Chapter 13, Paragraph 1
Of Sanctification – The Reality and Source of Holiness
Summary
This paragraph teaches that all who are united to Christ, effectually called, and justified are also sanctified—truly and personally—by the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is not optional or partial; it is the necessary fruit of union with Christ. The same grace that pardons sin also purges it. Those whom God declares righteous, He also makes righteous in life.
This work is both definitive and progressive. It begins at conversion, when the dominion of sin is broken, and continues throughout the believer’s life as the Spirit renews the whole man in the image of God. By the Word and Spirit, believers are set apart from sin’s reign and enabled to pursue true holiness. The guilt of sin is removed in justification; the power of sin is subdued in sanctification.
Christ’s death not only freed His people from condemnation—it also purchased their purification. Through His resurrection life and the indwelling Spirit, the believer dies more and more unto sin and lives more and more unto righteousness. Holiness, then, is not self-improvement but divine transformation. It is the ongoing outworking of union with Christ, whereby the Spirit applies the cross to our hearts and the life of Christ to our conduct. The Christian does not sanctify himself; he is sanctified by God, yet called to actively walk in that sanctification with faith and obedience.
Historical Context
The Westminster Divines carefully defined sanctification to guard against two common errors. Against Antinomianism, they affirmed that holiness necessarily accompanies salvation; there is no justified man who is not also sanctified. Against Perfectionism, they rejected the idea that believers can become sinless in this life. The Divines rooted sanctification firmly in union with Christ—an inseparable benefit of justification, distinct from it but never divided from it.
Drawing from both Calvin and the Puritan tradition, the Confession emphasizes that sanctification is both God’s work and man’s duty. The Spirit works within, but believers are called to work out their salvation in reverent obedience. The holiness God commands, He Himself produces.
Key Biblical References
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 – “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.”
- Romans 6:6, 14 – “Our old self was crucified with Him… sin will have no dominion over you.”
- Ephesians 4:22–24 – “Put off your old self… be renewed in the spirit of your minds… put on the new self.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – “May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely.”
- John 17:17 – “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
Summary Statement
Chapter 13, paragraph 1 affirms that sanctification is a divine and continual work of grace flowing from union with Christ. It is the Spirit’s transformation of the believer into the likeness of Jesus, begun in regeneration and carried forward until glory. The justified are not left as they were; the Spirit indwells, renews, and reorders their loves, subduing sin and producing righteousness.
Here lies the assurance and the calling of the Christian life: the same grace that saves also sanctifies. Holiness is not a burden added to salvation—it is the blessing that accompanies it. The believer, though imperfect, is being conformed to the image of the Son, “from one degree of glory to another.”
Chapter 13, Paragraph 2
The Progressive Nature of Sanctification and the Ongoing Conflict with Sin
Summary
This paragraph teaches that sanctification, though real and certain, is not yet complete in this life. The dominion of sin is destroyed, but its presence remains. The believer is a new creation, yet still carries the remnants of the old man. Thus, the Christian life is not a serene ascent but a holy war—a continual conflict between flesh and Spirit, old nature and new.
In regeneration, the heart is renewed and the ruling power of sin broken. Yet sin still clings to the believer, warring against the law of the mind and seeking to draw him back into bondage. The Spirit, however, supplies strength for victory. Grace reigns where sin once reigned. The believer does not fight for acceptance, but from it. Each battle, though painful, is proof of life. The absence of struggle would be the mark of spiritual death; the presence of struggle is evidence of the Spirit’s work.
Progress in sanctification is therefore uneven—sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating. Temptations may wound the believer deeply, but sin no longer reigns. Its tyranny is ended. Though indwelling sin remains a constant enemy, it cannot reclaim the throne. The Spirit’s presence ensures ultimate triumph. Sanctification, though imperfect in degree, is perfect in direction—it is ever pressing toward the image of Christ, until one day sin will be no more.
