Justified, Sanctified, Glorified?

Bill Fuller
Jun 4
19 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

Positional Sanctification Delivers You from the Eternal Penalty of Sin

I Have Been Saved

(YOUR PAST)

Progressive Sanctification Delivers You from the Eternal Power of Sin

I Am Being Saved

(YOUR PRESENT)

Glorified Sanctification Delivers You from the Eternal Presence of Sin

I Shall Be Saved

(YOUR FUTURE)

Sanctification of a Believer

The word translated as “sanctification” in most Bibles means “separation" or to be set apart. It is used in the New Testament, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, of the separation of the believer from evil. It is the result of obedience to the Word of God through an intimate relationship with a personal, present, and active God.

Three phases of the Doctrine of Sanctification will help you understand what God has done and what God is doing in your Christian faith walk.

First, all believers are sanctified (past), meaning God has already set them apart. It represents a change in your spirit. It completely takes away the Penalty for your Sin.

Second, you are being sanctified (present), a process known as progressive sanctification. It represents an ongoing transformation of the soul (mind, heart, and will). This is how God's people are gradually separated from the world and become more like Jesus Christ. Progressive sanctification is what most applies to your daily walk with Jesus. It is a process that delivers you from the Power of Sin.

Third, we will be wholly sanctified (future), which involves God’s work of glorification for our eternal resurrected life. It represents the perfection of our mortal body to an immortal body. It is immediate, in the flash of an eye, that delivers you from the Presence of Sin.

This is accomplished through the power, guidance, and comfort of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. The believer's sanctification occurs in three areas—positional (you have been saved), progressive (you are currently being saved), and ultimate (you will be saved), representing the past, present, and future aspects of salvation. Positional and glorified (ultimate) sanctification are entirely the work of God. Progressive sanctification requires the cooperation of the believer, who is commanded to be filled with the Spirit.

"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit (continually being filled again and again)"(Ephesians 5:18).

Sanctification Involves All Three Members of the Holy Trinity

The process of sanctification involves all three persons of the Trinity. God the Father continually works in His children "to will and to work for His good pleasure." He transforms your desires, enabling you to seek to please Him, and He gives you the strength to do so. Jesus secured your sanctification through the cross and, essentially, has become your sanctification, setting you apart in His family and the "perfecter of your faith." The Holy Spirit acts as the primary agent in your sanctification, producing the fruit of sanctification within you.

Father God’s Work in Sanctification

God’s work in sanctification involves all three members of the Trinity. God the Father is constantly at work in His children. He changes our desires, making us want to please Him, and He empowers us to do so.

"... for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Jesus’s Work in Sanctification

Jesus earned our sanctification on the cross and, in essence, has become our sanctification and the “perfecter of our faith”.

"But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

"... fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"(Hebrews 12:2).

Holy Spirit’s Work in Sanctification

The Holy Spirit is the primary agent of your sanctification. The Spirit washes you, sets you apart, justifies you, and chooses you for obedience by His sanctifying work.

"Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11).

"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

"... according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure" (1 Peter 1:2).

Also, the Holy Spirit is the one who produces in us the fruit of sanctification.

"... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Positional Sanctification (I Have Been Saved)

Sanctification is a three-stage process – past, present, and future. The first stage is called positional sanctification and occurs at the beginning of our Christian lives. It is an initial moral change, a break from the power and love of sin.

It is the point at which believers can count themselves “dead to sin but alive to God.”

"For the death that He died (Jesus), He died to sin (ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt) once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to (glorify) God (in unbroken fellowship with Him). Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin (and your relationship to it broken), but alive to God (in unbroken unity and fellowship with Him) in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:10-11, Amplified Version).

Once sanctification has begun, we are no longer under sin’s dominion.

"For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under (unmerited, undeserved) grace (as recipients of God’s favor and mercy)" (Romans 6:14), Amplified).

There is a reorientation of desires, and we develop a love of righteousness. Paul calls it “slavery to righteousness.”

"But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed. And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s will and purpose" (Romans 6:17-18, Amplified).

The following passages show you what positional sanctification (I Have Been Saved Past Tense) has already done for the born-again Christian. Believers in Jesus Christ have been washed, cleansed, made holy, set apart for God, justified, saved, renewed, sanctified, loved, having no spot or wrinkle, and blameless.

