HS and Our Sanctification

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SANCTIFICATION
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
The Holy Spirit as Sanctifier
God calls every person to mirror and reflect His holy character:"As He who
calledyou is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written,
'Be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter1:15-16). Our problem is that in ourselves
we are not holy; we are unholy. Yet the Bible refers to us as "saints." The
term saintmeans "one who is holy." Since holiness is not found in ourselves,
we must be made holy. The One who works to make us holy, to conform us to
the image of Christ, is the Holy Spirit. As the Third Personof the Trinity, the
Holy Spirit is no more holy than the Fatherand the Son. Yet we do not speak
of the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit. That the Spirit of God
is calledthe Holy Spirit is not so much because ofHis person(which is indeed
holy) but because ofHis work, to make us holy.
It is the specialwork of the Holy Spirit to make us saints. He consecratesus.
The Holy Spirit fulfills the role of the sanctifier. To be sanctifiedis to be made
holy, or righteous. Sanctificationis a process thatbegins the moment we
become Christians. The process continues until death when the believer is
made finally, fully, and forevermore righteous.
The Reformedfaith is distinctive in its emphasis on the working of the Holy
Spirit alone in regeneration. We do not assistthe Holy Spirit in our rebirth.
We rejectoutright any notion of cooperative effort in the rebirth of the
believer. Sanctification, however, is a different matter. Our sanctificationis a
cooperative venture. We must work with the Holy Spirit to grow in
sanctification. The apostle Paul expressedthis idea in his letter to the church
at Phillipi:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence,work out your own
salvationwith fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both
to will and to do for His goodpleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
The callto cooperationis one that involves work. We are to work in earnest.
To work with fearand trembling does not suggesta spirit of terror but of
reverence coupledwith effort. We are consoledby the knowledge thatwe are

not left to do this work alone or by our own efforts. God is working within us
to accomplishour sanctification.
The Holy Spirit indwells the believer, working to bring about a more
righteous life and heart. We must be careful, however, not to confuse the
indwelling Spirit with any deificationof the individual. The Spirit is in the
believer and works with the believer, but does not become the believer. The
Spirit works to produce sanctifiedhuman beings, not deified creatures. When
the Spirit indwells us, He does not become human and we do not become gods.
The Holy Spirit does not destroy our personalidentities as human beings. In
our sanctificationwe are to become godlike in character, but not in being.
1. God calls us to reflect His holiness.
2. To become holy requires that we receive holiness from outside of
ourselves.
3. The Holy Spirit is called holy because ofHis work as our sanctifier.
4. Sanctificationis a lifelong process.
5. Sanctificationis a cooperative work, involving both the believerand the
Holy Spirit.
6. The indwelling Holy Spirit does not work to deify us.
The EssentialTruths of the Christian Faith devotional is excerptedfrom
Essential Truths of the Christian Faith Copyright © 1992 by R. C. Sproul. All
rights reserved.
WITNESS LEE
HOLINESS FOR SANCTIFICATION
The New Testamentreveals that the Holy Spirit has the attribute of holiness
for sanctification(1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 15:16). In the New Testamentthe word
“holy” means separatedto God, set apart to Him. To be holy is to be different,
distinct, from everything that is common. In the universe there is only one
nature that is absolutelydifferent from all other things, and this is the nature
of God. Hence, God is holy. It is not an insignificant matter to be holy, for to
be holy is virtually to be divine. It is to be separate, different, from anything
other than God.

Holiness and sanctificationboth refer to an element that is holy. Holiness
refers to the element itself, for holiness is the nature and quality of being holy.
Sanctificationrefers to the process ofbeing made holy, the process ofbeing
sanctified. A process is going on to make us holy. This process is
sanctification. Therefore, to have holiness is to have the element, and to
undergo sanctificationis to be in the process ofbeing made holy.
Furthermore, sanctificationmay also denote the practical effectproduced, the
characterand activity, and the resultant state of being sanctifiedto God
(Rom. 6:19, 22).
In the Greek text of the New Testamentmany times the expression“the Spirit,
the holy” is used (1 Thes. 4:8; Heb. 3:7). I believe that the reasonfor this is
that in the New Testamentthe emphasis is not only on the Spirit but also on
holiness. The Spirit has the attribute of holiness and even is holiness.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit is sometimes calledthe Spirit, the holy. Where the
Spirit is, there holiness is also. The all-inclusive Spirit dwells in us with a
condition, a state, of holiness. The Spirit Himself is the essence, the very
substance, ofholiness. When this Spirit enters into our spirit and remains
there as the essenceofholiness, there is in our spirit a condition of holiness.
First Peter1:2 speaks ofthe sanctificationof the Spirit. Sanctificationof the
Spirit here is not the sanctificationofthe Spirit which comes afterjustification
through the redemption of Christ, as revealedin Romans 6:19, 22 and 15:16.
In 1 Peter1 sanctificationofthe Spirit, as the main emphasis of this chapter,
an emphasis on holiness (vv. 15-16), is before the obedience offaith in Christ’s
redemption, that is, before justification through Christ’s redemption (1 Cor.
6:11), indicating that the believers’obedience unto faith in Christ results from
the Spirit’s sanctifying work. The Spirit’s sanctificationin its two aspects is
inclusively revealedin 2 Thessalonians 2:13, which is for the full salvationof
God to His chosenpeople. God’s full salvationis carried out in the sphere of
the Spirit’s sanctification.
SecondThessalonians 2:13 says that God has chosenus “unto salvationin
sanctificationof the Spirit.” The salvation unto which we were chosenby God
is salvationin sanctificationofthe Spirit. Sanctificationof the Spirit is the
divine transformation. By this we are thoroughly saved from all old and
negative things and made a new creationto obtain the Lord’s glory.
Therefore, the Spirit dwells in us for sanctification. The indwelling of the
Spirit is actually our sanctification. The Spirit dwells in us with one goal—to
sanctify us, to transform us. This is sanctificationof the Spirit.
In Romans 15:16 Paul says, that “the offering of the nations might be
acceptable, having been sanctifiedin the Holy Spirit.” Here to be sanctified

means to be separated, to be made holy with transformation in life. This is not
merely objective positional sanctificationbut subjective dispositional
sanctification. This sanctificationis to renew us, transform us, and conform us
to the image of God’s firstborn Son so that we may be fitting to be a living
member of the Body of Christ.
We all need to be sanctified, to be made holy. For us to be made holy means
that we are separatedunto God and become one with Him. If the Spirit did
not have the attribute, the excellency, ofholiness, He could not sanctify us. But
the Spirit does have the attribute of holiness, and this excellencyis His power
to sanctify us, thereby making us distinct from all that is common."
WITNESS LEE
HOLINESS FOR SANCTIFICATION
The New Testament reveals that the Holy Spirit has the attribute of holiness for sanctification (1
Pet. 1:2; Rom. 15:16). In the New Testament the word “holy” means separated to God, set apart
to Him. To be holy is to be different, distinct, from everything that is common. In the universe
there is only one nature that is absolutely different from all other things, and this is the nature of
God. Hence, God is holy. It is not an insignificant matter to be holy, for to be holy is virtually to
be divine. It is to be separate, different, from anything other than God.
Holiness and sanctification both refer to an element that is holy. Holiness refers to the element
itself, for holiness is the nature and quality of being holy. Sanctification refers to the process of
being made holy, the process of being sanctified. A process is going on to make us holy. This
process is sanctification. Therefore, to have holiness is to have the element, and to undergo
sanctification is to be in the process of being made holy. Furthermore, sanctification may also
denote the practical effect produced, the character and activity, and the resultant state of being
sanctified to God (Rom. 6:19, 22).
In the Greek text of the New Testament many times the expression “the Spirit, the holy” is used
(1 Thes. 4:8; Heb. 3:7). I believe that the reason for this is that in the New Testament the
emphasis is not only on the Spirit but also on holiness. The Spirit has the attribute of holiness
and even is holiness. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is sometimes called the Spirit, the holy. Where
the Spirit is, there holiness is also. The all-inclusive Spirit dwells in us with a condition, a state,
of holiness. The Spirit Himself is the essence, the very substance, of holiness. When this Spirit
enters into our spirit and remains there as the essence of holiness, there is in our spirit a condition
of holiness.
First Peter 1:2 speaks of the sanctification of the Spirit. Sanctification of the Spirit here is not the
sanctification of the Spirit which comes after justification through the redemption of Christ, as
revealed in Romans 6:19, 22 and 15:16. In 1 Peter 1 sanctification of the Spirit, as the main
emphasis of this chapter, an emphasis on holiness (vv. 15-16), is before the obedience of faith in
Christ’s redemption, that is, before justification through Christ’s redemption (1 Cor. 6:11),

indicating that the believers’ obedience unto faith in Christ results from the Spirit’s sanctifying
work. The Spirit’s sanctification in its two aspects is inclusively revealed in 2 Thessalonians
2:13, which is for the full salvation of God to His chosen people. God’s full salvation is carried
out in the sphere of the Spirit’s sanctification.
Second Thessalonians 2:13 says that God has chosen us “unto salvation in sanctification of the
Spirit.” The salvation unto which we were chosen by God is salvation in sanctification of the
Spirit. Sanctification of the Spirit is the divine transformation. By this we are thoroughly saved
from all old and negative things and made a new creation to obtain the Lord’s glory. Therefore,
the Spirit dwells in us for sanctification. The indwelling of the Spirit is actually our
sanctification. The Spirit dwells in us with one goal—to sanctify us, to transform us. This is
sanctification of the Spirit.
In Romans 15:16 Paul says, that “the offering of the nations might be acceptable, having been
sanctified in the Holy Spirit.” Here to be sanctified means to be separated, to be made holy with
transformation in life. This is not merely objective positional sanctification but subjective
dispositional sanctification. This sanctification is to renew us, transform us, and conform us to
the image of God’s firstborn Son so that we may be fitting to be a living member of the Body of
Christ.
We all need to be sanctified, to be made holy. For us to be made holy means that we are
separated unto God and become one with Him. If the Spirit did not have the attribute, the
excellency, of holiness, He could not sanctify us. But the Spirit does have the attribute of
holiness, and this excellency is His power to sanctify us, thereby making us distinct from all that
is common." UNKNOWN
The sanctificationof the Spirit
(James Smith, "The GreatComforter" 1858)
"Godhas chosenyou to salvation, through sanctificationof the Spirit." 2
Thessalonians 2:13
To sanctify, is to separate and set apart for holy purposes and holy uses. The
Lord has separatedHis people, by choosing them in Christ to be holy; and He
sanctifies them now for Himself — by the power, operation, and indwelling of
the Holy Spirit.
In sanctification, a work is commencedwhich is to make us exactly like
Christ. A sanctified personhas . . .
his heart changed,
his will renewed,

his understanding enlightened,
his conscience purified, and
his affections spiritualized.
Sanctificationextends to the whole man, soul and body; and is carried on
through . . .
the Word,
the ordinances, and
the providence of God.
Sanctificationhas its seatin the heart; but it regulates the whole man, and
appears in his conduct in every-day life. If a man experiences the sanctifying
work of the Holy Spirit, then . . .
sin grieves him,
Satan tries him,
the world troubles him,
and Heaven attracts him.
Spirit of Jesus, sanctifyus deeply, thoroughly — that we may be just like
Jesus!Sanctify us . . .
by every trial,
by every affliction,
by every privilege,
by every comfort!
By:Algernon James Pollock
"The Apostle Peter, addressing believers, describes them as " Electaccording
to the foreknowledgeofGod the Father, through sanctificationofthe Spirit
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ " (1 Peter1:2).
Please note carefully that in this passage sanctificationis put in order before
the receptionof the gospel. This is borne out by the Apostle Paul in a striking
passage,
" We are bound to give thanks alwayto God for you, brethren beloved of the
Lord, because Godhath from the beginning chosenyou to salvation through
sanctificationof the Spirit and belief of the truth ' (2 Thess. 2:13).

