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W I T H C O N T R I B U T I O N S B Y
H E N R I B L O C H E R bull J U L I E C A N L I S bull M I C H A E L H O R T O N
B R U C E M C C O R M A C K bull O L I V E R O rsquo D O N O V A N
S A N C T I F I C A T I O N
E D I T E D B Y
K E L L Y M K A P I C
E X P L O R A T I O N S I N T H E O L O G Y A N D P R A C T I C E
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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S A N C T I F I C A T I O N
EXPLORATIONS IN THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE
EDIT ED BY
K E L LY M K A P I C
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InterVarsity Press
PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094
World Wide Web wwwivpresscom
Email emailivpresscom
copy983090983088983089983092 by Kelly M Kapic
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
InterVarsity Press
InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a movement of
students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools of nursing in the United States
of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students For information about
local and regional activities write Public Relations Dept InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA 983094983092983088983088 Schroeder
Rd PO Box 983095983096983097983093 Madison WI 983093983091983095983088983095-983095983096983097983093 or visit the IVCF website at wwwintervarsityorg
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are from The Holy Bible English Standard Version c op yright
copy2011 by Crossway Bibles a division of Good News Publishers Used by permission All rights reservedWhile all stories in this book are true some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to
protect the privacy of the individuals involved
Cover design David Fassett
Interior design Beth McGill
Images Holy Spirit (photo)GodongUIGTe Bridgeman Art Library
copyChris SchmidtiStockphoto
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983088983094983090-983093 (print)
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983094983097983091-983094 (digital)
Printed in the United States of America
As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environmentand to the responsible use of natural resources o learn more visit greenpressinitiativeorg
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sanctification explorations in theology and practice edited by
Kelly M Kapic
pages cm
Includes index
ISBN 978-0-8308- 4062-5 (pbk alk paper)
1 Sanctification Christianity I Kapic Kelly M 1972ndash editor
BT765S26 2014
234rsquo8mdashdc23
983090983088983089983092983088983091983091983091983092983095
P 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089
Y 983091983092 983091983091 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092
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CONTENTSIntroduction 983097
Abbreviations 983089983095
Contributors 983089983097
PRELUDE AN OPENING HOMILY
983089 Holiness Restoring Godrsquos Image 983090983093
Colossians 35-17
Derek idball
PART ONE SANCTIFIED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
IN UNION WITH CHRIST
983090 Living by FaithmdashAlone 983091983093Reormed Responses to Antinomianism
Richard Lints
983091 Sanctification by Faith 983093983095
Henri Blocher
983092 Covenantal Union and Communion 983095983097
Union with Christ as the Covenant o Grace
Brannon Ellis
983093 Sanctification After Metaphysics 983089983088983091
Karl Barth in Conversation with John Wesleyrsquos
Conception o ldquoChristian Perectionrdquo
Bruce L McCormack
PART TWO HUMAN AGENCY AND SANCTIFICATIONrsquoS
RELATIONSHIP TO ETHICS
983094 ldquoLet the Earth Bring Forth rdquo 983089983090983095
he Spirit and Human Agency in Sanctiication
Michael Horton
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983095 Sanctification and Ethics 983089983093983088
Oliver OrsquoDonovan
983096 On Bavinckrsquos Theology of Sanctification-as-Ethics 983089983094983095
James Eglinton
PART THREE THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL MEDITATIONS
ON SANCTIFICATION
983097 Gospel Holiness 983089983096983097
Some Dogmatic Relections
Ivor J Davidson
983089983088 Faith Hope and Love 983090983089983090
A heological Meditation on Suering and Sanctiication
Kelly M Kapic
983089983089 Sonship Identity and Transformation 983090983091983090
Julie Canlis
983089983090 Sanctification Through Preaching 983090983093983089How John Chrysostom Preached or Personal ransormation
Peter Moore
Subject and Name Index 983090983094983097
Scripture Index 983090983095983091
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INTRODUCTION
While there is nothing new under the sun different seasons do make us
sensitive to changes in our environment When winter dawns our attention
turns to jackets scarves and gloves when spring arrives the renewed warmth
o the sun beckons us outside On cue the seasons come and go and we
would be oolish to treat them all the same Each needs our attentiveness in
due course as each has a particular power over our lives and calls or us to
respond accordinglySimilarly the church ofen lives through different doctrinal seasons With
the aith we embrace the truth o God in all its varied theological realities
but inevitably there are periods when one truth requires our renewed con-
sideration At times we discover we have neglected or distorted a biblical
truth and the result is similar to realizing you are trying to live through
winter in your shorts and -shirt Sure it can be done but it is certainly not
a healthy way to exist
In recent decades debates about justification have dominated the at-
tention o many Protestants While at times the cool winds o that season
can still blow with great power there are indications that a new season with
new challenges is at hand Evangelicals in particular demonstrate strong
signs o a growing need to revisit the topic o sanctification Fresh concern
about this vital theological locus is suracing which is wonderul since this
is where the church so ofen lives and breathes
Set ree rom the dominion o sin ldquosaintsrdquo are set apart or kingdom
purposes as God is holy so he has called his people holy and promises to
renew them in the image o his Son In a way this is a simple idea Yet as
will become apparent in the essays that ollow the topic o sanctification is
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 326
S A N C T I F I C A T I O N
EXPLORATIONS IN THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE
EDIT ED BY
K E L LY M K A P I C
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InterVarsity Press
PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094
World Wide Web wwwivpresscom
Email emailivpresscom
copy983090983088983089983092 by Kelly M Kapic
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
InterVarsity Press
InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a movement of
students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools of nursing in the United States
of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students For information about
local and regional activities write Public Relations Dept InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA 983094983092983088983088 Schroeder
Rd PO Box 983095983096983097983093 Madison WI 983093983091983095983088983095-983095983096983097983093 or visit the IVCF website at wwwintervarsityorg
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are from The Holy Bible English Standard Version c op yright
copy2011 by Crossway Bibles a division of Good News Publishers Used by permission All rights reservedWhile all stories in this book are true some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to
protect the privacy of the individuals involved
Cover design David Fassett
Interior design Beth McGill
Images Holy Spirit (photo)GodongUIGTe Bridgeman Art Library
copyChris SchmidtiStockphoto
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983088983094983090-983093 (print)
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983094983097983091-983094 (digital)
Printed in the United States of America
As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environmentand to the responsible use of natural resources o learn more visit greenpressinitiativeorg
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sanctification explorations in theology and practice edited by
Kelly M Kapic
pages cm
Includes index
ISBN 978-0-8308- 4062-5 (pbk alk paper)
1 Sanctification Christianity I Kapic Kelly M 1972ndash editor
BT765S26 2014
234rsquo8mdashdc23
983090983088983089983092983088983091983091983091983092983095
P 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089
Y 983091983092 983091983091 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 526
CONTENTSIntroduction 983097
Abbreviations 983089983095
Contributors 983089983097
PRELUDE AN OPENING HOMILY
983089 Holiness Restoring Godrsquos Image 983090983093
Colossians 35-17
Derek idball
PART ONE SANCTIFIED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
IN UNION WITH CHRIST
983090 Living by FaithmdashAlone 983091983093Reormed Responses to Antinomianism
Richard Lints
983091 Sanctification by Faith 983093983095
Henri Blocher
983092 Covenantal Union and Communion 983095983097
Union with Christ as the Covenant o Grace
Brannon Ellis
983093 Sanctification After Metaphysics 983089983088983091
Karl Barth in Conversation with John Wesleyrsquos
Conception o ldquoChristian Perectionrdquo
Bruce L McCormack
PART TWO HUMAN AGENCY AND SANCTIFICATIONrsquoS
RELATIONSHIP TO ETHICS
983094 ldquoLet the Earth Bring Forth rdquo 983089983090983095
