1 Thessalonians

December 10

1 Thessalonians

"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." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, NIV)

 

What does Paul mean when he prays that God would sanctify the readers through and through? Sanctify means to set apart or to declare holy. For God to sanctify us, He sets us aside and declares us holy. Paul wrote; “May  your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless.” Paul is praying for God’s cleansing of the entire person. He does not just pray for spiritual cleansing, but the cleansing of the entire person. We cannot separate out the parts of our being. Our spirit, soul, and body are interconnected. Each part affects the other parts.

We cannot sanctify ourselves. God does the sanctifying. Our part in the process is to give ourselves over to God or to present ourselves as living sacrifices. When we come to God and say; “here am I, use me.” God will take what we present to Him and will set it aside for His purposes. He wants all of us. He wants to make us what we cannot become on our own; holy.

This is not something we have to beg God to do in our lives. This is what God created us for. This is God’s desire for us. Entire sanctification marks the time when we give ourselves completely to God and He receives us, makes us His holy instrument, and sends us out as His ambassador to the world. It does not mark a time when we have arrived, but instead marks the beginning of our journey toward Christ likeness.