Here the order is very clear. The Spirit of God sanctifies, sets the individual
apart for Divine blessing. From the beginning God choosesmen for salvation.
This is His sovereignact. Sanctificationcomes first, then belief of the truth,
and so salvationis reached.
This is againemphasized by the same writer,
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, andby the Spirit of our God (1
Cor. 6:11).
Note the order here, sanctificationcomes before justification. What then does
sanctificationmean? In these passagesit is the act of the Holy Spirit, and
means the setting of the individual apart in the mind of the Spirit and by His
work for Himself. It is often designatedabsolute sanctificationas opposedto
practicalsanctification, in which latter the Spirit leads the believer to holiness
of life in his practicalways as a Christian. This with all Christians is
progressive as we learn ourselves and God, as we learn to distrust ourselves,
and discoverthe incorrigible nature of the flesh, and learn God in all His
holiness, who says to every Christian, " But as He which hath calledyou is
holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation:because it is written, Be ye
holy: for I am holy " (I Peter1:25, 26).
The Holy Spirit of God dwells in holy people. We are to glorify God in our
very bodies.
" Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that
committeth fornication sinneth againsthis own body. What? know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of
God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore
glorify Godin your body, and in your spirit, which are God's " (2 Cor. 6: 28-
20).
" Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man defile the Spirit of God, him shall God destroy;
for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are ' (1 Cor. 3: 16, 17).
This is most blessed, yet most solemn. How it behooves us, who are indwelt by
the Spirit of God, ever to remember what a tremendous claim to holiness lies
upon us."

THREEFOLD SANCTIFICATION NO. 434
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAYMORNING, FEBRUARY9, 1862,
BY REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,
NEWINGTON.
“Sanctifiedby God the Father.” “Sanctifiedin Christ Jesus.” Jude
1:1. 1 Corinthians 1:2.
“Through sanctificationofthe Spirit.” 1 Peter1:2.
MARK, beloved, the union of the three divine persons in all their gracious
acts!We believe that there is one God, and although we rejoice to recognize
the Trinity, yet it is ever most distinctly a Trinity in Unity. our watchwordis
still—“HearO Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD.” How unwisely do
those young believers talk, who make preferences in the persons of the
Trinity—who think of Christ as if He were the embodiment of everything that
is lovely and gracious, while the Fatherthey regard as severelyjust, but
destitute of kindness; and how foolish are those who magnify the decree of the
Father, or the atonementof the Son, so as to depreciate the work of the Spirit.
In deeds of divine grace none of the persons of the Trinity actapart from the
rest. They are as united in their deeds as in their essence!In their love
towards the chosenthey are one, and in the actions which flow from that great
central source they are still undivided. EspeciallyI would have you notice this
in the case ofsanctification. While we may, without the slightestmistake,
speak of sanctificationas the work of the Spirit, yet, we must take heed that
we do not view it as if the Father and the Son had no part in it! It is correctto
speak of sanctificationas the work of the Father, of the Spirit, and of the Son.
Still does Jehovahsay, “Let Us make man in our own image, after our
likeness,”and thus we are “His workmanship, createdin Christ Jesus unto
goodworks, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”
My brothers and sisters, I beg you to notice and carefully consider, the value
which God sets upon real holiness, since the three persons are representedas
co-working to produce a Church without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing.” Those men, who despise holiness of heart, are in direct conflict with
God. Holiness is the architectural plan upon which God builds up His living
temple. We read in Scripture of the “beauties of holiness.” Nothing is

beautiful before God but that which is holy. All the glory of Lucifer, that son
of the morning, could not screenhim from divine abhorrence when he had
defiled himself by sin. “Holy, holy, holy”—the continual cry of cherubim—is
the loftiestsong that a creature can offer, and the noblest that the Divine
Being can accept!See then, He counts holiness to be His choice treasure. It is
as the sealupon His heart, and as the signetupon His right hand. He could as
soonceaseto be, as ceaseto be holy, and soonerrenounce the sovereigntyof
the world, than tolerate anything in His presence contraryto purity,
righteousness, andholiness. I pray you, you who profess to be followers of
Christ, set a high value upon purity of life and godliness of conversation.
Value the blood of Christ as the foundation of your hope, but, never speak
disparagingly of the work of the Spirit, which is your meetness for the
inheritance of the saints in light; yes, rather, prize it; prize it so heartily, that
you dread the very appearance ofevil! Prize it so, that in your most ordinary
actions, you may be, “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people,
showing forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light.” My design was to have entered at large upon the doctrine of
sanctificationthis morning. I intended to use the word “sanctification”in the
mode in which it is understood among theologians;for you must know that
the term “sanctification” has a far narrowermeaning in bodies of divinity,
than it has in Scripture. But, in studying the subject, I found myself lostin its
ever-widening extent, so that I concluded, to attempt less in the hope of
efficiently doing more. On some future occasionwe will enter at length into
the Spirit’s work, but now, I only call attention to the fact, that sanctification
is treated in Scripture in various ways. I think we may do some service in
illuminating the understanding of believers, if we shall this morning, draw
their attention, not to the theological, but to the Scriptural uses of the term
“sanctifi
ThreefoldSanctificationSermon #434
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cation,” and show, that in God’s holy Word, it has a much wider meaning
than is accordedto it by systematic divines. It has been well said that the Book
of God, like the works of God, is not systematicallyarranged. How different is
the freedom of nature from the orderly precisionof the scientific museum! If
you visit the British Museum, you see all the animals there placed in cases
according to their respective orders. You go into God’s world and find dog

and sheep, horse and cow, lion and vulture, elephant and ostrich roaming
abroad as if no zoologisthad ever ventured to arrange them in classes. The
various rocks are not laid in order as the geologistdraws them in his books,
nor are the stars marked off according to their magnitudes. The order of
nature is variety. Science does but arrange and classify, so as to assistthe
memory. So systematic divines, when they come to dealwith God’s Word, find
Scriptural truths put, not in order for the classroom, but for common life. The
systematic divine is as useful as the analyticalchemist, or the anatomist, but
still the Bible is not arranged as a body of divinity. It is a handbook to heaven;
it is a guide to eternity, meant for the man at the plow, as much as for the
scholarat his table. It is a primer for babes, as well as a classic forsages.It is
the humble, ignorant man’s book, and though there are depths in it, in which
the elephant may swim, yet there are shallows where the lamb may wade. We
bless God that He has not given us a body of divinity in which we might lose
ourselves, but that He has given us His own Word, put into the very best
practicalform for our daily use and edification! It is a recognizedtruth of
God among us, that the Old Testamentvery often helps us to understand the
New, while the New also expounds the Old. With God’s Word self-
interpretation is the best. “Diamond cut diamond” is a rule with a goldsmith;
so must it be with a Scriptural student. They, who would know God’s Word
best, must study it in its ownlight. I. Now, in the Old Testamentwe find the
word “sanctify” very frequently, indeed, and it is used there in three senses.
Let me call your attention to the first one. The word “sanctify” in the Old
Testamentfrequently has the meaning of setting apart. It means the taking of
something which was common before, which might legitimately have been put
to ordinary uses, and setting it apart for God’s service, alone. It was then
calledsanctified or holy. Take, forinstance, the passagein the 13th chapter of
Exodus at the 2nd verse, “Sanctify unto Me all the first-born.” On accountof
the destructionof the first-born of Egypt, God claimed the first-born of men,
and the first-born of cattle to be His. The tribe of Levi was setapart to be the
representatives ofthe first-born, to stand before the Lord to minister day and
night in His tabernacle, and in His temple, hence, those who were thus set
apart to be priests and Levites were said to be sanctified. There is an earlier
use of the term in the 2nd chapter of Genesis, atthe 3rd verse. It is said, “And
God blessedthe seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested
from all His work which God createdand made.” It had been an ordinary
portion of time before, but He set it apart for His own service, that on the
seventh day, man should do no work for himself, but rest and serve his
Maker. So in Leviticus 27:14, you read, “And when a man shall sanctify his
house to be holy unto the Lord,” etc., which was meant as a direction to

