Becoming Like Jesus
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.
1 Thessalonians 4:3
God’s story for us began when He said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Fallen humanity still has remnants of being created in God’s image. That is what separates them from the rest of creation. Animals operate out of divine instinct, but humans have the capacity to think, feel and choose. What we have all lost is the likeness in character and righteousness, for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul writes, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.” Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus. It is the gracious work of the Lord by which He progressively delivers us—justified believers—from the pollution of sin, transforms our character to be like His own, and enables us to bear fruit for His kingdom. When God sanctifies us, He sets us apart from sin and sinful behavior so we can be righteous and live a righteous life.
Justification is the act of a judge, while sanctification is the act of a priest. Through justification, God declares us righteous because of the righteousness of Christ, which is accounted to us. Through sanctification, God removes the pollution of sin from our lives. The process of justification is completed when we experience new birth in Christ and accept His sacrifice for our sins. For believers, it is always referred to in the past tense. Sanctification, however, begins at our new birth and is completed in heaven.
The Bible reveals that sanctification, like salvation, occurs in the past, present and future. We have been saved (see Ephesians 2:4-5,8) we are being saved (see 1 Corinthians 1:18), and we shall someday be fully saved from the wrath that is to come (see Romans 5:9-10). Even though we haven’t yet experienced all that salvation brings, God wants us to have the assurance of salvation (see 1 John 5:13), and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is our guarantee (see Ephesians 1:14). In the same way, we have been sanctified (see Acts 20:32), we are being sanctified (see Romans 6:22), and we shall someday be fully sanctified in heaven (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When sanctification is referred to in the past tense, it is commonly called “positional sanctification.” When sanctification is referred to in the present tense it is commonly called “progressive sanctification.” Both are important in understanding the process by which we become like Jesus. Our sanctification began when we receive Christ as our Savior, but if we viewed it as a completed action, it might lead us to believe we are perfectly righteous when we are not.
Positional sanctification is the basis for progressive sanctification. Christians are not trying to become children of God—they are children of God who are becoming like Christ. It is through progressive sanctification that we work out our salvation (see Philippians 2:12) and make real our experience the new life in Christ. We live “in order to please God” (1 Thessalonians 4:1), knowing that “God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life (verse 7). For this reason, “Anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit” (verse 8).
questions to consider:
What is the difference between being created in God’s image and being created in God’s likeness?
How is sanctification different from justification?
What are the dangers of focusing only on positional sanctification (it’s a done deal) or seeing only progressive sanctification (trying to become somebody you already are)?
Have you been fully saved? Fully sanctified? Partially saved? Partially sanctified? Explain.
How are you “working out” your salvation? What changes can you see now in your life that shows you are becoming more like Jesus every day?
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.