Sometimes the best theology is found in children’s songs. For instance, the song “He’s Still Workin’ on Me” has a verse that says:
There really ought to be a sign upon my heart:
Don’t judge him yet, there’s an unfinished part.
But I’ll be better just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master’s loving hands.
We find two important truths in those simple words: we are works in progress, and God is going to see that work through to the finish. Our Christian lives are all under construction. This side of eternity, change and growth will always be part of our experience. You will never be able to say, as a Christian, you have arrived at a place in your life without room to grow.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, we find Paul’s prayer for these young Christians, a prayer to be answered when Jesus Christ returns.
The Request: Sanctification for the Whole Person
Two phrases in verse 23 appear to overlap. The phrases are “sanctify you wholly” and “be preserved blameless” followed by a time-stamp — when Jesus Christ returns.
While a big word, sanctification simply means to make holy, to set apart, or to be set apart as belonging to God. In the Old Testament, something sanctified was no longer common but held a unique purpose for the Lord.
Consider two types of sanctification: positional sanctification and practical sanctification. With positional sanctification, Jesus Christ is our sanctification and redemption. In Him we are blameless. It is through our union with Him, the only blameless One who achieved our redemption, that we are set apart as belonging to God. Through Christ we are acceptable to God, and through Christ we are seen as blameless in God’s sight. We are sanctified (made holy and declared holy) and blameless (declared blameless in His sight).
Because we have positional sanctification, we are called to live out that sanctification in our daily lives. This is practical sanctification. We must strive constantly to see God’s grace and power transform every aspect of our lives. Understand, entire or complete sanctification will not be realized in this life. Rather, perfect sanctification or holiness comes only when we enter Heaven. Some denominations teach the possibility of entire sanctification in this life, that through effort and faith a person may reach perfection. However, Scripture never teaches we can be fully free from sin in this life, even as believers.
Progressive sanctification is the ongoing work of the grace of God in our lives by which we are gradually conformed into the image or likeness of Jesus. We have a role to play in progressive sanctification — our obedience and effort. At times, we can become discouraged at our lack of progress. Paul’s wonderful prayer in this verse reminds us of our eschatological hope, our final sanctification in the presence of Jesus.
Paul's prayer (or blessing) makes it clear sanctification touches the entire person. Paul prayed for God to sanctify the believers entirely, that salvation would impact the whole person, not a few parts, but every part of what makes you the person you are — mind, heart, and will.
This is further demonstrated by the next phrase: “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Again, Paul emphasized the entire person. Being human includes both an immaterial part we cannot see (spirit and soul) and a material part (body). But the immaterial and the material coexist.
We have an active role to play in our sanctification. The Bible is clear. We cannot expect to grow spiritually without effort. We cannot expect to become Christ-like without cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We cannot expect to wake up one morning as a better version of ourselves without making good and godly choices. Paul had already made this abundantly clear to the Thessalonians:
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification: (4:3).
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness (4:7).
Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory (2:10-12).
Have you ever renovated an old house? The goal is for every part of the house to be eventually refreshed and updated. It would be odd to update only the kitchen and leave the rest of the house stuck in the 1960s. No! With time, money, the right materials, and “sweat equity,” the goal of renovation is to renovate every room in the house.
The same should be true for us. No “room” in our lives, so to speak, should go untouched when God brings His sanctifying grace and power to bear in every aspect of our lives. It is our job to give Him access to every room, to submit ourselves to His complete lordship.
The Means: God Himself
Considering this, as Paul brought his letter to a close, he reminded the Thessalonians of the sanctifying and keeping power of God. God is faithful. He called you. He will keep you. He will complete what He started. These words remind us of what Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). These simple words bring us great hope, strength, and motivation when it comes to growth in our Christian lives.
Friends from other denominations don’t believe it is possible for a person to forfeit his or her salvation. So, when they come to a clear warning in Scripture about falling away from God, they look for a way around it. They allow their doctrinal beliefs to impose an interpretation on Scripture that doesn’t fit what the text is clearly stating. Sadly, they aren’t the only ones guilty of this. We who accept the possibility of apostasy can sometimes allow our beliefs to steer us away from the comfort and security found in verses like these.
However, the theme of being kept by God is found throughout the New Testament.
John 10:27-29. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
1 Peter 1:5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We find past, present, and future in verse 24. God is calling you. The word translated calleth is present tense. God is faithful. Here we find the past because as we review salvation history and recount the faithfulness of God. God will do it. When I read this promise for the future, I can’t help but hear that familiar verse from “Amazing Grace."
Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come;
’Twas grace that brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
When Florence Chadwick stepped from the beach into the waters of Catalina Island to swim to the California mainland, she was already an accomplished swimmer who had crossed the English Channel. On this day, however, heavy fog had settled in, and she couldn’t see well. She swam steadily for 15 hours, but several times she begged to be taken out of the water. Those in the accompanying boats around her urged her to continue, but she finally gave up, only to discover she had been a scant half-mile from shore. In her press conference she observed, “I do not want to make excuses….But I think that if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”
Two months later she tried again, and this time she succeeded.
If we can only “see the shore,” we too can make it. Not only have other believers already made it to that shore, but God Himself has also called. On that day, we shall behold Him and be changed. And with this picture and promise in front of us, we can get back into the (sometimes cold and threatening) water of this life and keep swimming.
God’s character and power are such that He can guarantee our final salvation. As I mentioned earlier, we must persevere and continue in the faith. Make no mistake about that. But the final and finished product is dependent upon the faithful God who calls us. He will do it! My role is to submit every area of life to Him, obey Him, and trust Him with my future.
We started with a children’s song, so allow me to conclude with another song that captures the picture and promise of this prayer:
And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
My lips shall still repeat.
