Click here to view the entire service
1 Thessalonians 5:23, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is the allegory of a man fleeing the city of Destruction and making his way to the Celestial City. As he travels he comes to the Interpreter’s House. The Interpreter (representing the Holy Spirit) takes him from room to room showing him basic aspects of the Christian life. The fourth room was especially instructive.
The Interpreter took Christian by the hand and led him into a place where a fire was burning against a wall. A fiend stood by, constantly pouring water on it, yet the fire burned ever higher and hotter. “What does this mean?” asked Christian. The Interpreter answered, “The fire is the work of grace wrought in the heart. The man trying to extinguish the fire is the devil, yet the fire burned higher and hotter. You shall see the reason for that. Come with me.”
The Interpreter led him to the other side of the wall. There he saw a man with a flask of oil in his hand, from which he constantly poured oil, but secretly, into the fire. “What does this mean?” asked Christian. “This is Christ, who continually, with the oil of his grace, maintains the work already begun in the heart; by means of which, notwithstanding what the devil can do, the souls of His people prove gracious still. And in that you saw the man stood behind the wall to maintain the fire, it is hard for the tempted to see how this work of grace is maintained in the soul.” (Adapted from Pilgrim’s Progress).
Do you realize this about your own walk with God? We are fighting the world, the flesh, and the devil, but Christ Himself faithfully keeps pouring the fuel of grace in our hearts. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” This is what Paul is talking about at the end of 1 Thessalonians. He has laid some very practical stuff on these new believers, and now he wants to assure them of how God is working in them. He wants them to know God didn’t save them and then send them out into the world to work it out on their own. Oh no. If God has called you to His Son through the gospel, you can count on this: He will complete what He started. God guarantees that every person He chose in eternity past will arrive in the very presence of Christ.
One author described Paul’s prayer as “one of the most expressive and touching prayers ever breathed from mortal lips.” “Now may the God of peace Himself make you holy in every way….”
That pronoun “Himself” stands in the emphatic position, first in the prayer. No less than the God of peace Himself will sanctify and preserve you complete until Jesus comes. And then Paul adds in verse 25 this great promise, “God who called you is faithful and will bring His saving purpose to pass.” Now let’s see how God works this out in our lives.
HE IS THE GOD OF PEACE
When God sent the angels to announce the glad tidings of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds outside Bethlehem, they came from heaven to a world at enmity with God, a world of sinners at war with God and with one another, a sin-cursed world. They came on a mission of peace – peace from the God of peace, a message that would bring peace between God and man! They came to announce that the God of peace had a plan to bring these rebels into a reconciled relationship with their God. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “Man’s fundamental, supreme, primary need is peace with God.” Isaiah described man’s lack of peace.
Isaiah 57:20, But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud. 21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
But the God who is the source of peace and the God who provides peace for sinners sent His own Son as the Prince of Peace, the great Peacemaker between God and man.
Ephesians 2:14, For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,
2 Corinthians 5:19, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
He is the God of peace bringing sinful rebels to Himself through the cross where His Son established peace for us. His Son was made sin for us, dying there satisfying God’s justice and wrath against sin so we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Romans 5:1 says, “having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” When Peter preached to Cornelius, he described the gospel mission in Acts 10:36 as “preaching peace through Jesus Christ.” What does this peace mean? In Acts 10:43 Peter assured these Gentiles, “through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” That is the God of peace reconciling sinners to Himself.
GOD’S MISSION OF PEACE
But how does God bring you into His peace? Let’s take a quick look at Romans 8:28-30.
Romans 8:28, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
God has a purpose for every one of His people and that purpose began in eternity past. Remember, He is the God of peace and here’s how He brought you into His peace. First, He foreknew you. That means God set His love on you way back in eternity past. You were in God’s saving plan to bring you into His peace even before He created the world. At the same time He predestined your ultimate end – to become just like His Son, Jesus Christ. God preplanned your future destiny. Then He created the universe, earth, sun, moon, stars, and Adam and Eve, knowing full well they would rebel and bring the human race under the curse of sin and death and depravity. This didn’t take God by surprise. God’s great saving plan was designed by Him to bring Him the highest degree of glory and to magnify His own Son. In Genesis 3:15 God promised a Redeemer would be born of a woman who would crush the devil’s head. Straight through the Old Testament God spoke in many ways and times promising this coming Savior, this Prince of Peace.
