Sanctification Lesson 1 Part II Study Notes

These notes continue Part I of the lecture. Who makes us holy? How do grace and human action relate? When is sanctification experienced? Where does holiness direct our attention and service? R

The lesson in one minute

God is the one who sanctifies, and he sanctifies the whole person. His grace does not make the believer passive; it creates the capacity for faithful action. Believers have already been set apart in Christ, yet they continue to grow and await completion. Holiness also shapes ordinary life and sends God's people to love and serve others. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Philippians 2:12–13; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Philippians 3:12–16; 1 Timothy 4:1–10; Genesis 12:1–3.)

Who makes believers holy?

Paul's closing prayer names God as the subject of sanctification: the God of peace himself sanctifies, and the faithful God who calls believers will bring his work to completion. The whole believer is the object of this work. Paul's “spirit and soul and body” has a focus on completeness; the professor does not take the phrase as a proof that humans consist of exactly three separable parts. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24.)

This makes sanctification a gift of the gospel. Christ is believers' sanctification, as well as their righteousness and redemption. The gospel includes God's pardon and his transforming work. Dr. R. Michael Allen connects this with the pairing of repentance and forgiveness in Jesus' commission and the apostles' preaching. (1 Corinthians 1:30; Luke 24:46–47; Acts 5:31.)

Calvin's “double grace.” Dr. R. Michael Allen draws on John Calvin's The Institutes of the Christian Religion, especially Book III, chapters 6–10 (often published separately as A Little Book on the Christian Life) and III.11.1. Calvin describes Christ's two inseparable benefits as reconciliation or justification and regeneration or sanctification. Justification is the believer's right standing before God; sanctification is the Spirit's renewal of the believer. Both come through Christ's grace. The believer's changed conduct is a result of this gospel gift, rather than the source of it. (Calvin, Institutes III.6–11, especially III.11.1; 1 Corinthians 1:30.)

How do God's work and our action fit together?

God's sanctifying action enables responsible human action. Dr. R. Michael Allen invokes John Owen to explain that God's grace awakens genuine duty, effort, and love. This fits Paul's instruction to work out salvation because God is at work within believers, and the call to holiness throughout one's conduct. (Philippians 2:12–13; 1 Peter 1:15–16; Matthew 5:48. )

Why these actions can work together: God's holiness means more than moral innocence. God is utterly distinct from creatures—what the Dr. R. Michael Allen calls qualitative transcendence. His action is of a different order from ours, so his work can give life to creaturely action rather than replace it. Dr. R. Michael Allen connects this way of speaking with theologian Kathryn Tanner. (Isaiah 6:3; Hosea 11:9.)

Dr. R. Michael Allen uses Scripture's authorship as an analogy. Paul really wrote his letter, with human thought and purpose; Scripture is also God's word. Divine inspiration works through human authors rather than erasing them. Likewise, God's sanctifying work empowers the believer's real response. (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 Thessalonians 1:1.)

Practical implication: Pray and rely on God's promise, then act: repent, train in godliness, and pursue obedient habits. Dependence on grace is a reason for effort, not a reason to wait passively. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Philippians 2:12–13; 1 Timothy 4:7–10.)

When does sanctification happen?

Dr. R. Michael Allen uses the “already and not yet” pattern, also called inaugurated eschatology. Christ has died, risen, and given the Spirit; his kingdom has begun. Christians still await Christ's return and the full removal of sin and death. Sanctification shares this pattern. (1 Corinthians 6:11; Romans 8:19–23; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24.)

Already: definitive sanctification. Believers are truly set apart in Christ. Paul can speak of the Corinthians as already sanctified and can say that they were washed and sanctified. Dr. R. Michael Allen connects this decisive identification with Christ to baptism and union with him. (1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11; Romans 6:3–4; 1 Peter 2:9.)

Not yet: progressive sanctification. Paul says he has not attained perfection, yet he presses on because Christ has made him his own. He urges mature believers to think this way and to hold to what they have attained while continuing toward the goal. Paul also prays for the Thessalonians to be sanctified completely. Growth is real, but it is unfinished in this life. (Philippians 3:12–16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Westminster Confession of Faith 13.2–3)

Hold both together: A Christian can be truly holy in Christ and still need further renewal. The first truth gives assurance; the second calls for honest self-examination and continued effort. (1 Corinthians 6:11; Philippians 3:12–16; Hebrews 10:14.)

