Impacts
of Sanctification
What, if any, are
the impacts of sanctification? What is impacted? How are the
intellect, affections, will, and body made holy and conformed to the
image of Christ?
Intellect
The intellect of
the believer must be sanctified or grow in Christlikeness. Since the
believer is a new creation, the new self must be renewed in knowledge
after the image of Christ. Our thoughts make us what we are. They
control us and govern our affections and wills. The mind of a
believer must not be underestimated, ignored, polluted, or
malnourished. The mind must be fed a steady diet of God's word in
order to maintain the health of the body and soul. Neglect here is
perilous. Disregard for the mind means disregard for the soul. What
we feed our minds fills our hearts, warms our affections, and guides
our wills.
We
are to think differently. “...The new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:10).
Believers must grow in knowledge and discernment. “And
it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with
knowledge and all discernment,
so that you may
approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day
of Christ, filled
with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to
the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9-11).
This
is achieved by our cooperation with the Spirit as he transforms and
renews our minds. “
Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by
testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). The intellect is sanctified
by increasing in knowledge of God. Simply put, we must learn all we
can of God, his ways, and his works. “And so, from the day we
heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be
filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding, so
as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him,
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God” (Col. 1:9-10).
Another way that are minds grow in holiness is by taking every
thought captive. We must guard our minds and thoughts. “We...take
every thought captive to obey Christ” (2Cor. 10:5).
Affections
The affections are
the passions, the heart, the emotions, the very being or center of a
person. If the intellect is the mind, the affections are the soul.
The Christian, then, is to mature in soul; to become more like Christ
in the heart. When the heart or soul is transformed, this affects
the entire life of a believer. The believer becomes more spiritual.
Attitudes and dispositions are changed. There is joy in the soul,
praise in the heart, and songs on the lips.
Believers
are to grow in the fruits of the Spirit. “But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.
And those who belong
to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires” (Gal. 5:22-24). These fruits are our inner being, our
passions and affections.
As
believers grow and mature, they must wage war on the passions of the
flesh. “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain
from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul”
(1Pet. 2:11). We must, with the help of the Spirit, overcome the
sinful desires of our flesh. This is achieved by growing in
Christlikeness, or the fruits of the Spirit. Our godly affections
increase stymieing and retarding our sinful passions- the flesh.
What follows is a
hatred for the world. “Do not love the world or the things in the
world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
him” (1Jn. 2:15). As we are transformed, we become more and more
dissatisfied with the world and all the sin, godlessness, hatred, and
impurities it contains.
Along
with these, as a believer's affections are made more like the
Savior's, the heart desires to only obey God. “But thanks be to
God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from
the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
and, having been set
free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:17-18).
Everything changes. The soul that once obeyed the lusts of the
flesh now desires to submit to the Lord of glory.
What
all of this means is that a believer is transformed from the inside
out. This results in the destruction of sinful passions. Our flesh
becomes weaker and weaker, while our hearts grow in holiness and
godliness. Our very natures are transformed- everything is different
and made new.
Will
When the minds and
affections of believers are transformed, the will is stirred and
aligned with the rest of the faculties. The will is our ability to
choose. Once the will is impacted by the grace of God and the power
of the Spirit, it becomes easier and more frequent to determine to
live for godliness rather than sin. The soul, the entire person, is
resolved to behave more like Christ.
God
works in the life of believers in order to impact their wills so that
they will obey his. Our wills must be bent to desire to please and
obey God. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so
now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who
works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”
(Phil. 2:12-13). “Now may the God of peace who brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the
blood of the eternal covenant,
equip you with
everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever
and ever. Amen” (Heb. 13:20-21).
The
objective of our salvation is that those created new in Christ Jesus
are to do good works. We are saved to do the works of God; saved to
do his will. Our wills have got to be altered in order for us to
accomplish this. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should
walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). “...Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for
us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a
people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Tit.
2:13-14).
Put
simply, believers obey God and seek to do what pleases him. Since
our natures have been made new in Christ, our wills have been
radically transformed. Our lust for sin has been replaced by a love
for godliness and holiness. Our natural bent to disobey the Lord has
been altered so much so that we now are compelled to obey God.
Christians are truly new creatures. We now serve God, in addition
to what has already been mentioned, out of a sense of gratitude for
all that he has done on our behalf. Believers demonstrate their
appreciation of God for his salvation and amazing blessings by
obeying him and seeking to glorify him by endeavoring to become more
like Christ. It is now our aim in life to honor and serve our Lord.
Body
The body of a
believer must also come under the influence of the sanctifying power
of God. Christians are not only to grow in Christlikeness in their
intellects, affections, and wills, but their bodies too must be made
holy. The flesh must be subdued and purified.
Believers
are encouraged to keep their bodies sound and blameless. “Now may
the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole
spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ” (1Thess. 5:23). The body of a believer is to be holy
and cleansed of anything that defiles. “Since we have these
promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of
body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God”
(2Cor. 7:1).
In
addition, the body is not to be used as an instrument for sin. “Let
not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its
passions. Do
not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,
but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from
death to life, and your members to God as instruments for
righteousness” (Rom. 6:12-13). One way believers may do this is to
flee from sexual immorality. “The body is not meant for sexual
immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1Cor.
6:13).
The
body of a believer is to glorify God. Our bodies are the temples of
the Holy Spirit. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of
the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your
own, for
you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1Cor.
6:19-20). This means, among other things, that we are to care for
our bodies. They, as well as our souls, have been redeemed by
Christ. Therefore, we are to protect them, consume healthy food,
drink plenty of water, get enough rest, abstain from damaging
substances, exercise, and refrain from anything and everything that
will harm, corrupt, poison, or weaken. Not only must we avoid sin,
but we must also care for what God has given us. Sanctification
includes our bodies being made into the image of Christ- growing in
holiness and decreasing in sinfulness.
The holiness of God
touches every sphere of our lives and being. Nothing is left
unaffected by the sanctifying influence of God. The minds, hearts,
decisions, and bodies of believers are impacted. Nothing is the
same. Salvation changes everything. Conformity to Christ in body
and soul is now the sole driving force in a believer. We want to be
like our Savior. We want to honor and glorify the King with the
gifts that he has bestowed upon us. And, the chief gift is
ourselves- our soul, life, intellect, affections, will, and body.
May everything in us, including us, be conformed into the image of
Christ, by his grace and for his glory.
