An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P3: God the Father's eternal act of begetting and God the Son being eternally begotten.

Introduction:

    To review, we covered the first pair of truths that help us in beginning a study of the doctrine of the Trinity: God is one in being and a plurality in Personhood. Readers who want to review the last post may click on the link here Growing Christian Resources: An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P2: God's Oneness of Being and Plurality of Personhood. I referred to this pairing as two pillars upon which we begin to understand the Biblical revelation of the Triune God. In this post we will introduce a second pair of truths that focus attention upon the Person of the Father and the Person of the Son. 

    In the Triune God we often see several pairs of truths associated with the four main ones we're focusing upon in these posts. One important pairing to keep in mind is how the Father and Son are united in essence while distinguished from one another. Another important pairing of truths aside from the four main ones involves the Holy Spirit's union to the Father and the Son while He relates to them and they to Him.1 I mention these two other pairings of truths so that we can keep in mind that first major pairing we looked at last post (God is one in being and plural in Person). 

The main passages used to support the Father begetting the Son and the Son being begotten of the Father.

   To remind ourselves again, those who argue for the eternal generation (i.e. "begottenness" of the Son) teach that the Son of God is "eternally generated", meaning that that Father eternally communicates to Him the entire Divine nature, point for point, with all perfections. For example, John MacArthur in his book "Essential Christian Doctrine", lists Scriptural verses that feature some main Divine attributes shared between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

           Father           Son     Holy Spirit

Eternal: Deut 33:27            Jn 1:1       Heb 9:14

Omnipotent: Mt 19:26         Re 1:8       Lk 1:35

Omniscient: Lk 16:15          Jn 16:30   1 Cor 2:10-11

Omnipresent: 1 kgs 8:27      Mt 28:20   Ps 139:7

Immutable:   Mal 3:6           Heb 1:10-12  Heb 9:14

Loving:        1 John 4:8       Eph 5:2      Rom 15:30

Holy:           Lev 11:45        Heb 7:26-27  Ro 1:4

Truth:          Jn 3:33           Jn 14:6         Jn 15:26

    What this list shows us is, for example, that God is not three eternals, three omnipotents, three omnisciences, and so forth; rather He is One in each of these Perfections as expressed in the Three Persons. Jesus spoke of He and the Father as "One" in John 10:30 in reference to "being"; yet clearly distinguishing between Himself and the Father (i.e. "I and the Father"). The Athanasian Creed summarizes this point as follows:

"What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has. The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated,         the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. The Father is eternal,       the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal. And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being. So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings; there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being."

     Also, the distinguishing characteristic of the Son, "begottenness", is conveyed by the Father to Him, with the Father Himself being the unbegotten Person, hence distinguishing Him in identity from the co-equal and co-eternal Son. 

    There are proof texts that theologians in favor of this doctrine appeal as direct evidence for the doctrine, and then a handful of passages that theologians would say are indirect proof-texts.

Direct proof-texts for the eternal generation of the Son from the Father

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

1 John 4:19 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."

    In addition to these five Johannine proof texts, a few others that convey the teaching of the eternal generation of the Son are used. In Proverbs 8:24-25, Wisdom is personified and described as "brought forth" from God before creation of anything else: 

“When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth." 3

Indirect Proof Texts

    Although the following other passages do not use the term "only-begotten", the idea of the Son being eternally generated by the Father is resident in their various phrases. Colossians 1:16-17 "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." I've highlighted four phrases in Paul's words here in Colossians. 

    The first three bolded phrases portray the Son as responsible for creation, rather than being created, as some groups like the Jehovah Witnesses would advocate. The term "firstborn" is a Greek noun that refers to inheritance more so than just mere birth-order. The Son of God was promised in eternity, by the Father, that He would inherit all of creation before it was made (compare Psalm 2:8; 82:8).

    There are other indirect proof texts we could offer, but for sake of space let me submit Psalm 2:7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." The word "today" in context is not referring to there at that moment. Sometimes in the Bible, the term "day" can refer to an indeterminate period of time, or even eternity itself.

The importance of the Son being begotten of the Father

    I'll lay out three major points about the Son being begotten of the Father as a way to arrive at its meaning as found in the Bible.

