Bible Verses About Sanctification
Introduction
Sanctification is the specific ongoing process by which the person who has been justified is being made holy: the justification is the declarative act of God that pronounces the person righteous through the righteousness of Christ, and the sanctification is the transformative process by which the person is being conformed to the image of the Son that the Romans 8:29 describes as the specific destination of the predestination. The distinction matters: the sanctification is not the ground of the standing before God, which is the justification received through faith, but the specific ongoing work of the Spirit in the person who has been justified.
The specific theological character of the sanctification is both the divine act and the human participation: the Philippians 2:12-13's work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose establishes the specific interplay. The working out is the human participation, and the God who works in you establishes the divine ground: the human working out is not the independent achievement of the person who is sanctifying themselves but the specific cooperation with the God who is working in the person. The fear and the trembling establish the specific posture: the sanctification is the work of the person who takes the divine working seriously rather than the casual assumption that the growth will happen automatically.
The 1 Thessalonians 4:3's it is God's will that you should be sanctified establishes the most compressed statement of the divine will for the believer: the will of God for the person is not primarily the specific circumstantial details of the life decisions but the specific transformation of the person into the holiness that corresponds to the character of the God who is holy. The specific content of the sanctification is the 2 Corinthians 3:18's being transformed into the image of Christ with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit: the sanctification is the comprehensive transformation of the whole person rather than the incremental improvement of the specific behaviors.
These verses speak to anyone who needs the specific biblical grounding for the sanctification as both the gift of the God who works and the practice of the person who cooperates with the working, and anyone who needs the honest pastoral wisdom about the character of the growth that the sanctification produces.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About Sanctification
The Hebrew word qadash describes the setting apart or the making holy: the specific act of the God who consecrates the person or the thing for the divine purpose. The Greek word hagiasmos describes the sanctification: the specific process of the making holy that the Spirit works in the person who has been justified. The Greek word hagios describes the holy: the specific quality of the person who has been set apart for God. The Greek word teleioo describes the perfecting or the completing: the specific destination of the sanctification that the Hebrews 10:14's by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy describes.
Bible Verses About God's Will for Sanctification
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 — ("It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable.")
"It is God's will that you should be sanctified" establishes the most compressed statement of the divine will for the believer: the will of God for the person is the specific transformation of the person into the holiness that corresponds to the character of the God who is holy. The avoid sexual immorality and learn to control your own body establishes the specific content: the sanctification is not the abstract spiritual process but the specific transformation of the concrete behaviors of the body. The holy and honorable establishes the specific standard: the sanctification produces the specific quality of the holiness that honors the God who commands it.
Hebrews 10:14 — ("For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.")
"By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" establishes the specific tension of the sanctification: the made perfect forever is the completed act of the justification, and the being made holy is the ongoing process of the sanctification. The one sacrifice establishes the specific ground: the sanctification is grounded in the completed sacrifice rather than the ongoing sacrificial performance of the person who is being sanctified. The forever establishes the comprehensive character: the perfecting is the permanent act rather than the provisional status.
Bible Verses About the Spirit's Work in Sanctification
2 Corinthians 3:18 — ("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.")
"We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory" establishes the specific character of the sanctification: the transformation is the ongoing process of the person who is contemplating the Lord's glory rather than the one-time event of the sufficient resolution. The which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit establishes the source: the transformation is the act of the Spirit rather than the achievement of the person who is being transformed. The ever-increasing glory establishes the direction: the sanctification moves toward the increasing rather than the plateau.
Romans 8:13 — ("For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.")
"If by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live" establishes the specific practice of the sanctification: the putting to death of the misdeeds of the body is the specific act of the person who is cooperating with the Spirit's work in the sanctification. The by the Spirit establishes the specific means: the putting to death is not the achievement of the willpower alone but the specific act of the person who is doing it by the Spirit. The you will live establishes the specific promise: the sanctification is the specific path toward the life rather than the restrictive path away from the life.
Galatians 5:16 — ("So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.")
"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" establishes the specific practice of the sanctification: the walking by the Spirit is the ongoing practice of the person who is being sanctified rather than the one-time decision of the person who has resolved to be different. The walk establishes the ongoing character: the sanctification is the practice of the walking rather than the achievement of the arriving. The you will not gratify establishes the specific promise: the walking by the Spirit is the specific practice that produces the not gratifying of the flesh rather than the willpower that suppresses the desires.
Bible Verses About Human Participation in Sanctification
Philippians 2:12-13 — ("Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.")
"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you" establishes the specific interplay of the divine working and the human participation: the working out is the human practice, and the God who works in you establishes the divine ground. The fear and the trembling establish the specific posture: the sanctification is the work of the person who takes the divine working seriously. The to will and to act establishes the comprehensive character of the divine working: God works both the willing and the acting rather than leaving the person to generate the sufficient motivation independently.
Romans 12:1-2 — ("Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.")
"Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God" and "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" establish the two specific acts of the human participation in the sanctification: the offering of the body as the living sacrifice is the comprehensive consecration of the whole person, and the be transformed establishes the ongoing process of the renewing of the mind. The do not conform establishes the specific danger: the conformation to the pattern of the world is the specific alternative to the transformation by the renewing.
Bible Verses About the Goal of Sanctification
Romans 8:29 — ("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.")
"Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" establishes the specific destination of the sanctification: the conformation to the image of Christ is the specific goal toward which the Spirit is working in the person who is being sanctified. The predestined establishes the divine initiative: the goal of the sanctification is the goal that God determined before the person existed. The firstborn among many brothers and sisters establishes the relational character: the sanctification is the process by which the person is being made to bear the family resemblance of the firstborn Son.
1 John 3:2-3 — ("Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.")
"We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" establishes the eschatological destination of the sanctification: the likeness to Christ is the specific completion of the process that the sanctification has been working toward. The all who have this hope in him purify themselves establishes the specific motivational connection: the hope of the future likeness is the specific motivation of the present purifying. The just as he is pure establishes the standard: the purifying is the purifying toward the specific standard of the purity of the Christ who is the goal.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
Sanctification is most honestly prayed from the honest acknowledgment of both the divine working and the specific human participation that the cooperation with the divine working requires.
Philippians 2:13 — ("It is God who works in you to will and to act.") Response: "You are working in me. The willing and the acting are both your work rather than my independent achievement. Let me cooperate with what you are doing rather than resisting it or attempting to substitute my own effort for your working. Work in me to will and to act in order to fulfill your good purpose."
2 Corinthians 3:18 — ("We are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.") Response: "I am being transformed. Not by the resolution that fades but by the Spirit who transforms the person who is contemplating your glory. Let the contemplating be the specific practice. Let the transformation be yours to accomplish as I am beholding. Let the ever-increasing be the direction rather than the plateau."
Romans 12:1 — ("Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.") Response: "I am offering. The body, the mind, the will, the whole person I am presenting to you as the living sacrifice. This is the true and proper worship. Not only the hour of the Sunday gathering but the comprehensive offering of the whole life. Let the offering be the specific ground of the transformation."
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about sanctification? The Bible presents sanctification as the specific ongoing process by which the person who has been justified is being made holy by the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4:3's it is God's will that you should be sanctified establishes the divine will. 2 Corinthians 3:18's being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory establishes the ongoing character. Philippians 2:12-13's work out your salvation for it is God who works in you establishes the interplay of the divine working and the human participation. Romans 8:29's predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son establishes the specific destination. And Hebrews 10:14's by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy establishes the tension of the completed justification and the ongoing sanctification.
What is the difference between justification and sanctification? The justification is the declarative act of the God who pronounces the person righteous through the righteousness of Christ: the Romans 3:21-22's the righteousness of God given through faith in Jesus Christ establishes the specific character. The sanctification is the transformative process by which the person who has been justified is being made holy by the Spirit: the 2 Corinthians 3:18's being transformed into his image establishes the ongoing character. The justification is the ground of the standing before God and the sanctification is the ongoing transformation of the life. The Hebrews 10:14's by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy holds the two together in the single verse.
How does the Holy Spirit work in sanctification? The Romans 8:13's if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live establishes the specific cooperation: the Spirit is the specific means of the putting to death. The Galatians 5:16's walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh establishes the ongoing practice: the walking by the Spirit is the specific practice that produces the not gratifying. The 2 Corinthians 3:18's the transformation comes from the Lord who is the Spirit establishes the source: the transformation is the act of the Spirit rather than the achievement of the person who is being transformed. The Spirit works in the person both the willing and the acting (Philippians 2:13) rather than leaving the person to generate the sufficient motivation independently.
Is sanctification complete in this life? The 1 John 3:2's what we will be has not yet been made known but we know that when he appears we shall be like him establishes the eschatological completion: the sanctification is completed in the appearing of the Christ rather than the achievement of the person in the present life. The Philippians 1:6's he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus establishes the specific promise: the completion is the act of the God who carries the work to completion at the day of Christ rather than the achievement of the person who has finally reached the sufficient holiness. The Hebrews 10:14's being made holy establishes the ongoing character in the present: the sanctification is the ongoing process of the present rather than the completed achievement.
What is entire sanctification? The 1 Thessalonians 5:23's may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through establishes the comprehensive scope of the sanctification: the through and through is the most emphatic statement of the comprehensive character of the sanctification that the apostle prays for. The Wesleyan tradition has understood the entire sanctification as the specific act of the God who cleanses the person of the inward sin in the present life, while the Reformed tradition has understood the through and through as the eschatological completion at the day of Christ. Both traditions agree that the comprehensive sanctification is the work of the God who sanctifies rather than the achievement of the person who has developed sufficient holiness.
