Growing in Christ

Traditional Christian theology tends to draw a distinction between "positional" sanctification and "progressive" sanctification. The way this distinction is typically explained is that a person has positional sanctification the moment they put their faith in Jesus Christ. At the moment of conversion, a person is considered holy & blameless by God. God now "sees" them as holy & blameless because, when he looks at them, he "sees" the righteousness and holiness of Christ. According to this traditional view, progressive sanctification is the gradual process whereby a follower of Christ is made progressively more holy. Gradually, it is believed, a person becomes how God "sees" them. Progressive sanctification, then, is all about taking what a person is "positionally" in Christ and progressively making that a reality in daily life.

Now I am not writing to trash this traditional point of view. The fact is that the NT declares followers of Christ to be holy & blameless, and yet, it is clear that everyone still struggles with sin. And so it seems to me that this traditional view stems from a sincere desire to wrestle with the discrepancy between who we are positionally in Christ and our ongoing struggle with sin. But, with all of that stated, I am not convinced that the traditional view is entirely accurate or the most helpful way to think through this discrepancy.

The NT simply does not distinguish between how God "sees" followers of Christ and who they actually are. The Bible never talks like that. It simply declares these characteristics (i.e. holy, blameless, etc.) to be true of those who are "in Christ"--no qualification! The job of Jesus followers, then, is simply to manifest what is already true about them. I submit to you that sanctification is not about acquiring more of something (i.e. holiness) because there is truly nothing more to acquire--a person already has it in Jesus Christ. A follower of Christ is indeed complete in Christ! All that the traditional view describes as "positional" sanctification is actually true of anyone who follows Christ! There is nothing more to obtain. You don't need "more" of anything.

So what does one do with the fact that everyone still struggles with sin? Doesn't a serious discrepancy exist between who we are in Christ and how we actually live? Of course. But the discrepancy should not be resolved by distinguishing between how God "sees" us and who we actually are. Rather, it is much more biblical to distinguish between who we actually are and the way that we are experiencing ourselves. The issue of how God "sees" us is settled. And God "sees" us as we truly are. The real issue is the degree to which we are manifesting our true identity in Christ. Sinful action, then, is ultimately a failure to manifest the reality of who I am in Christ. Growing in Christ, therefore, is not about gaining something. It is about consistently experiencing and living out my true identity in Christ.

Notice that the implications of this are huge. The traditional view tends to approach spiritual formation via trying harder to produce the quality and character of Christ in daily living--which, in my estimation, usually results in exhaustion, disappointment, and feelings of failure. The later position, however, views spiritual formation primarily as a matter of receiving--receiving and manifesting what is already true!

May we all consistently manifest the beauty of who are in Christ!