1. Eternal generation (and thus "begotten") explains why the Son is eternal. 

    First, those who argue for the eternal generation (or begottennness) of the Son teach that Father eternally communicates to Him the entire Divine nature (or at least His identity as the Son). According to theologian Matthew Barrett, the Divine essence is shared without division from The Father to The Son: 

"The concept takes us to the very heart of what it means for the Son to be a Son. He is eternally from the Father, which is why He is called Son. To be more specific, from all eternity, the Father communicates the one, simple, undivided divine essence to the Son."2

    The eighteenth century Baptist Theologian John Gill explains eternal generation a little differently as the Father communicating the Son's identity, whilst both share in the common essence:

"It is better to say, that they are self
existent, and exist together in the same undivided essence; and jointly, equally, and as early one as the other, possess the same nature’. Thus, there is not one person who, in the personal ordering of the Trinity, communicates the essence to the others. There are simply three, who relate personally to one another in the essence, with each person possessing the essence of himself." 3

 

   Both explanations of eternal generation fall within the pale of Bible-believing orthodoxy and views that draw from the Nicene Creed's confession of the Son being "begotten, not made". Eternal generation or begetting of the Son firstly explains why the Son is eternal. Notice a second general observation.

2. Eternal generation explains why the Son is the Son, and why the Father is the Father. 

    Then secondly, the distinguishing characteristic that defines the Son as "the Son" is in how the Father begets Him or what theologians call "filiates". Filiation conveys to the Son His identity as the Son, as noted already in my quotation of John Gill.

3. The Son being begotten has relevance in modern evangelism

    I recall years ago a group of Jehovah Witnesses handing out pamphlets advertising a local conference at their "Kingdom Hall" meeting place: 

"Come hear about how Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World".

    I pointed out to them that according to their theology, there is no way Jesus Christ could be Savior of the World. I took them to the above passages I cited. I concluded that they either had to admit their theology was in error, or stop proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Savior of the World. They of course would not do either. 

    Nevertheless, the phrase "begotten, not made" safeguards the central affirmation of the Gospel that the Apostle Peter affirms in Acts 10:38 "Jesus Christ is LORD". Or again, Paul writes in Romans 10:9 "If you will confess with your mouth Jesus is LORD, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

    Both Scriptures cited above use the Divine title "LORD" or "Jehovah/Yahweh" to show the Son's equality with the Father, as well as to demonstrate that He is able to save sinners just as much as the Father, since He Himself is God. 

Endnotes:

1. Theologians call the relations between the Father, Son, and Spirit "eternal relations of origin." 

2. John Gill. Body of Divinity. Pages 98-99, Book 2. Consulted from the Digital Version available on Internet Archive here Gill's complete body of practical and doctrinal divinity: : being a system of evangelical truths, deduced from the Sacred Scriptures. : Gill, John, 1697-1771 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

3. True God from True God - Credo Magazine

An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P2: God's Oneness of Being and Plurality of Personhood.

Introduction:

    In our last post we began a series I'm calling "An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity" here Growing Christian Resources: An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P1: Four Pairs Of Truths That Comprise The Doctrine Of The Trinity. Today is the first pair of four pairs of truths which comprise the teaching. Let me list the four headings as I laid them out in the last post and then expound some on the first one.

1. Truth Pair #1 God's oneness of being and plurality of Personhood. 

2. Truth Pair #2 God the Father's eternal act of begetting and God the Son being eternally begotten.

3. Truth Pair #3 God the Father and the Son's eternal out-breathing of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit's procession from the Father and the Son.

4. Truth Pair #4 The Trinity in unity and the unity in Trinity.   

    With those four pairs of truth in mind, let's expound briefly on the first one.  

Truth Pair #1 God's oneness of being and plurality of Personhood. 

    When we study the Bible to understand what God is and who He is, we come away with two broad clusters of truth: 

A. God is one in being and three in Personhood. God being one God is affirmed throughout Scripture (Deut. 4:35; 6:4-5; 32:39; Ps 18:31; Isaiah 40:18; 43:10-11; 44:6; 45:5; Mark 12:29). The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 begins its article on God with this sentence: "There is one and only one living and true God." God is one in being. 

B. We then understand the second important pillar of the doctrine of the Trinity - He is a plurality of Persons. He being a plurality of three Persons is also affirmed, whether it be by use of Divine titles that show Yahweh and the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, or in passages that show two of the three Persons (Genesis 1:2; Proverbs 30:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6) or all three (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14) in the New Testament. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 asserts:

"The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being."

What is meant by "Person" and "Being" when discussing the Trinity?

Two terms must be defined before going further into our study. 

A. What is meant by a Divine Person?

    First, what is meant by "person" when studying the Trinity? When we refer to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit as "Persons", we refer to how they are active, eternal subjects within the Divine nature or Godhead.1 All three share in the Divine nature in such a way as to each be truly God in the fullest sense. In sharing the one, undivided Divine essence or nature, there is one will and one mind among the three Persons. This observation is demonstrated in how God at times will use plural pronouns to describe how He is acting in creation (Genesis 1:26) and in salvation (John 14:23).

    We must remind ourselves that as we meditate on the Trinity, we are entering into the realm of mystery, meaning unless God has revealed the details of truth to us from Scripture, we can only respond in worship, rather than full analysis. 

