“He who calls you is faithful.” (1 Thess. 5:24, NKJV)
Paul began his letter to the Thessalonians by extending grace and peace to them in the name of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 1:1). He wanted to lift their eyes to their God and the One to whose kingdom they belonged and whose hope they possessed.
Now as he winds down his letter, Paul wants to once again direct their attention to this God of glory and grace and His Messiah through whom His blessings come. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23).
The apostle’s letter has been full of encouragement, admonition, and instruction. He has girded them with hope and directed them to faithful obedience. Yet throughout he has contextualized these things in the gospel of Jesus Christ (e.g., 1 Thess. 1:4-5; 5:9).
Paul continues this gospel focus by invoking the handiwork of God’s grace. In so doing, he gives us a vivid reminder that we persevere because God preserves us. We work out our salvation because God is at work in us. The grace that’s brought us safe thus far is the grace that will lead us home.
Though we are called to be holy, it is “the God of peace Himself” who will sanctify us completely (1 Thess. 5:23). Why does Paul speak of God here as the God of peace? Why not the God of love, or faith, or hope, or power, as he does elsewhere?
It may well be that the apostle is acknowledging God as the One who reconciled us to Himself through the gospel of Jesus Christ, making Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:18-21). He is the peacemaking, peace giving God.
Just as we have peace with God by virtue of His work on our behalf, so we have the peace of God to govern our sojourning and to guard our hearts. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul addressed our anxiety by pointing us to “the God of peace” (Phil. 4:9) being with us and “the peace of God” (Phil. 4:7) steadying and readying us amidst life’s uncertainties.
By the Holy Spirit in our union with Christ, the Father is carrying out His sanctifying work in the entirety of our being. He Himself will sanctify us completely. Day by day His grace is at work to form Christ in us and to grow us to what we already are in Christ.
Why does this seem familiar to us? It’s because Paul wrote about it earlier when he exalted our triune God who is at work “to establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (1 Thess. 3:13).
The hearts of the Thessalonians have been troubled with all sorts of things. Isn’t that the same with us? Don’t we find ourselves unbalanced by confusion and even beset by doubt? We struggle with sin and wrestle with the circumstances of life that threaten to undo us.
How do we know our longings will be met? How can we be sure that our hope is real, and that it will be realized? Paul gives us the bottom line, the guarantee of what has been proclaimed and promised.
“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:24). Our confidence, our assurance, our expectation rest fully on the God who is faithful. He does not change like shifting shadows.
Paul drives this home in his final epistle to our comfort, encouragement, and expectation: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). To God be the glory!
In what way is God’s faithfulness your confidence?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
