“He Will Surely Do It”

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. –I Thessalonians 5:23-28

Paul concludes his letter with a prayer that God continue to sanctify the Thessalonian Church. Paul’s petition is that the young Church grow in holiness in its entirety – spirit, soul, and body. Indeed, this has been the point of the whole letter – correcting error and increasing godliness. Paul wants this to be the last point he leaves them with. They must have the necessity of continually increasing in holiness fixed firmly in their minds. It is what God desires for them, and, moreover, it is what he will accomplish in them.

We know sanctification is necessary. We believe in grace, but we are told in Scripture that grace saves us from who we are transforming us into who God wants us to be. It conforms us to the image of Christ, renewing us in the inner man, turning us from our sins. Our problem is that we are inclined to turn back toward our sins. Our transformation is never clean; it is a process in which we frequently fail. But Paul does not want us to accept our failings. Though we are subject to falter, we must hate that it happens. We can become too used to our failings and cease to strive for the full transformation that God intends. Because of this we must be reminded that God would have us blameless at the coming of his Son.

While we are to be resolute in seeking to be sanctified, we at the same time have to realize that our perfecting is the result of God’s working in us. We must want to be sanctified; but he must be the one who accomplishes it. Our failings can quickly discourage us, but our hope is in the fact that sanctification is both God’s desire and his doing. We cannot do what we know needs to be done, but he can; and what is more, Paul tells us he will do it. We fail to make progress because we are not faithful, but God is not like us. He has determined it should be, and sealed the accomplishment in the blood of his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He will do what is necessary in our lives to bring us to his Son and make us holy. This is not always easy, and may include tearing us from our sin, but as he is faithful, he will not let us remain how we are. He will see us holy.