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John Owen's doctrine of sanctification

Kim, Myoung Jin (2007) John Owen's doctrine of sanctification. MTh(R) thesis, University of Glasgow in partnership with the Free Church of Scotland College.

The doctrine of sanctification in Owen's works permeates his whole theology, and in many ways provides a key to his theological system. Specifically, the doctrine of the Trinity stands at the heart of Owen's teaching on the doctrine of sanctification. According to the personal distinctions of the Triune God in the undivided work ad extra, within the covenant of redemption, Owen keeps the incarnate Christ's proper work on earth within the context of the Triune God's common work. In this light the completed aspect of sanctification is interpreted. Owen understands Christ's oblation to include not only his self-offering on earth, but also his ongoing intercession in heaven. The unity of oblation and intercession provides a key to understanding the progressive aspect of sanctification in Owen's thought, in heaven, Christ's mediatorial work as prophet, king, and high priest serves as the framework for the progressive aspect of sanctification. Moreover, the Holy Spirit himself is sent as a result of Christ's mediatorial work in heaven. As a result, a saint is united to Christ by the Spirit's proper work within the covenant of grace. At the moment when the saint is united to Christ, sin no longer has dominion and can never have the ultimate victory over him. This radical change gives us insight into definitive sanctification by the Holy Spirit's proper work in the Triune God's common work. One of the most important aspects in definitive sanctification is that the saint can have communion directly with the Father's love, the Son's grace, and the Spirit's consolation. This communion is essential to the imitation of Christ. Wherever Owen states his desire for communion with God, he brings in the saint's duties. In other words, the idea of communion with the Triune God contains the idea of the saint's obligation. So, through the diligent exercise of divinely granted grace, the saint is able to mortify indwelling sin, because his communion with God in Christ brings fellowship with Him in His death and resurrection. Neither can the saint mortify sin without this communion. The Holy Spirit works in the saint, and with him, within the context of communion with God. Therefore, in Owen's thought a sovereign work of God, and human responsibility, are brought together for the increase of holiness.

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The Doctrine of Sanctification

Other essays.

While the language of sanctification in theological terminology has focused on the progressive aspect of growing holiness in the Christian life, the Bible uses the term sanctification to point towards the status as consecrated and holy that we have in Christ through our union with him.

In theological language, the term sanctification has largely referred to something that we do, normally our growth in holiness. However, the Bible uses the term sanctification in a more definitive way, indicating the holy status that we have already through our union with Christ. This consecrated status forms the foundation from which we grow in holiness and godliness in our lives and relationships; we strive to be what we are . However, because in theological discussion these categories have merged, theologians often call the status of holiness that we have in Christ “definitive” or “positional” sanctification, while our pursuits of Christian virtue and personal godliness are called “progressive” sanctification. The danger is that Christians often forget the definitive nature of sanctification and only focus on the progressive aspect of daily life.

Various Christian denominations and groups have their distinctive “models” of sanctification. There is the Pentecostal Holiness model, the Reformed model, the Fundamentalist model, the Higher Life model, and so on. For all the differing distinctives among them, they all have one major point in common: sanctification is something you strive by God’s grace to obtain . For one it may be perfection(ism), for another it may be progress, for another it may be surrender, and for another it may be a given experience. But virtually all sides understand sanctification in terms of something we do .

By contrast, the New Testament writers overwhelmingly use the “sanctification / holiness” terminology in terms of what we are and have in Christ. It is a certain status and relationship we enjoy in Christ: in him we are consecrated to God, “saints” (1 Cor. 1:2) made his for his possession and use. Christ is our sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30). Christians are people who have been “sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Acts 20:32; Heb. 10:10, 14; 1 Pet. 1:2). We are “holy” by virtue of God’s calling and our faith union with him.

In other words, our theological discussions of sanctification are not always tied tightly to the biblical usage of the terms. We have not always used the sanctification terminology in quite the same way the biblical writers do. In theological discussion, sanctification usually denotes something we do or strive to obtain—personal godliness, the process of becoming increasingly godly, and so on. But in New Testament usage, the sanctification terminology overwhelmingly has to do with a status we enjoy in Christ.

