1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it

From Background Notes [BN] for December 22nd & 23rd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

When Paul begins with the phrase “God himself” (Greek: autos … theos), he lays stress on the identity of God as the peace-maker. Literally, the Greek reads, “Now He, the God of peace, may he sanctify you wholly…”

There is strong linkage between peace and wholly (Greek: holoteleis). Since God is the God of shalom, He works for whole sanctification, since the goal of shalom is this kind of completeness, well-being, and entirety of condition. God doesn’t deal in half-measures or quick-fixes or temporary solutions. He does not aim at a mere reconstruction of human life, but at a complete radical recreation. To borrow language from popular culture, the God of Peace launches an extreme makeover of the human person, described here as “whole spirit, soul, and body.” Yet another Greek word denoting completeness also appears in the text: holoklēros, combining holos with klēros which means “whole in all parts.” Lexicographers Liddell and Scott correlate the term with the Latin integer — whole, positive number, from which our word “integrity” draws its meaning. [BN, 4-5]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am