Christ Our Sanctification

I. Introduction:

Philippians 1:3–11 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

A. Union with Christ a Review

Last week we saw that the center of who we are is who we are in Christ — the source of identity is our union with Christ.

We know this because He calls us saints.

And not in the roman catholic sense where we should be venerated and prayed to.

Last week we began to speak about the transforming power of union with Christ and this week we are going to look deeper at that transforming power.

B. Union with Christ — sanctification

The transforming power of union with Christ has a theological term that I’m sure you’re all familiar with: sanctification.

Sanctification has two sides:

(1) Definitive — you are sanctified.

God has called you saint.

(2) Progressive — you are being sanctified

God makes you act like a saint.

Our text today has both dimensions of sanctification in view.

Last week we learned about who we are in Christ, and this week we are going to see what we ought to do in Christ.

And that’s precisely why this text is so important to cover this morning.

We must constantly be reminded of who we are and what we ought to do in Christ.

Some of us may be stuck, or feeling lost, or are discouraged by losing the fight against sin.

I’ve had a very difficult week of sanctification and maybe you have too.

Like me, maybe you’ve had so many ups and downs this past week your soul feels like it has vertigo.

This section pf Scripture is going to be convicting and comforting.

So I’ll be asking questions throughout the sermon that will come from the heart of the text

The heart of our text in Philippians is that because they are rooted in Christ, they are growing in Christ, and they will bear fruit in Christ — and this is our roadmap for today.

C. Roadmap

(1) Rooted in Christ

(2) Growing in Christ

(3) Bearing Fruit in Christ

II. Exegesis: Rooted in Christ

A. Paul’s Memory (v.3-5)

Philippians 1:3–5 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

Following his greeting, the Apostle Paul tells the Philippians (1) how much he prays for them and (2) thinks about them and (3) why.

When Paul prays — he remembers the Philippians.

When Paul thinks about the Philippians — his prayers are filled with joy.

And his memories are so fond and his prayers are filled with joy because of their partnership in the gospel from day one.

When Paul prays and thinks about the Philippians:

He remembers baptizing Lydia and her household.

He remembers casting out the evil spirit from the slave-girl.

He remembers getting beaten and jailed for doing so.

He remembers the earthquake in the jail and saving the jailer’s life.

He remembers Jesus saving the jailer’s soul.

He remembers baptizing the Jailer and his household too.

Paul remembers seeing the transforming power of the Gospel with his very eyes.

Paul remembers getting to witness the transforming power of union with Christ.

KEY: Paul’s prayers are filled with joy because he was able to see these people become ROOTED in Christ.

And that is what salvation ultimately is: it is your being rooted in Christ.

You were in Adam, but now you are in Christ.

And we too ought to have our prayers filled with joy as we pray for our own church.

Q: How often do we pray for each other at Living Faith?

Q: Are you thankful for your fellow brothers and sisters at LFBC?

K: Kids as new or growing believers, developing your pray life is essential — it’s easy to start by just praying for your friends, and being thankful for them in your prayers.

Together, let us commit to praying for each other more, and have our prayers filled with joy.

We believers here, have all been rooted in Christ.

KEY: We were sinners, but now we are saints — and this is cause for joy.

So let us pray for one another with joy.

Returning to our text, Paul does not just have their justification in Christ in view, but also their sanctification in Christ.

Paul doesn’t just pray about their being rooted in Christ, but their growth in Christ.

B. Paul’s Confidence (v.6-8)

Philippians 1:6–8 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”

Paul writes that he is sure, he is convinced, he is confident that God who began this good work in them will continue to do that work in them until Christ returns.

Stop here: Some of you need to hear that verse again and be comforted.

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Perhaps, you are really, really struggling in your Christian life.

It seems like process of sanctification has come to a standstill and a roadblock in your life.

Sin is hard to fight, and you feel like your losing.

First, dear Christian — sin’s dominion over you has been broken.

Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

Second, as we will see now and later: sanctification is not you working in you, it is God who is working in you and He will see it to completion.

So be comforted in the 100% biblical truth that God is continuing that good sanctifying work in you that He began at your salvation.

Q: Are we so confident? Are you?

Q: Are you confident about the sanctifying work of God in LFBC?

It’s easy to be discouraged because we’ve gone through it in the past year, but so have the Philippians.

Sproul: “The book of Philippians rings with joy and gratitude for the way God was carrying forward His saving work among the Philippians and for the special bond that existed between Paul and his readers. At the same time, there is a gravity to the letter…[because] the Philippians faced persecution and felt the pressures exerted on them by false teachings. Conflicts in the church jeopardized the believers’ witness to the world and their ability to withstand its assaults.”

