1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly… believers. I. IT IS A PRAYER FOR PERFECT SANCTIFICATION. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 1. It is the design of the God of peace to do this. Our Lord came to "save his people from their sins," to "redeem them from all iniquity." 2. This sanctification is to extend to body, soul, and spirit. (1) The body is to be sanctified, for it is to become an "instrument of righteousness," a "temple of the Holy Ghost," and eventually will receive its "redemption" in the resurrection (Romans 8:23). (2) The soul is to be sanctified. It is the principle of animal life. It is the self. The individual life of man is to be fully sanctified. (3) The spirit points to the inner life as coming from God, as the soul is life as constituted in man. The spirit is the higher aspect of self, the spiritual man being man as grace has reconstructed him. Yet the two words are parallel, though not equivalent; signifying not two separate natures in man, but two separate functions of the same nature. Provision is made for the sanctification of the whole man. 3. It is not perfect in the present life. The very prayer that God might sanctify them wholly implies that it was an attainment yet to be reached. II. IT IS A PRAYER FOR THE PRESERVATION OF SAINTS TILL THE COMING OF CHRIST. "May your spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless." 1. It is God only who can keep us. He "keeps us from falling," that "he may present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). He "keeps us from evil" (John 17:15). Saints are "kept by his power" through faith unto salvation (1 Peter 1:5). 2. The preservation is to extend till the second advent. Not till death, but till his coming, implying that body and soul are alike to share in the final redemption. "He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it till the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). III. THE GROUND OF HIS CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S PURPOSE OF SANCTIFICATION AND PRESERVATION. "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." 1. God's faithfulness is the guarantee. He "also will do it." He will be faithful to his oath, to his promises, to his covenant; for he has promised to cleanse his people from all their sins, and preserve them to his kingdom and glory. God is faithful "by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son" (2 Corinthians 1:8, 9). 2. Effectual calling is another guarantee. For whom he calls he justifies and glorifies. If he gives grace, he gives glory. The calling implies perfection, as it is the first step to it. - T.C. Parallel Verses KJV: And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
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