CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
1 Thessalonians 5:23. Sanctify you wholly.—“Rather—unto completeness. The apostle prays that they may be sanctified to the fullest extent” (Ibid.). Your whole spirit … be preserved blameless.—R.V. “be preserved entire, without blame.” “From the degree of holiness desired we pass to its range, from its intension (as the logicians would say) to its extension” (Ibid.).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
A Prayer for Sanctification.
Sanctification is the supreme end of the Christian life, and everything should be made to contribute to the grand result. It is the crown and ornament of all other graces, the perfecting of every moral virtue. The fact that man is capable of so lofty a degree of personal holiness indicates that it is the supreme end for which he ought to live. He misses the glory that is within his reach if he does not attain to it. Sanctification in its radical meaning is simply separation—a separation from what is evil to what is good. It then implies to make holy that which is unholy. It begins in a moral transformation, the regeneration of the heart, and advances to perfection. Observe:—
I. That sanctification is a complete work.—“Sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
1. It affects the intellectual nature of man.—“Your spirit.” It is this that distinguishes truth from falsehood and apprehends the mysteries of religion. If the intellect is sanctified, there is less danger of falling into error and heresy. Enlightened by the Holy Ghost, it enables man to prove all things and to test and judge every aspect of truth.
2. It affects the spiritual nature of man.—“Your soul”—the seat of the affections and will, the passions and appetites. The having the heart in a right or wrong condition makes the difference between the moral and the immoral character. When the heart is sanctified the passions and appetites are kept within due bounds, and the believer is preserved pure from the sinful lusts of the flesh. The same distinction between spirit and soul is made in Hebrews 4:12; and in Titus 1:15 a distinction is made between the intellectual and moral in the terms mind and conscience.
3. It affects the physical nature of man.—“Your body.” The body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 4:19), and must be kept pure and blameless—must be kept in temperance, soberness, and chastity; to pollute it with fleshly lusts is to pollute and destroy it (1 Corinthians 3:17). The body, immortalised and glorified, will be the companion of the glorified soul throughout eternity; and the Thessalonians had already been assured that the body was to rise from the grave (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The whole complex nature of man is to be purified. Mere outward decency of conduct is not enough; the inner man, the intellectual, moral, and spiritual faculties must be kept in a state of purity and holiness. He hath sanctity in no part who is not sanctified in every part.
4. It is a necessary fitness to meet Christ at His coming.—“Be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is the power of God only that can keep man holy, though the utmost circumspection and vigilance are to be exercised on his part. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”—see Him now as the inner eye of the soul is clarified, and see Him at His coming in power and great glory.
II. That sanctification is a divine work.—
1. The believer is called to sanctification by the God of unswerving fidelity. “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). God is faithful to all His promises of help. Every promise is backed by the whole force of His omnipotence—“who also will do it.” There is nothing greater in the universe than the will of God; it actuates His power and ensures His faithfulness. Entire sanctification is therefore no impossible attainment. God calls, not to mock and disappoint, but to bless.
2. The believer is called to sanctification by the God of peace.—“The very God of peace sanctify you” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Peace and sanctification are inseparable; without holiness there can be no peace. God is the author and giver of peace, and delights in peace. Mr. Howels, of Long Acre chapel, used to say that if he saw two dogs at peace with each other, he saw there “the very God of peace”; that one atom of peace left in a world of war with God is a trace of the lingering mercy and favouring goodness of God. Peace is a reflection of the divine presence on earth. The Thessalonians had been enjoined to cultivate mutual peace and harmony (1 Thessalonians 5:13), and personal holiness had been earnestly recommended (1 Thessalonians 4:3). They are now taught where peace and holiness are to be found. Both are gifts of God. We have need of peace—peace of conscience, peace from the rage and fury of the world, peace and love among those who are of the household of God.
III. That sanctification is obtained by prayer.—The loftiest duty is possible with grace; the least is all but impossible without it. All grace must be sought of God in prayer. The virtue and power of all exhortation and teaching depend on the divine blessing. What God encourages us to seek in prayer is possible of attainment in actual experience. Prayer is the expression of wants we feel. It is the power by which we reach the highest spiritual excellence.
Lessons.—
1. Cherish the highest ideal of the Christian character.
2. Pray for divine help in its attainment.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Thessalonians 5:23. The Sanctification of the Complete Man.
I. Its meaning.—
1. There is a great trinity of powers—body, soul, and spirit—linking man with three different worlds. The physical, the intellectual, the spiritual.
2. These three ranges of powers become gateways of temptation from three different worlds, and unless they are all consecrated we are never free from danger.
II. Its attainment.—
1. We cannot consecrate ourselves.
2. God preserves the entire sanctification by imparting peace.
III. The motive for endeavouring to attain it.—“Until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1. A day of manifestation when the shadows and unrealities of time will fade in the full morning of eternity.
2. A day of everlasting gatherings.—E. L. Hull.
The Trinity.
I. The first power or consciousness in which God is made known to us is as the Father, the author of our being.
II. The second way through which the personality and consciousness of God has been revealed to us is as the Son.
III. A closer and a more enduring relation in which God stands to us is the relation of the Spirit.—It is the graces of the Spirit which harmonise the man and make him one; and that is the end, aim, and object of all the gospel.—F. W. Robertson.
1 Thessalonians 5:24. The Faith of Man and the Faithfulness of God.
I. The highest object of man’s existence is to hold communion with his God.
II. Rightly to believe in Christ is to know and feel this communion.
III. The unalterable faithfulness of God is a fidelity to His own gracious engagement.
IV. The prominent character of God is unshaken stability.
V. God is faithful to His warnings as He is to His promises.—A. Butler.