Photo Credit: “I will persevere through the face of disappointment and hope you realize that life’s challenges make us stronger and more grateful humans. after we freak out.” by englishsnow is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
I have recently come across an interesting article on the subject of sanctification; Rainwater, Jacob D., Holy Holy Holy: Paul’s Three-Fold Understanding of Sanctification in Light of His Inaugurated Eschatology, MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019, Link: https://www.academia.edu/40456763/Holy_Holy_Holy_Pauls_Three_Fold_Understanding_of_Sanctification_in_Light_of_His_Inaugurated_Eschatology?email_work_card=view-paper.
I quote here from the author’s abstract of his article:
“In this paper, I argue that Paul is able to discuss sanctification as a past, present, and future reality by viewing sanctification through the lens of inaugurated eschatology…. Paul’s already-not yet framework will be applied to the doctrine of sanctification, which will be shown to resolve the tension raised in Paul’s three uses….”
The author proceeds (page 1) to elaborate on this theme of three-fold sanctification:
“Sanctification is the process of growing more like Christ. Or, maybe, sanctification is how the believer is described when he or she is saved. Or, better yet, perhaps ‘sanctified’ is what believers will be when Jesus returns. Well, according to Paul, all three of these definitions are, in some way, an accurate way to describe sanctification. Paul’s three-fold use of [the Greek term] ‘hagiasmos’ [that is, sanctification or holiness] raises the question, ‘How can Paul simultaneously treat sanctification as status, a process, and a future promise?’ Without a means by which to explain this three-fold use of the term, the interpreter runs the risk of reducing this idea to a smattering of disconnected notions, possibly in contradiction with one another. However, there is a resolution to the tension in Paul’s understanding of sanctification. To this end, this paper will argue that the apparent tension raised by the various ways Paul discusses sanctification is resolved when Paul’s doctrine of sanctification is examined in light of Paul’s ‘already-not yet,’ inaugurated-eschatological framework.”
The author further explains (page 36) this notion of various levels of sanctification:
“Paul discusses sanctification in three ways. The first way is in a definitive, soteric sense. In this sense, Paul describes sanctification as a status bestowed on the believer at salvation, whereby God sets the believer apart for his service. This sense is the primary sense with which Paul describes sanctification. The second sense is in a future, eschatological sense. In this sense, Paul describes sanctification as a future reality that the believer will enjoy upon Christ’s second return. The Apostle typically describes this future promise as contingent upon the soteric [that is, having to do with salvation] sanctification already achieved, and the ongoing faithfulness of the believer. The last sense with which Paul describes sanctification is in an ongoing, ethical sense. In this sense, the believer is encouraged to be obedient to the commands of Christ, and faithful to continue in the faith. This ongoing ethical sanctification is an effort to conform to the reality of definitive sanctification, with the goal of arriving at future sanctification. The question arises: How can all three of these senses be true at the same time?”
Sanctification, according to the author, includes both a past and future component, as he illustrates below (page 30):
“For Paul, holiness is not just a definitive status gained at salvation, but an eschatological status to be bestowed on the last day. As noted, this eschatological status is contingent on the soteric status, as well as the ethical component (which will be addressed). The believer is sanctified — or made holy — when he is united to Christ at salvation, and upon Christ’s return, the believer’s obedience to live out their status as ‘holy’ will be made complete. Holiness, then, is both definitive in the past, and promised in the future.”
Both these states or spheres of holiness, or sanctification, are contingent, according to the author, on a third sphere, namely, sanctification as a present, ongoing process in our earthly lives in which we persevere in our faith through ethical conduct (page 41 and page 44):
“The third way that Paul understands sanctification is as a present, progressive work wherein the believer undergoes a process of being sanctified. In light of the believer’s position of holiness and the promise of eschatological holiness, the Christian must continually live in a way that conforms to Christ.…[P]rogressive sanctification does not grow the believer into something he is not already, but grows the believer into conformity with who he actually is in Christ.” (Emphasis in italics added).
The author reconciles these three phases of sanctification through the lens of Paul’s “already-but-not-yet” eschatological framework, which the author summarizes in the following way (page 45-46):
“Paul speaks about holiness in three distinctive ways. He speaks of holiness as a definitive state obtained at the moment of salvation, as an ongoing process in the Christian life, and as a future consummation upon Christ’s return. On the surface, Paul’s three-fold use of sanctification appears confused, but careful exegesis shows that these three senses of sanctification are indeed present in Paul’s writing. The tension is resolved by recognizing that Paul understood soteriology broadly, and sanctification specifically, through an inaugurated-eschatology framework, often called ‘the already-not yet.’ He saw that the eschatological blessings of God’s kingdom have broken through to the present, so that believers experience them now. It is only by understanding Paul’s already-not yet framework can a more robust doctrine of sanctification be constructed, which provides a means by which all three senses can be true. Truly, the believer is as holy as Christ, grows in conformity to his holy position, and longs for the consummation of his holiness.”
What the author refers to as “progressive sanctification” is the linchpin between the already realized sanctification that comes automatically through the believer’s acceptance of Christ and the future, not yet realized, sanctification that comes with Christ’s return and the fulfillment of the current age. This progressive, ongoing process of sanctification is grounded, according to the author, on the believers’ obedience to Christ as they live out their earthly lives (page 45):
“Progressive sanctification, then, needs to be anchored between the dual pillars of definitive and future sanctification. The Christian is as holy as Christ is holy, because he has been united to Christ by faith. This reality fuels the believer’s ability to obey, which brings him into greater and greater conformity with his identity in Christ. Upon Christ’s return, this conformity will be brought to completion so that the Christian’s ethical experience perfectly matches their soteric status as holy.”
