The Holy Spirit Sanctifies Believers

The word sanctification means “separation.” It is used in the New Testament, as the separation of the believer from evil, and it is the result of obedience to the Word of God. Progressive sanctification is what gradually separates the people of God from the world and makes them more and more like Jesus Christ. It carries with it the idea of being set apart by God for His own possession. As it relates to our spiritual transformation, sanctification is the process whereby the Spirit makes our union with Christ in His death and resurrection increasingly real and obvious in our lives. It’s the lifelong process of moral transformation to make us more like Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is the primary agent of our sanctification…..

1st Corinthians 6:11- And such were some of you (before you believed). But you were washed (by the atoning sacrifice of Christ), you were sanctified (set apart for God, and made holy), you were justified (declared free of guilt) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the (Holy) Spirit of our God (the source of the believer’s new life and changed behavior).

Paul described the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in the believer’s life in 2nd Corinthians:

2nd Corinthians 3:18- And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from (one degree of) glory to (even more) glory, which comes from the Lord, (who is) the Spirit.

Sanctification requires a lifetime to complete. As we grow in grace, we are gradually but steadily changing to be more like Jesus……

The New Testament describes the Spirit’s ministry as not only a one-time act in our new birth but also an ongoing work in which He makes us more like Christ. Simply put, the Holy Spirit is responsible for the transformation of the Christian’s character.

Note: As we grow in grace, we are gradually but steadily changing to be more like Jesus. This occurs in a process of daily spiritual renewal. The apostle Paul himself was being sanctified even as he ministered to others. Paul claimed that he had not reached perfection, but that he “pressed on” to attain everything Christ desired for him.

Ephesians 5:26- so that He might sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word (of God)

Note: If we are to rightly understand the Spirit’s work of transformation in our lives, we need to be familiar with a related doctrine: justification. Justification, the once-for-all act affording to the Christian a righteous standing before God, cannot be separated from sanctification. These two works belong as much to Christ as to the Spirit. To justify is to declare righteous. Justification is the act of Christ pronouncing a sinner to be righteous because of the sinner’s faith in Jesus Christ. Justification does not make anyone holy; it declares us not guilty and treated as holy. The actual change toward holiness in the sinner occurs with sanctification. Justification is made possible in the sacrificial death of Christ; it is based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Once sanctification has begun, we are no longer under sin’s dominion……

Romans 6:14- For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law (as slaves), but under (unmerited) grace (as recipients of God’s favor and mercy).

There is a reorientation of desires, and we develop a love of righteousness. Paul calls it “slavery to righteousness.”

Romans 6:17-18- But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed. 18 And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness (of conformity to God’s will and purpose).

To be sanctified means that God has been at work in our lives. Under the Old Testament Law, the blood of a sacrifice was required to set things apart unto God: “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood.” Blood was sprinkled on tabernacle furniture, on priestly clothing, and on people. Nothing was considered sanctified until it had come in contact with the blood. This was a picture of the spiritual application of Christ’s blood for our salvation, we are “sprinkled with his blood.” Just as the temple of old was sanctified for God’s use, our bodies, temples of the Holy Spirit, are set apart for God’s holy purposes (Read 1st Corinthians 6:19). To be sanctified means that God’s Word has had an effect on us. It is “through the word” that God cleanses us and makes us holy.

To be sanctified means that God loves us too much to let us stay the same.