CHAPTER TWELVE
The Holy Spirit And Sanctification
Timothy P. Jenney
This chapter focuses on the Holy Spirit and sanctification, even though all three members of the Trinity are involved. The plan is God’s. His desire is nothing less than the sanctification of the entire world and all its people. Jesus Christ died to make that plan possible, but His work on the Cross is finished (John 19:30; cf. Heb. 10:10–14). The active agent in sanctification today is the Spirit of God. His leading role in this process is indicated by His most common title, the Holy Spirit, and the cleansing symbols by which He is represented in Scripture: water and fire.1
The title “Holy Spirit” appears ninety-four times in the New Testament (including the single appearance of “Spirit of holiness” at Rom. 1:4). Alternate titles for the Spirit all appear far less often.2 While some might argue that “Holy Spirit” is a simple shortening of the “Spirit of the Holy [One],” the title cannot be explained away so casually. God the Father has many unique attributes, any one of them—eternality, omnipotence, omniscience—could have served to identify the Spirit as well as holiness. The writers of the New Testament used the phrase “Holy Spirit” so often because they recognized the Spirit’s significance for the sanctification of the world.
The symbols these writers used of the Spirit are also illuminating. The cleansing rituals of the Old Testament (about which we will say more later) use blood, water, and fire. The first of them point to the ministry of Jesus; the second and (to some degree) the third, to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is often symbolized by water (Isa. 44:3–4; Ezek. 36:25–27; Joel 2:23; cf. 2:28; John 7:38–39; cf. 19:34) or spoken of in terms usually reserved for fluids: “pour out” (Zech. 12:10; Acts 2:17–18; 10:45), “filled” (Luke 1:15; Acts 2:4; Eph. 5:18), “anointed” (Isa. 61:1–2; cf. Luke 4:18), even “baptize” and “baptism” (John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 1 Cor. 12:13). Less often the Spirit is symbolized by fire (Acts 2:3; Rev. 4:5) or found in close association with it (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16). They were powerful symbols to Jewish audiences familiar with the baptisms and other purification rituals of first-century Judaism. Our misunderstandings about sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit may be due, in part, to our lack of knowledge about those purification rituals.
Generally, when people today speak of the Spirit’s work with regard to sanctification, they mean a spiritual process (or experience) through which one passes that makes one more holy. Some identify this experience with salvation, others identify it as a subsequent experience, still others identify it as a process that includes both previous experiences and more. But the sanctifying work of the Spirit is more comprehensive yet. It is an integral part of God’s entire plan for humanity, His “salvation history.”3 As such, it includes His work with the converted and the unconverted.
Still, many are most concerned about how sanctification applies to them as individuals. That concern is appropriate. After all, God’s plan for the world is achieved one person at a time. The practical questions about the sanctification of a person may be put quite simply:
What is sanctification?
Does it happen all at once or is it a process?
How does it relate to salvation?
What does it mean to be holy (or “sanctified”)?
Who is responsible for making us holy and what can be done if we fall short of true holiness?
Does the believer ever reach a stage where it becomes impossible to sin, sometimes called Christian perfection?
Before we answer these questions, it will be helpful to define terms, explain the limits of our study, and review the doctrine of sanctification throughout Church history.
DEFINITION OF SANCTIFICATION
It should be obvious from the preceding paragraphs that sanctification is presented here in its broadest sense. Sanctification is the process by which God is cleansing our world and its people. His ultimate goal is that everything—animate and inanimate—will be cleansed from any taint of sin or uncleanness. To this end He has provided the means of salvation through Jesus Christ. At the end of time He also intends to consign to the fire everything that cannot or will not be cleansed (Rev. 20:11 through 21:1; see also 2 Pet. 3:10–13), thus cleansing the earth of everything that is sinful.
The task of the Holy Spirit at this present stage in the history of salvation is fourfold: (1) to convict the world, (2) to cleanse the believer through the blood of Christ at the new birth, (3) to make real in the believer’s life the legal pronouncement of righteousness that God has made, and (4) to empower the believer to assist in the sanctification process of others by (a) the proclamation of the gospel to the unbeliever and (b) the building up of the believer.
Typically, theologians use the term “sanctification” only to speak of the third one of these four tasks of the Holy Spirit. In this narrower sense, A.H. Strong defines sanctification as “that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which the holy disposition imparted in regeneration is maintained and strengthened.”4 Charles Hodge agrees with the Westminster Catechism, which defines sanctification as “the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.”5 We have no quarrel with either of these explanations, but find Millard Erickson’s definition of the term the clearest statement of our understanding of this part of the process. He says: “It is a continuation of what was begun in regeneration, when a newness of life was conferred upon and instilled within the believer. In particular, sanctification is the Holy Spirit’s applying to the life of the believer the work done by Jesus Christ.”6
SANCTIFICATION IN CHURCH HISTORY
Our purpose is not to make a comprehensive historical study of the theology of sanctification. Such a study would review all of the positions the Church has ever taken on the issue as well as the circumstances leading to those positions. Our intention is to explain what the Bible says about the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. This will help those who want to increasingly live more pleasing to God.
