Wholly Sanctified — Stephen Kaung

God’s Prayer for Complete Sanctification

Will you please turn to 2nd Thessalonians? 2nd Thessalonians No, 1st Thessalonians. 1st Thessalonians chapter 5. 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 23 and verse 24. Now the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly and your whole spirit and soul and body Be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is faithful who calls you who will also Perform it. I'll read it again. Now the God of peace himself Sanctify you wholly and your whole spirit and soul and body Be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is faithful who calls you who will also Perform it. Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Lord. We do thank thee that we can Continue to come to thee Not only to remember thee at our table But to hear thy word.

We pray Lord that thou will grant to us the spirit of wisdom and revelation and Open the eyes of our heart That we may enter Into thy word. Let thy word enter into us and transform us and conform us To the image of thy beloved son.

This is our prayer. We pray that thou will Answer according to the riches of thy glory in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen these days I Have been exercised before the Lord about these two verses the Apostle Paul Wrote to the church in Thessalonica a Church in its first love and he concluded his letter with these words.

Thessalonians and the Purpose of Sanctification

You may consider these words as his prayer For the Thessalonian believers or you may consider these words as a benediction over that assembly or even you can even consider this as a proclamation of God Towards his own people.

But in whatever attitude you may take one thing is sure and That is we see in these two verses the heart of God the purpose of God Towards his own people. He says the God of peace himself Sanctify your holy and Your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus and He is faithful who calls you who will also perform it.

So in these two verses you can see God's purpose Towards his own people. He wants us to be holy sanctified holy sanctified in some verses said sanctified through and through not just a little bit and This holy sanctified means that your whole being Your spirit your soul and your body Your whole being Be preserved Blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus and that is what God Wills for each one of us these people in Thessalonica.

They are already saved. They have believed in a gospel preached to them. They are saved not only saved but they suffer Persecution for their faith. They have the faith the love and the hope. It is a very healthy Assembly in its first love towards the Lord and The Apostle Paul share with them God's heart for them.

In other words God's heart is not that we are merely saved sometimes we can draw back and feel contented By being saved. Thank God for that. That's a great thing. So far as we are concerned probably on earth, there is nothing better or greater than this That we who were supposed to be eternally condemned No hope and yet God save us by his beloved Son.

Our sins are forgiven. We are given a new life. We have hope. That's great to us but to God. This is just the beginning. He wants something much more for his people. He wants us to be wholly sanctified and that means our whole Spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus.

Now brothers and sisters Can we say today that we have been wholly sanctified? Sanctified through and through can we say That our spirit and our soul and our body Have been preserved Blameless irreproachable Holy.

If the Lord should come now we can stand before him without shame Knowing that we have fulfilled What God has willed for us. Can we say that here you say? May the God of peace himself Sanctify your holy.

The God of Peace and Inner Harmony

Why is it God is addressed as the God of peace? What is the meaning of peace? Oftentimes we are fine in the world of God. Peace be unto you the grace of God and the peace Be upon you. Now what is the real? meaning of peace.

The God of peace. What does it mean? It means that Our God is one Who is at peace with himself. That is to say in him there is no conflict no division No contradiction. No difference of opinions. In the Godhead there is perfect harmony.

The Father the Son and the Holy Spirit are one. And in such oneness it is peace and this God of peace. Want us to have that same peace that in our spirit our soul and our body. There is no conflict No contradiction.

No at all God. But there's perfect harmony our whole being in ourselves as well as in relationship with God is totally harmonious. There is nothing Against God in us. Now this is a tremendous work and thank God He said He who calls us is faithful and he will perform it.

In other words, this is something that no man can do. He not only purposes for us But he promises us that he himself Will perform it Only If you allow him, what do you mean by? Sanctify, you know in the Word of God both in the Old Testament and a New Testament.

Holiness as Separation to God

This idea of sanctify or holy Actually is the same thing holy is sanctify. Holiness is sanctification these are Synonymous. Now, what is the meaning of holy? What is the meaning of sanctify? Just a few days ago. I was reading a book and in a message given by Wilbur Smith.

And we know Wilbur Smith is a person Who is so widely read that he is considered as a scholar. Who knew the word? Thoroughly and he said in his message He said we do not really appreciate Understand the word holy.

