Below is a great resource that will clearly explain the doctrine of Sanctification:
Grace in the Ordinary: How God Grows Extraordinary Faith through Simple Means | A Study in Sanctification by Russ W. Rice
What does it mean to be seated with Christ and united to Christ?
In this episode of The Nehemiah Project Podcast, we unpack the doctrine of positional sanctification and examine two foundational passages that help explain the believer’s new standing in Jesus Christ:
Ephesians 2:6 — believers have been raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
Romans 6:1–8 — believers have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection.
These passages answer one of the most important questions in the Christian life:
Who are you now that you are in Christ?
Positional sanctification refers to the believer’s new standing before God because of union with Jesus Christ.
When God saves someone, that person is not simply forgiven and then sent back into the same spiritual condition.
Their position changes.
They are united to Christ.
They are raised with Christ.
They are seated with Christ.
And they are no longer under the same dominion of sin.
Ephesians 2 describes the dramatic change that takes place in salvation.
We were dead in sin.
But God made us alive together with Christ.
He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places.
This is not merely future language.
It speaks to the believer’s present position in Christ.
Our identity and standing before God are now tied to Jesus.
Romans 6 explains that believers have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection.
That union changes our relationship to sin.
The Christian is no longer enslaved to sin in the same way because the old life has been decisively broken through union with Christ.
Paul’s argument is not:
“Try harder so that you can become free.”
It is:
Understand what God has already done to you in Christ, and then live in light of that reality.
That is foundational to sanctification.
This episode also helps distinguish between positional sanctification and progressive sanctification.
Positional sanctification describes what is already true of the believer because of union with Christ.
Progressive sanctification describes the ongoing process of growing in holiness and becoming more like Christ throughout