More and More (Sanctification)

‘Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.‘ – 1 Thessalonians 4:1

I was reading through First and Second Thessalonians the other day when I came across this phrase “more and more.” I thought to myself what a great picture of sanctification that little phrase has wrapped up in it. Paul is using this phrase to encourage the church to abound more and more in the likeness of what was taught to them. They received, prior to this encouragement, wise instructions on how to walk in a manner that is pleasing to God. Paul’s words here were “ἵνα περισσεύητε μᾶλλον,” which means “So you should abound more,” and this implies that this growth of more isn’t optional; it is expected of the believer.

Paul and many of the apostles kept in touch with the churches that they oversaw in order to watch their progression in the Faith. Whether they were moving forward or backsliding, growing or being slothful, they did this so that they could best assess the health of the believers who were under them. This helped them know how to best serve and love them well. It directed how they spoke to them and how they prayed for them also. This determined whether they wrote to them in encouragement or with sternness from the rod. All of this was done in love so that they might abound more and more.

‘Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. ‘ – 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

“Sanctification is the work of God renewing the will, affections, and life according to His law.”
– William Perkins

Growing Into Maturity

‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.’ – 2 Peter 3:18

For a non-believer or perhaps a new Christian, one might not fully understand the term Sanctification and what it entails. Sanctification is defined as the theological process of being set apart and made holy, transformed by the Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus Christ. This process has 3 main stages: Positional (definitive Sanctification), Progressive (Experiential Sanctification), and Ultimate (Final Sanctification). While in some sense we change instantly, in other ways it takes our entire life and into eternity to finish this transformation. Nor is this transformation always a smooth and easy process, as we will still be dealing with our old flesh and sinful desires waging war against us. Many times this voyage becomes a 2 steps back, one step forward feeling, as we grow we tend to see more of our sin. This leaves us with an even greater gap between ourselves and God, but handled the right way, it can show us our true need for Christ as our savior and dependence upon him in this sanctifying way.

“In the New Testament the most characteristic terms used with reference to sanctification are used not of a process but of a once-for-all definitive act . . . it would be, therefore, a deflection from biblical patterns of language . . . to think of sanctification exclusively in terms of a progressive work.” – John Murray

Positional (definitive sanctification) is what truly enables the rest of our sanctification. This positional change occurs at the moment of justification; the believer is declared holy and set apart for God through union with Christ. In this process, the Holy Spirit is given to the believer so that he or she may be equipped with the power of the Spirit in order to grow in the likeness of Christ. This is where justification meets sanctification; without having been justified by the blood of Christ, there is no hope of ever becoming like Christ. Apart from being born again, one is without the power of the Holy Spirit to change. This is something that is purely monergistic¹ on behalf of God and His will. It is His will alone and by the Spirit alone that we are purified into holiness.

‘And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ‘ – 1 Corinthians 1:30

Sanctification is largely just a character change. It is stepping into that which we have been called to be, the act of putting off the old and putting on the new. This in no way plays a part in our salvation; we don’t earn nor keep our salvation based on our sanctification. We do not sustain ourselves by the way we act and whether or not we are meeting the mark. Don’t get me wrong; our salvation is based on works *gasp*, but this work is solely done by Christ on the cross. It is then imputed to us, declaring us justified, righteous, and sanctified before God. While justification leads us to sanctification, never confuse it the other way, thinking our sanctification can lead to our justification in any way, shape, or form.

“Sanctification is a gradual work. The heart is not made clean in an hour.” – Thomas Watson

Monergistic Sanctification

‘And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.’ – Ezekiel 36:27

Many of us have heard of salvation being called Monergistic, meaning God alone causes it fully. However when we tend to bring up the topic of sanctification many seem to reject this as a Monergistic outlook in favor for rather a synergistic² view. We see all the duties that are placed upon the individual such as striving to obey and follow, the putting off of the old and putting on the new, the running of the race. When these are observed many of us think to ourselves surely I am required to do these things and that alone is my cooperation in the progression of my sanctification surely making it synergistic. While it is true that we must act, we later come to find out that it isn’t us acting but rather Christ in us. Seeing how our growth and continuation is a gift from God which is upheld by the power the spirit working in us to bring about God’s will and work. This is where we tend to start leaning in the direction of a more Monergistic view of Progressive Sanctification.

‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ‘ – Galatians 2:20

Progressive (Experiential Sanctification) is the continuation of our sanctification through a lifelong devotion to Christ, through the act of becoming more like Him. This is all caused solely by God through the active work of the Spirit. God laid this down for us in His words to Ezekiel “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”³. Also, we see this same theme carried through Paul’s words “Now may the God of peace… equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight…”⁴. Here, in both of these passages, we see that God works in believers the behavior He requires; God alone is the cause of the sanctification that is taking place within the believer. While the synergist would like to argue that it is our own carrying out of the work that sanctifies us, that God allows us to do this, but the doing is our own self-working. But this seems to be contrary to the fact that it is no longer us who are working, but it is Christ working through us by the Spirit. These verses seem to highlight that while believers are accountable in many ways for obedience, the true underlying power, desire, and ultimate transformation are entirely the work of God within the believer.

‘Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13

Whereas the justification of believers (i.e., their being accepted as righteous before God) is by faith alone, the process of sanctification occurs in the lives of believers by “faith working through love”⁵. Believers are sanctified by the same faith in Christ by which they were justified. However, in the experience of believers, faith actively works together with love to bring about growth in grace. This is grace at work within the life of the believer, as we know from faith that always flows to works. While faith alone justifies, that faith is never alone but is always accompanied by sanctifying growth.

‘But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.’ – 1 Corinthians 15:10

“Sanctification is God’s work in us, not ours; though we act, yet it is He that works both to will and to do.”
– Thomas Watson

The Confessions Regarding Sanctification

Westminster Larger Catechism
Q. 75. What is sanctification?
A. Sanctification is a work of God’s grace, whereby they whom God hath before the foundation of the world chosen to be holy, are in time through the powerful operation of his Spirit, applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God; having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin and rise unto newness of life.

Eph. 1:4; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rom. 6:4-6; Eph. 4:23-24; Acts 11:18; 1 John 3:9; Jude 1:20; Heb. 6:11-12; Eph. 3:16-19; Col. 1:10-11; Rom. 6:4, 6, 14; Gal. 5:24.

The Westminster Confession Of Faith 
Chapter 13
Of Sanctification
“They who are . . . regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified . . . [and] through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome: and so the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (WCF 13:1, 3).

Chapter 16
Of Good Works
2. These good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith: and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that, having their fruit unto holiness, they may have the end, eternal life.

3. Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ. And that they may be enabled thereunto, beside the graces they have already received, there is required an actual influence of the same Holy Spirit, to work in them to will, and to do, of his good pleasure: yet are they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if they were not bound to perform any duty unless upon a special motion of the Spirit; but they ought to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.

The Scots Confession
Chapter 12 – Faith in the Holy Ghost
“…..so also do we confess that the Holy Ghost does sanctify and regenerate us, without respect to any merit proceeding from us, be it before or after our regeneration. To put this even more plainly; as we willingly disclaim any honor and glory from our own creation and redemption, so do we willingly also for our regeneration and sanctification; for by ourselves we are not capable of thinking one good thought, but he who has begun the work in us alone continues us in it, to the praise and glory of his undeserved grace.”

Chapter 13 – The Cause of Good Works
The cause of good works, we confess, is not our free will, but the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, who dwells in our hearts by true faith, brings forth such works as God has prepared for us to walk in. For we most boldly affirm that it is blasphemy to say that Christ abides in the hearts of those in whom is no spirit of sanctification. 

The Belgic Confession
Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners
“We believe that this true faith, produced in man by the hearing of God’s Word and by the work of the Holy Spirit, regenerates him and makes him a “new man,”⁵⁸ causing him to live the “new life”⁵⁹ and freeing him from the slavery of sin……. Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not he to us, since it is he who “works in us both to will and do according to his good pleasure”⁶¹—thus keeping in mind what is written: “When you have done all that is commanded you, then you shall say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’ ”⁶²“

The Heidelberg Catechism
LORD’S DAY 32
86. Since then we are redeemed from our misery by grace through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we do good works?