We use that word very carelessly but actually holy or holiness Is a character of God that is Uniquely His. In other words holy is Something that you can only find it in God, you know Old Testament or in the New Testament this word means To be cut off to be separated from.

You know in the Old Testament time if you read say Leviticus chapter 24 You will find that whether it is a person or whether it is a house or whether it is a land Or whether it is an animal Now a person can separate it cut it off from all common use and Offer it To God that is the meaning of Holiness in other words holiness is to be separated From cut off from all that is common and then It is separated for a solemn purpose and Begin to take it upon it a new character that is extraordinary Uncommon special and That is what holy or holiness means.

You cannot find holiness Anywhere else but in God He is unique He is uncommon He is different from any anything and This is his unique character nothing common Nothing ordinary. It's all special unique only one of his kind and That is holiness.

God is holy. The seraphims will cry out holy holy holy. Why because? He is the only being In the whole universe That is all together different And alone, you know, it's very strange another person dr. Zuma he was greatly used by God among the Muslims and he Asked a Muslim scholar is that word the word holy in Sanskrit?

The true word holy in Sanskrit Ever been in the book of Koran and the scholar answered is not there. Why because? Holy holiness Belongs to God alone. He is all together different and yet He wants to share it with us he want those who believe in him to be holy Sanctified that we too May be completely separated From everything that is common That is natural that is of the world and Take upon ourselves a holy character Just like he Who is holy now, that's the idea Behind it.

So dear brothers and sisters as I meditate upon this I feel That how much we need To pray that prayer how much we need to Really come to the Lord and Allowed him to so working our lives That we may be sanctified Holy and that is this is the preservation of the Saints.

Preservation of the Saints and the Coming of Christ

Probably you have heard of this term preservation of the Saints. How can we be preserved? What is meant by? Preservation of the Saints. It means that we will be preserved blameless at the coming The parousia the presence of our Lord Jesus That we may stand before our Lord Jesus Under his light and found to be blameless.

This is Why God has chosen us? In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 Even before the foundation of the world God has chosen us That we may be holy and without blameless without blame In love that's what we are chosen to be and in Colossians chapter 1 verse 27 Or 24 I forgot it says that he will reconcile us That he may present us holy Irretrievable irreproachable without blemish In harmony with him To be like him and that is the calling of God.

Do not lower God's standard. I'm afraid today. We as believers We are satisfied with a very low standard as we compare ourselves with the world. We think we are far better. That's enough. That's good enough for us.

And because of this We do not press on we do not seek the Lord with earnestness. We draw back We sit back. We think that we are all right at the coming of the Lord Jesus but brothers and sisters If you read the Word of God you'll find that is not true.

God has called us Because he is holy. He wants us to be holy. He wants us to be separated from anything. That is common and be special Extraordinary uniquely his that is God's purpose for us. And he will not be satisfied less than this.

That is the work of our Lord Jesus. The work of Calvary is so thorough That he wants to bring us to a place Where we can be in perfect harmony With God so let us not lower God's standard, but let us press on.

Even the Apostle Paul in his prison letter He is still pressing on he said I I do not think that I have already attained. But I forget the past and press on to us a goal. So this is This should be our attitude.

God has called us For this very reason and he himself will work it out, but he wants our cooperation not only in our will but also In our yieldedness so that his purpose May be fulfilled. So here he said may the God of peace himself Sanctify you through and through.

Spirit, Soul, and Body in God’s Design

Now, what does it mean by? Sanctify you whole and through and through. Separate you through and through. In other words it touches your whole being it touches your spirit. It touches your soul and it touches your body now for the sake of Some who may not have that basic foundation.

I'm afraid we have to go back to the very basic In order to build upon it so this morning probably all we can do is try to go back to the very basic and That is God wants our spirit to be sanctified. God wants our soul to be sanctified.

God wants our body to be sanctified. Why? Because when God created man He created man and tripartite if you turn to Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 God used the dust of the earth The red earth and he used the red earth to form a body.

Then he breathed The breath of life Into the nostrils of that form and man became a living soul. In other words you find that when God created man first He prepared the body. He used the red earth very common and he used the red earth and shape it into a Human form, but there's no life there so he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

In other words you'll find there is something That comes out of God himself Not only his hand. Work with the mud as it were and form the body of the man. But here you'll find There is something coming out from God himself.

