Holy Spirit in Sanctification
Text: John 17:17
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Define sanctification from its three elements (set apart, separated, dedicated) and explain how each element describes the same reality from a different angle.
- Explain how Christ was sanctified — what "He sanctified Himself" (John 17:19) means and why this does not imply he was previously unholy.
- Explain how Christians are sanctified by being "in Christ" — what the connection between Christ's sanctification and the Christian's sanctification is.
- Identify at least five of the eight agents and modes of sanctification listed in Section IV and state the Scripture that establishes each.
- Explain why the Holy Spirit is specifically named as the agent of sanctification and what "through the truth" (John 17:17) adds to that.
Thesis
Sanctification is the setting apart of the Christian from the world and unto God — accomplished by the Spirit, through the truth, by the will of God, in Christ. It is not achieved by the Christian's moral effort alone; it is the Spirit's work applied to the person who has entered Christ through the new birth. Because Christ was sanctified, and Christians are in Christ, the Christian's sanctification is grounded in Christ's own holy standing before the Father.
Burden
The connection between the Spirit and sanctification is often acknowledged but not developed. The burden is to establish that sanctification is not merely a moral quality the Christian develops over time — it is a specific status that the Spirit produces in the person who has been born again (born of water and the Spirit, John 3:5), a status that corresponds to the life of holiness the Christian is called to live.
Introduction
"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (John 17:17). The Lord's prayer for his disciples is specific: not comfort, not success, not protection from all suffering, but sanctification — the setting apart of these specific people for the holy purpose of bearing witness in the world. The mode: through the truth. The agent: the Father, who acts through the Spirit and through the Word.
The Holy Spirit was present in conversion. "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God'" (John 3:5). The new birth is the Spirit's work; the entrance into the spiritual kingdom is the Spirit's act. The Spirit who is present in conversion is the Spirit who continues the work of sanctification in the person who has entered.
I. What Is Sanctification?
Three elements together constitute the full definition.
Set apart for holy purpose. Sanctification is not a vague moral improvement — it is a specific action: the person is set apart, designated, appointed for a particular use. The Hebrew word qadosh and the Greek hagiazō both carry this fundamental meaning. The person who is sanctified is not merely made better; they are made different in kind — distinguished from the ordinary, from the common, from the world, for God's use and purpose.
Separated from the world. The setting apart implies separation — a distinction between the person who is sanctified and the world they live in. This separation is not physical withdrawal but moral and spiritual distinction: "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one" (John 17:15). The sanctified person remains in the world; they are not of it.
Dedicated to God. The third element gives the separation its positive content: the person is not merely separated from something but dedicated to something — specifically to God. The dedication is what the separation is for; the holiness has an object; the person belongs to God.
II. Christ Was Sanctified
"For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth" (John 17:19).
The statement is precise: Christ sanctifies himself. The reflexive form — he is not sanctified by another but sets himself apart, dedicates himself — indicates that his sanctification is an act of his will, not something done to him. What does it mean for Christ to sanctify himself?
He was holy — "the Holy One of God" (Luke 4:34). The sanctification is not from unholiness to holiness; it is the deliberate, willful dedication of his holy person to the specific purpose of redemption. He set himself apart for the sacrifice. He dedicated his sinless life to the act that would make the disciples' sanctification possible.
He lived in the world but was not of it. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17:16). Christ's own holy standing in the world — present in it, engaging with it, but not shaped by its values or claimed by its loyalties — is the model for the sanctification he prays for his disciples.
III. Christians Are Sanctified
The Christians' sanctification is grounded in their union with Christ who was sanctified.
In Christ. "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30). Christ has become our sanctification — meaning that the holy standing the Christian has before God is not generated by their own moral achievement but received by their union with the one who is holy. "In Christ" is the location of the sanctification; it is received through the new birth that unites the person with Christ.
Not in flesh but Spirit. "But 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" (Rom. 8:9). The person who is in Christ is governed by the Spirit, not by the flesh; the Spirit's indwelling is the ongoing condition of the sanctified life.