The Church has had theological strengths and weaknesses in every age, including our own. They can often be understood better by a look at the historical ebb and flow of various doctrines in the past. Due to limitations of space we cannot include a comprehensive study of the historical theology of sanctification. Our study can, however, serve as a guide to the development of the doctrine.7 Whatever else one may learn from such a study, it is of some comfort to know that others in the Church have struggled with the practical implications of this doctrine.
The earliest followers of Jesus expected and preached His return at any moment (Acts 2; 7). So they placed a great deal of emphasis on salvation and evangelism (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:7–8). As the years unfolded and the coming of Christ was delayed, the writings of the New Testament indicate that certain problems developed in the Church (1 Thess. 4:13–18; 1 Pet. 3:3–18). For example, some believers did not live holy lives, but used their freedom from the Jewish legal code as an excuse for licentious behavior (e.g., the churches at Corinth, Galatia, Colossae and those in Rev. 2 through 3). Others (the Judaizers) argued that the solution to the problem was for both Gentile and Jewish Christians to obey the Mosaic Law (Acts 15), a suggestion that threatened to diminish the importance of the sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 6:4–6). Though the defeat of this suggestion was a milestone in keeping Christianity accessible to people of all races, it did not solve the very real problem of how to maintain a holy life in a fallen world.
The post-New Testament Church rapidly retreated from the biblical doctrine of a sanctification of pure grace, one given and maintained solely by the power of God. Instead, it sought a compromise between the Pharisaic and legalistic interpretation of the Mosaic Law (Matt. 23) and the unlimited forgiveness taught by Jesus (Matt. 6:9–15; cf. 18:21–35) and expounded by Paul (Rom. 3:21–24). In short, despite all of Paul’s letters and missionary efforts, many failed to learn the lessons of sanctification.
The way in which the Church compromised is illuminating. According to Louis Berkhof,8 the early church fathers wrote little about the doctrine of sanctification. Ignatius of Antioch did teach that “having Jesus within you” brought moral renewal.9
The Early Church did, however, teach that salvation was dependent upon a combination of faith and good works. Specifically, they said that Christian baptism cleansed one from previous sins, but moral failure after Christian baptism required some form of counterbalancing of penance or good works.10
Augustine, whose writings shaped the Catholic Church to a great degree, thought of sanctification as a “deposit of God in man.” Berkhof summarizes Augustine’s doctrine, saying, “Since he believed in the total corruption of human nature by the fall, he thought of sanctification as a new supernatural impartation of divine life … operating exclusively within the confines of the Church and through the sacraments.”11
Augustine’s emphasis on the role of the sacraments in the process of sanctification had an important influence on the Church. Even more important though was his insistence that these sacraments were exclusively the property of the Church. At the height of the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas expanded this doctrine, teaching that the Church controlled a “treasury of merit” which it might apportion to a believer in need of it. After Christian baptism, a believer’s venial sins12 could be offset by the sacrament of communion, while the more severe “mortal sins” required some form of penance.13
The leaders of the Reformation were distressed by the corruption they saw in the Catholic Church. Consequently, they de-emphasized the role of both the institutional church and the sacraments in sanctification. They argued that sanctification was the work of the Spirit “primarily through the Word and [only] secondarily through the sacraments.” They also said that “justification provides the motive force in sanctification.”14
Pietists and Methodists, in despair over the lack of spiritual vitality in their own ranks, removed the process even further from the control of the Church. They argued that the Holy Spirit achieved this work by means of the believer’s love, devotion, and obedience to Christ along with a desire for practical holiness and a striving for perfection.15 They emphasized an individual and personal spiritual relationship, rather than participation in an activity sponsored by the institutional church: the sacraments (Catholicism) or the preaching of the Word (Lutheranism).
John Wesley himself was even more extreme, teaching that those without spiritual vitality had been saved, but not sanctified. He believed that justification and sanctification were two separate works of grace. Salvation was the first; sanctification the second. He often called the latter work Christian perfection, saying that it precluded any voluntary transgression of the laws of God (he was willing to admit that involuntary transgressions might still occur). This perfection he defined as loving God and your neighbor, having the mind that was in Christ Jesus, having the undivided fruit of the Spirit united together in the soul of the believer, and having the moral image of God renewed in righteousness and true holiness. “This,” he said, “is perfection.” The solution to the spiritual problems of the Church in his day was this second work of grace, sanctification. Sanctification would provide a greater personal spirituality and increased power for work in the harvest fields of the world.16
The Holiness movement of the mid-1800s to early 1900s, faced with the lackluster spirituality of their own (often what became “former”) denominations, adopted many of the features of early Methodism. These features included the distinction between a first and a second work of grace and the emphasis on personal spirituality. In many instances, this second work of grace was identified as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As in the teachings of John Wesley, this experience provided both increased spirituality (or “holiness”) and more power for service.17
Other church leaders of the time agreed with the Holiness groups that the church was in need of renewal, but disagreed with their solution. One of them was Charles Finney, who took a more modest approach. He agreed with the Wesleyan teaching of a second (instantaneous) work of grace, but taught that it was not a work of sanctification; it was an enduement with power.18
Reuben A. Torrey was another important church leader in this area. Encouraged by evangelist Dwight L. Moody, he offered a different slant on this doctrine. He taught that sanctification was a process, but that power for service came from the baptism in the Spirit. In other words, he rejected the Holiness identification of the baptism of the Spirit as a “second work of grace” that provided holiness. He retained the term “baptism of the Spirit,” agreed that it was subsequent to salvation, and taught it was solely a divine gift of spiritual power.19
The increasing emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit in the late nineteenth century paved the way for the renewal of Pentecostalism in the early twentieth century. However, some early Pentecostals argued that baptism in the Holy Spirit was a third work of grace: (1) salvation, by which a person was cleansed from the sins of the unregenerate life; (2) sanctification, which provided victory over sin in this life in the Wesleyan sense; and (3) baptism of the Holy Spirit, which empowered the believer for service to God and people.20 These latter two seemed to relegate the rest of the Church to a lower spiritual status, encouraging a Pentecostal spiritual elitism. Non-Pentecostals soon came to characterize all Pentecostals as elitist, even those that had not taken such extreme positions. Unfortunately, the doctrine of sanctification seems to have been lost in the heat of the battle.