The Philippians were going through it too.

And yet, Paul was confident of their sanctification.

Notice where Paul’s confidence lies:

It’s not in the Philippians, it’s in God — And that’s where our confidence ought to be.

Paul’s confidence is in the sanctifying power union with Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in the Philippians.

And he proves it by showing how sanctification is already visible.

Philippians 1:7 “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.”

It is right for Paul to feel this way about the Philippians.

It is right for his prayers to be filled with joy.

It is right for him to hold them in his heart.

Why?

Because they are all partakers of grace.

KEY: They are unified with each other because of their union with Christ.

And it’s because of their union and love for each other that Paul can say…

Philippians 1:8 “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”

Paul calls the almighty as a witness to what he says next — this is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and God Himself can attest to the fact that I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ.

He longs to be with them because He loves them so deeply.

Paul longs to be out of prison and in person with the Philippians.

He captures this deep love with the phrase “the affection of Christ”.

What does he mean? What is the affection of Christ?

If you have a KJV bible in your hand, you’ll see the text reads as not the “affections of Christ” but the “bowels of Christ”.

And the word in Greek signifies the “inward parts” of man.

But the idea is that this love comes from the deepest parts of who you are.

KEY: There is no deeper love than that of Jesus.

This deep love of Jesus is ours through union with Christ.

Matthew Poole comments on this passage that Paul’s love is: “not out of any carnal, selfish, or worldly respects; but a really Christian, spiritual, and tender love, seated in the inward parts of this sanctified apostle, and by the same Spirit that united him unto Christ, who loves his spouse with no common love, but is the spring and procurer, and great exemplar, of that affectionate Christian love.

In short: Paul is saying that he loves them as Christ loves them.

Q: Do we love our brothers and sisters like this? Are we just church friends?

We are bound together in Christ and through our church covenant.

So hear me: it should hurt when someone leaves.

If it hurts that means the bond was deeper than formalities, and that you held each other in your heart and loved with the love of Christ.

KEY: Paul exemplifies this love and it’s out of this love that he prays for them.

C. Paul’s Prayer (v.9-11)

Philippians 1:9–11 “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Paul does not just pray about them, but he prays for them — and he tells them exactly what he prays for.

And his petitions on behalf of the Philippians follow a logical order:

First, that their love would abound more and more.

Second, that this love blooms with knowledge and discernment.

Third, this knowledge and discernment is used to approve what is excellent.

Fourth, approving what is excellent leads to pure and blameless behavior.

Fifth, that this would culminate in the Philippians being filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus.

And the result of this the glory and praise of God.

First: Earlier I said we should be praying for one another — and if you’re unsure what to pray for here’s a list for you.

Kids: You want to know what’s going to make you better friends with each other? Praying for one another.

Pray this list for your friends.

Second: I would like to note that Paul points out why we have such terrible theologians today.

Because many theologians prioritize books and academia and not love.

When I look at the theological landscape I see great theological knowledge but no love for brothers who remotely disagree with them.

And according to 1 Corinthians 13:2, this makes them nothing.

You all know me and how I love my books. Few things make me happier then being in my office, reading dead people and writing what I learn in fancy notebooks with fancy pens.

KEY: But hear this — Books can grow your theology, but love gives your theology depth.

True theological depth and godly practice flows from love, and we can only love because Christ loved us first.

Which means for the Philippians and for us, that to be a biblical theologian, one who loves, you must be rooted in Christ.

I would summarize Paul’s prayer here as he has joy that they are rooted in Christ and he wants to see them continue to grow in Christ.

He wants to see them continue to be sanctified.

III. Growing in Christ

A. Sanctification Defined:

KEY: Sanctification is growth in Christ that springs from being rooted in Christ.

Sanctification is the ongoing process of the Spirit’s conforming you into the image of Christ.

Kids: sanctification is the Spirit making you look more and more like Jesus.

As mentioned earlier, there are two dimensions of sanctification.

(1) Definitive — you are sanctified; or God calls you a saint.

(2) Progressive — you are being sanctified; or the Spirit makes you act like a saint.

We’ve spoken at length about you’re being a saint because God says you are one.

Today, we’ve spoken and will speak more about what the process looks like, but first, let us answer the question: Is sanctification a biblical doctrine?

Yes, it is.

B. Sanctification Defended:

1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”

1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:”

1 Corinthians 1:30–31 “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

From just these three texts plus ours today we can see:

That God’s will for us is our sanctification.

That we are sanctified in Christ.

And that He is our sanctification.

The synthesis of texts is:

KEY: God has rooted you in Christ and now He grows you in Christ.

