Q: When we have received Christ as our Savior, why are we not transformed into all He is right away? Why do we have to go through the sanctification process that takes time, energy, and pain? —CC
A: We suffer because we’re called to bear the cross of Christ (Matthew 16:24). We are creatures of flesh and instinct that are undergoing transformation into the image of God’s unique Son (John 3:16; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Colossians 3:5-10.)
To personally share in the awareness and love of our heavenly Father, we must be weaned from many things that give us a false sense of security and identity. It’s impossible for us to be spiritually reborn as the children of God (Galatians 3:26) without experiencing the distress that accompanies death to self (Romans 6:3-11; 2 Corinthians 4:6-18; Galatians 2:20).
But the experience of suffering is a small cost in view of what we gain. Consider what these Scriptures reveal to us: Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; James 1:12.
—Dan Vander Lugt
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Mike Wittmer on August 16, 2014 at 6:42 pm
This is a good question and an even better answer. There are probably many reasons why God has set it up this way. One top one is that God apparently likes a good story, and so he humbly chooses to operate through history, using our feeble endeavors, rather than just zapping us all into glory.
poohpity on August 19, 2014 at 12:11 pm
I think because it is a battle of wills. He does not want us to be mindless but to mindful of His ways being better than ours. We have to taste, touch and experience. Look how long it takes for a work of art to be produced, it is done in layers.
daisymarygoldr on October 9, 2014 at 2:43 am
Sanctification is a purification process which God is carrying out through His Word and the Holy Spirit. The pain is not the process but the person being sanctified. In other words, sanctification is painful for hardened hearts and stiffened necks that resist and refuse to obey God’s word.
Sanctification does not require energy because it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our part is to simply cooperate… and abide in Christ who is our sanctification. Those who feel they are spending their energy are the ones who are trying very hard to perform in their strength to become holy.
And it is going to take time for those who lack a teachable spirit and resist the changes of being conformed to the image of Christ. Some wrestle to let go of stubborn sin and prefer to learn the hard way under the chastening hand of God. Of course no discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful.
The heart of sanctification is submission to the point of “…not my will, but yours be done.” A child of God silently surrenders to the loving hands of the divine potter and will remain yielded and still. Isaac and Jesus are excellent examples of perfect submission to the will of the father. If we have been sanctified by faith in Christ, then our right response in the process of sanctification is “I delight to do your will, my God”.