Monthly Archive for August, 1999

1 Thessalonians 5:23b

Published on August 31, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 0 Comments
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“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“

sanctify you completely;

God will sanctify you “completely,” sanctify you to every part of your being, all three essential parts of your being. God will sanctify us through and through, with no area escaping His sanctifying influence. He will sanctify us quantitatively, qualitatively and ultimately when He delivers us from our sin capacity. God sanctifies us from stem to stern, from time into eternity.

Jesus will save us “completely” (Hebrews 7:25). We believe in the finished and unfinished work of Christ and we believe in the unfinished work of Christ. Jesus did a work for us on the cross and He is doing a work for us in Heaven. He is saving us daily. He is in the business of keeping saved people saved.

“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10).

“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

We have a “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14). We are not trying to get one. Jesus is taking care of our affairs over there.

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

As a “high priest,” Jesus advocates for us as a lawyer. He represents us personally and pleads the case of His shed blood.

Jesus will work for us until He comes back again.

“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 1:6).

and may your whole spirit, soul, and body

The word “whole” means complete, sound in every part. This is a qualitative term implying having integrity, complete, undamaged, intact, blameless. The Lord can make us complete in all our parts, in the entity as a whole. God is not interested in getting just our “leftovers” or “unwanted items.”

Paul describes the believer in this passage as having three parts. The “spirit” is the capacity to relate to God. This spiritual dimension puts us in touch with God. The Bible never says that God saves the “spirit,” only the soul can be saved.

The “soul” is the person, the psychology of man. This is the mind, emotions and will of man, the seat of personality (Luke 1:46,47; Hebrews 4:12).

The “body” is the material part of man; it is what carries the immaterial part of man, the spirit and soul.

No part of our spiritual existence escapes the impact of God upon our lives. God must sanctify each of the three aspects of our being. Then, we avoid every category of evil.

be preserved blameless

The word “preserved” means to watch over, keep. The Lord will watch over our entire spirit, soul and body, the complete person. God will guard our blamelessness even up to and including the point of the coming of Christ. He is the one who keeps us saved.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

A “blameless” person is someone against whom no one can lay a charge. The Lord will preserve us in such a way that no one can lay a change against us. The Christian in this sense is without fault, innocent.

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

No one can point an accusing finger at us, even at the coming of Christ.

It is not simply “until” the coming of Christ but “at” His coming. When Jesus comes, no one will point a finger at us. Not only will holiness stand the test of life’s trials and temptations but it will have a permanent, real existence that Christ will recognize when He comes.


Principle:

God sanctifies us at three levels.


Application:

Thank God, He saved us perfectly in the person and work of Christ.

There are three kinds or times of sanctification:

  • Positional – we hold the same status that Jesus holds before God when we believe in the death of Christ to forgive our sins whether we are carnal or spiritual. This is perfect sanctification in God’s eyes, not in our experience (4:3,4,7).
  • Progressive – we become more and more like the Lord Jesus as we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:26). This is a relative sanctification.
  • Permanent – ultimately we will be just like the Lord Jesus without a sin capacity in the eternal state (Romans 8:29,30). We will not have the capacity to sin ever again.

God saved us positionally when we believed on His Son’s death on the cross as the only way He will accept us into His Heaven.

When it comes to our progressive sanctification, God may have to discipline us to get our attention. The more we yield to the Spirit to enable us to apply more and more of the principles of God’s Word to our experience, the more we will become like the Lord Jesus in time.

One day, God will sanctify us totally, absolutely, completely. God will perfectly sanctify us in the eternity. As far as God is concerned, our eternal sanctification is as good as done.

Jesus saved us from the penalty of sin. He is saving us from the power of us. Eventually, He will save us from the presence of sin.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Published on August 30, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 2 Comments
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“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“

Since the preceding 16 exhortations require God to make them possible, Paul invokes God’s help toward that end. Without God’s work on our behalf, it is tough to live up to these directions.

Paul concludes this section on sanctification with a prayer. Verse 23 is Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians.

Now

With the word “now” Paul shifts into his conclusion to the book. Paul prays that God will enable the Thessalonians to fulfil the imperatives of the previous section. By adding up the 16 exhortations like a string of numbers, he draws the sum of sanctification. God finishes what He starts. God never embarks upon a job He does not finish. God takes different courses of action, based on the response of the believer.

may the God of peace

God, characterized by peace, will sanctify and preserve the Thessalonians. Paul presents God as the God of peace because He puts everything in order. Nothing goes without His notice. Only God can impart peace to the soul. As long as He ensures that spiritual harmony and tranquility prevail, there will be no discord in the life of the believer. Thus, God works an overall progressive holiness in our lives that will find its ultimate completion at the coming of Christ where we will receive ultimate sanctification.