    There will be aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity that are clear from Scripture, others which we can draw conclusions from indirect connections in the Bible, and still others that evade our comprehension. 

B. What is God's being? 

   The second term we need to define is "being", or what is also called "essence" or "nature". When we talk of God's being, nature, or essence, we refer to what God is in His existence and attributes. 

       God's existence and attributes are unique from all other things, since God is eternal and without beginning, existing before everything else. God's attributes are each an excellency, a perfection, and total revelation of God's being. In other words, we don't have God's being on one side and His attributes stacked off in a corner on the other side. Rather, God's being is His attributes and vice-versa declaring to us that when you focus on one attribute, you have all that God is in that perfection along with all the others!3 

    When we talk of God's being or nature, we also will use the related term "character" which covers consideration of His being and attributes. The Bible will make reference to "the Divine nature" (Romans 1:18-20) for example, with older translations using the term "Godhead", to point out God's essence, nature, and thus His deity. 2

    With those two terms defined, we now can move forward by considering this question: how does Scripture help us bridge these two general truths of unity in being and plurality in personhood? 

1. The glory of God as a bridge between discussion of the Divine nature and the Trinity. 

    The Biblical teaching on the glory of God is the first way the Bible bridges the revelation of God being one in being and a plurality of three persons. For example, Psalm 19:1 tells us how "the heavens declare the glory of God", with "glory of God" gesturing toward contemplation of God in all that He is as revealed through the general revelation of creation. 

    We then see God's glory as a theme in a key Trinitarian passage, reminding us in Hebrews 1:3 of how the Son is "the radiance of God's glory, and the exact representation of His being". The term "God" in Hebrews 1:3 refers to the Person of the Father, of whom the Son discloses in His effulgence as the Divine Son. God's glory bridges any discussion of the Divine Godhead to the Persons in the Godhead. 

2. The Old Testament's preparation for the full revelation of the Trinity in the New Testament. 

    Not only does God's glory help us bridge between discussion of God's oneness of being and Triune identity, but also the Old Testament revelation of God. Genesis 1 reveals what we could call the "twin pillars" of any Biblical doctrine of God - God's oneness of being and plurality of personhood. 

    Genesis 1:1 squarely tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. The Hebrew text utilizes a singular masculine verb in the third person to tell us of a singular God verbalizing everything into existence. Yet, the subject of the sentence, "God", is the Hebrew name for God "Elohim", which is a plural masculine noun. This intriguing point of Hebrew grammar gestures toward our main thesis in this first truth pairing: One God in being and plural in Personhood. 

      We see this same sort of phenomenon in Genesis 1:26, with the third masculine singular verb for "make" in reference to the making of man as male and female. Yet, the subject of that verb in the sentence is the Hebrew name of God "Elohim". 

    Furthermore, Genesis 1:26 also includes pronoun "our" in reference to the image He would stamp into the moral and spiritual make-up of the man and woman. God is no doubt a singular entity, Creator of all things. At the same time, this one God is a plural personality. 

    Throughout the Old Testament revelation we see references hinting at the personages in the Godhead. For instance, we see "The Spirit" (Genesis 1:2) and "The Son" in Psalm 110:4 and Proverbs 30:4. 

    The Old Testament doesn't get to the level of detail we find in the New Testament revelation to how it ties together the oneness of God with the plurality of personality. Nonetheless, The Old Testament sets up for what would be that eventual bringing together of the complete picture of "One God in Three Persons" observed in the New Testament.  

3. The mutual indwelling of Father, Son, and Spirit as One God by nature.  

     Jesus' teaching on the doctrine of God is a quantum leap forward in the progressive revelation of Scripture in bridging God's oneness of nature and plurality of personality. As only Jesus could do, He utilizes the language of what theologians call "mutual indwelling", which is to say the "Father is in me and I in the Father" type of expressions. For instance, we read Jesus' words in John 14:10-11

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves."

    What Jesus taught in John 13-17 about Himself, the Father, and Holy Spirit being One in unity and distinct in identity moves our understanding forward in formulating a Biblical doctrine of God that affirms a oneness in being and three in identity.    

Endnotes:

1. The term "Person" has quite a history in the historical development of the doctrine of the Trinity. I used the phrase "eternal, acting, subject" as a summary of the more technical term used by systematic theologians: "subsistence" or "hypostasis". Both terms are respectively of Latin and Greek origin, and refer to how the Father, Son, and Spirit are concrete, eternal subjects that eternally have ever acted within the Divine nature. The closest example of where we find the Greek word "hypostasis" in the New Testament used in this way is where the Son of God is deemed "the exact representation of His being" in Hebrews 1:2-3. The Son's co-equality and co-eternality of nature shared with the Father is such that the Son is Himself truly God just as much as the Father Himself is truly God. In the early third century, the Latin Church Father Tertullian began to use the Latin term "persona", with later writers using the Latin term "subsist" to refer to how the Persons of the Trinity act and relate to one another in their sharing of the One Divine nature. 