Finally His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, humbled Himself to fulfill this mission of peace. He was virgin conceived and virgin born, truly God and truly man, grew up in Israel, lived a sinless life, died on that Roman cross as a substitute for sinners, bearing the wrath of God in His body on that cross so that He could bring all these people God had foreknown and predestined to God. God established peace through that cross. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.
Christ Jesus, the God-man, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God.
Now let’s bring it down to you and me. There were your parents, trying to populate the earth and here you came. It didn’t take long for your parents to know they had brought forth a heathen. As Martin Luther said, “God has produced from me and my wife Katie a little heathen.” You were born a sinner. Without any instruction you learned to lie, hit and spit and throw things when you didn’t get your own way. You lived every day offending your Creator in some way. Rather than loving God and living for His glory, you basically loved one person above all, yourself.
You may have been a real low-life, disgraceful, evil person, cussing and demanding. Or maybe you were a really nice person. Perhaps you got some religion and feel pretty good about yourself. You think, “If anyone should go to heaven, I should.” You even give tithes to the church. But whether steeped in sin or a sophisticated sinner, both are lost and at war with God.
But then something happened in your life. Somehow you hear the gospel and God begins to prod your heart. God calls you. Unknown to you, you were in that eternal plan. He knows you. He never lost track of you. You were nearly killed by that semi you almost pulled out in front of, but God had you in His plan even then. He called you through the gospel, either by a spouse or friend or fellow worker or radio or church or a gospel tract – somehow you heard the gospel. You may have heard it many times, but God is calling you and you know you’re not right with God. God is dealing with your heart, convicting you of your sin. You become concerned about death and your future. God is calling you and you can’t ignore it. You aren’t getting away. Other people hear the same gospel and just walk away but not you. The God of peace is calling you to be reconciled to Him through submitting to Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He promises you forgiveness and eternal life. You hear that God saves sinners freely, by grace alone, not by works, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and God calls you to repent, to turn from going your own sinful way of living. You hear that beautiful promise, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” and you receive Christ as your Savior! You become a true believer with a personal relationship with God the Creator and now your heavenly Father.
Unknown to you, God has given you a new regenerated heart, bringing life into your spiritual darkness. Now your faith is no longer in your good works or religious deeds, but completely in Jesus Christ. You see yourself as a new creation. The Bible begins to make sense. Even creation looks new. Those robins hopping around remind you of your heavenly Father, who has his eye on every one of them.
The moment you put your faith in Christ God justified you or declared you righteous because God already poured out His wrath on Jesus for your hell-deserving sins. The punishment for your sins has been paid and the absolutely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ has been placed or imputed to your account. You are robed in the righteousness of Christ. The God of peace accepted you forever as His child in Christ Jesus. Your ultimate salvation is so sure that Romans 8:30 says God considers you already glorified. Plus Romans 8:31 says, “If God be for you, who can be against you?” Imagine that!
WHAT ABOUT YOUR SANCTIFICATION?
1 Thessalonians 5:23, Now may the God of peace sanctify you entirely.
Every child of God, every person God foreknew and predestined and called and justified and will glorify, God Himself will also sanctify. Sanctify means God will set you apart from sin to holiness. First, He does it. The God of peace Himself sanctifies. Whether believers in Thessalonia or right here in Evansville, God begins a renovation project in the life of everyone who comes to Christ,. He’s busy in your life right now changing you. God is cutting out old ungodly stuff and working new Christ-like stuff in your life. And He promises right here He will do this completely, right up to the coming of Christ.
