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1 Thessalonians 5:23
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23 And [de] the very [autos] God [theos] of peace [eirene] sanctify [hagiazo] you [humas] wholly; [holoteles] and [kai] I pray God your [humon] whole [holokleros] spirit [pneuma] and [kai] soul [psuche] and [kai] body [soma] be preserved [tereo] blameless [amemptos] unto [en] the coming [parousia] of our [hemon] Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ. [Christos] KJV-Interlinear
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. NASB
Therefore, if you are not a trouble maker, do-gooder, crusader, or practitioner of evil. If you do not suppress the fire of the desire within you, for learning. If you do not despise the scriptures, but pursue them with an insatiable vigor. If you have come to an understanding of the vast magnitude of the things which God has done for you, and has prepared for you.
If you have maintained an open mind and objectively test the instructions from the scriptures, discerning them from the vast array of messages that many out there would have you believe. If you have behaved in an honorable fashion, with integrity and honesty, with poise and courteous diplomacy.
If you have been obedient to the mandates of the scriptures and have lived within the fellowship sphere of the spiritual life.
Then, the peace of God, which means, the total completion of the spiritual growth and productivity process, and spiritual life, will sanctify (set you apart) you wholly, ‘holoteles.’ Which means totally and absolutely and completely. Not by a portion, not by piece by piece, not a little here and a little there, but a complete separation from this world.
The spiritual life, and the carnal or temporal life, are mutually exclusive. From within our physical bodies we may have to occupy the same space for a while, but the spiritual aspects of our being, are non-physical.
The only link to the physical world is through the connection between our soul and brain. How that connection functions, no one knows. No one has ever been able to capture a soul or extract it from the human body. All we can do is monitor the biology aspects of the human body. Physical access to the spiritual side is beyond human capabilities.
In the spiritual life, the human spirit, our filter system of spiritual information, links with our soul, which links with our physical body. The three, body, soul, and spirit, are three separate and distinct things. They are held together here and now, through our physical life.
But our physical body houses the sin nature, which if allowed to go unchecked, will rule and ruin our soul, where our real identity resides.
Bible doctrine places the sin nature in check and therefore allows the Holy Spirit to rule in place of the sin nature, but only if we live within the fellowship sphere of our spiritual life. This, we studied in great detail in 1, 2, and 3rd John.
The sin nature is a rotting influence. Everything deteriorates as rotten meat or unpreserved foods.
Bible doctrine is the perfect preservative and sustainer of life. The Holy Spirit is the hidden power (kind of like the ‘Force’ in the Sci-Fi movies), only the Holy Spirit is very real, while the movies are not.
Bible doctrine preserves you, excluding the rotting influence and work of the sin nature, holding you complete and deterioration or blemish free.
And this is how you are to be when you meet Christ, either at your death, or at the Rapture. In perfect working order, so to speak. Not handicapped by the imperfections of the sin nature, allowed to work, through the permission of your own misguided, selfish, lustful, even self-righteous thoughts.
The sole objective of your life, is to be prepared for your meeting with Jesus.
You have an appointment with Christ. It is already on the calendar. And even though you do not know the date or time, Christ does. And He will collect you on schedule and on time, in accordance with His plan, not yours.
Therefore, your time is short. Whether minutes, hours, or decades, all time in this life means your time is short.
You can continue in indifference or some form of modified study habit, or lack of one, or you can wake up and discover that pursuing Gods plan for your life is far better than whatever it is that you have been doing thus far.
Either way, your entire destiny, the entire story of your life sits in your hands. Will you keep that control to yourself, or you can give it over to God, Christ, doctrine, and your spiritual life.