2. There is overlap in meaning when it comes to the terms "nature", "being", and "essence". 

3. This particular quality of God's being is called "Divine Simplicity", meaning God has no parts. We don't have a part of God's being in His love, another part in His holiness, and so forth. Rather, God is all holy, all loving, and so forth. He doesn't merely have love, He is love by nature  - i.e. the loving God (1 John 4:8). He doesn't merely have holiness, He is holy (Psalm 99:1). This is what we mean by God being His attributes.

An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P1: Four Pairs Of Truths That Comprise The Doctrine Of The Trinity

Introduction:

    The Biblical revelation of Trinity is glorious, enriching, and captivating. The nineteenth century Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon once noted this about the study of God:

"No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. We shall be obliged to feel— 

'Great God, how infinite art thou, 

What worthless worms are we!'

But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe."

Spurgeon later then states:

"I dare say it does, but after all, the most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity." 

    What I want to do is to offer a brief, simple outline for starting to think about the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity. In the next several weeks I'll be leading a Wednesday night study on this subject. I intend to do this study of the Trinity in four sessions. As I have prayed and contemplated this important truth throughout the years on this blogsite, in our recent Nicene Creed blog series, and in sermons, I find I can never exhaust it. With that said, my intent in today's post and the next several is to give four pairs of truths whereby the reader can at least begin to consider this core truth of the Christian faith. 

Truth Pair #1 God's oneness of being and plurality of Personhood. 

    Scripture reveals that God is one God or what is referred to as "monotheism" (for instance, Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:37-39). Yet we also see at the same time reference to a plurality of personhood that gradually is revealed more and more as one goes from Old Testament to New Testament (for example, Proverbs 30:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Acts 5:3-4). 

Truth Pair #2 God the Father's eternal act of begetting and God the Son being eternally begotten.

    Not only do we see that first pair of truths concerning God's oneness of being and plurality of personhood revealed, but we also see the Scriptures saying quite a bit about the eternal relationship of the Father and the Son. Their co-equality and sharing of the Divine nature is stressed again and again (for example, Psalm 2:7; John 1:1-3; John 10:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6). 

     What the Bible does is help us to know how we can distinguish between the Father and the Son, since they are co-equal, co-eternal, and are truly God in unity and as Divine Persons. The term the Bible uses to describe the relationship of the Father and the Son is that the Son is "begotten" and the Father "begets" (for example Psalm 2:7; John 3:16). Historic Christian creeds such as the Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed give summaries of what the Bible means by the Son being the only begotten and the Father's eternal act of begetting Him. 

    Confession of Christ's deity is an on-ramp to the doctrine of the Trinity, since on the one hand the Bible asserts the deity of the Father as the One God of Israel in the Old Testament (see Deuteronomy 32:6) and reveals the deity of Jesus Christ in the New Testament (for instance, John 1:1-2, 8:58). 

Truth Pair #3 God the Father and the Son's eternal out-breathing of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit's procession from the Father and the Son.

    In this third pair of truths, we come to another on-ramp into the discussion of the Trinity, namely how the Holy Spirit is a Person (the "He" pronouns used by Jesus to describe Him in John 16:8-12), as much God as the Father and the Son (Genesis 1:2), and how He relates to them and they to Him ("Spirit of Christ", Galatians 4:6; "Spirit of God", Ephesians 4:30). 

    Scripture tells us that the eternal relationship of the Father and the Son to the Holy Spirit is described in terms of the Spirit "proceeding" from the Father and the Son (see for example John 14:26-27; John 15:26-27). His very name "Spirit" also reveals that He is eternally "breathed out" by the Father and the Son (for example Psalm 104:30; John 20:22).

Truth Pair #4 The Trinity in unity and the unity in Trinity.     

    This final pair of truths will aim to bring the study back around to what we affirmed in the first point. I borrow this phrasing from the Athanasian Creed, which near its beginning and its middle says the following:

"And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity,"

That's how the Creed starts, noting that the term "Catholic" is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church but rather as a Greek word ("kathilikos"), Catholic means "universal" or "the church every place, everywhere". Then, the Athanasian Creed has a its central affirmation:

"So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped."

    When our Lord Jesus Christ was preparing to ascend into Heaven, He gave His disciples final instructions. In Matthew 28:18-19 we see the famous "Great Commission" passage:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

    The reader will notice Jesus' use of the term "name" signifying the unity of God's essence or nature as "One God" (hence "one God in unity"). Then Jesus mentions of course the Three Persons of the Trinity, of which He as the incarnate Son is a member as it pertains to His deity (hence "unity in Trinity"). 

