Class 16, Lesson 13
Sanctification Outline
We believe that this true faith, being wrought in man by the hearing of the Word of God and the operation of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies him and makes him a new man, causing him to live a new life, and freeing him from the bondage of sin…—Belgic Confession 24
- The scriptural terms for sanctification
- Hebrew word to sanctify is “qadash”
- Derived from root word that means “to cut”
- Emphasizes the idea of separation
- New Testament word “hagiazo” same primary idea
- Those being sanctified have been separated from the world, no longer joined to Adam but united to Christ, belonging to God (Acts 20:32)
- The biblical idea of holiness and sanctification
- Scripture first applies the idea of holiness to God
- God is distinct from all creation
- He exists by His power, sustaining Himself
- His distinctness from all other creatures is the essence of His holiness
- We are holy because we belong to a holy God
- God set us apart
- This external separation symbolizes the internal separation whereby we are consecrated in our hearts
- This biblical idea of holiness is never that of mere moral goodness considered in itself but always that of ethical goodness seen in relation to God
- The characteristics of sanctification
- God not man is the author of sanctification
- Justification is a legal act of God whereby God declares us righteous on the basis of what we have received, whereas sanctification is based on infusion
- Sanctification is a work that involves the progressive renewal of God’s image in fallen man through the gracious, continuous work of the Holy Spirit
- Sanctification is progressive and continuous, yet in this life it is never perfected; it is completed at death for the soul and at the resurrection for the body. (Heb 12:23; Phil 3:21)
- The nature of sanctification
- Man is not entirely passive in the process but can and should co-operate with God in the work of sanctification by a diligent use of the means which God has placed at his disposal
- 2 Corinthians 7:1; Colossians 3:5-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:20
- Sanctification consists of two parts
- The dying of the old man and the making alive of the new (Heidelberg Q & A 88, 89, 90)
- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. (2 Cor 5:17)
- The mortification of the old man
- The negative side of sanctification consists in the removal of sin that is the pollution and corruption of the human nature
- The old man has been crucified with Christ
- There is an ongoing gradual crucifying of the flesh (Heidelberg Q & A 43,88,89)
- Already not yet aspect of sanctification (Rom 6:6, Col 2:11,12, Gal 5:24, Rom 12:1)
- The quickening of the new man
- The positive side of sanctification is that the holy disposition of the soul is strengthened, its holy exercises are increased, and thus a new course of life is provided (Heidelberg Q & A 90,91)
- Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:1
- It affects the whole man
- Since sanctification takes place in the heart, it naturally affects the whole organism
- It is completed especially in the crisis of death and in the resurrection of the dead
- Only when the believer becomes a participant in the death and resurrection of Christ is he regenerated and the work of sanctification begins (Ezekiel 36:25)
