Christmas Gift Guide
Christmas Gift Guide
Your Sanctification Is the Work of the Trinity
Changed By and Through the Spirit
The Bible does appropriate the work of sanctification to the Holy Spirit. So it’s not inappropriate to talk that way. The Holy Spirit is the one who changes us and transforms us. But that, in and of itself, is still a Trinitarian action, because what the Bible talks about in terms of the Spirit changing us is the Spirit changes us through pointing us to Jesus.
An example of this would be 2 Corinthians 3:17–18, where Paul says, “As I behold the glory of the Lord, the Spirit transforms me from one degree of glory to another.” As we look at Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit changes us into the image of Jesus.
Beholding the Triune God
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
This concise introduction to the doctrine of inseparable operations explores the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in relation to salvation, revelation, communion, and more.
Several other passages talk about the fact that the Spirit’s economic mission (his mission within the economy of God’s works of creation and redemption) is to reveal and point us to the Son. But it’s not just the Spirit and the Son who are at work; it is also the Father. What does Jesus say to the disciples in John 14? “If you have seen me, you’ve seen the Father.”
So the entire work of sanctification is Trinitarian in that as we are changed by the Spirit, we are changed through the Spirit pointing us to the Son. And as we look at the Son, we see the Father. And then we’re changed into the image of the Son as a reflection of the Father.
So, sanctification—even if we say the Spirit is the one doing it—still has a Trinitarian shape to it. Nonetheless, we also ought to say, it’s not just the Spirit changing us; it is the Godhead, because God is one. He acts as one. All of his acts are one. So there is both a Trinitarian shape to sanctification, but also a Trinitarian source of sanctification.
Matthew Y. Emerson is coauthor with Brandon D. Smith of Beholding the Triune God: The Inseparable Work of Father, Son, and Spirit.
Related Articles
A Thought Experiment to Help Recalibrate Our Beliefs about the Trinity
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The way we talk about God’s acts often divides the persons of God in a way that is contrary to our confession that God is one God in three persons.
In Sanctification, Where You’re Going Is More Important Than Where You Are
When it comes to sanctification, it’s more important where you’re going than where you are. Direction matters more than position.
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The eternal communion of Father, Son, and Spirit is the grounds for our communion with him and one another. Our triune God, simple and perfect for all of eternity, has always been the one God.
How Does Sanctification Differ from Justification?
Justification and sanctification, though related, are different gifts. The most serious, and potentially damning, errors surface when the two are not carefully distinguished.
