making progress?

. . . you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 NLT

1 Corinthians 6:11 – the meaning of it all

This morning we read 1 Corinthians, chapters 5 and 6. My take-away was deeper understanding of a couple of words that often baffle new believers. Let me elaborate.

In justification God did something for us In sanctification God does something in us. Justification has to do with our standing before God; sanctification proceeds from Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

re: sanctification

There are two aspects to the biblical use of the term “sanctification” (hagiamos, from hagios, or “holy” in the Greek).

The first aspect refers to the act of grace whereby a believer at conversion is set apart from the world (and from self-seeking) to God as His sacred possession. In this sense we have already been perfectly sanctified in the site of God.

Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 RSV

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:10 RSV

Sanctification continues to the end of our earthly life; it is a once for all act.

1 Thess. 5:23May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 2:11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Hebrews 13:12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
Romans 15.16 CEV . . . God did this so that the Holy Spirit could make the Gentiles into a holy offering, pleasing to him.

re: justification

The second aspect refers to that process of spiritual growth by which the believer dies more and more to self and sin and lives more and more to Christ and righteousness. “Justification” and regeneration are progressive and bring about growth and maturity in the believer.

Negatively it implies the putting off of the old; positively it speaks of putting on the new.

Romans 6:11-12 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.
Colossians 3:5-6 TLV Therefore, put to death what is earthly in you—sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed—for that is idolatry. Because of such things God’s wrath is coming upon the sons of disobedience.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves in tender compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience— 13 bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord pardoned you, so also you must pardon others. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfect harmony. 15 Let the shalom of Messiah rule in your hearts—to this shalom you were surely called in one body. Also be thankful. 16 Let the word of Messiah dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:12-17 TLV

The ultimate goal is to bring us into conformity to Jesus Christ and to His sinless perfection.

Romans 8:28-29 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.
1 Thess. 4:1-3 MSG One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.

Finally, either at death or at the coming of Christ Jesus we shall be made perfect in holiness, for we shall see him as He is.

Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3,2