(12) And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; (13) And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. (14) Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. (15) See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. (16) В¶ Rejoice evermore. (17) Pray without ceasing. (18) In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (19) Quench not the Spirit. (20) Despise not prophesyings. (21) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (22) Abstain from all appearance of evil. (23) В¶ 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.
We have much subject for the most interesting meditation and improvement, contained within these verses. But the several heads of discourse dwelt upon, are too plain to need a Comment. The love and affection to be shown to faithful ministers, in an esteem for their persons, and yet more for their doctrines; the rebuke to be manifested to the unruly; the forbearance of returning evil for evil; and the earnestness of following everything that is in conformity to the Gospel of Christ: these are so blessedly set forth by the Apostle, as to supersede the necessity of adding any further observations in this Poor Man's Commentary. Unless, indeed, it be, to beg of God for grace, both to the Writer and Reader, that we may be eminent in the exercise of such things.
And I beg the Reader to notice with me, how earnestly the Apostle follows up his several exhortations, in recommending that holy joy of the Spirit, which a truly regenerated child, conscious of his personal interest in the Covenant of grace is justly entitled to. And those who feel the sweet teachings of God the Holy Ghost, will most earnestly desire both to rejoice and to pray, and never quench those motions of God the Spirit, but to abound in hope, and joy, and peace, in believing, that both his prophecies, and his blessings may have an abiding influence in their hearts.
I detain the Reader over that verse in which Paul considers our nature as compounded of spirit, soul, and body. It is well known, that we are generally supposed to be composed but of two principles, namely, soul and body. But, certainly, the Apostle is correct, for there are three. By the spirit is meant that immortal part, which, in consequence of the Adam-nature fall, is dead in trespasses and sins, but by the Holy Ghost, in every child of God, is quickened to a new and spiritual life. And being part of Christ, can die no more, but is holy and without blame in Christ forever. The soul, as it is called here by the Apostle, is that thinking faculty which man hath in common with some other animals of the inferior creation, concerning which the Psalmist speaks, that in that very day when the breath of man goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, and his thoughts perish. Psalms 146:4. And the body, it is hardly necessary to observe, is the mere mass of flesh and bones. Hence, by this view of our nature, the great doctrines of grace are seen in the clearest manner. The spirit, which in a state of unrenewed nature, like all the mass of Adam's race, is dead in trespasses and sins; when, (as in the instance of every child of God), it is regenerated and born again, is made a partaker of the divine nature; the Holy Ghost, by that sovereign act, hath, according to his divine power, given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3-4. So that this new-born babe in Christ is born perfect in all his parts; and in respect to the spiritual life imparted, is as holy as it ever can be in heaven. Grow it will in grace, as a new-born child grows in nature. But like a child in nature, it will have no other nature, but the same forever in which it is new-born. It is born again, (saith an Apostle), not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. 1 Peter 1:23. But the thinking faculty, which Paul here calls the soul, and the body which is nothing but flesh and bones, these are never renewed during the whole time-state of the Church below; but, as Paul himself found in his own experience, and groaned under the daily burden thereof, they form a body of sin and death. Romans 7:18 to the end. Yet, notwithstanding the unrenewed state of the thinking faculty and the body, the whole man being in the Covenant of grace, spirit, soul, and body are included in the great purposes of redemption. And, hence, Paul prays that the whole spirit, soul, and body of God's children, be preserved blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.