New Thoughts: (08/29/22-08/31/22)
We exit instruction and enter benediction. Yet, as is perhaps to be
expected from Paul, instruction has not ceased. It is here, continued
in the words of the prayer he offers. That prayer is given first on
their behalf, and spoken to the God of peace. Here is One whose company
I could surely use today. Here is One who is my companion, though I so
often fail to recognize His presence, fail to reflect His workmanship.
How can this be, that this One Who is so faithful, and faithfully at
work on this poor man can be so patient, so longsuffering with the poor
quality of material I am to work with? Thank You Father. And yet,
I would ask that You make that peace more evident in me this day, and
grant that I might also demonstrate patient longsuffering where it is
needed.
But it is not for peace that prayer is given, at least not directly.
It is instead for the ongoing work of sanctification to proceed in
fulness, which surely produces that peace among us which is spoken of as
harmonious concord. It does so as the fruit of His work, which is
applying to us the Messianic peace which is ours in Christ Jesus, as He
strives to restore broken men and women to the full glory of their
original, sinless state: Everything restored as it should be.
So, sanctification is the object of Paul’s prayer. But there is
something here we must recognize, something he makes more explicit in verse
24. Though he prays in terms of request, it is not because
the thing for which he asks is in doubt. When he seeks that God would
sanctify them entirely, it is not a prayer offered because otherwise God
might not do so. It is prayer that is fully set upon God’s clear
purposes. Is there power in prayer? In some sense, yes, but it is not
the power to bend God to our will. It is the power of God turning our
will and attention upon His own. When Paul prays for sanctification to
be achieved in the flock, it is but giving voice to what God is already
purposing to do, is in fact already doing.
What, then, is this sanctification? It is a process, assuredly. But
what does it entail, what is the purpose, the goal? At base, it is a
matter of purification, of consecration, as we see in the Old Testament
instructions for the cleansing and consecration of the temple and its
utensils, as well as for the priests who would serve in worship there.
When we say that cleanliness is next to godliness, we are not entirely
off track. But it’s not the eradication of germs that is in view. It
is the eradication of sin, the eradication of those earthly, base
desires that produce sin in us, or give expression to that sin already
produced. Purification, after all, cannot happen without something
being removed. For us, what is removed is fellowship with the world,
and this does not come as some pesky annoyance by which we prove our
allegiance. It does not come, in fact, as our proving anything. That
would entirely miss the point and the power alike.
But see, we cannot grow in fellowship with God if we are still caught
up in maintaining our fellowship with the world. We cannot be purified
and freed from sin and sin’s guilt if we are insistently pursuing
reacquaintance with our sins. We need to be separated from those, so as
to be dedicated unto God. How shall we be reformed if we insist on
functioning like memory foam in regard to our sinful ways, immediately
reverting to form just so soon as the pressure is off? Well, I tell you
some bad news. We are like that. Left to ourselves, we would swiftly
revert to former ways, take up old and sinful habits, and more than
likely, become worse than we were beforehand.
But fear not! All is not lost. All is not hopeless. For God, in His
longsuffering patience, has not in fact given up on the project that is
you, or the renovation of me. He has already dedicated us unto Himself,
rendering us the temple of the Holy Spirit, His own Presence. You have
been consecrated. And by His consecration, get this: You
have been made inviolable. That is no license to get on with your
sinning in the confidence that He’ll clean up after you. Not at all!
To take Paul’s reaction: Far be it from us! But there is security
here. There is peace. God will sanctify, and again, already has. Yes,
it’s an ongoing work, but not because the outcome is in doubt. It is
ongoing, I think, because the impact of that work being done all at
once, of an instant, would surely break us. We used to know, somehow,
that to see God face to face must mean death to those like us, who have
yet the abhorrent stench of sin upon our person. Sin and God cannot
peacefully coexist. One will have to go. And I assure you, it won’t be
God; not in that place He has consecrated to Himself.