How does holiness shape ordinary life?

In 1 Timothy 4, Paul rejects teachers who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods God created. His answer is not thoughtless consumption. Created goods are received with thanksgiving, according to God's word and prayer. Dr. R. Michael Allen point is that ordinary gifts can be used in a holy way when received in dependence on God. Paul then calls Timothy to train himself for godliness. (1 Timothy 4:1–10, especially 4:3–8.)

Asceticism is disciplined self-denial. The passage opposes the false teachers' blanket prohibitions; it does not declare every form of fasting or voluntary celibacy wrong. Dr. R. Michael Allen focus is the thankful, prayerful reception of God's gifts. (1 Timothy 4:3–5.)

Application: Holiness concerns how a believer eats, works, enjoys created goods, prays, and gives thanks. Being set apart for God changes engagement with ordinary life; it need not remove the believer from it. (1 Timothy 4:4–5; Colossians 3:1–2, 23–24.)

How does holiness lead to service?

God sets Abram apart and promises to bless him, but the promise reaches outward: all the families of the earth are to be blessed through him. Peter likewise calls God's people a holy nation and a royal priesthood so that they may proclaim God's excellencies. The lecture therefore connects being set apart with serving others. (Genesis 12:1–3; 1 Peter 2:9.)

Dr. R. Michael Allen reads the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381)—“one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church”—as a reminder that holiness belongs with a church sent into the world. In the creed, “catholic” means universal.

Clarification: “Apostolic” also refers to the church's foundation in, and continuity with, the apostles and their teaching. The outward-mission emphasis is Dr. R. Michael Allen application of the term, not the creed's complete definition. (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, article on the church; compare 1 Peter 2:9.)

Books mentioned: Jo Bailey Wells, God's Holy People: A Theme in Biblical Theology, explores holiness across the biblical canon and the relation of Israel to the nations. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book III, chapter 10, “Hope,” argues that attention to heaven can equip Christians to do good on earth. Dr. R. Michael Allen also names Gregory of Nyssa, Basil of Caesarea, African American spirituals, William Wilberforce, and Chinese Christians as historical illustrations of sacrificial service flowing from religious conviction. These

Main takeaway: Devotion to God should deepen love of neighbor. Heavenly hope can strengthen self-giving service in ordinary and public life. (Genesis 12:1–3; 1 Peter 2:9; Colossians 3:1–2.)

Quick recall

1. Who acts? God himself sanctifies the whole believer. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24.)

2. What follows? Grace gives believers the power and responsibility to act. (Philippians 2:12–13.)

3. When? Believers are already set apart in Christ and are still being renewed. (1 Corinthians 6:11; Philippians 3:12–16.)

4. How is daily life affected? Receive God's gifts with thanks, prayer, and obedience. (1 Timothy 4:3–8.)

5. Where does holiness lead? Toward God and outward in service to others. (Genesis 12:1–3; 1 Peter 2:9.)

Reference checks from the transcript

The stone-to-flesh heart image alluded to at the start of the lecture comes from Ezekiel 36:26–27. Jeremiah 31:31–34 speaks of God's law written on hearts, knowledge of God, and forgiveness.

The lecture says that 1 Thessalonians opens by calling its readers “saints.” 1 Thessalonians 1:1 addresses the “church of the Thessalonians”; the wording “sanctified ... called to be saints” appears in 1 Corinthians 1:2. The broader already-and-not-yet point is supported by 1 Corinthians 6:11 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24.

The transcript says “Joe Bailey Wells” and “Gregory Nessa.” The names are Jo Bailey Wells and Gregory of Nyssa.

Questions for review

1. How does 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 identify both the one who sanctifies and the one who is sanctified?

2. What does Calvin mean by Christ's “double grace”?

3. Why does the professor say God's action can strengthen, rather than erase, human action?

4. How can Paul say believers were sanctified and still urge them to press on?

5. What is wrong with the false teachers' use of created goods in 1 Timothy 4:1–5? What does Paul prescribe instead?

6. How do Genesis 12:1–3 and 1 Peter 2:9 connect holiness with service?