in the world. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, we'll begin reading at verse 12 of the chapter. The verse 12 of 1 Thessalonians 5, the word of God says, and we beseech you brethren to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake and be at peace among yourselves. We exhort you, brethren, warn men that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophesying. Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. And we'll add our own amen to the public reading of God's precious word. The larger catechism defines prayer in the following way. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God in the name of Christ by the help of his spirit with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies. The offering up of our desires is exactly what we find the Apostle Paul doing here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and the verse 23 when he gives expression to his heart's desire for the Thessalonian saints. Ah yes, for every saint and child of God when he says, I'm the very God of peace, sanctify you wholly. And I pray, God your whole spirit and soul and body, be preserved billion-less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the language of this verse 23 is very much prayer-like and we want to consider then the words here in that light and in that context, that of the prayer of the Apostle Paul. Now the first truth that we come to in this particular text of scripture, the verse 23, is the one to whom Paul addresses his prayer to. The one to whom Paul addresses his prayer to. Aware that there is but one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, the Apostle Paul does not direct his prayer to some living or to some dead saint. Prayer is not offered up to Mary. Prayer is not offered up or through Peter. Prayer is not offered up to Moses or to Samuel or to some other eminent saint of God that we find in the scriptures. But instead we read in this verse's opening words that prayer is offered up to the very God of peace. And the very God of peace sanctify you holy now god sometimes in scripture is referred to as the god of all grace on other occasions he's described as the god of all love or the god of love but here he is called the god the very god of peace or as it is in the original greek the god of peace himself the god of peace Himself now the God of peace that title if you trace it through the New Testament you'll find that it was only ever used by the Apostle Paul and It is used by him on five different occasions It is one of the favorite titles that Paul uses concerning the God of heaven the God that he knew the God that he had come to know on the Damascus Road and He now terms him the God of peace and he does so on four other occasions outside this one. Let me bring them to your attention. Romans 15 verse 33. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. And then in Romans 16 verse 20 he says, And the God of peace shall bruise Satan unto your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Philippians 4 verse 9 is the third reference. Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen, and may ye do, and the God of peace shall be with you. Hebrews believed to have been written by the Apostle Paul said the following in Hebrews 13 20 now the God of peace which brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Five times the apostle Paul uses this title, the God of peace. Above this world of restlessness, above this world of turmoil, above this world of struggle and of conflict and hostility and warfare, their reigns and their rules, tonight, The very God of peace. The very God of peace. Now we could say a number of things about the very God of peace. We could say, first of all, that he is the source. peace. He is the source of peace. Peace emanates and proceeds from the God of peace. Peace belongs to God. Peace between God and man originated with God and in this we see the overflowing mercy and grace of God towards sinners. We who were at war with God and enmity with God thank God, have been brought to a state of being at peace with God. The fountainhead of evangelical peace is none other than the God of peace, the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of peace, but he is the procurer of peace. Peace for sinners was procured, secured, purchased by him in his death upon the cross of Calvary. Those words in Colossians 1 verse 20 remind us of that. We read there, and having me at peace. through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself. By his death and by his blood shedding, Christ secured peace for us. Not only is he the source and the procurer of peace, but he is the provider and the giver of this peace. You know, God doesn't keep this peace to himself. No, he doesn't keep it as it were, to be something that he enjoys, but rather, he dispenses that peace to the troubled soul. He happily grants that peace to those who seek him for it. The Savior said, John 14, 27, our motto text for this year, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. He gives us peace. Peace in the midst of life's storms. Thank God he not only has purchased the peace, but he provides and he dispenses and he gives that peace to us. Yes, and he maintains that peace. He maintains peace in our souls when all around gives way. Isaiah 26, verse three, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. And so he is the source, he is the procurer, he is the giver, and he is the maintainer of our peace, and he is the God of peace. Now, Dr. Gill suggested the following reason why Paul used this very title when offering up prayer He said the apostle might choose to address God under this character partly to encourage boldness, freedom at the throne of grace and partly to raise hope, expectation and faith of having his requests answered. Since God is not an angry God, nor is fury in him, but the God of peace. It is the God of peace that we come to. to address in prayer tonight. It is one who seeks the peace and the welfare of his children. Thank God sin's condemnation has been dealt with