The Sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit

1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2

Jim Davis

"The process of canning is an excellent illustration of the gospel.  Let's say that you are going to preserve some peaches. What is first thing you have to do?  Sterilize the jars.  Why the process of sterilization?  So that the contents of the jars (the peaches) will be preserved from spoiling.

"You've never seen anyone decorate their kitchen with a sterile jar collection.  No, the only reason to sterilize jars is because you intend to put something in them.  We would never expect to find a person involved in only half the process of canning, just cleansing jars.  But have we done this exact thing with the gospel?  We have separated God's sterilization process--the cross--from His filling process, i.e., Christ coming to live in us through presence of the Holy Spirit!

"The Christian world, to a large extent, has been guilty of teaching half a gospel--that is the cross of Christ which brought us forgiveness of sins.  But by separating forgiveness of sins from the message of receiving the life of Christ, we have not only missed out on experiencing life, but we have lost sight of the purpose of forgiveness in the first place.  The reason that God had to deal once and for all with the sin issue was so that we could be filled with Christ 'without spoiling.'

“As a matter of fact, there is one final part of the canning process.  After sterilizing the jars and filling them with fruit, the jars are sealed.  Sealing keeps the good things inside and the bad things that would spoil the contents outside. This purpose of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives—he is there to seal our salvation and to keep our lives pure through the blood of Christ.

"Cleansing, filling, and sealing: a wonderful picture of salvation!" (Via Preachingtoday.com illustration database.)

There are two aspects to salvation: the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and our belief in the gospel. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul thanked God for the Christians in Thessalonica because God chose them “to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit” and through their belief in the gospel. The Living Bible translation says, “God chose from the very first to give you salvation, cleansing you by the work of the Holy Spirit and by your trusting in the Truth.”

Peter says that we have been saved “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood” (1 Peter 1:2). 

The sanctifying work of God’s Holy Spirit is the only thing that makes our obedience to the truth possible. There is no substitute for believing the truth the Holy Spirit has revealed, but there is no power to obey the truth apart from the Holy Spirit’s presence. 

We may not fully understand God’s sanctifying work but we must believe that it is God that is doing the sanctifying.

John 17:17-19
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. NIV
It is God who is to do the sanctifying. These verses tell us the importance of truth in our sanctification, but Jesus is praying that his Father will do his sanctifying work through the truth. That sanctifying work is done by God through the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is through the Holy Spirit’s Supernatural Power

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us sounds mysterious, but it is no more mysterious than your soul giving life to your body. When your soul returns to God you die. It is not something we fully understand, but we do comprehend it through faith. 

Jesus said that the Spirit is like the wind, we do not know where it comes or where it is going, but we understand its powerful influence in our lives. You don’t have to understand everything there is to know about the wind to go sailing. To sail you just learn to harness the winds power in the sails. Too many of our lives more nearly resemble the motorboat—they are man-driven.

The Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in our lives of necessity has to be an ongoing work that goes beyond simply putting us into the body of Christ. The Spirit has baptized us into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:130, but he continues to sanctify our lives. Paul saw the work of Christ giving him strength to empower him in his service to the Lord. Paul writes, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service” (1 Timothy 1:12 NIV). It is obvious throughout the New Testament that Christ empowers us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6
4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit who gives life. NKJV

Paul wants us to know that our sufficiency comes from God.

2 Corinthians 9:6-9
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written: 

"He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever."  NKJV
Throughout the New Testament we see the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as those first Christians sought to believe in the truth. Throughout the gospels the apostles taught that the power of their message came from the one who gave the message, rather than the message itself. They wanted the hearers to understand the powerful things they were accomplishing were impossible without the help of God.
2 Corinthians 4:5-12
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
 
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. NIV

In these verses Paul emphasizes the source of this all-surpassing power was God. God made their work possible despite the impossibilities they faced. Paul not only wants the Corinthians to know that the message came from God (1 Corinthians 2), but he also wants them to know the power of the gospel is from God, not from men. The Holy Spirit gives the gospel its power.

The Work of the Holy Spirit Today

Many people throughout history have erred by overemphasizing certain elements of the truth while ignoring others.  The Bible speaks of our walk with God as the flight of an eagle: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV).

Have you ever seen an eagle soar with one wing? Of course not! Nether can believers get off the ground and fly spiritually using just one wing. We have no problem accepting our need to believe the truth, but do we really accept the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as the one thing that makes our faith possible. Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand the power sustaining his preaching ministry came from the Spirit that gives life. Certainly our faith must be balanced. We must understand our part, but we must understand God’s ongoing work in our salvation.

Today the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is not miraculous, but it is supernatural.
Before Jesus was crucified he promised that he would not leave Christians comfortless. He promised to give us his Holy Spirit as a comforter, helper, and an enabler so that our lives would be guided into all truth.

