The Beautiful Process of Becoming a Saint


The greatest transformation can be summed up in three major phases, which are portrayed by the first four festivals of God-Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Trumpets.

by Don Hooser

A full-service car wash is quite a step-by-step process. A typical car wash sequence includes (after paying the cashier): vacuuming, prepping to remove bugs and mud, spraying with soapy water, scrubbing with automatic brushes, rinsing, air-drying with fans, towel-drying the remaining water and cleaning ash trays, mats, mirrors and windows.

God's plan for mankind is not a one-time quick fix, but a step-by-step process as well-not to wash cars, but to spiritually cleanse people. And it is much, much more than that. It is a total miraculous transformation of lowly humans to become perfect glorified sons of God in the Kingdom of God!

We've heard various transformation tales, like a frog to a prince or a Cinderella to a princess. And in God's creation, there are countless transformations, like a caterpillar to a butterfly and a tiny zygote (embryo) to a beautiful baby.

But the greatest transformation of all is the metamorphosis of a human being from mortal and carnal to immortal and spiritual, from weak and sinful to powerful and holy; in short, from sinner to saint. It is a complex process, but simple in overall design. The more we understand this process, the more we are inspired by the awesome beauty of it.

This transformation can be summed up in three major phases, which are portrayed by the first four festivals of God.

This process can be described with words that may be a little unclear at first, including the words saint, holy, sanctified, justified and saved. These words were not invented by theologians-they are in the Bible where they are used many times.

A clear understanding is necessary in order to know how to answer some important questions, such as: Are you sanctified? Are you a saint? Are you saved? How would you answer?

Let's begin with some brief definitions.

Justify: To make just or righteous.
Holy: Sacred; set apart, separated, or consecrated to God; separated from sin.
Saint: One who is holy; a holy one.
Sanctify: To set apart for a sacred purpose, to dedicate to sacred use, consecrate; to make holy.

In the biblical Hebrew and Greek, the words translated holy, saint and sanctify are from the same root words. Space does not permit giving the Hebrew and Greek words with their variants and shades of meaning, but the English words translate the meanings closely enough for our understanding.

To help understand the word holy, one can substitute the words of God. Holy Scriptures are the Scriptures of God; holy calling is the calling of God, etc. So a saint or holy one is a person of God-one God has chosen to belong to Him, represent Him and serve Him.

Most of us have heard people say, "I'm no saint," meaning "I'm certainly not perfect." Is a saint perfect? What is a saint? One dictionary definition is basically correct: "Any baptized believer in Christ." The New Testament in many places calls all true Christians saints. And the context often relates sins of those saints, so they clearly weren't perfect.

Names That Sound Too Good

But the words saint and holy one sound like someone perfect, or practically perfect, don't they? Let's pause and reflect for a moment! Doesn't it just seem that God is describing us, His people (with so many flaws and failings!), with words that are too honorable, too complimentary, too sublime? It certainly seems we don't deserve to called saints. Or to be considered saved.

One benefit of such noble names is that they give us a lot to live up to. As a wise and loving Father, God uses positive incentives to inspire and motivate us.

Part of the explanation is that God is willing to name us what we will become-to give us the honor now of being called what we are destined to be. God called Abraham the father of many nations long before it became true. Paul explained that God "calls those things which do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4:17).

Because of God's power to transform and preserve us, He has faith in our ultimate success. He calls us winners long before we have crossed the finish line. It truly is a great honor for God to call us saints, holy ones, sons of God, etc. We are very aware that we should honor God, but we tend to forget how much God honors us.

One benefit of such noble names is that they give us a lot to live up to. As a wise and loving Father, God uses positive incentives to inspire and motivate us.

Now consider God's plan of salvation. To fulfill God's purpose in "bringing many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10), He calls and chooses them, leads them to faith and repentance, forgives their sins, gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowers them to overcome sins, grow spiritually, become effective servants of God and to be faithful to God to the end of their lives. Then they are changed or resurrected to be glorified spirit beings in the Kingdom of God.

That step-by-step plan and process can be summed up as "sanctification"-the making of a saint. A major reason for our having a deep understanding of God's plan of salvation is that we observe God's annual festivals. The first four festivals emphasize God's plan for individuals, and the last four emphasize how that plan will be extended to the whole world. (The Feast of Trumpets is the middle festival that is in both categories.)

Following are the three major steps or phases of sanctification and salvation. (For the sake of simplicity, the use of the masculine gender, he, him, son of God, etc., refers, of course, to both males and females.)

Passover and Phase One

When God calls and chooses a person, He has initiated the process of sanctification, a process ultimately intended to transform that person into a glorified Son of God.

When a person who has been called by God comes to have understanding, faith and repentance, and then commits his life to Jesus Christ and is baptized, he receives the forgiveness of every sin he has ever committed. And immediately afterwards, when he experiences the laying on of hands, God gives him the precious gift of the Holy Spirit.

When one receives God's forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, he is sanctified (set apart and consecrated by God for a holy life and purpose). The washing away of the guilt of all past sin makes him holy, and the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit makes him holy.

According to the Bible and God's point of view, he was moved immediately from the category of sinner to the category of saint, from the category of the unjust to the just, from unrighteous to righteous, from spiritual gentile to spiritual Israelite, from being of the world to being of God, regardless of how spiritually strong or weak he still is, regardless of how many bad habits he still has, etc. He now is "in Christ."

This is the legal sanctification; it moves the person from the legal status of being "under the law" to being "under grace" (Romans 6:14-15). For example, when a criminal is pardoned, his life suddenly changes from being a felon to a free citizen. And it is the relationship sanctification; it changes the person from being a stranger and foreigner to a son of God (Ephesians 2:19).

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul mentions various sinful lifestyles. And then in verse 11, he says, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." The words washed, sanctified and justified overlap in their meanings, but note that they are in the past tense. In other words, the members of the Church were already in those categories.

Although many of the members were still very "carnal" (1 Corinthians 3:1, 5:1-2), Paul addressed them all as "saints" (1 Corinthians 1:2).
Jude's epistle is addressed "to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ" (Jude 1). "Sanctified" is past tense; it occurred in the past as a one-time event.

This first phase in the sanctification process coincides with being "saved," past tense. In the New Testament, saved sometimes refers to having received forgiveness of one's sins. Jesus told a repentant woman, "Your faith has saved you" (Luke 7:50). After baptism, a person is no longer doomed to the death penalty. He has been saved from death row.

Also notice how "saved" is used in these verses: "we were saved" (Romans 8:24), "by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:5, 8), and "an antitype which now saves us-baptism" (1 Peter 3:21).

Phase one of sanctification (and saving) was made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. The blotting out of each person's sins occurs when Christ's sacrifice is applied to him personally at the moment of his baptism. Therefore phase one is largely summed up in the meaning and observance of the Passover.

Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Phase Two

We tend to connect the Passover with the Days of Unleavened Bread, partly because they occur back-to-back on the calendar, and partly because they both are illustrated by the story of the Exodus from Egypt. But there seems to be a closer connection in meaning between the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, as we shall see.

Once we become saints, we can't stop there. We don't "have it made." Phase number two is progressive sanctification-the lifelong spiritual purification and growth that must take place after baptism. It is the changing of one's life to conform to Christ. It is the ongoing conversion of our minds and hearts and behavior, the building of godly character.

Phase two requires remaining in the state of sanctification or holiness that went into effect at baptism. We remain holy by receiving ongoing forgiveness from God each time we succumb to temptations to sin. "If we [we baptized believers] confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

In phase two, God commands that we use that position of holiness as a foundation to build a holy life. While speaking to believers who had been made holy at baptism, Paul said, "Pursue...holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Now the close connection between the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost should be clear. They both focus on our transformation. The former teaches us the changes that must be made; the latter teaches us that God offers the power of the Holy Spirit to make those changes possible.

It's as if God is saying, "I have freed you from slavery. Now you must use your opportunity-you must walk out of Egypt and keep walking toward the promised land."

The Days of Unleavened Bread teach us that we are to grow spiritually in our attitudes and behavior-to "purge out the old leaven...of malice and wickedness" (sin) and put "the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (God's righteousness) into our lives (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

In verse 7, Paul says to "purge out the old leaven," but he also says "you truly are unleavened." Is this a contradiction? Paul may mean that they should purge out the spiritual leaven since they already are "unleavened" physically-they had deleavened their homes. But another meaning may be that they should purge out the spiritual leaven (second type of sanctification, cleansing and overcoming) "since you truly are unleavened" (first type of sanctification, having received forgiveness and the Holy Spirit).

Using again the analogy of an imprisoned felon who is pardoned, once his legal status is changed, he must learn to change his old habits, learn to live by the laws of the land and become a productive citizen.

The Bible's use of sanctification and holiness in this sense puts strong emphasis on becoming clean, pure and morally chaste.

"Therefore...let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). This involves resisting Satan and fleeing from the temptations and evil influences of the profane world around us. Each must "keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).

