Be sanctified through and through

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

I read some letters written to Pastor’s from children...

“Dear Pastor:

Please say in your sermon Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson. Sincerely, Pete, age 9

Are there any devils on earth? I think there may be one in my class.—Carla, age 10

I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister. Yours Sincerely, Arnold, age 8

I’m sorry I can’t leave more money in the plate, but my father didn’t give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance? Love Patty, age 10

I would like to go to Heaven someday because I know my brother won’t be there.—Stephen, age 8

I think a lot more people would come to your church if you moved it to Disneyland.—Loreen, age 9

How does God know the good people from the bad people? Do you tell Him or does He read about it in the newspapers? Sincerely, Marie, age 9

I liked your sermon on Sunday. Especially when it was finished.—Ralph, age 11

I hope to go to Heaven some day but later than sooner. Love Ellen, age 9

My father says I should learn the Ten Commandments. But I don’t think I want to because we have enough rules already in my house.—Joshua, age 10

Obeying rules is tough! Over the last few weeks we have been faced with some very challenging Scriptures - 1 Thes 5:12-22 “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” - How are you getting on with all of that? Can you tick the box that reads PERFECT OBEDIENCE? What about PARTIAL OBEDIENCE? What about PROBLEM WITH OBEDIENCE?

The truth is, without teh help and iad of the Holy Spirit we all have a PROBLEM WITH OBEDIENCE! Partial obedience or even Perfect obedience is only posible as God’s grace is pured into our life and we respond in obedience to His will. - “The conduct Paul has been advocating is impossible in human strength, but Paul’s prayer directs the readers to the source of the power that would alone enable them to live in this way. He speaks of God as the God of peace‚ as he often does towards the end of his letters (cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; 2 Thess. 3:16). Peace (see on 1:1) is spiritual prosperity in the widest sense; it is so characteristic of God to bestow this gift that he is called the God of peace.” (Leon Morris).

All the empasis is on God and His work in our lives. This is seen emphatically in the opening word of this verse as...

I. Paul prays for our Sanctification:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.”

Paul refers to God as the ‘God of peace’ not only because he is the author of peace, but because his redeeming grace in the death of Christ brings spiritual peace to the heart and mind of the believer.

He places the emphasis on God’s work not ours here. The verse in Greek opens with Αὐτὸς αὐτός - the self. Paul uses it emphatically to say “himself, now the God of peace, make you holy” “There is a manward aspect of sanctification‚ in that we are called on to consecrate ourselves to the doing of God’s will. But the power manifest in the sanctified life is not human but divine, and Paul’s prayer reflects this truth.”(Leon Morris).

Sanctify is the Greek word, ἁγιάσαι meaning to make holy, again reminding us that this is something God does to us not something we do to ourselves. It is the work of the Triune God being ascribed to God the Father here but to the Son in Ephesians 5:26‚ and the Spirit in Romans 15:16

“through and through” ὁλοτελεῖς ,  καὶ ὁλόκληρον meaning “complete” or “perfect and entire”

In referring to sanctification the Bible depicts it in 3 ways:

Past aspect of sanctification - Positional (1 Cor. 1:2, 30). All believers are sanctified as saints, the youngest as well as the oldest, the most carnal as well as the most spiritual by virtue of their separation to God and the imputation of the perfect righteouesness of Christ to their account. This is sanctification as God sees us in Christ (1 Cor. 1:2 with Phil 1:1, etc.)

Present aspect of sanctification - Experiential. Depends upon our knowledge of and faith in our position in Christ (Rom. 6:1-11), converting our position into experience. Progressive, changeable, depends upon yieldedness, & God's will (Rom. 6:13). This is sanctiication as we are in our conduct (2 Thess. 2:13)

Future aspect of sanctification - Final. When we see the Lord and are made like Him sinless, sickless, deathless (1 Cor. 4; 15:54; 1 Jn. 3:2). Static, unalterable, Will result in our state in eternity (Phil. 3:21). This is sanctification as we shall be in glory (Rom 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49).

Sanctification is both a gift and a process.

It takes palce over time: Gordon MacDonald, in his book Ordering Your Private World, told of an experience in his own life that illustrates this truth. "Some years ago, when Gail and I bought the old abandoned New Hampshire farm we now call Peace Ledge, we found the site where we wished to build our country home strewn with rocks and boulders. It was going to take a lot of hard work to clear it all out....The first phase of the clearing process was easy. The big boulders went fast. And when they were gone, we began to see that there were a lot of smaller rocks that had to go too. But when we had cleared the site of the boulders and the rocks, we noticed all of the stones and pebbles we had not seen before. This was much harder, more tedious work. But we stuck to it, and there came the day when the soil was ready for planting grass."

When a person becomes a Christian, he usually undergoes some radical life changes, especially if he has had an immoral background.

Through the first steps of spiritual growth and self-denial, he gets rid of the large, obvious sins.

But sad to say, many believers stop there. They don't go on to eliminate the little sins that clutter the landscape of their lives.

We need to be disatisfied with this and desire complete and entire sanctification, “through and through” which we will strive for until teh day we die - “I am not what I might be, I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what I hope to be. But I thank God I am not what I once was, and I can say with the great apostle, "By the grace of God I am what I am."(John Newton);

II. Paul explains what our Sanctification will look like:

“May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Don’t get too bogged down by discussions as to whether this implies man is tripartite or trichotomous- containing “spirit, soul...body” (Grk: τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ σῶμα) or bi-partite or dichotomous, just body and soul. “Paul is not analysing the nature of man, but uttering a fervent prayer that the entire man be preserved”(Morris). The point is, let all that you are be entirely kept “blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The whole of you - your outward flesh and physicality as well as your inner spirit and soul will be redeemed! All you are matters to God!

a. Sanctification will lead to blamelessness

Blamelessness is a quality of life apparent in an individual against whom no just charge can be made.

