Sanctification

Good evening, guys, thank you for the opportunity to be here teaching you guys. Who am I, but here I am.

First I have a question for you: do you guys prefer it in English or Portuguese?

I can mix if you guys want.

I'll be talking about sanctification today and for me it's a beautiful subject. Sanctification is an evidence of our salvation. There is no salvation with no sanctification, and it's also a way to make us more Christ-like every day.

So number one, sanctification is the continuous — as the first blank — operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer, by which the holy disposition imparted in regeneration is maintained — as the second blank — and is trained through our lifetime, third blank.

This consecration of ourselves to God and restoration — fourth blank — of His perfect image comes only through union with Christ.

So sanctification is not a one-time act but an ongoing process. It's a lifetime work of God in us. Philippians 1 says, "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

The Holy Spirit continually works in our hearts, "convicting of sin," says John 16a, "producing fruit," Galatians 5:22–23, "and shaping us into the likeness of Christ."

Flipping on the back, let's read Romans 8:29, which says, "For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers."

This means sanctification is dynamic, not static — a daily cooperation between divine grace and human obedience.

At regeneration, the new birth, believers receive a new nature and spiritual life. "The old man is now dead," says 2 Corinthians 5:17, also John 3:5–6.

Now the believer has a holy disposition, which is an implanted desire to do things that our old self wouldn't even think about, which includes to love, to obey, and to please God.

Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

The Spirit's presence ensures the believers are not left to themselves to sanctify themselves by human effort, but are empowered from within. Sanctification requires daily dependence on the Spirit.

Just as physical muscles grow with consistent exercise, spiritual maturity develops through continuous submission to God's will, repentance, and faith.

2 Corinthians 4:16 says, "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day."

Would you say that His maintenance is divine preservation, human participation, or both?

Both.

Very good. We are called to work out our salvation, for it is God who works in us. Philippians 2:12–13.

All sanctifying grace follows from union with Christ. Apart from Him, sanctification is simply impossible.

John 15:4 says, "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, neither can you unless you abide in Me." So our union with Christ is the source, power, and goal of sanctification.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." And 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." So the application is: "You are a work in progress" — is the blank — crafted by the Master. Mike, can you hit those point number one blanks again? First blank, continuous.

Second blank, maintained.

Third blank, lifetime.

And fourth blank, restoration.

Number two, the moment of our union — union is the first blank — with Christ is also the moment our sanctification begins.

In union with Christ, the believer is joined with the very life of God.

The communion of benefits, which results from this union, involves a change — is the second blank — of subjective moral character.

The Holy Spirit works to conform — that's the third blank — us into the image of Christ. This work is commenced in regeneration, continued in our life by sanctification, and completed in glorification. So at the moment of conversion, we are spiritually united with Christ, sharing in His death, resurrection, and life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." So this union means that we participate in the very life of God, receiving a new heart and a new spirit. Ezekiel 36:26–27. It is the root from which all spiritual blessings grow — justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification.

The communion of benefits from this union is not external or mechanical, but transformational.

The believer's moral character begins to change as the Holy Spirit works within.

Flip on the back again, please.

Let's read 2 Corinthians 3:18.

It says, "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." So this moral renewal is evidence of a true union with Christ.

Where there is no transformation, there is no living union. For the life of Christ simply cannot dwell in a heart that remains dead in sin.

The Holy Spirit is the agent of sanctification. He takes what belongs to Christ and applies it to us. The Spirit's indwelling presence produces spiritual fruit — some of them are love, joy, peace, patience, self-control — and this process is progressive. The Spirit continually convicts, renews, and trains believers to reflect Christ's holiness in thought, word, and deed.

This statement rightly connects the believer's journey with three key moments of God's redemptive work.

First, regeneration — the beginning of a new life. Second, sanctification — the continued process of spiritual growth and holiness throughout life.

Glorification — the completion of the believer's transformation when Christ returns.

Hebrews 2:11–13: "For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 'I will declare Your name to My brethren. In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You,' and again, 'I will put My trust in Him,' and again, 'Here am I, and the children whom God has given Me.'"

So the application is: "We will" — is the blank — "surely bear the image of Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:49.

Number three, in justification the right relationship between God and man is restored.

In sanctification, the fruit of this renewed relation is secured — as the first blank.

