Early Christian Views of Sanctification

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Direct teaching

...ollution and ignorance are cleansed and taken away, he may make so great an advance in holiness and purity that the nature he received from God may become worthy of Him who gave it, being pure and perfect, so that the being which exists may be as worthy as He who called it into existence. For in this way, he who is such as his Creator wished him to be will receive from God power always to exist, and to abide forever. That this may be so, and that those whom He has created may be unceasingly and inseparably present with Him, who IS, it is the business of wisdom to instruct and train them, and to bring them to perfection by the confirmation of His Holy Spirit and unceasing sanctification. By this alone are they capable of receiving God. In this way, then, by the renewal of the ceaseless working of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in us, in its various stages of progress, we shall perhaps at some future time, although with difficulty, be able to behold the holy and blessed life. Since it is only after many struggles that we are able to reach it, we ought to continue in it in such a way that no satiety of that blessedness should ever seize us. But the more we perceive its blessednes

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Supporting witness

...ngs by His word and reason, and by the Spirit of His mouth sanctifies all things that are worthy of sanctification, as it is written in the Psalm: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens strengthened, and all their power by the Spirit of His mouth.” There is also a special working of God the Father, besides that by which He bestowed upon all things the gift of natural life. There is also a special ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ to those upon whom He confers by nature the gift of reason, by means of which they are enabled to be rightly what they are. There is also another grace of the Holy Spirit, which is bestowed upon the deserving through the ministry of Christ and the working of the Father, in proportion to the merits of those who are made capable of receiving it. This is most clearly pointed out by the Apostle Paul when he demonstrates that the power of the Trinity is one and the same, in these words: “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are diversities of administrations, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness

...falsely against the fountain of sanctification, the Holy Spirit, when he strips Him of the power to sanctify. In this way he will be unable to count Him with the Father and the Son. He also destroys the holy ordinance of baptism, and he will no longer be able to confess the holy and majestic Trinity. For either we must understand the perfect Trinity in its natural and true glory, or else we will have to speak no longer of a Trinity but only of a Unity. Or again, if we do not count created things with the Creator, nor creatures with the Lord of all, then we also must not count what is sanctified with what sanctifies. Just as nothing made can be counted with the Trinity, yet baptism and invocation and worship are given in the name of the Holy Trinity. For if there are three different glories, then there must also be three different forms of worship among those who impiously worship the creature. For if there is a difference in the nature of the things worshipped, then among such people there should also be a difference in the nature of the worship they offer. What is recent certainly must not be worshipped together with what is eternal. For the recent includes everything that has

Cyprian, Treatises Direct teaching

...ater grace in the heavenly home. Indeed, all who attain the divine gift and inheritance through the sanctification of baptism put off the old man in it by the grace of the saving washing, and, renewed by the Holy Spirit from the filth of the old contagion, are cleansed by a second birth. But the greater holiness and truth of that repeated birth belongs to you, who no longer have any desires of the flesh and of the body. Only the things that belong to virtue and the Spirit have remained in you for glory. This is the word of the apostle, whom the Lord called His chosen vessel, whom God sent to proclaim the heavenly command: "The first man," he says, "is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such also are the heavenly. As we have borne the image of him who is earthy, let us also bear the image of Him who is heavenly." 1 Corinthians 15:47. Virginity bears this image. Integrity bears it. Holiness bears it, and truth. The disciplines that are mindful of God bear it, keeping righteousness with religion, steadfast in faith, humble in fear, brave in every affliction, meek in enduring wrong, read

Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse Supporting witness

...y.” He it is who effects with water the second birth, as a certain seed of divine generation, and a consecration of a heavenly birth, the pledge of a promised inheritance, and as it were a kind of handwriting of eternal salvation. He can make us God’s temple, and fit us for His house. He pleads for us before the divine hearing with groanings that cannot be uttered, filling the offices of advocacy and showing the duties of our defense—an inhabitant given for our bodies and an effector of their holiness. Working in us for eternity, He can also raise up our bodies in the resurrection of immortality, accustoming them to be joined in Himself with heavenly power, and to be allied with the divine eternity of the Holy Spirit. For our bodies are trained both in Him and by Him to advance to immortality, by learning to govern themselves with moderation according to His decrees. For this is He who desires against the flesh, because the flesh resists against the Spirit. This is He who restrains insatiable desires, controls immoderate lusts, quenches unlawful fires, conquers reckless impulses, repels drunkenness, checks avarice, drives away luxurious revellings, links love, binds affections t

