I prefer the King James Bible over all others. There are some problems as there is with all Bibles but not anything the hungry heart for God can’t overcome. I think it was God’s will for us to have to dig for the truth. In fact, He said, I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19). Then the Apostle Paul added, Our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. II Corinthians 3:5b-6. If you are trying to understand the Bible with your natural understanding, it will be death to you instead of life. Let’s look at two more scriptures that will help explain this. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Romans 8:6-7. Then in Proverbs. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:5-7. The evil is trusting your own understanding and being wise in your own eyes.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:9, God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit. Too many Christians do not know how to serve God in or with their spirit. They continue to understand, discern, and make judgment calls with their normal abilities. To be born again means to have come alive to God and His Spirit. Thus, you are led by His Spirit, and you learn to function in and with your spirit. The gifts of the Spirit become your normalcy. Christians, for the most part, are very immature because they repent for their sins, accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, and then claim to be born again without the changes that are necessary for a valid born-again experience. Many are religious instead of spiritual. Being religious is taking the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). Now let’s go to our text for this message. We haven’t done that yet. What we have done so far is free, but it will cost you all that you are.
I Thessalonians 5:23 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 the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sanctification has to do with being born of God. To be sanctified means to be separated from and unto. You are separated from the old life of humanism and separated unto a new life in God. That’s what it means to be born again and that is what it means to be sanctified.
The very God of peace sanctifies you. You cannot do it yourself, but it doesn’t just happen because you are a Christian. It is the result of a tremendous hungering after the Lord. Many Christians never become sanctified because they don’t want it enough. God doesn’t respond in a good way to indifferent, lukewarm Christians. You shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13. Do you want a real born-again experience with God? Do you really want to be sanctified?
Now notice Paul says that God will sanctify you wholly. Can one be sanctified partially? Yes! The human person is very complex. Some Christians are never able to open up their whole life to God. There are areas of your life that you know nothing about and will probably never know until the Lord invades your life and shines His light upon all the nooks and crevices of your life. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees. Zephaniah 1:12. When you become spiritual Jerusalem the Lord shall come forth in your life and shine His light upon the secret areas of your life and that is when your sanctification will be completed.
Then Paul says, I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. Again, it is your whole spirit and soul and body. That is why we stress continual spiritual growth. Never stop contending for more. Wherever you are in your born-again experience there is more. Wherever you are in your sanctification there is more. The greatest sin is to stop hungering after more of God. Let’s look at our text again.
I Thessalonians 5:23 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 the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are interested in the last phrase of this verse: unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mentioned earlier that it was sometimes necessary to work for understanding. This is one of those times that life and death is set before you. “Unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ” is a wrong translation from the Greek. It makes it sound like an event that takes place in the future which presents a completely wrong concept. The NIV, ASV, RSV, NASB, ESV, and the NKJV all have “at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,” which is also wrong. Only the Young’s Literal Translation has it correctly: in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word that is translated as “coming” is parousia. How so many could miss that, I don’t know. “Coming” is a verb and parousia is a noun. And it does not mean “coming.” It means presence. Also, the preposition is wrong, KJV has “unto” and the others have “at” which makes it sound like an event to take place in the future. It is not futuristic. His presence is now. It is our responsibility to be in His presence now. And only in His presence will we be preserved blameless, and only there will we be sanctified wholly.
Prepositions are important. They can be the difference in life or death. Let’s look at one more.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in Me.
Believe in God, believe also in Me is incorrect. The correct translation from the Greek is believe into God, believe also into Me. You can believe in God without ever knowing His presence. Every Christian believes in Him but very few have moved into Him. “Into” is a preposition that indicates motion and movement from the outside to the inside. Our believing into God will take us into Him. Our believing into Jesus Christ will take us into His presence. Now you cannot move into Him if you have Him tucked away in the clouds of the sky somewhere.
Real sanctification only takes place in His presence. You can only be preserved blameless in His presence. Do you understand what I am saying? If you try to understand your Bible with your natural understanding, you will not find the life in it. You must have revelation! The truths of the Word must be revealed to you! I cannot emphasize it enough. The presence of the Lord is available; move into Him! Do it now! When the presence of the Lord is only put in the future, there is death in the pot (II Kings 4:40).
John the Baptist preached, Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand (Matthew 3:2). In John 4:17 Jesus began His ministry saying, Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. In Matthew 10: 7 Jesus told His disciples to preach saying, The Kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Kingdom of heaven is present and so is the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords. The problem is that too many Christians don’t believe it. Only those who really believe will move into the Kingdom of God and only those who really believe will move into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Copyright © 2014 by Henry DuBose