(1Th 5:23) “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.”   Notice the prayer, the blessing here pronounced: “sanctify you wholly”; “be preserved blameless” until the Lord comes for you (“for you” being implied). Notice it is God doing the sanctifying and the preserving. We cannot in this sinful body do either. It is Jesus Christ that saves and saves completely! He and He alone should receive the glory for your life!

(1Th 5:23) “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.”  Notice the mention of the “spirit”. This is made alive when one repents and gives their heart to Jesus by faith believing in His death in their place, paying for their sins, and then His resurrection. The Bible teaches all who are lost are dead spiritually.Heaven – a spiritual place. Want to go there? You must then be made spiritual. Jesus said, “Unless a man be born of water (physical birth) and of the spirit (spiritual birth) he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Do you need proof in yourself? This new life gives you new desires, first and foremost for the things of God. Do you have that?

 (1Th 5:23)  “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; ….” Since we are fully set apart through the salvation experience and made citizens of heaven (Phil 2:19), this must be referring to “practical sanctification”. That is, our daily walk with God as we live in this world. Our old nature sins against God and those sins need to be confessed and forsaken. That what the Scripture means when it says, (Jas_1:27) “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,……..to keep himself unspotted from the world.” Lord, give us such a heart!

(1Th 5:23)  “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; ….” To “sanctify” means to separate unto God. Anything separated unto God becomes holy in His sight; it becomes His. In the salvation experience, one is put in Christ moving us from a position outside of Christ to “in” Christ, making us “sanctified”. Tomorrow we will write more regarding what is being said here.

(1Th 5:22)  “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”  I have heard people react to this verse by saying, “No one has the right to judge me.” Friend, there is a difference between judging and drawing a conclusion. Moreover, the world is full of problems in both our lives by those who make assumptions. The point is, this is the way it is. The souls of those around us are more important to the Lord than what we desire to do that appears evil. Others before self. Souls before pleasure.  

(1Th 5:22)  “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”  The believer is to be very much concerned of their testimony. It is important what people think regarding you, for you no longer represent you upon this earth but your Lord. We are to seek to avoid even the appearance of doing wrong. Our Lord’s reputation is at stake! Are you guarding it?  

(1Th 5:21)  “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”  Prove all things means to test all things next to the light of God’s Word. Not all that is said to us in the Name of the Lord is right. We have an obligation to know the Bible so that we can rightly “prove” all things said to us. We by our fallen nature have a tendency to be impressed by man, especially if they have “Dr” before their name. Be careful. “Prove” all things. That this is right according to the Word of God – hold fast unto.

(1Th 5:21)  “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”  Prove all things. Just becuase we like a thing or desire something does not make it “good” in the sight of God. Most often the question is, “Will this bring me closer to the Lord or further away?”  There is a standard of “good”. That standard is the Bible and our love for it and our God.  He is to come first before everyone and everything – period.

(1Th 5:20)  “Despise not prophesyings.”  The prophesying spoken of here was the giving forth of the New Testament before it was completed. Today it would the forth-telling of the Bible. I find it sad the number of professing believers today who have no real taste for the Word of God. The Bible says it is our spiritual food (milk and meat). If they are what they profess to be, their souls and spirits must be anemic.  

(1Th 5:19)  “Quench not the Spirit.”  The truly saved, each born again person, has become a temple in which the Holy Spirit lives. He is inside us to teach and guide us in the service of our Lord.  Although He could, He does not exercise dominion over our being, but allows us to still be self-willed. We must seek His guidance, we must seek His desires for us, we must seek His power to work through us in the reaching of souls and ministering to the brethren. Self-will quenches His service to and towards us. “Quench not the Spirit”.