The Greek noun hagiasmos (ἁγιασμός) means sanctification, holiness, consecration — both the process of being made holy and the resulting state of holiness. It derives from the verb hagiazō (to sanctify/make holy, G37) and the adjective hagios (holy, G40). Hagiasmos appears 10 times in the New Testament and is a key term in Paul's ethics: it describes the Spirit's work of progressively conforming believers to God's holiness, as well as the definitive consecration that comes through union with Christ.
Sanctification is one of the three tenses of salvation in biblical theology: justification (past — declared righteous), sanctification (present — being made holy), and glorification (future — perfected). Hagiasmos is God's will for every believer (1 Thessalonians 4:3): "It is God's will that you should be sanctified." Paul pairs it with justification in 1 Corinthians 6:11 — believers have been washed, sanctified, and justified. Romans 6:22 describes freedom from sin resulting in hagiasmos that leads to eternal life. Hebrews 12:14 urgently commands: "pursue peace with all people and sanctification [hagiasmos], without which no one will see the Lord." This is not sinless perfection in this life but genuine, progressive transformation into the likeness of Christ by the Holy Spirit.