Now, if you turn in your copy of God’s Word to 1 Thessalonians, I think that’s on page 1,258 of your Pew Bibles. We’ll seek to finish this letter today as we’ve been going through it for the last several weeks. Let’s hear the very word of God, 1 Thessalonians 5, beginning at verse 23.
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. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Praise be to God. Would you pray with me? Father, our God, We thank you for your word. We thank you for this precious letter. Thank you for this benediction.
We pray, Lord God, that you would help us to understand this morning, and not mere understanding, but that you, by grace, would work powerfully in our hearts this day, teaching us all that you’d have us to know this morning. and in working in us, applying this to our hearts. We ask all this in Jesus’s name, amen. What does the church tell strangers about Jesus Christ? Maybe a strange question. but I’d like to ask it this morning. What does the church tell strangers about Jesus Christ? At the end of chapter two in the book of Acts, we have this wonderful picture of the apostolic church.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers. They came together. Everyone who had believed had everything in common. So much so that they were selling their possessions. Everything that they had, distributing the proceeds, means that’s what they got in return for selling them to everyone who had a need. They were in the temple together, breaking bread in their homes together. They received their food with glad and generous hearts. They praised God, and here’s the result. They had favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day. That church was telling strangers about Jesus Christ. Are we? What do you tell strangers about Jesus? In a sense, that question is being asked by Paul as he writes this first letter to this very young church. They’re called to Macedonia.
As these three were on this missionary journey, they ultimately arrive in Thessalonica, and preach there three times. We’ve known that, we’ve been saying that every single time we come to this letter. But just three times, three Lord’s Days. And through those three days, much doctrine was opened up, and Paul recounts that doctrine as he goes through this letter.
Much about Christ, much about Christ’s return, much about Christ’s resurrection, and much about how they’re to live in light of his resurrection and his return. And now we come to the end. Now we come to this last portion of this very short letter. Many would say that this is merely a benediction or a prayer of Paul, a blessing of Paul at the end, just kind of the closing. But I want to suggest to us this morning that while it is a benediction, while it is a prayer of Paul, while it is the closing, there’s a general division in these last six verses. First about faith, and secondly about works. And so Paul is putting those two things together here as he ends his letter, faith and works. And in a sense, Paul is asking that question, what are you telling others about Jesus Christ?
What should this church look like that has been planted, set up, established, and now you all are in charge of running it? What does the church look like to others who are outside of the church? As they look into the church, what are those in Thessalonica seeing? Are they seeing Jesus Christ? So as we go through this passage this morning, I’d like us to be asking ourselves, what should our church look like from the perspective of those who are outside looking in?
And I think Paul is saying here that it should look like a faithful, believing church who have been assembled and are being led in their faith by the Lord Jesus Christ. And at the very same time, they should be seeing that these believers, through the fellowship and communion with one another, are setting forth and proclaiming Christ. Now, let’s see if I’m right. See if we can see that here in this passage. I’d like us to see, as we go through this, that through the faithfulness of God in Jesus, believers are assured of their salvation and enjoy Christ-radiating fellowship. Through the faithfulness of God in Jesus, believers are assured of their salvation and enjoy Christ-radiating fellowship. We’ll see that in two points this morning.
First, God in Christ is faithful. Secondly, the fellowship of the faithful woos strangers. As we go through this passage, once again, I’d be asking you to ask yourselves, what does the church tell strangers about Christ? Well, first, God in Christ is faithful.
At the end here, we have this benediction. But what is the end of it? Look at verse 24. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. Meaning he will surely sanctify and he will surely keep you blameless. That’s the end of the benediction. But there’s a problem. And I think Paul recognizes the problem. In a sense, that’s why he sets forth this benediction at the end in this way. Since the fall, since Adam’s fall from grace, each person, you all included, have inherited a sin nature, which is inclined and bent toward self-sufficiency. Meaning that in Adam, we believe, each of us, that we are self-sufficient.
One of our daughters, as she was just beginning to learn to speak, to use her words, would say to her mother time and again, I can do it myself, Mommy. We didn’t teach her that. She came up with those words, that idea herself. She came up with that on her own as a daughter of Adam. Even at a very young age, she thought she was self-sufficient. I can do it myself.
Consistently. shunning help from her mother. And that’s not a description of our daughter alone. It’s a description of each and every one of us. It’s a description of Eve as she examined the forbidden fruit, determined to cast off the word of God and evaluate what was the best way to respond to the temptations of Satan on her own. And as we know, she came to the conclusion that it was better for her to be self-sufficient than to rely and depend upon the very word of the living God. See, we see this inclination towards self-sufficiency not only in ourselves but throughout this world.
