us with his Holy Spirit.
First Corinthians 6:18 says that we are to avoid immorality, indicating a repeated process every day.
In 2 Corinthians 6:17, Paul admonishes his readers (and us) to come out from among them and separate from them; don’t touch the unclean thing (freely quoting Is. 52:11). This verse originally was written for the Jewish nation, to be distinct from the unclean Gentiles. However, it applies to us because we too are called to be distinct from worldly behavior and stand apart from the world’s pollution.
Another important aspect of our continuous growth is that we go from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). This change occurs as we behold Jesus and his glory. It’s progress in a process.
And in Hebrews 12:1, we are ordered to lay aside every entanglement and run with endurance the race set before us. Christian sanctification is a marathon, not a sprint. It lasts a lifetime.
In Hebrews 12:14 the author exhorts us to make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. If we were completely holy now, then why would he say to make every effort now? Are we at peace with everyone? Probably not, unless you are very reclusive. It is a present-day and every day process, to be holy.
James 3:1-12 speaks of the tongue, and how we are to tame it. The one who does is mature; the one who doesn’t is immature. It takes walking daily with Christ to grow in our speech.
Second Peter 1:5-9 says that we are to make every effort to add a list of virtues, one on top of the other: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and then love. We are to possess these qualities in ever-increasing measure. If we do not have them, then we are blind and have forgotten he has cleansed us from our past sins.
So sanctification is not only an accomplished fact, because Christ is our holiness or sanctification, but we also grow day by day. Let’s remember your meth or cannabis addiction before you were saved. (And your problem does not have to be meth or cannabis; it could be porn or greed.) You were declared holy or separate from it, and instantly you walked away from it experientially. You have been tempted to go back, and one time you smoked weed with your old friends. You repented. His Holy Spirit lives in you and never left you during your fall. He’s the one who wooed you back and enabled you to repent, in the first place. Even in your relapse you were and are still progressively walking in holiness to become like Jesus. In Christ you grow towards complete holiness and perfection.
C.. Sanctification into the future
What is the goal of sanctification for the disciple? The goal is to grow in holiness and to be like Jesus until he returns, which is in the future, and then the process will be completed.
Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus himself is the leader and perfecter of our faith. The Greek noun “leader” (or “ruler”) is sometimes translated as “author,” which is great because it makes it seem like he is writing our story. But the new translations are more accurate. And the Greek noun “perfecter” could be translated as “maturer” or “he who matures” or “completer” or “he who completes” your faith. Whichever translation you choose, you are not sinlessly perfect, nor does this verse teach it. Rather, Jesus, the ruler and perfecter of your faith, is carrying you along from day to day, to grow you up; he is perfecting or maturing your faith, though never ending the process, until your life is finished.
Paul writes in Philippians 3:12-15:
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. (Phil. 3:12-15)
That passage clearly teaches forward progress in the process. The words “perfected” and “mature” come from the same Greek stem (tel-). We grow in Christ towards maturity or completeness.
Philippians 3:21 says that the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. The epistle to the Romans says our flesh is our sin nature (8:1-13), and here in Philippians 3:21 it is promised that our flesh will be transformed. Only then will the holiness or sanctification process be completed.
First Thessalonians 5:23 says that Paul wishes the God of peace would sanctify the Thessalonians through and through. The verb is in the aorist optative, which means possibly fulfilled, but possibly not. So Paul goes on to say that may their whole spirit, soul, and body be kept (aorist optative again) blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this will possibly happen (or not). The one who calls is faithful, and he will do it. The phrase “will do it” is in future tense, which in this context may speak of sureness, but only at the coming of the Lord. The point is that holiness or sanctification is a process until the day we die, when it will be completed. In the meantime, God gives us the grace to work it out in us.
Hebrews 6:11 says that we have to be diligent to the very end, so that what we hope for many be fully realized. Right now, our hope is not fully realized.
First John 3:2-3 says that we are the children of God right now. And when he appears shall we be like him (future tense), for we shall see (future tense) him as he is. Only then—in the future—is the sanctification process completed.
D.. Summary
Sanctification begins when you are first saved. In fact, you are sanctified instantly, because the Holy Spirit fills you and because Christ is your sanctification or holiness (1 Cor. 1:30). You are instantly separately from the common or profane and are set on the new path of a holy life. This is positional or declared sanctification—and yet you experience it instantly because the Holy Spirit lives in you. Compare holiness with wisdom that is also in 1 Cor. 1:30. Christ has become your wisdom; that’s your declared position in him, though you are not perfectly wise in practice.
And this leads to the next step: progressive transformation or progressive sanctification. You reach out towards or pursue the goal of the upward calling of God in Christ. So don’t be discouraged if you stumble and fall. God is not finished with you yet. Just repent and keep moving upward. Complete maturity and growth towards the goal of being like Christ is the ultimate quest. You do this daily by praying, reading Scripture, and staying in fellowship with disciples who are more mature than you.
Finally, you will be completely sanctified after you die or when the Lord returns. Then those old addictions to meth or marijuana or porn or your other sins will never bother you again.
