Session 13: The Sanctification of the Spirit

Israel as a Holy Nation
- Key Scripture: Exodus 19:6
- God set Israel apart from the outset, making them “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”
- Sanctification here involved covenant, law, and sacrifice.
The Spirit’s External Role
- Key Scripture: Nehemiah 9:20
- The Holy Spirit taught and guided Israel via the Law and prophets, typically working through chosen leaders (e.g., Moses, Joshua).
- The people related to this sanctification mainly through outward ordinances and institutions.
Prophetic Anticipation of a Fuller Work
- Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 36:27; Jeremiah 31:31–34
- Prophets looked beyond external rituals to an era when God would internally transform hearts by His Spirit.
- Promised a new covenant where God’s law would be “inward parts” rather than on stone tablets.

From Pentecost to Future Fulfillment
- Key Scriptures: Acts 2; Jeremiah 31:33–34
- In Luke 12:32, Jesus calls a believing remnant His “little flock.”
- The Holy Spirit’s outpouring at Pentecost began realizing Jeremiah’s new covenant promise in that remnant, though its complete fulfillment awaits Israel’s full restoration.
God’s Faithfulness to Complete the Work
- Key Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Philippians 1:6
- Paul links this sanctifying process to Christ’s second coming—“the day of Jesus Christ.”
- Affirms God will finish what He began in the faithful remnant.

Sanctification as a Finished Work
- Key Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 2:10; Titus 3:5
- For the Body of Christ, sanctification is complete: believers are new creations, “complete in Him.”
- Salvation and holiness are effected fully “by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
The Call to Walk in the Spirit
- Key Scriptures: Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:8; 4:30
- Though sanctification is a settled fact, believers must live out their holiness.
- Instructions to “walk in the Spirit” and “walk as children of light” emphasize practical alignment with their already holy standing.

Scripture’s Emphasis on Completed Sanctification
- Key Scriptures: Philippians 3:12; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:10
- The concept of gradual sanctification originates in theological tradition rather than explicit biblical teaching.
- Paul’s mention of not having “already attained” (Phil. 3:12) refers to ministry growth, not insufficient holiness.
Already Sanctified, Washed, and Justified
- Key Scriptures: 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5
- Biblical texts show believers fully cleansed by Christ’s blood, without any notion of partial sanctification.
- Growth concerns the outworking of completed holiness, not incremental attainment.

Unified Scriptural Witness
- Across the Old Testament, the “little flock,” and the Body of Christ, sanctification is depicted as God’s complete act rather than a progressive process.
- Israel was declared a “holy nation” from the start (Exodus 19:6).
- The remnant at Pentecost experienced a definitive bestowal of the Spirit, prefiguring Israel’s eventual heart-level obedience.
- In the Body of Christ, believers are fully sanctified in Christ and called to express that reality in daily life.
No Room for Partial Sanctification
- Sanctification, in all eras, is rooted in God’s immediate work—by covenant for Israel, by the Spirit’s baptism for the little flock, and by Christ’s finished sacrifice for the Body of Christ.
- Scripture presents no biblical basis for “progressive sanctification”; rather, it describes a singular, completed event coupled with ongoing growth in understanding and practice.

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