Devotions: Work of Perfection

 

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

This verse comes at the end of the book and is part of Paul’s transition from instruction on conduct to closing greetings. The rest of the chapter deals with how we as Christians are to behave and general last minute encouragements. The word sanctify has a two-fold meaning. Sanctification is the process by which we are made perfect, a work that God does in us as we submit to Him. However, while we are in the process of being sanctified here on earth, we also stand sanctified before God. Even though we are not perfect yet, we have the status of perfection in God’s eyes. Yes, He realizes we aren’t yet, but because we have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, His status is applied to us. So when God looks at us He sees His Son in all His perfection. Our God is a God of peace. He came to bring peace to mankind because sin made us enemies. He has promised to continue to perfect us until the job is complete (when we reach heaven), and He will do what He has promised. When Paul says “May He,” it is not a vain hope, but a prayer. Paul believes fully that it will happen; this is just worded as a closing prayer in his letter. The word preserved is carried over from a more archaic way of speaking, and simply means that he prays (and encourages us to pray) that God will continue His work of sanctification in us because if He stopped we would be lost. We should pray for the preservation of our salvation, for it to be protected and secure until it is perfected. This is not supposed to make people insecure in their faith, wondering every moment if they will be lost or not, unsure if they are truly saved or not. I believe that we can know without a doubt if we are saved, and we have no need to worry if that will be lost. Salvation is something that we are supposed to “work out” not to keep or earn it, but to prove it, to help in God’s work of salvation in us. God’s work in us cannot happen without Him, but it also requires our cooperation, submission and effort. We cannot be passive or resistant. Resisting God’s work and being unwilling to give up sin can be a sign that one is not truly saved. That is why we need to work with God in sanctification (not to prove it to Him, but to ourselves) and pray for God to continue His work in us. That prayer both gives us assurance and helps our hearts to submit to the process.

Have you given your life to Christ? Are you aware of and submissive to His sanctifying work in your life? Ask God to help you be willing to work with Him in this process. Ask Him to continue to work in you and help you see the progress that has been made. Ask Him to give you assurance that you are His.

sorry about the doubled emails this week, technical glitch...

To view a video of this devo, visit my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/evelynbray.author

To receive these devotions daily, like my page or subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription box to the right!