1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 - Faithfully Kept

Chad Werkhoven
5 hours ago
3 min read

The One who calls you is faithful!

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 (NIV)

²³May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Point 3 - Total Depravity

Point 4 - Irresistible Grace

Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints

Article 6: God’s Saving Intervention

For God,
- who is rich in mercy,
- according to his unchangeable purpose of election
does not
- take his Holy Spirit from his own completely,
- even when they fall grievously.
Neither does he let them
- fall down so far that they forfeit
  - the grace of adoption
  - and the state of justification,
- or commit the sin which leads to death
  - (the sin against the Holy Spirit),
  - and plunge themselves, entirely forsaken by him, into eternal ruin.

Summary

Today's passage is one that's often used for a benediction, the words (diction) of blessing (bene) that often close out our times of corporate worship. The Bible's most famous benediction comes from the Old Testament book of Numbers, where God commands Aaron to say to His people, May the LORD bless you and keep you... Benedictions pass on God's blessing to His people, in which He promises to guide, guard and keep them.

Ironically, although today's passage gets pressed into service as a benediction, it technically isn't one. Paul's prayer here isn't so much for God to bless the Thessalonians (and by extension, us), rather it's that God would perform two key operations upon His people.

First, Paul prays that God would sanctify us - that He would make us holy. Holiness is a Biblical concept that can be hard to pin down, because it has so many different aspects and senses. Most people simply assume holiness refers to a sinless state, in which one is free from defilement. But it means more than that. The Hebrew word translated 'holy' means 'cut apart.' So in that sense, a holy person is one who's been set aside from the rest. Finally, to be holy also means to be whole and complete, with all the attributes that one created in God's image ought to have. Paul here asks God to do all of these things by sanctifying you through and through (completely) in Christ.

Secondly, Paul implores God to keep His people - a word that plays a key role in the famous Aaronic benediction we referenced earlier: May the LORD bless you and keep you... Specifically, Paul prays that God would keep your whole spirit, soul and body blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since you've been sanctified (made holy) in Christ, Paul prays that God would keep you - preserve you - free from any unholiness.

Dig Deeper

This prayer - let's just go ahead and call it a benediction - that Paul prays on your behalf that you would be sanctified and kept blameless, as amazing as it is, isn't even the most amazing part of today's passage. It's the theological aspects that grab our attention today. These two short verses provide tremendous insight as to who and what God is.

He's the God of peace: John Stott notes here that God is both the author of harmony and that He's the only perfectly integrated personality who exists. In other words, God isn't just peaceful, He's the creator, designer, and perfect example of the very concept of peace, and as such, you are able to truly find peace in Him.
The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it: Paul's description of God here forms the very foundational principle of this wonderfully comforting doctrine we call the perseverance of the saints. Just as you didn't have to (nor could you) sanctify yourself, you can rely on your faithful Father to keep you blameless.

This, of course, doesn't mean you don't need to exert any effort at all to keep yourself blameless, for the New Testament often implores you to make every effort to do exactly that! Rather, you can make such an effort only because your faithful Father is equipping you to do so by breathing into through the Holy Spirit, which He never takes from his own completely, even when they fall grievously.

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the God of peace, who is faithful;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the Spirit fueled desire to be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: