The Holy Spirit Sanctifies
The opening greeting of Peter’s first epistle gives a clear example of the Trinitarian nature of our salvation. The “elect exiles” are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, that they might be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled by his blood (1 Pet. 1:2). The Holy Spirit sanctifies in two ways. First, he sets us apart in Christ so that we might be cleansed by his blood. Second, he works in us so we can be obedient to Jesus Christ. Through the sanctification of the Spirit, we are given a new position and infused with a new power.
We usually think of the second element, the new power, when discussing sanctification. Though sanctification is positional too, as a theological term, it usually refers to our progressive sanctification, how God works in us for his good pleasure as we work out the life of salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12–13). Or, as Romans 8:9–13 puts it, we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit (position); therefore, by the Spirit, we ought to put to death the deed of the flesh (power).
Though we must make an effort in our growth in godliness (2 Pet. 1:5), the Spirit empowers us through and through. The Bible is not a cheap infomercial telling us to change and then serving as an enthusiastic cheerleader: “You can do it!” We have already been changed. We are already new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) and have a new strength at work in our inner being (Eph. 3:16), producing gospel fruit in us by the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23). The Bible expects that because God dwells in us by the Spirit, we can, by that same Spirit, begin to share in the qualities that are characteristic of God himself (2 Pet. 1:4). Of course, there is still a fight within us. But with the Spirit, there can be genuine progress and victory. The New Testament simply asks us to be who we are.
How exactly, then, does the Spirit empower us for growth in godliness? Think again of the metaphor of light. The Holy Spirit, as we’ve seen, is a like a light shining into our dark places, exposing our sins and leading us to repentance. The Spirit is also a lamp to illumine God’s Word, teaching what is true and revealing it as precious (1 Cor. 2:6–16). And, as we saw in John 16, the Spirit throws a spotlight on Christ so we can see his glory and beauty and be changed accordingly.
This is the stunning argument Paul makes in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Just as Moses had his face transformed when he saw the Lord’s glory on Mount Sinai, so will we be transformed when we behold God’s glory in the face of Christ. Except we won’t get just a shiny, tan face; we will grow increasingly into the image of the one we see. We become what we behold.
My wife loves to watch figure skating. She loves the artistry and beauty of it. She also enjoys the puff pieces on the young women. I find them nauseating, but what they can do is pretty remarkable. I imagine most of them grew up watching figure skating. They probably marvelled at all the lay-back spins, double-axles, and triple salchows (uh?). I’m sure many of them were mesmerized as little girls by Kristi Yamaguchi or Michelle Kwan. They probably thought, “I want to do that. That’s amazing! That’s incredible! How can I be like her?” Of course, it takes practice to be a world-class figure skater, just like sanctification takes effort on our part. But the effort in both cases is inspired, motivated, and modelled after glory. The sight of brilliance and majesty is transformative in and of itself.
That’s why when the Spirit is at work to sanctify us—by revealing sin, revealing the truth, and revealing the glory of Christ—and we look the other way, it is a profound offence. The Bible refers to this as resisting (Acts 7:51), quenching (1 Thess. 5:19), or grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). There may be slight nuances among the three terms, but they all speak of situations where we do not accept the Spirit’s work in our lives. When we reject what the Word of God has to say to us, when we turn our eyes from the Spirit’s exposure to sin, when we say one thing as Christians and do another, we sin against the Spirit.17
17 See Graham Cole, Engaging with the Holy Spirit: Real Questions, Practical Answers (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007), 49, 81, 97.
DeYoung, K. L. (2011). The holy spirit (D. A. Carson & T. J. Keller, Eds.; pp. 18–20). Crossway.