So far so good. There is a problem, however, with this three-fold notion of sanctification, and it arises with the idea of our ongoing obedience as a necessary component of sanctification that holds together this “already-but-not-yet” framework. One might ask how, exactly, is this Godly obedience brought about in the lives of us sinners. The author tells us in this one critical sentence (page 45): “The Christian is as holy as Christ is holy, because he has been united to Christ by faith. This reality fuels the believer’s ability to obey, which brings him into greater and greater conformity with his identity in Christ.” (Emphasis in italics).
Here, we have the often-repeated notion of believers’ perseverance as an essential component of their completed salvation. Thus, it falls upon the believer to persevere in obedience in order to complete the process of salvation, but how can this be when we know that our faith, and thus our salvation, is a gift from God so that no one may boast?Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT): “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Emphasis in italics).
The crucial point is this: If our obedience to Christ, that is, our ethical conduct, is a prerequisite binding together the “already-but-not-yet” eschatological framework that seals our complete and eternal salvation, does not the believer have cause to boast? After all, if believer A perseveres and believer B falls short, does not believer A have reason to “pat himself on the back” in relation to believer B, whether he actually does so or not? Moreover, how can believer A’s so-called obedience or perseverance possibly meet God’s standards of righteousness? In Isaiah 64:6 (NLT), we read that “[w]e are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” (Emphasis in italics). Additional verses amplifying this theme of our so-called righteousness falling short of God’s standard include Romans 3:23 (NIV): “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”; Romans 7:18 (NIV): “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out”; and 1 John 1:18 (NIV): “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
In the Reformed/Evangelical/Protestant tradition, roughly speaking, all works apart from Christ are filthy rags, even post‑conversion works, and therefore all such works fall short of God’s standard of righteous conduct, so that salvation is, and must be, wholly by faith. For a discussion of this view generally, a good place to start are the essays of Robert N. Wilkin in Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgment, Stanley, Allen P., General Editor, (Zondervan 2013). In the more lenient view of the Catholic/Orthodox/Wesleyan tradition, again roughly speaking, works done in and pursuant to God’s grace are not filthy rags but are a legitimate part of one’s sanctification and transformation. For a discussion of this view, one might profitably read the essays of Michael P. Barber in that same volume noted above. Even here, however, such works performed “in grace” are still grounded, at least in part, on conscious human obedience to God’s commands. It is still volitional conduct about which the believer would have cause to boast in relation to other believers who have not so conducted themselves “in grace.” This is not to say that “good works” are unimportant or not part of God’s plan for his followers, since they clearly are; Ephesians 2:10 (NIV): “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Emphasis in italics).
Here, we finally arrive at the nub of all this. How can the believer be obedient to God’s commands, whether performed “in grace” or not, and yet not have some reason to boast against believers who at times fall short; that is, how can it be that believers’ volitional conduct plays no role in their ultimate salvation when scripture clearly provides that they are required to persevere in the faith? Does not Jesus Himself say in Matthew 24:13 (NLT): “the one who endures to the end will be saved”? The answer is quite straightforward. Not only does our faith come from Christ as a gift, but so does our perseverance. Perseverance is, therefore, to be understood not as something we do, but as Christ’s continual perseverance on our behalf once we come to faith. In that way, believers truly have nothing to boast about.
One more point needs to be addressed. What is the scripturally based mechanism, you might ask, as to how Christ’s perseverance on our behalf is accomplished? The answer here is also rather straightforward. It arises from a correct reading of 2 Corinthians 5:10, the so-called Judgment Seat of Christ, by which Christ continually interacts with believers in this life to usher them into eternity. A proper reading of 2 Corinthians 5:10 goes something like this: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive in our bodies what is due us for what we have done, whether good or bad.” (Emphasis in italics). This contrasts with the conventional reading (NIV): “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (Emphasis in italics.) For scriptural support for the revised rendering of this important passage (locating the final judgment of believers from a future apocalyptic event to a current, ongoing reality), please go to the search link of this blog, insert the word “judgment,” wait a second or two, and you will find a slew of articles on the subject, any one of which should point you in the right direction.
The bottom line is that Christ, through his role as judge, completes the process of sanctification of his followers by graciously and mercifully (if at times through uncomfortable or even painful admonishments as indicated in Hebrews 12:11 (ESV): “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant”) interacting with us in this life, in other words persevering on our behalf, a process that we sinners could not possibly accomplish on our own, “so that no one may boast.” Inaugurated eschatology, properly understood, thus incorporates the final judgment of believers as part of the believers’ earthly life, which is consummated on each believer’s death, at which point he or she enters eternity in their new, resurrected spiritual bodies with no further judgment in any comprehensive, final sense required.
To sum up, everything that needs to be done before we fully enter into eternity, be it sanctification, purification, suffering, gradually putting on our new spiritual bodies, the sacraments, or anything else necessary for our full transformation into heavenly glory, it is all accomplished with Christ’s direct supervision and guidance as we live out our lives here on earth through the process of judgment. While this is truly good news, should it really come as a surprise? Does anyone believe that we could pull any of this off on our own without Christ’s constant participation?
Leave a Reply