John 14:15-18
15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. NIV

John 14:25-27
25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. NIV

John 16:5-15
5 "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 

12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. NIV 
Jesus wants his disciples to know that he is not going to leave them speechless when he ascends to heaven. However, we may conclude from these verses that the Holy Spirit was simply a messenger to reveal the truth once and for all time. He certainly did do that through the apostles. We may look at these verses and conclude that the sole comfort and help of the Holy Spirit comes only through a possession of the truth. However, the Holy Spirit is much more than a messenger of the truth.
Jesus wanted his disciples to know that he was not going to leave them powerless. Jesus said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” The comforting of the Holy Spirit comes when he helps us bear our burdens. If Jesus had revealed everything that was going to happen to his disciples, they would have not been able to stand up under the pressures of knowing what they had to face. Therefore, the Holy Spirit was going to come to lead them through their difficulties one step at a time.
Where the Holy Spirit Does his Work
The sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit is at work within our hearts. The paradox is that the Holy Spirit has given us the message of God, we must believe the message, but the power to believe comes from the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. 

Ephesians 3:16-19
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. NIV

The Holy Spirit not only strengthens our inner being so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith, he also works in us to persuade us to will and act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. NIV
The power of the Holy Spirit is at work within our hearts as he seeks to go carry out God’s will within in us. 
Philippians 1:4-6
4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. NIV

It is the Holy Spirit’s job to complete God’s work within us. We all have a tendency to leave things undone. You can notice examples of this occasionally when you walk along the beach and see the remains of partially built sand castles.  The sand sculptors had made significant progress, but apparently they got distracted or bored and stopped building before their castles were completed.  Likewise, the unfinished painting, the half-built house, and the incomplete manuscript are all reminders of our inclination to stop working on projects before we have completed them.

What a difference between man and God!  God will always finish what He has started. All of His masterpieces, planned in eternity past and begun in time, will be brought to fulfillment in eternity future.  That's when each believer will be completely conformed to His image.

The Holy Spirit stands side by side with us in all our circumstances.

2 Timothy 4:17
17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. NIV

It is essential that we see God in our circumstances. If we fail to do so we will surely fall. Paul sees God at work in our circumstances paving the road for our salvation as he provides ways in which our faith can stand. Paul writes, “. . . what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12-13). This word “advance” carries with it the idea that God cleared the road for Paul’s preaching. Later Paul says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 NIV).

In John Boykin’s book, The Gospel of Coincidence, he says that “Many Christians feel more comfortable with the idea that apart from Christ they can do nothing, than they do with the other side of that coin: that they can do all things through Him who strengthens them. ‘I can do nothing’ lets me off the hook; ‘I can do all things’ makes me wonder why I'm not doing anything. It's easier to piddle around wondering whether it's God's will that you rent this apartment or that one, than it is to face up to God's ultimate will for you: that you become conformed to the image of His Son.” (John Boykin in The Gospel of Coincidence. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 2.)

It is a lot easier to stand around and wait on God to change our financial situation than it is to throw away the credit cards and stop shopping for instant gratification.
The Holy Spirit stands beside us when we are personal tempted. 
1 Corinthians 10:12-13
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. NIV

God will make a way of escape, but the most important aspect of his work is that he will give us the strength to stand up in tempting times. He doesn’t promise to remove the temptation, but he promises us the strength to overcome. That strength comes from the Holy Spirit—that is where all our strength resides.

God wants us to know that we can’t stand on our own. In the following verses God wanted Israel to know how helpless they were depending upon their own ingenuity. 

Jeremiah 12:5-6
5 "If you have raced with men on foot 
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country, 
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? 
6 Your brothers, your own family--
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you. NIV

The Sanctifying Work of the Holy Spirit is not always Pleasant

The Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in Jesus’ life wasn’t always pleasant. Jesus offered himself up through the power of God’s eternal Spirit, but take note of the sacrifices he had to make.

Hebrews 9:11-14
11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! NIV

Our spirit is always being transformed, either by God or by the Evil One. Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32 NIV). Most of us know what it is to be sifted like wheat.

What is happening to us is not nearly as important as what God is doing for us. When we are engaged in a spiritual battle and feel pressures that we know we cannot endure, we must depend upon the work of God’s Spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. NIV

We have learned through the years that what is happening to us is not nearly as important as what God wants to happen within us as we go through these trials. We have learned that we must cooperate with what God wants to do in us through these trials.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. NIV

David recognized his need to be led by the Holy Spirit after his adultery with Bathsheba. 

Psalms 51:10-12
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
11 Do not cast me from your presence 
or take your Holy Spirit from me. 
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation 
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. NIV

Conclusion:

The work of the Holy Spirit begins at baptism, for that is where the Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ as we submit to Christ command to be baptized. But it doesn’t stop there.

1 Corinthians 12:13
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. NIV

Acts 2:38-39
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call." NIV

1 Peter 3:18-22
18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand-with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. NIV

1 Thessalonians 5:19-24
19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.