IX.. The Cooperation between God and the Disciple
A.. The work of God
Exodus 31:13 says that the Lord sanctifies his people.
Jesus prayed that the Father would sanctify the disciples (John 17:17), and we are his disciples today.
Paul prayed that the God of peace himself would sanctify the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
So God the Father is the source of sanctification.
And Jesus Christ is agent of sanctification.
The Spirit sanctifies us, the worker of sanctification, as he dwells in us (Rom. 15:16). He is called the Holy Spirit.
Paul said the Corinthians were those who “were sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:2). Then Paul writes that Christ has become our sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30).
The author of Hebrews says believers have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all (Heb. 10:10). So Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, where he offered his body, is the agent (through) of sanctification.
Paul reminds Titus that Jesus Christ the Savior redeems his people from iniquity and to purify for himself a people who are eager to do good deeds (Titus 2:13-14). The key word is “purify.” He does that to his church.
One great passage is Ephesians 5:25-27, which says that Christ will present the church to be without sport or wrinkle … that she would be holy and without blemish.
Since the Father is the source, and the Son is the agent of sanctification, the Spirit energizes sanctification as he lives in us.
Peter teaches that God chose us through the sanctifying work of the Spirit (1 Pet. 1:2). The Spirit prepares the believer to be obedient to Jesus Christ. So we cannot obey the law of Christ (love) by our own strength.
When we walk in the Spirit, we don’t carry out the deeds of the flesh or sin nature (Gal. 5:16).
Paul says that we his people go from glory to glory, this is done from the Lord, the Spirit (1 Cor. 3:18).
The sanctification of the Spirit happens within the disciple. One Scripture that speaks of the Spirit indwelling of collective disciples is Ephesians 2:19-22. The Spirit lives in each believer, and each one lives as a temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 teaches the same concept. We live together as a temple, and the Spirit lives in each one and everyone together.
Then the Scripture reminds us that our individual body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit dwells us (2 Tim. 1:14). Paul also teaches that if you don’t have the Spirit, you don’t belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9). The inverse is true. If you have the Spirit, you belong to Christ. Finally, the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). Paul speaks of sanctification in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11).
B.. The disciple cooperates with God
There are three things a person can do to work with the Holy Spirit to grow in Christ or grow in sanctification.
1.. The disciple dies to sins or renounces them.
In the old days, dying to sins used to be called mortification, which literally means the process (-ion) of making (fic-) death (mort), or the process of making your sin nature die. Romans 8:13 says by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body. Paul also writes that we should put to death what is earthly in you (Col. 3:3-5). But mortification is not a general renunciation of sins only. Sometimes the Spirit bring up a specific sin, but not in an accusatory manner. But he does this just to help you grow.
Jesus said that if anyone would follow him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily (Luke 9:23). This means that each day there is a battle of wills, your and God. Thankfully, as the disciple matures, the human will surrenders and fits in to the divine will. But each day we must listen to the still small voice of the Spirit and mainly to Scripture to know how to live for him. I recommend that the disciple says each day, “Lord, I surrender my will to you today. What is your plan for me?” If he does not tell you specifically that his plans have changed, then just keep doing the last thing he told you. You can also deny or renounce your ungodly decisions before you make them.
Paul writes that we have to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present world (Ti. 2:11-12).
Bottom line: you have been crucified with Christ; you no longer live, but the Christ lives in you (Gal. 2:20).
2.. The disciple lives for righteousness.
Jesus said we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6). We are to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Paul says that when we have died to our old life and our being enslaved to unrighteousness, we now are raised to new life and are slaves to righteousness (Rom. 6-18-19).
To grow in righteousness, the disciple must be immersed in Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17). He must focus on Jesus Christ (Heb. 12:1-2). He must seek the things above, not below (Col. 3:1-2). He must thing on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). Another thing the disciple can do to walk in righteousness is to put on Christ or clothing oneself with him (Col. 3:8). He puts away sin and puts on Christ. Some disciples actually practice-pretend that they are putting on “spiritual clothes.” “I now put on righteousness. I now put on kindness. I now put on gentleness.”
3.. The disciple walks in the Spirit.
When he walks in the Spirit, he does not gratify the lust of the flesh or sin nature (Gal. 5:16). When he walks in the Spirit, he fulfills the old law of Moses, particularly the Ten Commandments (Rom. 8:4). Galatians 5:22-23 teaches us that when the believer walks in the Spirit, the Spirit produces “fruit” in him, as follows: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law that opposes those things or produces them in the disciple. The Spirit has to live in him and cause them to grow.
And when the disciple walks in the Spirit he lives in love. The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Spirit, so now we can show love to others. First John 4:11 says that since God loves us, we must love others. Paul commands us to walk in love, as Christ loved us (Eph. 5:2). Can love be commanded? God’s love can, because it is about treating people kindly and honorably; it is not a gooey feeling.
The ultimate goal of sanctification is to love God and to love our neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40).
C.. Summary
The major goal of sanctification is seen in this verse of Scripture:
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Rom. 8:29, emphasis added)
This verse says it is a process:
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18, emphasis added)
The disciple and God work or cooperate together to live in holiness. God sustains and empowers you to cooperate. Then you obey his call.
