He Who Began a Good: Work Sanctification
He Who Began a Good Work
Sanctification
7 minute read
The Statement of Faith
We believe that sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit transforms believers into the likeness of Christ. It begins at the moment of salvation and continues throughout our earthly lives. Sanctification is God's work in us, yet it also requires our active participation—working out what God works in. It involves both putting off the old self and putting on the new, walking by the Spirit and fighting the flesh. Complete sanctification awaits glorification, but genuine progress is expected in this life.
How Did We Get Here?
Every honest Christian knows the frustration: Why do I still struggle with this sin? I believed. I was baptized. I have the Spirit. Why hasn't everything changed?
The answer is that salvation comes in stages. Justification is instant—you're declared righteous the moment you believe. Glorification is future—complete transformation when Christ returns or you die. Sanctification is the process in between—the gradual transformation from who you were to who you'll be.
Different traditions emphasize different aspects. Some stress human effort ("work out your salvation"). Others stress divine sovereignty ("it is God who works in you"). Some expect rapid transformation (higher life, entire sanctification). Others expect lifelong struggle (the "mortification of sin"). The biblical picture includes both divine initiative and human response, both genuine progress and ongoing battle.
Understanding sanctification protects us from despair (expecting instant perfection and failing) and from complacency (expecting no change at all). God is at work; we have a part; change is real but gradual; completion awaits the end.
What the Bible Says
God's Work in Us
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
— Philippians 1:6
God starts the work and God completes it. Sanctification isn't ultimately dependent on our willpower; it's grounded in God's faithfulness. He won't abandon the project.
"For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."
— Philippians 2:13
God works in us both to will (changing our desires) and to act (empowering our obedience). Even our wanting to change and our ability to change are His gifts.
"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it."
— 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
"He will do it." Sanctification is God's work. The One who calls is faithful to complete what He started.
Our Active Participation
"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."
— Philippians 2:12
"Work out your salvation"—we have a role. The very next verse says God works in us, but that doesn't make us passive. We work out what God works in. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility partner together.
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."
— Colossians 3:5
"Put to death"—this is active, violent language. We don't just wait for sin to die; we kill it. This requires intention, effort, specific action against specific sins.
"Train yourself to be godly."
— 1 Timothy 4:7
Training requires discipline. Godliness doesn't happen automatically; it's developed through practice, repetition, and intentional effort. Athletes train; so do disciples.
Walking by the Spirit
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."
— Galatians 5:16
The key to victory over the flesh isn't willpower alone; it's walking by the Spirit. The positive (Spirit-led living) overcomes the negative (fleshly desires). Spirit-empowered living, not mere self-effort, is the path to holiness.
"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."
— Romans 8:13
We put sin to death "by the Spirit." Even our mortification of sin is Spirit-empowered. It's not unaided human effort but cooperation with the Spirit's work.
Progressive Transformation
"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."
— 2 Corinthians 3:18
"Being transformed"—present tense, ongoing process. "Ever-increasing glory"—progressive, not instant. As we behold Christ, we become like Christ. It's gradual, continuous, Spirit-driven transformation.
"Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
— Ephesians 4:13
Maturity is the goal. We're growing toward "the fullness of Christ." We haven't arrived yet, but we're on the way.
How It Fits the Full Narrative
Sanctification completes what regeneration began. In regeneration, we receive a new nature. In sanctification, that new nature progressively dominates. The seed becomes a tree. The infant becomes an adult.
Sanctification reverses the fall's effects. Sin corrupted every part of us—mind, will, emotions, body. Sanctification is the progressive reversal: renewing the mind (Romans 12:2), freeing the will from sin's domination, reordering the emotions, honoring God with the body.
Sanctification conforms us to Christ. "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). Jesus is the pattern. Sanctification is becoming like Him—in character, attitude, and action.
Sanctification prepares us for glory. When we see Christ, we'll be like Him (1 John 3:2). Sanctification is the down payment, the beginning of what glorification will complete. We're being made fit for heaven.
Why This Matters
It gives realistic expectations. Don't expect instant perfection; don't settle for no change. Sanctification is a process—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always real for genuine believers. Patience with yourself and others follows from understanding this.
It calls for effort without self-reliance. We're not passive—we work, train, fight, put to death. But we're not self-reliant—God works in us, the Spirit empowers, grace enables. It's both-and, not either-or.
It provides hope in struggle. Ongoing battle doesn't mean you're not saved. The struggle itself is often evidence of the Spirit's work—the flesh doesn't fight what's dead. Take heart: the fight is part of the transformation.
It motivates holiness. We're not just forgiven; we're being changed. God isn't content to declare us righteous; He's making us righteous. This calls for active cooperation—pursuing holiness, fleeing sin, cultivating virtue.
It points to the goal. Christlikeness is the destination. We know where we're headed. This vision draws us forward, giving purpose to the struggle and content to the hope.
How to Communicate This
Balance God's work and ours. Don't preach effort without grace (that's moralism) or grace without effort (that's passivity). "Work out... for God is working in" (Philippians 2:12-13). Both truths together.
Be specific about means. How does sanctification happen? Through the Word (John 17:17), prayer, the Spirit's power, community, suffering, discipline. Don't leave people with vague aspiration; give them concrete practices.
Normalize struggle without excusing sin. All believers struggle; that's normal. But struggle is different from settled indulgence. We fight sin; we don't make peace with it. Struggle is expected; surrender is not.
Point to Christ as both goal and means. We become like Him by beholding Him. Sanctification isn't just trying harder; it's knowing Jesus better. Christocentric sanctification outperforms moralistic striving.
Defending Against Critics
Objection: "If I'm justified, why does sanctification matter? I'm already accepted."
Response: You're accepted in Christ, but faith produces obedience. "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians 2:10). Sanctification isn't to become accepted but because you are accepted. It's the fruit of justification, not an addition to it.
Objection: "I've been struggling with the same sin for years. Am I even saved?"
Response: The question is not whether you struggle but whether you fight. Even Paul struggled (Romans 7:14-25). Long battles don't prove false faith; settled indifference does. If you hate your sin, grieve over it, and keep fighting—that's evidence of the Spirit's work, not His absence.
Objection: "If God is sovereign over sanctification, why doesn't He just make me holy?"
Response: God has chosen to work through means, including our active participation. He's forming us into people who freely choose holiness, not robots who are programmed for it. The process of struggle, growth, and transformation develops character that instant change wouldn't. He's making us holy, not merely making us act holy.
Objection: "Can I achieve sinless perfection in this life?"
Response: Some traditions teach entire sanctification or perfectionism. But 1 John 1:8 warns, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves." Even the greatest saints confess ongoing sin. Complete sanctification awaits glorification. We pursue holiness, make genuine progress, but remain dependent on grace until the end.
Going Deeper
Key passages to study:
- John 17:17 – Sanctified by truth
- Romans 6:1-14 – Dead to sin, alive to God
- Romans 8:12-17 – Life by the Spirit
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 – Transformed into His image
- Galatians 5:16-26 – Walk by the Spirit
- Ephesians 4:17-32 – Put off the old, put on the new
- Philippians 2:12-13 – Work out, for God works in
- Colossians 3:1-17 – Set your mind on things above
- Hebrews 12:1-14 – Discipline and holiness
Questions for reflection:
- Am I actively cooperating with the Spirit's sanctifying work, or am I passive?
- What specific sins am I putting to death? What virtues am I cultivating?
- Do I draw hope from God's promise to complete His work in me?