Series: A Biblical Theology of Christian Maturity (Week 3)
Sanctification of the Whole Man
The subject of sanctification is the entire being of the believer. This extensive work is broken up into internal and external affects or material and immaterial affects, but the most common designations in Scripture involve the intellect (mind, thinking, conviction, wisdom), affections (emotions, character, love), and actions (will and decisions, obedience, competence, behavior,).[1] This means that spiritual maturity affects every area of the Christian life. It is not merely an intellectual or academic pursuit, nor is it simply an emotional, ethereal experience. It is not about legalistically doing better, doing more, and achieving the status of maturity on one’s own efforts. Rather, spiritual maturity occurs in a whole-personed progressive sanctification toward holiness.[2]
Intellect
Scripture explains that spiritual maturity occurs as the intellect is affected in sanctification. Paul tells the Corinthians not to be children in their thinking, but mature (1 Cor. 14:20), but giving up childish ways (1 Cor. 13:11). This occurs in two cooperating dimensions: knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge of God and his will is discovered in Scripture (Psalm 19:7; Col. 3:10), and applied with skill in life, which is commonly described in Scripture as wisdom. In Philippians 1:9-11 Paul prays for the Philippian church that love for God and others would abound with the twin guardians of knowledge and discernment. Knowledge here consists of the content of what is definitely known. It refers to a definite, full knowledge (Rom. 10:2; Col. 1:9).[3] Discernment simply means to regard something as genuine or worthy on the basis of testing (Rom. 14:22).[4] Colossians 1:9-10 contains a parallel prayer from the apostle, designating spiritual wisdom as a partner to understanding or knowledge. This wisdom is also attributed to the spiritually mature by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:6, “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.” Paul also tells the Ephesian church that he prays for them to have a spirit of wisdom, having the eyes of their hearts enlightened to the plans of God revealed in Scripture (1:17-19), explaining the role of apostles, prophets and pastors to equip them to do the work of ministry (4:11-16). Timothy receives the same instruction from Paul as a pastor to preach the inspired word of God that made him wise unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5).
Proverbs. Special attention has to be paid to the book of Proverbs in the pursuit of wisdom in the life of the believer. John Kitchen, in his fantastic commentary points out five major words used in the Proverbs to refer to wisdom. The first word is discipline, referring to training or instruction. This word often refers to sternness, warning, and correction, resulting in a change of course. The emphasis is verbal, but, if unheeded, can become physical. “My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof” (Prov. 3:11-12). The second word is discernment, which is insight to differentiate between good and evil (Prov. 2:3; Job 13:1; Ps. 119:104). The third word is understanding, which Kitchen describes as “A God-given ability to use God’s revealed truth to deduce the wisest and most efficient course in achieving his will in a given situation.”[5] The fourth word is prudence, or shrewdness. “This Spirit-born cleverness understands the trend of events (Prov. 14:8) and inherent dangers (Prov. 22:3; 27:12) and turns one’s steps (Prov. 14:15) to a path that avoids pitfalls and finds passage through the challenges of doing God’s will.”[6]Finally, Kitchen describes knowledge as learning, though not as only intellectual, but deeply personal and experiential. It is founded on the fear of the Lord (Prov. 1:7), grown through knowing truth and the God who is truth (Prov. 2:3-6). “Wisdom is, thus, seen not as a plateau to achieve, but a journey to continue in-ever learning, always coming to know God more deeply.”[7]
Affections
Paul tells Timothy that the goal of doctrine and teaching is love, coming from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5). That message is applicable to the believer moving forward in spiritual maturity as well. In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul’s admonition to the Philippian church that they would have knowledge and discernment was aimed toward the increase of their love. They were already a loving congregation toward God, the apostle himself, and those to whom they sought to minister. Paul prayed that their love would abound more and more through knowledge and discernment. Hebrews 10:24 makes it a goal of the community of faith to “stir one another up to love and good works” as well.
1 John 2:12-17 is one of the clearest calls to Christian maturity in love in Scripture. John speaks to his readers as spiritual “children” (2:13c). The word for children in this verse is different from in verse 12. It refers to someone under guardianship, or parental instruction. These are immature Christians. They know the Father, they know they have been converted, but that is about all. They are, as one commentator points out, prone to temptation, weakness and stumbling over false doctrine. He expects them to mature to the stage of spiritual ”young men” (2:13b, 14b). When spiritual children begin to grow, there is an emphasis upon Scripture toward knowledge and wisdom. The only way spiritual maturity happens is through the study and application of the Bible. That is why John commends them, because the word of God abides in them. The final stage of development is the designation as spiritual fathers (13a, 14a): The third stage of spiritual growth is becoming a spiritual father. The idea in this designation of knowing God has more to do with the aforementioned experiential knowledge than just a factual knowledge.
These stages of spiritual maturity are inseparably linked love for the brothers in the community of faith. “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9). The spiritual growth of a believer naturally produces love for God and love for the church.
Actions
Obedience to the commands of God is a part of Christian maturity and progressive sanctification. In his fantastic work The Hole in Our Holiness, Kevin DeYoung posits that holiness actually looks like obedience to God’s commands.
God’s commands are given as a means of grace so that we might grow in godliness and show that we love him. The rule for holiness is the law, in particular the Ten Commandments. Christians don’t always agree on how to view the law, but historically the church has put the Ten Commandments at the center of its instruction for God’s people, especially for children and new believers.[8]
Scripture is clear that obedience to the commands of Scripture takes effort (Phil. 3:13-14; Heb. 12:14), but is a natural part of spiritual growth. Paul tells the Romans that because of their death to sin, they shouldn’t continue to practice it any longer (6:9-14). Instead, they should offer themselves as slaves of righteousness leading to sanctification(6:19).
Sanctification involves the work of God and the work of the believer. It is begun in the separation of the believer from the world and toward God, and carried out in the actual life of the believer in a whole-personed movement toward holiness involving the intellect, affections, and actions of the believer and progresses toward actual holiness in these areas.
Notes
[1] Wayne Grudem adds a helpful category from Scripture as well: the physical body. Sanctification affects the actual physicality of the believer as well. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 757.
[2] “Sanctification is an extensive thing: it spreads to the whole man. He is not a sanctified person who is good only in some part, but who is all over sanctified; therefore in Scripture, grace is called a ‘new man,’ not a new eye or a new tongue, but a ‘new man’ (Col. 3:10).” Watson, A Body of Divinity, 241.
[3] J. P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, eds., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 1st ed (New York, NY, USA: United Bible Societies, 1988), 336.
[4] Ibid, 384.
[5] John A Kitchen, Proverbs: A Mentor Commentary (Fearn, Ross-shire: Mentor, 2006), 729.
[6] Ibid, 729.
[7] Ibid, 731.
[8] Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness (Paperback Edition): Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2014), 45.