From Glory to Glory
We live in a culture that wants everything fast—fast food, fast Wi-Fi, fast results.
But when it comes to transformation, God doesn’t use a microwave for sanctification, He uses a Crockpot. Sanctification is the long, slow, beautiful process of the Holy Spirit shaping us into the image of Jesus. When we’re saved, everything about our position before God changes in an instant. We’re forgiven, adopted, justified. But sanctification? That’s the lifelong work of the Spirit taking what’s already true about us in Christ and working it out in our daily lives. Wayne Grudem calls it, “a progressive work of God and believers that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.” In other words, sanctification is transformation. It’s not about trying harder—it’s about being changed from the inside out.
The Spirit doesn’t just tweak our behavior; He transforms our nature. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we’re, “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” It’s slow, but it’s real. And this process is personal and participatory. Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” We work out what He’s working in. That means obedience, submission, and spiritual discipline aren’t legalistic—they’re cooperative. They’re how we walk in step with what the Spirit is doing. Sometimes that walking takes us through hardship.
We tend to think comfort equals blessing, but sanctification happens in the classroom of difficulty. Pressure, loss, waiting—all of it shapes us. God uses the chisel of hardship to carve out the image of His Son in us.And as that happens, fruit starts to grow—real fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Not fake spiritual behavior. Not emotional hype or empty knowledge. But the quiet, steady fruit of abiding in Christ.
That’s the Spirit’s goal: Christlikeness. Not perfectionism. Not performance. But the genuine reflection of Jesus in the way we think, love, and live.And one day, that work will be complete. John writes, “When He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).That’s glorification—the finish line of sanctification. Until that day, the Spirit keeps shaping the clay. Sometimes pressing hard, sometimes softening—but always forming Christ in us. So take heart if the process feels slow. You’re not behind. You’re being sanctified—shaped by a loving God who refuses to rush His masterpiece.
But when it comes to transformation, God doesn’t use a microwave for sanctification, He uses a Crockpot. Sanctification is the long, slow, beautiful process of the Holy Spirit shaping us into the image of Jesus. When we’re saved, everything about our position before God changes in an instant. We’re forgiven, adopted, justified. But sanctification? That’s the lifelong work of the Spirit taking what’s already true about us in Christ and working it out in our daily lives. Wayne Grudem calls it, “a progressive work of God and believers that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.” In other words, sanctification is transformation. It’s not about trying harder—it’s about being changed from the inside out.
The Spirit doesn’t just tweak our behavior; He transforms our nature. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we’re, “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” It’s slow, but it’s real. And this process is personal and participatory. Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” We work out what He’s working in. That means obedience, submission, and spiritual discipline aren’t legalistic—they’re cooperative. They’re how we walk in step with what the Spirit is doing. Sometimes that walking takes us through hardship.
We tend to think comfort equals blessing, but sanctification happens in the classroom of difficulty. Pressure, loss, waiting—all of it shapes us. God uses the chisel of hardship to carve out the image of His Son in us.And as that happens, fruit starts to grow—real fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Not fake spiritual behavior. Not emotional hype or empty knowledge. But the quiet, steady fruit of abiding in Christ.
That’s the Spirit’s goal: Christlikeness. Not perfectionism. Not performance. But the genuine reflection of Jesus in the way we think, love, and live.And one day, that work will be complete. John writes, “When He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).That’s glorification—the finish line of sanctification. Until that day, the Spirit keeps shaping the clay. Sometimes pressing hard, sometimes softening—but always forming Christ in us. So take heart if the process feels slow. You’re not behind. You’re being sanctified—shaped by a loving God who refuses to rush His masterpiece.
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