At present a renewed emphasis on the doctrine of sanctification is sorely needed in Pentecostal circles. First, few Pentecostals would argue that they themselves are in need of spiritual renewal today. Despite the large numbers of believers baptized in the Holy Spirit, many Pentecostal churches lack the vitality and effectiveness evident in earlier years. Second, the Pentecostal emphasis on Spirit baptism and supernatural gifts of the Spirit have resulted in an underemphasis on the rest of the work of the Spirit, including that of sanctification. Third, wider acceptance of Pentecostals and charismatics appears to have threatened the traditional distinction between the Church and the world, calling many old holiness standards into question. Finally, modern Pentecostals relish their newfound popularity and are anxious to avoid any appearance of spiritual elitism, lest that popularity be lost.
SANCTIFICATION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
TERMINOLOGY
Qadash and Its Cognates. The Hebrew qadash, often translated “be holy,” carries the basic idea of separation or withdrawal from ordinary use in order to be dedicated to God and His service. It is found in the Bible both as a verb (“to be set apart,” “consecrated”) and as an adjective (Heb. qadosh, “sacred,” “holy,” “dedicated” [thing, place, person, etc.]), whether that quality applies to God himself or places, things, persons, or times sanctified or set apart by (or to) God.21 The New Testament typically uses the Greek hagiazō and its cognates (e.g., Gk. hagios) to communicate the same idea.
Perhaps the best way to define holiness is in terms of God’s character. The Bible clearly teaches that God’s fundamental characteristic is holiness. He says it of himself, “‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (Lev. 11:44; see also 1 Pet. 1:15–16); people proclaim it, “‘He is a holy God’” (Josh. 24:19); the seraphs worshiping God affirm it, “‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty’” (Isa. 6:3; cf. Rev. 4:8); even Jesus, God’s Son, calls him “Holy Father” (John 17:11).
The prophet Amos said, “The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness” (Amos 4:2), later adding, He “has sworn by himself” (Amos 6:8), indicating that holiness is central to His innermost essence [cf. 6:8], which is different from anything He has created as well as being separated from all sin and evil. “God’s holiness becomes an expression for his perfection of being, which transcends everything creaturely.”22
Perhaps the best contemporary word to communicate this idea is “alienness,” that is, if one can ignore its often negative connotation. Holiness, in its basic sense, is something neither human nor earthly; it is of another realm entirely. That is to say, a holy God is a God who is separate and distinct from His creation (the opposite of the teaching of pantheism).
We understand this quality of holiness to be the essential character of deity that He can impart. It is the manner in which God imparts this quality that is of most interest to us, particularly as it relates to individuals. The problem is that humankind, since the Fall, is living in a fallen world and is not holy. Yet God desires to have fellowship with us. Since He cannot become less holy in order to fellowship with us, we must become more holy.
God communicates this idea in the Old Testament in a variety of ways. First, He tells His people, “‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (Lev. 11:44). Then, He consecrates a variety of things to facilitate His fellowship with His people, His “holy nation” (Ex. 19:6): a holy priesthood to officiate (Ex. 29:1; 1 Sam. 7:1), with holy garments (Ex. 28:2–4; 29:29), a holy tabernacle (or temple) in which to dwell among His people (Ex. 29:31; Lev. 16:24; Ps. 46:4; 65:4), certain “holy days” on which they were to cease from everyday tasks and worship God (Ex. 16:23; Lev. 23:32; Jer. 17:21–27), even holy water for cleansing impure individuals (Num. 5:17).
Taher and Its Cognates. The Hebrew taher is not as common as qadash in the Old Testament, but it is at least as important for understanding sanctification. Its root meaning is “to be clean, pure.” The cleanness may refer to ceremonial cleanness, moral purity, or even the relative purity of a metal.23 In terms of its use, there does not seem to be any great distinction made between cleansing from physical impurity (contamination by contact with unclean substances) and cleansing from spiritual impurity (moral corruption). The former is much more common; the latter seems to be a logical extension of it.
Altogether the nouns of this group appear only nineteen times, but the adjective appears ninety times. In Genesis it is used only of “clean” animals (Gen. 7:2,8; 8:20) and in Exodus only of pure materials, most often of pure gold (Ex. 25:11–39; 30:3; 39:15; etc.). Leviticus tends to use it in terms of ceremonial cleanness (Lev. 4:12; 13:13,17, 40–41), as does Numbers (Num. 5:28; 18:11, 13; 19:9,18–19).
