The Journey of Transformation

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The Journey of Transformation

• Week 2 The Process of Spiritual Growth

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Positional Sanctification At the moment of
conversion, you are a saint, you have were freed
from sins guilt and set apart by God
(sanctified) for a purpose Christlikeness
Positional Sanctification
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1 Cor 611 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.Acts 2032 - Now I commit you to God and to
the word of his grace, which can build you up and
give you an inheritance among all those who are
sanctified. Romans 1516 - to be a minister of
Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly
duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that
the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable
to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit 1 Cor 12
- To the church of God in Corinth, to those
sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy

Positional Sanctification
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2 Thess 213 - But we ought always to thank God
for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from
the beginning God chose you to be saved through
the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through
belief in the truth.
Positional Sanctification
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Sanctification is an immediate work of the
Spirit of God on the souls of believers,
purifying and cleansing of their natures from the
pollution and uncleanness of sin (John Owen,
The Works of John Owen, III.386)
Positional Sanctification
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Progressive Sanctification Enabled by the
Holy Spirit, you are called to live increasingly
for Gods glory and to press on toward
Christ-likeness.
Progressive Sanctification
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Ephesians 413 - until we all reach unity in the
faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of
the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 415, 23-24 -
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in
all things grow up into him who is the Head, that
is Christto be made new in the attitude of your
minds and to put on the new self, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Progressive Sanctification
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Philippians 212-13 - Therefore, my dear friends,
as you have always obeyed--not only in my
presence, but now much more in my
absence--continue to work out your salvation with
fear and trembling, for it is God who works in
you to will and to act according to his good
purpose.
Progressive Sanctification
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Sanctification is the work of Gods free grace,
whereby we are renewed in the whole man (or
woman) after the image of God, and are enabled
more and more to die to sin and live to
righteousness. (Westminster Shorter
Confession, Q 35, 1647)
Progressive Sanctification
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The journey of faith connotes the process and
passages in our response to Gods overture to us
when we view our lives as a whole (Janet
Hagberg, The Critical Journey, 3).
Progressive Sanctification
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Philippians 14-6 In all my prayers for all of
you, I always pray with joy because of your
partnership in the gospel from the first day
until now, being confident in this, that he would
began a good work in you will carry it out to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Progressive Sanctification
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Phil 212-13 -Therefore, my dear friends, as you
have always obeyednot only in my presence, but
now much more in my absencecontinue to work out
your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
God who works in you to will and to act according
to his good purpose.Col 129 To this end I
labor, struggling with all his energy, which so
powerfully works in me
A Dynamic Cooperation
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Eph 422-24 - You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life, to put off your old
self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful
desires to be made new in the attitude of your
minds and to put on the new self, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness.
A Dynamic Cooperation
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Sanctification is a response to the Holy
Spirits initiatives much as conversion
isChristian growth in spirituality ultimately
derives from responsiveness to the transcendent
Spirits transforming ministries (Gordon Lewis
and Bruce Demarest, Integrative Theology, III.209)
A Dynamic Cooperation
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In the strict theological sense sanctification
is the Holy Spirit accomplishing Gods purpose in
us as Christian life proceeds. Or viewed from the
human perspective, it is our cooperation with the
Spirit in living out in daily life the
regeneration, justification, freedom, and power
which is ours through conversion, so that we grow
in Christlikeness and service to God (Stanley
Grenz, Theology for the Community of God, 440)
A Dynamic Cooperation
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Spiritual Transformation only happens as each
essential dimension of the human being is
transformed to Christlikeness under the direction
of a regenerate while interacting with constant
overtures of grace from God (Dallas
Willard, Renovation of the Heart, 42)
A Dynamic Cooperation
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Fact There is a difference between a motorboat
and a sailboat the difference is critical for
spiritual transformation
Picturing Transformation
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Gods Role in Spiritual Transformation God
provides the Wind1 Thess 523-24 - May God
himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through
and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body
be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he
will do it.
Gods Role
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2 Cor 318 - And we, who with unveiled faces all
reflect the Lords glory, are being transformed
into his likeness with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Gal 419 - My dear children, for whom I am
again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is
formed in you
Gods Role
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Our faith is not a matter of our hearing what
Christ said long ago and trying to carry it out.
Rather, the real Son of God is at your side. He
is beginning to turn you into the same kind of
thing as Himself. He is beginning, so to speak,
to inject his kind of life and thoughtinto
you beginning to turn the tin soldier into a
live man. The part of you that does not like it
is the part that is still tin. (C.S. Lewis,
Mere Christianity)
Gods Role
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Failing to Yield Control to God
Hindrance
Much Contemporary Christian spirituality tends
to view the spiritual life as a static possession
rather than a dynamic and ever developing growth
toward wholeness in the image of ChristThe
hidden premise behind all of this is the
unquestioned assumption that we alone are in
control of our spirituality. In brief, we assume
we are in control of our relationship with God
(Robert Mulholland, Invitation to a Journey,
12)
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Be careful to appreciate the reality of mystery
Caution
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What does this appreciating mystery mean for
those of us who are seeking to give ourselves
more fully and concretely to the process of
spiritual transformation? One thing it means is
that whatever we think we might know about it,
the decision to give ourselves to the experience
of spiritual transformation brings us to the very
edge of what we know and leaves us peering into
the unknown.
Caution
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Even though it is normal for every redeemed
person to experience spiritual transformation,
something about it will always remain a mystery
to us. It is one thing to be able to tweak and
control external behaviors it is another thing
to experience those internal seismic shifts that
change the way I exist in the world (Ruth
Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms, 12)
Caution
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Eph 51 Be imitators of God, therefore, as
dearly loved children and live a life of love,
just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for
us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 154 Remain in me, and I will remain in
you. No branch can bear fruit by itself it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit
unless you remain in me.
My Role in Transformation
My Role in Transformation Positioning myself to
catch the wind of Gods Spirit
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V - Vision
The General Pattern of Transformation VIM
I - Intention
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The General Pattern of Transformation VIM
Knowing the right answersdoes not mean we
believe them. To believe them, like believing
anything else, means that we are set to act as if
they are true and that we will do so in
appropriate circumstancesPerhaps the hardest
thing for Christians to come to grips with is the
level of real unbelief in their own lifeThe idea
that you can trust Christ and not intend to obey
him is an illusion generated by the prevalence of
an unbelieving Christian cultureYou can no
more trust Jesus and not intend to obey him than
you could trust your doctor and your auto
mechanic and not intend to follow their advice.
If you dont intend to follow their advice, you
simply dont trust them (Dallas Willard,
Renovation of the Heart, 88).
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The General Pattern of Transformation VIM
The problem of spiritual transformation among
those who identify themselves as Christians today
is not that it is impossible or that effectual
means to it are not available. The problem is
that it is not intended. People do not see it and
its value and decide to carry through with it.
They do not decide to do the things that Jesus
said and did (Dallas Willard, Renovation
of the Heart, 91)
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V - Vision
The General Pattern of Transformation VIM
I - Intention
M - Means
Small Group QuestionsWhich is most difficult?
Which is most critical? Where are you lacking?
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V Vision - Christlikeness - Being Used for
Gods Purposes - More Love for Christ -
Peace - Heaven - Rewards - Obedience - Know
God - Fulfillment - My emptiness is filled
The General Pattern of Transformation VIM