Our Faithful God.

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. – 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV

In this prayer, Paul cuts straight to the chase. He asks that God would do what only He can do: To sanctify them completely. In other words, that God would complete His work of making them holy and conformed to the image of His Son. Paul spoke of this same confidence in his letter to the believers in Philippi: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 ESV). Paul's desire was that God continue His sanctification process in their lives. At because he knew and believed his God to be faithful, he was confidence that his prayer would be answered. Our sanctification, just like our salvation, is a work of God. He must do it. We cannot make ourselves more holy or Christ-like. Any attempt on our part of behavior modification will always fall short. We must always recognize and rest in the fact that our transformation is a divine activity in which we play a role, but one that is totally dependent upon God. Earlier in his same letter to the Philippian believers, Paul encouraged them to “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear” (Philippians 2:12 NLT). Their primary effort would be focused on obedience and reverence for God. Our job, as believers, is to listen to what God has to say, and then to do it. We must revere Him and respond obediently to Him as our God and Father. And we are never to forget that our pursuit of holiness is a Spirit-empowered endeavor. Peter puts it this way: “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV). Don't miss what Peter says, “you must live as God's obedient children.” We must develop a habit of listening to our heavenly Father, because we know He loves us and knows what is best for us. Obedience comes with trust. But trust is built from learning to obey. When God reveals His will for us and we obey it, we learn the invaluable lesson of faithful dependence upon Him. No matter how much we may disagree with what He may be asking us to do, we do it faithfully. And that act is an integral part of the process of our sanctification.

It is interesting that Paul's prayer includes the request that God would keep them blameless in spirit, soul and body. In other words, that they would be completely, wholly holy. Paul speaks of a holistic holiness that touches every part of their being – inside and out. A kind of holiness that would impact the way they live both internally and externally. Paul's not looking for mere external conformance, but desires to see true heart change accompanied by real lifestyle change. But again, Paul wants us to remember that without God's help, none of this is possible. For Paul, nothing could be more ridiculous than for a believer to attempt to sanctify themselves. Listen to what he wrote to the Galatian church: “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Galatians 3:3 NLT). Great question, and one we should be asking one another on a regular basis. The sad fact is, we all regularly attempt to make ourselves holy. We try to work out our salvation, but we leave out the part about “deep reverence and fear.” We forget that we need His help and so we end up trying to achieve holiness in our own strength. And it always leaves us worn out and wondering what it is that we are doing wrong or not doing enough. But our God is faithful. He who save us also sanctifies us.

Now, here's the catch. God may not transform us in quite the way we expect or desire. He may choose to use difficulties and disappointments. He may allow heartache and loss to enter into the equation. At times, He may allow brokenness in order to eliminate pride and self-sufficiency. When all is said and done, God will have been at work. He will have had His way and seen that His will was done. You can rest in that fact. He will surely do it. So why wouldn't we pray this same prayer for our loved ones, our friends, and fellow believers? His desire for us is our sanctification. Should our desire for one another be any different?

Shining Brighter Together.

Philippians 2:12-18

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world. – Philippians 2:14-15 NET

According to Paul, our lives should reflect the reality of our salvation. Jesus didn't just reserve us a permanent place in the life to come. He provided a means by which we can experience abundant life in this life – right here, right now. He has placed His Spirit within us so that we have no excuse if our lives fail to reflect our new nature. But some of us are a bit surprised when we learn that living the Christian life is hard work. I'm not quite sure where we got the impression that becoming a Christ-follower was going to be easy. It certainly wasn't for the disciples, Paul, or any of the members of the early church. Paul was brutally honest about the high call to commitment required of all believers. He told the Philippians, "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear" (Philippians 2:12b NLT). A more familiar translation of that passage might be, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Either way you look at it, there is a clear responsibility given to the believer to do his or her part in the process of sanctification. While it is true that we can no more sanctify ourselves than we can save ourselves, there is still a vital part that we are to play in the process of our transformation into Christ-likeness.

One of the key words left out in the New Living Translation's reading of this passage is the word, "therefore" that appears at the very beginning of verse 12. It is the Greek word hoste, a word of transition that means, "now then." It ties the verses to come with the ones that just preceded it. Paul had just finished talking about the mind of Christ. His was an attitude of humility, service and sacrifice. And as a result of His life of obedience, even unto death, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor. He is worthy of honor and glory. His name is above all other names. He is the Lord of all – the one who all will eventually recognize and kneel before. As a result of that fact, Paul tells the Philippians, their behavior should be different. They should want to put every effort into seeing to it that their salvation, placing their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior, will produce fruit. Paul tells them to work out their salvation, not work for it. There's a huge difference between those two phrases. Believers are to eagerly put effort into the cultivation of their new life in Christ. Paul told Titus, "all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good" (Titus 3:8 NLT). As always when reading the letters of Paul, we must constantly remind ourselves to keep the content within its context. Paul is writing to the church – the corporate body of believers in Philippi. He has been telling them to not live selfishly, focusing on their own interests, but instead they were to focus on the needs of one another. They were to love one another and work together with one mind and purpose. Paul is still addressing the body of believers. He is calling the church to display the reality of their salvation through tangible acts of kindness, compassion and love.

When Paul tells them to "do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world," he is speaking to the entire body, not just to individuals. This passage is a call to Christ-like community. We shine the brightest as believers when we do so together, not alone. The Christian life is to be a corporate experience, not a solitary one. We are children of God together, not just individually. How sad it is when our earthly children can't get along. Think about how much it saddens you as a parent when your own children can't seem to get along. How much more so for God when His adopted children, who have been given so much, fail to love another and live in harmony with one another.

Paul tells his readers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. There should be a real sense of awe, reverence and legitimate fear in the lives of all believers when they consider what Christ has done for them. Paul describes Christ as being in the place of highest honor. He has the name that is above all other names. One day all men will kneel before Him, acknowledging His Lordship. The day is coming when every tongue in heaven and on earth will confess that He is the Lord. As believers, because of what has happened in our lives as a result of Christ's work on the cross, we know exactly who He is right now. So we should pursue our own personal sanctification and that of the corporate body of Christ with a sense of awe, reverence and fear – for what He has done and what He is doing in our midst. Our lack of love and unity is a slap in the face of Christ Himself, reflecting our disdain for His sacrificial death on our behalf. Our failure to live as lights in the world discredit His redemptive work on the cross, giving the world the impression that His death was ineffectual. So because of who Christ is and what He has done, we should work out, pursue, and make as our highest priority, our ongoing transformation into His likeness. And nowhere does our Christ-like character show up best than in the community of fellow believers.

Father, Your Son has done so much for us, the least we can do for Him is to pursue our transformation into His likeness with a vengeance. Forgive us for making our transformation into His image a low priority, allowing too many other things to distract us. You have called us to be lights in this world, shining out and illuminating the darkness around us as we live out our lives in love and unity. We shine so much brighter when we shine together. Show us how to work out our salvation together. Show us how we can continue to grow in Christ-likeness together, not just alone. Amen.