A thorough understanding of the Christine doctrine of sanctification escapes most ordinary Christians, it seems. Accordingly, this article seeks to explain this doctrine in more detail so that any member of a Christian congregation may understand the biblical teaching concerning this doctrine.
JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION CONTRASTED
We begin by defining the doctrine of sanctification.
Sanctification may be defined as that gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which He delivers the justified sinner from the pollution of sin, renews his whole nature in the image of God, and enables him to perform good works.[1]
Another doctrine that should be defined at this point before entering a discussion of the doctrine of sanctification is the doctrine of justification.
Justification is a judicial act of God, in which He declares, on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that all the claims of the law are satisfied with respect to the sinner.[2]
Justification and sanctification are each a distinct phase of God’s plan of salvation but they are nevertheless inextricably related to one another. They are distinct as to their position in the Ordo salutis (i.e., the Latin term meaning “order of salvation”).[3] Justification is different from all the other phases of God’s plan of salvation in that it is an external judicial act of God regarding the individual and not a restorative internal act such as regeneration, conversion, and sanctification. Justification does not affect a sinner’s inner spiritual condition but instead changes the sinner’s state or his or her legal position in relation to God.
On the other hand, sanctification is an internal work of God (1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20, 21), His divine operation in the soul of the believer. Sanctification must not be considered a mere process of human accomplishment in the believer’s spiritual development (Eph. 3:16). In fact, sanctification is a cooperative effort between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the believer, who is expected to utilize all the means of grace[4] provided by God in order that the believer may walk in Christ-likeness until physical death in this life.
The means of grace can have a broad meaning. For example, the church is a means of grace regarding the gathering of the body of Christ, the true believers. The Holy Spirit is a means of grace regarding the providential grace of bringing sinners to Christ and in facilitating their closer walk with Christ during sanctification.
Believers’ intimate union with Christ is a relationship that is crucial to sanctification. Believers walk in union with Christ during the rest of their lives after justification growing in the Christian faith and becoming more Christ-like under the influence of this mystical union. This union in Christ transforms believers’ body and soul in the image of Christ which enables the believer to walk with God.
GOD’S PLAN OF SALAVATION
God’s plan of salvation is a process that actually begins in eternity with predestination and election and is first applied to the individual elect person at the efficacious call and regeneration and continues through faith, justification, reconciliation, adoption, and progressive sanctification to its consummation in salvation and glorification at the second coming of Christ. This is why the Bible says we have been saved (e.g., Eph. 2:8), we are saved (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:2), and we will be saved (e.g., Rom. 10:9). All three tenses are correct since God’s plan for our salvation began in eternity past, continues at the present through the sanctification phase, and shall be finally consummated in the future at the second coming of Christ.
THE NATURE OF SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is a divine work of God whereby the holiness of the soul and the righteous works arising therefrom are increased. The process of sanctification is progressive, with the polluted and corrupted nature of our humanity gradually being diminished. Contemporaneously with the gradual diminution of the corrupt nature, the righteousness of the believer gradually improves in the cooperative effort with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and by the believer’s use of the means of grace. All together this results in an obedient more Christ-like life.
Although sanctification is a divine work in the soul, this necessarily affects the body; it affects the whole person, body and soul (1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Cor. 6:15, 20). The body is the instrumentality through which the sinful dispositions, desires, and conduct of the soul express themselves. Thus God’s restoration of the soul ineluctably manifests in the body resulting in the renewal and restoration of the entire person.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SANCTIFICATION
Even though sanctification is an act of God, as is for example, regeneration, the believer is obligated to cooperate with the triune God by using all the means made available to him or her by God (2 Cor. 7:1; Col. 3:5-17; 1 Pet. 1:22). So this doctrine of sanctification is a cooperative act in which the believer is commanded to participate (2 Cor. 7:1).
Sanctification characteristically begins with the immediate operation of the Holy Spirit which indwells in the soul of the believer and is a guarantee of our inheritance (Eph. 1:13, 14). But contemporaneously with the subconscious changes are corresponding conscious changes that also occur through the operations of the believer using the means God provided to externally effectuate the new self in his or her behavior and conduct.
Unlike God’s act of regeneration, which He executes to perfection, sanctification necessarily is a long, imperfect process in this life. Of course, if one dies immediately after regeneration and conversion, then this process is short. But we know that scripture teaches that sanctification is perfect at death as far as the soul is concerned.[5]
Sanctification is completed for the soul, as just mentioned, at death but sanctification of the body occurs at the general resurrection on the last day. No one in this life is free from sin (1 Kgs. 8:46; Prov. 20:9; Rom. 3:10, 12; Jam. 3:2; 1 John 1:8), but the disembodied spirits of the dead believers are referred to as “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:23) meaning they are perfectly sanctified. We also know that at the second coming “The Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body,” (Phil. 3:20, 21) meaning our resurrected bodies will also be perfectly sanctified. Therefore, at the last day, our resurrected and transformed bodies will be ushered into the new heaven and the new earth perfectly sanctified.
KEY POINTS
Jesus preached about perfect sanctification in His Sermon on the Mount when He said “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The apostle Paul, speaking to the church at Philippi, taught them that his focus was the resurrection to eternal life on the last day (Phil. 3:7-11) and that godly perfection should be the goal of all Christians in life (Phil. 3:12, 13). Certainly, human beings cannot gain the perfection of the perfect Lord in life but Paul instructs Christians to be straining forward to the goal of perfection.
Peter wrote “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct (1 Pet. 1:15).” Perfection is the believer’s aspiration in that we are striving for something higher than ourselves. Charles Hodge considered the aspiration for a goal that is in life unattainable when he wrote “sanctification is never perfected in this life; that sin is not in any case entirely subdued; so that the most advanced believer has need as long as he continues in the flesh, daily to pray for the forgiveness of sins.”[6]
No one in this life is free from sin (1 Kgs. 8:46; Prov. 20:9; Rom. 3:10, 12; Jam. 3:2; 1 John 1:8). Though sanctification is not perfect in this life, it is nonetheless perfected for the disembodied soul at death. The disembodied spirits of the dead believers are referred to as “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:23) meaning they are perfectly sanctified.
However, sanctification of the body occurs at the general resurrection on the last day. We are assured of this by Paul who wrote “The Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body,” (Phil. 3:20, 21) meaning our resurrected bodies will also be perfectly sanctified.
Therefore, at the last day, our resurrected and transformed bodies will be ushered into the new heaven and the new earth perfectly sanctified.
[1] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2012), 554.
[2] Berkhof, 554.
[3] See Romans 8:29, 30).
[4] For more information regarding the means of grace, refer toThe Means of Grace article on this blog.
[5] Berkhof, 556.
[6] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, (Hendrickson 2016) 245.
