Our goal is to become more and more like Jesus Christ. The Bible calls this “sanctification,” which means “to become holy.” Consider three perspectives on sanctification:
Positional Sanctification
When we accept Christ, God sees us as perfect – even though we are far from perfect. This is our standing before God.
1 Corinthians 1:2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Paul told the Corinthian Christians that they were called by God to be holy. He says that God made them holy. This is true even though they had major lifestyle issues that needed correction later in the book.
Progressive Sanctification
Once we are in Christ, we are to become like Christ. This is a lifetime pursuit.
Philippians 3:10-14 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Even the great apostle was not fully mature. He was not like Christ yet. but was making every effort. There is a human responsibility in sanctification. Paul would not allow what happened in the past to distract him from God’s calling. The prize he speaks of is not salvation. That is, he is not working to be worthy so that God will forgive or accept him. The prize is experiencing the culmination of his relationship with Christ. As Christians, we are in Christ. Someday we will be like Christ. We are working toward that, and one day we will experience all the benefits of God’s gracious working.
Ultimate Sanctification
At that time, as believers, we will come face to face with Christ. Then we will be transformed into his image so we will be like him.
Philippians 3:20-21 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
In the meantime, we continue to move forward with the goal of becoming more and more like Christ here and now.
Your Part and God’s Part
It’s important to maintain a proper balance between God’s enabling grace and power versus the believer’s responsibility.
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
We have been called by God and given a new identity and status. Therefore we should live a certain way. Sanctification will not happen automatically. Don’t be negligent in obeying what God says. We are in Christ, but we are to live in a way that reflects that calling.