Before going further, let me clarify that there are three aspects of sanctification: positional, future, and progressive. Positional sanctification means you are set apart in Christ the moment you’re saved. The future or prospective sanctification is when you are finally perfected or glorified when Christ returns. And the progressive sanctification is what God is doing in your life right now, but not without your cooperation. You are putting off the old ways of sinful thinking, speaking, and acting. You’re being renewed in your mind to think God’s way and you’re putting on new, godly ways of living. This is spiritual growth. Someone described it as a yo-yo in the hand of a man walking up a stairs. There’s times of growth and then you mess up and you sin. God doesn’t disown you, but you feel guilty. So you obey 1 John 1:9 and confess your sins and get back on the upward trend again, making spiritual progress. This is your Christian life. Now, how does God sanctify you?
GOD SANCTIFIES YOU THROUGH HIS WORD AND HIS SPIRIT
Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth.” The Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God in your life is vital to your sanctification. This is why we urge believers to read the Bible and this is why we are committed to expository preaching. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and do it.”
YOU’RE NOT ON YOUR OWN
Paul started verse 23 with “Now” and “God Himself.” He had just laid a lot of heavy stuff on us in chapters 4-5. Purity, returning good for evil, always rejoicing, always praying, always giving thanks, learning to discern right from wrong. But lest we think we are all on our own to obey these orders, Paul immediately brings in this prayer, “May the God of peace sanctify you entirely.” Whew! What good news that is! Paul said the same thing in Philippians 2:12-13.
Philippians 2:12, So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Remember that fire on the wall in Pilgrim’s Progress? God knows we need spiritual fuel to burn for His glory. He doesn’t leave on our own to grow and change spiritually. He keeps pouring on the spiritual fuel, the power of His grace, of His Spirit.
GOD’S PURPOSE IS YOUR COMPLETE SANCTIFICATION
What is God’s purpose in your life right now? Here it is – to sanctify you entirely and completely, through and through. He is committed to a complete job. He’s working in you to set you apart more and more from sinful thinking, sinful attitudes, sinful words, sinful behavior and habits. He is working in your life to set you apart more and more to becoming like Christ.
The same God of peace who chose you in eternity past and who sent His Son to purchase you from the slave market of your sin and reconcile you to Himself will never let you go. He will keep you. His hand and heart are on you to glorify His Son, and He’s going to keep on changing you and growing you and firing you up by the fuel of His Spirit all the way up to the moment when Christ returns and you are completely blameless, just like Christ. That’s what God says in the Bible. You’re going to get a perfect body and perfect mind. When Paul says He’s going to preserve your spirit and soul and body he’s talking about every aspect of your being.
Some people look at this verse and teach that man is a three-part being: spirit, soul, and body, known as “trichotomy.” But other places in the Bible say we have a body and a soul. Paul isn’t dividing us up here into three parts. We are really two parts, body and soul, your material and immaterial parts. When you die your body is left behind and your soul goes to be with the Lord. Paul is simply emphasizing the totality of God’s work in our lives, including our bodies. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we’re to use our bodies to glorify Him.
YOU’RE GOING TO BE BLAMELESS!
You’re not blameless now, so don’t get puffed up with spiritual pride. You’ll never achieve perfection this side of that Celestial City. However, where is God taking us? God is going to so transform your life that you’re going to be blameless and completely sanctified when Christ comes for us. God assures us of this repeatedly.
Jude 1:24, Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
Ephesians 1:4, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
Ephesians 5:27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
Colossians 1:22, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.
God’s sovereign grace completes this amazing work. The God of peace reaches down into the dark depravity of mankind who is at war with Him and calls rebellious enemies, sinners, godless men and women, boys and girls. He calls them by the gospel of peace to His Son, who is our peace. He forgives sinners and empowers them to begin this spiritual renovation process of progressive sanctification until finally they are trophies of His grace in the unfolding ages of eternity future, blameless and perfected in Christ. Why? Why me? Why you? All to the praise of the glory of God’s sovereign and awesome grace.
Ephesians 2:7, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Notice verse 24. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. More on that next week. For now, here’s a serious question. Do you find yourself in verse 23? Is this your life story? Do you know the gospel of peace? The God of Peace? Is Christ your peace? Have you been reconciled to God through our Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ?