This FB post by Farmer Girl is one of the best explanations I’ve seen of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14vFLNkDhiL/
When we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit, it's easy to focus on the moment someone becomes a Christian. We talk about being born again, receiving new life, and the Holy Spirit coming to dwell within believers. And those are extraordinary things. But there's something important we need to understand about the Holy Spirit. He doesn't give us new life, move in, and then settle down to watch what we do with it. His work in us is ongoing, and sometimes that work involves dealing with things we would much rather He leave alone.
In our last study, we looked at Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 and what it means to be born of the Spirit. We learned that regeneration is the work of God in giving spiritual life to someone who was spiritually dead. But that raises another question. If the Holy Spirit has given us new life, why do Christians still struggle with sin? Why do we still lose our patience, say things we regret, struggle with selfishness, or discover attitudes in ourselves that have absolutely no business being there? Shouldn't being born again have taken care of all that?
Well, welcome to sanctification.
Sanctification is the ongoing work of God in making His people holy, transforming us to become more like Jesus Christ. And before anyone gets too excited about the possibility of becoming a perfectly patient, consistently gracious, entirely selfless human being by next Thursday, we should probably establish that this is generally a lifelong process. Which is fortunate, because some of us have quite a bit of work left to do.
Paul writes, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Notice those words. Are being transformed. Paul isn't describing something that happened once and was immediately completed. He's describing an ongoing work. The Holy Spirit is changing believers, gradually shaping our thoughts, desires, attitudes, and actions so that we increasingly reflect the character of Christ.
And that distinction matters because becoming a Christian doesn't mean our old sinful habits simply disappear. We still live in a fallen world. We still have sinful desires. We still face temptation. And sometimes we discover just how much growing we have left to do when someone does something as simple as driving fifteen miles an hour under the speed limit on a perfectly good road.
The Holy Spirit has His work cut out for Him.
But Scripture doesn't describe this transformation as something we accomplish entirely through our own determination. Paul tells the Philippians, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
Think about what that means. God isn't simply giving us a list of instructions and waiting to see whether we can follow them. He is working within us, changing not only what we do but also what we desire. The Holy Spirit helps us increasingly want the things that please God. He works on the attitudes behind our actions, the motivations we would rather not examine too closely, and the areas of our lives where we have become remarkably skilled at justifying ourselves.
And sometimes that process is uncomfortable.
Because we generally prefer the idea of becoming more like Christ right up until becoming more like Christ requires us to admit that we're wrong, forgive someone who hurt us, surrender something we want, or recognize that the problem in a particular situation might actually be us.
Paul describes this struggle in Galatians 5. He writes, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other” (Galatians 5:17).
The Christian life involves a real conflict between our sinful desires and the work of the Holy Spirit. And if you've ever found yourself knowing exactly what the right thing to do was while simultaneously having absolutely no desire to do it, you probably have some understanding of that conflict.
But here's something important. The presence of that struggle doesn't automatically mean the Holy Spirit is absent. In fact, a growing awareness of sin and a desire to turn away from it can be evidence of His work. Before coming to Christ, someone might have been perfectly comfortable with certain attitudes or behaviors. But as the Spirit works within them, those same things begin to trouble their conscience. They recognize what is wrong, and they increasingly desire to live differently.
That doesn't mean every feeling of guilt comes from the Holy Spirit, or that Christians should spend their lives constantly questioning whether they've disappointed God. There is a difference between the Spirit's conviction, which leads us toward repentance and Christ, and the crushing condemnation that leaves us believing there is no hope.
Paul makes that distinction clear when he writes, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
Read that again. No condemnation.
The Holy Spirit doesn't expose our sin because He enjoys making us miserable. He works to bring us to repentance, to turn us away from what harms us and dishonors God, and to help us grow in holiness. And He does that while we belong to a Savior who has already paid the penalty for our sins.
Now, we also need to be careful not to misunderstand sanctification as something that happens automatically while we sit around waiting to become better people. Scripture repeatedly calls believers to actively resist sin, pursue holiness, pray, study God's Word, and obey Him. Paul tells the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, and then immediately explains that God is the One working in them (Philippians 2:12-13).
Those two truths belong together. We are called to act, and God is at work within us. Our obedience doesn't earn salvation, but salvation produces a changed life. We aren't passive spectators in the process of sanctification, yet we are never the independent source of our own spiritual transformation.
