What Is Sanctification in the Bible — Meaning Explained
Sanctification is the ongoing process by which God transforms believers into the likeness of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Sanctification is the ongoing process by which God transforms believers into the likeness of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication." — 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (KJV)
What "What Is Sanctification in the Bible?" Actually Means
While justification is a one-time event where God declares a sinner righteous, sanctification is the lifelong process of being made holy. It has three aspects: positional (believers are already set apart in Christ), progressive (the daily work of the Spirit conforming us to Christ's image), and final (when believers are glorified in heaven). Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that God's will is their sanctification. He told the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is the one working in them. Sanctification involves cooperation between divine power and human obedience — God provides the ability, but believers must actively pursue holiness, put off sin, and put on Christlike character.
Anchor Verses (KJV)
1 Thessalonians 4:3
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication."
Philippians 2:12-13
"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
2 Corinthians 3:18
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
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