by the sacrifice of Christ and therefore we can come with boldness and confidence before the throne of grace knowing that we are at peace with God. That we are at peace with God. and the peace of God is reigning and ruling in our hearts. And so he comes and addresses the God of peace himself here in prayer. And so that's whom Paul addresses in prayer. But secondly, let's think about the request that Paul makes here in prayer. He makes two specific requests. Paul believed in specific praying. He believed not in generalizations. There were specific things in his mind concerning these saints in this particular city, having heard the report from Timothy as to their welfare, as to their growth, as to their status with regard to their faith and where that was and their walk with God. And Paul, having heard that, And having that assessment brought to his attention by Timothy, he now prays specifically concerning these individuals, two specific requests. First of all, he prays about the sanctification of the saints. The sanctification of the saints, the very God of peace. Sanctify you holy. The question is asked in the shorter catechism, what is? Sanctification this is what Paul is praying for we need to define then what Paul is what he's praying actually for Sanctification the shorter catechism said is the work of God's free grace whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God and are enabled more and more to die on to sin and to live on and to righteousness. This is what sanctification is, a dying on to sin, a living on to righteousness, a becoming more Christ-like in our behavior and in our conduct and in our speech. Every part of the being coming under this full sway and dominion of God. The putting out of sin, I am the putting on of holiness. Now this doctrine of sanctification is a very practical doctrine. We thought about it before. It is a soul searching doctrine, a doctrine that touches every part and facet of the Christian's life. Which one of us, which one of us could say this evening, We don't need the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God within our lives. Who among us could say that we are beyond needing this work of sanctification to occur within our lives when it comes to our walk with God? Who would ever dare claim that they have attained to a point within their Christian lives where all sin has been eradicated and they're now walking in perfect step and now walking in perfect harmony with God. There's not a man, not a woman, no matter how eminent, no matter how godly they are, within their Christian lives has attained to such a place within their Christian living. You see regardless of how far along the Christian road we are or how conformed we think our lives are to Jesus Christ, there's always the need, always the need for more sanctification within our lives, more of the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God within our lives. And this is what Paul prays for here, that God would sanctify the saints of God wholly. Now there are a number of matters relating to a person's sanctification. that are drawn to our attention in these words of the Apostle Paul. I want you to notice, first of all, that sanctification is a work of God. It is a work of God. And the very God of peace, sanctify you, holy. The very God of peace. The statement, the sanctification is a work of God, is affirmed by the Westminster divine. Sanctification is a work of God's free grace. You see, brethren and sisters, with all the best intentions in the world, and I'm sure at times in your Christian life, you've had all the best intentions with regard to becoming more holy and more Christ-like and more godly in your life, but with all the best intentions of the world, we of ourselves cannot make ourselves one bit holier. It is the work of the triune God It is a work of the triune God. By the Father, we sang about it this evening in our hymn. By the Father, by the Son, and by the Spirit, we're sanctified. You see, by the Father we're sanctified, as we are chosen by him on to sanctification. This is part of his purpose, of why he saved us. We're chosen, yes, in Christ we are chosen, on to salvation but we're also chosen on to sanctification by the Father and by the Son we are sanctified. Why are we sanctified? We're sanctified by His death as the only means by which a man or woman can become holy. Sanctified by the Son and sanctified by the Spirit as He applies to us the blessings of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus as he renews and he purifies our hearts and our lives on a daily basis. Now, brethren and sisters, that's not to say then we're to hand, as it were, everything over to God and just sit and be passive with regard to this work of sanctification. No, no, no, we are to cooperate. We're to cooperate with God in this work of sanctification. We are to present our bodies, living sacrifice unto God, Aye, and we are to yield to his promptings in the sanctifying process when sin is exposed and revealed to us. There must be a willingness on our part to have done with it, to repent of it, to have it broken off from our lives. And yet the one who is the initiating agent, if I could use that term, is none other than God himself. You see, brethren and sisters, unless God sanctifies us, unless he brings us to to a greater degree of holiness and a greater degree of Christ-likeness in our lives, then the changes that occur, the changes that would occur through your own personal endeavor, it'll only ever be temporary, and it'll only ever be short-lived. But if it's of God, if it is of God who sanctifies us, We'll then thank God it will be a permanent work. Yes, and it will be a work that is long lived within our lives, but the work is attributed to God. It is the very God of peace. who sanctifies, Paul could not sanctify these people. No preacher that was left in the city or evangelist, Christian worker could sanctify these individuals, Paul understanding that this work was a work of God's free grace, understanding that God himself must sanctify the