And that brings us to one of the most recognizable passages about the Holy Spirit's work in believers.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Notice that Paul calls these qualities the fruit of the Spirit. Not the fruit of having an exceptionally pleasant personality. Not the fruit of growing up in a good family. Not the fruit of being naturally patient, which some people apparently are, although I have questions about how that works.
These qualities are produced through the Holy Spirit's work in us. And they're not merely outward behaviors that we learn to imitate convincingly. The Spirit works on the heart from which those behaviors come.
Consider patience, for example. It's entirely possible to appear patient while internally composing a rather impressive speech about someone's incompetence. We might manage to keep our mouths shut, which is certainly preferable to saying everything we're thinking, but the Holy Spirit's work goes deeper than teaching us to maintain a pleasant facial expression while mentally losing our minds.
He works on the attitude itself.
Or consider love. Jesus doesn't simply command us to love people who are easy to love. He calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). That's considerably more difficult than being kind to people who are already kind to us. And it's precisely the sort of transformation that reveals why we need the Holy Spirit rather than simply a little more determination.
But there's another important detail about fruit.
If you plant an apple tree, you don't expect to walk outside the following morning and find it loaded with ripe apples. There is a process of growth, development, and maturity. And while spiritual growth isn't identical to growing fruit, the illustration helps us understand that sanctification takes time.
That doesn't mean we should excuse sin by shrugging our shoulders and announcing that we're still a work in progress. Scripture never presents grace as permission to remain comfortable in disobedience. But it does mean we should recognize that spiritual maturity develops over time, and that the Holy Spirit is faithful in continuing His work.
And sometimes growth is easier to recognize when we look back than when we examine ourselves from one day to the next.
Maybe something that once would have sent you into an absolute rage now makes you stop and pray before responding. Maybe you've become quicker to apologize. Maybe you've learned to recognize pride in places where you previously would have insisted you were simply correct. Maybe you've discovered that you can forgive someone without pretending what they did was acceptable. Or perhaps you've become more aware of your dependence on God instead of assuming you can handle everything yourself.
Those changes might not seem particularly dramatic. There may not be a moment you can point to when everything suddenly became different. But that doesn't make them insignificant.
The Holy Spirit is at work in the ordinary moments of Christian life, not just the extraordinary ones.
And there's something deeply encouraging about that, because if sanctification depended entirely on our own ability to remain faithful, we'd have very little reason for confidence. We know ourselves well enough to recognize how easily we become distracted, discouraged, selfish, or complacent. But Paul gives believers this assurance: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
The God who began the work is faithful to complete it.
That doesn't mean every Christian grows at the same pace, that spiritual growth is always obvious, or that we won't experience seasons of struggle. It certainly doesn't mean we can measure someone's spiritual maturity by how cheerful they appear on Sunday morning. Some of the deepest work God does in a person's life happens during circumstances that are anything but cheerful.
But it does mean that God has not abandoned the work He began.
And perhaps this is where we need to examine how we understand the Christian life. Sometimes we act as though salvation is God's responsibility, but everything afterward is entirely up to us. As though the Holy Spirit gives us new life, hands us a Bible, wishes us the best of luck, and expects us to figure out the rest.
That isn't what Scripture teaches.
The Holy Spirit who gave us spiritual life continues to work within us. He convicts, teaches, strengthens, and transforms. He helps us put sin to death and grow in holiness. He produces fruit that reflects the character of Christ. And He does all of this not so that we can congratulate ourselves on becoming impressive Christians, but so that our lives increasingly glorify God.
We are not saved because we have become holy enough to deserve salvation. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And because we belong to Him, the Holy Spirit is at work making us more like the Savior who redeemed us.
So if you look at your life and recognize that there are still areas where you need to grow, don't mistake that recognition for evidence that God has given up on you. Take sin seriously. Repent where repentance is needed. Obey what God has commanded. And remember that the very desire to become more like Christ is something worth bringing before Him in prayer.
Because the Christian life isn't about reaching a point where we can finally announce that we no longer need God's help.
It's about growing in our dependence on Him.
The Holy Spirit didn't give you new life so that you could spend the rest of it trying to transform yourself without Him.
And the same God who knew every weakness, every failure, and every struggle you would ever face when He called you to Himself has not somehow been surprised by the amount of work you still need.
He knew exactly who He was saving. He knew exactly how much work remained. And He began that work anyway.
He is not finished with you.
