Sanctified by Grace: Understanding Positional and Progressive Sanctification

What is Sanctification?

Sanctification is the process by which a believer is made holy, set apart for God’s purposes, and transformed into the likeness of Christ. In essence, it is the work of God’s grace in the life of a Christian, enabling them to live in holiness and righteousness. Sanctification is a central theme in the Christian life, but it has different aspects: positional and progressive. Both aspects are essential to understanding how God’s work in us begins at salvation and continues throughout our lives.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 speaks to God’s will for our sanctification: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” God’s desire for every believer is sanctification, meaning He wants us to grow in holiness, separating ourselves from sin and drawing closer to Him. However, sanctification has both a fixed, immediate aspect and a gradual, ongoing aspect.

Positional Sanctification: What God Declares Us to Be

Positional sanctification refers to the believer’s status before God as holy and set apart the moment they place their faith in Jesus Christ. This is an instantaneous change that occurs at salvation, where the believer is declared righteous and holy in God’s sight because of the finished work of Christ. It is not based on the believer’s actions or efforts but on their union with Jesus, who Himself is holy and perfect.

Hebrews 10:10 describes this positional sanctification: “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Through the sacrifice of Jesus, believers are sanctified “once for all.” This is a past event that has already taken place for those who are in Christ. It means that when God looks at the believer, He sees them as set apart and righteous because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.

Positional sanctification is also connected to the believer’s identity in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:30 declares, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Jesus Himself is our sanctification. When we are united with Christ by faith, His holiness is credited to us. This is why positional sanctification is a fixed, unchangeable reality. We are declared holy because of Jesus’ righteousness, not our own.

Positional sanctification is sometimes called “definitive sanctification” because it definitively places the believer in a new position before God. No matter how much we grow in our Christian walk, this status as holy and set apart does not change. It is the foundation upon which progressive sanctification—the process of becoming more like Christ—builds.

Progressive Sanctification: Growing in Holiness

While positional sanctification is the believer’s fixed standing before God, progressive sanctification is the ongoing process by which a believer grows in holiness and becomes more like Christ. This process takes place over the course of a Christian’s life and involves the daily, moment-by-moment work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s heart, empowering them to overcome sin and live in obedience to God.

Philippians 2:12-13 speaks to this ongoing process: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” While salvation is a gift of grace, believers are called to “work out” their salvation by cooperating with the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification. This does not mean earning salvation but rather growing in the practical outworking of their faith as God works in them to produce holiness.

Progressive sanctification is an active process that involves both God’s work and the believer’s effort. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to resist sin and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, but the believer must also make intentional decisions to walk in obedience. Galatians 5:16 encourages this cooperation: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” As we walk in the Spirit, we experience the ongoing transformation that leads to greater Christlikeness.

Unlike positional sanctification, which is instantaneous and complete at the moment of salvation, progressive sanctification is gradual. It is a process of growth that continues throughout the Christian’s life. 2 Corinthians 3:18 illustrates this transformation: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” As believers behold the glory of Christ, they are transformed into His image “from glory to glory”—a process that takes time and is often marked by spiritual growth, challenges, and victories over sin.

The Relationship Between Positional and Progressive Sanctification

While positional and progressive sanctification are distinct, they are inseparably linked. Positional sanctification is the foundation for progressive sanctification. Because believers are already declared holy in Christ, they are now called to live out that holiness in their daily lives. In other words, progressive sanctification is the practical outworking of the holiness that has already been given to believers through their union with Christ.

Hebrews 10:14 ties these two aspects together: “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Believers are already “perfected” forever in their standing before God (positional sanctification), but they are also “being sanctified” in an ongoing process (progressive sanctification). This shows that while the believer’s position in Christ is secure, there is still a need for growth in living out that holiness practically.

Positional sanctification gives the believer the assurance of their standing before God, while progressive sanctification calls the believer to live in a way that reflects that standing. Ephesians 4:22-24 describes this dual reality: “That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” As believers, we are already “new creations” in Christ, but we are also called to actively “put off” the old ways of sin and “put on” the new nature that reflects the righteousness and holiness of God.

God’s Role and Our Role in Sanctification

Sanctification, whether positional or progressive, is ultimately a work of God’s grace. However, in progressive sanctification, there is also a responsibility placed on the believer to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. God provides the power, but we must respond with obedience, faith, and discipline.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 shows that God is the one who sanctifies us: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” God is faithful to sanctify His people completely, and He promises to bring that work to completion. We can trust that the work He began in us will continue as we submit to His leading.

At the same time, Scripture calls believers to take an active role in their sanctification. 1 Peter 1:15-16 exhorts: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” Holiness is both a gift from God and a command for believers. We are called to pursue holiness in every area of our lives, striving to live in obedience to God’s Word and reflecting the character of Christ.

The Goal of Sanctification: Christlikeness

The ultimate goal of both positional and progressive sanctification is to conform believers to the image of Christ. God’s purpose in sanctification is to make us more like His Son, both in our standing before Him and in our daily lives. This transformation begins the moment we place our faith in Christ (positional sanctification) and continues throughout our earthly journey (progressive sanctification), until it is completed in glory.

Romans 8:29 reveals God’s plan: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” God’s purpose for every believer is Christlikeness. Through sanctification, we are progressively being shaped and molded to reflect the character, love, and holiness of Jesus.

This process will not be fully completed until we stand before God in glory. Philippians 1:6 gives us this assurance: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The work of sanctification that God begins in us at salvation will one day be perfected when we are glorified and fully conformed to the image of Christ.

Conclusion: Living in the Tension of the Already and Not Yet

Sanctification is both a completed work and an ongoing process. In Christ, we are already holy, set apart for God, and counted righteous in His sight through positional sanctification. At the same time, we are called to grow in holiness, overcoming sin and becoming more like Christ through progressive sanctification. This dual reality creates a tension: we are already sanctified, but we are not yet fully sanctified.

As believers, we are called to live in the light of what Christ has already accomplished while actively pursuing the holiness He calls us to. We live with the assurance that we are sanctified in Him and the hope that He will continue to sanctify us until the day we are made perfect in His presence.