Spirit of adoption. "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!'" (Rom. 8:15). The Spirit who sanctifies is not a spirit of obligation — not the spirit of the slave who performs out of fear — but the Spirit of adoption, who establishes the relationship of a child to the Father and produces the confident intimacy of "Abba."
Spirit of holiness. "Concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness" (Rom. 1:4). The Spirit is specifically the Spirit of holiness — his characteristic nature is holiness, and it is this Spirit who indwells and sanctifies the Christian.
Sanctified in Christ. "To those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling" (I Cor. 1:2). The initial sanctification — the status of being set apart — is accomplished in Christ. The ongoing sanctification — the progressive holiness of life — is the outworking of that initial status.
Sealed by the Holy Spirit. "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" (Eph. 1:13). The seal is the Spirit's mark of ownership and identification — the person who belongs to God is marked as such by the Spirit's indwelling.
Received not the spirit of the world. "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God" (I Cor. 2:12). The contrast is specific: the Christian has received a different Spirit from the one that governs the world. This is the basis of the separation that sanctification requires.
IV. How Sanctified
Eight agents and modes of sanctification are specified in Scripture — each naming a different dimension of the same work.
Through the truth. "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (John 17:17). The word of God is the primary instrument of sanctification — not as a magical text but as the revealed will of God that shapes the mind, renews the thinking, and conforms the person to Christ. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). The renewing happens through the truth.
By the will of God. "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10). The sanctification accomplished at Christ's death — the once-for-all offering — was the will of God, not the achievement of the Christian. The status of holiness before God was established by the will of God expressed in the sacrifice of the Son.
Have righteousness and Spirit. "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30). Righteousness and sanctification come together in Christ — the person who has been made righteous in Christ has also been sanctified. The two are aspects of the same union.
Sanctified unto salvation. "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" (II Thess. 2:13). Sanctification is not an optional addition to salvation — it is the path to it, accomplished by the Spirit and through faith.
Sanctified of the Spirit. "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" (I Pet. 1:2). The Spirit's sanctifying work is named as the agent; the obedience and the blood complete the picture: it is the Spirit who sets apart the person who obeys and is covered by Christ's blood.
Sanctified by God. "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thess. 5:23). The Father is named as the agent of complete sanctification — not only the initial setting apart but the preservation of the whole person — spirit, soul, and body — until the Lord's return.
Sanctified by Christ. "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate" (Heb. 13:12). Christ is the agent through his blood — the sacrifice outside the gate is the means by which the people are sanctified. The location (outside the camp) and the means (his own blood) are both significant: the holy person goes to the unholy place; the pure blood is the instrument of the people's purity.
Sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit. "For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 15:16 — and the broader context: "to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles... so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit"). The Spirit is the sanctifying power in the Gentiles' acceptance before God.
Application
The eight agents and modes together produce one conclusion: sanctification is the Spirit's work, accomplished through truth, by God's will, in Christ's name, through Christ's blood, toward salvation. It is not the Christian's achievement — it is what the Christian has received and is called to live out.
The practical consequence: the Christian who is "set apart for holy purpose" (element one) and "separated from the world" (element two) and "dedicated to God" (element three) is not performing those things to earn sanctification. They are expressing what the Spirit has already done — living in a way that corresponds to the status the Spirit has given.
"But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (I Pet. 1:15-16). The ground of the command is the character of the one who called. The one who is in Christ, sealed by the Spirit, sanctified by the truth, is called to live in a way that reflects the holiness they have received.
Conclusion
"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (John 17:17). The prayer has been answered in the experience of every person who has been born of water and the Spirit, entered into Christ, received the Spirit of adoption, and is living the life of the set-apart, separated, dedicated person. The Spirit's sanctifying work is not complete at conversion — it continues through the truth, through the community, through the ongoing renewing of the mind, until spirit and soul and body are preserved complete at the coming of the Lord.