devout Jews who setapart a house or field to be God’s; intending that either
the produce of the field or the occupationof the house should be wholly given
either to God’s priests or Levites, or in some other way setapart to holy uses.
Now, nothing was done to the house; there were no ceremonies;we do not
read that it was cleansedorwashedor sprinkled with blood; but the mere
fact, that it was set apart for God, was consideredto be sanctification. So in
the most notable of instances in the Book ofExodus 29:44, we read that God
said, “I will sanctifythe tabernacle of the congregationand the altar,” by
which plainly enough was meant, that He would setit apart to be His house,
the specialplace of His abode, where betweenthe wings of the cherubim the
bright light of the Shekinah might shine forth, the glorious evidence that the
Lord God dwelt in the midst of His people. To the same effectare such as the
following. The sanctificationof the altar, instruments and vessels,in Numbers
7:1, the setting apart of Eleazerthe son of Abinadab, to keepthe ark of the
Lord while it was at Kirjathjearim, 1 Samuel 7:1, and the establishment of
cities of refuge in Joshua 20:7, where in the originalwe find that the word
rendered “appointed” is the same which elsewhere is translated“sanctified.”
It plainly appears from the Old Testamentthat the word “sanctify” sometimes
has the meaning simply and only of setting apart for holy uses. This explains a
text in John 10:36 “Sayyou of Him whom the Father has sanctifiedand sent
into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said I am the Son of God?” Jesus
Christ there speaks ofHimself as “sanctified” by His Father. Now, He was
not purged from sin, for He had none. Immaculately conceived, gloriously
preservedfrom all touch or stain of evil, He neededno sanctifying work of the
Spirit within Him to purge Him
Sermon #434 ThreefoldSanctification
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from dross or corruption! All that is here intended is that He was setapart. So
in that notable and wellknown passagein John 17:19, “And for their sakes I
sanctify Myself that they also might be sanctifiedthrough the truth,” by
which, again, He meant only that He gave Himself up especiallyto God’s
service, to be occupiedonly with His Father’s business. He could say, “It is My
meat and drink to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.”
Brothers and sisters, you understand, now, the text in Jude, “Sanctifiedby
God the Father.” Surely it means that God the Fatherhas especiallysetapart
His people or sanctified them. Notthat God the Fatherworks operatively in

the believer’s heart, although Paul tells us it is God who works in us to will
and to do—that belongs immediately and effectively to the Holy Spirit—but,
He in the decree of election, separatedunto Himself a people who were to be
sanctifiedto Himself foreverand ever. He, by the gift of His Son for them,
redeemedthem from among men that they might be holy; and He, by
continually sending forth the Spirit, fulfils His divine Purpose that they should
be a separate people sanctifiedfrom all the rest of mankind. In this sense
every Christian is perfectly sanctifiedalready. We may speak of believers as
those who are sanctifiedby God the Father, that is to say, they are set apart.
They were set apart before they were created, they were legallyset apart by
the purchase of Christ, and they are manifestly and visibly setapart by the
effectualcalling of the Spirit of divine grace. They are, I say, in this sense, at
all periods sanctified; and speaking ofthe work as it concerns Godthe Father,
they are completely sanctified unto the Lord forever. Is not this doctrine clear
enough to you all? Leave the doctrine a moment, and let us look at it
practically. Brothers and sisters, have we ever realized this truth of God as we
ought to do? When a vessel, cup, altar, or instrument was setapart for divine
worship, it was never used for common purposes again!No man but the priest
might drink out of the golden cup; the altar might not be trifled with; God’s
brazen laver was not for ordinary washing;even the tongs upon the altar and
the snuffers for the lamps were never to be profaned for any common purpose
whatever. What a suggestive and solemnfact is this! If you and I are
sanctifiedby God the Father, we ought never to be used for any purpose but
for God! “What?” you say, “Notfor us?” My brothers and sisters, not for
ourselves!You are not your own; you are bought with a price. “But must we
not work and earn our own bread?” Verily, you must, but still not with that as
your objective. You must still be “diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving
the Lord.” Remember, if you are servants, you are to serve not with eye
service as men-pleasers, but serving the Lord. If any man shall say, “I have an
occupationin which I cannot serve the Lord,” leave it, you have no right in it!
But I think there is no calling in which man canbe found, certainly no lawful
calling, in which he may not be able to say, “Whether I eator drink, or
whateverI do, I do all to the glory of God.” The Christian is no more a
common man than was the altar a common place. It is as greata sacrilege for
the believerto live unto himself, or to live unto the world, as you and I could
have profaned the most holy place, used the holy fire for our own kitchen, or
the censerfor common perfume, or the candlestick for our own chamber.
These things were God’s, none might venture to appropriate them, and we are
God’s and must be used only for Him. Oh, Christians, would that you could
know this! You are Christ’s, God’s; servants of God through Jesus Christ!

You are not to do your own works;you are not to live for your own objectives.
You are to sayat all times, “Godforbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus.” Youare practicallyto take this for your motto, “Forme to
live is Christ and to die is gain.” I fear nine out of ten professing Christians
have never recognizedthis fact. They think if they were to devote a part of
their substance, that would do, or a part of their time will suffice. Oh, Christ
did not buy a part of you! Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christdid not purchase
a part of you! He bought all of you, body, soul and spirit, and He must have
you, the whole person. Oh, if you are to be partly saved by Him, and partly by
yourselves, then live to yourselves!But if God has wholly setyou apart to be
vessels ofmercy fitted for His use, do not rob the Lord; treat not as common
cups those things which are as the bowls of the altar! There is another
practicalthought here. It was a crime which brought destruction upon
Babylon when Belshazzarin his drunken frolic cried, “Bring forth the cups of
the Lord, the goodly spoil of the temple at Jerusalem.” Theybrought the
golden candlestick andthere it stood flaming high in the midst of the marble
hall. The despot, surrounded by his wives and his concubines, filled high the
bowl with the foaming draught, and bidding them pass round the cups of
Jehovah, the heathen, the worshippers of idols, drank confusion to the God of
heaven and earth. In that moment, just as the sacredvesseltouchedthe
sacrilegiouslips, a hand was seenmysteriously writing out his doom—“You
are weighedin the balances and found wanting.” This was the crime which
filled up the ephah of his sin! Now was the meas
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ure of his iniquity fully accomplished. He had used for lascivious and drunken
purposes, vessels whichbelongedto Jehovah, the God of the whole earth. Oh,
take heed; take heed, you who profess to be sanctifiedby the blood of the
covenant, that you reckonit not to be an unholy thing! See to it that you make
not your bodies, which you profess to be set apart to God’s service, slaves of
sin, or your members servants of iniquity unto iniquity, lest, O professors, you
should hear in that hour the voice of the recording angelas he cries, “You are
weighedin the balances and found wanting!” Be you clean, you that bear the
vessels ofthe Lord; and you beloved who hope that you are Christ’s, and have
a humble faith in Him this morning, see that you walk circumspectly, that by
no means you prostitute to the service of sin, that which was setapart in the

eternal covenantof grace to be God’s alone! If you and I are tempted to sin,
we must reply, “No!Let another man do that, but I cannot; I am God’s;I am
setapart for Him; ‘how shall I do this greatwickednessandsin against
God?’” Let dedication enforce sanctification. Think of the dignity to which
God has calledyou—Jehovah’s vessels, setapartfor the Master’s use!Far
from you, far from you be everything which would make you impure! When
Antiochus Epiphanes offered a sow on the altar of the Lord in the temple at
Jerusalem, his awful death might have been easilyforetold. Oh, how many
there are who make a high profession, who have offered unclean flesh upon
the altars of God! So many have made religion a stalking-horse to their own
reward, and espousedthe faith to gain esteemand applause among men!
What says the Lord concerning such? “Vengeancebelongs unto Me, I will
recompense says the Lord” (Heb 10:30). Their god was their belly; they
gloried in their shame; they minded earthly things—and they die justly
accursed. Spots are they in your solemn feasts;wandering stars for whom is
reservedthe blacknessofdarkness forever! But, you beloved, be not carried
awaywith the error of the wicked, but keepyourselves unspotted from the
world. II. Secondly, in the Old Testament, the word “sanctify” is now and
then used in another sense, one which I do not perceive to be hinted at in our
Biblical Cyclopedias, but which is needed to make the subjectcomplete. The
word “sanctify” is used, not only to signify that the thing is setapart for holy
uses, but that it is to be regarded, treated, and declaredas a holy thing. To
give you an instance, there is a passagein Isaiah 8:13, which is to the point,
when it is said—“Sanctifythe Lord of Hosts, Himself.” You clearly perceive
that the Lord does not need to be setapart for holy uses;and the Lord of
Hosts needs not to be purified, for He is Holiness itself! It means adore and
reverence the Lord; with fear and trembling approach His throne; regard
Him as the holy one of Israel. But let me give you other instances. When
Nadab and Abihu, as recordedin the 10th of Leviticus, offered sacrifice to
God and put strange fire on the altar, the fire of the Lord went forth and
consumed them. And this was the reasongiven—“Iwill be sanctified in them
who come near Me.” The Lord did not mean that He would be set apart, nor
that He would be made holy by purification, but, that He would be treated
and regardedas a most Holy Being, with whom such liberties were not to be
taken! And again in Numbers 20:12, on that unfortunate occasionwhen
Moses losthis temper and smote the rock twice, saying, “Hearnow, you
rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock?” The Lord said that he
should see the promised land but should never enter it; the reasonbeing,
“Because youbelieved Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of
Israel,” by which He meant that Moses hadnot actedas to honor God’s name

among the people. A yet more familiar instance occurs in what is commonly
called“The Lord’s Prayer.” “Our Father which are in heaven, sanctified be
Your name.” The word “hallowed” is simply an English variation; the Greek
is “sanctifiedbe Your name.” Now, we know that God’s name does not need
purifying, or setting apart— so that the sense here canonly be, “Let Your
name be reverencedand adored throughout the whole earth, and let men
regard it as being a sacredand holy thing.” My beloved brothers and sisters,
have we not some light here concerning our secondtext— “Sanctifiedin
Christ Jesus.”If the word “sanctified” may mean “regardedas holy and
treated as such,” can you not see how in Christ Jesus the saints are regarded
by God as being holy and treatedas such? Mark, we do not lay that down as
being the only meaning of the text, for we shall have to show that another
sense may be attached to it. There are certain brethren who have enlarged
upon our being sanctified in Christ, and have almostforgotten the work of the
Spirit. Now, if they only speak ofour being sanctifiedin Christ, in the sense of
being treated as holy, in fact as being justified, we have no quarrel with them;
but if they deny the work of the Spirit, they are guilty of deadly error. I have
sometimes heard the term used, “Imputed sanctification,” whichis sheer
absurdity! You cannoteven use the term, “Imputed Justification.” “Imputed
righteousness”is correctenough, and implies a glorious doctrine; but
justification is not imputed, it is actually conferred!We are justified through
the imputed righteousness
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of Christ, but as to sanctificationbeing imputed, no one who understands the
use of language canso speak!The term is inaccurate and unscriptural. I know
it is said that the Lord Jesus is made of God unto us, wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption; but this sanctificationis not by imputation,
nor does the text say so. Why, you might as readily prove imputed wisdom, or
imputed redemption by this text, as force it to teachimputed sanctification!It
is a fact, that for the sake of what Jesus Christdid, God’s people, though in
themselves but partially sanctifiedas being yet subject to sin, are for Christ’s
sake treatedand regarded as if they were perfectly holy. But this, according to
theologicaldefinitions, is rather justification than sanctification;it must,
however, be admitted that the Scripture sometimes uses the word
“sanctification” insuch a manner as to make it tantamount to justification.