he Spirit and Human Agency in Sanctiication
Michael Horton
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983095 Sanctification and Ethics 983089983093983088
Oliver OrsquoDonovan
983096 On Bavinckrsquos Theology of Sanctification-as-Ethics 983089983094983095
James Eglinton
PART THREE THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL MEDITATIONS
ON SANCTIFICATION
983097 Gospel Holiness 983089983096983097
Some Dogmatic Relections
Ivor J Davidson
983089983088 Faith Hope and Love 983090983089983090
A heological Meditation on Suering and Sanctiication
Kelly M Kapic
983089983089 Sonship Identity and Transformation 983090983091983090
Julie Canlis
983089983090 Sanctification Through Preaching 983090983093983089How John Chrysostom Preached or Personal ransormation
Peter Moore
Subject and Name Index 983090983094983097
Scripture Index 983090983095983091
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INTRODUCTION
While there is nothing new under the sun different seasons do make us
sensitive to changes in our environment When winter dawns our attention
turns to jackets scarves and gloves when spring arrives the renewed warmth
o the sun beckons us outside On cue the seasons come and go and we
would be oolish to treat them all the same Each needs our attentiveness in
due course as each has a particular power over our lives and calls or us to
respond accordinglySimilarly the church ofen lives through different doctrinal seasons With
the aith we embrace the truth o God in all its varied theological realities
but inevitably there are periods when one truth requires our renewed con-
sideration At times we discover we have neglected or distorted a biblical
truth and the result is similar to realizing you are trying to live through
winter in your shorts and -shirt Sure it can be done but it is certainly not
a healthy way to exist
In recent decades debates about justification have dominated the at-
tention o many Protestants While at times the cool winds o that season
can still blow with great power there are indications that a new season with
new challenges is at hand Evangelicals in particular demonstrate strong
signs o a growing need to revisit the topic o sanctification Fresh concern
about this vital theological locus is suracing which is wonderul since this
is where the church so ofen lives and breathes
Set ree rom the dominion o sin ldquosaintsrdquo are set apart or kingdom
purposes as God is holy so he has called his people holy and promises to
renew them in the image o his Son In a way this is a simple idea Yet as
will become apparent in the essays that ollow the topic o sanctification is
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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S A N C T I F I C A T I O N
EXPLORATIONS IN THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE
EDIT ED BY
K E L LY M K A P I C
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InterVarsity Press
PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094
World Wide Web wwwivpresscom
Email emailivpresscom
copy983090983088983089983092 by Kelly M Kapic
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
InterVarsity Press
InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a movement of
students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools of nursing in the United States
of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students For information about
local and regional activities write Public Relations Dept InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA 983094983092983088983088 Schroeder
Rd PO Box 983095983096983097983093 Madison WI 983093983091983095983088983095-983095983096983097983093 or visit the IVCF website at wwwintervarsityorg
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are from The Holy Bible English Standard Version c op yright
copy2011 by Crossway Bibles a division of Good News Publishers Used by permission All rights reservedWhile all stories in this book are true some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to
protect the privacy of the individuals involved
Cover design David Fassett
Interior design Beth McGill
Images Holy Spirit (photo)GodongUIGTe Bridgeman Art Library
copyChris SchmidtiStockphoto
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983088983094983090-983093 (print)
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983094983097983091-983094 (digital)
Printed in the United States of America
As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environmentand to the responsible use of natural resources o learn more visit greenpressinitiativeorg
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sanctification explorations in theology and practice edited by
Kelly M Kapic
pages cm
Includes index
ISBN 978-0-8308- 4062-5 (pbk alk paper)
1 Sanctification Christianity I Kapic Kelly M 1972ndash editor
BT765S26 2014
234rsquo8mdashdc23
983090983088983089983092983088983091983091983091983092983095
P 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089
Y 983091983092 983091983091 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092
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CONTENTSIntroduction 983097
Abbreviations 983089983095
Contributors 983089983097
PRELUDE AN OPENING HOMILY
983089 Holiness Restoring Godrsquos Image 983090983093
Colossians 35-17
Derek idball
PART ONE SANCTIFIED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
IN UNION WITH CHRIST
983090 Living by FaithmdashAlone 983091983093Reormed Responses to Antinomianism
Richard Lints
983091 Sanctification by Faith 983093983095
Henri Blocher
983092 Covenantal Union and Communion 983095983097
Union with Christ as the Covenant o Grace
Brannon Ellis
983093 Sanctification After Metaphysics 983089983088983091
Karl Barth in Conversation with John Wesleyrsquos
Conception o ldquoChristian Perectionrdquo
Bruce L McCormack
PART TWO HUMAN AGENCY AND SANCTIFICATIONrsquoS
RELATIONSHIP TO ETHICS
983094 ldquoLet the Earth Bring Forth rdquo 983089983090983095
he Spirit and Human Agency in Sanctiication
Michael Horton
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983095 Sanctification and Ethics 983089983093983088
Oliver OrsquoDonovan
983096 On Bavinckrsquos Theology of Sanctification-as-Ethics 983089983094983095
James Eglinton
PART THREE THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL MEDITATIONS
ON SANCTIFICATION
983097 Gospel Holiness 983089983096983097
Some Dogmatic Relections
Ivor J Davidson
983089983088 Faith Hope and Love 983090983089983090
A heological Meditation on Suering and Sanctiication
Kelly M Kapic
983089983089 Sonship Identity and Transformation 983090983091983090
Julie Canlis
983089983090 Sanctification Through Preaching 983090983093983089How John Chrysostom Preached or Personal ransormation
Peter Moore
Subject and Name Index 983090983094983097
Scripture Index 983090983095983091
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INTRODUCTION
While there is nothing new under the sun different seasons do make us
sensitive to changes in our environment When winter dawns our attention
turns to jackets scarves and gloves when spring arrives the renewed warmth
o the sun beckons us outside On cue the seasons come and go and we
would be oolish to treat them all the same Each needs our attentiveness in
due course as each has a particular power over our lives and calls or us to
respond accordinglySimilarly the church ofen lives through different doctrinal seasons With
the aith we embrace the truth o God in all its varied theological realities
but inevitably there are periods when one truth requires our renewed con-
sideration At times we discover we have neglected or distorted a biblical
truth and the result is similar to realizing you are trying to live through
winter in your shorts and -shirt Sure it can be done but it is certainly not
a healthy way to exist
In recent decades debates about justification have dominated the at-
tention o many Protestants While at times the cool winds o that season
can still blow with great power there are indications that a new season with
new challenges is at hand Evangelicals in particular demonstrate strong
signs o a growing need to revisit the topic o sanctification Fresh concern
about this vital theological locus is suracing which is wonderul since this
is where the church so ofen lives and breathes
Set ree rom the dominion o sin ldquosaintsrdquo are set apart or kingdom
purposes as God is holy so he has called his people holy and promises to
renew them in the image o his Son In a way this is a simple idea Yet as
will become apparent in the essays that ollow the topic o sanctification is
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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10486251048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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InterVarsity Press
PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094
World Wide Web wwwivpresscom
Email emailivpresscom
copy983090983088983089983092 by Kelly M Kapic
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
InterVarsity Press
InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a movement of
students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools of nursing in the United States
of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students For information about
local and regional activities write Public Relations Dept InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA 983094983092983088983088 Schroeder
Rd PO Box 983095983096983097983093 Madison WI 983093983091983095983088983095-983095983096983097983093 or visit the IVCF website at wwwintervarsityorg
