{"id":304,"date":"2020-10-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/battlehardenedbeliever.com\/?p=304"},"modified":"2020-10-27T00:00:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T00:00:06","slug":"sanctification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/battlehardenedbeliever.com\/?p=304","title":{"rendered":"Sanctification"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following is an excerpt from my paper The Role of the Holy Spirit in Mission<\/em> (available on Amazon Kindle):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sanctification process, which follows the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is the work of the Holy Spirit.[1]<\/a> In 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, Paul is contrasting the difference between the believer\u2019s old life with all of its sinfulness with his or her new life whereby the body of the believer becomes \u201ca temple of the Holy Spirit.\u201d Commenting on Titus 3:5, Philip H. Towner observes an \u201cunqualified exclusion of human effort\u201d in the sanctification process (cf. Rom 9:12; Eph 2:9).[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sanctifying work of renewal and refinement of the Christian\u2019s character enables the believer to \u201cput to death the misdeeds of the body\u201d and live a life that is pleasing to God (Rom 8:13). Those who are submissive to the Holy Spirit\u2019s leading will develop the qualities of \u201clove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control\u201d (Gal 5:22-23). Richard N. Longenecker notes \u201cthe works of the flesh\u201d which are accomplished by \u201chuman effort\u201d stand in stark contrast to the \u201cfruit of the Spirit\u201d which are given \u201cby God through [H]is Spirit as opposed to being effected through human activity.\u201d[3]<\/a> While the Holy Spirit\u2019s conversion and sanctifying work do not require human effort, they do require obedience from the individual. This is why Paul commands the believers to choose the fruit of the Holy Spirit by not choosing to engage in sinful behaviors. As believers choose to trust and obey God\u2019s word in the midst of their daily experiences, the Holy Spirit will empower them to stand firm in their faith and will grow them into maturity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Holy Spirit is the divine agent of sanctification, he does use means. First and foremost, He uses the Word of God (John 15:3; 17:17; Acts 20:32; Ephesians 5:25, 26; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 1 Peter 2:2). The Spirit of God also uses the local church, other believers, other people, and even experiences. As we encounters experiences and other people, we are to hold tightly to God\u2019s Word while prayerfully depending on the power of His Spirit to correctly discern His voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[1]<\/a>1 Cor 6:11; 2 Th 2:13;Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a>Philip H. Towner, The Letters of Timothy and Titus<\/em>, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 779.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a>Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians<\/em>, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 41 (Dallas: Word, 1990), 259.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is an excerpt from my paper The Role of the Holy Spirit in Mission (available on Amazon Kindle): The sanctification process, which follows the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is the work of the Holy Spirit.[1] In 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, Paul is contrasting the difference between the believer\u2019s old life with all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t