Perfected For All Time ...

"For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Heb 10:14


The doctrine of justification and sanctification are brought together in this remarkable verse. 


First, "He has perfected for all time ...". A single, definite, historical act has accomplished an eternal perfection.


But this act has accomplished this for "those who are being sanctified".  The verb tense here is present continual. Being sanctified is an ongoing process.


So, those who are being sanctified have been perfected for all time. This might appear at first to be a kind of contradiction. How can one be simultaneously perfected and still "being sanctified"?


A couple of possible answers:


(1) The end state is certain for those who are being sanctified. That is, Jesus initiated an inevitable process for those who are being sanctified. Said another way, "For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified." (Rom 8:29-30). Jesus will ensure that all of His people will persevere until the end.


(2) In this life, the fact of justification (i.e., the fact that a person has been made perfect) is made evident through the ongoing process of sanctification. That is, only those who are being sanctified are justified. That is, "if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23). The process of sanctification is the daily process of self-denial and the setting apart or dedication of the entire self to the use of our Lord.


In fact, these two explanations are related. The daily act of will that denies the self is rooted in a real faith that it's inevitable that God will complete the process that He's already begun. "And I am sure of this, that He Who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6).