This, however, we can clearlysee, that God’s people have accesswithboldness
to the Lord, because theyare regardedthrough Christ as though they were
perfectly holy. Oh, brethren, think of this for a moment! A holy God cannot
have dealings with unholy men. A holy God—and is not Christ Jesus God?—
cannot have communion with unholiness, and yet you and I are unholy! How,
then, does Christ receive us to His bosom? How does His Father walk with us
and find Himself agreed? BecauseHe views us, not in ourselves, but in our
greatfederal Head, the SecondAdam, He looks atus— “Notas we were in
Adam’s fall, When sin and ruin coveredall; But as we’ll stand another day,
Fairerthan sun’s meridian ray.” He looks on the deeds of Christ as ours—on
His perfectobedience and sinless life as ours, and thus we may sing in the
language ofHart— “With Your spotless garments on, Holy as the Holy One.”
We may boldly enter into that which is within the veil, where no unholy thing
may come, yet where we may venture because Godviews us as holy in Christ
Jesus. This is a greatand precious doctrine; but still, since the use of the term
“sanctification” in any other sense than that in which it is commonly
employed as meaning the work of the Spirit, tends to fosterconfusednotions,
and really does I fear lead some to despise the work of the Spirit of God, I
think it is better, in ordinary conversationbetweenChristians, to speak of
sanctificationwithout confounding it with what is quite a distinct act, namely,
justification through the imputed righteousness ofour Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Yet, if we hear a brother so talk, we must not be too severe upon him,
as though he assuredly erred from the faith, for in Scripture, the terms
“sanctification” and“justification” are frequently used interchangeably, and
Christ’s righteousness made the subject matter of both works of divine grace.
III. We now come to the usual sense in which the word “sanctification” is
employed. It means to actually purify or make holy; not merely to setapart
nor to accountholy, but to make really and actually so in nature! You have
the word in this sense in many places in the Old Testament. You will find it in
Exodus 19:10-12. Onthe third day God was about to proclaim on the top of
Sinai His holy law, and the mandate went forth, “Sanctify the people today
and tomorrow,” which sanctificationconsistedin certainoutward deeds by
which their bodies and clothes were put into a cleanstate and their souls were
brought into a reverential state of awe. In the Third of Joshua you find when
the children of Israelwere about to pass the Jordan, it was said, “Sanctify
yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” They were to
prepare themselves to be beholders of a scene so august, when Jordan was
driven back and the river was utterly dried up before the feet of the priests of
God! There was in this case an actualpurification. Men in the old times were
sprinkled with blood, and thus sanctified from defilement and consideredto

be pure in the sight of God. Now, this is the sense in which we view our third
text, “Sanctificationthrough the Spirit,” and this, I repeat, is the generalsense
in which we understand it in common conversationamong Christians.
Sanctificationbegins in regeneration. The Spirit of God infuses into man the
new principle calledthe spirit, which is a third and higher nature, so that the
believing man becomes body, soul, and spirit. And in this he is distinct and
distinguished from all other men of the race of Adam. This work, which
begins in Regeneration, is carried on in two ways—by vivification and by
mortification; that is, by giving life to that which is good, and by sending
death to that which is evil in the man; mortification, whereby the lusts of the
flesh are subdued and keptunder, and vivification, by which the life which
God has put within us, is made to be a well of waterspringing up unto
everlasting life. This is carried on every day in what we call perseverance, by
which the Christian is preservedand continued in a gracious state, andis
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made to abound in goodworks unto the praise and glory of God. And it
culminates, or comes to perfection, in “glory,” when the soul, being
thoroughly purged, is caught up to dwell with holy beings at the right hand of
the Majestyon High. Now, this work, though we commonly speak ofit as
being the work of the Spirit, is quite as much the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ as of the Spirit. In looking for texts on the subject, I have been struck
with the factthat where I found one verse speaking ofit as the Spirit’s work, I
found another in which it was treatedas the work of Jesus Christ. I can well
understand that my secondtext, “Sanctifiedin Christ Jesus,” has as greata
fullness of meaning as the third, “Sanctificationthrough the Spirit.” Lend me
your attention. I fear that not many of you will be interested, except those of
you who have a share in this precious work. Others may think the subject too
dry for them. Oh that they may yet know how precious to believers is the
purifying work of sanctification!Sanctificationis a work in us, not a work for
us. It is a work in us, and there are two agents—oneis the Workerwho works
this sanctificationeffectually—thatis the Spirit—and the other, the Agent, the
efficacious means by which the Spirit works this sanctificationis—Jesus
Christ and His most precious blood! Suppose, to put it as plainly as we can,
there is a garment which needs to be washed. Here is a person to washit, and
there is a bath in which it is to be washed. The person is the Holy Spirit, but

the bath is the precious blood of Christ. It is strictly correctto speak ofthe
person cleansing, as being the sanctifier—itis quite as accurate to speak of
that which is in the bath, and which makes it cleanas being the sanctifier, too.
Now, the Spirit of God sanctifies us. He works it effectively. But He sanctifies
us through the blood of Christ, through the waterwhich flowedwith the blood
from Christ’s side. To repeatmy illustration—here is a garment which is
black;a fuller, in order to make it white, uses niter and soap, both the fuller
and the soapare cleansers;so both the Holy Spirit and the atonement of
Christ are sanctifiers!I think that will be plain enough. Let us enlarge upon
the doctrine. The Spirit of God is the greatworkerby whom we are cleansed.
I shall not, this morning, quote the texts. Mostof you have the “Baptist
ConfessionofFaith,” published by Passmore andAlabaster, and the
“Catechism,”whichare generallydistributed among the families of our
Church. They will furnish you with abundance of texts on that subject, for
this is a doctrine which is generally receivedamong us—that it is the Spirit of
God who creates in us a new heart and a right spirit, according to the tenor of
the covenant—“Anew heart will I give them, and a right spirit will I put
within them.” “I will put My Spirit within them, and they shall walk in My
ways.” He renews and changes the nature—turns the bias of the will—makes
us seek afterthat which is goodand right, so that every goodthing in us may
be described as “the fruit of the Spirit,” and all our virtues and all our graces
are efficiently workedin us by the Spirit of the living God. Never forgetthis, I
pray you, brothers and sisters;never, never! Oh, it will be an ill day for any
church when the members begin to think lightly of the work of the Holy Spirit
within us! We delight to magnify the work of Christ for us, but we must not
depreciate the work of the blessedSpirit in us. In the days of my venerable
predecessor, Dr. Gill, who was in the opinion even of ultra-Calvinists, sound
to the core, this pernicious evil broke out in our Church. There were some
who believed in what was called, “Imputed Sanctification,” anddenied the
work of the blessedSpirit. I was reading last night in our old Church-book, a
note written there in the doctor’s ownhandwriting, as the deliberate opinion
of this Church—“Agreed:That to deny the internal sanctificationof the
Spirit, as a principle of divine grace and holiness workedin the heart, or as
consisting of divine grace communicatedto and implanted in the soul, which,
though but a begun work, and as yet incomplete, is an abiding work of grace,
and will abide, notwithstanding all corruptions, temptations, and snares, and
be performed by the Author of it until the day of Christ, when it will be the
saints’ meetness foreternal glory—is a grievous error, which highly reflects
dishonor on the blessedSpirit, and His operations of grace on the heart; is
subversive of true religion and powerful godliness, andrenders persons unfit

for church communion. Therefore, it is further agreed, that such persons who
appear to have embracedthis error be not admitted to the communion of this
church; and should any such who are members of it appear to have received
it, and continued in it, that they be forthwith excluded from it.” Two members
then present declaring themselves to be of the opinion condemned in the
above resolution, and also a third person who was absentbut who was well
known to have been under this awful delusion, were consequently excluded
that evening. No, more, a person of another church who held the opinion thus
condemned, was forbidden to commune at the table, and his pastor at
Kettering was written to upon the subject, warning him not to allow so great
an errorist to remain in fellowship. The doctorthought the error to be so
deadly that he used the pruning knife at once!He did not stop till it spread,
but he cut off the very twigs!And this is one of the benefits
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of church discipline when we are enabled to carry it out under God—that it
nips error in the very bud— and thus those who as yet are not infected are
kept from it by the blessedprovidence of God through the instrumentality of
the Church! We have always held, and still hold and teachthat the work of
the Spirit in us, whereby we are conformed unto Christ’s image, is as
absolutely necessaryfor our salvation, as is the work of Jesus Christ, by which
He cleanses us from our sins. Pause here one moment, and let me not distract
your minds while I say, that while the Spirit of God is said in Scripture to be
the author of sanctification, yet there is a visible agentwhich must not be
forgotten. “Sanctifythem,” said Christ, through Your truth. Your Word is
truth.” Young men of the Bible class, look up the passages ofScripture which
prove that the instrument of our sanctificationis the Word of God. You will
find that there are very many. It is the Word of God which sanctifies the soul!
The Spirit of God brings to our minds the commands and precepts, and
doctrines of the truths of God, and applies them with power. These are heard
in the ear, and being receivedin the heart, they work in us to will and to do of
God’s goodpleasure. How important, then, that the truths of God should be
preached! How necessarythat you never tolerate a ministry which leaves out
the greatdoctrines or the greatprecepts of the gospel!The truth of God is the
sanctifier, and if we do not hear the truth, depend upon it, we shall not grow
in sanctification. We only progress in sound living as we progress in sound

