Sometimes you read a book and something becomes clear or you suddenly know how to explain it more clearly. It is the “Aha” phenomenon, “eureka,” the divine process called revelation by which all understanding moves from the temporary storage place, the mind, to the permanent or eternal storage place, “the heart.” Recently I had this experience when I was reading “The Meaning of Sanctification” by Charles E. Brown.
This book was written in 1945, but was recently reissued by the Francis Asbury Society. It proved to be an excellent presentation on the subject. It was a little “scholarly,” but it was penned in an era (the 1940’s) when people read at a higher level and the topic (sanctification) was being broadly discussed.
It was the golden age of the “holiness” movement in America with preachers like E. Stanley Jones and the author himself, Charles E. Brown. These men and their contemporaries were solidly evangelical and had more than a passing knowledge of science, philosophy and modern psychology, so they spoke easily in those terms.
The topic that particularly spoke to me concerned the issue of how we were made in God’s image, how we fell from it and the role that free will has to play in both the Fall and the restoration of the believer. It came to me in a section Dr. Brown had written on
Instinct, Impulse and the Image of God, pages 73 – 86.
All creatures are designed and created with instincts, an internal set of instructions that tell them how to function in certain areas. Those instincts are energized by impulses, a set of drives that trigger instinctual behaviors. Let’s talk about some common examples.
Birds instinctively feed their young and build nests without ever having been taught how. Ants and bees instinctively work together for the good of the community and in support of a “queen.” Caterpillars build cocoons around themselves and become butterflies with no prior expectation. Some species pair up and mate for life and some do not, but it is an absolute pattern throughout the species, no matter where on the planet they are found.
So many creatures and sub-creatures at the atomic level have patterns and practices that are so organized and immutable as to absolutely require a designer of some kind, hence God. Any deviations from these patterns are considered corruptions, negative anomalies, even “cancerous” in the philosophical sense. The word “cancer” itself comes from the Greek word for crab which walks sideways and not in the straight line expected, making it appear “deviant” at some level. Left-handed people were considered “sinister,” because they seemed to defy a norm; i.e., right-handedness. The word sinister comes from the Latin word senestra meaning left-handed.
As Christians, we believe that the instinctual behavior of animals, plants and atomic entities bear the design of the Creator or in other words, the image of God (imago dei in Latin), stamped into their very being so that they might properly fit in God’s perfect world plan. Mankind was also originally stamped with the image of God or “made in His image and likeness” according to Genesis, but at a much higher level than plants and animals. Adam and Eve were designed to think like God, act like God and value what God values. And this at a level so near to God that they were thought of as sons and daughters of God and even demigods themselves.
They were designed to operate out of godly love, obedience and submission to God and one another. They were called to be God’s stewards on the earth, managing all things on His behalf, representing Him within the creation. Dr. Brown’s point was that the man or woman who becomes entirely sanctified will function once again like the pre-fallen Adam and Eve in this manner. And everyone in Heaven will be fully sanctified and operate out of uncorrupted instincts once again as it was before the Fall.
So, what went wrong? How did we lose the sanctified condition we had before the fall and that we must once again obtain before we can go dwell with God in Heaven? In conjunction with their instincts, all creatures are also imbued with divinely designed impulses that enable them to act out their instincts properly and beneficially. Whether one is an animal, a plant or a human, all have some version of all or most of these divinely designed impulses. Among these in humans are: (1) hunger for food, (2) the desire for human fellowship, (3) the sexual urge, (4) escape from pain, (5) the urge to self-fulfillment; i.e., achievement, and (6) self-preservation (pg. 85).
These urges are innately good and necessary, but they must be operated according to the design of the Creator. They can neither be totally denied nor allowed to run wild without serious negative consequences. If man does not eat, he will die, but if he eats too much he will also die. If man does not have sex, the species will perish, but inordinate or inappropriate sex leads to disaster as well.
If one does not attempt to achieve, nothing gets done, but an inappropriate focus on achievement, say at the expense of fellowship with God, our neighbors and our family, is equally problematic. One must have pain if one is to know that something is amiss, but chronic pain is toxic. Self-preservation is necessary, but it becomes problematic when we are too aggressive in responding to this urge or impulse, especially when it stems from a lack of faith or trust in God.
In Andy Stanley’s book, It Came from Within, he points out that desire or lust is not a sin. It is an appetite that must be managed. It cannot be totally done away with without negative consequences. For instance, one can totally forego chocolate, but a man cannot stop eating. Mankind must learn to eat within the Creator’s design and guidelines. Mankind can stop having illegitimate sex, but it cannot stop having sex altogether, or it will fade into non-existence.
