Distinguishing the various aspects of sanctification is key to a true understanding of the doctrine.
The word sanctify means “to set apart.” There is a whole family of words—sanctify, sanctification, saint, holy, holiness, consecrate, consecration—that all have the same root meaning. Very often sanctification means the process of separating from common or unclean uses to divine service. But not always. If you just remember that to sanctify means to set apart, you will have a definition that fits all cases.
In the Old Testament God sanctified the seventh day (Gen. 2:3). The firstborn of both men and animals were sanctified to the Lord (Ex. 13:2). The priests were told to consecrate themselves to the Lord (Ex. 19:22). Mt. Sinai was sanctified (Ex. 19:23). The Tabernacle and all its furniture were sanctified (Ex. 40:9). In Isaiah 66:17, we read that the people sanctified themselves to worship idols.
In the New Testament, sanctification is used primarily in regard to people. However, Jesus said that the Temple sanctifies the gold on it, and that the altar sanctifies the gift on it (Mt. 23:17, 19). Paul taught that when we give thanks for our food, it is consecrated by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:5).
With regard to the sanctification of persons, God consecrated Christ and sent Him into the world (Jn. 10:36); that is, the Father set His Son apart for the work of saving us from our sins. Jesus consecrated Himself (Jn. 17:19); in other words, He set Himself apart in order to intercede for His people.
There is a sense in which even certain unbelievers are sanctified: “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband” (1 Cor. 7:14a). This means that the unbelieving partner is set apart in a position of privilege by having a Christian spouse praying for his or her salvation. And there is a sense in which Christ should be sanctified by all believers. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts…” (1 Pet. 3:15). We sanctify Him by setting Him apart as undisputed Sovereign in our lives.
In addition to the above, however, there are four other important kinds of sanctification which we should distinguish in our study of the New Testament. These are called preconversion sanctification, positional sanctification, progressive sanctification, and perfect sanctification.
Pre-Conversion Sanctification
Long before a person is born again, the Holy Spirit has been working in his life, setting him apart from the world and wooing him to Christ. Paul realized that he had been set apart before he was born (Gal. 1:15). In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle reminds the Thessalonians that there were three steps in their salvation (see also 1 Pet. 1:2):
1. Their selection by God.
2. Their sanctification by the Spirit.
3. Their belief in the truth.
In eternity God chose us in Christ (see Eph. 1:4). In time the Holy Spirit set us apart. Then we obeyed the gospel. As soon as we did, the value of the shed blood of Christ was credited to our account. But the point to notice here is that the sanctification Peter speaks of is a kind that takes place before a person is born again.
Positional Sanctification
The moment a person is born again, he becomes positionally sanctified. This means that as far as his standing before God is concerned, he is perfectly set apart to God from the world because he is “in Christ.” In a very real sense Christ Himself is his sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30).
Every true believer is a saint; he has been separated to the Lord. This is his position. Thus in 1 Corinthians 1:2 all the Christians in the local church in Corinth are described as “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” The Corinthian saints weren’t always very saintly! They tolerated scandalous sin in the fellowship (1 Cor. 5:1-2). They went to law against one another (1 Cor. 6:1). They had some teachers who denied the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12-14). But it was still true of them that as far as their position was concerned, they were sanctified in Christ.
Now let’s look at some of the passages that deal with positional sanctification. In Acts 20:32, the expression “all those who are sanctified” means all believers. In Acts 26:18 the Lord described His people as those “who are sanctified by faith in Me.” The Corinthians are described as having been “washed…sanctified…justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). And the writer to the Hebrews reminds us that “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). “For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14, kjv).
Positional sanctification is also indicated at times by the use of the word holy. Thus in Colossians 3:12, when Paul addresses the Christians as holy, he is referring to their standing before God.
Progressive Sanctification
While there are many scriptures which say that all Christians are sanctified, there are many others which say that they should be sanctified. If we fail to distinguish the kinds of sanctification, we can find this very confusing, even apparently contradictory.
Progressive or practical sanctification refers to what we should be in our everyday lives. We should be living lives of separation to God from sin and evil. Saints should be becoming more saintly all the time.
It was this aspect of sanctification that the Lord Jesus referred to in John 17:17, when He prayed for His own, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
The believer’s cooperation is involved in this (2 Tim. 2:21). Wherever you find exhortations concerning sanctification or holiness you can be sure that the subject is practical sanctification. Thus Paul urged the Corinthians: “…let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). And in the same vein Peter wrote, “as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15).
One particular form of practical sanctification concerns separation from immorality: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor” (1 Thess. 4:3-4).
How does a Christian become more holy, more like the Lord Jesus? The answer is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Practical holiness comes from being occupied with the Lord. It’s a principle in life that we become like what we worship. The more we meditate on Christ, the more we become like Him. The Holy Spirit works this marvelous transformation—not all at once, but from one degree of glory to another!
Perfect Sanctification
This aspect of sanctification is still future for the believer. When he sees the Savior face-to-face he will be forever set apart from all sin and defilement. He will be morally like the Lord Jesus—perfectly sanctified.
This is what we read about in Colossians 1:22, “…in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.”
In that day the Church will have its ultimate sanctification: “…that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).
Other passages describe our perfect sanctification without mentioning the word. John, for instance, says: “…we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn. 3:2b). And Jude reminds us that our Lord will present us “…faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24b).