Benediction. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.
Dear God’s own People,
In his final prayer for the Thessalonians, Paul pronounces a special blessing to them. In this prayer, he wishes two things for them and assures them of a third.
Purified (v. 23a). The word sanctified has the same root as holy. As we saw earlier, sanctified is being set apart for God. Of course, that which God sets apart for himself must be unpolluted and is therefore holy. Sanctification is a process. We go through it for all of life, because none of us is ever as pure as God wants us to be. We will get there, “we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2) but in the meantime, the process continues.
Perfected (v. 23b). The goal of sanctification is that we will be blameless. That simply means without sin, because sin is the reason for blame. This desire of Paul is on account of his intimacy with God and the understanding of the holiness of God that it brings. As we grow in our knowledge of God, this ought to be our desire.
Promised (v. 24). Paul is confident that God will sanctify the believers to perfection. This is because God is faithful. Elsewhere, Paul says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself” (1 Timothy 2:13) and “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Perfection is both our life’s quest as well as our assured destiny.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.