The Holy Helper

THE HOLY HELPER 
Arminius described sanctification as "a gracious act of God, by which he purifies man who is a sinner, and yet a believer, from the darkness of ignorance, from indwelling sin and from its lusts or desires, and imbues him with the Spirit of knowledge, righteousness and holiness".[1]   We’ve been given a new nature made in the image of God that is at war with our flesh, as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:24 (ESV) “who will deliver me from this body of death?”  Malachi compares this process of sanctification in chapter 3 verse 3 to the process of refining gold and silver, and Jeremiah in chapter 18 verse 6 calls it clay in the potters’ hands.  Both Malachi and Jeremiah clearly define sanctification as an external force molding the material into a distinctly different shape.   We are moved through this process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit and are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)
             In John 16:7, Jesus says that it is better for us if He leaves so that He can send the Helper.  Why would it be better for Jesus to go unless it was necessary for the Holy Spirit, like the Potter, to be with every Christian in a very intimate role during this process of salvation and sanctification?  On the day of Pentecost, the church was born, but like a child that is born, it must grow.  There’s a process of sanctification that follows the new birth experience.  The Lord chastises those whom he loves (Heb 12:6 ESV).  Wesley outlined sanctification in three layers: initial, gradual, and complete.  The change in a Christians life throughout all three layers is spiritual, not physical; spiritual changes resulting in physical manifestations.  Who can change the spirit of a man except the Spirit of God?  These stages of sanctification are described in the Beatitudes by Jesus.  The Beatitudes were not a list of categories with related rewards but a chronological list in the life of a believer, resulting in the rewards of the faithful.  Jesus in the book of Matthew 5:3-11 lays out the process in order: “poor in spirit”, “who mourn”, “the humble”, “hunger for righteousness”, “the merciful”, “the pure at heart”, becoming “the peacemakers” and then drives it home in verses 10 and 11 with the physical and verbal persecution of the sanctified Christian with the reward in verse 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven[2].  Poor in spirit is the recognition that you need God and salvation, and the peacemakers are those far along in the process or even at the end of their race.  Far along enough to suffer persecution even to the point of death.  It is the Helper who guides a person from their initial transformation in infancy to full maturity, enabling them to face persecution of their faith with boldness.  It was the Holy Spirit who gave Peter the boldness to proclaim the truth to the very people whom he had denied Christ 3 times.
            The fruits of the spirit are the character of Jesus on display in the believer’s life.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the expressions of maturity with the ultimate goal of being perfected in love.  This perfection of love is what Wesley referred to as entire or complete sanctification.  All of the fruits of the spirit are contrary to the original sinful nature of man, proving the Spirit’s work in the transformation.  This is a lifelong process ending in the climactic event of the Resurrection.  This event is the completion of the Spirit’s work in the sons of men, fulfilling the prophecy of Hosea quoted by the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 15:55 (ESV): “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
            "We are inwardly renewed by the power of God.  We feel 'the love of God shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us'"[3].  “Unto us” is not referencing us as individuals but rather us as the collective body of Christ.  Like the fruits of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit are given to each of us as the Spirit wills so that collectively through the manifestation of the fruits and gifts the world can see Christ alive in this generation.  Sanctification at any stage of development is not just for us, but for others.  We are the salt of the earth, and the love of God is to be shared.  Like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:14, we spread the fragrance of Him everywhere.  Others should see the love of Christ in us.  Why would they want anything that we have unless it was distinctly different?   Jesus gave us the greatest example in prophecy and the fulfillment of John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Arminius, Jacobus. "Disputation XLIX On the Sanctification of Man." Arminius on Sanctification.
 Wesley, John. "The Scripture Way of Salvation." The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 2.
   
   [1] Arminius, Jacobus. "Disputation XLIX On the Sanctification of Man." Arminius on Sanctification. 
    [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 5:12.
[3] Wesley, John. "The Scripture Way of Salvation." The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 2