Invitation
"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7). The sanctifying Spirit is available through the obedience the gospel requires: believe, repent, confess, be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The Spirit who sanctifies is the same Spirit who is given at that moment.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctify / Sanctification | hagiazō / hagiasmos | To make holy, to set apart — from hagios (holy, set apart, pure). | Used in John 17:17 as the content of Christ's prayer for his disciples; throughout the NT for the Spirit's work of setting apart the person who is in Christ. | The root (hagios) is the same root as "holy" and "saint" — the sanctified person is a hagios, a holy one, a set-apart one. Sanctification is not a process of moral improvement alone; it is a status received by union with Christ and maintained through the Spirit's ongoing work. | John 17:17, 19; I Cor. 1:2 |
| Set apart / Sealed | sphragizō | To seal, to mark with a seal — the mark of ownership and identification placed on what belongs to the owner. | Used in Eph. 1:13 for the Spirit's act of sealing the believer: "you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise." | The seal is the Spirit's mark of God's ownership: the person who has been sealed belongs to God; the Spirit's presence in them is the evidence of that belonging. The seal also implies security: what is sealed is protected and preserved. | Eph. 1:13; II Cor. 1:22 |
| Spirit of adoption | pneuma hyiothesias | The Spirit who produces the son-relationship — huiothesia (adoption as sons) + pneuma (Spirit). | Used in Rom. 8:15 for the Spirit received by those in Christ: not a spirit of slavery but of adoption, producing the cry "Abba! Father!" | The Spirit of adoption transforms the sanctified person's relationship to God from obligation to intimacy. The slave performs; the child cries "Abba." The Spirit who sanctifies does not produce fearful obligation but the confident, intimate relationship of a child to a Father. | Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6 |
| Entire sanctification | holotelēs | Complete, through-and-through — holos (whole, entire) + telēs (complete, brought to its end). | Used in I Thess. 5:23 for what God is asked to accomplish: "sanctify you entirely" — the whole person, spirit and soul and body, preserved complete. | The word signals that sanctification's goal is the whole person — not merely external behavior, not merely spiritual states, but the complete preservation of the human being until the Lord's return. Sanctification that is complete is the work of the God who created the whole person. | I Thess. 5:23 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| "Sanctify them in the truth" — the governing text | Text | John 17:17 |
| "Born of water and the Spirit" — Spirit present in conversion | Intro. | John 3:5 |
| "For their sakes I sanctify Myself" | II.1 | John 17:19 |
| "The Holy One of God" — Christ's holiness | II.2 | Luke 4:34 |
| "Christ became to us sanctification" — in Christ | III.1 | I Cor. 1:30 |
| "Spirit of God dwells in you" — not in flesh but Spirit | III.2 | Rom. 8:9 |
| "Spirit of adoption" | III.3 | Rom. 8:15 |
| "Spirit of holiness" | III.4 | Rom. 1:4 |
| "Sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit" | III.6 | Eph. 1:13 |
| "Through the truth" — instrument of sanctification | IV.1 | John 17:17 |
| "By this will we have been sanctified" | IV.2 | Heb. 10:10 |
| "Sanctification by the Spirit and faith" — unto salvation | IV.4 | II Thess. 2:13 |
| "Sanctifying work of the Spirit" | IV.5 | I Pet. 1:2 |
| "Sanctify you entirely... spirit and soul and body" | IV.6 | I Thess. 5:23 |
| "Through His own blood" — sanctified by Christ | IV.7 | Heb. 13:12 |
| Acts 2:38 — receive gift of the Holy Spirit | Invit. | Acts 2:38 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 169. Primary text: John 17:17 (stated by Boles). OCR corrections: "sjJiritual" → "spiritual"; "lll." → "III." Doctrinal audit: sanctification developed as a Spirit-accomplished status received in Christ, not as a second-blessing or perfectionist experience — the eight agents all operate together, none independently sufficient; "sanctified in Christ" grounds the status objectively before the progressive moral development is addressed; the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15) developed to show the relational character of sanctification — not obligation but sonship; entire sanctification (I Thess. 5:23) taken as God's work in the whole person rather than as a claim to moral perfection; the connection between conversion (born of water and Spirit) and ongoing sanctification preserved; no Calvinist unconditional preservation — the Spirit who seals is the Spirit the person can grieve (Eph. 4:30); invitation retains full obedient response (Acts 2:38).
