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 (posi