people, therefore praise to God that God would sanctify the saints there in the city. Thessalonica. Second of all, sanctification is a personal work. And the very God of peace, sanctify you, holy, sanctify you. You know, it must be noted that the work of sanctification is not uniform as to its speed, neither to its extent in a person's sanctification as compared to another person's. Sanctification, you know for some here this evening You may find yourself further along the road of Christ's likeness and along the road of holiness But lest you become self-congratulatory I want to remind you that there's a lot of roads still to travel There's a lot of roads still to travel To be conformed to the image of God's dear son This is the purpose of God, Romans 8. He died to conform us to the image of his Son. I tell you, you place yourself alongside the Lord Jesus Christ and we can certainly say the road is still long to travel with regard to our sanctification. There is a long road to travel in your sanctification. There's a long road to travel with regard to my sanctification. Just place yourself under some stressful circumstance, either in your home or your place and work, and you'll soon see how far the work of sanctification really is in your life. Whenever you fly off the handle, whenever you say unkind things, You'll soon realize the work, the work of making me like Christ is a work that is a life of work, a lifelong work it is, and only shall be completed at our glorification. Thirdly, we learn here in these words that sanctification is a work that reaches the entire person. And the very God of peace sanctify you holy, holy. Paul prays that these believers would be sanctified holy. This word appears on only one other occasion in the New Testament. We looked at it whenever we studied the book of James. The reference is James 1 verse 5. But let patience have our perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. That's the same Greek word, entire or holy. It really is a word that comes from two words. The first word is holus, from which we get our English word holistic. The second word is teles, which means And so the word carries the thought of all the way through, right to the end. That's the import of the word. That's the thought behind the word. All the way through, right to the very end. That's what Paul is praying for here. That God would sanctify them all the way through. With regard to every facet, and faculty of their lives all the way through, right to its utmost extent, to its very, very end. Timothy Dwight was the grandson of the great New England preacher, Jonathan Edwards. And this is what Thomas or Timothy White said about this particular phrase, as being sanctified wholly. He said that sanctification affects the whole man, his views, affections, purposes, and conduct, and those of every kind. It extends alike to his duties of every kind, the Lord himself, his fellow creatures, and his maker. It affects and improves indiscriminately all the virtues of the Christian character, love to God and mankind, faith, repentance, justice, truth, kindness, humility, forgiveness, charity, generosity, public spirit, meekness, patience, fortitude, temperance, moderation, candor, and charitableness of judgment. It influences, he says, ruling passions and appetites, habits of thought and affection, language and practice it prompts all the acts of piety to prayer pre as attendance upon the sanctuary and its ordinances our sanctification of the Sabbath Christian communion and Christian discipline you see brethren sisters the goal is perfection the prize is Christ's likeness And it is to this goal, and it is to this prize, that we are to strive to, and that we are to strive for. It is for this we are to pray, that God would sanctify us wholly. Every part of us. Every part of us. Although we know that that sanctification will be brought to its full completion when we are glorified. That does not mean that we shouldn't pray for a more complete sanctification than we are presently experiencing. God, make me holier. Was that not McShane's prayer? Make me as holy as is possible for a justified sinner to be. He was praying in his own terms what Paul prayed here in 1 Thessalonians 5, and the verse 23. He was praying that God would make him holy, that God would sanctify him. And oh, for that we often sing. Oh, for that sanctified, fearless band, ready to heal its arrival. Did you pray this morning Did I pray this morning that God would make me holier? That God would make me more Christ-like? In my conduct and my behavior as I find myself in the world, did we pray today that God would sanctify us? Well, this is what Paul prayed for, and so he prays for the sanctification of the sins. Secondly, he prays about the preservation of the sins, because he goes on to say in verse 23, and I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I'm not going to get into the debate whether or not the spirit and the soul are the same here. But needless to say, Paul speaks, at least on this occasion, of man being a tripartite being. Paul was what theologians call a trichotomist. He believed that man was made up of body, of spirit, and of soul. or of body, soul, and spirit. Three constituent parts to man. And many argue because man was made in God's image, and God is triune, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then it would only but stand to sense that man who is made in the image of God is also tripartite. But I'm not going to get in to the dichotomy and the trichotomy in that argument. Don't worry about that. It isn't important with regard to our soul's salvation. And so you can debate it for all you want, but men have debated it down through the centuries and still many are found on either side of the fence. But one preacher attempted to explain the difference between the three parts that are mentioned here by the Apostle Paul. That individual, that preacher said that the body is sense conscious, sense conscious. It's a sense consciousness the body what we mean by our senses is by taste and