A wonderful benefit of God's laws of clean and unclean animals is that they are a constant reminder of our calling to holiness and spiritual cleanness. "You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them. For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate [or sanctify] yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:43-44).

Needed: the Power That Makes It Possible

God's people soon discover that good intentions and resolutions don't lead to much success. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). We need help-lots of help!

Faithful obedience to God is humanly impossible, "but with God, all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Enter God's Spirit. That's the answer. Jesus promised His disciples that they would be "endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). It is because of the power of God's Spirit that Paul could say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

The Israelites on their own could not escape from Egypt and remain alive, much less thrive. God brought them out by a series of stupendous miracles, and He sustained them in the wilderness by constant miracles. Likewise, it takes even greater miracles from God to liberate us-to bring us to repentance and conversion and to keep us growing spiritually. We must zealously work at overcoming, and put our trust in God to bring success.

Now the close connection between the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost should be clear. They both focus on our transformation. The former teaches us the changes that must be made; the latter teaches us that God offers the power of the Holy Spirit to make those changes possible. Pentecost reminds us that we must rely on Jesus Christ and not ourselves. Even the counting of days from one festival to the other implies a close connection.

The Bible likens the calling of the Church in this age to the spring barley harvest in Judea, which began during the Days of Unleavened Bread and ended approximately at Pentecost. So both festivals and the time in between them coincided with the spring harvest. The Jewish custom of reading the book of Ruth on Pentecost is quite fitting. Its setting is the barley harvest in Judea, and its rich symbolism fits both the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.

Since true spiritual growth begins at the time of baptism, we can say that phase two is only possible for those who have experienced phase one. Only those who are sanctified can be sanctified!

Hebrews 10:10 uses the word "sanctified" (past tense) to refer to the first phase of sanctification, and then verse 14 speaks of "those who are being sanctified" (present progressive tense) to refer to the second phase of sanctification. See also Hebrews 2:10-11.

In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter speaks of God's people as "a holy nation." But in chapter 1 and verse 15, he said "you also be [increasingly become] holy in all your conduct."

Note that "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be [become] holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). The Church is the people who have experienced the first phase. Then the Church must be sanctified and cleansed (second phase).

See also 1 John 3:3, 2 Peter 3:9-14, Ephesians 4:1-3 and Hebrews 6:6.

The word saved is used in the New Testament in this sense as well. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved [present progressive tense] it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

This use of saved refers to the process of salvation, an ongoing spiritual creation of godly character. "Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20), and "we shall be saved by His [Christ's] life" in us (Romans 5:10).

Therefore phase two of sanctification (and saving) is largely summed up in the meaning and observance of the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.

Feast of Trumpets and Phase Three

We learn in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 that it will be at the second coming of Jesus Christ that the saints will receive eternal life. Also, 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 reveals that God's people will be changed at the sound of the last trumpet from a natural body to a spiritual body, from mortal to immortal, from weakness to power, from dishonor to glory!

This is part of the meaning conveyed by the Feast of Trumpets.

After this magnificent change, we will no longer have the corrupt human nature, carnality and inherent sinfulness. Then all of the wonderful labels that God has given us, such as saints, holy ones, righteous and sons of God, will truly fit us! Reality will match the terminology. We will be completely clean and pure. There will be no contradictions between our names and how we think and act. What a relief and joy that will be!


This third phase is the ultimate sanctification, the final and permanent phase of sanctification that will bring completion. God will have finished His work of spiritual creation in us. We will have been made fully into the image of God. We will be worthy to be called saints. We will be holy as God is holy.

Jesus Christ said, "Therefore you shall be [become] perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). We will achieve that perfection-at the resurrection!

God is completely committed to the process of transforming us into glorified saints.

The Bible uses the word saved in this ultimate sense also-the receiving of eternal salvation. Paul used the word saved in that sense when he said "that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Corinthians 5:5).

Thus we see the three ways that the word saved is used in the Bible. We in the Church have been saved, we are being saved and we eagerly long to be saved.

Jesus said, "But he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22). We all must endure to the end. If we do, we will be saved in the best sense, the ultimate sense, of the word. We will receive eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God!

How motivated are we to complete God's process of sanctification and saving? May we pray with all our hearts, "Your Kingdom come!" May we yearn for Christ's return and the resurrection. May we "groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption [sonship], the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23).

God is completely committed to the process of transforming us into glorified saints. For this let's thank God, as Paul did: "I thank my God...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:3-6).

God's step-by-step process of making saints is truly a beautiful plan! UN