In fact, as you speak to friends and family members who don’t know Christ Jesus, savingly, most are convinced that they are headed to heaven. And when you ask them that question, how will you get there, you usually get the response in this way or of this ilk.
I can do it myself. That’s what many think. That’s what many believe. I can do it myself. I can enter heaven, eternal life, glory on my own without help from anyone, including God or Jesus Christ. That’s our nature. We say to the Lord Jesus Christ, thank you, but no thank you. I’m good on my own. I really don’t need anything you have to give me.
Paul, throughout this letter, has been implicitly stating that kind of belief is utterly false. At the end, as he wraps up this first letter, the apostle is explicitly setting forth the truth, which turns this belief, this false belief, this incredibly foolish concept on its head. Here, it is not the faithfulness of men, but the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is to be praised and glorified, and that’s what Paul is pointing to. And see, men are much too needy to enter heaven on their own.
And Paul recognizes it here. He recognizes that you need peace. He recognizes that you need to be sanctified. He recognizes that you need to be blameless. Let’s just touch upon each of those. In this passage, we have in our English versions, now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. In the Greek, that pronoun himself is actually the first word in a sentence. Some refer to that as fronting. And the idea is that that’s supposed to be a really important word, really important to Paul, really important to the Spirit, to get it up front.
Himself. Himself, God, will do this. Himself will sanctify. Himself will make you blameless when Jesus returns. Himself. Think of that. God doesn’t assign this to someone else. He doesn’t get one of his angels to go and make you blameless. No. Himself, not someone else.
And you might be thinking, this kind of work sanctify you completely, keep you blameless. Knowing our propensity for sin, that this is really hard work. Changing a heart so completely, a really hard heart, really completely making it so tender, setting it apart, purging sin from it. You might think that Paul would use the title, now may the almighty God himself.
But he doesn’t. Instead, Paul chooses the God of peace. Why? Because Paul knew that within the peace of God is much power. In Romans chapter 16, Paul writes, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. God of peace. Whoever wrote Hebrews in chapter 13 wrote this, now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ. God of peace rose the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. We usually think of peace as weakness. And Paul’s saying, no. There’s much strength, there’s much power in the peace of our God. And if you only consider the tribulation that goes on within your heart when you sin, now you really get to the idea. It’s the peace of God is at work cleansing you. washing that away.
Think of Adam. As he was created, he was very good. And as Nathaniel Vincent writes, Adam’s conscience was very good before he sinned. While he remained in that state of innocence, there was peace within Adam. before he sinned. He resembled God’s holiness and righteousness, and so he resembled in him peace and blessedness. There was nothing in Adam, as Vincent writes, that either God or Adam’s conscience disapproved of. That’s peace.
And that’s why Paul writes about the God of peace. You need peace. And the only way you can have peace is in and through Jesus Christ. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. You see, you need the peace of Christ. And that’s why Paul begins with that in this benediction. In order to enter into glory, you must have the peace of Christ. But you need more than that, don’t you? It’s the God of peace who’s going to sanctify you completely.
Now, you might be thinking, well, I think I’m sanctified already. By just coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I’m sanctified, I’m set apart. And that’s the idea of the word, isn’t it? To be set apart from the world. But are you completely? And I think the honest answer for each and every one of us is no, not yet. Yes. I’ve been sanctified in terms of I’m in Christ now. I’ve confessed Christ by and through the power of his gift to me. By grace, I’ve confessed the living one as my savior. And therefore I am sanctified.
I am set apart. But not completely. You think of God’s work of sanctification. Think of Noah. He was set apart. The moment he stepped into the ark with his family, they were set apart. Only Noah, only his family, only them, they were sanctified, set apart by God for salvation. The rest of the world was decimated. Think of Abraham or Abram. As he’s called out of his father’s household, no one else called, only those with him, Abraham and Lot. Abram was the one who’s called out to leave, to be separated. And in order to be separated, he had to leave his home.
Sanctified. You see, we’re so tied and connected to this physical world. We’re not fully sanctified. We’re not completely sanctified yet. Think of the Israelites on their journey to the promised land, constantly grumbling, complaining. What did they want to do? They wanted to go back home. Send me back home.
God must truly and completely sanctify you. You need to be completely set apart from this world in order to enter Glory. Only God can do that. Only Jesus Christ can do that. The God of peace himself sanctify you completely. But Paul didn’t stop there, did he? In his prayer, in his benediction, he also asks that you be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, along being sanctified, and these two go together. They really can’t be set apart, but Paul speaks of them separately, and so we should as well. See, only the blameless can ascend the holy hill of God.