touch and sight and hearing all the different the five senses so the body is sense consciousness the soul is self-consciousness We're conscious of ourselves our thinking our affections our emotions, but the spirit is God conscious There's a God consciousness within man. So Paul prays here that all three parts of man, spirit, soul and body would be preserved blameless. The prayer is that these believers would be kept from sin until the day of Christ appearing. Now Paul knows very well personally that to be kept from sin entirely and thought word and deed is impossible because we live in these bodies of flesh. However, again, it does not stop him praying that the saints of God would be preserved from the gross sins, that they would be kept from falling away totally. And finally, that they would be kept from apostatizing. And so he prays here that they would be preserved, kept, kept blameless. kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. One Christian writer said, perfect holiness is to be the aim of the saints on earth, as it will be the reward of the saints in heaven. You know, it is wonderful to know that it is God who keeps us. It is reassuring to know that the task of God to preserve us Blameless until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is one that he is well able for. And thank God he will keep us until the day of Christ's appearing. The scriptures speak of God keeping and preserving his people. The verses are familiar to us all. I think of those words of the Psalmist David there in Psalm 23, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. God keeping him until he found himself in heaven itself. 2 Timothy 4, verse 8, and the Lord shall deliver me from every work and will preserve me, Paul said, onto his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 1, 5, we're told that we're kept. by the power of God through faith onto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Now unto him that is able to keep us and to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before his presence of his glory with exceeding joy. You know, this prayer that God would preserve us is answered for every true believer, every genuine Christian. I know that because of what I read there in Christ's high priestly prayer, John 17 verse 12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I have kept and none of them is lost. None of them. None given to Christ by the Father, or lost, not one. All will safely reach heaven. All will be gathered home. And so rejoice in that. God will keep you. May every day we rise with this prayer in our lips, Lord, preserve me. Lord, Keep me, keep me from sinning. Keep me from sinning so readily. Keep me from sinning so quickly. Keep me until the day you either come or call. There's one final brief observation we want to make from the next verse, the verse 24, and that is the assurance that Paul had in prayer. You see, Paul prayed with the assurance that God would do what he was requesting him to do. Verse 24, faithful is he who calleth you who also will do it. The faithfulness of God was that which gave Paul the confidence that God would grant him his requests. God had promised to sanctify his people because this is the will of God. If you look back there to the chapter four and the verse In the verse number three of 1 Thessalonians, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification. And so Paul, when he prays here that God would sanctify the saints of God wholly and preserve them until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, well, he was praying in the will of God. He was praying according to God's will. This is the will of God, even your sanctification. And brethren and sisters, that's how we get our prayers answered, when we pray according to God's will, according to his revealed will. Because God is true and because he is faithful to his word, then there's no doubt, and there was no doubt in the mind of Paul that these prayers would be answered. And when we pray according to the will of God, We too can be assured that he will hear and answer prayer. God does what he says he will do. God does what he says he will do. And so let's find then the promises within his word. Let's find what he has promised to do in his word and then let's ask God to do it. You see, brethren and sisters, it is the Lord's faithfulness. Not our faithfulness that really is the grounds for God answering prayer. He doesn't see with regard to our faithfulness, but with regard to his faithfulness. I will do what I have promised to do. It is to a faithful God that we come to this evening in prayer. And so let us pour out our hearts to Him in prayer, as we come to the season of prayer. And could we not then pray these petitions? Could we not make them our petitions? Lord, sanctify me. Lord, keep me. Keep me from falling. Keep me from bringing disgrace on your name. Keep me. Keep me as the apple of thine eye, and keep me until the day you come or call, and help me to run the race, and finish it well, to the glory and to the praise of God. And as we pray along those lines, thank God we'll be able to say, faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Oh, may God do it in our lives. And may we live lives that are like Christ in this wicked and this perverse world for Christ's sake. Amen and amen. Let's pray. Our loving Father, we thank Thee for Thy word and the prayer of the Apostle Paul for the Thessalonian saints. Lord, we pray that Thou wilt come Lord, and sanctify us. Oh, may we have done with our sin. And grant, dear God, a greater Christ-likeness in all of our conduct, from preacher to congregation or member to communicant member, we pray, to every child of God who meets with us here or online. Oh, for a sanctified, fearless band. O for the sanctifying of thy spirit among us. Bring us along the road, O God, we pray. And may people look upon us and see Christ in our living. And Lord, see Christ in our dying. We pray these, our prayers, in and through our Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. Well, we have