Closing thoughts for today    

    As we work our way through each of the above pairs of truths, I'll utilize the Baptist Faith and Message's second article on the doctrine of God which readers can find here Baptist Faith and Message 2000 - The Baptist Faith and Message. As we work through these next four posts, I'll offer applications for the reader so that they can see how practical, as well as worshipful a study of the doctrine of the Trinity can be. 

P7 Christian Sanctification's Final Stage: Perfect Sanctification

Introduction:

    In this series of posts I have attempted to introduce the reader to the Biblical doctrine of Christian sanctification. We've noted how it begins, how it progresses, and in today's post how it will end and continue on into eternity. 

      Initial sanctification is what we have noted as "positional" or "definitive" sanctification. The Christian life that proceeds from that beginning point at regeneration/justification by faith is the second stage of sanctification known as "progressive sanctification". We now turn to the third and final phase, or what we're calling "perfect sanctification".     

Perfect sanctification.  1 Peter 1:8,13

    When I say “perfect sanctification”, I mean that final aspect of our sanctification where the presence of sin is no more and we are finally pure. Sanctification’s overall progression throughout the Christian life finds its lion’s share in that progressive phase we just observed. 

    Half of all the New Testament letters spend time giving exhortations on how to grow onward and upward in progressive sanctification. As such, the Christian life doesn’t cease at death. Peter notes in 1 Peter 1:7-8 “so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

     The Apostle Peter details the trials and testings of progressive sanctification in 1 Peter 1:7. Why do we undergo such things? For the sake of what we will experience once we’re perfected either at Christ’s coming or when we pass on from this life to the one to come. Peter  about perfect sanctification in 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

      Elsewhere in the New Testament we read about this perfect sanctification or what is also called “glorification” – the final phase of our salvation’s completion after death or at Christ’s second coming. Romans 8:30 guarantees the Christian’s arrival at sinless perfection at death or at the Lord’s return: “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”  

    Jude describes perfect sanctification or glorification in Jude 1:24-25 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” In heaven right now, the saints of God who have went on before us are “perfected” in Hebrews 12:23 “to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.”

      It has been well said by theologians that at regeneration/justification I am set free from sin’s penalty. We saw already how at saving faith, the Spirit of God begins the work of sanctification by it being a definitive work of positioning us in Jesus Christ. So, it is at regeneration/justification I am set free from sin’s penalty. 

    Then, in progressive sanctification I am being set free from sin’s power. It will be at the moment of death or the Lord’s return at the rapture that I am set free from sin’s presence! 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

    It will be then that the perfect soul of every Christian will be reunited with a glorified resurrected body, wherein we could say that at resurrection I am set free from sin’s putrefaction. You know putrefaction? It's what happens to vegetables in so many people’s refrigerators as they lay at the bottom of our produce drawers. Our bodies decay in the grave, awaiting the time when Jesus returns and raises them to reunite with the soul (John 5:24-29).

Closing thoughts:

      Well, there is more I could say (that’s what the preacher says when he has ran out of time!) Let’s review. In our overview of Christian sanctification, we noted first how God ordained the sanctification of those sinners whom He chose in Christ as spelled out by Peter in 1 Peter 1:1-4. 

      The Holy Spirit then calls such sinners to exercise saving faith in Jesus Christ, installing them positionally to begin their Christian life in positional sanctification. What follows is a progressive onward and upward growth in Jesus Christ in progressive sanctification (1 Peter 1:5-2:3). 

      Then finally, the goal is perfect sanctification or glorification, where the Christian has a perfected soul at death or rapture, with the latter being a time when the perfected soul is united with a glorified resurrected body. Remember: Sanctification speaks of the Christian life lived from its beginnings in regeneration until the believer’s homegoing at death or the rapture of the church. May God be glorified!

P6 Christian Sanctification's Second Stage: Progressive Sanctification

Introduction:

    In the last post I spent time explaining what theologians refer to as the initial stage of Christian sanctification - "definitive" or what is sometimes called "positional sanctification". Readers may review the last post to get a sense of what I meant in the unpacking of that truth here Growing Christian Resources: P5 Christian Sanctification's First Stage: Definitive / Positional Sanctification. 

    In today's post I want to continue in our series on the Biblical doctrine of sanctification. Admittedly I had meant this to only be a short series, however, in my current preaching series on Sunday evenings, wherein we are working our way through Christian sanctification, I wanted to have a chance to flesh out further observations. With that noted, we move today to the second main phase of Christian sanctification, namely "progressive sanctification". 