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are from The Holy Bible English Standard Version c op yright
copy2011 by Crossway Bibles a division of Good News Publishers Used by permission All rights reservedWhile all stories in this book are true some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to
protect the privacy of the individuals involved
Cover design David Fassett
Interior design Beth McGill
Images Holy Spirit (photo)GodongUIGTe Bridgeman Art Library
copyChris SchmidtiStockphoto
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983088983094983090-983093 (print)
ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983094983097983091-983094 (digital)
Printed in the United States of America
As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environmentand to the responsible use of natural resources o learn more visit greenpressinitiativeorg
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sanctification explorations in theology and practice edited by
Kelly M Kapic
pages cm
Includes index
ISBN 978-0-8308- 4062-5 (pbk alk paper)
1 Sanctification Christianity I Kapic Kelly M 1972ndash editor
BT765S26 2014
234rsquo8mdashdc23
983090983088983089983092983088983091983091983091983092983095
P 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089
Y 983091983092 983091983091 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092
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CONTENTSIntroduction 983097
Abbreviations 983089983095
Contributors 983089983097
PRELUDE AN OPENING HOMILY
983089 Holiness Restoring Godrsquos Image 983090983093
Colossians 35-17
Derek idball
PART ONE SANCTIFIED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
IN UNION WITH CHRIST
983090 Living by FaithmdashAlone 983091983093Reormed Responses to Antinomianism
Richard Lints
983091 Sanctification by Faith 983093983095
Henri Blocher
983092 Covenantal Union and Communion 983095983097
Union with Christ as the Covenant o Grace
Brannon Ellis
983093 Sanctification After Metaphysics 983089983088983091
Karl Barth in Conversation with John Wesleyrsquos
Conception o ldquoChristian Perectionrdquo
Bruce L McCormack
PART TWO HUMAN AGENCY AND SANCTIFICATIONrsquoS
RELATIONSHIP TO ETHICS
983094 ldquoLet the Earth Bring Forth rdquo 983089983090983095
he Spirit and Human Agency in Sanctiication
Michael Horton
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983095 Sanctification and Ethics 983089983093983088
Oliver OrsquoDonovan
983096 On Bavinckrsquos Theology of Sanctification-as-Ethics 983089983094983095
James Eglinton
PART THREE THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL MEDITATIONS
ON SANCTIFICATION
983097 Gospel Holiness 983089983096983097
Some Dogmatic Relections
Ivor J Davidson
983089983088 Faith Hope and Love 983090983089983090
A heological Meditation on Suering and Sanctiication
Kelly M Kapic
983089983089 Sonship Identity and Transformation 983090983091983090
Julie Canlis
983089983090 Sanctification Through Preaching 983090983093983089How John Chrysostom Preached or Personal ransormation
Peter Moore
Subject and Name Index 983090983094983097
Scripture Index 983090983095983091
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INTRODUCTION
While there is nothing new under the sun different seasons do make us
sensitive to changes in our environment When winter dawns our attention
turns to jackets scarves and gloves when spring arrives the renewed warmth
o the sun beckons us outside On cue the seasons come and go and we
would be oolish to treat them all the same Each needs our attentiveness in
due course as each has a particular power over our lives and calls or us to
respond accordinglySimilarly the church ofen lives through different doctrinal seasons With
the aith we embrace the truth o God in all its varied theological realities
but inevitably there are periods when one truth requires our renewed con-
sideration At times we discover we have neglected or distorted a biblical
truth and the result is similar to realizing you are trying to live through
winter in your shorts and -shirt Sure it can be done but it is certainly not
a healthy way to exist
In recent decades debates about justification have dominated the at-
tention o many Protestants While at times the cool winds o that season
can still blow with great power there are indications that a new season with
new challenges is at hand Evangelicals in particular demonstrate strong
signs o a growing need to revisit the topic o sanctification Fresh concern
about this vital theological locus is suracing which is wonderul since this
is where the church so ofen lives and breathes
Set ree rom the dominion o sin ldquosaintsrdquo are set apart or kingdom
purposes as God is holy so he has called his people holy and promises to
renew them in the image o his Son In a way this is a simple idea Yet as
will become apparent in the essays that ollow the topic o sanctification is
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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10486251048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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CONTENTSIntroduction 983097
Abbreviations 983089983095
Contributors 983089983097
PRELUDE AN OPENING HOMILY
983089 Holiness Restoring Godrsquos Image 983090983093
Colossians 35-17
Derek idball
PART ONE SANCTIFIED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
IN UNION WITH CHRIST
983090 Living by FaithmdashAlone 983091983093Reormed Responses to Antinomianism
Richard Lints
983091 Sanctification by Faith 983093983095
Henri Blocher
983092 Covenantal Union and Communion 983095983097
Union with Christ as the Covenant o Grace
Brannon Ellis
983093 Sanctification After Metaphysics 983089983088983091
Karl Barth in Conversation with John Wesleyrsquos
Conception o ldquoChristian Perectionrdquo
Bruce L McCormack
PART TWO HUMAN AGENCY AND SANCTIFICATIONrsquoS
RELATIONSHIP TO ETHICS
983094 ldquoLet the Earth Bring Forth rdquo 983089983090983095
he Spirit and Human Agency in Sanctiication
Michael Horton
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983095 Sanctification and Ethics 983089983093983088
Oliver OrsquoDonovan
983096 On Bavinckrsquos Theology of Sanctification-as-Ethics 983089983094983095
James Eglinton
PART THREE THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL MEDITATIONS
ON SANCTIFICATION
983097 Gospel Holiness 983089983096983097
Some Dogmatic Relections
Ivor J Davidson
983089983088 Faith Hope and Love 983090983089983090
A heological Meditation on Suering and Sanctiication
Kelly M Kapic
983089983089 Sonship Identity and Transformation 983090983091983090
Julie Canlis
983089983090 Sanctification Through Preaching 983090983093983089How John Chrysostom Preached or Personal ransormation
Peter Moore
Subject and Name Index 983090983094983097
Scripture Index 983090983095983091
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INTRODUCTION
While there is nothing new under the sun different seasons do make us
sensitive to changes in our environment When winter dawns our attention
turns to jackets scarves and gloves when spring arrives the renewed warmth
o the sun beckons us outside On cue the seasons come and go and we
would be oolish to treat them all the same Each needs our attentiveness in
due course as each has a particular power over our lives and calls or us to
respond accordinglySimilarly the church ofen lives through different doctrinal seasons With
the aith we embrace the truth o God in all its varied theological realities
but inevitably there are periods when one truth requires our renewed con-
sideration At times we discover we have neglected or distorted a biblical
truth and the result is similar to realizing you are trying to live through
winter in your shorts and -shirt Sure it can be done but it is certainly not
a healthy way to exist
In recent decades debates about justification have dominated the at-
tention o many Protestants While at times the cool winds o that season
can still blow with great power there are indications that a new season with
new challenges is at hand Evangelicals in particular demonstrate strong
signs o a growing need to revisit the topic o sanctification Fresh concern
about this vital theological locus is suracing which is wonderul since this
is where the church so ofen lives and breathes
Set ree rom the dominion o sin ldquosaintsrdquo are set apart or kingdom
purposes as God is holy so he has called his people holy and promises to
renew them in the image o his Son In a way this is a simple idea Yet as
will become apparent in the essays that ollow the topic o sanctification is
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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983095 Sanctification and Ethics 983089983093983088
Oliver OrsquoDonovan
983096 On Bavinckrsquos Theology of Sanctification-as-Ethics 983089983094983095
James Eglinton
PART THREE THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL MEDITATIONS
ON SANCTIFICATION
983097 Gospel Holiness 983089983096983097
Some Dogmatic Relections
Ivor J Davidson
983089983088 Faith Hope and Love 983090983089983090
A heological Meditation on Suering and Sanctiication
Kelly M Kapic
983089983089 Sonship Identity and Transformation 983090983091983090
Julie Canlis
983089983090 Sanctification Through Preaching 983090983093983089How John Chrysostom Preached or Personal ransormation
Peter Moore
Subject and Name Index 983090983094983097
Scripture Index 983090983095983091
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INTRODUCTION