Historical Context
The Westminster Divines here build on the Augustinian and Pauline understanding of the Christian life as simul justus et peccator—at once justified and still a sinner. They opposed both Antinomian passivity, which denied the need for struggle, and Perfectionist enthusiasm, which claimed the possibility of sinless perfection on earth.
For the Puritans and Reformers, this battle between flesh and Spirit was not a mark of failure but of faith. They spoke often of mortification and vivification—the daily dying to sin and living to righteousness—as the heartbeat of sanctification. This view brought deep pastoral comfort: the believer’s conflict is not a sign of divine rejection but of divine possession. The Spirit only wars where He dwells.
Key Biblical References
- Romans 7:18–25 – “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing… Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
- Galatians 5:17 – “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.”
- Romans 6:14 – “Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
- Philippians 3:12–14 – “Not that I have already obtained this… but I press on toward the goal.”
- 1 Peter 2:11 – “Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”
Summary Statement
Chapter 13, paragraph 2 reminds believers that sanctification is a lifelong pilgrimage, marked by both struggle and growth. Sin’s rule has been broken, but its residue remains. The Christian walks between two worlds—the old life fading, the new life dawning. The battle is fierce, yet the outcome is sure, for “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
In this tension lies the realism of Reformed holiness: the saint is not yet perfect, but he is being perfected. The Spirit’s sanctifying power does not merely restrain sin—it transforms the heart. And though the flesh resists, the Spirit prevails. The believer may often cry with Paul, “Wretched man that I am!” but he may also sing with confidence, “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Chapter 13, Paragraph 3
The Perseverance and Triumph of Sanctification
Summary
This paragraph brings the doctrine of sanctification to its hopeful climax. It teaches that though the believer’s progress in holiness is imperfect and mixed with weakness, the power of sanctification can never be lost. Through the continual supply of the Spirit of Christ, those who are sanctified grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Sin remains, but it no longer reigns. Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.
The believer’s perseverance in holiness is not a product of willpower, but of divine preservation. The Spirit does not begin a work He will not finish. The Christian may stumble, may grow cold, may even fall grievously—but he will rise again, restored by the same Spirit who first raised him from death to life. Sanctification, like justification, rests upon union with Christ. The same power that conquered the grave now conquers the heart, subduing sin, strengthening faith, and producing fruit that abides.
This final paragraph reminds us that sanctification is not a fragile state but a living covenant reality. It advances through Word and sacrament, prayer and providence, suffering and service. The Spirit employs means, not magic; discipline, not ease. And yet the end is sure: holiness will triumph, because Christ has triumphed. What begins in grace will end in glory.
Historical Context
The Westminster Divines wrote this paragraph to secure both assurance and exhortation. Against Antinomian indifference, they affirmed that true grace always leads to growth in holiness. Against Arminian instability, they declared that sanctifying grace cannot fail or be extinguished in the elect. Their language echoes the teaching of Augustine and Calvin—that perseverance in holiness is both commanded and guaranteed by the Spirit’s power.
In the Puritan vision of the Christian life, sanctification was not mere moral reform but the unfolding of new creation. The believer’s growth in grace is slow, sometimes painful, yet always forward-moving under God’s sovereign care. Every discipline of God, every trial of faith, every moment of repentance is part of that divine schooling that fits the child of God for everlasting glory.
Key Biblical References
- Philippians 1:6 – “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 – “We all… are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
- Romans 6:22 – “But now that you have been set free from sin… the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 – “May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”
- Hebrews 12:10–11 – “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness… later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Summary Statement
Chapter 13, paragraph 3 proclaims that sanctification, though incomplete now, is unstoppable in its progress and certain in its end. The believer grows in grace not by his own strength, but by the Spirit’s continual supply. Holiness deepens through every season of life—through joy and sorrow, victory and repentance—until the work begun in time is perfected in eternity.
This is the hope of the saints: that the Spirit who sanctifies will not cease His labour until every stain of sin is gone, every tear wiped away, and the image of Christ fully restored. Grace reigns now; glory reigns forever. “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”
Covenant Presbyterian Church 