1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV): May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Many Christians today have a philosophy that says that the body is evil and unredeemable, unable to be made holy. They believe that their souls may be sanctified, but they will be trapped in the “prison” of the “flesh” until the day of their death – then they will be released and be the pure spirits that they truly are inside. But that philosophy is rooted in Gnosticism and in Greek philosophy, not in God’s word. It was Paul’s understanding, and he was correct, that even a person’s body was to be sanctified completely, and kept blameless from now until Jesus returns. He assured the Christians that God is faithful, and will accomplish it. In Romans 12:1-2 Paul wrote that God’s people were to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to God, as their reasonable service to Him. The crux of the matter is that God calls His people, ALL of His people, to be holy and blameless, not just in their spirits, but in their physical bodies as well; not just at special times, but all day every day, in every thought, word, and deed. And God, who created the physical body of man from the dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into it to make Adam a living soul, is absolutely able to sanctify a person, both inside and out; to not only make them 100% holy in mind and spirit, but in body as well.
Father, I praise You and thank You that everything You require of us You can and will do in us. Thank You for real deliverance from sin in every dimension of our lives. Help us to seek You always for real sanctification, and then help us to live it out every day of our lives, all the way to Jesus’ return. Amen.