While there is nothing new under the sun different seasons do make us
sensitive to changes in our environment When winter dawns our attention
turns to jackets scarves and gloves when spring arrives the renewed warmth
o the sun beckons us outside On cue the seasons come and go and we
would be oolish to treat them all the same Each needs our attentiveness in
due course as each has a particular power over our lives and calls or us to
respond accordinglySimilarly the church ofen lives through different doctrinal seasons With
the aith we embrace the truth o God in all its varied theological realities
but inevitably there are periods when one truth requires our renewed con-
sideration At times we discover we have neglected or distorted a biblical
truth and the result is similar to realizing you are trying to live through
winter in your shorts and -shirt Sure it can be done but it is certainly not
a healthy way to exist
In recent decades debates about justification have dominated the at-
tention o many Protestants While at times the cool winds o that season
can still blow with great power there are indications that a new season with
new challenges is at hand Evangelicals in particular demonstrate strong
signs o a growing need to revisit the topic o sanctification Fresh concern
about this vital theological locus is suracing which is wonderul since this
is where the church so ofen lives and breathes
Set ree rom the dominion o sin ldquosaintsrdquo are set apart or kingdom
purposes as God is holy so he has called his people holy and promises to
renew them in the image o his Son In a way this is a simple idea Yet as
will become apparent in the essays that ollow the topic o sanctification is
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486251048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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INTRODUCTION
While there is nothing new under the sun different seasons do make us
sensitive to changes in our environment When winter dawns our attention
turns to jackets scarves and gloves when spring arrives the renewed warmth
o the sun beckons us outside On cue the seasons come and go and we
would be oolish to treat them all the same Each needs our attentiveness in
due course as each has a particular power over our lives and calls or us to
respond accordinglySimilarly the church ofen lives through different doctrinal seasons With
the aith we embrace the truth o God in all its varied theological realities
but inevitably there are periods when one truth requires our renewed con-
sideration At times we discover we have neglected or distorted a biblical
truth and the result is similar to realizing you are trying to live through
winter in your shorts and -shirt Sure it can be done but it is certainly not
a healthy way to exist
In recent decades debates about justification have dominated the at-
tention o many Protestants While at times the cool winds o that season
can still blow with great power there are indications that a new season with
new challenges is at hand Evangelicals in particular demonstrate strong
signs o a growing need to revisit the topic o sanctification Fresh concern
about this vital theological locus is suracing which is wonderul since this
is where the church so ofen lives and breathes
Set ree rom the dominion o sin ldquosaintsrdquo are set apart or kingdom
purposes as God is holy so he has called his people holy and promises to
renew them in the image o his Son In a way this is a simple idea Yet as
will become apparent in the essays that ollow the topic o sanctification is
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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10486251048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486251048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
prooundly intertwined with all manner o other topics beyond simply its
contested relationship to justification Although justification remains a key
idea that can never be lef behind one must also learn to appreciate howsanctification relates to ethics union with Christ ecclesiology adoption
eschatology and so on
Evangelicalism appears to be in a season o struggling with how best to
think about sanctification What is the relationship between ldquoaithrdquo and
human responsibility How might human agency relate not only to ques-
tions o Godrsquos saving grace but also to the way he sustains and preserves us
by his grace Does effort undermine the role o aith How does all o thisrelate to our creaturely existence as it is undamentally empowered by the
Spirit How do we understand the promises o God as we live in the escha-
tological tension o the now and the not yet
At the more popular level we see mistrust and misunderstanding per-
petuated For some the temptation is to reduce the gospel to moral im-
provement while or others human effort appears irrelevantmdashi not down-
right antitheticalmdashto the Christian lie On the one hand a number o
prominent voices have emphatically ocused their message on the ldquogospelrdquo
by which some tend to mean narrowly ldquojustification by aith alonerdquo Such
voices have at times appeared to provide balm to wounded souls too many
have labored under the suffocating weight o certain orms o rigid unda-
mentalism that reduced the gospel to a list o oppressive rules o be told
over and over o Godrsquos unflinching love and grace o your secure position
as declared righteous because o Christrsquos righteousness can be both liber-
ating and invigorating to such anguished listeners
On the other hand some raise the concern that such a perspective i lef
undeveloped might actually risk perverting grace rather than ully pro-
claiming it Tey worry that i in the process o declaring the ldquogood newsrdquo
we end up belittling the significance o human will and agency we are not
ultimately liberating people we might be undermining the ullness o gospel
life Not only is the believer set ree from the condemning power o sin but
they are also set ree to love and serve others to grow and to flourish underGodrsquos care A growing multitude echoes this renewed emphasis on personal
piety holiness and justice concerns even as it has welcomed renewed explo-
ration on the topic o human agency
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Introduction 10486251048625
While many o the representative voices on both sides o this come rom
the Reormed tradition this conversation is being engaged in by a much
larger audience including many across the spectrum o evangelicalismUnortunately much o the current conversation is only taking place at
the more popular level In this book we offer something a bit different It is
not intended as a direct engagement with those particular popular authors
but rather provides some ldquooutsiderdquo perspective rom theologians who are
nevertheless also deeply concerned with the Protestant doctrine o sanctifi-
cation (and justification) Representing a good portion o the breadth o the
Reormed tradition these scholars gathered in Edinburgh a number o yearsago to offer extended reflections on sanctification Most o the essays in this
book grew out o that Edinburgh Dogmatics Conerence
No attempt has been made to provide a unified perspective on sancti-
fication heremdashwe are not presenting some new school o thought or any-
thing like that as some o the subtle disagreements even within this
volume indicate Instead this is an opportunity to explore the doctrine o
sanctification offer various proposals that might stimulate urther thought
and discussion and also hopeully encourage pastoral reflection that is
biblically theologically and historically inormed It is our great hope that
these essays by ecclesial-minded scholars might stimulate and oster this
growing discussion
Beginning and ending with ecclesial concerns this volume opens with a
homily and closes with theological and pastoral meditations we aim to
place this discussion squarely within the lie o the church even i at times
it can appear somewhat technical or philosophical Te ollowing brie re-
views o the essays in this volume aim to give potential readers a survey o
the work hopeully orienting them to some o the directions in which the
discussion will move
Derek idballrsquos homily on holiness as the restoration o Godrsquos image com-
bines careul exegesis with pastoral wisdom Using Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 as a
lens or understanding what it means or a believer to be holy he proposes
that the meaning o holiness in this passage is threeold to have a Christlikecharacter to have a Christ-renewed mind and to belong to a Christ-renewed
community Holiness is relational because the church is the place where a
new habitus is cultivated where the image o God is restored
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10486251048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486251048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Richard Lints opens up the first section by addressing the relationship
between sanctification and aith and how this relationship is similar to and
different rom justification and aith Eschewing any simple dichotomy be-tween sanctification and justification Lints suggests that aith is just as op-
erative in sanctification as it is in justification both are ldquoexteriorrdquo that is
sanctification is just as much dependent on divine grace as justification In
this way the law in sanctification unctions sapientially or the believer
rather than judicially Sanctification is not primarily about moral progress
but about the Spiritrsquos restoration o human desires and worship
