1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

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. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

25 Brothers, pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

In all Pauline epistles, the Apostle opens and closes each letter with a declaration of grace: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. For example, 1 Thessalonians 1:1 says, “To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.”  For the concluding benediction, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:28, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” John Piper was right in his book, Future Grace, that the pair of graces go together like two bookends in each of Paul’s letters (p. 66-67). The opening begins with grace to you: so that you may be graced as you read and study the Word. And at the conclusion, Paul always ends with grace be with you: so that you may go out and live a life worthy and pleasing to God. The child of God is de facto blessed with all the graces of God. The central truth, therefore, is grace; and the message of grace is sandwiched in between.  

Let’s examine the benediction in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 to ascertain the grace that God has in store and laid out for us. Beginning in verses 23-24, we see there are three notable aspects of grace that the Apostle wants the Thessalonians to remember. They are: being called, sanctified, and kept. Even though being called is at the end of this list, other passages in the Bible provide clarity on the sequence. Romans 8:29-30 says, “​​For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” So we may conclude that Paul’s pronouncement is a statement of grace. It begins with being called by God to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Where in Romans 8, which is Paul’s theological position on the Doctrine of Soteriology, Paul presents salvation as an established fact: God foreknew, predestines, calls, and justifies. You cannot be justified unless you are called. And you cannot be called unless you are predestined. The distinctions may be ambiguous for our finite mind, nevertheless, the truth of being called by God is a mercy that is an unfathomable mystery,  but allows me to worship Jesus Christ, our Lord God, Redeemer, and Savior, in Spirit and in truth (John 4:21).

The next grace is being sanctified, which Paul already presented in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification”. Paul repeats his instructions. This reminds me of my mother who was our family’s disciplinarian; she did not wait for dad to come home. I can remember her saying, “If I told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times…’. Repeating this message is important, but it also conveys two significant nuances. The first testament to sanctification in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 establishes the fact that sanctification, which is growing in Christ, is God’s will for us and we must now be resolved to be like Him. The second nuance in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 states, “May the God of peace sanctify you completely”. This connects God’s sanctifying work to make us like Him as part of His complete and finished work of salvation. Salvation is all of God and all for His glory alone. This message is also found in Philippians 1:6, which says, “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.” Our faith is confident that what is spoken in God’s Word is true and finished. Our sanctification will be complete when we see Jesus, for we will see Him as He really is (1 John 3:2).

Therefore, since our sanctification will be complete, we can be sure that we will also be kept in Christ Jesus unto that day. For example, suppose we stumble and fail, by the power, mercy, and grace of God, we are lifted up and restored. Our faith is certain of this because of Scripture. In the doxology in the book of Jude, it says in Jude 1:24-25, it says, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time[h] and now and forever. Amen.” Because of this, we are indeed signed, sealed, and delivered. We are in Christ in our call, sanctification, and in our perseverance in Him. He will keep us from falling. 

In finality, Paul says in verse 25, as brothers in Christ Jesus, e are to pray for Him, greet others, and teach others. We are not Christian in word only, but in action as well. Therefore, we need the power of God to walk by faith in the Spirit of God so we may bear spiritual fruit for God (Galatians 5:22-23). Paul opened his letter in 1 Thessalonians 1:5, “because our gospel came to you not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction”.  Now that the grace of Jesus is with us, we may now go out and live worthy and pleasing to Him. We can pray, greet each other in Christlike brotherly love, and teach others the truth of Scripture as revealed in 1 Thessalonians.

Christian Hymn: We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations! by H. Ernest Nichol in 1896: