The Sanctifying Work of the Spirit

The opening statements in many of the letters of the New Testament always sound the same to me. As I was reading a few days ago, I came to the beginning of 1 Peter and noticed just how dense it is:

1 Peter 1:1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

As my title may suggest, I'm going to focus on what this says about the Spirit, but first I want to cut through the syntax of these verses and highlight the important points:

1.     We have been “chosen” by God for the following purposes: “to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood.”

2.     The Spirit “works” in us and is the mechanism by which we will become obedient to Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. That’s why it’s there: to do work in order to effect the changes for which we have been chosen.

3.     The goal of the Spirit’s work in bringing about these two changes is to sanctify us. The transforming power of the Spirit sets us apart from the world and makes us holy to God (thus “sanctified”).

God gives us the Spirit to make us like Him, because we aren’t good enough as we are. That's a very important concept that is often lost in today's world - God does not accept us as we are; rather, God works with us through the Holy Spirit to change us. This is evident in the discussion of the differences between the old and new covenants in Hebrews 8:

 Hebrews 8:7-8

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people, and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant… It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors… because they did not remain faithful to my covenant.” 

What was wrong with the first covenant? These verses tell us twice: “God found fault with the people,” and “they did not remain faithful to [the] covenant.” The people didn't keep God’s law! There are many differences between the old and new covenants, but this is the key difference: the people will be faithful to the new covenant. Why didn't the people keep God's law? Because they couldn't - they weren't good enough as they were. God's Spirit is the very thing which will make us better than they were:

Hebrews 8:10

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.

As part of the New Covenant, we will be faithful to keep everything that God commands us. These verses in Hebrews are actually quoted from Jeremiah 31. A companion scripture in Ezekiel 36 reveals exactly how God is going to put these laws in us:

Ezekiel 36:27

I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

God's Spirit living in us will make us "obedient to Christ." Being obedient to Christ is obeying God's law, which was set forth from the beginning. It has never been God's intention to lower His standards to allow us to measure up - God gives us His Spirit so that we are made able to meet His standards - and that is the sanctifying work of the Spirit.

Related Articles:

• Do You Need God's Law?
• Saved by Grace, but Judged by the Law? (Part 2)
• Malachi 3:6 "I, the LORD, do not change"
• How to Change Your Mind