1 Thessalonians 5:23 - Exposition

And the very God of peace ; the God who communicates peace; an expression frequently employed by Paul at the close of his Epistles ( Romans 15:33 ; Romans 16:20 ; Philippians 4:9 ; 2 Corinthians 13:11 ; 2 Thessalonians 3:16 ). Sanctify you wholly ; that is, perfectly, without anything wanting, referring to the entireness of the sanctification, which is presently expressed in detail. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body ; the adjective "whole" applies to all the three substantives. The apostle here divides human nature into three parts—spirit, soul, and body; and this threefold division is not a mere rhetorical statement: "The apostle pouring forth from the fullness of his heart a prayer for his converts" (Jowett); but a distinct statement of the three component parts of human nature. The "spirit" is the highest part of man, that which assimilates him to God; renders him capable of religion, and susceptible of being acted upon by the Spirit of God. The "soul" is the inferior part of his mental nature, the seat of the passions and desires, of the natural propensities. The "body" is the corporeal frame. Such a threefold distinction of human nature was not unknown among the Stoics and Platonists. There are also traces of it in the Old Testament, the spirit, or breath of God, being distinguished from the soul. Be preserved blameless . "The spirit is preserved blameless at the advent when the voice of truth rules it, the soul when it strives against all the charms of the senses, and the body when it is not abused as the instrument of shameful actions" (Lunemann). Unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.