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-12).

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Positional sanctification – justification. At salvation, believers are justified, declared righteous in conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). This is entirely a work of God.

You Are Justified

"But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared [in human form as the Man, Jesus Christ], He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we would be justified (made free of the guilt of sin) by His [compassionate, undeserved] grace, and that we would be [acknowledged as acceptable to Him and] made heirs of eternal life [actually experiencing it] according to our hope (His guarantee). This is a faithful and trustworthy saying" (Titus 3:4-8a, Amplified).

Christians are justified (deemed righteous before God) as a result of Salvation. In essence, Jesus bears our sins and grants us His righteousness. It is a complete done deal. We are saved by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection. Our debt for sins has been paid, and justice has been served. We are forgiven and now have (possess) eternal life. (see my blog on Salvation)

“Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein He pardoned all our sins and accepted us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of God imputed (assigned) to us and received by faith alone” (Westminster Shorter Catechism 33).

Justification Delivers Christians from the Penalty of Sin.

"For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).

This is entirely a work of God.

Sanctification and justification differ in several respects. Justification is a singular act of God, declaring a person "not guilty" due to Christ's sacrifice on the cross. In contrast, sanctification is a three-stage process that starts with justification and continues throughout one's life. Justification marks the beginning of a Christian's life "in Christ," while sanctification is the ongoing journey.

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death (positional sanctification). For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but (walk) according to the Spirit (progressive sanctification). For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, (set their minds on) the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:1-11).

Paul notes the reality of positional sanctification as the believer is in union with Christ, having been justified and declared righteous. Then he describes how this sanctification is worked out progressively in the life of the believer who walks according to the Spirit.

But I don’t always feel or act righteous in my brokenness and weakness. Can you relate? This is where God’s sanctifying Holy Spirit begins its work in a Christian’s journey or growth process. It's called progressive sanctification.

Progressive Sanctification (I Am Being Saved)

The second stage is known as progressive sanctification, which takes a lifetime to accomplish. As you grow in grace, you are gradually and consistently transforming to become more like Jesus. This happens through a process of daily spiritual renewal. It reflects the current reality and experience of our daily journey with the Lord. Here, the believer, having been justified, cleansed, and set apart (positional sanctification), is progressively delivered from the present power of sin in this world and their fleshly body. This process involves the believer's daily walk in Christ, where they are increasingly conformed to the image of Christ.

This can also be referred to as "experiential" sanctification, which leads to spiritual growth and maturity. The aim is to achieve Christlikeness, resulting from the Holy Spirit's work in cultivating godliness in a believer's life. Essentially, progressive sanctification involves becoming in experience what you are already positionally in Christ. The Holy Spirit acts in believers to liberate them mentally and behaviorally from the Power of Sin.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Thus, the progress of sanctification, or becoming Christlike, is marked by temptation, conflict, and spiritual warfare. Your new life "In Christ" is on a collision course with the world (rejecting Jesus), is opposed by Satan (the father of lies), and is fought by the flesh (carnal desires) within you. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that produces the tension or conflict in your life. This conflict in the life of a believer, rather than being proof of sanctification’s absence, is evidence of its work.

Progressive Sanctification is Commanded

Spiritual growth is not automatic but commanded by God.

"You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" (2 Peter 3:17-18).

It is also the believer's logical and moral obligation to actively pursue it.

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8;11-13).

Progressive sanctification is driven by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, which bears witness as the believer is empowered, filled, and led by the Holy Spirit. It is entirely an act of God, ensuring that the righteous live by faith and not by works.

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts (passions, evil desires) which were yours in your ignorance (before you knew the transforming power of the good news regarding salvation), but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior (conduct); because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Nonetheless, it requires a decision, a response to God, and obedience.

Delivers Christians from the Power of Sin

Progressive sanctification is a lifelong process. As we grow in grace (God's love and mercy), we are gradually – but steadily – changing into the image of Jesus

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

This occurs in a process of daily spiritual renewal.

"Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all" (Colossians 3:9-11).

The apostle Paul himself was being sanctified even as he ministered to others. Paul claimed that he had not reached perfection, but that he “pressed on” to attain everything Christ desired for him.

"Not that I have already obtained it (this goal of being Christlike) or have already become perfect, but (actively) I press on so that I may lay hold of (perfection) for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the (heavenly) prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).