understanding. “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my
paths.” Do not say of such-and-such an error, “Oh, it is a mere matter of
opinion.” If it is a mere matter of opinion today, it will be a matter of practice
tomorrow! No man has an error of judgment, without sooneror later having
an error in practice. As every grain of truth is a grain of diamond dust, prize
it all! Hold fast the truths of God which you have received, and which you
have been taught. “Hold fastthe form of sound words,” and in this day when
articles are ridiculed, when creeds are despised—holdfastto that which you
have receivedthat you may be found “faithful among the faithless,” forby so
holding the truth of God shall you be sanctifiedby the Spirit of God. The
agent, then, is the Spirit of God working through the truth. But now let me
bring you back to my old figure. In another sense we are sanctifiedthrough
Christ Jesus, because itis His blood and the waterwhich flowedfrom His side
in which the Spirit washes ourheart from the defilement and propensity of
sin. It is said of our Lord—“Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself
for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of waterby the
Word, that He might presentit to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot,
or wrinkle or any such thing.” Remember again, “Jesus also, thatHe might
sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate.” “He who
sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not
ashamedto call them brethren.” I say again, there are hundreds of texts of
this kind. “You shall callHis name Jesus, for He shall save His people from
their sins.” “Godforbid that I should glory save in the cross ofour Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world.” In that
memorable passagewhere Paul, struggling with corruption, exclaims, “Oh
wretchedman that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”—
the answeris not concerning the Holy Spirit; but he says, “I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Space forbids the multiplication of texts; but
there are many passages to the effectthat our sanctificationis the work of
Jesus Christ. He is our sanctifier, for He filled the sacredlaver of regeneration
in which we are washed, filled it with His blood and with the waterwhich
flowed from His side, and in this, by the Holy Spirit, we are washed. There is
no being sanctifiedby the law; the Spirit does not use legalprecepts to
sanctify us—there is no purification by mere dictates of morality, the Spirit of
God does not use them. No, just as when Marah’s waters were bitter, Moses,
to make them sweet, commandedthem to take a tree and cast it into the
waters, and they were sweet, so the Spirit of God, finding our natures bitter,
takes the tree of Calvary, casts it into the stream, and everything is made
pure. He finds us lepers, and to make us cleanHe dips the hyssop of faith in
the precious blood, and sprinkles it upon us and we are clean. There is a

mysterious efficacyin the blood of Christ not merely to make satisfactionfor
sin, but to work the death of sin. The blood appears before God, and He is
well-pleased. It falls on us—lusts wither, and old corruptions feel the death
stroke!Dagonfalls before the ark, and although the stump is left, and
corruptions still remain, yet Christ shall put an end to all our inbred sins, and
through Him we shall mount to heaven perfect even as our Father, which is in
heaven, is perfect! Just as the Spirit only works through the truth, so the
blood of Christ only works through faith. Young men of the Catechumen and
Bible classes, againI say, turn to your Bibles at your leisure, and look up the
many passageswhichspeak offaith as sanctifying the soul, and purifying the
mind. Our
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faith lays hold on the precious atonement of Christ. It sees Jesussuffering on
the tree and it says—“Ivow revenge againstthe sins which nailed Him there.”
And thus His precious blood works in us a detestationof all sin, and the Spirit
through the truth of God, working by faith, applies the precious blood of
sprinkling, and we are made clean and are acceptedin the beloved. I am
afraid that I have confusedand darkened counselwith words; but yet, I think,
I may have suggestedsome trains of thought, which will lead you to see that
holy Scripture teaches us a sanctification, not narrow and concise,so as to be
written down with a short definition as in our creedbooks—butwide, large
and expansive!A work in which we are sanctified by God the Father,
sanctifiedin Christ, and yet have our sanctificationthrough the Spirit of God.
Oh, my dear hearers strive after practicalholiness!You who love Christ, do
not let any sayof you—“There is a Christian, but he is worse than other
men.” It is not our eloquence, our learning, our fame, or our wealth that can
ever commend Christ to the world; it is the holy living of Christians! I was
speaking, the other day, to a brother minister about this Bi-centenary
movement, which I fearwill be an immense injury to Christ’s Church. I
fearedlest it should be made an opportunity for strife among the brethren;
error must be corrected, but love must not be wounded. He remarked, and I
thought it was so truthful, that the only way by which Dissentflourished of old
was, by the then superior holiness of its ministers, so that while the Church
clergyman was hunting, the Dissenting minister was visiting the sick, and said
he, “This is the way in which we shall lose power, if our ministers become

political and worldly, it will be all over with us.” I have never shunned
rebuking, when I thought it necessary, but I hate contention. The only
allowable strife is to labor that can be the most holy, the most earnest, the
most zealous—who cando the most for the poor and the ignorant—and who
can lift Christ’s cross the highest! That is the wayto lift up the members of
any one particular denomination—by the members of that body being more
devout, more sanctified, more spiritual-minded than others. All mere party
fights will only create strife, animosities, and bickering—and are not of the
Spirit of God! But to live unto God and to be devoted to Him—this is the
strength of the Church; this will give us the victory, God helping us, and unto
His name shall be all the praise! As for persons here who are not converted
and are unregenerate, I cannot address you about sanctification. I have
opened a door this morning, but you cannotenter. Only remember, that if you
cannot enter into this, you cannotenter into heaven, for— “Those holygates
forever bar Pollution, sin and shame. None shall obtain admissionthere, But
followers of the Lamb.” May it be yours, by God’s grace, to come humbly and
confess your sins, and ask and find forgiveness, and then, but not till then,
there is hope that you may be sanctified in the Spirit of your mind. The Lord
bless you for Jesus’sake. Amen."
By Rev. Professor Candlish,
THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IN SANCTIFICATION.
In conversion, as we have seen, according to Scripture and
Christian experience, the Holy Spirit effects a radical change in
the soul. By working in us faith and repentance, He imparts to
us a new principle of life, the principle of godliness or love to
God, which is the ruling motive of every genuine Christian. This
seems to be what is calledin one remarkable passage " the seed

of God" (i John iii. 9), and in another"that which is begotten
of the Spirit" (John iii. 6) ; and the possessionofthis divine
principle of life makes an essentialdifference betweenthose who
are born againand even the best of those animated by merely
selfishor earthly motives But this does not imply that the child
of God is at once perfect in holiness. On the contrary, since the
Spirit of Godmay and often does lay hold of the very lowestand
most sinful ; the materials, so to speak, on which this work is
wrought are often very unlikely ; and as it is not done magically,
or by mere power, but by the influence of grace, in accordance
with the essentialconstitutionof man, and in the way of a vital
process, it is only by degrees that the soul is completely renewed.
A new principle or ruling motive is imparted by regeneration, and
the Christian is no longerunder the influence of selfishness as his
highest impulse, but is really possessedwith love to God and
faith in Jesus Christ. This new principle more or less influences
the whole nature : the thoughts, the feelings, the desires, the
actions, all are affectedby it ; so that in a true sense it may be
said there is an entire renewal. The regenerate has not only a
new belief, or a new hope, or a new love, or a new conduct, but
all these together; he is a new man, a new creature.
Yet his renewalis not complete in any part. The faith of the

Christian, though real and sincere, is not perfect at first, but often
mingled and interrupted with distrust ; his love, though genuine,
may not be strong enough to encounter hardships or temptations : in
a word, though he has a germ of spiritual life implanted within him,
which in principle is higher than anything of which unrenewed men
partake, he is still besetwith allurements to sin, and possessed
with tendencies or habits of yielding to these allurements. He
really loves God and hates sin ; that is the ruling principle of his
soul : but that does not remove all possibility of sin, it does not
make the pleasures ofsin less attractive to his senses, orthe self-
denial that God requires less painful to flesh and blood : it does not
destroy the power of habit which may have been contractedby
former acts of self-indulgence ; nor does it obviate the possibility
of missing the path of duty through mistake or heedlessness.
Such is the state in which the New Testamentdescribes the
converts to Christianity as being, with their hearts filled with a
new affection, love to God and Christ, yet prone to many sins,
sometimes of a gross and shocking nature, and needing to have
the most plain moral duties enforcedon them. The spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak ; nay, the flesh lusteth againstthe
spirit.
By these adverse influences the principle of love to God in the

heart might be overcome and choked, were it not continually
nourished and strengthened by the same powerthat implanted it
at first. If the influence of the Holy Spirit in regenerationwere
a merely transient impulse, however powerful, the renewaleffected
by it would not be complete, and might not be lasting. The new
impulse of love to God would be continually opposedby the
remaining tendencies and temptations to evil, and would be in
clangerof either degenerating into a mere sentiment, without
influence on practicallife, or being entirely extinguished in course
THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IN SANCTIFICATION. 91
of time. In order to escapethese dangers, the new life in the
soul must be fed and encouraged, so thatit may grow and gain
strength ; and this, Scripture declares, is done by the Holy Spirit
in the work of progressive renewalorsanctification.
The Holy Spirit is said not only to be given, but to dwell in
Christians (Rom. viii. 9, 11 ; 1 Cor. vi. 19; John xiv. 17 ; 1 John
ii. 27); and this indicates His continual working. As the Spirit
of God is in His essenceomnipresent, His coming upon any one
denotes, not any localmovement, but His beginning to work
upon such a one in a way He had not done before ; and so His
abiding upon, or dwelling in men, means His continuing to

influence them as He had begun. The Holy Spirit kindled the
new life of faith and love in a twofold way, outwardly by pre-
senting the grace and love of God in the gospel, and inwardly by
opening the heart to receive that grace and love. In a like
twofold manner He continues His work, and thereby nurtures the
faith that He implanted at first. By the Holy Spirit the grace of
God as revealedin Christ continues to be presentedto the soul ;
and the gospel, as it is the means of our new birth, so also is
it the means of our growth in spiritual life. Hence Peter, after
reminding Christians that they have been born againof incor-
ruptible seedthrough the Word of God, exhorts them as new-born
babes to "long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, 1 that
they may grow thereby unto salvation" (1 Pet. ii. 2). The
spiritual nourishment of our souls is the gospel, or Christ who is
presentedin the gospel. Christ crucified is, as Augustine said,
both milk for babes and meat for men. This spiritual food
nourishes the soul as it is receivedby faith and love ; and the
gospelpresenting Christ to us calls forth these graces into con-
tinual and active exercise, and so promotes their growthand the
increasing perfectionof the Christian character. The revelation
1 This rendering of the RevisedVersion is more in accordancewiththe
usage of the language than " the sincere milk of the word ; " but though the

reference to ch. i. 23 is thereby effaced, we need not doubt that it is the word
of God that is meant, of God that is made in the person, and teaching, and
work of
Jesus, and in the blessings that flow from these, is most fitted to
increase and confirm that faith or trustful reliance on God's
mercy, and that repentance or aversionfrom evil and turning to
God, which form the beginning and principle of Christian life.
These when continued in exercise tend to promote that life, by
acquiring the strength and persistencyof a habit, and gradually
weakening orexpelling contrary habits and overcoming tempta-
tions. This is that walking by the Spirit (Gal. v. 25), after the
Spirit (Rom. viii. 4-14), in Christ (Col. ii. 6), repeatedly enjoined
on Christians as the work of their life and the means of their
growth. It denotes a continual exercise offaith and repentance
as at the first, looking everto Christ and to God, with the same
feelings of trust, penitence, and love, as when the gospelfirst
came to the soul with its blessedmessageofglad tidings. For
this end the Word of God must be the constantstudy of the
believer ; and it is a means that the Holy Spirit uses for his
sanctification.
But the Spirit also acts more directly on the soul in this work.
The various virtues of the Christian characterare described as