It is the breath of life. He breathed He shared his life as it were and He used that breath of life into that dead form and as that breath entered that breath form. Something happened. It's a creative action for the breath of life.

That is something Come out of God himself becomes the spirit of man. You know God is spirit so that breath of life. When he enters into that mud form it gives a new organ as it were to that mud form which is the spirit.

God is spirit so he made man with a spirit, but the wonderful thing is When the breath of life comes into that form Not only it becomes the spirit of man, but the spirit react with the body and produce the third part which is the soul a living soul.

That is the formation of man man has a body. Because this body is made of earth. Therefore this body gave us world consciousness. We are in touch with the world around us. It came from the same source.

The spirit came from God and it gave us God Consciousness we are in touch with God and when the two come together it produces a soul a living soul a soul that has Life, but this life is not God's life.

This life is man's life. It's an animated life a life that a created life a life that makes man active living and this soul is Gives us self consciousness. We are conscious of Ourselves so you see Man is made of three parts.

It's a whole being now you can Distinguish them, but you cannot separate them Because it is one whole. In a sense it's like God is a Trinity God the father God the son God the Holy Spirit you can distinguish them, but you cannot separate them they are one and the same thing with man.

Spirit soul and body and yet one man. Because the soul gave us self consciousness. Therefore the soul Represents man Of what he is he is conscious of himself. The soul has a will. The soul has a mind the soul has an emotion and by these faculties We are conscious of ourselves.

One is different from the other. Because the way you think the way you feel all the way you decide Everyone is different that makes our individuality. We are all individuals. No one is exactly the same our soul represents Ourselves it is I it is me.

That's our soul. But in the creation of man God has a purpose and there is an order there. God's order is Because he give man a spirit. So that man is supposed to use his spirit to commune with God To receive from God his will his mind and then Passes on To the soul you will will it will the will of God.

You will think about the will of God you would love the will of God and as you do that You will pass on to your body To work it out to do What God's will is? So sometimes we use an illustration our Spirit in man is like the master or the mistress.

And the soul our soul is like a steward in charge of the house and Our body is like the servant or the slave. The master will communicate with the steward as to what he wants to do in the house and the steward Will accept That order not reject, but accept agree to that order and Pass it on to our body To live it out To act it out so that is The way that God created man.

God created man not just with a soul. Now strangely in the Chinese Bible in Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 the Chinese Bible says and man become a Living soul with a spirit, but in the English Versions you don't have that.

Anyway, you'll find the idea is there and another thing probably you may notice That in the original Hebrew the breath of life. The word life is plural in number. It is the breath of lives. Now there are two different interpretation.

One interpreting is in the Hebrew language. Sometimes it uses plural for emphasis sake. Now it can be so. All it can mean that the breath of life actually there are two lives there one lives give the spirit human spirit and One lives build the humans soul soul life.

So you'll find the word lives there. But anyway This is the way we are created this is the way that God make us and This is the order that God wants us to live before him and then God put man in the garden of Eden.

Eden, the Two Trees, and Humanity’s Choice

Now our brother this morning already said It is such a beautiful garden plentiful garden. There is nothing bad in that garden only good better and the best. I Often think that God planted all the trees fruit trees all kinds of fruit trees in that garden for men to enjoy and men needs these fruit trees.

Because at that time men live by eating fruits. How good that will be to maintain? His physical body this body is created with needs. It needs to be nourished and God provided all the nourishment there.

For that body is good. You know when you think of the body The psalmist in Psalm 139 says we are fearfully and Wonderfully made. You know in the world people go to extremes either. They indulge their body.

They worship their body or In some with some religions of people they look at the body as evil but in the scripture we are told that our body is fearfully and Wonderfully made is a masterpiece of God.

God has a purpose for our body. God wants our body to be holy sanctified. That is his purpose, but in the garden You have the tree of life. Tree of life is symbolic of the life of God eternal life. Uncreated life.

God put that tree in the midst of the garden. Why. Because God has a reason there. He created our spirit. But our spirit needs food. Otherwise it cannot live. Our spirit needs life and God create our spirit in such a way that it can receive the life of God in our spirit.