Although Henri Blocherrsquos essay has close affinities to Lintsrsquos Blocher ad- vances the discussion by providing nuanced definitions and a resh dis-
cussion o law and obedience as well as careully navigating the relationship
between aith and human agency Afer providing a sound introduction to
sanctificationrsquos key motis and to the basic questions surrounding the rela-
tionship between justification sanctification and aith Blocher argues that
sanctification is by aith because sanctification occurs in Christ and requires
the renewed believer continually to adhere to a person outside o hersel But
sanctification by aith is different rom justification by aith in that sanctifi-
cation is progressive and incremental involving work and response Te
works involved however are not ldquomeritoriousrdquo in any sense or Blocher
maintains the monergistic givenness o holiness by the Spirit in sanctifi-
cation just as in justification
Brannon Ellis hopes to enrich conversations between sanctification and
justification by considering the place o union with Christ in sanctification
especially in terms o the communion o the saints Ellis argues that to be
made new by Christ is inextricably bound to being ldquoinrdquo Christ which in turn
is inextricably bound to belonging to the church In doing this he does not
collapse soteriology and ecclesiology into one another but emphasizes the
inseparability o the new covenant membership with the mystical union In
this respect rather than seeing union with Christ as holding a particular
place on the ordo salutis it spans the ordorsquos outworking o redemption rom
beginning to endBruce McCormackrsquos essay is historically centered comparing the theol-
ogies o John Wesley and Karl Barth and exploring their respective contribu-
tions to the doctrine o sanctification At first glance this might look like an
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Introduction 10486251048627
odd pairing but McCormack insightully shows how Barthrsquos notion o sanc-
tification though it differs philosophically rom Wesleyrsquos is not ar rom
Wesley in that they both affirm the possibilitymdashindeed the actualitymdashoChristian perection now For Barth o course this Christian perection is
different rom Wesleyrsquos in that Barth argues that perection is not possible
within a person herself but it is ound in Jesus Christ Sanctification on this
conception highlights not so much personal private piety but communal
participation in the lie-ministry o Jesus
Michael Hortonrsquos essay which begins part two is a helpul prolegomenon
to addressing the role o agency and ethics in sanctification Specifically heexplains just how sanctification works given the real activity o both God and
humans Rejecting both theological determinism and theological openness
Horton suggests that God sanctifies humans by acting on with and within
creaturely reality Tis ldquocooperationrdquo rests on the analogical assumption that
God and humans act in a single event without disrupting the otherrsquos ree action
In ldquoSanctification and Ethicsrdquo Oliver OrsquoDonovan offers a resh ramework
or interpreting the practical meaning o sanctification Arguing that the
usual terms employed in the sanctification conversation are reductive and
overly binary OrsquoDonovan challenges the reader to see sanctification as it
unolds rom the threeold chord o aith love and hope in that order
Significantly OrsquoDonovan argues that sanctification is only incremental in
that it involves the acquisition o practical wisdom Te wisdom o love and
aith though is insufficient unless it is ldquoled outrdquo by hope into vocation and
ethics which clings to the promises o God and anticipates the resurrection
lie that is to come
James Eglinton also considers sanctification as it relates to ethics but with
a historical bent toward Herman Bavinckrsquos theology o sanctification By
exploring Bavinckrsquos thought Eglinton delves into a rich historical proposal
that illumines a way orward or understanding the intricate relationship
between dogmatics and ethics With regard to sanctification Eglinton
musters Bavinckrsquos insights to suggest that whereas justification consists o
an objective declaration sanctification consists o both an objective decla-ration o holiness and a subjective process o becoming more holy
In order to liberate the Christian conception o holiness rom misrepre-
sentations that present it as stifling and lie-denying on the one hand or
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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1048625983092 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
over-realized on the other Ivor Davidson ably starts off part three by pro-
viding a dogmatic account o how the theological oundations o this doc-
trine should inorm our lives Tis task leads him to reconsider the mani-estation o Yahwehrsquos holiness in the Bible which culminates in Christrsquos lie
and in contemporaneous Christian praxis God in se is wholly other and
as such is qualitatively unique and incomparably holy Tis holiness as
exemplified in the lie o Christ ofen conounds us it exhibits an intense
jealousy or sinners and concomitant concern or sinul creatures And be-
cause o the definitiveness o Christrsquos holiness Davidson argues that be-
lievers are in a very real sense holy now Christian participation in hisholiness imitates the cruciormity o Jesus through enacting a lie-activity
o repentance and aith
I Kelly Kapic offer some reflections on the relationship between physical
suffering and sanctification Employing the theological virtues o aith hope
and love I argue or the importance o the community during times o su-
ering and struggle Drawing on the likes o Kierkegaard and Luther or
example I suggest that we should view our Christian lie especially during
times o great difficulty in much more communal ways Put simply when
we are having trouble believing our sisters and brothers in Christ believe
or usmdashthus representing us to God when we find it almost impossible to
have hope ellow saints bring us the resh waters o promise in a way we can
drink o themmdashthus representing God to us finally such aith and hope
requires a context o love otherwise the call to aith can become insensitive
and the appeal to hope abusive But in the context o love the people o God
grow in grace and truth as they sustain one another in aith and hope In a
brie conclusion I raise three theological images as correspondents to these
truths cross resurrection and eastmdasheach o them provides the rich back-
ground or how we experience and understand aith hope and love
Like Ellis in his essay Julie Canlis offers an incisive reflection on union
with Christ and its connection to sanctification Aiming to provide a cre-
ative and ertile discussion without getting bogged down by what she sees
as recent unhelpul infighting about this doctrine she argues that unionwith Christ was meant to ensure adoption and to uniy the ecclesial com-
munity Far rom being a substantial inusion o grace or a purely legal trans-
action adoptive union is made real by receiving the person o Jesus not just
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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Introduction 10486251048629
his mere benefits and this is always through the person o the Holy Spirit
In this thoroughly interpersonal affair the Spirit is the one who makes us
daughters and sons and empowers us to live out our sonship in meaningulaction
Peter Moorersquos essay ldquoSanctification Trough Preachingrdquo looks to the
pedagogical method o John Chrysostom to offer wisdom or contempo-
raries in pastoral leadership who are concerned with the sanctification o
their people Conronting traditional notions o education and transor-
mation as merely the transer o ideas Moore shows how Chrysostom em-
phasized the sanctiying effect o encountering another disciple and beingtransormed by his gnōmē (γνώμη) that is his ldquochosen lie trajectoryrdquo Ac-
cordingly he argues that sanctification ofen occurs as the believer lives with
and inevitably starts to ollow a Christian mentor since that embodied
guide points them to the good lie o communion with God
Many should be thanked or helping make this volume possible but only
a relatively ew can be mentioned here First and oremost it is only by the
generosity o Rutherord House and under the leadership o Andrew Mc-
Gowan that this work exists Second I have been greatly assisted by two
ormer students o mine Grady Dickinson at the start o the editorial
process and even more by Jimmy Myers who helped me in endless ways to
see it to completion Tird while the opinions expressed in this publication
are those o the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views o the John
empleton Foundation or Biolarsquos Center or Christian Tought this publi-
cation benefited rom a research ellowship at Biola Universityrsquos Center or
Christian Tought which was made possible through the support o a gen-
erous grant rom the John empleton Foundation I was able to complete
this manuscript while beginning my time at CC While there Dave Strobo-
lakos careully reviewed the manuscript or me and Steve Porter C Stephen
Evans Tomas Crisp David Horner William Struthers James Wilhoit
Christopher Kaczor Rachel Dee Evan Rosa and others provided a antastic
working environment Fourth Brannon Ellis David Congdon and Andy
Le Peau all o whom represented IVP Academic very well deserve thanksor their productive encouragement eedback and help Finally volumes