the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. v. 22) ; by the Spirit God reveals to
us His hidden wisdom (1 Cor. ii. 10) ; by the Spirit we are
transformed into the image of the Lord (2 Cor. iii. 18); by the
Spirit we mortify the deeds of the body (Rom. viii. 13); by the
Spirit we are strengthened in faith and love (Eph. iii. 16). These
and other passagesindicate a work of the Spirit that consists
not merely in presenting to us the revelation of God in Christ,
which is fitted to draw our faith and love into continual exercise ;
but in opening our minds to perceive and our hearts to feel the
grace ofGod thus revealed, and so actually producing in us the
exercise offaith and love. We find from experience, that in the
progress as in the beginning of Christian life, we are not entirely
dependent on the external presentationof God's grace. The
very same passages ofGod's Word or views of its truths, that
at one time produced the most deep and salutary effects, enlighten-
ingthe mind, melting the heart to penitence and love, stimulating
and encouraging the soulto resolutions and efforts after holiness,
may at another time be read or heard, and understood exactly
in the same way, and yet fail to make any such impression
These spiritual effects, that are not traceable merely to the mora
influence of the truth, and that canas little be accountedfor by
our own will or by external circumstances, are mostreasonablyto
be ascribedto that direct working of the Holy Spirit on the souls

of believers of which Scripture speaks. If in the primitive Church
the Spirit of God was recognisedas the author of the extraordinary
gifts of prophecy, tongues, healing : must we not assignto the
same source that spiritual insight by which the truths of God are
opened up, that devotionalfervour that finds spontaneous utter-
ance in earnestpleading prayer, and that zeal for goodworks
that effects things for the goodof men that seemedimpossible
before ? The abiding graces, offaith, hope, and love, are in Paul's
estimate higher and more divine than the bestof the supernatural
gifts, and they cannot be conceivedas less directly due to the
agencyof the Holy Spirit.
More particularly, the Holy Spirit works in the process of
sanctificationby producing in the soul those specialvirtues which
may be lacking in particular persons, or neededon particular
occasions.One Christian, for example, may be constitutionally
defective in courage, anotherin meekness, anotherin patience,
and so on. These specialqualities the Spirit of God can and
does bestow ; as Paul reminds Timothy, who seems to have
been naturally of a timid and shrinking disposition, " God gave
us not a spirit of fearfulness, but of power, and of love, and of
discipline " (2 Tim. i. 7) ; or as the fiery spirit of the son of
thunder was chastenedand refined, so that he became the

Apostle of love. There are specialaspectsofGod's revelation
in Christ fitted to draw forth specialvirtues, and to discourage
and check the faults opposedto them ; and these the Holy Spirit
uses for these ends ; as we may see how Paul's secondletter to
Timothy sets forth those views of Christian truth and experience
that are most likely to encourage andstrengthen a timid dis-
ciple ; and Jesus, whenHe had occasionto rebuke the intolerant
zeal of James and John, showedthem in word and deed the
grace and love of His mission. 1 The dealings of Providence
too, more especiallythe trials and afflictions of life, are made
the means of promoting and perfecting in believers specialvirtues
in which they may be defective, such as meekness,patience,
hope. At the same time, there is also a direct agencyof the
Holy Spirit here ; for all these virtues are described as the fruit
of the Spirit ; they are all developments in various directions of
the right state of heart towards God, expressedin faith and
repentance, which is wrought and maintained by the Spirit of
God in the heart. The new life of Christianity is a unity ; and
though, on accountof the imperfect and abnormal condition of
most Christians, it does not show itself with perfect symmetry ;
yet it tends towards moral excellence andperfection in every
direction, and the more vigorous the central principle of religious
life is, the more will particular virtues be developed and

increased.
The Spirit's work of sanctificationis thus the continuance and
development of regeneration; and is relatedto it as preserva-
tion is to creationin the natural world. But just as preservation
differs from creationin this, that in it God works by means, and
with the co-operationofthe creatures ; so in the Spirit's work of
sanctificationthere is a co-operationofthe human will, such as
cannot be admitted in regeneration. In implanting the new life
at first, the Holy Spirit has to dealwith a soul, that is indeed
essentiallyactive^ but in regardto spiritual religion insensible
or opposedto the call of God. Hence this work is entirely due
1 Luke ix. 54-56. The words, " Ye know not what manner of spirit ye
are of : for the Son of man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save
them," are indeed of doubtful authenticity ; but they are thoroughly in the
Spirit of Christ, and more likely to have been omitted than added in the
time of the oldestMSS. Anyhow we may be sure that it was what he
saw and felt of the love of Christ, that softenedthe natural characterof
John.
THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IN SANCTIFICATION. 95
to the divine power ; we are His workmanship, createdin Christ

Jesus unto goodworks. But in the preservationand develop-
ment of the new life, the Spirit has to deal with a soulthat is
now spiritually alive, that is able and inclined to work in the
same direction as His work. Hence in this process ofsanctifica-
tion we are calledto be fellow-workers with God ; we are to
work out our own salvation with fearand trembling, because it
is God that workethin us to will and to do. Such exhortations
continually occurin the Epistles, in close connectionwith state-
ments of the work of Godby His Spirit in our sanctification.
The knowledge we have of the reality of that work ought not to
lead us to be less earnestand diligent in our own efforts, but
rather more so : for it assures us that our efforts shall not be
in vain, as we might fear they would be, if we had only them to
look to for success.Nordoes the sanctifying work of the Holy
Spirit render our co-operationneedless; for though the Spirit's
poweris indeed divine, and therefore all-sufficient, yet it is
exercisedin a waysuited to our nature, not only as men, but as
now having spiritual life, and able to know, desire, and seek for
spiritual blessings. The fear and trembling, with which Paul
says Christians ought to engage in the work, are not due to
uncertainty or want of hope as to the issue, but are the emotions
that ought naturally to arise from the knowledge that we are so
closelyassociatedwith God in the work. If we have any right

apprehension of the greatness, the glory, the holiness of God,
we must feelthat it is a solemn and awful thing to be fellow-
workers with the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is holy. With what reverence should we engage in
the work of purifying ourselves, how careful should we be that
our hearts are right with God, and our ends and aims in harmony
with His, how fearful lestby heedlessnessorself-seeking we
provoke His holy anger! In Scripture there are warnings not
only to unbelievers that they resistnot the Holy Spirit, but also
to Christians that they do not grieve that blessedAgent (Eph.
iv. 30); and it is indicated that the Spirit is grieved when we
indulge in anger, bitterness, or malice, or anything opposedto
God's holy law. If we rebel and grieve His Holy Spirit, God
may turn to be our enemy and fight againstus (Isa. Ixiii. 10) ;
and wheneverwe fall into any grievous sin, we have reasonto
pray with the Psalmist, "Takenotthy holy spirit from me"
(Ps. li. 11). If it is the holy God who thus works in us by His
Spirit, well may we be filled with fearand trembling as we work
out our own salvation.
Yet we have the assurance thatGod our Saviour is able to
keepus from falling, and to presentus blameless before the
presence ofHis glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24) ; that

saints are kept by the powerof Godthrough faith unto salva-
tion (1 Pet. i. 5) ; and that He who hath begun a goodwork in
us will perfect it until the day of Christ (Phil. i. 6). So we may
give ourselves to this work in the confidence and hope that such
promises are fitted to inspire, and be strong in the Lord who
sanctifies us, and who has said, " I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee."
CUMMINGS
THE SECRET OF SANCTIFICATION.
“The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus made me free
from the law of sin and of death.” — Rom. viii. 2.
N ext to the work of glorifying Christ, the Sancti-
fication of Believers must be regardedas having
the chief j)lace in the administration of the Church by
the Spirit of God.
1. The text at the head of this chapter speaks ap-
parently only of freedom as given by the Holy Ghost.
But it is freedom from the law of sin, under which,

in chapter vii. 23, Paul represents himself as having once
been in ‘^captivity.” It stands here for the whole work
of Sanctification, at leaston its negative side, which
consists in being set free from the dominion of sin, by
the powerof the Spirit, to serve God in newness of heart
and life.
2. Many misapprehensions have gatheredround the
question, What is Sanctification? and how is it to be
accomplishedin the soul? Some of these we must deal
with ere we go on to the more direct exposition of the
subject of this chapter.
(1) It is, then, a grievous mistake to suppose that the
sanctificationof the believer is a matter of course, as
to which he need not trouble himself, but which will
come.^ of necessity, as the inevitable result of what has
gone before. It might be sufficient to reply to this no-
tion, that it ignores the whole question of backsliding^
which is not only a possible thing, but one of the most
common and grievous facts of Christian experience.
It may even be said that the course ofsome believers
is little more than backsliding from the time of their

conversion, so that their light becomes dim as the glow-
worm’s spark, or even as ‘Hbe smoking flax;” and the
only comfort one has regarding them is in falling back
on the thought that they ‘^shall be saved, ” though ‘‘so
as through fire.”
So far from encouraging us to think that the new life
of the soul in us will go on of itself, and of necessity,
the New Testamentcontinually warns Christians to
“give all diligence” to “make their calling and election
sure,” to “watchand pray,” to “give earnestheed” to
the things that they have heard, to “hold fast that
which they have, that no man take their crown;” and
to “fearlest haply a promise being left of entering into
His rest, any one should seemto have come short of
it.” Let every Christian beware of the folly of sitting
down in unconcern, and leaving his renewedsoul to
take care of itself! The “lusting of the flesh” will in
that case soonassertitselfto his downfall.
(2) It is another and a more common mistake to
suppose that the method of sanctificationis to be simply
that of gradual growth. This mistake tells againsta