God declares the sinner righteous in order that He may restore him to holiness. Justification is instantaneous, but sanctification is a process — second blank.

A broken ship is brought into port and secured to the dock. The ship is safe, but it is not sound. Repairs may take a long time. In like manner, Christ makes us safe by justification and sound — third blank — through sanctification.

In justification, God restores the broken relationship between Himself and man through an act of divine grace. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

So justification is a judicial declaration. God, as a judge, declares the sinner righteous — not because of personal merit, but because the righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, to the believer, says 2 Corinthians 5:21. It is instantaneous and complete, a once-for-all act of God's grace. The sinner's guilt is removed, the wrath of God is satisfied, and reconciliation is achieved. Romans 3:24–26.

While justification deals with our position before God, sanctification deals with our condition before God. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification." In sanctification, the Holy Spirit works in the believer to produce the fruit of the new life that justification made possible. So God justifies us to make us holy. He restores fellowship, not merely to forgive us, but to transform us as well. So sanctification is both the evidence and the effect of justification.

The final purpose of both justification and sanctification is glorification — the full restoration of humanity into the holiness and perfection of Christ.

1 John 3:2 says, "When He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is."

In that day when we meet Jesus, the ship will not only be safe and sound, but completely renewed. Amen.

Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Application: God is preparing you to be fit — as the blank — for heaven.

4. All believers are justified and are therefore free from guilt. Romans 8:1.

In this sense, we are already sanctified in that we are in Christ and thus consecrated and set apart to the Father by the Spirit.

However, when we speak of sanctification, we are more commonly using the term to describe how believers are not yet free from depravity — it is the first blank. Romans 7:23.

Depravity is the pollution resulting from sin — pollution is the second blank. Sin has corrupted our will and affections. While we are indeed made new in Christ, we still contend with tendencies to evil which last throughout life.

Romans 7; Galatians 5:17.

Once we are united to Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to repair — is the third blank — this damage and restore — fourth blank — God's image in us.

Scripture affirms that believers are already sanctified because they are in Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:11 says, "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."

This speaks of our positional sanctification, a once-for-all act of being set apart for God's purposes. Yet, in our daily experience, we still undergo progressive sanctification as the Spirit applies the reality of Christ's victory to every area of our fallen humanity.

"Even though justification removes all condemnation," says Romans 8:1, "the pollution of sin remains active within the believer."

The apostle Paul describes this internal conflict. Flip on the back, please. Let's read Romans 7:21–25. "I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Paul isn't acting as a hypocrite, but he is being spiritually real. The believer's renewed nature desires holiness, yet the remnants of the old nature resist.

"Sin no longer reigns, but it still remains" — it's a daily denial. This tension is the battlefield of sanctification.

Flip on the back again. Let's read Galatians 5:16–17.

"I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

And these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."

Though the conflict with sin endures, it is not without hope.

Every act of repentance, every spiritual victory, every new affection for holiness is a sign that the Spirit is working.

Colossians 3:8–10 says, "But now you yourselves are to put off all these — anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him."

The application is: "Fight" — is the blank — the good fight of faith. "Lay hold on eternal life." 1 Timothy 6:12.

The first blank? The previous.

Number 5, sanctification is taught in the figures of our union with Christ.

It is the work of Christ — Christ is the blank — applied by the Holy Spirit — Spirit is the second blank — and the believer.

As Christ is our cornerstone and we are permanently connected to Him, we are growing into a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2:20.

As Christ is the husband of His church, He will present to Himself the church in all her glory, "having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless." Ephesians 5:27.

As Christ is the vine, He continually imparts His life to us as His branches so that we bear much fruit. John 15:8.

As Christ is the head and we are His body, He nourishes and cherishes it because we are members of His body. Ephesians 5:29–30.

As Christ is the last Adam, He is the fount of a new, perfected humanity — He is a life-giving Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45.

The application for number 5 is: Is Christ in you? Can Christ transform — is the blank — your life? That's a good question for you to ask yourself.

Number 6, Christ sanctifies us by — David, you gave me some difficult words here, man.

Interpenetrating us and energizing us with His Spirit.

The Holy Spirit renews — is the first blank — our minds and hearts by the Word — is the second blank — of God.

The Spirit enables the believer to more fully and consciously appropriate Christ by growing our faith — is the third blank. And thus, we progressively conquer our flesh as we become more Christ-like. Romans 8:13–14.