X.. Application
A.. Declarative and experiential sanctification
It works out like this (1 Cor 1:30):
Positional or declarative: Christ has become your sanctification or holiness (or perfection).
Experiential: Christ works out in you his sanctification or his holiness (or his perfection) daily.
The positional and experiential happen at the same time. But there is a logical order. Positional comes logically first, and experiential logically come second. If you have any perfection in you, it is Christ alone living in you through the Spirit, not you. And now he is working in you to make you more like him. There is daily progress in the process.
Initial sanctification ≠ Sinless, moral perfection
There’s progress in the process, until you die or when the Lord returns. Only then will you achieve sinless perfection.
B. Consecrating your life to God
When you consecrate your life to God, God considers you to be holy. As noted earlier in this post, think of a pure white cloth covering a tall glass of water, just above the rim. Imagine the water has some dirt in it. Positionally we are holy (the white cloth) in Christ. He has put the white robe of holiness on us. Now God is presently getting the dirt out of the old water by pouring in new water through the white cloth. The water spills over, and the dirty water will eventually leave and be replaced. This process takes a lifetime of growing in Christ.
C.. Differences between justification and sanctification
I trust this table will help you distinguish between forensic or declared or imputed justification and sanctification.
| Forensic Justification | Sanctification | |
| 1 | It is an aspect of salvation. | It is also an aspect of salvation. |
| 2 | Justification is linked to sanctification but distinct. | Sanctification is linked to justification but distinct. |
| 3 | Justifications happens at same time at the start of sanctification, but justification is logically prior. | Sanctification happens at same time as justification, but sanctification is logically after justification. |
| 4 | On your repentance and faith in his Son, God declares you holy and righteous. | At your conversion and infilling of the Spirit, you begin to live holy. |
| 5 | It is a legal / forensic declaration, as a one-time act. (This table is not about moral or ethical justification.) | It is a lifelong process, as the fruit of the Spirit grows in you. |
| 6 | God alone imputes holiness to believer. | Born-again believer cooperates with God to grow in holiness. |
| 7 | At his imputation, God sees and thinks of you as holy. | You may not feel holy, but in God’s sight you are. Now live out his holiness in you. |
| 8 | It happens outside of you, from God’s point of view. | It happens inside of you, both from God’s and the believer’s (limited) point of view. |
| 9 | It is a free gift by grace through faith in Christ, and we cannot earn it by our good works. | It is a free gift by grace through faith, but after conversion we have to work and live out salvation. |
| 10 | It is deliverance from the penalty of sin (and the penalty is death). | The Spirit enables believer to overcome the power of sin. He can overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. |
| 11 | It launches the true believer towards sanctification. | It enables the believer to become more like Christ until the Second Coming or when the believer dies. |
| 12 | It is the same for all believers. | Growing in Christ is stronger and faster in some believers than in others. |
D.. Explanation of the table
As noted in the post on justification. God declares us holy only because he transfers us from darkness to light, from the profane to the sacred; we are consecrated to him, no longer to the world. But now we work it out. Justification and sanctification are linked, but distinct.
As noted, sanctification is sometimes called “ethical justification,” by which you demonstrate by good works that you have been declared righteous or forensically or legally justified in God’s courtroom.
The order is really logical, not sequential in time, according to NT theology. That is, logically, legal declaration by God comes before we humans practice holiness and righteousness. Logically, we receive righteousness as a free gift before we can have it infused in us by the work of the Spirit. If we believed that our holiness logically came before God’s gift of righteousness, Paul would say his theology was turned upside down and out of order. Logically, your personal sanctification never launches God’s declaration of your right legal standing and your being born again (regeneration), or else Christianity would resemble other religions, which orders their followers to be holy and consecrated and then they might find Nirvana or Paradise or the Pure Land. Not so. Your repentance (by grace) and your saving faith and your new birth (by the Spirit) and God’s declared righteousness–all of this at the same time–launches your sanctification process. But logically, declared righteousness (forensic justification) is prior to the other works of the Spirit.
This is positional or declared sanctification—and yet you experience it instantly because the Holy Spirit lives in you. Compare holiness with wisdom that is also in 1 Corinthians 1:30. You are the wisdom of Christ; that’s your declared position in him, though you are not perfectly wise in practice. However, this positional or declared or promised wisdom in Christ is experienced day by day, as you work it out.
Once again, declared righteousness is logically (not chronologically) prior to the work of the Spirit.
Therefore, complete maturity and growth towards the goal of being like Christ is the ultimate quest. You do this daily by praying, reading Scripture, and staying in fellowship with believers who are more mature than you. This is the life of a disciple. Sanctification begins when you are first saved. In fact, you are sanctified instantly, because the Holy Spirit fills you; and because Christ is your sanctification or holiness, you leave the kingdom of darkness and are placed instantly in the kingdom of light. You are now separated off from the profane and common and are consecrated to God. Remain in Christ, and he will help you to grow.
Remaining in Christ is the topic of our next post.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 