Christian in two ways: it leads him to expectno posi-
tive holiness for a long period of years allowedfor the
growth in question; and it prevents him from taking
any definite steptowards holiness, so leading him back
into the state of heedlessnessand unconcernwhich has
been already described. If the view which is at the
root of this mistake were correct, no young Christian
could be holy, — contrary to the blessedfact that “grace
abounding” is to be found in some of them which puts
the oldestto shame. And what is to be said of the
painful fact, jar more common than is supposed, of no
growth of holy characterin men who have long been
Christians? How many are forcedto confess thatthey
have been either standing still or positively going back!
And how many must the Lord address as He did the
Church at Ephesus — “I have this againstthee, that
thou didst leave thy first love. Remember therefore
from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works” (Rev. ii. 4, 5).
As to gradual growth, moreover, there are two things
to be said. The one is, that the growthof vegetable
and animal life, if carefully lookedat, is by no means

the gradualand slow process whichis often supposed.
Take a tree, for instance. Fora great part of the
year its growth is stopped entirely; for another part its
progress has become slow and insensible; while in a
third part it shoots up with remarkable speed. In some
years it grows only a little, in others a greatdeal. In
other words, there are long periods in which nothing
comparatively is gained; again, there are sudden out-
bursts of life, and it is a delusion to think only of a
steady, slow process. So is it — though to an extent
even more marked — in the Christian life. The growth
is broken into stages, whichare quite recognizable, as
well as their causes.
The secondremark to be made about growth is that
it depends greatly on health. Sickness stops it. And
such arrestedgrowth is to be restoredonly by the cure
of the disease whichhas brought it on the sj^stem. It
is exactly so with the soul. When the soul is making
no progress in holiness, or very little, delay is no rem-
edy. The cause of arrestmust be removed, if the growth
is to be resumed.
These are, no doubt, very elementary truths; yet,

such has been the neglectof the subject, that they
seemto be discoveries to many who are taught them.
(8) A third misapprehensionabout sanctificationis
that it is to be gainedby our own personalefforts — by
working for it. We make it our aim. We do all we
can to bring it about. We use the means, and it does
not come. Greatis the bondage into which many fall,
and in which they continue for years, by this unceasing
effort to become godly, and by its fruitlessness. No
amount of anxiety spent upon the question of growth
will enable us to grow. And no anxiety about it is
needful, if we will only fulfill the conditions and re-
move the hindrances. ^‘Which of you by being anx-
ious can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matthew vi.
27). Growth is not the product of effort, but of life.
Neither a tree nor a man grows by effort. ‘‘Taking
thought” and spending anxiety about it is not the way
to grow. If we hut take the hindrances out of the road,
the life will and must grow of itself. And that, little
as many seemto think or know it, is speciallytrue in
spiritual things, in the growth of the Christian soul.

(4) One more mistake into which men fall is to sup-
pose that the work of sanctificationhe shared
betweenGod and them. We make the effort, and we
ask God to bless it. Nay, we go a step farther, and re-
quest God to help us to be holy, which obviously means
that we should do part, and that God should come in
to complete the work, and do that part of it which we
cannot fully do. And it is true that in Scripture we have
many inspired prayers for the help of God; but these
are confined to outward work or defense againstfoes,
where it is our duty to labor, and where God’s bless-
ing is to be lookedfor upon our obedience. This is a
different case from growing in holiness, where God
must do the whole or nothing; where He will not share
the work with us, much less do the smallerpart of it.
3. In contradistinction to these and similar mistakes,
the Scriptural method of sanctificationis being made
free from the law of sin by the Spirit of Life, Tl)e
personalAgent in the work is ‘Hhe Spirit ” — ‘‘the
Spirit of Life,” It is God’s work, done by the Holy
Ghost, and the way in which He does it is to “make
Christ our Sanctification^^ {1 Cor. i. 30). There is great

variety in the modes of His working, as in all God’s
works;and the order in which the steps are taken
differs greatly, according to circumstances,thereby
largely modifying the results. In describing these steps
according to what seems to me the normal order, it
must not therefore be understood tjiat they always
come so, and no otherwise. Where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty.”
(1) First, then, when the Holy Ghostwould lead the
Christian soul into fuller holiness, He begins by con-
victiiig it of the sin of the poor life it has hitherto been
leading. There is a sense in which all unsanctified
Christians are ready enoughto acknowledgethat they
are ‘‘far from what they should be.” But then they
take refuge in the thought of their natural sinfulness
and imperfection — that they cannot be otherwise than
imperfect here, and are anxious to guard againstthe
errors of those who advocate “sinlessness:” in fine,
they comfort themselves in their lives of sinful temper,
or selfish ease, orpride, or covetousness, and are con-
tented to live on as they have been doing. All which
is sin. And the Holy Ghostlays upon them the pain-

ful conviction that it is so — that they should be mis-
erably ashamed of their present life as Christians, and
should seek deliverance from it. This is far from being
a happy or cheerful condition of soul; but it is thus
that the Spirit usually begins His work of further sanc-
tifying the believer.
(2) Next the Spirit brings home to the soul a very
deep and awful sense ofits own helplessnessto make
itself holy. He brings us, as it has been put, to the
end of self — to something like self-despair— to the
same condition as to holiness which we formerly knew
as to conversionand the new life. Strange as it sounds,
we never make much progress in holiness till we find
that we can do nothing to produce it. Indeed, so
needful is it to come to this that God often lets the
soul go on for a time making its vain efforts, because
nothing else will teach it that there is a better way.
(3) But with all these things, there is within the soul
of the believer so dealt with an ever-growing hunger
after righteousness^ whichcannotbe appeasedtill he
receives the desire of his heart. When the ‘^sacred

thirst” for God Himself comes into a man, it perhaps
never departs till it is satisfied. We can see how God
has been leading up to it for months, and even years,
beforehand; but the Holy Ghost bestows it at last as a
‘^gift. ” This is the meaning of that benediction of the
Lord which meets the Christian at one of his lowest
levels, and which promises to him that he shall be
'^filled.”
(4) These are steps which more or less fulfill what is
known as the ^^emptying” of the soul in preparation
for the receptionof w^hat God is ready to give. Then
there comes the cry thus expressedby St. Paul: 0
wretchedman that I am! who shall deliver me out of
the body of this death?” And the answer:‘H thank
God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom vii. 24,
25). Here are two steps in one — the renunciation of
self in the matter, and the casting of the soulupon
God in Christ to do the work for us. Saying No to
self, and Yes to God. The denial of self, and the ac-
ceptance ofGod’s powerin faith. The whole attitude
of the soul towards God in sanctificationhas been

changed. And this is the turning-point of the future.
(5) So then a crisis has come in which a mighty stejD
has been taken. Some have calledthis crisis by one
name, some by another, all these being more or less ob-
jectionable, suchas ‘Hhe SecondConversions'^ ‘Hhe
Entrance into Fullness of Blessings'^ ^‘PerfectLorn”
I call it nothing but a very critical moment in the
Christian life, somewhatanswering to the words
Paul in Col. iii. 9, 10, which indicate a definite ‘‘put-
ting off” of “the old man,” and “putting on” of “the
new man.” But whether we seek to give it a new name
or avoid giving it one, it is a moment to which we must
come, consciouslyorunconsciously, and more or less de-
cidedly, as the turning-point of the Christian life in
the matter of sanctification.
(6) There comes next the assurance thatGod has ac-
cepted the soul in this new and definite yielding of
itself to Him to be made holy. This is a most impor-
tant step. God^s acceptanceis the sealof our contin-
uance; and our knowledge ofit the pledge of our
comfort and peace. Whereverthis is wanting, there is

instability; whereverthis is present, there is great
security. I have given; God has accepted;and, because
I am His altogether. He is now concernedto keepme,
and will keep.
(7) This all issues in a state of trust— am per-
suaded that He is able to guard that which I have com-
mitted unto Him” (2 Timothy i. 12). I trust Him for
this thing; I have laid this burden upon Him; I will
not fear. He cando all; He will do all! I am safe!
Safe, however, only in Him!
(8) And then there is progress. Plentyof growth,
because the life is unhindered, and is free to actaccord-
ing to its own laws. There is “freedom from the law”
(the continuous prevalence of the power) “ofsin ;” free-
dom to serve God; freedom to yield to God; freedom
to rejoice in God. We are no longer driven to say, I
cannot; “whenI would do good, evil is present with
me: the things that I would I cannot do, and the evil
that I would not that I do.” No. Now we say, ‘‘God
can; Christ can do it in me; I trust Him; I abide in
Him; I look to Him for this.” And it comes;it is

done; yet “it is no more I that do it, but” Christ that
“dwellethin me. ” “I live, and yet no longer I, but
Christ liveth in me,”
(9) The progress is perpetual. The way in which it
goes onis by new discoveries,through the Holy Ghost,
of things to be surrendered to God, and of things to be
acceptedfrom Him. We thought that all was given
up, when, lol a new something appears, and we discover
how far we are from being perfect. But so soonas it
is seen, it is yielded. We do not strive againstGod.
We do not keepit from Him. It is His, and we gladly
make it over to Him. That is how the Christian learns
obedience, and goes on.
(10) Now, ALL this is the work of the Holy Ghost,
even where His name is not mentioned; and when the
names of Fatherand Son are prominently brought for-
ward, the Spirit in the backgroundis energizing all.
He is convicting;He is humbling; He is discovering;
He is leading on. And then there are, lastof all, —
(11) The blessings concerneddirectly with the Per^

sonalHoly Ghost — such as being filled with Him, It
is often, probably generally, only after His work in the
soul has somewhatadvancedthat we are encouragedto
direct our eye to Himself. This seems the law of His
work. And in many ways we can see how goodit is,
how needful for the soul’s welfare, how steadying in
its effect. A great many of the extravagances in the
Christian life of which we read and hear are due to the
attention being absorbedin the Holy Spirit Himself
and His work, before the heart has been fully yielded
to God. He does not make Himself^ hut Christy ‘‘on^
Life.’^'^ He is the Sanctifier, but Christ is the ‘^Sancti-
fication.” It is when we have learned the distinction
betweenthese two, that we have come to discern the
secretof sanctification.
SANCTIFICATION:THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND
SCRIPTURE
William D. Barrick ProfessorofOld Testament
Sanctificationis inseparable from regeneration;where there is one, the other
must also exist. Sanctificationis the process ofmaking holy, whether in the
OT or the NT. God’s holiness is complete, comparable to no one else, and is

incompatible with sin. Man’s holiness is progressive as it seeks to match the
holiness of God in dedicating everything to Him. Both Testaments multiply
references to God’s holiness as the foundation for human holiness. The
believer progressesin his own sanctificationthrough the ministry of the Holy
Spirit and through attention to the Scripture, but humans also have a role in
sanctification. Theymust live out what they possessby the grace of God.
Introduction
James calls believers to be alert to the harm of being spiritually adulterous or
friends with the world (Jas 4:4). Instead, the believer should seek to be a
friend of Christ—he ought to submit to God, draw near to God, cleanse his
hands, and purify his heart (vv. 7–8). As the children of God, Christians must
demonstrate a Christlikeness in their behavior—a behavior that avoids
entanglement with the world. In his “Forward” to the Shepherds’ Conference
2002 reprint edition of J. C. Ryle’s classicbook, Holiness:Its Nature,
Hindrances, Difficulties, & Roots, JohnMacArthur writes,
More than a century has passedsince Ryle’s Holiness was first published, and
today the book is more timely than ever. All the erroneous notions Ryle
confronted still flourish among evangelicals.Wrong notions about
sanctificationare still frustrating believers in their quest for genuine practical
holiness. And that is why this superb nineteenth-century work is still a fitting
antidote to much of what ails mainstream evangelicalism at the
Ryle summarized the issue of sanctificationby declaring, “He that is born
againand made a new creature receives a new nature and a new principle,
and always lives a new life. . . . In a word, where there is no sanctification
there is no regeneration, andwhere there is no holy life there is no new birth.”
Positionalsanctification2 involves what is initial, inward, and permanent at
salvation. Positional(or, initial) sanctificationdemands progressive
sanctification—the demonstrationof an outward and progressive holiness in
the life of the saint. In regeneration(the new birth), both the incorruptible
seedof the Word of God (1 Pet 1:23) and the Holy Spirit (John 3:58; Titus
3:5) play a role. Accordingly, the same two agents involved in initial
sanctificationbring about the progressive sanctificationofthe believer.

