Every believer is a saint
The word “saint” is often misunderstood or misused. Numerous churches are named after people who are designated as saints – St. Paul’s, St. Peter’s, St. John’s, etc. I am sure that those early apostles would be disappointed to know that churches were named after them. Some versions of the Bible have uninspired book titles, such as “The Gospel according to Saint John” and in Roman Catholicism a canonized saint is someone whom the Church officially recognizes as being in heaven and as having lived a life of heroic virtue or faithfulness.
Therefore a person could assume that the label “saint” is for a special Christian, one whose actions have surpassed the vast majority of Christians. This assumption would not be biblical as the New Testament uses the designation of "saint" for every believer, not for a special class.
Paul addressed entire churches, including the immature and struggling believers, as saints. Although the Corinthian believers had many spiritual problems, Paul still called them "saints" (1 Corinthians 1:2). He did this because every believer is united to Christ and is already a saint; God has set them apart as holy and declared them to be so. “Sainthood” is a status given by God through union with Christ, not a title conferred by a church after death.
The Greek term Paul used is ἅγιος (hagios), which means “sanctified ones” or “holy ones”. The root ἅγ (hag) carries the idea of holiness, consecration, or being set apart and is used in the words translated sanctify (hagiazō) and sanctification (hagiasmos). So the three terms (saints, sanctify and sanctification) are closely linked. In this article we will examine the subject of sanctification and see how it impacts those who are called saints.
Scripture teaches that there are three stages of sanctification. The process could be likened to a journey that has a beginning, continues with ups and downs, but finally comes to an end. These three stages are sometimes called positional sanctification, progressive sanctification and complete sanctification, a helpful distinction in understanding the doctrine.
Every believer has been sanctified
The beginning of sanctification, being set apart to God and for God, is closely related to God’s election of people to salvation. Peter addresses believers as those who are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2).
William MacDonald points out that sanctification “is a ministry of the Holy Spirit by which He sets people apart to belong to God . . . It logically follows election by God the Father. In eternity God foreknew and chose men. In time the Holy Spirit operates to make that election real in the lives of the individuals concerned”.[1]
In this verse we also learn that the sinner's response to the work of the Holy Spirit is described as obedience to Jesus Christ. This means obeying the gospel by repenting of sin, confessing Jesus as Lord and receiving Him as Saviour. When a person obeys the gospel, they receive all the benefits which flow from the shedding of Christ's blood on the cross.
This aspect of sanctification is the one often referred to as positional sanctification.
Many passages speak of sanctification as being completed in the past. For instance, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, stating, “… But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11b).
In this verse the verb “sanctified” (hagiazō) is passive, meaning the subject receives the action rather than performing it. Thus, the believer has been sanctified, set apart to God by the Holy Spirit. Initial or positional sanctification is inseparable from regeneration or being “born again” (gennaō), another passive verb. Although they can be distinguished, they cannot be separated. Both of these are actions performed by the Holy Spirit on the person who believes, and one does not happen without the other.
Another key verse to consider can be found in the book of Hebrews, “by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
The writer to the Hebrews could instruct the believers that by the will of God, to which the Lord Jesus was perfectly obedient in offering Himself as an acceptable once-for-all sacrifice for their sin, they had been set apart by God, to God, and for God. This was their status before God.
As we move through Hebrews 10 we come across a verse that combines the truths of positional and progressive sanctification:
“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).
There is a deliberate contrast between "He has perfected" (teleioō), which is in the perfect tense, emphasising a completed action with continuing results, and those “being sanctified" (hagiazō), which is in the present tense. The inspired author declares that the believer has a completed, permanent standing before God, having been "perfected forever", but there is an ongoing work of sanctification in the believer's life – they are "being sanctified". This is one of the clearest New Testament statements holding together the two stages: positional sanctification and progressive sanctification.
Believers have been perfected by Christ's sacrifice while simultaneously experiencing ongoing sanctification.
Every believer is being sanctified
Although perfect sanctification is not attainable in this life it is true that initial sanctification must display itself outwardly in progressive sanctification. This means that every believer will strive, in the Holy Spirit’s power, to live a righteous life outwardly.
Progressive sanctification means “the continued transformation of moral and spiritual character so that the life of the believer actually comes to mirror the standing which he or she already has in God’s sight”.[2]
Three agents are involved in the work of progressive sanctification: the Spirit, the Scriptures and the saint.
The work of the Holy Spirit is wonderfully demonstrated in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, “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” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
God’s purpose for every saint is to be like His Son and this transforming process takes place from one degree of glory to another. As believers contemplate the Lord Jesus in all His moral glory and seek to do His will, they are changed to become more like the sinless Holy One – more conformed to Christ – by the power of the Holy Spirit. This change is not instantaneous but gradual. It is a lifelong process, with many ups and downs, but it should be progressive.
The Scriptures undoubtedly act as the co-agent of sanctification progressively as well as initially. The clearest text for this claim is found in the high priestly prayer of Christ in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” Thus, the Word of God sanctifies and produces the holiness “without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
The profitability of the Scriptures in progressive sanctification can be seen in 2 Timothy 3:16,17, where we read that the Word of God rebukes, reproves, corrects, and instructs in righteousness. God has given us His Word so that, by the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit as we read, listen and meditate upon it, we might come to know Him and know what pleases Him. It is the means which God uses to bring us to greater Christlikeness. The avoidance or neglect of reading the Scriptures, or the lack of applying them to our lives, will have a detrimental impact on our sanctification.
Finally, the saint must be active in progressive sanctification. Scripture teaches that it is not a case of “let go and let God” but rather, “strive for holiness whilst relying on the Holy’s Spirit work in you”.
Over the centuries, some people, including advocates of the Victorious Life Movement, have taught that believers are passive in progressive sanctification. They regard their having “been sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10) as referring not to the initial setting apart that occurs at conversion but to subsequent experience during the Christian life.
One key text to refute that position is in Philippians chapter 2, where Paul states:
“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 salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12,13).
Whilst he writes that God works in the believer, he also indicates that God empowers the believer to work at the task of manifesting inward godliness or holiness outwardly. The Greek verb translated “work out” means to bring something to its intended end, carrying it through, or producing a result. This refers to the believer's responsibility for an active pursuit of obedience in the process of sanctification.
Every believer will have complete sanctification
Whilst we are positionally sanctified, and should be making progress in Christlikeness, we know we will never come to an end of our striving for holiness whilst upon the earth. However the sanctification of our souls will be completed at death (or when the Lord returns if we are still living). For us all, the sanctification of our bodies will only be complete at the Lord’s return.
We await the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we shall be morally perfect like Him:
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
Although we now have decaying bodies that bear the consequences of sin we are assured that we will then have glorified resurrection bodies:
“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
I trust that you are on the sanctification journey. Although it can be difficult we are called to strive in the lifelong fight for practical holiness. We can be confident that if the Lord has started the work in us He will complete it:
“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
[1] William McDonald, Believers’ Bible Commentary, Thomas Nelson Publishers, p.2,250
[2] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995, p.875