God made His peace with us initially by sending His Son to die on the cross (Romans 5:1). He is in the process of making peace with us daily as we depend on Him to overcome sin in our lives. He will ultimately make His peace with us by eradicating any sin in our lives in the eternal state.

“And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Romans 16:20).

“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Himself

The word “Himself” is emphatic in the Greek and indicates that God will have to do this, not us. No one else can do this for us either. This does not imply that we have no part in sanctification. God sets us apart when we come to Christ in terms of our position with Him. Then He enables us to become more and more like the Lord Jesus. Finally, He will completely sanctify us at the coming of Christ.


Principle:

Sanctification is not only the will of God but also His work.


Application:

Sanctification is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 4:3,4,7). Sanctification is also the work of God (Exodus 31:13; Leviticus 21:8; Ezekiel 37:28; John 17:19).

God’s commands are one thing but His enablement is something else. Understanding the principles of God is one thing but the power to live them out is another. We do not find that power in ourselves but in God Himself. God is the singular source for our sanctification because He does it “wholly.” God is the God of peace because God puts all things in order.

1 Thessalonians 5:22

Published on August 29, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 0 Comments
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“Abstain from every form of evil“

Abstain from every form of evil

The word “form” is something that strikes the eye, or which is out in the open. It is the external appearance or shape of something. Our passage probably carries the idea of “sort, kind“. There are many kinds of evil out there — including doctrinal error.

The word “abstain” means to hold oneself from (4:3). Invariably, this word refers to evil practices whether doctrinal or moral (Acts 15:20,29; 1 Timothy 4:3; 1 Peter 2:11). Christians are to keep themselves from foul doctrine. We should not play with evil teaching. We should distance ourselves from it.

The phrase “form of evil” is a contrast to the phrase in verse twenty, “hold fast what is good.” Christians are to avoid anything that smacks of bogus doctrine. They cannot do this if they have not examined the Word of God thoroughly. “Hold yourselves aloof from any prophecy that is not based in truth from the Bible.”

“Every form of evil” does not restrict itself to those things that appear. evil. Rather, we must recognise that evil, including false doctrine, may manifest itself in any visible outward form. However, when evil clearly manifests itself, believers must keep their distance lest they be implicated in it (Numbers 16:26).


Principle:

Christians should avoid anything that is a forerunner to false doctrine, seems like fake doctrine or is beyond the borders of truth.


Application:

God expects us to make a clean break with error when we become Christians. The worst form that evil takes is false prophecy or untrue religious teaching. Christians should not associate themselves with any religious organization that seems to endorse doctrine that has been proven unscriptural or dishonoring to Christ.

Christians should also avoid doctrine that may not be evil in itself, but does not appear right. Christians who flirt with false doctrine open themselves up to trouble. Once these Christians adopt bogus principles for living, they move into misery. We must live out our lives based on solid, godly principles evident in God’s revealed Word.

1 Thessalonians 5:21b

Published on August 28, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 0 Comments
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“Test all things; hold fast what is good“

hold fast what is good

Once we test a teaching against the Bible, then we hold on to that truth with the confidence that this is what God says. After we search the Scriptures, there comes a point where we need stability in what we believe. The phrase words “hold fast” means to have and hold. First we gain truth, then we retain it.

If we constantly open ourselves to new things without the appropriate testing, we introduce instability into our Christian experience. We come to settled convictions by extensive study, not by impulsively embracing some new idea.

The word “good” is the term for something profitable or useful. God’s Word is profitable for our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17).


Principle:

Learning the principles of God’s Word is profitable and aids our everyday living.


Application:

We are not to seek truth to denounce false ideas primarily, but to find what is true in God’s Word. We study the Word to preserve its true teaching and apply it to our experience. Once we establish genuine teaching from God’s Word then we hold onto it tenaciously.

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

1 Thessalonians 5:21

Published on August 27, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 0 Comments
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“Test all things; hold fast what is good“

By challenging the Thessalonians to not despise prophecies, Paul did not want to imply that they were to be gullible and swallow any religious nonsense that might come their way. This verse puts a qualification on the previous verse.

Test

We test preaching (5:20) against the Word of God. The final arbiter of truth is God’s Word. The word “test” means to test with the purpose to approve. We approve prophecy by the Bible.

“To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1 ).

Satan is in the business of imitating God’s Word. Christians are to test truth as a FBI agents examine counterfeit money. Some people will contrive ideas and pass them off as God’s ideas.

all things;

God wants us to test “all” things, not simply most things. Do not condemn anything without first investigating it. On the other hand, do not accept anything until you first test it against the objective truth of God’s Word.

It is difficult to put aside our preconceptions about truth because we build security around what we believe. Honesty means that we examine the Bible without bias as much is possible.


