1 Thessalonians - Understanding Sanctification

God wants every part of my whole being to be so filled with His Spirit and His glory that I am for His exclusive use. My thoughts are God's thoughts, and my emotions are God's emotions. And what I do is what God wants me to do—the will of God.

And now let's pray together. Once again, Father, we open the Word and it is so easy for us to study it and understand it, but not practice it. And we don't want just a head knowledge, we want a heart appropriation of Your truth. And so I pray as we study today, You will teach us by Your Spirit. And again, I pray: say far more to us than this speaker says. May Your Spirit enlighten us all and enable us all, I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Word of God is a lamp in a dark place. We're living in a dark world. Standards are changing, attitudes are changing. Things that used to be wrong are now not only considered right, but they are promoted. Oh, we're living in a dark, difficult, dangerous world. And Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to a group of Christians in a big city. Thessalonica was probably the largest and the most important city in Macedonia, some 200,000 people there. And Paul arrived with Silas and Timothy, established a church, and these people were being tempted. They were being tried. There was persecution, there was temptation. And Paul wrote this letter to help them know how to live the Christian life.

1 Thessalonians 5 beginning at 1 Thessalonians 5:22: Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. There's a negative admonition: abstain from every form of evil. This ties back to 1 Thessalonians 4:3 where he also uses the word abstain: for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality. Peter wrote and said, abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul. We're told today that we should be tolerant and that the balanced life is important.

Well, yes, we should have tolerance and yes, we should have balance, but there's some things we should say no to. We should learn to say no to every form of evil. Hold off, is what he's saying here. Just keep at a distance from every form of evil. It's the opposite of 1 Thessalonians 5:21: hold fast what is good, but hold off from what is evil. We let these things into our lives, the devil moves in, and before long there is tragedy. 

He's talking here about sanctification. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The God of peace. I get the impression there had been some division in the Thessalonian church. Perhaps it had to do with their public worship services. Paul had to admonish them: do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies. In other words, there were some in the church who were very careful about the excesses. Well, we should be. We should be careful there are no excesses; we should be balanced in our worship.

But we can be so careful and so rigid and so mechanical that we quench the Holy Spirit and we resist the work of the Lord. Whenever Paul uses this little phrase "the God of peace," it often is in connection with church unity. Sometimes it's in connection with sanctity, living a holy life. But in Romans 15:33, and Romans 16:20, and 2 Corinthians 13:11, he's talking about the unity of the church. I think he uses it again in 2 Thessalonians 3:16: now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. 

Well, let's talk about sanctification. This is his prayer, that they might be sanctified. And this sanctification is very practical. He's telling them how they can go about obeying all of these exhortations that he's given to them. He's urged them to love their leaders in the church, 1 Thessalonians 5:12, and to esteem them highly, 1 Thessalonians 5:13. Then he adds, be at peace among yourselves. You get the impression there is division. Perhaps it was because some people thought they were more spiritual than others, I don't know. Then he exhorts those who were unruly, the people who were out of step, they would not be ruled. There are the fainthearted and the weak. And then there's that danger of retaliation, 1 Thessalonians 5:15. Then he wants them positively to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. How do you do that? Well, may the God of peace Himself sanctify you. 

Let's look at several aspects of this subject of sanctification as Paul presents it here in 1 Thessalonians 5. First of all, what is the meaning of sanctification? Well, it does not mean a gradual change of your old nature so that your old nature becomes more of a new nature. The word sanctify simply means to be set apart for God's exclusive use. In John 17:9, Jesus said He sanctified Himself.

Now the nature of our Lord Jesus certainly required no refinement; He was the perfect Son of God. When He said, "for their sakes I sanctify Myself," what was He meaning? He was saying, "I am setting Myself apart. I have set Myself apart to accomplish the work the Father's given Me to do." In the Bible, you'll find that a day can be sanctified. Genesis 2:3, God sanctified the Sabbath. Israel was sanctified, a whole nation, Exodus 19:10. Aaron, the high priest, was sanctified. The temple was sanctified. The altar is sanctified according to Matthew 23:17-19. In fact, in 1 Peter 3:15, Peter tells us to sanctify Jesus Christ as Lord in our hearts. Now, how can I make Jesus more holy? I can't. But I can give Him the first place in my heart. I can have Him set apart in my heart and my heart is for His exclusive use. 