To be blameless means to be without sin. To be blameless means to be one who is exclusively obedient to the very and perfect will of God. To be blameless means you take your will and cast it off the way that Eve cast off the word of God. You have to take your will and cast it off, set it aside, And say in your heart, I not only desire to do your heavenly will, Father, but I have done your heavenly will perfectly.
Only the blameless can enter into the presence of God. Only the blameless can live in the eternal dwelling place of the Most High. Only those without sin can enter into insane glory with the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the sinless and the pure enjoy eternal life with the living and true God.
And we know we’re not. We know we’re not blameless. But you see, this is the benediction, isn’t it? At the coming of Christ. So is this what those outside the church are seeing as they look in? Everyone. within the church moving toward complete sanctification. Everyone becoming more and more, those are the words used by Paul in this letter, more and more blameless. In short, each one individually and collectively together becoming more like Jesus Christ. Are they seeing that? You may be asking yourselves that question, a good question, how? How can it be seen? How can this be done? How will it come about?
Here’s then the blessing. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. That’s the prayer That’s the blessing of Paul to this church at Thessalonica. Asking the Lord God Almighty to sanctify and make these dear ones blameless of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that these are requirements. to be admitted into glory, into heaven, they must be satisfied, you must be completely sanctified, you must be blameless in order to enter into glory. Lacking either one of these, as they do go together, would mean hell and damnation, as opposed to glory and blessing with Jesus. So would they. Would those outside the church looking in see this in you, in this church? and whatever church you attend. And the answer this morning should be from all of you, yes.
And you should follow that immediately, not because of anything in me, but because God, the living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is a faithful God. See, that’s what I said when I began. This benediction is about faith, but it’s not about your faith. It’s about the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He has promised to finish the work that he’s begun in you. That’s what he wrote to those at Philippi. That’s what he’s writing to those at Thessalonica. God will do it, the Lord Jesus Christ will do it, Paul knew it. And so he could tell them without hesitation, with perfect confidence, that God would bring them into glory by sanctifying them completely and making them blameless. He would do it.
And so you see, that’s where the Christian’s confidence lies. That’s where Paul’s confidence was not in himself, not in the young believers in the church at Thessalonica, not even in their faith, but in the enduring and faithful promise of God and the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Christ is the one who, through his spirit, has given you the gift of faith, began the work, such that you would remain in it until the day of his coming again. And Christ is the one, through His Spirit, who will ensure on the day of His coming, on His return, that you will be blameless. That seems impossible, doesn’t it? Even Paul wrote, for I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. But on the day that He returns, you’re going to be blameless. You’ll be pure, without spot, without blemish. For Christ will give you His robes of righteousness in an unchangeable way. Robes that can’t be removed. Robes that are the pure radiance of Jesus.
And so that will be what those see as they’re looking through the windows of the church. That’s what they should see. You moving closer and closer to Jesus. More and more complete sanctification. More and more blamelessness. That’s what Paul is calling the church at Thessalonica to be. Not perfect in themselves, but resting and relying upon the faithfulness of Jesus Christ and knowing that he will finish what he began in them. Praise be to God.
That does bring it to our second point, the fellowship of the faithful woos strangers. Well, now we go to these last few verses, which are not the benediction, but they’re related to it. And I think they’re related to it because Paul has broken this up into faith and now works. And so in these last few verses, Paul is speaking to those saints there at Thessalonica about fellowship. In other words, as a result of God’s work of faithfulness in and through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, this is what results. This fellowship, this communion. What others are seeing as they look in the windows.
Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. So what do we want others to see? We cannot forget, and here we must emphasize, this is a call for fellowship in these verses. Each one of us have fellowship with Jesus Christ first and foremost. Yes, that’s the benediction. But then with each other. And so Paul begins by asking for prayer. Brothers, pray for us.
The intimacy set forth here, it begins with that word that he uses for all of them, brothers. There’s fellowship just in that word, isn’t there? Brothers. The intimacy set forth is in that word, brothers. They were related. They are related. They were joined together. They are joined together in glory as brothers as the sons of the living God and brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you see, that’s the only way that Paul can ask for prayer from these young believers because he’s in fellowship. with them through Christ. And because of that fellowship, Paul knows that they can and will pray for him in the name of Jesus and Silas and Timothy. He knows because he’s in fellowship with Jesus that through Jesus that he will heed this request and lift up these men. to where Jesus is seated, ruling and reigning. He knows that Jesus will receive their prayers and hear their prayers because they trust in him. So he asks, he asks them to pray because of this intimate fellowship with one another. How many weeks were they there? Three Lord’s Days. That’s it.