Principle:

All Christians need to develop a sense of discernment.


Application:

Some people try to pawn off their personal ideas as being from God. This confuses the voice of God with the voice of man.

One drop of poison in your food spoils the entire meal. False doctrine usually carries much truth. The Devil is too smart to tempt you with absolute contradiction to what you believe. He takes what you believe and modifies it slightly. Peter, for example did not discern the plan of God, so Jesus rebuked him.

“But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’” (Mark 8:33).

Jesus said in effect, “Peter, you are peddling the Devil’s lie. What may look right to you is, in fact, a lie.” Very few Christians today take the time to sniff out error. Everything seems to sit right with them because they do not rightly divide the word of truth.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 ).

1 Thessalonians 5:20

Published on August 26, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 0 Comments
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“Do not despise prophecies“

We now come to the second command about corporate worship.

Do not despise prophecies

The word “despise” means to make of no account and frequently signifies to despise. We can make prophecies of no account and treat them with contempt. “No account” is less than one. We can treat the Bible as nothing. It is a dangerous thing to treat with disdain what God says or reject with contempt God’s revelation.

“Prophecies” here probably refers to the gift of prophecy. The person with this gift could directly receive revelation from God before the Bible was completed. There came a time toward the close of the first century when this prophetic gift came became inoperative (1 Corinthians 13:8). The prophetic gift not only dealt with future things but things in the present (Acts 13:2). “Prophecies” include both a prophetic element and a proclaiming element. These were oral proclamations before the revelation of the New Testament. The prophetic element came to close but the preaching element continues to this day.

Some people in Thessalonica may have pawned off their own personal notions without the gift of prophecy. People today pawn off their personal ideas about God by claiming that they special contact with God.

Others despise the teaching of God’s Word. They falsely interpret and twist the Bible to suit their biases. They reject the clear claims of Scripture. The believer who treasures the Word is the believer who honors what it says.

“But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification” (1 Corinthians 14:3-5).

Prophecy was a special, temporary gift before the completion of the canon [the writing of the New Testament books] of the New Testament. By this gift, God revealed His mind and will to a prophet so that Christians could understand New Testament truth before the New Testament existed.

Today God succeeded the prophet by the teacher who expounds the mind of God already revealed on the pages of completed Scripture.


Principle:

Christians are to carry a positive attitude toward the teaching of God’s Word by their pastor.


Application:

Some Christians believe that they must challenge all teaching from the pastor. They make themselves the final arbiter of truth. Their pride keeps them from learning from God’s appointed teacher. The three pastoral books (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) all declare that the church is to operate under a pastor/teacher who clearly and systematically sets forth doctrine.

The qualification to the above statement is that Christians who listen to the exposition of Scripture should check what the pastor teaches against the Word of God (Acts 17:11). That is why the church is to “test” the prophecy (5:21).

It is bad enough to discourage the preaching of God’s Word. It is even worse to despise it. When we underestimate the significance of God’s Word, we do it to our loss. Some people view the teaching of the Bible as irrelevant to their lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Published on August 25, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 0 Comments
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“Do not quench the Spirit“

Paul transitions from individual responsibility to corporate worship with verse 19. God reveals His will to the church as well as to the individual. We can squelch the public movement of the Holy Spirit. Five commands about life in the assembly follow.

Do not quench the Spirit

The Bible commonly portrays the Holy Spirit like a flame. The idea of “quench” carries the idea of putting out a light of a torch, lamp or fire (Matthew 12:20; 25:8; Hebrews 11:34). Paul uses “quench” metaphorically to speak of hindering the operations of the Holy Spirit. People who refuse to submit to the teaching of the Word “quench” the Spirit. Those who usurp the ministry of the Spirit in the local church throw cold water on God’s work in the congregation.

The Bible portrays the Holy Spirit as both heat and light. As heat, He impresses the reality of God upon the believer. As light, He reveals who God is to the believer. Some Christians blow out the flame of the Spirit in their lives. They do this by not yielding to the conviction of the Spirit about their sin and by accommodating sin.

The Greek indicates that the Thessalonians were to stop something they were already doing. In essence, “stop stifling the Spirit.”


Principle:

Rebellion in the local church against its leadership quenches the Spirit’s ministry in that church.


Application:

A believer can extinguish the work of the Spirit in the church. Every local church has those who try to stifle the ministry. Some do this by opposing leadership. Others do it by indifference to leadership and thus lull themselves and others to sleep. Whatever means they may use, the result is that they extinguish the fire of the Spirit.

A dynamic move of the Spirit of God may be perceived as a threat to some people in the church. Lacking understanding, they will reject any proposal outside their comfort zone.