This is not attained by works, therefore he does not command blamelessness he prays for it - “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

b. We are “kept blameless” in God’s sight on account of the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ’s human life was blameless - 1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” He could say to His enemies in John 8:46 “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?”

It was because of His perfect life; His perfect righteousness that He could die for our sins - 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

He could as our Great High Priest offer Himself up to take away our sins - Hebrews 7:26 “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”

We are sanctified by “ the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”(1 Pet 1:19). The later part of the verse reminding us that “If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.”(Deut 15:21).

Jesus Christ’s death was as the perfect lamb of God - Hebrews 9:14 “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” As John the Baptist made clear - John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” and as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:7 "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”

And have you noticed that the representation of Christ as a Lamb remains in Heaven - Revelation 5:6 “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” and again in Revelation 6:1 “I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”

c. Sanctification is imputed to us by the Spirit of God:

By imputed we mean, put to our account. God counts believers as blameless in his sight on account of Jesus Christ’s work on the cross - Acts 13:39 “Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.”

This is a gift to us from God, received by faith and leading to peace with God - Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:11 says “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

And the desire of all believing Christians should be to "know Christ...and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”(Philippians 3:8-9).

d. Sanctification is imparted to us by the Spirit of God:

By imparted we mean, what is done for us by the Spiirt of God as we obey God’s will for our lives.

Sanctification is the result of a life of lived obedience. It is an ongoing process that will be complete only when He returns to earth - “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

At His coming we will “be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is”(1 Jn 3:1,2).

Paul is not teaching sinless perfection, but urging the Thessalonians to give themselves entirely to God so they can be changed into his likeness and made ready for the parousia. It is a similar sentiment to Jude’s: ‘To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy’ (Jude 24).

e. Blamesslessness is something that we should strive for!

In 1 Timothy 5:7, Paul says, “Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame.” -

There was a fascinating discovery was made on ancient tombstones in Thessaloniki - The word “blamessless” was carved on some stones! What a tribute! What a eulogy. What an ambition for us to strive for from ehre on in!

This extends to our conversation and attitude - Philippians 2:14–15 “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”

We are called to holiness - 1 Peter 1:15 “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

We are called to watch how we live among unbelievers - 1 Peter 2:12 “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

We are called to strive after holiness - 2 Peter 3:14 “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”

And as James says, James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

And Paul, could point the Thessalonians to his life and that of Silas and Timothy - 1 Thessalonians 2:10 “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.”

The Puritan Joseph Caryl observed, ‘Perfect holiness is the aim of the saints on earth, and it is the reward of the saints in heaven.’

We want this - “to be like Him”, to “find out what pleases the Lord”(Eph 5:10). “The New Testament calls upon us to take action; it does not tell us that the work of sanctification is going to be done for us. . . . We are in the ‘good fight of faith’, and we have to do the fighting. But, thank God, we are enabled to do it; for the moment we believe, and are justified by faith, and are born again of the Spirit of God, we have the ability. So the New Testament method of sanctification is to remind us of that; and having reminded us of it, it says, ‘Now then, go and do it’. - Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: Exposition of Chapter 6: The New Man (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1972), 178.

III. Paul is Confident of our Sanctification:

“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

The prayer is offered in the certainty that it will be answered‚

a certainty that arises because God is faithful (cf. 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; 2 Thess. 3:3; 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 10:23; 11:11).

God is the one who calls you and “He will also do!” - There is no it in the Gree). The emphasis is on God’s action, on His ‘doing’.

God has promised that the work He has begun in you will be completed on the day when Christ returns - Phil 1:6.

1 Corinthians 1:8 “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jude 24 “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.”

This is described as His wedding day -

Ephesians 5:27 “and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

And this was Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians:

1 Thessalonians 3:13 “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

Paul prays for our complete Sanctification because God intends for it; Christ died for it and the Spirit will bring it about!

God does not save a person by grace and then leave him alone to work out his Christian growth by works (Gal. 3:3). As God calls and justifies by grace, He sanctifies by grace too.Here is great comfort and assurance. We are never abandoned. God’s faithfulness is the undergirding of our faith. Our hope and trust are placed in a trustworthy God. The call of God is not separated from his faithful enabling. In our struggles we can rest in him.

Billy Graham in his book Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2011, p.94) says,

“My wife, Ruth…was one of those who could lighten heavy hearts, especially mine. I will never forget when she announced what she wanted engraved on her gravestone, and for those who have so respectfully visited her gravesite at the Billy Graham Library, they have noticed that what she planned for was carried out to the letter. Long before she became bedridden, she was driving along a highway through a construction site.

Carefully following the detours and mile-by-mile cautionary signs, she came to the last one that said, “End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.” She arrived home, chuckling and telling the family about the posting. “When I die,” she said, “I want that engraved on my stone.” She was lighthearted but serious about her request. She even wrote it out so that we wouldn’t forget. While we found the humour enlightening, we appreciated the truth she conveyed through those few words.

Every human being is under construction from conception to death. Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent. At the end of construction—death—we have completed the process.”

Prayer:

“May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love and joy of God's presence and not a moment without the entire surrender of my self as a vessel for Him to fill full of His Spirit and His love." - Andrew Murray