Paul’s calling them brothers and asking them to pray And he’s confident and comfortable in requesting their prayers because of that intimate fellowship. Do you see what a blessing it is to be in a church where we pray together? We pray for one another. Do you understand how wonderful it is to be in a body that cares enough for each other that we pray? that we lift each other up to Christ? Paul knew it. Do you think as those who are outside look in and see a praying assembly of intimate brothers and sisters might be wooed to come and join? to see what Christ is doing here? What happened to you that you care about your brothers and sisters like this? Are you asking for prayer? And are you praying for each other?
It’s a mark of a true church. It’s a mark of a church that woos others to Christ. Paul continues with saying, greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. Now, not only spiritual intimacy is set forth, brothers, pray for us. Now there’s this physical intimacy. Holy, pure fellowship, physical. We’re together. Gotta be together for a holy kiss. Face to face, so to speak. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is spiritual, but it’s also very physical. We need to assemble. And Paul knew that. And so he’s saying, okay, when you guys get together, when you assemble, make sure you give each other a holy kiss from me. But Paul didn’t stop there. Paul asked them to share the word.
I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers Paul knew how critical the Word of God was. Not just for individuals, yes, for individuals, but for the church as a whole. The whole church needed to hear as they assembled together this very Word of God. You see, individuals should be reading the Word of God.
Yes, of course, but Thessalonians didn’t have it. Thessalonians. They didn’t have what we have today. And so this one letter, was to be read as the church gathered together. This was the word, now there’s other books. Yes, of course. But not this letter. This word of God was to be so cherished, so significant, that as they gathered together, they were to read it. Do you see the unity and the communion involved as Paul puts them under oath? You gotta promise you’re gonna read this letter to everybody.
That’s the unity of the body of Christ and it can only be found in the church. That’s the only place it can be found. Do you revel and rejoice in the fact that you’ve been given the word of God and that you come together every Lord’s day and hear it read and opened? It’s a supernatural event.
Paul knew it. And so he puts them under oath, read the Word of God. It changes hearts. He made them promise that they would read the letter to the entire body because Paul knew its power. Do you tell others about the changing, life-changing power of the Word of God? It is Christ. Every time we read the word of God, we are seeing, hearing from Christ.
Isn’t that what you want others to see? Isn’t that what truly woos others? Seeing the true shepherd, hearing from the true shepherd, hearing his words of life, life-altering, life-changing, life-giving word. Do you tell others about it? Do you share it with them? Do you ask them to come to this place so they can hear it read and preached?
Join in with us in unity and communion as we hear the word of God. Finally, Paul ends the letter with grace. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In fact, he began the letter with grace, didn’t he? He began the letter with grace as he writes of those at Thessalonica being chosen by God, by grace. And he finishes the letter with grace. In a sense, he began with Christ and he ends with Christ because Christ is grace.
Christ was given to the church, to the people of God, by grace. Christ went to the cross willfully, sacrificing himself for you, and that is all grace. And the triune God raised him up from the dead, such that you would obtain to the resurrection of the dead by grace.
Are those outside the church seeing that? That you’ve been changed by grace. That there’s grace here in this place. You need grace. And you have it here. You have it in Christ. Do others know of it? You see, you can’t earn your way into eternal life. You can’t earn your way to Christ. He must come to you by grace. And is that what others are seeing as they look in through these windows? Are they seeing the grace of Christ?
You know, through the faithfulness of God and Jesus, believers are assured of their salvation and enjoy intimate Christ-radiating fellowship. What a joy this letter has been. What a joy to hear it wrapped up in this way. And what a joy to know that in it, Paul is describing the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s describing the faithfulness of Jesus Christ who keeps his church and will perfect his church when he returns And he’s describing the result of those promises that he will finish what he’s completed as we see the fellowship and the communion of the saints in Christ, all seeking to woo those who are outside of the church to love, to serve, and to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to their salvation.
Amen. Would you pray with me? Our Father and our God, we thank you for this letter. Thank you for this fledgling church. We thank you, Lord God, for Paul’s ministry there. And we thank you, Holy Spirit, for providing this very word. And now we ask, help us. continue to sanctify us, continue to make us blameless, more and more hating sin and more and more loving your word and striving toward keeping it. Help us to remember the promises of Christ. And Lord God, we pray that the fellowship of this church would only increase, that those outside these four walls could see the love we have first for Christ and then for one another. We ask all this in Jesus’s name, amen.