At some level, of course, this consecrated status entails reform and personal godliness; we must strive to be what we are . This is reflected, for example, in 2 Corinthians 7:1: “Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” That is, our consecrated status must be evident in real life; “be what you are,” as we like to say (cf. 1 Pet. 1:16). But the New Testament writers generally address this matter of personal godliness in other categories—they use the terminology of renewal , transformation , being like Christ , being godly and pure , living out what God has worked in us, even the now/not yet experience of glorification (2 Cor. 3:18), and so on.

To summarize, in New Testament usage, “sanctification” language is used to describe our consecrated status in Christ. Personal godliness is usually spoken of in other categories, whereas in theological discussion all this is usually just lumped together.

Now then, because in theological discussion these categories have merged, theologians have had to add descriptive terms to differentiate. And so they speak of “definitive” or “positional” sanctification to describe what the New Testament writers mean by the term, and then they speak of “progressive” sanctification to describe our pursuits of Christian virtue and personal godliness. What in the New Testament is spoken of as “sanctification” and “renewal,” in Christian theological discourse is “definitive” and “progressive” sanctification, respectively.

This, in turn, raises the question of progress . In 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, the apostle Paul does pray that God would sanctify the Thessalonians “wholly” and keep them blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus. But this is simply a plea for God to bring about the consecration of every aspect of their lives to himself in the present. The New Testament does not tend to speak of “sanctification” as progressive transformation culminating in glorification. “Sanctification” is a status we have in Christ.

So, the biblical writers can speak of progress, but it is not tied to the “sanctification” terminology. Instead, they speak of increasing faith (2 Cor. 10:15), increasing corporate church stability (Eph. 4:11–12), knowing Christ (presumably with increasing acquaintance; Phil. 3:10), increasing in love (1 Thess. 3:12), growth in grace (2 Pet. 3:18), and so on. “Holiness” and “sanctification” remain something we have and are in Christ.

Again, odd though it is, in theological discourse it is this personal-experiential-godliness dimension that dominates discussions of “sanctification,” even though this is not how the word is used in the New Testament. This is not a major crime, of course. After all, the pursuit of personal godliness is at some level an entailment of our consecrated status (“sanctification”) in Christ, and this is a deeply important aspect of the Christian faith and life. But this subtle turn does have one unhappy consequence: it can move—and almost inevitably has moved—our attention away from what the New Testament means by (definitive) sanctification, and we therefore fail fully to appreciate the blessing of our consecrated status in Christ. If when we speak of sanctification virtually all our attention is given to what we do , what becomes of what we are ? What about what we are in Christ is important to know in order for us to be godly people?

This confusion of categories persists in theological discussion, and it is probably impossible, at this point in theological history and tradition, to correct Christian vocabulary entirely. But it is important to recognize these distinctions.

At the very least we must keep in mind that all New Testament exhortations to personal godliness rest on a “definitive” work God has done for us and in us, in Christ. God has made us his, consecrated us in Christ to himself; he has broken sin’s former dominion, rendering us free to live unto him. And so we now obey God because we can . As many like to say, the imperative (what ought to be) rests on the indicative (what is); we are called to be what we are .

That is to say, union with Christ carries with it not only judicial implications (justification) but moral and ethical implications also (transformation). There is in Christ a definitive break with the sin-slavery of the past—a marvelous theme the apostle Paul unpacks for us in Romans 6, among other places. Being “led of the Spirit” we are now free to live unto God and able to defeat sin.

Further Reading

Here is a suggested agenda for profitable reading on the doctrine of sanctification.

Step 1: Sanctification

• David Peterson, Possessed By God
• David Peterson, “Holiness” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology , pp. 544–550
• David Peterson, Using Biblical Words in Biblical Ways
• David Peterson, Why Is Positional Sanctification Important?
• David Peterson, Why Is Definitive Sanctification Important?
• David Peterson, Sanctification, Regeneration, and Renewal
• John Murray, Collected Writings, vol.2
• John Murray, Definitive Sanctification
• John Murray, The Agency in Definitive Sanctification

Step 2: Sanctification and Personal Godliness

• John Murray, Definitive and Progressive Sanctification
• Michael Horton, The Indicative & the Imperative: A Reformed View of Sanctification
• Sinclair Ferguson, Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification . See this author interview and this book summary .
• Sinclair Ferguson, The Reformed View of Sanctification . See this summary outline .

