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There is no one who, according to his natural, human life, is steadfast in his heart; because our heart changes so easily, it is not at all trustworthy— Jer. 17:9-10; 13:23.
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Our heart is blamable because it is changeable; an unchanging heart is a blameless heart—Psa. 57:7; 108:1; 112:7.
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In God's salvation the renewing of the heart is once for all; however, in our experience our heart is renewed continually because it is changeable—Ezek. 36:26; 2 Cor. 4:16.
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Because our heart is changeable, it needs to be renewed continually by the sanctifying Spirit so that our heart can be established and built up in the state of being holy, separated unto God, occupied by God, possessed by God, and saturated with God—Titus 3:5; Rom. 6:19, 22; 2 Cor. 3:16-18; Matt. 5:8; Psa. 51:10-12.
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As our heart is being established blameless in holiness by the continual renewing of the sanctifying Spirit, we are becoming the New Jerusalem with the newness of the divine life, and we are becoming the holy city with the holiness of the divine nature—Rev. 21:2; 1 John 5:11-12; 2 Pet. 1:4.
Ⅵ
"The God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it"—1 Thes. 5:23-24:
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The God of peace is the Sanctifier; His sanctification brings in peace; when we are wholly sanctified by Him from within, we have peace with Him and with man in every way—vv. 23, 13; 2 Thes. 3:16.
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God desires to sanctify us, and He Himself will do it as long as we are willing to pursue Him as holiness and cooperate with Him; in this way we can be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16); without holiness we cannot see Him (Heb. 12:14).
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By sanctifying us, God transforms us in the essence of our spirit, soul, and body, making us wholly like Him in nature; in this way He preserves our spirit, soul, and body wholly complete—1 Thes. 5:23:
１
Through the fall our body was ruined, our soul was contaminated, and our spirit was deadened; in God's full salvation our entire being is saved and made complete and perfect.
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For this, God is preserving our spirit from any deadening element (Heb. 9:14), our soul from remaining natural and old (Matt. 16:24-26), and our body from the ruin of sin (1 Thes. 4:4; Rom. 6:6).
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Such a preservation by God and His thorough sanctification sustain us to live a holy life unto maturity so that we may meet the Lord in His coming.
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Quantitatively, God sanctifies us wholly; qualitatively, God preserves us complete—that is, He keeps our spirit, soul, and body perfect.
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Although God preserves us, we need to take the responsibility, the initiative, to cooperate with His operation to be preserved by keeping our spirit, soul, and body in the saturating of the Holy Spirit—1 Thes. 5:12-24.
Morning Nourishment
Jer. 17:10 I, Jehovah, search the heart and test the inward parts…1 Thes. 3:13 So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father…
5:23 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We need a heart that is solidly established, not a heart that is changeable. According to our natural birth, however, our heart is changeable…. For example, in the morning a brother may be very kind to his wife. But during breakfast he may become bothered by something and treat her in an unkind way. This is an illustration of the changeableness of our heart. Our heart is changeable…even in our relationship with the Lord. God is the unchanging One; He never changes. We are the ones who are changeable, and we are changeable in our heart. For this reason, Paul was concerned that the hearts of the new believers at Thessalonica would be set, built up, and established. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, p. 175)
Today’s Reading
Our heart still needs to be established. This is true both of the young and of the old….Old people are not more steadfast than young people. Actually, there is no one who, according to his natural, human life, is steadfast in his heart…. Simply because we grow older does not mean that there is a basic change in our nature…. I urge you, especially those who are not so young, not to have any confidence in your heart. Because our heart changes so easily, it is not at all trustworthy. Time after time I have seen someone have a change of heart. Because our heart is changeable, a crucial need in our Christian life is the establishing of our heart. Although we need our heart to be established, we are not able to do this ourselves. Only the Lord can establish our heart. Therefore, we need Him to cause our heart to be solidly established and built up.We have seen that according to 1 Thessalonians 3:13 the Lord seeks to establish our hearts blameless….Our heart is blamable because it is changeable. If your heart is set, built up, and established upon a solid foundation, it will then become blameless. An unchanging heart is a blameless heart.
According to 5:23, the Sanctifier is the God of peace. His sanctification brings in peace. When we are wholly sanctified by Him from within, we have peace with Him in every way. The word sanctified here means to be set apart; it is to be separated unto God from things common or profane. The word wholly means entirely, thoroughly, to the consummation. God sanctifies us wholly, so that no part of our being, either of our spirit or soul or body, will be left common or profane.
God not only sanctifies us wholly, but also preserves our spirit, soul, and body complete. Wholly is quantitative; complete is qualitative. In quantity God sanctifies us wholly; in quality God preserves us complete, that is, He keeps our spirit, soul, and body perfect. Through the fall our body has been ruined, our soul has been contaminated, and our spirit has been deadened. In God’s full salvation our entire being is saved and made complete and perfect. For this, God is preserving our spirit from any deadening element (Heb. 9:14), our soul from remaining natural and old (Matt. 16:24-26), and our body from the ruin of sin (1 Thes. 4:4; Rom. 6:6). Such a preservation by God and His thorough sanctification sustain us to live a holy life unto maturity that we may meet the Lord in His parousia, His presence.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:24 Paul says, “Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.” The faithful God who has called us will also sanctify us wholly and preserve our entire being complete. This is Paul’s word of assurance to the believers. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 176, 168-169)
Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msgs. 19-20