And so, the work of reformation proceeds. And we observe, in this
prayer, that the work is not purely spiritual. There have been those
movements through all ages which conceived of the spirit alone as
redeemable, and all that is material too profane to have any hope of
redemption. Even where we distinguish between spirit and soul, as here,
soul becomes representative of grosser matter, of lower order. Here is
the essence of life that we share with anything animate. To be soulish
is to be more animalistic by nature, ruled by appetites and emotions.
That is not to say that the spiritual man is somehow above having
appetites and emotions. But they do not rule the roost. That is not to
be our condition. Neither, though, is the cold calculus of
intellectualism suited to our proper, consecrated condition.
We are presented with a threefold view of man, one might even suggest a
triune view, which is not unreasonable, given our being made in the
image of triune God. And it will be helpful, I think, if we recognize
that these three aspects of spirit, soul, and body, are not viewed as
dissociated aspects, but parts of a unified wholeness of being. All
three must be addressed by this process of sanctification, so as to
remain a harmonious, peaceable unity. I wonder if perhaps some of the
frustration, anxiety and anger we deal with doesn’t arise from disunity
in these aspects of being, whether due to unwarranted focus on one part
to the exclusion of others, or simply because the stage of progress we
have reached has yet a certain imbalance to it. But I would not push
that theory too far, lest we wind up accusing God of producing that
imbalance in us which leads to need for further effort in
sanctification. No, if there is failure and imbalance, we shall have to
accept blame for it.
But let us consider these subdivisions of being. I think, especially
between spirit and soul, it can be hard to discern what is what. But
the spirit of man contains the realm of rational thought, of knowing,
assessing, reaching decision as to what should be done, and then acting
accordingly. In the orderly function of the man of God, the spirit
influences and actuates the soul. We might also, then, suggest that in
the disorderly function of man, the soul has taken the driver’s seat,
and, while I don’t think it can properly be said to control or actuate
the spirit of that man, it can act in ways which ignore the spirit’s
direction. We could, perhaps, capture the essence of man’s spirit in
the voice of conscience. And it is in that same voice that we so often
hear from the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, as He tutors our own
spirit, and reminds us of this better chain of command in us. The
spirit of man perceives that which is spiritual, receives the word of
truth, and sees its application to all that the man would say or do. It
seeks to so actuate the soul as to temper soul’s more base instincts and
desires. In the power of God, it can do so. But apart from Him, in our
fallen condition, I do not know that there is any hope of this
happening. Perhaps in some degree, for God has not utterly deprived man
of light. But it is so often bent, corrupted, and weakened, that the
darkness of soul dominates where it should not.
We might also attribute to spirit the character of the man, the
essence, if you will. And then, also, there is this, which the ISBE
puts before us. Man is a living spirit, every bit as much as the
angels, and this gets beyond that functionality of life which pertains
in animals. No, man is a living spirit, and he is so because God has
breathed into him. Indeed, we could perhaps suggest that the spirit of
man is that which God has breathed into him. It is also to be observed
that where God withdraws His breath (for it remains His, even if
breathed into us), death must follow. From this we might see that the
spirit of the man properly belongs to God, and is His to supply, direct,
or withhold according to His own, good and perfect will.
And therein lies one foundational distinction between spirit and soul.
Soul remains the singular possession of the man. Again, referring to
the ISBE, one could say that man is soul, that the soul is the seat of
the ego, of self. This soul animates the body, yes. It is thus
something we have in common with all animal life. Where the body is
functional, there the soul remains. But the soul which lacks the proper
guidance of spirit can only reach to those heights to which animals also
rise. This, then, is the place of appetite and desire, of hunger and
thirst, and the drive for self-preservation. Here, too, are those
emotions, like sorrow and joy, pain and pleasure, which produce in us
the will to act. Hunger pushes us to act upon the means to provide for
our hunger. Thirst will so grip us that we will consider even the
dankest waters if that is all that affords. The need to preserve
ourselves, to keep life and sanity, will drive us to oft-times sinful
means in the pursuit of our desperate efforts of self-preservation.
