Sanctification & Transformation

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, ESV)

Sanctification is the process every true believer must go through in which the Holy Spirit purifies the born-again person to reflect the Lord Jesus in thoughts, words, and deeds. The ESV translates the same Greek word (hagiasmos) as both "sanctification" and "holiness." Sanctification is a series of events within the Christian, transforming him supernaturally to be the child of a holy God (1 Peter 1:16). Dr. Reimer, in his book, Soul Care, defines sanctification succinctly as "the process of becoming like Jesus" (p. 43).

While sanctification is a supernatural process of becoming holy, transformation can be an event or a process. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit transforming the soul (1 Peter 1:22), directly affecting the person's decorum. Jesus tells the Pharisee in Matthew 23:26, "First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean." Transformation can be an event, such as being born again. While being "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2) is a process that takes place throughout the Christian's life.