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness

...e is the One who effects with water the second birth, as a certain seed of divine generation, and a consecration of a heavenly birth, the pledge of a promised inheritance, and as it were a kind of handwriting of eternal salvation. He can make us God's temple, and fit us for His house. He asks for divine hearing on our behalf with groanings that cannot be uttered, filling the offices of advocacy and showing the duties of our defense—an inhabitant given to dwell in our bodies and an effector of their holiness. Working in us for eternity, He can also bring forth our bodies in the resurrection of immortality, accustoming them to be associated in Himself with heavenly power, and to be allied with the divine eternity of the Holy Spirit. For our bodies are trained both in Him and by Him to advance to immortality, by learning to govern themselves with moderation according to His decrees. For this is He who desires against the flesh, because the flesh resists against the Spirit. This is He who restrains insatiable desires, controls immoderate lusts, quenches unlawful fires, conquers reckless impulses, repels drunkenness, checks avarice, drives away luxurious revellings, joins love, binds

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

... during those hours or days when they go through such things, do they refuse to pray, or to touch a Bible, or to receive the Eucharist? If they admit that they do, then it is plain that they are without the Holy Spirit, who always remains with the faithful. For Solomon says about holy people, "So that each one may prepare himself, so that when he sleeps it may keep him, and when he rises it may speak with him," Proverbs 6:22. For if you think, woman, that when you are in your seven days of separation you are without the Holy Spirit, then if you were to die suddenly, you would depart without the Spirit and without sure hope in God. Or else you must understand that the Spirit is always inseparable from you, since He is not confined to a place. But you need prayer and the Eucharist and the coming of the Holy Spirit, because in this matter you have committed no sin. For neither lawful union, nor childbearing, nor menstrual cleansing, nor a nighttime emission can defile a person's nature or separate the Holy Spirit from him. Nothing can do that except impiety and unlawful conduct. For the Holy Spirit always remains with those who have Him, as long as they are worthy. And when He depa

Anonymous, Treatise on Re-Baptism Supporting witness

... who believed. Certainly, both in water, and no less in their own blood, and then especially in the Holy Spirit, men may be baptized. For Peter says, “But this is what was spoken by the prophet: ‘It shall come to pass in the last days, says the Lord, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and their sons and their daughters shall prophesy, and their young men shall see visions, and their old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants and upon my handmaidens I will pour out of my Spirit,’” Acts 2:17-18. We find that this Spirit was communicated in the Old Testament, not indeed everywhere or widely, but along with other gifts; or rather, that He sprang up by His own will in certain men, or clothed them, or was upon them. So we see that the Lord said to Moses about the seventy elders, “And I will take of the Spirit which is upon you, and will put it upon them,” Numbers 11:17. For this reason also, according to His promise, God put upon them from the Spirit that had been upon Moses, and they prophesied in the camp. And Moses, as a spiritual man, rejoiced that this had happened, although Joshua the son of Nun had urged him, against his will, to oppose this thing, and yet he was n

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...ve separated us from fellowship with the ungodly, unite us with those who are consecrated to You in holiness. Confirm us in the truth by the help of Your Holy Spirit. Reveal to us the things we do not know, supply what we lack, confirm us in the things we already know, and keep the priests blameless in Your worship. Keep the kings in peace, and the rulers in righteousness, the air in a good condition, the fruits of the earth fruitful, and the world under Your all-powerful providence. Calm the nations that are at war, convert those who have gone astray, sanctify Your people, keep those who are in virginity, preserve in the faith those who are married, strengthen those who are in purity, bring infants to full age, confirm those newly admitted, instruct the catechumens, and make them worthy of admission. Gather us all together into Your kingdom of heaven, by Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom be glory, honor, and worship to You, in the Holy Spirit, forever. Amen. And let the deacon say: Bow down to God through His Christ, and receive the blessing. And let the bishop add this prayer, and say: O God Almighty, the true God, to whom nothing can be compared, who are everywhere and present

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

For he who has been sanctified, his sins being put away in baptism, and has been spiritually reformed into a new man, has become fitted for receiving the Holy Spirit;

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

Well, because He says, Be holy, even as I am holy, Leviticus 20:7 we ask and entreat, that we who were sanctified in baptism may continue in that which we have begun to be.