Christians need to be careful about limiting the ministry of the Spirit in the local assembly. To put out the flame of a manifestation of the Spirit is to interfere in what God is doing. Either we yield to the work of the Spirit or we extinguish His work. Those are the alternatives. We can grieve the Spirit as well as quenching the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

If you are hindering the work of your local church, you may be suppressing what the Spirit is doing. Do you take the negative position on most things? Are you on the negative side of every positive issue and on the positive side over every negative issue? It is incumbent upon Spirit-filled believers to be on the side of the ministry of the Spirit in the local church.

We must be careful not to stifle the Spirit of God in our church. When we do this, we are spiritual anarchists against the work of God in our church.

“But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them” (Isaiah 63:10).

1 Thessalonians 5:18b

Published on August 24, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 0 Comments
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“…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you“

for this is the will of God

The Holy Spirit highlights giving thanks in everything by saying that it is the will of God. By recognizing God’s will, we give thanks for both prosperity and adversity. By knowing that God has a sovereign plan for adversity, we can put right our anxiety about trouble that comes our way. This is one area where we can know God’s will without a doubt.

“So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat” (1 King 15:15).

in Christ Jesus

God always links His will for us in association with Christ. Jesus is the reason we accept suffering as God’s will for us. We have an occasion to represent Him in adversity.

for you

God designs all circumstances for the benefit of the believer. God thinks about your limitations. He knows the proper proportions of adversity that are right for you. We should not concern ourselves with the portion given to someone else. God works in each person’s life differently.

He custom designs the structure of their circumstances by divine design. God knows the straw that will break the camel’s back. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, but He wants a tested product. Engineers of today’s automobiles test drive prototypes so that they know what these cars can tolerate. God wants to bring out the best in us.


Principle:

God has a purpose for everything that happens to the believer.


Application:

God’s providential plan for our lives includes all contingencies. God foresees every circumstance that comes into our lives. Not only does He foresee everything that happens to us, but He providentially plans or allows each situation that comes into our lives.

There is no substitute for understanding the will of God for our suffering. Nothing can come into our lives unless the Lord allows it. God must put His initials on everything that comes into our state of affairs. We may give thanks through tears.

Our obligation is to believe God’s Word about these matters. The Bible teaches God’s providential care of His creatures throughout the Scriptures.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Published on August 23, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 5 Comments
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“…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you“

in everything give thanks;

We can give thanks “in everything” because we know that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28). God ordains adversity as well as prosperity. Every circumstance that comes our way is from God. Failure to accept this as true is an indication of skepticism about God’s plan for the universe. We can give thanks for everything because God is in control.


Principle:

We give thanks in everything that comes into our lives because it comes by the will of God.


Application:

There is a difference in giving thanks “for” everything and “in” everything. If we gave thanks “for” everything that would mean that we give thanks for the Devil and his plan for the world!

Neither do we give thanks necessarily “after” everything. It does not require much faith to trace the hand of God with the benefit of hindsight. However, it takes faith to accept one’s lot with gratitude in the midst of circumstances.

“…giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 5:20).

This passage in Ephesians is more powerful than our verse in Thessalonians. We are to give thanks always for all things. When the police call and tell you that your son is in jail, it is difficult to give thanks for that. But we need to have the attitude of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:18,

“Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, ‘It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.’”

Whatever comes in our lives comes in by the will of God, otherwise, He would prevent it. God mixes with His divine compound the bitter and the sweet, the good and the bad, in appropriate proportions so that they work together for good. God knows just the right amount of sunshine and rain. He measures out these things with great precision.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Published on August 22, 1999 in 1 Thessalonians. 1 Comment
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“…pray without ceasing…“

pray without ceasing

The Greek used the word “without ceasing” for a person with a hacking cough and for repeated military attacks. This is not continuous prayer but prayer that recurs regularly. The idea is persistence in prayer.

The word “pray” is in the present tense and carries the idea of customary prayer. This person shoots up prayers throughout the day.


Principle:

Dynamic prayer prays at stated and non-stated times.


Application:

When thankful, pray. When in trouble, pray. When lacking in wisdom, pray. Pray at stated times and non-stated times. Always be willing and ready to pray. We do not have to lift the receiver off the hook to talk to God. We do not even need to dial; we just shoot up our requests. We can talk to God while we work or drive our car.

“Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17).

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…” (Luke 18:1).

“…but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).

“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5).

“…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer…” (Romans 12:12).

“…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—…” (Ephesians 6:18).

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving…” (Colossians 4:2).

Continued prayer is a state of steady communion with God. We do not allow great gaps to intervene between episodes of prayers. He takes interest in the small areas of our lives. We do not brush off our children when they come to us with a little scratch. Neither does God brush us off when we come to Him with little things.

Great people of God in the Bible persevered in their appointed times and non-appointed times of prayer. They never got out of communication with the throne of grace. They constantly had a sense of dependence on God.