Progressive sanctification.  1 Peter 1:5-7, 9-12, 1:14-2:3

    I spent the last post on "positional sanctification" due to what is often it's neglect in conversations about the Christian life. It is this second sense of "progressive sanctification" that is most often discussed and which is the focus of this post. 

    Positional or definitive sanctification is the Holy Spirit’s uniting me to Christ and beginning the cleansing work in my heart at regeneration. Not only does the Holy Spirit unite me to Jesus Christ in that first phase of sanctification, but He also breaks the dominion of sin's power (not presence!) in the moment of regeneration. It is from thereon that sanctification continues. 

    We call this second phase of Christian sanctification “progressive” because it is a continual, ongoing process whereby the Holy Spirit is making me more like Jesus in thought, word, and deed. Furthermore, my participation and cooperation with the Holy Spirit is necessary for progressive sanctification. The “sanctification” part speaks of what we’ve already noted, namely the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God in my life along with my needed compliance to His work. Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Let’s note some features of progressive sanctification.

A. Sanctification is a refining work.

      Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:5-7 “who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  I’ve underlined three verbs in these verses that in the original language speak of an ongoing experience in the Christian’s life. The ESV renders that first verb as “being protected” – an ongoing work of God shielding us in our Christian growth. The second verb refers to rejoicing throughout our Christian walk in a growing and increasing way. We come to see more the need for our Savior and our desire for Him as we live through this life. Then that third verb, “tested”, conveys that tests are never done. The process of sanctification is a refining work of God in our lives. Sanctification as a process is a refining work. Second…..

B. Sanctification is a reaffirming work.

1 Peter 1:9-12 “obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. 10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”  

As we grow in progressive sanctification, the Holy Spirit reminds us again and again that we are children of God, destined for glory. 1 John 3:2-3 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  As we progress in sanctification, it is refining and reaffirming. Thirdly, 

C. Sanctification is a responsible work.

1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  Then skip down to 1 Peter 1:22-23 “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” 

Peter then issues this exhortation in 1 Peter 2:1-3 “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

Progressive sanctification isn’t a “let go and let God” nor is it “do better, try harder”. Instead, it is He working in me and I working with Him. We must not think of it as me giving my 50% and God doing the other 50%. Such a view of sanctification would render me in dire straits if I fail to do my part. Rather, think of sanctification as God upholding us all the way (1 Thessalonians 2:13-14) and us working with Him as evidence of His cleansing work in our hearts (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12). 

To illustrate, when I was learning how to drive from my father, he would drive us out from our house to an old back road. We would pull over and then he would let me drive a short distance. I can remember him sometimes having to nudge the steering wheel for me, since the car would tend to drift into the side of the road as I drove. Then, we would pull over again and my dad would turn the car around and we would head home. Now, when we got into the house, my mother would ask: “how did driving go?” My dad would say: “he is getting better and he did good”. By that illustration, it is plain that we’re it not for my dad, there is no way we could had gotten out to that old country road nor gotten back home. Yet, my participation was needed to demonstrate that I had taken in what my dad was teaching me.

Final thoughts:

 That’s progressive sanctification. We’ve noted how it begins with positional or definitive sanctification at saving faith. Keep those two distinctions in mind will help you as you study God’s Word on the Christian life. Next time we will look at the final phase of Christian sanctification, what I'm calling "perfect sanctification". 

P5 Christian Sanctification's First Stage: Definitive / Positional Sanctification

Introduction:

    In recent posts I've devoted time to the doctrine of Christian sanctification. In the last post I provided a summary of three major headings under which the doctrine of sanctification is Biblically understood here Growing Christian Resources: P4 God's Plan For Christian Sanctification And Its Main Truths. In today's post we will begin to unpack the first of those headings, what is known as "positional" or "definitive sanctification". I'll draw most of my observations from the opening verses of 1 Peter 1.

A Look At Positional sanctification. 

    When we talk about "positional sanctification" or "definitive sanctification", by what do we mean? Theologian John Murray offers the following insight about this first stage of Christian sanctification:

"We are thus compelled to take account of the fact that the language of sanctification is used with reference to some decisive action that occurs at the inception of the Christian life, one that characterizes the people of God in their identity as called effectually by God’s grace."

I bring out this important distinction of "definitive" or "positional sanctification" because it is often overlooked in comparison to the much more familiar understanding of Christian sanctification as a progressive work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life following conversion. This distinction helps the Bible student make sense of passages that speak of sanctification but clearly are not talking of it in its progressive sense (which I'll deal with in the next post), but in terms of how it starts as a definitive work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration/saving faith (see for instance 1 John 3:3,6,9). We could say that definitive or positional sanctification is when the Holy Spirit has us to make a decisive break with the domination of sin (note, not the presence of sin!) that characterizes the unregenerate unbeliever. 