like this are only as good as the contributors and I am thankul to those who
were so receptive to editorial eedback and took the time to revise their
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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10486251048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
essays with the hope that they might prove useul to a wider audience Our
great hope and prayer is that readers may find this volume in some ways
helpul drawing them back to consider aresh what it means to be united toChrist sanctified by his Spirit and drawn into genuine communion with the
living God and his people
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1826
PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2126
Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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CONTRIBUTORS
Henri Blocher is proessor o systematic theology at the Faculte Libre de
Teologie Evangelique Vaux-sur-Seine France His works include Original
Sin Illuminating the Riddle (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486241048625) Evil and the Cross An
Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain (Kregel 1048626104862410486241048629) La Doctrine du Christ
(Ediac 1048626104862410486241048626) and La Bible au microscope (Ediac 1048626104862410486241048630)
Julie Canlis earned her PhD rom the University o St Andrews winning
the 1048626104862410486241048631 John empleton Award or Teological Promise or her work onJohn Calvin Her book Calvinrsquos Ladder (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048624) won the Christi-
anity oday Award o Merit or Teology in 1048626104862410486251048625
Ivor J Davidson is proessor o systematic and historical theology at the
University o St Andrews He is author o A Short History of Arianism (Cam-
bridge University Press 1048626104862410486251048627) Te Birth of the Church (Baker Books 104862610486241048624983092)
A Public Faith (Baker Books 1048626104862410486241048629) editor o the two-volume Ambrose De
Officiis (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486241048626) and coeditor with Murray A Rae o
God of Salvation Soteriology in Teological Perspective (Ashgate 1048626104862410486251048624)
James Eglinton is Meldrum Lecturer in Reormed Teology at New College
University o Edinburgh His publications include rinity and Organism o-
wards a New Reading of Herman Bavinckrsquos Organic Motif ( amp Clark 1048626104862410486251048626) and
articles such as ldquoo ranscend and to ransorm Te Neo-Calvinist Relationship
o Church and Cultural ransormationrdquo (Te Kuyper Center Review 1048627 [1048626104862410486251048626])
Brannon Ellis (PhD University o Aberdeen) is acquisitions editor or
Lexham Press He is the author o various essays as well as Calvin Classical
rinitarianism and the Aseity of the Son (Oxord University Press 1048626104862410486251048626)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1626
10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1826
PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1926
- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2126
Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
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10486261048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
Michael Horton is J Gresham Machen Proessor o Systematic Teology
and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary Caliornia as well as the editor
in chie o Modern Reformation magazine and host o White Horse InnSome o Hortonrsquos many books include Covenant and Eschatology Te Divine
Drama (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048626) Lord and Servant A Covenant
Christology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048629) People and Place A Covenant
Ecclesiology (Westminster John Knox 1048626104862410486241048632) and Te Christian Faith A Sys-
tematic Teology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048625)
Kelly M Kapic is proessor o theological studies at Covenant College Some
o his publications include Communion with God Te Divine and theHuman in John Owenrsquos Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048631) God So Loved He
Gave (Zondervan 1048626104862410486251048624) A Little Book for New Teologians Why and How
to Study Teology (IVP Academic 1048626104862410486251048626) as well as serving as coeditor with
Bruce McCormack o Mapping Modern Teology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
and coauthor with Wesley Vander Lugt o Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed
radition (InterVarsity Press 1048626104862410486251048627)
Richard Lints is Andrew Mutch Distinguished Proessor o Teology and
vice president or academic affairs at Gordon-Conwell Teological Sem-
inary His publications include Te Fabric of Teology (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486331048627) Re-
newing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) Progressive and Conser-
vative Religious Ideologies Te umultuous Decade of the 1048625104863310486301048624s (Ashgate
1048626104862410486251048624) and Personal Identity in Teological Perspective (coedited with Michael
Horton and Mark albot Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048630)
Bruce L McCormack is Charles Hodge Proessor o Systematic heology
at Princeton heological Seminary He is author o Karl Barthrsquos Critically
Realistic Dialectical heology Its Genesis and Development 1048625104863310486241048633ndash1048625104863310486271048630
(Oxord University Press 1048625104863310486331048629) Orthodox and Modern Studies in the
heology of Karl Barth (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486241048632) as well as serving as
coeditor o such volumes as Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism
(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486251048625) and Mapping Modern heology (Baker Academic 1048626104862410486251048626)
McCormack is also a member o the Karl Barth Stitung in Basel Swit-
zerland and the North American coeditor o the Zeitschrift fuumlr Dialek-
tische heologie
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
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Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1926
- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2026
10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
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Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
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Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
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10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1726
Contributors 10486261048625
Peter Moore (PhD Macquarie University) is lecturer in theology with the
imothy Partnership in Sydney Australia and has served as a Presbyterian
minister or twenty-three years His work has included an extensive men-toring ministry supporting Presbyterian Anglican and Baptist pastors
Moorersquos publications include ldquoGold Without Dross Assessing the Debt o
John Calvin to the Preaching o John Chrysostomrdquo (Reformed Teological
Review 10486301048632 no 1048626 [1048626104862410486241048633] which is also his PhD title) ldquoPlain alk with a Gilt
Edge An Exploration o the Relation Between lsquoPlainrsquo Biblical Exposition
and Persuasion in Chrysostom and Calvinrdquo (Westminster Teological
Journal 10486311048627 no 1048625 [Spring 1048626104862410486251048625]) and a recent essay on Chrysostom in StudiaPatristica vol LXVII (Leuven Peeters 1048626104862410486251048627)
Oliver OrsquoDonovan is proessor emeritus o Christian ethics and practical
theology at the University o Edinburgh His numerous publications include
Te Problem of Self-Love in Saint Augustine (Yale University Press 1048625104863310486311048633)
Begotten or Made (Oxord University Press 104862510486331048632983092) Resurrection and Moral
Order (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048630) Peace and Certainty (Eerdmans 1048625104863310486321048633) Te Desire
of the Nations (Cambridge University Press 1048625104863310486331048630) Common Objects of Love(Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048626) and Te Ways of Judgment (Eerdmans 1048626104862410486241048629)
Derek Tidball is currently visiting scholar at Spurgeonrsquos College London
and he serves as editor o the widely used Bible Speaks oday Bible Temes
series Previously he was principal o the London School o Teology He is
author o Skillful Shepherds An Introduction to Pastoral Teology (Zondervan
1048625104863310486321048630) Who Are the Evangelicals racing the Roots of Modern Movements
(Marshall Pickering 104862510486331048633983092) and Te Reality Is Christ Te Message of Colos-sians for oday (Christian Focus 1048625104863310486331048633)
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PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2026
10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2126
Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2326
Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1826
PRELUDE
An Opening Homily
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1926
- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
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8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2026
10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2126
Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2326
Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 1926
- 852017 -
HOLINESS
Restoring Godrsquos Image