Defining Sanctification
Linguistically, conceptually, and theologically, holiness comprises the root of
sanctification. By definition, sanctificationrefers to the process ofmaking
holy. Thus, a proper understanding of sanctificationmust start with the
meaning of “holy” (Hebrew: – ãÅ ÷È, qâdçs ¡; Greek:ž ãéïò, hagios).
Potentially, two different Greek words convey the conceptof holiness. In the
ancient Greek games, whenjudges found it impossible to determine a victor,
the presiding officials assignedthe prize to one of the gods, thus making that
prize “holy” (Êåñüò, hieros), in other words, setapart to a deity, because no
one but a god could determine who had won. Thus, hieros could refer to a
“deadheat”—a tie without resolution. In the New Testament(NT), the 3 same
Greek rootoccurs in words for “priest” (Êåñåýò, hiereus; Matt 12:4) and
“temple” (Êåñüí, hieron; Matt 4:5). Paul employs a form of the adjective in 1
Cor 9:13 to speak of“sacredservice” andin 2 Tim 3:15 to identify the
“writings” (Scripture) as “sacred.”Scripture writers do not use hieros as the
most common Greek term for holiness, but the term is available to them.
Hagios occurs far more frequently (over 230 times in the NT). It forms the
foundational root for “holiness” (•ãéùóýíç, hagiôsunç;2 Cor 7:1),
“sanctification” (•ãéáóìüò, hagiasmos;1 Thess 4:3-7), and “make holy” or
“sanctify” (ãéÜæù, hagiazô;John 17:17). “Saint” translates hagios whenit
is used as a title for the Christian believer. First, holiness refers to that which
is totally other, that which one dedicates completelyto God alone. The
Scriptures identify holiness as an attribute fundamental
“Forward” in John Charles Ryle, Holiness:Its Nature, Hindrances,
Difficulties, & Roots (1879;1 reprint, Moscow,Idaho:Charles Nolan
Publishers, 2002)viii–ix. Ibid., 21.2 Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,
Henry Stuart Jones, Roderick McKenzie, eds., A Greek-3 EnglishLexicon,
9th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996)822.
Sanctification:The Work of the Holy Spirit and Scripture 181
to God’s character. According to James MontgomeryBoice, “The Bible itself .
. . calls God holy more than anything else. Holy is the epithet most often
affixed to his name” (cf. Rev 15:4 and Matt 6:9). Indeed, the title “the Holy

One” (Job 6:10, – |ã÷È, 4 qâdôs ¡) appears to be one of the oldest names for
God. Occurring most often in the title “the Holy One of Israel,” this name
comprises the key divine title in the Book ofIsaiah (1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20;etc.—
a total of 30 times). Holiness sets Godapart from His creation; it distinguishes
Him from everything. God’s holiness, therefore, involves proclaiming Him as
“Wholly Other.” In other words, as D. A. Carsondeclares, “notto revere God
as holy is not to revere God as God.” 5 Secondly, holiness identifies God’s
absolute moral perfection. He is without sin. In short, the two aspects ofGod’s
holiness identify Him as both incomparable to others and incompatible with
sin. As William Shedd explains, God’s holiness 6 cannot be defined the same
way as man’s holiness. Christians’holiness, as believers who have been
sanctifiedand proceedto grow in holiness, relates to their conformity to God’s
own moral standards or, as Shedd puts it, “moral law.” “Holiness in God
must, consequently, be defined as conformity to his own perfectnature. . . . He
is righteous by nature and of necessity.” His sanctity consists ofthe purest and
highest 7 form of holiness.
Biblical Demonstrationof God’s Holiness Until a personunderstands what
the holiness of God involves, he will have difficulty comprehending what his
own holiness should involve. The OT depicts God as unique and absolutely
incomparable—He alone is God, the Exalted One, the Most High, the Creator,
the King, and the Redeemer(Isa 40:12-28;41:1-29;43:1-13;44:68; 45:1-7;
45:18–46:13). The Servant passagesin Isaiah focus on the identification of
God as God alone, unique, the Only One, sovereign, Lord and Masterof
creation, of history, of redemption, and of judgment. These passagesin Isaiah
provide comfort for the people by majoring on this description of God. Only
in that kind of God can hope reside. Since He has perfect control over all
things, His people can rely on Him for peace, rest, comfort, and forgiveness.
Being completely righteous and holy, God loves righteousness (Ps 11:7;cp. v.
6), but hates sin (Amos 5:21-23). Sin is an abomination to God. It is what He
James MontgomeryBoice, Foundations ofthe Christian Faith: A
Comprehensive & Readable4 Theology, rev. ed. (Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity, 1986)125. D. A. Carson, “I Peter,” in Commentary on the New
TestamentUse of the Old Testament, ed. by5 G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007)1018. Cf. Eugene H. Merrill, Everlasting

Dominion: A Theologyofthe Old Testament(Nashville:B &6 H Publishing,
2006)56:“By holy at leasttwo things are meant: (1) that God is separate from
all else that exists . . . and (2) that his holiness is translatedinto moral and
ethical perfection.” William G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, 3 vols., Classic
Reprint (1888;reprint, Grand Rapids:7 Zondervan, 1971)1:362.
182 The Master’s Seminary Journal
abhors. Sin is violent, disobedient, immoral, crass, crude, and filthy. Sin
produces guilt and separates fromGod. Therefore, He judges sin and sinners
in His wrath (Isa 5:16; Ezek 28:22—to execute judgment means to manifest
holiness;Rev 6:10). Divine wrath exhibits divine holiness;by it God shows
that He is holy (Num 20:13—to judge means to prove holy; 1 Sam 6:20). Only
One Who is sinless has the right, authority, or capacityto judge sin. Divine
judgment originates in God’s total otherness and His total uniqueness and
control. When God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind, He askedJobif he had
been present when the Lord createdthe earth and all things that are in it (Job
38:4). Then God askedJobwhether he had ever commanded the dawn (v. 12),
bound the chains of the Pleiades (v. 31), led forth the constellations in their
seasons(v. 32), or fixed the ordinances of the constellationsoverthe Earth (v.
33). God confronted Job with his having spokenas though he should be
justified while God should be condemned (40:8). Coming to the end of His
revelation to Job, God suggests that Job clothe himself with majesty (v. 9),
pour out his anger on the proud (v. 11), and tread down the wicked(v. 12).
Only the Creatorcanjudge the wicked. Unless Job had createdand had
control over creation, he cannotjudge the arrogantand wicked. Jobcan save
himself only if he can both create and judge as Godhas done and will do (v.
14). Hannah confessedsuchthings of God in her prayer: “There is no one holy
like the LORD, indeed, there is no one besides You” (1 Sam 2:2). Only the
Creatorcan judge; only the Judge can redeem. A proper view of the saints’
sanctificationmust include an accurate understanding of the holiness of God.
His holiness is the foundation of believers’ holiness, as Peter’s admonition
recalls:“but like the Holy One who calledyou, be holy yourselves also in all
your behavior” (1 Pet1:15). MacArthur concurs:“If we don’t understand the
holiness of God, we won’t understand our own sinfulness.” 8 Once the student
of Scripture has identified the conceptof holiness, he can develop the meaning

of sanctificationby applying the biblical conceptof holiness to sanctification.
MacArthur makes the connectionby stating that “Sanctificationdoes not
mean perfection. It means separation. It speaks ofbeing setapart from sin
and setapart unto God.” Thus, John Walvoord writes that the “three main
ideas of 9 consecration, separation, andpurification combine in the central
idea of holiness.”10
Securing Sanctification
By what means does the believer progress in sanctificationin this life? How
John MacArthur, Jr., God: Coming Face to Face with His Majesty(Wheaton,
Ill.: Victor, 1993)8
47.
John MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel:When the Church BecomesLike
the World (Wheaton,9 Ill.: Crossway, 1993)167. JohnF. Walvoord, The Holy
Spirit: A Comprehensive Study of the Personand Work of the Holy1 0 Spirit
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991)210.
Sanctification:The Work of the Holy Spirit and Scripture 183
does he become more set apart to God and setapart from sin? Scripture
speaks ofliving a life of holiness as an obligation, not an option.
Substantiating Synergism in SanctificationThree agents work together(i.e.,
synergize) to sanctify the believer: the Spirit, the Scriptures, and the saint.
The saint cannotattain sanctificationwithout the Spirit and the Scriptures.
Those two agents are primary in the process ofmaking the believermore and
more holy.
The Spirit’s Role. All three Persons ofthe Godheadactas agents of
sanctification:(1) The Father provides ultimate sanctification(1 Thess 5:23),
(2) the 11 Son involves Himself in initial/positional sanctification(Eph 5:26),
and (3) the Spirit provides initial/positional sanctification(2 Thess 2:13). To
examine progressive 12 (outward) sanctification, one needs to remember the
continuity of sanctificationbetweenthe two testaments. In the OT, God
reveals that the Holy Spirit provides the solution to impurity stemming from

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