In our last post we talked a little about what it means to be holy and to grow in Christ. We said that holiness is a work of God with which we cooperate in His transforming us into the image of Christ (His image). It is primarily focused on the inner thoughts and attitudes, and is then expressed in outwardly loving behavior. All of that prompts our next question.
#4: What is the believer’s role and responsibility in the process of sanctification (growing in holiness)?
If holiness and sanctification is a work of God that He applies to us, then what is our role in this process (if any)? Do we have a role to play? The short answer to that question is “Yes!” There are numerous positive commands in the New Testament that tell us to be active and not passive in our growth. Some examples include:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2)
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1–3)
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
These are just some of the commands in Paul’s letters, and there are more-both in the Gospels and in the other letters. We do have a role to play The question is, “What is our role?” The answer can be summed up in something we said in our last post when talking holiness.
Growing in holiness means cooperating with the Holy Spirit in the process of being progressively transformed into God’s image, to reclaim that which has been distorted in us.
Notice the emphasized words, “cooperating with the Holy Spirit.” That is our role. As we cooperate with Him, He transforms us into the image of Christ. Now, I don’t know about you, but I tend to be a practical person. If you’re the same way, then your next question is likely, “What does that look like? How do I do that?” We’ll find some answers in this passage:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 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)
Notice there are two competing ways to “walk” in this passage. The believer (the one “in Christ Jesus,” v. 1) can choose to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. Now, before we talk about the difference between those terms, we need to be clear on what it means to be “in Christ,” because only those in Christ can walk according to the Spirit.
The phrase “in Christ” is one of Paul’s favorite phrases, appearing some 70 times in the New Testament. It is the state in which the believer is placed upon trusting Christ as his Savior. It is a state of union, so that what happened to Christ can be said to have happened to His people (death, burial and resurrection), of which baptism is a symbol. This is why Paul makes his argument that the believer is dead to sin (Rom. 6) and to the law (Rom. 7). When Christ was raised, we were also raised to a new life. His righteousness is given to us.
By contrast, anyone who is not “in Chirst” is “in Adam.” The contrast is seen in passages like Rom. 5:12-21 and 1 Cor. 15:22. Those who are in Adam die. Those who are in Christ are made alive together with Him. To move from being “in Adam” to “in Christ” is to be born again when one repents and trusts Christ for salvation.
So, for those in Christ, what does it mean to walk according to the Spirit? Paul gives us his definition in verse 5 of this passage. He writes, “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Since the believer has the new heart (the Spiritual Heart), he or she now has new desires that are prompted by the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, since the flesh remains, there are also the fleshly thoughts and desires. To walk according to the Spirit, Paul says, is to set our mind on the thoughts and desires of the Spirit. We are to identify, nourish, and live out the Spirit-led desires. As we do that, the Spirit begins to transform us to the image of Christ.
In fact, to set our minds on the things of the Spirit, Paul says, “is life and peace.” If we want to experience God’s peace, then that is the door. We meditate on God, His character, and His ways and seek to live our lives accordingly. As we do that we will experience His peace–the peace that surpasses all understanding (John 14:27; 16:33; Phil. 4:7). This peace can be had even in the hardest and darkest of times.
“But,” one may ask, “how do I know which desires are of the flesh and which are of the Spirit?” It’s a great question, and we’ll look at that in our next post.
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