This point is made abundantly clear if one ever visits Shaker Town in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky just outside of Lexington. The Shakers stopped having sex for “religious” reasons, and then they all died off. The community disappeared because they decided to totally deny a godly impulse rather than steward or manage it according to God’s design.
So, why is it that the birds and the bees still have a well-ordered world while mankind is in such a mess? The answer lies in free will. Mankind can choose whether or not they will manage their instinctual impulses according to the Creator’s will and purpose, or it can choose to go its own way. We all know how that went, as far back as the Garden. Dr. Brown makes the point well. What if the bird decided not to feed its young, but instead ate everything itself? What if the ant or the bee decided to not obey the instinctual impulses and choose to go its own way? What if the mare denied access when it was in heat or the bull decided to mount the pig?
Fortunately, the animal kingdom does not have those choices, but man does and that, too, is by God’s design. Man is given the right and the ability to choose, but he is also given the responsibility to choose rightly. It is man’s failure to choose rightly that has caused all the evil in the world and introduced chaos and futility into the creation of God.
Rom 8:19-23 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. NASB
Had God not given man the ability to choose badly, man would not have the ability to choose rightly either. Mankind would be animal-like, not God-like. None of the joy and divine capacity that separates man from the animal would be ours to enjoy.
Today, for instance, we are having a national discussion on homosexuality in all of its forms: gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, etc. The impulse for these behaviors are no longer being resisted but rather are being encouraged, to the point that they are now seen as God-given instincts. Proponents of these behaviors are trying to redefine the imago dei of human sexuality, even though the bible speaks against them in all of their forms.
“The impulse is so strong,” they say, “that it must be instinctual.” “We were born this way” has come to mean “we were designed by God this way.” This is a slippery slope even if one totally rejects biblical authority. We were all born with impulses that we have traditionally expected humans to redirect, manage and control.
The toddler feels the impulse to take the toy from his neighbor and smack him if he resists. We counter-train these impulses. We are all born defecating at will in any place. We train our human children to resist that instinct and manage their bowel behaviors. There is nothing more “natural” than selfishness, disobedience, coveting and pride. We are unlikely to come to the conclusion that we should suddenly start relating to these impulses as valid instincts or imago dei.
Who is next in the culture to demand their sexual deviancy as a natural, God-given, right? How about pedophiles? They also claim that they were “born this way.” They say they are wired to desire children as sexual partners. They point out that pederasty has been an accepted practice in many places in the world throughout the ages. In the 19th and 20th centuries, they say, it was an accepted practice in boy’s schools in the western world. C.S. Lewis points out in his biography, Surprised by Joy (chap VI, pgs.79ff), that it was common practice in British boy’s school education.
So, the impulse for these sexual practices, they say, is in response to instinct, the creator’s design. While this may seem outlandish, so did many of today’s sexual practices a very short time ago. When my wife and I attended the National Family Forum, a 4-day seminar on emerging cultural family values and practices, serious speakers made these very points under the heading of Children’s Rights.
But are our instincts really the creator’s design? That is an important question. In the cases of birds and other animals, the instincts they are responding to actually DO spring from the creator’s design. Remember: the animals are unfallen creatures. But this is not so with human beings. Mankind was created in the image of God (the Imago Dei), but the instincts we are following that generate so many of the impulses to which we are responding actually come from the fallen man. They are Adamic, not divine.
The imago dei was largely eradicated from the offspring of fallen Adam. By the time of Noah, they had largely disintegrated into the cave man (Gen 6:1-13). The resultant impulses come too often, therefore, from Satan, and not from the Creator. The post-salvation process of sanctification is designed to restore the imago dei within us, the fallen man. Jesus’ teaching was designed “to show us the Father,” to “reconcile us to God,” and to change us to become like the creator versus like the creature. In fact, in Romans 8:29, we are told that God virtually guarantees that whoever will who follow Him will become conformed into the image of his son, the restored imago dei. Allowing ourselves to become conformed to the fallen Adam will not cause us to become like God. Peter calls upon us all to “Save ourselves from this wicked and perverse generation!”. He is speaking of the culture of the fallen world.