The Apostle Peter helps us grasp this important aspect of Christian sanctification in 1 Peter 1:1-4. Note with me the following points.

A. Planned from eternity.   1:1-2

    Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:1-4 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 

      Peter opens up his letter with how his readers’ sanctification was planned by God from all eternity. Paul reminds us that the goal of God’s sovereign choice of sinners in salvation is for them to be set apart positionally to be conformed to Christ’s image. Not only is God wanting to save sinners from something (wrath, separation from God, final judgment) but unto something (relationship with Him through Christ, godly living for His glory, eternity with Him). We especially see this connection between God's plan for our salvation and sanctification in eternity to the start of it in reception of salvation in saving faith in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." We also note too Romans 8:29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”  

      The good works the Christian will perform throughout their Christian walk were ordained by God. Ephesians 2:10 “for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  This ought to comfort the Christian, since there are times our efforts to grow in Christ are met with the still lingering desire to sin. Nonetheless, Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6 “He who began a good work in you will bring it unto completion in Christ Jesus”. Our positional sanctification was planned by God from all eternity. Then it….

   B. Begins at regeneration. 1:3-4

     That sanctification was planned by God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in eternity is without a doubt in the Bible. But when does sanctification in the positional sense start? Notice with me 1 Peter 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” 

     The sanctification or "setting apart" of the sinner at salvation, their positional standing as a saint of God gets underway at the moment of regeneration and saving faith. 1 Corinthians 6:11 “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”  The use of the term “sanctified” here speaks of the Christian's position as as a saint of God from the moment of the new birth in saving faith. Why does this matter?

 What definitive or positional sanctification does in the Holy Spirit's act of setting apart the sinner is to unite them to Jesus Christ so that they are set free from sin’s power. Theologian Wayne Grudem (2^nd Edition, Systematic Theology, page 925, comments: 

“This initial step in sanctification involves a definite break from the ruling power and love of sin so that the believer is no longer ruled or dominated by sin and no longer loves to sin.”  

It’s not the presence of sin removed, but the power of sin’s domination that is severed. It is this beginning work of definitive or positional sanctification at regeneration that explains why the Christian feels miserable when they do something they ought not to do. Titus 3:4 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”  

At regeneration, there is a legal change and an experiential change brought about in me. Legally, I’m declared justified by faith by God the Father as He imputes or credits me with Christ’s righteousness, setting me free from sin’s penalty. On the experiential side, the Spirit of God’s work cleanses me by definitive or positional sanctification to set me on my journey of becoming more and more like Jesus in my progress of sanctification. Romans 6:3-4 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” So, we have positional sanctification that was planned by God in eternity and which begins at regeneration in saving faith.

Those thoughts hopefully clarify in the reader's mind this important first phase of Christian sanctification. Next time we will look at the second aspect or distinction in the Biblical doctrine of Christian sanctification - namely progressive sanctification. 

Post #28 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "and He shall come again, with glory"

Introduction:

    It has been a while since I posted in my series on the Nicene Creed. A busy ministry schedule and other series floating around in my mind have precluded me from working any further into the Nicene Creed. With that said, in the last post we noted the important of "theological triage", that is, prioritizing doctrines of Scripture by their relative weight or emphasis in the Bible in comparison to other truths here Growing Christian Resources: Post #27 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - The Nicene Creed's Confession Of Last Things (Eschatology) and a word on theological triage. 

    One reason we are studying the Nicene Creed is because earlier generations of the church saw the need to give agreed-upon summaries of what was essential for Christians everywhere and at all times to confess with regards to their faith. Creeds are not meant to be exhaustive in their treatment of Bible doctrine. Other theological treatises such as confessions or doctrinal statements operate to give more detailed listings of doctrines. Even then, there is still a sense in which there is a consistency among all orthodox creeds, confessions, and doctrinal statements when it comes to what counts as first tiered theological commitments. 

    In today's post we continue on with our study of the Nicene Creed by noting what it has to say about Christ's second coming. I'll likely be posting installments at a slower pace, since we are also currently studying the doctrine of sanctification in this blogsite. Onto the Nicene Creed!

"And He shall come again."

    The Nicene Creed affirms the second coming of the Son. When Jesus ascended into Heaven forty days after His resurrection, He gave final instructions to His disciples. In Acts 1:9-11, we read what then is said next by angels who appear to the disciples as Jesus ascends:

"And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.'”

    The point made here by the angels to the disciples is that the return of Jesus will be a physical and bodily return. This of course isn't the only passage in the Bible that asserts the second coming, but it is among the clearer passages that affirm the bodily return of our Lord (see also Acts. 1:11; 3:19–21; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 11:26; 15:23). If one takes what the Nicene Creed is saying here in context of its overall confession of the incarnation, this point emerges all the more. 

