We are sanctified by Christ, or in Christ. Outside of Christ, or apart from Christ, no one can be called a saint: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27).

It is therefore the holiness of Christ that is attributed to His children. They put it on over their nakedness and shame, and thus become saints and righteous. No one is holy by his own nature or by his own works, for apart from Christ there is no good work acceptable before God: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith” (Col. 1:21–23).

Yet the holiness of Christ cannot be added to us without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the beginning of all things and the source of all things. In Holy Baptism, He undertakes a profound sacramental washing, deeper than all depth and surpassing all excellence. This washing penetrates human nature in its ancient condition, removing from it the curse of death and its corruption, and granting it an enduring power of life. For the Holy Spirit washes the human person in the blood of Christ’s death and anoints him with the hidden ointment of His Resurrection. Thus, he emerges from the baptismal font as another creation, sanctified in Christ unto God: “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” (1 Cor. 6:11).

(The washing is for the body, justification for the soul, and sanctification for the spirit.)

Therefore, the holiness of the saint is, in its very origin, nothing other than the death and Resurrection of Christ. The Holy Spirit transfers this holiness from the nature of Christ and implants it into our nature continually, through a mystery beyond utterance—through faith, through repentance, through Holy Baptism, through every reception of Holy Communion, and through every reading of the Gospel—until we are completely transformed and “Christ becomes our life” (Phil. 1:21), and “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:17).

Holiness, then, is Christ’s greatest gift. It is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith. It is His death which abolishes our defilements, and His life which renews our creation.

Holiness in Christ is a complete gift. In the end, after every mystery has accomplished its fullness, it embraces the entire human person—body, soul, and spirit—because it is an inward act and a complete divine work of surpassing power, elevating humanity to the level of a perfected creation fit to stand before God without blame.

“And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:23–24).

This is the transcendent and hidden sanctification which the Holy Spirit Himself performs in the depths of human nature, without material sensation or conscious awareness on the part of the individual, through faith, through the Gospel, and from within the Holy Mysteries of the Church.

A Complementary Work of Sanctification Through Good Works

Yet after this sacramental sanctification, there remains another work of sanctification—a complementary sanctification—which the Holy Spirit accomplishes through the person himself by means of good works:

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1).

In other words, after God has sanctified us—through adopting us in His Son and by the Holy Spirit—with a complete and gratuitous sanctification by grace (“having these promises”), God then explicitly requires us to engage in the good spiritual struggle on the level of both body and spirit against every sin that defiles either body or spirit: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” Then, through this struggle, we ascend to the practice of holy works: prayer without display, fasting without boasting, keeping the Gospel with spiritual awareness and holy fear, persevering in sincere brotherly love through worthy participation in the Body and Blood of Christ with purity of heart, and engaging in ministries of self-giving and witness in their proper time.

In summary, we are to be “perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Good works are not the beginning or foundation of holiness. Rather, as the Apostle teaches, they are its necessary completion. If good works cease or are neglected, the holiness granted to us in Christ through the Holy Spirit is not brought to its intended fulfillment and thus becomes unfruitful.

Moreover, God sees this completion of holiness through good works—which He Himself began freely within us—not as something easy or requiring little vigilance. On the contrary, it is exceedingly serious and demands “fear and trembling,” lest it be transformed into pride and self-exaltation, or degenerate into lifeless routine. In that case, it would no longer lead to true sanctification of body, soul, and spirit—that is, union with Christ—but rather to hypocrisy and eventual downfall.

Therefore, the assistance of the Holy Spirit in the work of “perfecting holiness in the fear of God” is of supreme importance for our salvation. The Holy Spirit greatly loves good works. He inspires them, urges them forward, grants perseverance and zeal, helps our weaknesses, teaches us what we ought to pray for, and intercedes for our ignorance and lack of understanding with groanings which cannot be uttered. For He alone knows what the saints truly need, what should occupy their concern, and what is necessary for the spirit in order to perfect holiness.