The shift from concrete to abstract use is instructive, for it illustrates the transition. The Lord’s words are said to be pure (Ps. 12:6), His eyes “too pure to look on evil” (Hab. 1:13), that is, with approval. An individual’s fear of the Lord is “pure” (Ps. 19:9). The Psalmist cries, “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (Ps. 51:10; cf. Prov. 22:11). Ezekiel says God will “cleanse” His people from idolatry (Ezek. 36:25).
The verb is found eighty-nine times in various forms in the Old Testament, thirty-eight of which appear in a single book: Leviticus, which gives detailed instructions for the various rituals of cleansing.
THE CLEANSING RITUALS
The Old Testament teaches that something may be separated from God by either sin or uncleanness. One can obtain forgiveness from the sin by offering the appropriate sacrifice; cleansing from uncleanness requires that one go through the appropriate purification ritual. These rituals are important since they are visual presentations of spiritual truths.
There are a number of purification rituals described in the books of Leviticus and Numbers. They can be divided into two categories: (1) rituals for things that can be cleansed and (2) rituals for things that cannot be cleansed. All the rituals in the first category involve water. The simplest form of the rituals in this first category is that a person who had contracted uncleanness was to wash his clothes, and he would be unclean until evening (Lev. 11:38, 40; 12:6; etc.). At that time, he would be considered clean and free to come and go as he pleased. A slightly greater amount of uncleanness, like coming into contact with another person’s body fluids, could be cleansed by simply adding the requirement of bathing to the basic ritual (Lev. 15:1–32; Num. 19:11–13).
Greater amounts of uncleanness required more complicated ceremonies and powerful ingredients. Persons healed of a skin disease were sprinkled seven times with water mingled with blood. They were then to wash their clothes, shave off all body hair, bathe, and remain unclean for seven days (Lev. 14:1–9; cf. Num. 19:1–10, 17–22). On the eighth day they would bring a sacrifice, and the priest would take some of the blood and oil from the sacrifice and anoint them with it. Then they would be clean (Lev. 14:10–32). Similar requirements were used for houses with simple mildew (14:48–53).
Under the right conditions, even water could be made unclean (Lev. 11:33–35). Later rabbis would go to great lengths to specify the amount of water and type of sprinkling or even baptism that each kind of uncleanness required for cleansing. Leviticus 11:36 does contain one more important detail: Water from a spring or underground cistern was always considered clean. The water of a spring, for instance, was literally “living water” (see NASB, margin): It moved and was therefore always being renewed from a hidden source. In effect, it could not become unclean.
Therein lies the significance of the phrase “living water.” Grammatically, it simply means “water that moves or flows,” but theologically it means “water than can never be made unclean.” This is why so many of the purification rituals required “fresh,” or “running” (KJV), water (Lev. 14:5–6, 50–52; 15:13). This also explains why God describes himself to sinful Jerusalem as “a spring of living water” (Jer. 2:13; 17:13) and why commentators can say that the fountain and rivers in Zechariah are for cleansing (Zech. 13:1; 14:8).24 Even more important, it explains why Jesus describes himself as the source of “living water” (John 4:10–11; 7:38); He provides unlimited cleansing from every kind of sin and uncleanness.
Other terms from these purification rituals make their way into the New Testament, forming part of the theology of sanctification. They include “sprinkling” (Heb. 9:13–28); 10:22; 11:28; 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:2), “washing” (Matt. 15:2; John 13:5–14; Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Rev. 1:5), and “baptism” (Rom. 6:4; Eph. 4:5; Col. 2:12; Heb. 6:2; 1 Pet. 3:21), as well as the more general terms for holiness and cleanness (which are covered in more detail below).
The second category of purification rituals is for things that could not be made clean. It included a variety of materials: clothing or leather with any kind of destructive mildew (Lev. 13:47–59) or a house from which mildew could not be cleansed (Lev. 14:33–53). Generally, such things were destroyed (Lev. 11:33, 35; 14:40–41, 45), often by fire (Lev. 13:52, 55, 57). God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire (Gen. 19:24; see also Luke 17:29–30), just as He did idolatrous Jerusalem later (Jer. 4:4; 17:27). Everything but the articles of metal from Jericho was to be burned (Josh. 6:17, 24). When Achan stole such articles, he and his family and all their possessions were burned (7:12, 25); so was the city of Hazor (11:11, 13).
Since rituals are visual presentations of visual truths, what truths does God intend for us to learn from these rituals of purification? They certainly teach us that He is holy and requires holiness of His people. They also teach us something else: God desires that everything should be made holy. He provided a means of cleansing for every kind of material that could be cleansed, even if the procedure was expensive or extensive. That is, “washings” (e.g., Num. 11:19, 21), or “baptisms” (e.g., Lev. 11:32, where “put it in water” is the Hebrew taval, “dip,” “immerse”), removed the sin, but “saved” the material. Those materials that could not be cleansed, He destroyed (usually) by fire. This kept the camp and the people of God clean or holy.
This truth has a powerful spiritual application for those of us under the new covenant. God, through the sanctifying power of His Spirit, is still willing to cleanse people who will let go of their sin. He will remove the sin and save those people. Those who will not relinquish their sin, like the contaminated materials in the Old Testament, must be destroyed along with their sin in exactly the same way: by fire.
