In traditional theology, sanctification is often described as the process of being "made holy." This is defined more specifically as the state of conjunction with the Lord, where a person’s mental anatomy has been restructured so that divine love and wisdom can flow in from Jesus', Holy Spirit without being distorted by the selfish ego. It is not an instantaneous event, but the gradual outcome of a life lived according to divine truth.
To understand sanctification (also known as regeneration), we must distinguish it from the initial stages of the spiritual path. While "justification" is often seen as the beginning of a relationship with God through faith, regeneration is the actual transformation of the character.
You are not "sanctified" merely by believing in a doctrine. You are sanctified/ regenerated as you use your as-of-self agency to shun evils as sins. As you stop performing selfish actions, the Lord performs the internal work of removing those loves from your will. Sanctification is the "holiness" that remains when the "unholiness" of the proprium (the ego) is moved to the circumference of your mind.
The Bible states in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." This highlights a technical reality: you cannot be made holy without the application of rational truths to your life.
The process works like this:
purification: You learn truths from the Word that act as "spiritual water," washing away the falsities in your natural mind.
temptation: You face spiritual struggles where your old loves fight against these new truths. This is the "fire" that refines your spirit.
conjunction: Once the struggle is over, your rational mind is opened, and the Lord's divine influx flows in, bringing a state of peace and order. This state of order is what we call sanctification.
True sanctification involves the creation of a "new will" by the Lord. Our old will is naturally rooted in self-love and cannot be "fixed" it must be bypassed.
The Lord builds a new center of affection in our higher mind. When we are in a state of sanctification, we no longer find pleasure in selfish or harmful behaviors. Instead, we find our highest delight in being useful to others and honoring the Lord. This is not something we achieve by our own power; it is the presence of the Jesus, the Divine Human within our mental structures.
Sanctification/ regenertion is the goal of human existence. It is the process of becoming a "spiritual man" or "spiritual woman" who is a clean vessel for the Lord’s love. It is a state of perpetual growth that begins on earth and continues forever in heaven. By daily shunning the loves of the proprium and acting from the truths of the Word, we allow the Lord to make us holy, transforming our natural life into a life of eternal dignity and joy.
TikTok COMMENT
the above post captures the importance of living your faith. “faith" and "actions" are separate things, but they are actually one and the same in our "mental anatomy". the idea that our actions don't “dictate" our destination is a misunderstanding of how spiritual transformation works. here is why your "life" (your actions and motives) determines your state; the marriage of good and truth; heaven isn't a "location" god lets you into; it is a state of the mind. "good proceeds from the lord" and we must "abide in the vine" by living according to his truths. if we don't act on truths, they don't stay with us. shunning evil as sin; jesus didn't die so we could continue in evil; he died to give us the power to overcome our ego. paul’s command to "walk in the spirit" means we must actually "not fulfill the lust of the flesh". the "gift" is the power to be reformed, not a pass to ignore divine order. spiritual meaning of salvation; being "saved" is the process of "sanctification". it is the actual removal of hellish loves from your mind so that the holy spirit and good can inflow. if you don't cooperate with this process through your actions, your mind remains in a hellish state. thinking you can enter heaven without a "heavenly character" is like trying to see without eyes. the "free gift" is the light of truth that shows us how to live. if we refuse to "operate while we have the light," darkness, falsity, eventually overtakes us. our ruling love is what dictates where we go. if we love selfish things, we gravitate toward those who share that love. heaven is for those who have allowed jesus to actually transform their will and actions into his likeness. this is why “faith without works is dead” james 2:26