Chapter 5
1Thess 5:23-24
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.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Only God can sanctify us, especially “wholly”, Entirely; completely; perfectly.
Remember, to sanctify is in a general sense, to cleanse, purify or make holy; and to separate, set apart or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use; and to purify; to prepare for divine service, and for partaking of holy things.
Our final phase of sanctification will be future at the Lord’s coming.
Here at the end of chapter 5, we have another reference to our catching up, the coming of the Lord, being saved from wrath, being with the full members of the body of Christ as we have had in the previous four chapters… our hope:
1Thess 1:10
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1Thess 2:19
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1Thess 3:13
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
1Thess 4:16-17
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
And now here at the near end of chapter 5.
Paul again is praying for us and our well doing, (not for material benefit, financial gains and wealth and the name it and claim it prayer program,) his prayer is heartfelt, as a benefit to God and you and the body of Christ.
Again, looking at our composition, we are made up of three parts, given in the order of importance to God: spirit, soul and body (we always think of it in the order of body, soul and spirit – we can usually see how it shows how we are grounded).
Our spirit is going to absorb the words of God, scripture, the Bible, and let us know the correct way to think, it is our connection with God. The soul is the essence of our being, our heart, our will and bed of emotions of which we have a part in modifying either to the spirit or to the flesh. The body is this suit we carry around the soul and spirit that is connected tot his physical world.
Paul spends a lot of time telling us how to live and I think that is what is at play when we talk about being blameless.
To be “preserved blameless”: we will be preserved, all three parts can be preserved, if we just do those things that are pleasing to God in this time that we have. God will do his part – we have the free gift. We just have to trudge through “this present evil world” (Gal 1) aligning ourselves to the Lord’s will in this time. Paul exhorts us many times about the opportunity to be “blameless”:
1Thess 3:13
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Col 1:19-23
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Phl 1:6
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:
Phl 2:15-16
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
1Cor 1:4-9
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
(notice how this structure is essentially the same as 1Thess 5:23-24)
Blameless-(adj) Without fault; innocent; guiltless; not meriting censure.
Getting some insight from other places in the word of God, we see that it is not about being “sinless” or about doing everything perfect, however, it does cover doing the things the way they are to be done:
“Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?” (Matt 12:5) – the sabbath was for rest, no work, yet the priests, according to the law, had to do work on the sabbath days, divinely inspired work, but work nonetheless.
“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” (Luk 1:6); now in this case, John the Baptist’s parents were not sinless, but they did all things according to the ordinances of the law, therefore they were “blameless”.
“Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” (Phl 3:6); here Paul was not sinless, however, he did things according to the law, therefore: blameless.
So we may have our faults, but we can adjust and correct them, and do according to the instructions out of the scripture, and be “blameless”.
Phl 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” is the footnote to our “preservation” that Paul brings to our attention. I am not that faithful, but God is; it is through him that we are given the “earnest of the Spirit” (Eph 1:13-14) until the redemption of our bodies, it is through him that we are put into Christ – we will not miss out on the remainder of our salvation.
2Tim 2:11-13
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Phl 1:6
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:
Deut 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
1Cor 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
2Thess 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
Lam 3:22-23
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Grace and Peace James
Wholly, blameless, and faithful.
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
(notice how this structure is essentially the same as 1Thess 5:23-24)
Blameless-(adj) Without fault; innocent; guiltless; not meriting censure.
Getting some insight from other places in the word of God, we see that it is not about being “sinless” or about doing everything perfect, however, it does cover doing the things the way they are to be done:
“Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?” (Matt 12:5) – the sabbath was for rest, no work, yet the priests, according to the law, had to do work on the sabbath days, divinely inspired work, but work nonetheless.
“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” (Luk 1:6); now in this case, John the Baptist’s parents were not sinless, but they did all things according to the ordinances of the law, therefore they were “blameless”.
“Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” (Phl 3:6); here Paul was not sinless, however, he did things according to the law, therefore: blameless.
So we may have our faults, but we can adjust and correct them, and do according to the instructions out of the scripture, and be “blameless”.
Phl 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” is the footnote to our “preservation” that Paul brings to our attention. I am not that faithful, but God is; it is through him that we are given the “earnest of the Spirit” (Eph 1:13-14) until the redemption of our bodies, it is through him that we are put into Christ – we will not miss out on the remainder of our salvation.
2Tim 2:11-13
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Phl 1:6
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:
Deut 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
1Cor 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
2Thess 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
Lam 3:22-23
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Grace and Peace James
Wholly, blameless, and faithful.
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