No other creature can do that. Man is created uniquely for God so he put the tree of life in the midst of the garden. As if he is saying to man Take it eat it. Then you will be united with me in life and That will fulfill my purpose.

But by the side of the tree of life God plays another tree the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now some people say that's a bad tree. I don't think so. I Do not believe God will put anything bad in that garden of Eden.

I believe it's a good tree. Better than all the other trees except the tree of life. We can say it is better. Because this tree tells us of a knowledge. The knowledge of good and evil. Now brothers and sisters in the whole world.

There is no knowledge higher than this kind of knowledge. Scientific knowledge. Technical knowledge Philosophical knowledge. Ethical Knowledge is the highest. That you may know the difference between good and bad.

Good and evil that is the highest knowledge in the world. In other words It will be good for the soul. Knowledge is soul food fruits body food tree of life spirit food tree of the Knowledge of good and evil soul food and God put these two trees side by side.

Why. Because God created man with a free will just like he is. And if you have no opportunity to exercise your free will Who knows you have a will. So God put man in the garden? Give him the opportunity to exercise his free will.

He can choose. He can choose by just eating all the other fruit trees to maintain his body and Forget about his soul and spirit all he can choose to nourish his soul build up his soul. To such an extent that he can be independent of God.

He has no need for God. He makes himself or he can choose the tree of life that he will live by the life of God and Fulfill all God's purpose for him. So brothers and sisters you'll find God give man a chance to choose.

How does he want to live? You want to live just for the body? Make your body your God or you want to live by your soul with your knowledge independent Totally self-sufficient. No God or you can live a life with God and fulfill God's purpose of creation.

You can choose. Unfortunately our forefathers Made the wrong choice. Now what happened in Genesis chapter 2 verse 17 God says To man you should not eat The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Because if you eat On the day that you should eat thereof You should die. God knows Knowledge without God's life is the most dangerous thing. Knowledge without God's life means death. And I think for these 20 Centuries it must have been proven.

It is not that God is jealous. He doesn't want men to grow up it is because God knows life Is the most important thing. With the life there then knowledge Can be used rightly. And you can have the power to control knowledge.

Otherwise is deadly, but man choose to live mental knowledge Not by the life of God, so what happened Brothers and sisters The Bible said God said on the day that you shall eat thereof you shall surely die.

But Adam lived hundreds of years afterwards. So far as his body is concerned He lives on and on and on 900 some years. Not only that The Bible says he begot sons and daughters. In other words his soul is very active.

The Fall and Spiritual Death

Now how is God's word fulfilled on the day they eat? Their spirit Their communication with God was cut off. The spirit the human spirit as an organ is still there. But it is a kuma. It is in a sense symbolic.

By Adam and Eve Immediately discovered they were naked. Now. I do not know but I think Probably you know. Every living thing God clothes them with Clothes with skin with with the hairs feathers, you know.

Now how can God create a man naked? A naked body. I I don't think so. I believe there must be a kind of glory. Glory as a cover over man's body. But when they sinned the glory Disappeared. You remember Moses?

When he was with God for the days and for the night. Even his face shone. There's a glory the clothing there. But when they sinned the glory is gone. They're naked and they had to hide themselves from God their conscience Began to accuse them.

They cannot face God. They try to use the fig leaves to cover their nakedness. But they cannot because the wind blows. Their spirit Was dead brothers and sisters. In Adam all died. We all we were all in Adam before.

So when we were born We were born with a spirit in Kuma no communication with God. It doesn't mean we don't have a spirit. We have. But that spirit is in coma. Sometimes there is still some Activities.

Sometimes our conscience will wake up sometimes intuitively. When we are in danger We think of God, but we are in coma, you know death. Scientific definition of death. What is death? Death is the cessation of the communication.

With his proper environment. That is death. What is the death of the body? When the body sees to communicate with his proper environment, that is the world. Now that's the bodily death, right? So spiritually dead is the same thing the communication with his proper environment, which is God is.

Because our spirit is dead so man become Flesh, you know in Genesis chapter 6 God said my spirit will not strive anymore with man because man is a flesh. Now the word flesh have different meanings but there is one meaning and that means flesh means body soul and body without the spirit.

