The One Who Transforms

Have you ever made a new year's resolution? No doubt, we all have at some point in our life. The next question is, have you ever made a new year's resolution and given up within the first week? No doubt, we have all done this at some point in our lives, too!

Our human nature has a tendency to start things with strong intentions, but we can also lose momentum and quit just as fast as we began. Thankfully, the same is not true for our Christian nature.

As we learnt yesterday, the Holy Spirit continues His work in our lives after our salvation ‘moment’, by empowering us to live effectively and therefore bringing the Kingdom of God to the world around us.

But the Holy Spirit does even more than that! The Holy Spirit doesn’t just empower us to make a difference. The Holy Spirit actually works in us daily to set us apart for the Lord (this is also known as being holy). He helps us to become more like Christ, to stand firm in faith, and resist the enemy and the things of this world.

Just as a sinner cannot save himself, so a believer cannot live victoriously apart from the daily strength that the Holy Spirit imparts. 

This work of the Holy Spirit is known as sanctification.

Sanctification is a continuing change worked by the Holy Spirit in us, freeing us from sinful habits and  developing in us Christ-like desires, attitudes, and virtues. 

Regeneration is birth; sanctification is growth.

As we learnt yesterday, regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit. It is a momentary act, bringing a person from spiritual death to life. It is exclusively the Holy Spirit’s work. Sanctification is an ongoing process, dependent on the Holy Spirit’s continuing action in the believer.

In sanctification, believers are set apart for the Lord to be continually washed from sin and transformed into the image of Christ. 

Christians will enjoy and grow in the gracious ministry of sanctification by the Holy Spirit as they believe God’s Word and yield to His Holy Spirit.

Reflect today on how you have seen the Holy Spirit work in your life, changing your desires, attitudes, and actions. Take some time to surrender to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to continue this amazing work of transforming you into the image of Christ.