Rom 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. NASB
Acts 2:37-42 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. NASB
So, how does this figure in a book on Sanctification? The answer is this. It has been our cultural practice in recent years to avoid or even to discourage active and persistent correction, behavior modification and discipline of many of the impulses in our children. We would not want to “repress them” or “crush their creativity.” We are too busy to take the time to faithfully deal with them. We sit idly by, hoping they will “grow out of it” as we did, forgetting the diligence with which our parents, teachers and society at large addressed them in our own lives.
The modern generations have lost the feel for seeking self-discipline and the understanding of its benefits. Delayed gratification and self-discipline are a lost art in our culture today. This is further exacerbated by the late 20th century by the creation of a developmental stage known as adolescence, never seen in history before. Before about 1950, sexual maturity and marriage usually occurred at about the same time. Puberty occurred late in high school and marriage usually occurred shortly after high school.
Today, puberty in boys and girls usually occurs in grade school, but marriage is being deferred up into the late twenties and early thirties, largely for educational and economic reasons, creating an extended period of time requiring impulse control (old-fashioned self-control), if one is to obey the scriptures on sexual activity, both heterosexual and homosexual. Most people today (heterosexual and homosexuals alike) do not even try, nor does society expect or encourage them to do so. The innate call to intimacy, one of the most powerful we possess, is much stronger than our under-developed ability to control our impulses.
The same thing can be said of our religious experience and understanding. We over-emphasize salvation and neglect sanctification, two equally biblical and necessary requirements for pleasing God. We have abandoned the very conversation of obedience to the Lordship of Jesus in our one-sided presentation of Jesus as Savior. While salvation causes our sins to be forgiven and our relationship with God restored, sanctification is the process of us regaining our ability to live according to God’s design, in accord with the original instinct, and in the image of God. Even though we are born-again, we can still choose to behave in ungodly ways, according to Paul in Romans seven below
Paul was certainly born again on the Damascus Road, but many years later he told the Romans in chapter seven that he still had areas in his life that were unsanctified.
Rom 7:15-25 For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. NASB
Paul said he knew what was right to do and greatly desired to do it, but he was still unsanctified in certain areas. He said, “There is an evil (impulse) in me (the man who is born-again and wants to do good) that I wish was no longer there. Who will save me from it?” His answer is that Jesus who saved him from death will also save him from his inner, still unconquered corruption. The first experience is commonly known as “salvation.” The second experience has historically been known as “sanctification,” but it is not as commonly understood today.
The same Holy Spirit sent to regenerate us in salvation is again sent to change us so that we might live holy lives; i.e., lives lived in accordance with God’s original plan. We can neither save ourselves nor sanctify ourselves, but we can choose to ask God to do both in us. While it is very true that we can neither save nor sanctify ourselves, it does not follow that it ought not to be done in us. It was for this very purpose that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:12-21, 25-29; Jn 16:5-16). Unfortunately, the ministry of the Holy Spirit has been largely ignored in much of western Christianity over the last 50-70 years.
Salvation grants us our “get-out-of-jail-free card,” but sanctification causes us to be fully restored to our divine nature. Salvation benefits and pleases us, but sanctification benefits us and pleases God. Ultimately, we will not enter into God’s immediate and full presence until we are entirely sanctified (1 Thess 4:16-24), be it in heaven or here on the earth.
Simply put, there is a design that God has for us all. It covers both our basic instincts and the impulses necessary to live. God is willing and desirous to forgive our sins for the sake of a restored relationship. We do not have to be perfect (fully matured) to be saved as long as we are seeking to become so. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).
And since we can neither save nor sanctify ourselves, so God graces or gifts us with the Holy Spirit to accomplish both salvation AND sanctification as long as we earnestly seek Him for it. The more sanctified we become, the closer will be our relationship with God. Why wait until Heaven? Sanctification is available to us now and God wants us to have it.
Sanctification is more than a spiritual nicety. As life gets tougher, either because of our own aging (causing diminishment) or because of the expanding corruption of the culture around us, we need more and more of God’s power to survive, to thrive and to be a witness.
When life was simpler and easier, we could perhaps get away with coasting on our salvation experience. But as we go forward we feel the need for more and more of God’s power and presence. For our sake and for the sake of our children, our family and our neighbors, let us seek the Lord for more of His Holy Spirit to sanctify us and make us more like Jesus in our daily lives.
The plan and design of God is instinctively embedded in us. We can find it and dwell in it, if we seek God’s Holy Spirit power to steward the impulses necessary for life in accord with the image of God (imago dei) originally stamped on our hearts.