That's the definition of flesh when man live by his soul and body without the spirit. Man is a flesh. The natural man is a flesh. Man live by his soul and by his body. Sometimes we live by our soul, by our intellect, by our thinking.

Sometimes we live by the passions of our body. But whatever way we live it is within the fleshly area. Because our spirit is alienated from the life of God. That is our condition. Before we were saved.

New Birth and the Renewal of the Spirit

Then when you are saved what happened? The Bible tells us you must be born again. You must be born from above. What is to be born? Nicodemus said can I go back to my mother's womb and born again? No, it is not in the bodily sense.

Nor is it in the soulish sense. It is in the spirit sense. Because John chapter 3 verse 6 He that is born of the spirit is spirit and he that is born of the flesh is flesh. Our parents. Being man and woman of flesh.

They born us. Also man and woman of flesh. That's natural birth. Spiritual birth. New birth is the spirit, the Holy Spirit. Touch our dead body, dead soul. Cleanse it. Renew it. Bring it to life. Become a new spirit.

So in Hebrews Chapter 10 it says our conscience of the heart is being cleansed by the blood of our Lord Jesus. His blood cleanses our conscience. You know our conscience accuses us and the blood of the Lord Jesus not only speak for us before God.

It also cleanses our conscience from our sins. It also stops the mouth of the accuser Satan and our conscience being washed by the blood of the Lord Jesus a new life even the life of God. Come into our spirit and that spirit is renewed.

So the Bible causes a new spirit if you read this Ezekiel 36 verses 26 and 27 You'll find that God said I will give you a new heart. I Will give you a new spirit. I Will take away your stony heart and give you a heart of flesh and then I will put my Spirit into your spirit to cause you to keep my ordinances and my commandments.

So brothers and sisters, that's what happened when you are saved. When you are saved not only your sins are forgiven your conscience are cleared. You know. But also you'll find the Holy Spirit brings a new life into your Spirit and make your dead spirit alive again again.

And not only that the Holy Spirit himself Come and dwell in your spirit. So Romans 8 said the Holy Spirit bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Not born of flesh not born of man. Not born of blood but born of God.

That's where what? Initial salvation is. So when we are saved what happened? What do you mean by you are saved? It means that your dead spirit is Renewed. Become a new spirit and the spirit of God comes and dwells in your spirit and your Communication with God the Spirit is Resumed.

I Think that's our experience. We may not know too much. We do not even know the Bible, but the communication with God Has begun. So what happened when we are saved. Is our spirit being reborn? Now how about our soul and Our body if you believe in the Lord Jesus one thing is necessary repentance.

The Sanctification of the Soul and Body

Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus. Now repent repentance Means a change of mind. That's in the realm of the soul a change of mind. Formerly your mind is set upon sin. Now your mind wants to turn to God a change of mind.

So actually you see you see that in our when we are saved our mind is affected. There is a change of mind but unfortunately It is not a complete change. It is change of the hour so very soon you will discover.

Your old thinking comes back you will begin To love what you loved before you will begin to want what you want before. In other words Your soul has not been drastically changed Completely changed. The life in your soul is still your own Natural Fallen it is still your own endemic life.

That is controlling your soul. Your emotion your will your your mind. In the spirit the Holy Spirit comes in to be in control. But in the in the soul your soul life animated. Created life fallen life is still in control.

So the change is Superficial not thorough. Your soul needs to be saved. And what about your body? Well your body is affected. Because before you believe in the Lord Jesus you may have a long face. But when you believe in the Lord Jesus somehow to become round Affects you but it is superficial.

It is still the mortal body. You have not yet be changed into an immortal body. It is still the corruptible body. Not the incorruptible Still that body, right? So your body needs to be saved. Now that is our situation.

But dear brothers and sisters Remember it is more than to be saved. It is to be holy sanctified. Now that is what is before us. That is what God has put before us. So this morning that's all we can say.

Hopefully we will Seek the Lord about this blessing Or benediction that God desires for every one of us. Who are saved? Otherwise, he will not be satisfied. And we cannot see his face. May the Lord help us dear Lord.

We pray that we may hear. And we may respond in our precious name. We pray.