It must also be understood that good works—or works directed toward the perfection of holiness—are not human inventions, nor are they merely the accumulated experiences of strong ascetics. Rather, they are the work of the Holy Spirit and the urgings of grace flowing from the struggle of Christ. They are evangelical commandments and the hidden work of God in the hearts of the godly:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

Thus, good works are truly the works of the Holy Spirit—works of holiness and sanctification. They originate in Christ Himself, who made His entire life a “good work” on our behalf. Therefore the Lord says: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

He has already prepared for us all the good works necessary for the perfection of our holiness and our union with Him. Yet these works are not granted without effort. The Apostle says that God prepared them “that we should walk in them,” that is, through struggle, suffering, warfare, and many persistent trials. Yet Christ has also granted us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who gives strength: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). Through our struggle, vigilance, and endurance, He grants a consolation beyond all consolation. For the nature of the Holy Spirit transforms suffering into delight, joy, and the triumph of holiness:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:36–37).

Thus, for a person to become holy and blameless before God is the direct work of Christ within human nature, and it depends entirely upon faith in Christ, reliance upon His death and Resurrection, and the reception of the Holy Spirit:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph. 1:3–4).

However, for each of us personally to receive the holiness of Christ, preserve it day after day, and bring it to completion in life and witness, the assistance of the Holy Spirit in good works becomes an absolute necessity:

“The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).

“Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Rom. 13:11).

“Perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1).

“In conduct becoming holiness … showing yourself to be a pattern of good works in all things” (Titus 2:3–4).

To many people, works of holiness may appear excessive, as though they were an unnecessary intensification of worship and piety. In their view, it is enough merely to refrain from evil. Yet God’s command leaves no room for such thinking:

“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:15–16).

For holiness is that without which “no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14).

It is well known that the commandment in the Old Testament, once engraved as letters upon stone (a symbol of the stony heart), has in the New Testament been written by the Holy Spirit upon the heart of flesh. The Holy Spirit Himself commands holiness and inscribes all its works upon the conscience.

Therefore, just as the members of a person were once conquered and enslaved to the passions of impurity because of the weakness of the flesh, so now, by the grace and surpassing power of the Holy Spirit and His persistent inspirations within the heart, they become capable and ready to be joyfully enslaved to works of holiness:

“I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness” (Rom. 6:19).

Here holiness is action, practice, and spiritual struggle.

Likewise, the reference to Satan is very clear in describing the enslavement of the members to impurity and burning passion. Equally clear is the reference to the Holy Spirit in the transition from slavery to impurity to slavery to righteousness and holiness. The Holy Spirit elevates the human will so that it willingly accepts good works, delights in performing them, and loves them so intensely that it becomes their servant. It is as though the entire heart has become a treasury of every good thought, every good deed, and every good initiative—a treasury that never runs dry because of the renewing work of the Holy Spirit within it:

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good” (Luke 6:45).

It should be noted that the description of the heart as a “good treasure” is a mystical indication that it has become a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, according to the Church’s Holy Tradition, the Holy Spirit is described as the “Treasury of Good Things” (Third Hour Prayer of the Agpeya).

Yet even after the heart has been sanctified by the Holy Spirit and has become a treasury of good things, there remains the necessary task of bringing good works forth from the heart into actual practice. Otherwise, the heart may lose its divine character as a “treasury of good things,” for a treasure that is never used becomes like the talent buried in the earth. And what is this earth except the earthly flesh that has concealed the gift of the Spirit—that is, faith—so that it bears no good fruit?

Yet we gladly repeat and emphasize that without its good treasure—that is, without the power and illumination of the Holy Spirit—the heart is utterly incapable of producing goodness by itself:

“They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:12).

“It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

But as soon as a person receives the Holy Spirit and submits to His counsel, authority, and light, he becomes capable of doing good, and that good deed is counted to him as righteousness—as though it had proceeded entirely from his own will, faith, and effort.

Here we see the humility of Christ and the self-emptying of the Holy Spirit. Each, as it were, relinquishes recognition of His fundamental role in bringing the good work from the heart of the human person into completion, so that the work may be credited wholly to the individual as though it arose solely from his own effort, will, and faith.

Thus the human person says before God:

“For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given You” (1 Chr. 29:14).

Or, in the words of the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil, before the Invocation of the Holy Spirit:

“We offer unto You Your gifts from what is Yours.”