But how does that happen? How does sanctification happen in the believer?

Is it just the believer trying harder to obey God’s Law and not sin?

Is sanctification up the believer? Is it accomplished by our own grit and self-determination?

NO — sanctification as definitive and progressive is the work of the Holy Spirit that comes through union with Christ.

C. Sanctification Applied:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Peter 1:1–2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion…, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

Scripture is very clear that sanctification is a work done by the Triune God, accomplished SPECIFICALLY by the HOLY SPIRIT.

John Murray (Redemption Accomplished and Applied): “It is necessary to be reminded that in the last analysis we do not sanctify ourselves. It is God who sanctifies (1 Thess. 5:23). Specifically, it is the Holy Spirit who is the agent of sanctification.”

KEY: Through union with Christ, the Holy Spirit is now the agent of sanctification in the believer.

He is the one who conforms us into the image of Christ.

He is the one who kills our sin.

He is the one who grants us faith AND repentance.

Remember: Paul’s confidence is not the Philippians to complete the work begun in them but rather His confidence is GOD.

So does this mean we have no role to play and nothing to do? Does this just make us robots or bystanders?

Are we just NPC’s in God’s great video game?

By no means.

Murray continues in his book: “The sanctified are not passive in this process…God works in us and we also work. But the relation is because God works we work. All working out of salvation on our part is the effect of God’s working in us.”

The Holy Spirit is the agent of sanctification but we are the actors.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,”

But don’t stop there with an incomplete picture…

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

God works in you therefor you work.

God designed sanctification in such a way that you can only boast in Christ as 1 Corinthians 1:31 told us earlier.

God has designed sanctification so that when we fight against sin and win, when we obey God’s Law rather than disobeying, and when we walk in the good works that God’s plan for us that we have no reason to boast because it is not ourselves at work in us but rather it is CHRIST IN US.

So when we do get it right, we cannot receive the praise but rather we must declare with Paul:

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

John 15:1-5 is clear:

You must abide in Christ, and He in you.

You alone cannot bear fruit, you must be in Christ.

Read this passage together tonight as a family and you will see that believers are rooted in Christ, and that works in you so that you grow in Christ and in Christ you bear fruit.

And that’s precisely what a text in Philippians is getting at.

IV. Application: Bearing Fruit in Christ

Philippians 1:9–11 “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

A. Bearing Fruit

Paul is confident that they are in Christ because He calls them saints in verse 1.

Paul is confident that they are growing in Christ in verse 6.

Paul is praying they would bear fruit in Christ.

Paul prays that their love would abound more and more.

They already have a harvest of love, but he wants the harvest to abound more and more.

Paul prays that this love would lead to knowledge and discernment so that they may approve what is excellent and that knowing what’s excellent they can live holy lives.

Paul wants them to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through who? Jesus Christ.

And this fruit isn’t just for them to eat themselves but to feed one another and others.

This blessed community of saints will only be more blessed as they walk in the good works God has planned for them.

This blessed community of saints will only be more blessed as they are filled with the fruit of righteous that results in the glory and praise of God.

This blessed community of saints will be more blessed as they walk in the gift of the Spirit.

B. Spiritual Gifts and Gift of the Spirit

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul gives a list of the various Spiritual gifts.

He sets the table by saying in 1 Corinthians 12:7 “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

And then he says “For to one is given this” and “to one is given that”.

KEY: Not all believers get the same gifts, but they all have the same gift: the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

We can get caught up in debates about which gifts have ceased, and what is meant by words like tongues and prophecy.

But what we can all agree on is the biblical truth that each saint is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

So what would church look like if we believed that whole heartedly?

What would church look like if we weren’t caught up in debates about spiritual gifts and honed in on the gift of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit?

May we together to be a church filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes from Christ and exhibits the fruit of the Spirit.

May we commit to being a church that loves one another with love that abounds more and more.

May we be a church who’s prayers for one another filled with joy as we pray for another.

May we be a church that has Spirit empowered peace, patience, and kindness with and toward each other.

May we be a church filled with goodness and faithfulness.

May we be a church that confronts sin and comforts heartache and speaks the truth in love and gentleness.

May we be a church filled with believers who exhibit self-control and live pure and blameless lives.

C. Assurance and encouragement for the believer:

If that seems daunting and impossible let me offer you this:

That he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus christ.

But also that there is grace that covers our sins when we fall short and miss the mark.

We can be assured that Christ has died for our sins, and we can be encouraged that the Spirit is working in us.

D. Warning for the unbeliever:

But the unbeliever has no such comfort.

You are not in Christ and the Spirit is not working to conform you into the image that you have no union with.

Gospel presentation.