THE PROPHETIC PROMISE
The Hebrew prophets looked forward to a time when God would cleanse all humankind and the world in which they lived. God revealed to them that He would accomplish this great work of cleansing by His Spirit: “‘Not by might not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD” (Zech. 4:6). Consequently, the prophets often used vocabulary borrowed from the purification rituals of the temple to describe this divine work. In Ezekiel, for example, God says to Israel, “‘I will sprinkle clean (Heb. tehorim) water on you, and you will be clean (Heb. tehartem); I will cleanse (Heb. ’ataher) you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. … I will save you from all your uncleanness.’” (Ezek. 36:25–27, 29).
God further promises that He will restore both Israel and Judah to the land and make them clean (Ezek. 37:21–23). The towns would be rebuilt and the land become “like the garden of Eden” (36:33–35).
This cleansing of the Spirit (as well as other aspects of His work) would be available to everyone in the future, male and female, Jew and Gentile, young and old (Joel 2:28–32). Sometimes the vision is one of a cleansing rain (Joel 2:23), at other times it is of a mighty river that would flow from the temple throughout the land, bringing cleansing and giving life (Ezek. 47:1–12).
Zechariah prophesied that this river of “living water” would split into four parts and water the land (Zech. 14:4,8), like the garden of Eden (Ezek. 36:35; cf. Gen. 2:10). On that day, the Lord will rule from Jerusalem and every nation will go up to worship Him there (Zech. 14:16). Jerusalem itself will be so holy that “HOLY TO THE LORD” will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD” (Zech. 14:20–21; cf. Jer. 31:40).
The passages from Ezekiel and Zechariah were read annually at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.25 Jesus attended that feast at least once and “on the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him’” (John 7:37–38).
“From within him” (Gk. ek tes koilias autou) is literally “out of his (or its) belly.” This does not mean from the believer’s belly, nor can it refer directly to the belly of the Messiah, since neither concept is found in the Scripture of the Old Testament. It refers to Jerusalem, where Jesus would be crucified and where the Holy Spirit would be poured out on the Day of Pentecost.26
The Jews understood Jerusalem (as the “navel of the earth”27) and Jesus’ words to refer to two of the liturgical passages of the feast: Zechariah 14 and Ezekiel 36. They were correct, but only in part. Jesus wanted them to know that this mighty river of living water for cleansing, envisioned by the prophets, was actually the Spirit of God. We know this because John goes on to say “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive” (John 7:39; cf. 4:13–14; 19:34). This is not Spirit baptism, or at least Spirit baptism alone, but a reference to the mighty work of sanctification that the Spirit would do among God’s people in the latter days.
SANCTIFICATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
TERMINOLOGY
The two critical Greek terms for the study of sanctification in the New Testament are hagiazo (and its cognates) and katharizo (and its cognates). Hagiazo is roughly equivalent to the Hebrew qadash and almost always translates it in the Septuagint. It means “to make holy, set apart, purify, dedicate, or consecrate,” as well as “to treat as holy.” The Greek katharizo almost always translates the Hebrew taher in the Septuagint. It means “to make clean or purify” and is used in both the ceremonial sense and the moral sense.
Though the Torah usually uses the two Hebrew terms rather precisely, the difference between them blurs when they are used in a figurative sense. This happens especially in the prophets and in the Psalms. The New Testament usually keeps the distinction between the Greek terms when speaking of the rituals of the old covenant or of the Pharisees, but also uses either term when speaking of Christ’s work in the new covenant. Since our interest is in spiritual cleansing and the new covenant, we can fairly say that the New Testament uses hagiazo and katharizo interchangeably.
The most common word is hagios (derived from hagiazo). In the singular it is translated “holy” and often used as an adjective describing God, His Spirit, Jerusalem, etc. In the plural it is often used of the people of God. Then it is usually translated “holy ones” or “saints.” This is a very common term in the New Testament (it appears sixty times) and solid evidence of the early Christians’ understanding of their own distinctive quality: They had been made holy by God.
TWO THEOLOGIES OF SANCTIFICATION
The term “saints” is so familiar to us that we probably take it for granted. The Christians in New Testament times did not. They were well aware of the extensive laws concerning kosher food, unclean substances, and purification rituals of the Mosaic Law. Many of the different sects of Judaism had elaborate rules and regulations about uncleanness. In general, the rule was that holiness could be maintained by avoiding uncleanness and isolating themselves from those who were unclean. If one contracted uncleanness, the solution was to remove it by baptisms of one kind or another (Heb. 6:2; 9:10). This is a fairly passive notion of holiness: it consists of avoiding uncleanness.
In addition, the Pharisees also had an interesting inconsistency in their own theology. Many of them understood that the kingdom of God was a spiritual one, one within, rather than an external (material), political one. Even so, they maintained that entrance into this inner kingdom was by external rituals that removed sin and uncleanness and brought holiness.
Yet God’s holiness is active. Since He desires fellowship with people, God’s active holiness consists of making the unclean clean and the unholy holy. Jesus’ death made this kind of holiness possible. His followers gained access into the spiritual kingdom of God by a spiritual process, not an external one. Whether they were surrounded by unclean people or unclean things, they could still be holy. Consequently, “holy ones” or “saints” becomes their characteristic designation.
THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY
Ultimately, the sanctification of the world takes place at an individual level. Each person must choose whether to accept God’s rule and reign or reject it. Those people who have chosen not to give up their sin must be cleansed by fire. This process does not require their cooperation, but it is painful, destructive, and long-lasting. This is the eternal punishment the Bible calls “hell,” “the lake of fire,” and the “second death” (Isa. 66:24; Matt. 23:33; 25:30, 41, 46; Rev. 20:14–15). Although they will never be cleansed, the eternal fire guarantees that God’s creation will never again be troubled by their uncleanness. In short, God has determined that He will sanctify the world. He will do it by water or fire (Matt. 3:11–12).
Christians choose to be sanctified by the Spirit, a process that requires each individual’s continuing cooperation (1 John 3:3; Rev. 22:11)—much like the cleansing ceremonies using water that the Old Testament describes. This sanctification process removes the sin, but saves the individual. We have chosen to describe this process in four distinct stages below.
Convicting the World. The first stage of sanctification and the greatest work of the Holy Spirit is bringing people into a covenant relationship with God. The Spirit has three tasks among those who are unconverted: conviction of sin, testimony about Christ, and confirmation of the Word of God. They are His greatest tasks because they occur among the largest group of people—virtually everyone on earth who is not a Christian.
Salvation can begin only when an individual has been convicted of personal sin. By “conviction,” we mean that a person is convinced of having done wrong, of standing truly guilty before God. The Holy Spirit is the one who brings conviction. This conviction of sin is the first stage in the sanctification of the individual and the only one that does not require one’s consent. Jesus spoke of this ministry of the Spirit when He said: “‘When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.’” (John 16:8–11).
Notice that Jesus says that the Spirit will convict “the world.” In other words, the Holy Spirit has a ministry among the unconverted. It is one of conviction. He convicts them of three things: (1) that their sins, especially the sin of unbelief in God’s Son, has made them guilty before God, (2) that righteousness is possible and desirable, and (3) that those who do not listen to the Spirit’s prompting will face divine judgment.
The Spirit’s attempt to bring conviction can be resisted (Acts 7:51), and often is, sometimes including an outright rejection that is reprobate (1 Tim. 4:2). This is also the reason blasphemy of the Spirit (Matt. 12:31–32; Mark 3:29) is potentially so serious: If the Spirit withdraws, there is no possibility of repentance or forgiveness because there is no conviction, no sense of guilt.28
The Spirit also testifies about Christ. Speaking of the world, Jesus said:
“If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:24–27).
Few people are willing to speak against Jesus, whether they are Christian or not. Why? We believe it is because of the Holy Spirit: He testifies about Christ, convicting men and women of the truth.
Christians can witness to the unconverted by sharing the truth of the gospel (John 15:27; cf. 3:3–4, 16–21). God even promises the Spirit will guide us in what to say (Matt. 10:19; Acts 2; 7; etc.). Nevertheless, a faith response requires the action of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; cf. 3:5–8).
In addition to internal conviction and testimony about Christ, the Spirit also confirms the Word of God. He does this by giving the supernatural signs and wonders that accompany its proclamation. Paul speaks of his own experience in this matter to the church at Corinth: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor. 2:1–5; cf. 12:7–11).
Later, Paul wrote even more plainly of the way the Spirit enhanced his presentation of the gospel: “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:18–19).
This “power” Paul speaks of is the same kind of supernatural signs and wonders that accompanied the ministry of Jesus (Acts 2:22). In the same way, the Spirit continues to work powerfully through the believer today to confirm the preaching of the Word (Acts 4:8–12; 5:12; Rom. 12:4–8; 1 Cor. 12:27–28).
In summary, this means that the sinner’s whole experience with the Spirit of God is negative! The unconverted experience conviction of sin, heightened by the fact that righteousness is now possible through Christ, increased still more because of the certainty of coming judgment. When the Spirit testifies about Christ, He reveals One who lived a righteous life. When the Word of God is preached, the Spirit confirms it with powerful signs and wonders. It is no wonder that the sinner hates to hear the Word of God preached. It brings feelings of guilt, inadequacy, anxiety, and conviction. Why? Because the Holy Spirit’s work with the unconverted is directed toward a single goal: to bring that person to repentance!
Cleansing the Believer. The work of the Spirit does not cease when a person admits guilt before God; it increases, just as it does at each subsequent stage. The second stage in the Spirit’s sanctification of an individual is conversion. Conversion is an instantaneous experience. It includes sanctification by the Spirit or, to put it in a more biblically correct fashion, the process of sanctification by the Spirit includes conversion.
We can easily demonstrate this from Scripture. Consider Paul’s words, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). Notice that the word “saved” in this passage is qualified by two prepositional phrases, which describe how the believers of Thessalonica were saved. The second phrase, “through belief in the truth,” describes the believer’s role in salvation: to have faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:14). The first phrase, “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,” is more important for our purposes. It describes the Spirit’s role in salvation: to sanctify the believer. The emphasis in this verse is not that God chose some people and not others (classic predestination29), but that God chose the means by which everyone would be saved: an individual’s faith in the promises of God plus the cleansing power of the Spirit of God (see also Acts 10:15; 11:9; Rom. 15:16; 1 Pet. 1:1–2).
