Entire Sanctification

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NASB20)

A key to understanding this passage is found in verse 24. Paul prays that Father will fully sanctify, or set apart, or make holy, these believers. This is something accomplished by God, not by effort of our will.

The word behind “sanctify” (hagiazo) in verse 23 uses a rare form called the optative mood. Out of 28,121 verbs in the New Testament, this form occurs only about 68 times. It is the form used in Romans 6:15 when Paul asks whether we should just keep on sinning since we are not under Law, but under grace. His response is an emphatic “Far from it!” or “God forbid!” This verb form indicates the word is to be applied in the strongest terms. That’s why the translators render it “sanctify you completely.”

That the Spirit, through Paul, mentions “spirit, soul, and body”, indicates to me that He has our ultimate glorification in mind. That is when we receive a glorified body that is fully set apart (sanctified) and made incorruptible as it was originally designed to be.

Given all this, I think Paul is praying that Father will continue to grow and mature us, and that this will include the way we use our bodies—presenting them as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), using them as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13). He prays that this process will continue until the day of redemption, or ultimate glorification, when we “see Him as He is. Indeed all creation awaits this day. We read that “the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God.” (Romans 8:19, NASB 2020)

There is no doubt in Paul’s mind that this will occur, as he makes clear in his declaration in verse 24.

God is faithful and He will do it.