On Sanctification

Philippians 1: 6-11

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”

What role does a believer play in the process of their sanctification, and which role is reserved for God alone?

Confusion about this topic leads to two extremes: on one hand, trying to achieve something which only God can achieve leads to disappointment and despair. On the other hand, aiming to achieve nothing at all, while expecting God to carry out work He has entrusted to us, leads to stagnation and causes us to squander the gift that God has given us in waking us up to experience another day.

“Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you. She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

So let's pursue wisdom to rightly divide sanctification's roles.

The Role Of God

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

We know, first of all, that it was God who began the work within us. It was not knowledge or righteousness on our part that led to our salvation, for we were blind to the reality of even our need for Christ! 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Further, Ephesians 2:1&4-5 says “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!). So we see that the very start of our sanctification, which is our salvation, was accomplished solely by the grace of God, with no input from us whatsoever. 

We are told that this work, which He started, did not end on the day that we were saved, but that it continues, even now, and will continue until it has accomplished its ultimate purpose. The day of that completion is already set, and it is coming soon. It is that day referenced in Revelation 21:4, which says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” That day when Jesus returns will not only mark the completion of your individual journey and growth, but He will bring about the fulfillment of all things. 

So we see that our sanctification is part of an event much larger than ourselves, one that was planned before the foundations of the earth, and that God is the one who controls the timeline, being both the initiator and the finisher of our faith.

In the same way that our faith in salvation is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”, So should it be concerning faith in our sanctification. We have not seen, for ourselves, Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, yet our faith convicts us of its reality, and in the same way, we can not see ourselves fully sanctified in the future, but we utilize the same faith in our hope for, and are assured in, its coming about.

Through scripture, we see that God’s role in our sanctification is both “pioneer and perfecter” and that both roles were accomplished through Jesus, who, “For the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And, having sat at the right hand of God, Jesus is now “Therefore able to save completely those who draw near to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

So we see that our sanctification is a continual process, predicated on the timing of God, initiated and sustained by the workings of Jesus.

What role, then, do we as believers play in the process?

The Role Of The Believer

“May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”

To “always be filled” is a command, which implies there are instances where we “refuse to be filled”. This concept is echoed in Ephesians 5:18, which says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” 

So we see that, while God’s good and perfect plan is that we, “beholding the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,” there are actions on our part which can frustrate that plan.

Just as God planned that the Israelites leave slavery in Egypt and enter into a land which He gave them, yet because of their unbelief, they were not able to enter, so it is with us as believers concerning our sanctification.

If we are to be “filled with the fruit of our salvation”, which naturally progresses us along the path of sanctification, bringing glory and praise to God, we must first empty ourselves of those things which are antithetical to the gospel of Jesus.

This is the action described in 2 Corinthians 10:5, which says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” First, obtaining knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, we then stand as watchmen over our hearts and minds, making sure that nothing enters in which stands to frustrate God’s plan and purpose in our lives.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor." This verse and the instructions it commands of us do not apply only to sexual immorality, but to any action or thought that draws us away from God, who is the source of growth concerning our righteous character. For Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Therefore, the role of the believer is to empty himself of all of those things that stand in opposition to Jesus. "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” Then, to cling to God as closely as possible, “For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, we see that God is both the author and perfector of our faith, and that our sanctification is in no part reliant on our striving any more than our salvation was reliant on our own righteousness. Our sanctification is a process that started on the cross, continues today, and ends at the completion of all things, brought about by the return of Christ. We see, also, that disobedience concerning God’s plans, while not able to thwart the overall fulfillment of such, stands to rob us of the blessings which were worked into those plans for us. For it is God’s will, to the benefit of His children, that their lives bring much glory and praise to Him. If we are to experience the fullness of joy which was bought for us by the blood of Jesus, we must empty ourselves and cling to God, the supplier of our growth and faith.