I can go to London, England, and I can rent the Palladium, but I can't rent Buckingham Palace or Windsor Palace out at Windsor. Can't do that. Why? They're set apart for the exclusive use of the British royalty. I can go to Washington, D.C. and I can rent the arena, I can rent the stadium, I can't rent the White House. Why? It has been set apart for the exclusive use of the President of the United States. When two people are married, they are set apart for the exclusive enjoyment and living of these two people. And if either party goes out and violates those vows, it is sin.

Now sanctification simply means to be set apart for God's exclusive use. We belong to Him. You see, God's goal is to make us more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ, conformed to the image of His Son. Now in the Bible we're taught that sanctification is a position that we have. We are sanctified. We have been set apart. 1 Thessalonians 4:7: for God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Now that word holiness is the same as the word sanctification up in verse three. God called us not to sanctification, but in sanctification. We have been set apart, we belong to Him. That is positional sanctification. 

Now here in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, he's talking about progressive sanctification. He's talking about more and more becoming like the Lord Jesus and being set apart for God's exclusive use. Ephesians 5 talks about this, Ephesians 5:25: husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. Now that's progressive sanctification. Now Ephesians 5:27: that He might present it to Himself a glorious church. Ah, there's perfect sanctification. One day we are going to be perfect at the throne of God. So sanctification just means that day by day, step by step, moment by moment, I am set apart for God's exclusive use. He is the sanctifier. 

So sanctification just means that day by day, step by step, moment by moment, I am set apart for God's exclusive use. Now what is the measure of sanctification? God is not content that you and I be out of balance. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. Oh, what does that mean? And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Did you notice that your body is involved in sanctification? Not just your spirit and your soul, but your body. Now we don't make an issue of whether man is dichotomous—material and spirit—or trichotomous—spirit, soul, and body. I want to take the Word of God right here for what it says: the spirit, the soul, the body. I think this is a comparison with the tabernacle. In the tabernacle you had the outer court with a fence around it, and then you had a tent with two parts to it. Now from the outside you couldn't see those two parts. The only people who knew that those two parts were there were the priests who worked in and out of the tent, and people who knew their Bibles. The Bible said there is a holy place and there's a holy of holies. 

Now the holy of holies in our lives is the spirit. This is where God comes to dwell. The holy place is the soul. This is my mind, my emotions, my will. Now the unsaved person doesn't have anybody dwelling in the spirit; the spirit is dead. When the unsaved person trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit comes in and gives life, and God's Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are the children of God. You'll recall that when Moses dedicated the tabernacle in Exodus 40, the Holy Spirit of God in glory, God in glory came down and moved into the holy of holies. And then that glory moved out throughout the entire tabernacle. That is entire sanctification. 

When I was saved, God moved into my spirit. Now He wants to move out from the holy of holies and take hold of my soul so that my emotions are set apart for God, my will, my mind, and then out through my body to serve other people. By the way, that outer court could be taken down and it did not affect the tent. One of these days my outer court is going to be taken down if the Lord Jesus doesn't come back—I'm going to die. But it won't affect the tent; it won't affect the spirit and the soul. I will go home to be with the Lord. God wants every part of my whole being to be so filled with His Spirit and His glory that I am for His exclusive use. My thoughts are God's thoughts, and my emotions are God's emotions. And what I do is what God wants me to do—the will of God—serving the Lord completely. 

Now it begins within. It starts with that inner person, taking time every day for the Word of God and prayer, being sensitive to sin, doing the will of God, rejoicing, praying, giving thanks, not quenching the Holy Spirit of God. So that body and soul and spirit are taken up and wholly used by God. This involves every area of our lives: our eating, our sleeping, our playing, our spending of money—totally set apart for God. It's a joyful experience to be made one in the Lord, to have this kind of spiritual integrity where my body and my spirit are not fighting each other, where my emotions and my spirit are not at war—to have this beautiful integrity. And this comes as we walk with the Lord. It's a battle sometimes; it's a struggle. There is agony, but sometimes we have to get on our faces before God and just cry out for His help. And you know, He always answers. That's why He says in 1 Thessalonians 5:24: He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. God's commandments are God's enablements. 