Colossians 983091983093-983089983095
Derek Tidball
Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual
immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry Be-
cause of these the wrath of God is coming You used to walk in these
ways in the life you once lived But now you must rid yourselves of all
such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your
old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator Here there is no
Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave
or free but Christ is all and is in all
Terefore as Godrsquos chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe your-
selves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these
virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one
body you were called to peace And be thankful Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2026
10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2126
Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2326
Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2026
10486261048630 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
wisdom and as you sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grat-
itude in your hearts to God And whatever you do whether in word or
deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the
Father through him
C983151983148983151983155983155983145983137983150983155 10486271048629-10486251048631 983150983145983158983089
Michelangelo sculpted his exquisite Pietagrave the statue o Mary nursing her
crucified yet serene son when he was just twenty-our It was the only
sculpture he ever signed Installed in St Peterrsquos Basilica Rome in 1048625104862910486241048624 the
Pietagrave stood there mostly undisturbed983090 until Laszio oth a thirty-three-year-
old Hungarian-born Australian attacked it with a hammer in 1048625104863310486311048626 othrsquos
onslaught resulted in severe damage to the nose lef eye and veil o Mary as
well as leaving her lef arm shattered Onlookers reportedly took some o
these shattered pieces away as souvenirs Te masterpiece o Renaissance art
was now a damaged masterpiece in need o restoration Over succeeding
months the sculpture was painstakingly repaired by taking a block o marble
rom its back where the hole lef behind would not be seen and restoring
the Pietagrave to its original image
Holiness may be defined in many ways Te heart o holiness lies in the
restoration o Godrsquos image in us As with the Pietagrave an enemy has entered
our world and attacked human beings who were made in the image o God
(Gen 104862510486261048631) leaving us damaged and lacking We are spoiled masterpieces
Te enemyrsquos attack is not the whole story explaining our all rom Godrsquos
gracious intention at creation Like any statue we pick up the grime o lie
and the pollution o our allen world takes its toll Unlike a lieless statue the
deacement o Godrsquos image in us is due not only to enemy attack or to the
1All scripture verses in this chapter are from the 983150983145983158 10486259830979830969830922It sustained minor damage when being moved in 1048625983095983091983094 and was displayed briefly in New York
in 1048625983097983094983092
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2126
Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2326
Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2126
Holiness 10486261048631
effect o a allen environment but also to much sel-harm as we choose to
live in disobedience to and alienation rom God Te cumulative result o
the onslaughts o the devil the world and the flesh is that we are spoiledmasterpieces in need o restoration
Christ is the masterul crafsman who painstakingly sets about the work
o restoring Godrsquos image in us through his Holy Spirit
Colossians 10486271048629-10486251048631 does not say everything there is to be said about sancti-
fication but it takes us to the heart o Christrsquos work o restoration Te Chris-
tians in Colossae had a wrong understanding o how Godrsquos image could be
restored in them Tey believed that holiness would develop through theadoption o ascetic practices or through undergoing extraordinary spiritual
experiences (Col 104862610486251048630-10486261048627) But their belie was mistaken because it was based
on an insufficient grasp o the work o Christrsquos sufficiency
In correcting them Paul explains the meaning o holiness in three
dimensions
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156983148983145983147983141 C983144983137983154983137983139983156983141983154
Paul provides the Colossians with two lists o characteristics that are incom-
patible with living a lie in Christ Te first starts with actions and leads to at-
titudes ldquosexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is
idolatryrdquo (Col 10486271048629) Te second goes in the reverse direction starting with at-
titudes and leading to actions ldquoanger rage malice slander and filthy languagerdquo
(Col 10486271048632) and lying (Col 10486271048633) Tese attitudes and actions he said were to be
ldquoput to deathrdquo (Col 10486271048629) as surely as a crucified man was put to death and got rid
o (Col 10486271048632) as surely as last weekrsquos rubbish is removed by the trash collectors
He gives several reasons why we take such decisive action including the
avoidance o the ldquowrath o Godrdquo that is coming (Col 10486271048630) But the deeper
reason is not a pragmatic onemdashin order to avoid punishmentmdashbut a more
worthy one We divest ourselves o these qualities because they are incom-
patible with our identity as Christians Using language that by common
consent picks up the image o baptism where candidates would disrobe to
be baptized and clothe themselves in new garments afer emerging rom thewater Paul reminds them that in becoming ollowers o Christ they have
ldquotaken off [the] old sel with its practices and have put on the new sel which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator rdquo (Col 10486271048633-10486251048624)
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2326
Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2226
10486261048632 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
In perhaps more contemporary terms it is a question o whose uniorm
we are wearing Uniorms display not only what we are called to do but also
to whom we belong and whose management we are under Are we wearingthe old and shabby uniorm o Adam or the renewed designer clothes o
Christ Te context suggests that the ldquoselrdquo spoken o here reers not so
much to the personal inner motivating power o sin as to our corporate
identity As Douglas Moo explains ldquoTe contrast o the lsquoold sel rsquo and lsquonew
sel rsquo alludes to one o Paulrsquos most undamental theological conceptions the
contrast between a realm in opposition to God rooted in Adamrsquos sin and
characterized by sin and death and the new realm rooted in Christrsquos deathand resurrection and characterized by righteousness o lierdquo1048627 Te corporate
dimension suraces clearly in verse 10486251048625 and is a crucial i neglected di-
mension o the meaning o holiness
Te ldquoputting offrdquo o the old uniorm in verses 1048629-1048633 is balanced by the
ldquoputting onrdquo o verses 10486251048626-10486251048631 Holiness does not consist o stopping bad be-
havior and eschewing sinul attitudes alone but o replacing them with good
behavior and pursuing Christlike attitudes Years ago Michael Griffiths
warned that ldquothere is a kind o Christian negative holiness which rejoices in
discarding various orms o worldliness but which leaves the individual
stark nakedrdquo1048628 Paul would have us clothed ldquowith compassion kindness hu-
mility gentleness and patiencerdquo (Col 104862710486251048626) Ten he calls us to ldquoput on love
which binds them all together in perect unityrdquo (Col 10486271048625983092) Tese are charac-
teristics that describe Jesus Christ perectly We all know o Christians who
believe themselves to be holy because they avoid certain things but they are
inhibited people ofen pharisaical in disposition who as Mark wain said
are ldquogood in the worst sense o the wordrdquo Holiness is more than avoiding
sin It is cultivating the character o Christ in us
Although the ldquosel rdquo spoken o here is corporate the implications are per-
sonal and individual We are each called to work out the reality o our
transer to the new realm o being under Christ Te difficulty we ace is that
the old realm still exists Since it has not yet been destroyed it still has some
attraction or us So working out our new position is ofen a struggle but in
3Douglas Moo Te Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1048626983088983088983096) p 10486269830949830964Michael Griffiths Cinderella with Amnesia (London Inter-Varsity Press 1048625983097983095983093) p 983095983096
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2326
Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2326
Holiness 10486261048633
the gradual transormation o our characters into Christlikeness we see the
new realm dawning and advancing toward its ullness
o help us understand urther Paul ocuses on the role that our mindsplay in this
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 H983137983158983141 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-R983141983150983141983159983141983140 M983145983150983140
On this occasion Paul does not say that we are being renewed in the image
o our Creator but that we are being ldquorenewed in knowledge in the image o
[our] Creatorrdquo (Col 104862710486251048624) Why does he insert the words ldquoin knowledgerdquo
which seem to interrupt what might be the more natural flow o his wordsTe account o the all in Genesis 104862610486251048631 draws attention to the importance
o the mind in causing humanityrsquos downall consequently it is vital that that
which played such a crucial role in causing the problem should be addressed
in the giving o the solution Adam and Eve were told by God ldquoYou must
not eat rom the tree o knowledge o good and evilrdquo (Gen 104862610486251048631) While it is
difficult to unpack the meaning o the treersquos mysterious title in ull it is ev-
ident that this was a tree that would provide Adam and Eve with knowledge
beyond what was good or them as human beings Its ruit would lead them
to know everything as God knows it and so to become independent rom
their Creator dispensing with the need or him and leading them to live
autonomous and sel-sufficient lives
Te mind in Hebrew thought was not so much about abstract intellectual
or philosophical thought as in the Greek world but about practical wisdom
So we must be careul not to apply this lie o the mind simply to the impor-
tance o correct theological discussion much beloved in academia Tat
may miss the point Te way we think shapes the way we live and governs
what we do As Proverbs 98309210486261048627 puts it ldquoBe careul how you think your lie is
shaped by your thoughtsrdquo (983156983141983158) Tis is as true o young rioters as o aid
workers o middle-class materialists as o selfless monks o school dropouts
as o university proessors All need their minds renewed in Christ It is
about thinking correctly as God would have us think so that we might live
correctly As Paul expressed it in the parallel text in Ephesians 98309210486261048626-1048626983092 ldquoYouwere taught to be made new in the attitude o your minds and to put on
the new sel created to be like God in true righteousness and holinessrdquo
Paul tells us that such a renewal is going to be a progressive work of God
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2426
10486271048624 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
He uses the passive continuous tense ldquowhich is being renewedrdquo Paul is not
intent here on encouraging passivity which leaves the work o transor-
mation wholly up to God and treats the believer as i he or she were ananaesthetized body undergoing an operation by a divine surgeon Tere
are plenty o active commands in the context to prevent us rom alling into
that error (although we may want to debate exactly how the divine and
human interact) His point is rather that the renewal o the mind and so
o Godrsquos image in us is a process it does not take place in an instant nor
has it taken place ully yet When the allied orces withdrew rom Iraq and
returned the country to the new regime in Baghdad they wrote what wascalled ldquoa script or reconstructionrdquo Believers having withdrawn rom being
under Adamrsquos regime and now serving under Christrsquos lordship are engaged
by the grace o God and in the power o his Spirit in enacting a script or
reconstruction throughout their lives Peter OrsquoBrien speaks o it as ldquothe
believersrsquo progressive ability to recognize Godrsquos will and commandrdquo and to
live in accordance with it1048629
I it is progressive and we have an active part in it it means we must work
out our new identity daily learning new habits adopting new disciplines
practicing the steps that will enable us to become the persons God intended
us to be maniesting his image in the world Te transormation o character
does not just happen It happens as om Wright has recently pointed out
partly in the same way we learn anything by adopting those steps that help
us get to our goal and practicing them until they ldquobecome habitual a matter
o second naturerdquo1048630
I holiness is progressive it is also purposeful Te goal is not that we
should just become better people nicer neighbors (although that should be
a byproduct) and certainly not necessarily more astute or pedantic theolo-
gians but that we should be renewed ldquoin the image o the Creatorrdquo
In Colossians such a phrase drives us back to the ldquohymnrdquo in Colossians
104862510486251048629 which celebrates the Son as ldquothe image o the invisible Godrdquo and the one
in whom through whom and or whom all things were created So the goal
is to become Christlike In the words o C F D Moule re-creation ldquois in the
5Peter T OrsquoBrien Colossians Philemon Word Biblical Commentary 983092983092 (Waco Word 10486259830979830961048626) p 104862598309710486266Tom Wright Virtue Reborn (London SPCK 10486269830881048625983088) p 1048626983095
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2526
Holiness 10486271048625
pattern of Christ who is Godrsquos Likeness absolutelyrdquo1048631 Tis is none other than
the ancient call to ldquobe holy because I the L983151983154983140 your God am holyrdquo (Lev
104862510486331048626) updated by the new covenant which gives us the advantage o seeingwhat it means to be perectly holy what the unblemished image o God
looks like in a human being and so what it means to be truly human
modeled by the person o Christ
o be holy is to have the image o God given to us at creation restored
in us It is thereore to be truly human and truly Christlike
H983151983148983145983150983141983155983155 I983155 983156983151 B983141983148983151983150983143 983156983151 983137 C983144983154983145983155983156-T983154983137983150983155983142983151983154983149983141983140 C983151983149983149983157983150983145983156983161
Te whole thrust o Paulrsquos writing in Colossians 1048627 prevents us rom taking
holiness as limited to personal ethics or individual character It is about
living in the new community Again this is the new covenant outworking o
Godrsquos unchanging desire to have people o his own evident first in the
Garden o Eden but then advanced through the call o Abraham and in the
calling o Israel So holiness is relational and no one can claim to be holy i
they are isolated or insulated rom others who name Christ as Lord Isola-
tionist Christians are a contradiction to what it means to be in Christ Ho-
liness is about belonging to a holy people (Ex 104862510486331048629 1048625 Pet 10486261048633)
In Colossians 104862710486251048625-10486251048631 Paul expresses the nature o a Christ-transormed
community first negatively and then positively
Negatively it is clear that the old identity markers that discriminated be-
tween people in the conventional worldmdashthat is the world o Adam o the
old selmdashno longer have currency Tey are like an ancient deunct cur-
rency that no longer has any trading value Four such boundaries are men-
tioned Tey are ethnic (ldquono Greek or Jewrdquo) ritual (ldquocircumcised or un-
circumcisedrdquo) cultural (ldquobarbarian Scythianrdquo) and social (ldquoslave or reerdquo)1048632
A church where such distinctions matter has not understood holiness An
individual who is racist who judges people by their religious rituals or is a
social snob or or that matter one who is sexist has not begun to under-
stand the meaning o holiness
7C F D Moule Te Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and Philemon Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1048625983097983094983096) p 104862510486269830888On the choice of these boundary markers and the difference between this list and that in Gal
9830911048626983096 see Derek Tidball In Christ in Colossae Sociological Perspectives on Colossians (Milton
Keynes Paternoster 104862698308810486251048625) pp 983093983096-983094983088
Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator
8112019 Sanctification Edited by Kelly M Kapic - EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsanctification-edited-by-kelly-m-kapic-excerpt 2626
10486271048626 S983137983150983139983156983145983142983145983139983137983156983145983151983150
By contrast positively the only thing that matters is that ldquoChrist is all and
is in allrdquo Consequently i holiness is living in his image we relate to one
another as he related to others Tat means
bull the character o Christ will shape us (Col 104862710486251048626-1048625983092) ldquocompassion kindness
humility gentleness and patiencerdquo bearing with one another and or-
giving as he orgave us
bull the peace o Christ will rule between us (Col 104862710486251048629) causing us to settle
disputes and arguments and working or unity
bull the word o Christ will dwell in us (Col 104862710486251048630) so that all we do will seek
to be consistent with his message and
bull the honor o the name o Christ will determine our behavior (Col 104862710486251048631) in
every dimension o our lives
For many Christians this corporate dimension is the missing dimension
o holiness I know many who would never dream o getting drunk or com-
mitting adultery and rightly so yet have no conscience about having a row
in church or speaking in a racist way or espousing other socially divisiveattitudes
Holiness is wider than we think Holiness is about
bull our separation rom sin
bull our devotion to Christ
bull our adoption o godly habits and
bull our identification with Christ in practice
But holiness is also about
bull the individual and relational dimensions o our lives
bull the detailed and specific as well as the general and comprehensive aspects
o our living
bull our doing and our being
bull our thinking and our acting and
bull our being passively transormed and actively obedient
Holiness is the painstaking restoration by the most skilled crafsman o
all o ruined masterpieces in the image o their creator