Step 3: Pursuing Godliness

• Andrew David Naselli, No Quick Fix . See this author interview .
• David Powlison, How Does Sanctification Work? See these video interviews: 1 , 2, and 3 .
• Jerry Bridges, Gospel-Driven Sanctification
• Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness
• Jerry Bridges, The Transforming Power of the Gospel
• Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love

Step 4:  The Mortification of Sin

• Chris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within
• Derek Thomas, Putting Sin to Death
• John MacArthur, The Mortification of Sin
• John Owen, The Mortification of Sin in Believers . See this review , this summary-review , and this summary .
• John Owen, On Temptation . See this summary .
• John Owen, Overcoming Sin and Temptation: Three Classic Works by John Owen
• Sinclair Ferguson, The Practice of Mortification

This essay is part of the Concise Theology series. All views expressed in this essay are those of the author. This essay is freely available under Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike, allowing users to share it in other mediums/formats and adapt/translate the content as long as an attribution link, indication of changes, and the same Creative Commons License applies to that material.

This essay has been translated into French .

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Five Views of Sanctification Review.docx

Related Papers

Ralph Cunnington

This article responds to the criticisms of definitive sanctification raised by John Fesko in a recent issue of the Evangelical Quarterly. It seeks to demonstrate that 1 Cor 1:2, 30, and 6:1 all describe sanctification as a settled definitive state. It further contends that, contrary to Fesko, the doctrine of definitive sanctification has good attestation in the historic witness of the Reformed tradition. In the final part, the article addresses Fesko’s claim that it is justification rather than sanctification which frees the believer from the power of sin. It is suggested that this itself is a confusion of the forensic and transformative categories in soteriology and has serious pastoral and theological implications.

The Master's Seminary Journal

Richard L . Mayhue

This introduction to the much neglected and frequently misunderstood theme of biblical sanctification serves as the foundation upon which the subsequent four essays rest and out of which they arise. First a “primer on sanctification” defines the comprehensive biblical basis for and the implications of sanctification for the Christian’s life temporally and eternally. Second, a Scriptural perspective on sanctification highlights the various patterns of sanctification in one’s Christian journey. Third, biblically emphasized particulars of sanctification help to distinguish between the past, present, and future elements of a Christian’s experience. Ultimately, this essay concludes that sanctification in its full biblical breadth encompasses a Christian’s beginning in salvation and a Christian’s continuation in growing to be like Christ which reaches perfection with a true believer’s glorification after death.

Jake Rainwater

In this paper, I argue that Paul is able to discuss sanctification as a past, present, and future reality by viewing sanctification through the lens of inaugurated eschatology. This thesis will be demonstrated first by providing key contextual information, such as sanctification’s use in the Old Testament, and a brief introduction to Pauline theology. Then, a sampling of pertinent texts for each of the three aspects of sanctification will be examined. Next, a brief introduction to Paul’s “already-not yet” framework will be conducted. Finally, Paul’s already-not yet framework will be applied to the doctrine of sanctification, which will be shown to resolve the tension raised in Paul’s three uses, as well as provide important implications for the doctrine.

Matthew Hinson

Timothy Deneffe

This paper is a discussion on historical, cultural and linguisitc considerations which define the concept of repetance and sanctification in the Bible and its surrounding material. This is contrasted with common questions on the topic which come from modern theology (mainly Protestant).

Kurt Witzig

Presbyterion

Nick Abraham

Jeff Phillips

This paper considers possible evidence for a reading of Romans 7:7-25 that Paul is speaking autobiographically of a time in his life after he had been justified by faith apart from the works of the Law when he attempted to use the law to overcome the enslaving power of sin but found it ineffectual.

Don Fanning

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