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness

And there is also the perfect Holy Spirit supplied of God through the Son to the sons of adoption, living and life-giving, holy and imparting holiness to those who partake of Him — not like an unsubstantial breath breathed into them by man, but as the living Breath proceeding from God.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Direct teaching

... apostles, for ours. To this point the divine apostle says: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor; not in the lust of concupiscence, as the Gentiles who do not know the Lord; that none of you should overreach or take advantage of his brother in any matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all such things, as we also told you before and testified. For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness. Therefore he who despises, despises not man, but God, who has also given His Holy Spirit to you.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 Therefore the Lord was not prohibited from this sanctification of ours. If, then, one of them should say in reply that the martyr is punished for sins committed before this embodiment, and that he will again reap the fruit of his conduct in this life, because such are the arrangements of the divine administration, we will ask him whether the repayment takes place by Providence. For if it is not of the divine administration, the divine arrangement of expiations is gone, and their hypothesis falls to the ground. But if

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

...person and a spiritual one, saying in the first Epistle to the Thessalonians, "Now the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your spirit, soul, and body be preserved whole without fault at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." What was his purpose in praying for these three—soul, body, and spirit—to be preserved until the Lord's coming, unless he knew about their future reintegration and union and their shared salvation? He declares that the "perfect" are those who present these three parts to the Lord without fault. Thus, the perfect are those who have the Spirit of God within them, keeping their souls and bodies blameless, holding on to faith in God, and practicing righteousness with their neighbors.

Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness

"Fear the Lord," he said, "and keep His commandments." Ecclesiastes 12:13 For if you keep God's commandments, you will be strong in everything you do, and everything you do will be beyond compare. For by fearing the Lord, you will do everything well. This is the fear you ought to have, so that you may be saved. But do not fear the devil. For if you fear the Lord, you will rule over the devil, because there is no power in him. But someone in whom there is no power should never be feared. He in whom there is glorious power is the one who is truly to be feared. For everyone who has power ought to be feared, but he who has no power is despised by all. Therefore, fear the deeds of the devil, because they are evil. For if you fear the Lord, you will not do these deeds, but will hold back from them. For there are two kinds of fear. If you do not want to do what is evil, fear the Lord, and you will not do it. But again, if you want to do what is good, fear the Lord, and you will do it. Therefore the fear of the Lord is strong, great, and glorious. Fear the Lord, then, and you will live to Him, and all who fear Him and keep His commandments will live to God. "Why," I said, "sir, did you say

Clement of Rome, Second Epistle (attributed) Supporting witness

...andments of the Lord, and not be drawn back by worldly desires. Instead, let us come near often and keep trying to make progress in the Lord's commandments, so that all of us, being of the same mind, may be gathered together for life. For the Lord said, "I come to gather all nations, kindreds, and tongues." This means the day of His appearing, when He will come and redeem us, each one according to his works. And the unbelievers will see His glory and power. And when they see the rule of the world belonging to Jesus, they will be amazed and say, "Woe to us, because You were there, and we did not know, did not believe, and did not obey the elders who plainly showed us our salvation." Isaiah 66:18. "And their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be a spectacle to all flesh." Isaiah 66:24. He is speaking of the great day of judgment, when they will see those among us who were guilty of ungodliness and were mistaken in their judgment about the commandments of Jesus Christ. But the righteous, who have succeeded in enduring trials and hating the indulgences of the soul, when they see how those who have gone astray and denied Jesus by words or deeds a

