A Spiritual Life for Our Full Sanctification (CP2 1&2 Thes)

Praise the Lord for the crucial points in 1 and 2 Thessalonians! This week we are prayerfully considering and studying the matter of, A Spiritual Life for Our Full Sanctification, as seen in 1 Thessalonians. The verses for our enjoyment are,

1 Thes. 5:12-24
12 Furthermore we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who labor among you and take the lead among you in the Lord and admonish you,
13 And to regard them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
14 And we exhort you, brothers, Admonish the disorderly, console the fainthearted, sustain the weak, be long-suffering toward all.
15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always pursue what is good both for one another and for all.
16 Always rejoice,
17 Unceasingly pray,
18 In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit;
20 Do not despise prophecies,
21 But prove all things. Hold fast to what is good;
22 Abstain from every kind of evil.
23 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.

The items listed in verses 12-24 of chapter five show the believers’ cooperation in living a spiritual, separated, sanctified life, and God’s operation in sanctifying and preserving the believers. We believers should live a spiritual life for our full sanctification. This spiritual life is mainly in verses 16-22. In these verses are seven points of the spiritual life: always rejoice (v. 16), unceasingly pray (v. 17), in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (v. 18), do not quench the Spirit (v. 19), do not despise prophecies (v. 20), prove all things; hold fast what is good (v. 21), and finally, abstain from every form of evil (v. 22). These are the seven items that constitute a spiritual life.

As Christians we should abstain, stay away, and even escape, not only from evil, but also from the form, the appearance, of evil. For a male to talk with a female alone in a private, dark room is not sinning, but there is a form of evil there. To pass through a bar is not sin, but if every night you pass through the bar, that is a form of evil. You should abstain from that, not only for others’ sake, but even for your own sake.

“And” in 5:23 indicates the continuation of the seven items listed in verses 16-22 which constitute the spiritual life for you to be wholly sanctified. “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it” (5:23-24). The first seven items form the spiritual life and the last item is the whole, full sanctification. This is the spiritual life for the full sanctification. (Elders Training Book 6: The Crucial Points of Truth in Paul’s Epistles, p. 97-98, by Witness Lee).

Footnotes and Cross References for 1 Thes. 5:12-24 and particularly verses 16 through 22

16 ¹Always ^arejoice,

17 ¹Unceasingly ^apray,

18 ¹In everything give ^athanks; ²for this is the ^bwill of God in Christ Jesus for you.

19 Do ¹not quench the ^aSpirit;

20 Do not ¹despise ²prophecies,

21 But ¹prove all things. Hold fast to what is ^agood;

22 ^aAbstain from every ¹kind of evil.

Further reading: the Life-study of 1 Thessalonians

• Msg 18. Cooperation with the Divine Operation (1) (with Radio Broadcast 16)
• Msg 19. Cooperation with the Divine Operation (2) (with Radio Broadcast 17)
• Msg 23. To Be Sanctified Wholly with Our Spirit, Soul, and Body Preserved Complete (1) (with Radio Broadcast 21)
• Msg 24. To Be Sanctified Wholly with Our Spirit, Soul, and Body Preserved Complete (2) (with Radio Broadcast 22)