Just as we get air out of a vessel by pouring in water, so we drive out sin by bringing in Christ. To say that Christ sanctifies us by interpenetrating us expresses the mystery of union and participation.

Christ does not merely influence us externally, but dwells within us.

Colossians 1:27 says, "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

This indwelling is spiritual and real.

Through the Holy Spirit, Christ communicates His life, power, and holiness to believers.

Flip on the back, please.

Let's read Romans 8:3–13. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.

On account of sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

The carnal mind, I would say, is the mind that lives in the carnal sense, in the flesh.

That's what I would say.

Yes.

Yes, exactly. How we were born in the flesh.

The Holy Spirit renews believers by means of the Word of God, the instrument of sanctification. John 17:17 says, "Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth."

While the Spirit is the agent, the Word is the tool He uses to reshape our thoughts, convictions, and desires. Sanctification begins not by suppressing sin, but by replacing it with truth.

The renewed mind learns to see sin as God sees it, and righteousness as beautiful.

Thus, transformation flows not from external rules, but from internal renewal —

a Spirit-empowered reorientation of the heart toward Christ.

The image — "just as we get air out of a vessel by pouring in water, so we drive out sin by bringing in Christ" — perfectly illustrates the positive nature of sanctification.

Holiness is not achieved by focusing on removing evil, but by filling life with Christ.

And this principle echoes Jesus's teaching in Matthew 12:43–45: "The empty, swept house invites worse evil unless it is filled with the presence of God."

Romans 13:12–14 says, "The night is far gone, the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Let us walk properly, as in the daytime."

I'm reading a different translation because the other one has some difficult words to pronounce. "Not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires."

The application is: how do you cast off darkness and put — as the blank — on Jesus Christ?

Number seven, "The vine dresser ensures that the branches of the vine bear fruit — is the first blank.

That dead wood is cut out and the living wood must be cut back." John 15:2.

Sanctification requires a divine superintendence on the one hand, and on the other hand, a practical hatred — is the second blank — of evil on our part that cooperates — is the third blank — with the husbandry of God. With the husbandry — it's there, it's on the text there — of God. Is that right, David?

The believer cooperates with God by confessing sin, mortifying sinful desires, and bringing his entire being into obedience to Christ and conforming to His Word.

We put off the old man and put on the new man. Ephesians 4:22–24. We are aided in our sanctification by the Holy Spirit through the ordinary — is the fourth blank — means of grace.

The Word of God, bread, preached, prayed, sung, and pictured in baptism and the Lord's Supper.

So the metaphor of the vine dresser highlights God's active role in the believer's sanctification. The Father carefully tends the vine that is Christ and prunes the branches — as believers — so that they bear more fruit. The pruning process may involve discipline, trials, and correction. Hebrews 12:5–11. Yet its goal is always fruitfulness and conformity to Christ. God's work is sovereign and purposeful.

He removes what is dead and trims what is alive, shaping the believer into the likeness of His Son. Romans 8:29.

Sanctification, while God's work, is not passive from the believer's side.

The text rightly says we must practically hate evil, which echoes Romans 12:9.

"Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good." This hatred of sin leads to active repentance and discipline — confessing sin, mortifying sinful desires, and bringing our will and actions into the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5. This is what it means to put off the old man and put on the new man — a continual, Spirit-empowered renewal of the mind and transformation of the heart.

Ephesians 4:20–24 says, "But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind." "And that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." The application is: do you embrace God's ordained means of sanctification? Ordained is the blank.

Number 8. Our sanctification is certain — it's the first blank — certain.

Christ is called He who sanctifies. Hebrews 2:11. Christ has taken — is the second blank — hold of every believer. Philippians 3:12.

The faithful — third blank — One has promised to bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

Hebrews 2:11 declares, "He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source." Here Christ Himself is identified as the Sanctifier.

Sanctification does not originate in human strength or moral effort, but in the redemptive work and ongoing ministry of Christ.

Just as He justifies us by His righteousness, He sanctifies us by His Spirit.

The same Savior who began our salvation continues it until completion.

Philippians 1:6 says, "I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Flip on the back please. Let's read Jude 24–25 — wait, let's read 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, which says, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

Flip on the front. The application is: sanctification, as part of salvation, is God's work in every way — every is the blank.

Thank you.