The Rapture Perfects the Believer's Sanctification and Salvation
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday April 29, 2018
The Rapture of the Church: The Rapture Perfects the Believer’s Sanctification and Salvation
Lesson # 8
The rapture or resurrection of the church will complete the believer’s sanctification in the sense that the church age believer will be perfected in a resurrection body at that time, which completes the process of sanctification which God began at the moment of their justification through the baptism of the Spirit.
The church age believer’s “sanctification” is directly related to the baptism of the Spirit.
“Sanctification” is a technical theological term for the believer who has been set apart through the baptism of the Spirit at the moment of conversion in order to serve God exclusively and is accomplished in three stages: (1) Positional (2) Experiential (3) Perfective.
Sanctification deals with conforming the believer to the holiness of God and reproducing it in the believer.
The moment the believer was declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ, the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit caused the believer to become identical and united with the Lord Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, His spiritual and physical death, His burial, resurrection and session.
It also ascribes to the believer the qualities and characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The baptism of the Spirit results in positional sanctification and the potential to experience sanctification in time and the guarantee of perfective sanctification at the resurrection of the church (Rom. 6:1-5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27).
By positional, I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ since at the moment of conversion, the Holy Spirit placed the believer in union with Christ, identifying him with Christ’s crucifixion (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), His death (Romans 6:2, 7-8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3), His burial (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), His resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12; 3:1) and His session (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1).
“Positional sanctification” is the believer’s “entrance” into the plan of God for the church age resulting in eternal security as well as two categories of positional truth (1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:26-27; Hebrews 2:11; 10:10; Acts 20:32; 26:18; Romans 6:3, 8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13).
“Retroactive” positional truth is the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His death and burial (Romans 6:3-11; Colossians 2:12) or in other words, when Christ died God considers the believer to have died with Him.
“Current” positional truth is the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His resurrection, ascension and session (See Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 3:1-4).
In other words, when Christ was raised and seated at the right hand of the Father, the Father considers the believer to have been raised and seated with Christ as well.
Colossians 3:1 Therefore, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you have been raised up with Christ and we agree that this is true. Then, continue to make it your habit of diligently seeking after the things above, where Christ is, as an eternal spiritual truth existing in a state of being seated at God’s right hand. 2 Each and every one of you continue making it your habit of concentrating on the things above, not on the things on earth 3 because each and every one of you has died. Consequently, the life of each and every one of you is concealed with Christ by means of the power of God the Father. 4 When Christ, the life of each and every one of you, enters into the state of being revealed, then, at that time, each and every one of you will, as a certainty be revealed with Him in a state of glory. (My translation)
“Positional sanctification”: (1) What God has done for the church age believer. (2) His viewpoint of the church age believer. (3) Sets up the potential to experience sanctification in time. (4) Provides the believer with the guarantee of receiving a resurrection body.
“Experiential sanctification” is the function of the church age believer’s spiritual life in time through obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of God (John 17:17; Romans 6:19, 22; 2 Timothy 2:21; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 7; 1 Timothy 2:15).
Experiential sanctification is only a potential since it is contingent upon the church age believer responding to what God has done for him at the moment of conversion, therefore, only believers who are obedient to the Word of God will experience sanctification in time.
“Perfective sanctification” is the perfection of the church age believer’s spiritual life at the rapture, i.e. resurrection of the church, which is the completion of the plan of God for the church age believer (1 Corinthians 15:53-54; Galatians 6:8; 1 Peter 5:10; John 6:40).
It is the guarantee of a resurrection body and will be experienced by every believer regardless of their response in time to what God has done for them at salvation.
All three stages of sanctification refer to the process of conforming the believer into the image of Jesus Christ, which is the Father’s plan from eternity past (Romans 8:28-30).
The rapture or resurrection of the church will also complete the believer’s salvation in the sense that they will perfected in a resurrection body at that time.
The nature of salvation is also misunderstood by Christians today in the sense that when they think of being saved, they think it is only about receiving eternal life and the forgiveness of sins.
They often don’t understand that salvation in the Bible speaks of deliverance.
The Scriptures teach that salvation is deliverance from eternal condemnation.
It is also a deliverance from being condemned by the Law.
Furthermore, it is a deliverance from spiritual death, the sin nature, personal sins, the devil and his cosmic system.
At the moment of their conversion or we can say justification the Christian was delivered from all these things in a positional sense.
They initially experience this deliverance at their conversion but lose this experience by committing sin.
Confession of sin restores them to fellowship which is maintained by obedience to the Word of God.
They can experience this deliverance in time after their conversion through fellowship.
They will experience this deliverance in a perfective sense when they receive their resurrection body at the rapture of the church.
Our Lord’s death and resurrection provided the entire human race deliverance from the sin nature, spiritual death, personal sins, eternal condemnation, condemnation from failing to keep the Law perfectly, Satan and his cosmic system.
The sinner appropriates this deliverance by exercising faith in Jesus Christ which results in the Holy Spirit identifying them with Christ in His death and resurrection.
The Christian’s salvation, i.e. his deliverance is also accomplished in three stages: (1) positional (2) experiential (3) perfective or ultimate.
Like the church age believer’s sanctification, their deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system is accomplished in three stages:
(1) Positional: At the moment the believer exercised faith alone in Christ alone, they were delivered “positionally” from spiritual death and eternal condemnation, the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature through the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 19:9; John 4:22; Acts 4:12; 13:26, 47; 16:17; Romans 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 1:13; Philippians 1:28; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:10; 5:9; 6:9; 1 Peter 1:9-10; 2 Peter 3:15; Jude 3; Revelation 7:10).
By “positionally,” I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ, which was accomplished at the moment of conversion through the baptism of the Spirit when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit placed the believer in an eternal union with Christ.
In other words, the “positional” aspect of the believer’s salvation refers to the past action of God saving the believer from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation when we trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior.
The believer’s deliverance positionally sets up the “potential” for them to experience this deliverance in time since this deliverance can only be experienced after justification through obedience to the teaching of the Word of God.
It also guarantees the believer’s ultimate deliverance at the rapture, which is based upon the sovereign decision of God rather than the volition of the believer.
(2) Experiential: After justification, the believer can “experience” deliverance from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that they have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
This constitutes the believer’s spiritual life after being delivered from spiritual death (2 Corinthians 1:6; 7:10; Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Philippians 2:12; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17; 2 Timothy 2:10; 3:15; Hebrews 2:3, 10; 1 Peter 2:2).
In other words, the “experiential” aspect of salvation is used of the believer’s deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system in the present moment.
(3) Perfective: At the resurrection the believer will be delivered “in a perfective sense” and permanently from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature when they receive their resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which is imminent (Romans 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9; Hebrews 1:14; 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5).
In other words, the “perfective” aspect of salvation is used of the believer’s future deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system (Philippians 3:20-21).
Just as in the believer’s sanctification, their deliverance positionally sets up the “potential” for them to experience this deliverance in time since this deliverance can only be experienced after conversion through obedience to the teaching of the Word of God through the enabling power of the Spirit.
It also guarantees the believer’s ultimate deliverance at the rapture.