Believers live, grow, and walk through the grace and truth of Jesus Christ, receiving God's grace upon grace. Grace is generously bestowed upon us in our journey to emulate Christ, serving as a foundation for spiritual maturity. Additionally, the righteousness of God is unveiled from faith to faith, as a righteous person lives by faith.

"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ" (John 1:16-17).

"For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'But the righteous man shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17).

The Christian's Role in Progressive Sanctification

Both passive and active roles are necessary for a healthy Christian life that fosters growth, faith, and maturity. Focusing too much on the passive role can result in spiritual laziness and a disregard for spiritual discipline. This approach ultimately leads to apathy and a lack of maturity.

Focusing too much on the active role can result in legalism, pride, and self-righteousness, ultimately leading to a joyless and judgmental Christian life. While you are called to pursue holiness, it is God who gives you the strength to achieve it. This results in a consistent and mature Christian life that truly mirrors the nature of your Holy God.

The Scriptures clearly state that you will never be completely free from the sin of the flesh in this life. You will face temptation as long as you are on this earth, but God always provides His children with a way to escape. Even if you sin, God will continually cleanse you. Thankfully, the work God has started in you, He will complete.

"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1 John 1:8-10).

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

" For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

Your role in sanctification involves both passively trusting in God and actively being empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Passive Role

Passively, we are to trust God to sanctify us, presenting our bodies to God

"...and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves (by faith) to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God"(Romans 6:13).

and yielding to the Holy Spirit.

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (trust that God is in control)" (Romans 12:1).

It is God's will to sanctify, set you apart, and make you holy, believe and trust Him by faith.

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3a),

Active Role

You are actively responsible for choosing (act of will), responding to God's call (act of heart), understanding His Word (act of mind), and letting the Holy Spirit empower you to do what is right, leading to obedient sanctification.

"...that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel (body) in sanctification (holiness) and honor"(1 Thessalonians 4:3b-4).

This involves putting to death the “misdeeds of the body”

"...for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:13),

and pursue peace and sanctification (growing in the image of God).

"Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14),

You are to actively flee immorality, which affects the body.

"Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body" (1 Corinthians 6:18),

Cleansing ourselves from every defilement by the power of God's promises.

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1),

Making every effort and applying all diligence in your faith to supplement our faith with moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. This is done by His calling and choosing to give you the strength to practice all these things.

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you" (2 Peter 1:5-11).

Glorified Sanctification (I Shall Be Saved)

When believers die, their spirits go to be with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Since nothing unclean can enter heaven (Revelation 21:27), we must be made perfect at that point. The sanctification of the whole person—body, soul, and spirit—will finally be complete when the Lord Jesus returns and we receive glorified bodies (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-49).

Glorification Delivers Christians from the Presence of Sin

The third stage of sanctification is called Glorification and delivers Christians from the Presence of Sin. It is the final stage in the salvation process and is the ultimate sanctification of the believer—the future glorification of the believer. It is realized at resurrection when the believer will be transformed into the likeness of Christ and presented to the Lord as holy. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is both the promise of and the agency for this future glorification, which includes 1) the redemption of the body, 2) an inheritance undefiled and eternal, and 3) deliverance from the future wrath of God.

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians. 1:13-14).

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

"Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).

Glorified sanctification occurs in the future. When believers die, their spirits go to be with Christ.

"Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— or we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Since nothing unclean can enter heaven,

"... and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life" (Revelation 21:27).

we must be made perfect at that point. The sanctification of the whole person—body, soul, and spirit—will finally be complete when the Lord Jesus returns and we receive glorified bodies.

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.... (Philippians 3:21).

Glorification is when Christians are resurrected from the dead unto eternal life: perishable to imperishable, dishonor to glory, weakness to power; sown a natural body and raised a spiritual body. Our living soul, which is an earthly image, becomes a life-giving spirit, which is a heavenly image.

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).

All of God's creation yearns to be united with Him in glory. You were created by God to share in His eternal glory through the redemption of your body. Salvation brings forgiveness of sins and eternal life, ultimately leading to Glory—eternal Glory.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it" (Romans 8:18-25).

"Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory" (2 Timothy 2:8-10).

Fuller of Grace and Truth