Archelaus, Disputation with Manes Supporting witness

...e creatures that God made, He made very good. And He gave to each person the sense of free will. In keeping with that standard, He also established the law of judgment. To sin is ours, and that we do not sin is God's gift, since our will is formed to choose either to sin or not to sin. And you surely understand this well enough yourself, Manes. For you know that even if you brought together all your disciples and warned them not to commit any transgression or do any unrighteousness, every one of them might still pass by the law of judgment. And certainly, whoever wills may keep the commandments. And whoever despises them, and turns aside to what is contrary to them, will still, without doubt, have to face this law of judgment. For this reason also, certain of the angels refused to submit themselves to God's commandment, and resisted His will. One of them indeed fell like a flash of lightning upon the earth, while others, harassed by the dragon, sought their felicity in intercourse with the daughters of men, and so brought on themselves the deserved sentence of the punishment of eternal fire. And that angel who was cast down to earth, finding no further entrance into any of the r

Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness

...ments are great, good, and glorious, and they are able to make glad the heart of the person who can keep them. But I do not know whether a human being can keep these commandments, because they are extremely hard." He answered and said to me, "If you settle it in your mind that they can be kept, then you will keep them easily, and they will not be hard. But if you begin to think that they cannot be kept by man, then you will not keep them. Now I say to you, if you do not keep them, but neglect them, you will not be saved, nor your children, nor your household, since you have already decided for yourself that these commandments cannot be kept by man."

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

...o the one who asked Him what he should do to inherit eternal life: “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” When asked, “Which ones?” the Lord again replied: “Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself,”—presenting as a series of steps for those who wished to follow Him, the precepts of the law, as the entrance into life; and what He said to one, He said to all. But when the questioner claimed, “I have kept all these” (though likely he had not, as otherwise the Lord would not have said, “Keep the commandments”), the Lord, exposing his greed, said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell all you have, and give to the poor; and come, follow me;” promising to those who would act this way, the portion belonging to the apostles. He did not preach to His followers a different God the Father, apart from the one proclaimed by the law from the beginning; nor a different Son; nor the Mother, the thought of the Æon, who existed in suffering and apostasy; nor the Pleroma of the thirty Æons, considered vain and unbelievable; nor that tale invented by other heretics. But

Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse Supporting witness

...ter works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father"? And He further adds, "If you love me, keep my commandments; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter." After this He also adds, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him; and we will come to him, and make our home with him." Moreover, He also added this: "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send, He will teach you, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you." He also speaks that passage in which He shows Himself to be the Son, and rightly adds, "If you loved me, you would rejoice because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I." But what shall we say when He also continues with these words: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that bears no fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit"? He still goes on and adds, "As the Father has loved me, so I also have loved you: remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; just as I have kept the Father's commandments, and remain in His love." Further,

Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness

...explain them all to you, and I will show you whatever I mention in the course of our conversations. Keep the commandments of the Lord, and you will be approved and written among the number of those who keep His commands." "And if you do any good beyond what God has commanded, you will gain greater glory for yourself and will be more honored by God than you would otherwise be. Therefore, if in keeping the commandments of God you also do these acts of service, you will have joy if you keep them according to my command." I said to him, "Sir, whatever you command me, I will keep, for I know that you are with me." He replied, "I will be with you, because you have such a desire to do good. And I will be with all those," he added, "who have such a desire." He continued, "This fasting is very good, provided that the commandments of the Lord are kept. Then this is how you must keep the fast you intend to keep. First of all, be on guard against every evil word and every evil desire, and purify your heart from all the vanities of this world. If you guard against these things, your fasting will be complete. And you must also do the following. After you have done what is written, on the day

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

... in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people," if we order our life by the commandments, whether each one of us individually or the whole Church together. "Therefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean; and I will receive you, and I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty." He is not, as they say, commanding us to separate from those who have taken wives, but from the Gentiles, who were still living in fornication, and also from the heresies mentioned before, as from unclean and ungodly things. So Paul also directs his words to those who were like those just mentioned: "Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse our hearts from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God," 2 Corinthians 7:1. "For I am jealous over you with God's jealousy; for I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ," 2 Corinthians 11:2. And the Church is not joined in marriage to another, since she has the Bridegroom. But each one of us has the right to marry whatever lawful wife he wishe

Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness

...his world that wears you out. And by putting on all the virtues of a holy life, you will be able to keep these commandments, and you will no longer add to the number of your sins. Walk, therefore, in these commandments of mine, and you will live to God. All these things have been spoken to you by me." After he had said these words, he said to me, "Let us go into the fields, and I will show you the shepherds of the flocks." "Let us go, sir," I replied. And we came to a certain plain, and he showed me a young man, a shepherd, dressed in a set of yellow clothes. He was herding a great many sheep, and these sheep were feeding in a luxurious way, as it were, and riotously, and were merrily skipping here and there. The shepherd himself was cheerful because of his flock, and the shepherd's appearance was joyful, and he was running about among his flock. And I saw other sheep rioting and living luxuriously in one place, but not leaping about.

Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Supporting witness

...ealed by the law, others by the prophets, some to the divine mouth, and others to the heptad of the Spirit singing in harmony. And since the Lord is one, He is the same Instructor through all these things. Here, then, is a complete command, and an instruction for life that includes everything: "As you would want people to do to you, do the same to them." Luke 6:31. We can sum up the commandments in two, as the Lord says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength; and your neighbor as yourself." Then from these He concludes, "On these hang the law and the prophets." Further, to the one who asked, "What good thing shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life?" He answered, "You know the commandments?" And when the man replied, "Yes," He said, "Do this, and you shall be saved." The love of the Instructor is especially clear in the different commands that bring salvation, so that discovery may be easier through the richness and arrangement of the Scriptures. We have the Ten Commandments given by Moses. By a basic principle, simple and of one kind, they identify sins in a way that leads to salvation: "You shall not commit adu

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

After this we say, “Hallowed be Your name.” We do not mean that God needs to be made holy by our prayers. Rather, we ask Him that His name may be hallowed in us. But by whom is God made holy, since He Himself makes holy? Because He says, “Be holy, even as I am holy,” Leviticus 20:7, we ask and plead that we who were sanctified in baptism may continue in what we have begun to be. And we pray for this every day, for we need daily sanctification, so that we who fall away daily may wash away our sins by continual sanctification. And the apostle declares what this sanctification is that is given to us by God's condescension, when he says, “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor those who abuse themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor deceivers, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such indeed were you; but you are washed; but you are justified; but you are sanctified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9. He says that we are sanctified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God. We pray that this sanctification may remain in us. A

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. Mark Direct teaching

...in Your holy, pure, immortal, and heavenly mysteries, which You have given for our good and for the sanctification and salvation of our souls and bodies. We pray and beg You, O Lord, in Your goodness and mercy, that by sharing in the holy body and precious blood of Your only begotten Son, we may have faith that is not ashamed, love that is sincere, fullness of holiness, power to avoid evil and keep Your commandments, provision for eternal life, and an acceptable defense before the fearful judgment seat of Your Christ.

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. James Direct teaching

O Lord, You have given us sanctification through sharing in the all-holy body and precious blood of Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Give us also the grace of Your good Spirit, and keep us blameless in the faith. Lead us to perfect adoption and redemption, and to the coming joys of eternity. For You are our sanctification and light, O God, and so are Your only begotten Son and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. Mark Supporting witness

O Lord, You have given us sanctification by letting us partake of the all-holy body and precious blood of Your only begotten Son. Give us the grace and gift of the All-holy Spirit. Enable us to live blameless lives, and guide us to perfect redemption, adoption, and the everlasting joys of the world to come. For You are our sanctification, and we give glory to You, the Father, and the Son, and the All-holy Spirit, now, from now on, and forevermore.

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. James Direct teaching

...ow of Your wings, and count us worthy until our last breath to take part in Your holy rites for the sanctification of our souls and bodies, and for the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. For You, O God, are our sanctification, and we send up praise and thanksgiving to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. James Supporting witness

and sanctify our souls, bodies, and spirits, that we may become worthy communicants and partakers of Your holy mysteries, to the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting:

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

and sanctify our body and soul, and grant us the favour to be made pure from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, 2 Corinthians 7:1 and may obtain the good things laid up for us, and do not account any of us unworthy;

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. James Supporting witness

O holy Lord, who abides in holy places, sanctify us by the word of Your grace, and by the visitation of Your all-holy Spirit: for You, O Lord, have said, You will be holy, for I am holy.