Because Christ, having redeemed us by His blood, renews us also by His Holy Spirit after His own image, that with our whole life we may show ourselves thankful to God for His blessings,¹ and that He may be glorified through us;² then also, that we ourselves may be assured of our faith by its fruits,³ and by our godly walk may win others also to Christ.⁴

¹ Rom 6:13, 12:1-2; 1 Pt 2:5-10; ² Mt 5:16; 1 Cor 6:19-20; ³ Mt 7:17-18; Gal 5:22-24; 2 Pt 1:10-11; ⁴ Mt 5:14-16; Rom 14:17-19; 1 Pt 2:12, 3:1-2

114. Can those who are converted to God keep these commandments perfectly?

No, but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of this obedience;¹ nevertheless, with earnest purpose they do begin to live, not only according to some, but according to all the commandments of God.²

¹ Ecc 7:20; Rom 7:14-15; 1 Cor 13:9; 1 Jn 1:8; ² Ps 1:1-2; Rom 7:22-25; Php 3:12-16

115. Why then does God have them preached so strictly if in this life no one can keep them perfectly?

First, that throughout our life we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and therefore seek more earnestly the forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ;¹ second, that we may be zealous for good deeds and constantly pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that He may more and more renew us after God’s image, until after this life we reach the goal of perfection.²

¹ Ps 32:5; Rom 3:19-26, 7:7, 24-25; 1 Jn 1:9; ² 1 Cor 9:24; Php 3:12-14; 1 Jn 3:1-3

The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith
16. Good Works
2. Good works, performed in obedience to God’s commandments, are these: the fruits and evidences of a true and living faith. By these believers express and show their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the Gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God, Whose workmanship they are; created in Christ Jesus to perform good works, and to have fruits of holiness which lead to eternal life.
3. Their ability to do these good works does not in any way come from themselves, but comes wholly from the Spirit of Christ. To enable them to do good works, alongside the graces which they have already received, it is necessary for there to be a further real influence of the same Holy Spirit to cause them to will and to do of His good pleasure. But believers are not, on these grounds, to grow negligent, as if they were not bound to perform any duty unless given a special motion by the Spirit, but they must be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.

Always Striving Forward

‘But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.’ – Proverbs 4:18

Now we have talked about all that entails Sanctification in a broad sense, but what does it look like to be sanctified daily and what does Ultimate (Final Sanctification) look like? Like we mentioned above, the definition of Sanctification is just being renewed and conformed to the image of Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit. This takes place by the Spirit and the Word of God working within the believer. Out of this flows growth in the fruit of the Spirit and the mortification of the sin that remains. We will never reach a point in this life where we are entirely free from the struggle against sin or beyond the need for further growth. Yet once we pass on to Glory with God, we will be made perfect, and there will be no more sin in our lives, period. But until we arrive there, there is still a need for sanctification.

For us, we have a great need to grow in Christlikeness and holiness; this, then, will lead us to walk in step with the Holy Spirit and abide in Christ. Through this process, the fruit of the Spirit and freedom from bondage to sin will ever increase, perhaps not perfectly nor as quickly as we would hope, but nevertheless, we move in this direction. One of the greatest tools God has given us to strengthen us in this journey is the means of grace. Many of us are unfamiliar with this language, but simply put, this is the Word of God and the Sacraments in use together. They are ordinary, divine channels through which Christ communicates the benefits of redemption, faith, and spiritual nourishment to believers by the Holy Spirit. They serve to strengthen the believer and encourage them as they wrestle with sanctification. The Spirit applies the means of grace to the believer, causing us to follow Christ through obedient submission to God.

‘And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. ‘- John 17:19

‘Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.’ – John 17:17

To conclude, believers are sanctified by virtue of their union with Christ. He is the singular source of sanctification insomuch as He supplies His people with all that they need to grow spiritually as they abide in Him by faith. Though sanctification is based on what Christ accomplished in His death and resurrection and is experienced in the lives of believers by the power of the Holy Spirit, God has appointed certain means (means of grace) to assist believers in the pursuit of growth in grace. All growth in the area of sanctification is solely caused by the grace of God; this is a monergistic work. Perfect sanctification will not be achieved until we have been glorified. Nevertheless, as Proverbs says, we will “shine brighter and brighter until the full day.” I know this article has been a little all over the place but hopefully this brief study on the topic of the sanctifying work of the Spirit be useful to you; grace be with you!

“Believers are never at a stand in this world: they are either going forward or backward.” – John Owen

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1. Theological belief, that God is the sole agent in salvation, meaning humans don’t cooperate but are entirely passive, with the Holy Spirit alone effecting regeneration (spiritual rebirth) and bringing someone to faith. It comes from Greek words mono (“one”) and ergon (“work”), signifying “the work of one,” ↩︎
2. The interaction between two or more “things” when the combined effect is greater than if you added the “things” on their own. Meaning in the theological world, God and man working together to achieve a certain outcome. ↩︎
3. Ezekiel 36:27 ↩︎
4. Hebrews 13:20-21 ↩︎
5. Gal. 5:6 ↩︎

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