07.26

Once More on God's Faithfulness and His Promises "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.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)"

This magnificent benedictory prayer closes with another proclamation of God's
faithfulness, coupled with a strategic promise from the Lord. "He who calls you is
faithful, who also will do it." What has our faithful God called us to, and what is He
promising to do?

The Lord has called us to sanctification and blamelessness (that is, a life of increasing
personal righteousness). "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you
should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own
vessel in sanctification and honor" (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). It is the will of God that
His children grow in a sanctified life (that is, to be set apart increasingly for the
glory, honor, and use of God). The particular issue in view here is sexual purity: "that
you should abstain from sexual immorality."

Another term for this godly goal is blamelessness. "May your whole spirit, soul, and body
be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." As we live unto the Lord
day by day (awaiting His return), He wants us to develop in Christlikeness. He desires
that there be less and less reason for people to point a finger of blame at us: "that you
may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15).

How is this desire of the Lord to be accomplished? It is to be done by the work of our
faithful God, who promises to do such. "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do
it." What is the Lord's means in advancing this process? It is His word. Jesus revealed
this in His prayer for us as He approached the cross. "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your
word is truth" (John 17:17). Our Lord wants to unleash the power of His word in our lives,
changing the way we think and act. He wants to use His word to set us apart for Himself.
The Apostle Paul wrote of this powerful spiritual process in referring to Jesus'
intentions for His church: "that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians
5:26). Will we humbly and dependently cooperate with our Lord in this desire of His heart
for us?

"Lord God of holiness, I long to be set apart more and more for Your glory, honor, and
use. I yearn for more godliness in my daily life. I humbly ask You to transform my heart
and mind by the power of Your holy word. You are faithful! Please do it, Lord!"