Well, we've looked at the meaning of sanctification and the measure of sanctification. Let's spend some time on the means of sanctification. Obviously, one of them is prayer. He's praying for their sanctification. God answers prayer. We need to cry out to God for holiness. David says, as the deer pants for the water brooks, my heart pants for You, oh God. In 1 Thessalonians 3:10, Paul says night and day praying exceedingly. Now there's a statement for you. Not just praying, but praying in the daytime, praying in the nighttime, and praying exceedingly. The word exceedingly means a river overflowing its banks, abounding out of all bounds—praying exceedingly. I wonder if I pray like that? Paul did. Prayer is important to the Christian life. Do you have a deep desire in your heart to enjoy and worship God? Or are you satisfied to read a few devotional thoughts in the morning and say a quick prayer and rush out into life? Do you take time to be holy? Oh, we sing that song, but do we obey it? 

Now the means of sanctification are the Word of God and prayer, worship, fellowshipping with God's people, and the experiences of life. The Holy Spirit of God uses the Word: sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth, John 17:17. He uses prayer. Here is Paul praying for their sanctification. He uses other Christians. Oh, how we need one another in the polishing up of our lives. I have been so encouraged by other people and been helped in my own Christian walk. We need worship, the public worship of God. He just told them, don't quench the Spirit, don't despise prophecies, test all things, hold fast what is good. He says to them, get in there and worship the Lord with the people of God and you will grow in your sanctification. 

Finally, what are the marks of sanctification? How can a person know whether or not he or she is truly living a sanctified life? Let me make it very clear that sanctification is very practical. Paul is not exhorting us to go up on a mountaintop someplace and put on a white robe and wait for the Lord to come back, and while we're there, just get more and more sanctified. If sanctification doesn't lead us into the practical ministries of life, it is a counterfeit sanctification.

The Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration was revealed in His glory. Peter said let's stay up here, it's a great place to be. We can have good preaching, Moses and Elijah, and here's the Lord Jesus. But they had to come down from the mountaintop. And when they came down into the valley, what did they find? A little boy who was demon-possessed. You see, Jesus could have stayed on the mountain and let His face shine, but instead He came down and He let His power flow and He delivered that boy. We take time to be holy, but then after we have had this experience with the Lord in the Word of God and prayer, in worship, in reverence, then we go out into a needy world and we keep ourselves clean. 

Sanctification means contact without contamination. It means we're out there in the workaday world, but we're spreading the light while others are sharing darkness. We are sharing love while others are hating. We are bringing truth when others are lying. We are sacrificing and giving when others are grabbing and trying to get more. That is practical sanctification. Mr. Moody used to say that every Bible should be bound in shoe leather. I like that. Take your Bible and turn it into shoe leather and get out and walk and work and serve the Lord.

What are the marks of sanctification? Well, number one, there is a balanced life: the whole spirit, soul, and body are balanced in holiness. Our emotions, our thinking, our speaking—it's all controlled by the Lord. Secondly, there's a blameless life: that you might be preserved blameless. Now this has to do with our motive. It doesn't mean faultless, it doesn't mean sinless. It means at the state of growth where we are, we're doing the very best we can—blameless.

Our motive is to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we are going to make mistakes. Yes, we may say things we shouldn't say and we regret them, but our motives are right. We want to serve the Lord. It's a burdened life. We're burdened to become more like the Lord Jesus. We're burdened to help others to come to know Him. And of course, it's a blessed life. It's a life of God's blessing upon us. The marks of sanctification primarily are balance and blamelessness and a burdened heart to help others. 

Well, why should we be sanctified? What are the motives? To please God who has called us. 1 Thessalonians 4:7: God did not call us to uncleanness but in holiness. To please the Holy Spirit who indwells us. 1 Thessalonians 4:8: therefore he who rejects this does not reject man but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. And to be pleasing to the Lord Jesus when He comes—blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord help us to be a sanctified people. 

Gracious Father in heaven, now may we grow in our faith. May we grow in our hope. May the second coming of our Lord Jesus become so precious to us. May we grow in our love for one another and for You. Help us now to apply this word to our hearts and our lives, I ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.