Another important example appears in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. He chides the believers in Corinth for their immorality (5:1–8). After listing various kinds of sinful persons (6:9–10), he says, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). Paul says this work was accomplished by the Spirit (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13). The form of the Greek verbs “washed,” “sanctified,” and “justified” in this passage (aorist passive) gives no sense of any sort of process here. They all refer to the same instantaneous, completed experience: conversion.
There is simply no way that the Greek of these verses can be construed to mean that this sanctifying work of the Spirit is something distinct from salvation. It is not a second definite work of grace, as some would have it. Both passages describe the Spirit’s sanctification as the means by which people are saved. The second passage, 1 Corinthians 6:11, represents this sanctification in a punctiliar way, occurring at the same time as washing and justifying.
The only way we can reconcile these passages with others that speak of sanctification as a process (see below) is to recognize that sanctification is not merely something that occurs after conversion but is identical to growing in the Lord. Sanctification includes all God’s work in attempting to save men and women from the judgment to come.
At the moment of conversion we are born again, this time of the Spirit (John 3:5–8). Simultaneously, the Spirit baptizes us into the body of Jesus Christ, the Church (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 2:22).30 Instantaneously, we are washed, sanctified, and justified, all through the power of the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:1–2). At that moment the Spirit of God begins to witness to our spirit that we are now God’s children (Rom. 8:15–16). The Spirit of Life sets us free from the law of sin and death (8:2; cf. John 6:63). We are new creations in God (2 Cor. 5:17).
The fundamental difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is not one of lifestyle, attitude, or even belief system. It is that the Christian has allowed God to sanctify him, the non-Christian has not. This difference is one of the reasons the New Testament often refers to believers as “saints” or “holy” ones (Matt. 27:52; Acts 9:13; Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1; Rev. 5:8; etc.), even if it goes on to describe their sins or shortcomings (as does Paul in 1 Cor.). So a Christian is not someone who is perfect, but someone who has repented of sin and submitted to the cleansing power of the Spirit of God.
Realizing Righteousness in the Believer. The Spirit of God does not abandon the believer after conversion (John 14:16). Just as in the transition from conviction to conversion, His role becomes greater after conversion. The believer’s increased submission brings about a greater cooperation and intimacy with the Spirit, resulting in His ability to do an ever greater work in the individual after conversion. There are three additional ways the Spirit works with the believer: (a) He continually sanctifies the believer from sin, (b) He increasingly delivers the believer from sin in fact, and (c) He uses believers to assist in the work of sanctification.
No believer can ever truly say he is free from sin (1 John 1:8–9). We are guilty of sins of omission in that not one of us worships enough, loves enough, or serves God enough, totally apart from whatever sin we might commit from time to time. This is the reason the blood of Jesus continually purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7 [the present tense of the Greek verb in this passage tells us this is a repeated, or ongoing, action]).
Jesus’ role in sanctification is done (Heb. 10:12–13; cf. John 19:30). This continual application of the sacrifice of Jesus to our lives, about which 1 John speaks, is the work of the Spirit. This is the sense in which Jesus spoke of the Spirit as “streams of living water” (John 7:38–39), one sufficient to cleanse all our sinfulness. So, moment by moment, the Spirit cleanses the believer, who is thereby always holy before God.
As a result, believers enjoy many great benefits. They are free from condemnation and guilt (Rom. 8:1–2). They have continual access to the Father (Eph. 2:18). They can worship now in the Spirit and truth (John 4:23–24). Finally, they have a deposit (the Spirit) of their future inheritance in the Lord (Eph. 1:14, cf. 5:5).
In addition to the Spirit’s moment by moment cleansing, He also works to help us avoid sinning. Therefore we can speak of “a life process whereby His [God’s] holiness is made actual in our lives.”31
Paul uses many analogies in Romans 8 to speak of this work of the Spirit. Having the “mind of the Spirit” means living “in accordance with the Spirit” (Rom. 8:5) or being “controlled by the Spirit” (vv. 6–9). He used a common Pharisaic expression when he spoke of walking in the Spirit (Gk. peripatousin, “walk;” NIV, “live”). The body of laws which told the Pharisee how to apply the Mosaic Law to everyday life were called the halakah. The word is derived from the Hebrew halakh, which means “to go” or “to walk.”
The point is this: The Pharisee had a body of unwritten laws (the oral Torah, “instruction,” or “tradition of the elders”) which prescribed his conduct in every situation. This kept him from contracting uncleanness. The believer has the Holy Spirit, who does exactly the same thing. He gives guidance about how to act in order to avoid sin in every situation (Rom. 8:6–9). For the same reason, the Spirit opens the Word of God to believers (1 Cor. 2:9–16), often reminding them of what Jesus has said in the Word (John 14:26). This is how the Spirit helps in making the righteousness of the believer real, rather than just legal. This is an ongoing process and will last as long as the believer is on earth (1 Thess. 5:23).
Finally, the Spirit uses believers to assist in the work of sanctification. This goes far beyond requiring our continued cooperation in the process of our own sanctification (2 Cor. 6:16 through 7:1; Rev. 22:11): things like resisting the temptation of sin. It means assisting in the sanctification of others.
In this day when divorce abounds, it is of some comfort to know that believing husbands and wives, if they are willing to stay with their unbelieving spouse, can have a powerful ministry of assisting the Holy Spirit in bringing sanctification to that spouse and any children that live in the household (1 Cor. 7:14).