    The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the most focused upon subject in all of Biblical prophecy or Eschatology. The late Bible scholar John Walvoord notes:

"It (the second coming) constitutes the most tremendous intervention of divine power in the entire course of human history. On every hand one discovers that the Scripture dealing with the second coming is the key to the prophetic future." (Biblio Theca Sacra 114:454, April 1957, page 97). 

    Roughly one out of every four verses in the Bible refer to Biblical eschatology. In the realm of such references, the physical bodily return of our Lord dominates the Biblical vision of the future or last things. Jesus Himself spoke often of what would be His second coming (Matthew 16:27; 25:29-31; 26:64; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 22:69). Let me give one example of a pair of references from the Old and New Testaments concerning our Lord's soon return to earth.

    

    The prophet Isaiah prophesied of the future coming of Yahweh to earth in Isaiah 25:6-9 "The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,

And refined, aged wine. 7 And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.

9 And it will be said in that day,

'Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.

This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

    

    In Isaiah's prophecy we certainly see the visible, physicality of this return to earth. The coming Kingdom will be manifested in a physical way, altering the very earth itself. One feature associated with the Lord's return is mention of a great banquet, a common theme in passages that speaks of God manifesting Himself to His covenant people in the context of His redemption of them (see Exodus 24 or our Lord's institution of the Lord's Supper in Luke 22). 

    

      The Apostle John records a strikingly similar description of the coming of Jesus Christ with His bride, the Church, first Revelation 19:7-9 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, 'Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.” 

    The same author then records the very vision of the coming of Jesus Christ, Yahweh in the flesh, in Revelation 19:11-14 "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses."

    

    This pair of references are but a small slice of numerous examples of texts that emphasize the physical, visible return of our Lord who is God and man to earth, just as affirmed in the Nicene Creed (see for instance Zechariah 14 and Matthew 24:15-31; Joel 2:28-32; Daniel 9:23-27; and 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 and many, many others). 

"With glory"

    Three senses of the term "glory" are worth mentioning as revealed in the Bible. The first sense is "incarnate glory". The reason why the Nicene Creed adds this little phrase "with glory" is to emphasize the point I made earlier, namely the second coming of our Lord will not be invisible, but visible; not a spiritual non-physical return, but a return featuring Him in his post-resurrected, ascended, incarnate glory as God in the flesh. This is the first observation to note of what is meant by "glory", namely the incarnated glory of Christ returning to earth. 

    What is the glory of God? God's glory is that excellency of God whereby He makes visible, clear, and revelatory His otherwise unapproachable, invisible nature and attributes. As Christ returns, He will manifest the glory of deity through His glorified humanity due to His coming for His people. The second coming of Jesus Christ is promised to the Christian to be one which they will see with their own eyes (Job 19:25-28; 1 Peter 1:8; 1 John 3:2-3; Revelation 1:7-8). 

    Baptist Theologian J.P. Boice notes of the glory in which Christ will appear at His second coming:

"It will be an appearance with power and glory; “for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God,” (1 Thess. 4:16); “in the glory of his Father,” (Matt. 16:27); and “in his glory, and all the angels with him,” (Matt. 25:31); fulfilling to believers their expectation of “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Tit. 2:13" (J.P. Boice, Abstract of Systematic Theology, 40.3). 

    The second sense concerning how Christ will return "with glory" is that He will have the accompaniment of the angelic hosts of heaven itself. Jesus earlier on in His public ministry made this statement in Mark 8:38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Theologian A.A. Hodge notes this of Christ's second coming in glory in His "Outlines of Theology":

"The coming itself, its manner and

purpose are alike defined. He is to be attended with the hosts of

heaven, in power and great glory." 

    Then the final sense of the term "glory" has to do with how Jesus Christ will manifest His full deity with which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the realm of the coming Kingdom itself. The Kingdom of God is the domain of the reign of the Son of God. What divides theologians concerns the issue of the millennial kingdom that it referred to throughout Scripture. Is the revelation of the glory of the King mainly in Heaven now with a final manifestation meant to then resurrect the saints, judge unbelievers, and usher in the New Heavens and New Earth (the broad outline of so-called "amillennialism" and "post-millennialism")? Or will the glory of God through Christ through His Kingdom involve an earthly physical stage of a 1,000 years duration, beginning with the resurrection of the just and concluding with the resurrection of the unjust, final judgment, and New Heavens and Earth? The Nicene Creed doesn't dive into those specifics, nor will I in this post. Suffice to say though, the whole debate over the millennium must reckon with which view most clearly shows Christ revealing the glory of His deity in such a way to flood the whole earth and cosmos, as well as to show He is the decisive revelation of God.