We will speak more of helping in the sanctification of the world in the next section, though much of it applies here equally well. Here we wish to focus on the way in which the believer is to assist the Spirit in the sanctification of other believers. The Spirit gives the believer “fellowship” with the rest of the saints (Phil. 2:1). Within this fellowship, God challenges us to confront one another with regard to sin (Matt. 18), to encourage one another (Heb. 10:24), to love one another (Rom. 13:8), to care for one another (1 Cor. 12:25), etc. All of these actions assist the Spirit as He works to shape us into the image of Christ, to sanctify us in reality.
God told the Israelites, “Sanctify yourselves.” The New Testament picked up the theme, amplifying it in a way that makes it especially relevant to today’s sensual world: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God. … The Lord will punish men for such sins. … For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 4:3–8).
Empowering the Believer. The baptism of the Holy Spirit opens up a new role for the believer in the sanctification of the world. Believers are better able to assist the Spirit in His work of sanctifying others once they are Spirit-baptized. Jesus commanded His disciples to wait for the baptism in the Spirit so that they would have power to witness (Acts 1:4–5, 8). That baptism came with a sign that signified the new covenant was available to everyone, everywhere; the sign was speaking in “other tongues” (2:4). Few people today recognize that “other tongues” was originally speaking of languages other than Hebrew or Aramaic. For virtually the first time, God spoke in other languages and called people who were not Jewish into a covenant relationship with Him.
This was a powerful sign that the universal sanctification, about which the prophets spoke, was now available to everyone. Peter, recognizing that the crowd included many different kinds of people, male and female, young and old, cited Joel 2:28–32 in support of the experience. God would shortly reveal to him that this included even the conversion of Gentiles (Acts 10 through 11). The Gentile mission would capture the imagination of the Early Church. The gospel of Jesus Christ, in a matter of just a few short years, would spread across the known world.
Today’s Spirit-baptized believer is called to that same task. Empowered by the Spirit, we can expect God to confirm His Word with signs and wonders (Rom. 15:18–19). The Spirit continues speaking to believers to send forth specific people into special ministries (Acts 11:12; 13:2), sometimes even to special places (16:6–10). In this way, the Spirit-filled believer assists the Spirit in His task of sanctifying the world.
Spiritual gifts, available to those who are Spirit-baptized, can also aid in edifying the saints, another aspect of the Spirit’s continuing work of sanctification. This may include a word of wisdom or knowledge, an exhortation, a prophecy, or tongues and interpretation (1 Cor. 12:7–10). Yet all such phenomena are “for the common good” (v. 7) and for the “strengthening of the church” (14:26).32
The Spirit also builds up the saints for effective ministry in another way: through His ministry of intercession. Paul says this: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” (Rom. 8:26–27).
Notice that this kind of intercession is “for the saints” (v. 27) and specifically when “we do not know what we ought to pray” (v. 26). Some have argued that this relates to intercession in tongues, though we can scarcely identify with any certainty the expression “groans that words cannot express” (v. 26) with “other tongues” (which are spoken), though praying in tongues may also include intercession.
We would like to encourage believers to be willing to allow the Spirit to use them in a ministry of intercession.33 Perhaps interceding in tongues may have been behind the statements, made by early Pentecostals, about the relationship between Spirit baptism and cleansing. On the basis of Scripture, we cannot agree with those who want to identify Spirit baptism with a second, instantaneous work of grace called sanctification. Neither can we agree with those who want to make Spirit baptism a condition of salvation or a means by which some sort of special “status” in the kingdom of God is conveyed. Yet there are deep, very personal ways in which the Spirit is better able to work in those who have surrendered themselves to Him. We are convinced this even includes His work of sanctifying the believer in Christ.
The Holy Spirit will complete that work in us when Christ appears, but until then we have the responsibility of purifying ourselves (with the help of the Holy Spirit) (1 John 3:2–3).
Definitions and theologies of sanctification that relate to the believer only after salvation are inadequate. They do not fully represent the biblical view of sanctification, so they have difficulty making sense of the various ways in which the Bible speaks of it.
God’s plan of sanctification includes the whole world—everything—animate and inanimate. What He could not achieve through the old covenant, the Holy Spirit is now achieving powerfully in the new covenant. What will not or cannot be cleansed this time will be destroyed by fire. We have the great privilege of being not only the objects of this sanctification process, but assistants in it, for the glory of God.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What is the ultimate goal of God’s plan of sanctification?
2. What is the fourfold task of the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification?
3. Sanctification was an important doctrine to many early Pentecostals. Has it been largely ignored in recent years? If so, why?
4. What two words, grounded in the ritual of the Old Testament, are essential to a proper understanding of the biblical doctrine of sanctification?
5. How are the Old Testament rituals of cleansing that use water different from those that use fire?
6. What does the expression “living water” add to our understanding of sanctification?
7. Why does “saints” become the characteristic designation for Christians in the New Testament? How different was this was Pharisaism?
8. Is the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit more akin to the Old Testament cleansings by water or by fire? Why?
9. What role does the individual play in each of the four stages of the Spirit’s work of sanctification?
10. In what way did (and does) the gift of tongues signify the beginning of God’s fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of universal sanctification?