And then, with feelings, desires, affections, those things we attribute
to the heart, alongside thought and reason, as we generally find them
associated with mind, there comes the need for some physical container
in which to transport them around this physical plain, and there comes
the body. Body is the dwelling place of soul and spirit. It is
subordinate to soul, but not without its own dignity. This present body
of flesh is but a temporary home for soul and spirit, but it is a home.
And it is not something to reject. This may give us cause for some
confusion, I think, because we so closely connect body and flesh, but
here, we are not discussing flesh, that sarx which
Scripture so often connects with sin’s hold upon us. This is body, soma, and God Himself shaped us. And whereas the
flesh is too corrupt but to be found beyond redemption, the body will
find it sufficient to undergo reformation.
That is a discussion for another time and place, and pursued more fully
in 1Corinthians 15, where we learn of that
transformation to come at the coming of our Lord Jesus, to which this
brief prayer turns our attention. This new body to come will not have
the same characteristics as the present, temporary body in which we
currently reside. Unlike this present body, it is not a tent, not
transient housing. That new body will be fit for the new realities of
eternal life. It will be free of those defects and deteriorations that
affect the present facilities. There will be a putting off of the
corruptible and putting on of immortality. There will, then, be a
significant retrofit, I suspect there will be a full-on replacement.
But however it is that we emerge from this process, body remains. Thus,
Paul’s prayer here, that we might be preserved complete: Spirit, soul,
and body. This is a most helpful reminder when we
start to slip into that sort of dualistic thinking that defines much of
man’s philosophy. Don’t suppose you are immune to such ideas. They
slip into our perceptions of God’s plan and purpose, and can readily
lead us to that promiscuous sort of faith which supposes that whatever
happens to this body is meaningless, given that it shall be dispensed
with. But that is not the course of sanctification. Sanctification is
of the whole man, the entirety.
This whole-man sanctification strikes me as being very much in keeping
with Paul’s choice of address for God: The God of peace. That peace is
very much wrapped up in our sanctification, both as concerns our
perception of it, and as concerns God’s purpose in it. For,
sanctification truly is a matter of God’s purpose. And in
sanctification, what is being pursued in us is that, “bodily,
mental, and moral entireness” which was the character of man
before the Fall. It is a restoring of man to that original, perfect,
operating order. This, as I say, is God’s purpose in bringing about our
redemption. It’s not just a get out of jail free card, or some such.
It’s not just pardon from due penalty, in order that we might go and sin
the more, fearing no punishment. No. It is true sanctification, truly
being set apart for God’s exclusive use, as a people of God’s own
possession. And this, though it is utterly dependent upon God working
in us, is a thing to be actively sought by us, a course to be actively
pursued.
This is something of a tension which pertains throughout the Gospel.
We are utterly dependent upon God to act, and yet called to give our
utmost effort to the self-same enterprise. We don’t have that urging to
action directly before us, but that’s only because Paul has already done
the urging. Peter has much the same encouragement on offer. Seeing as
you look for these things, this new heavens and new earth in which
righteousness dwells, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless
and blameless (2Pe 3:14). You see the
balance, or the tension here. You be diligent, yet not to be, but to be
found. It’s a fine line, but let me stress that the outcome is not
finally dependent upon your exercise of diligence and works, but wholly
upon what God is doing in you. If there is effort on our part, it seems
to me to consist in being amenable to what He is doing, laying ourselves
open to it.
James joins the call. “Let endurance have its
perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in
nothing” (Jas 1:4). It puts one in
mind of an exercise program. The trainer has laid out the program,
given you various exercises to pursue, some number of reps on this
machine, or with these weights. Get out and run or bike for so many
miles or minutes. Whatever the particulars may be. He has no power to
enforce these demands. You are free to comply or ignore as you see
fit. Hey, it’s your money. The same could be said for educational
pursuits, by and large. The teacher can supply instruction, offer
various exercises by which you may better incorporate that instruction
into your own body of understanding. But, should you choose to simply
let the data pass you by, that’s your business. Particularly once one
is out of secondary school, it’s really no great issue to the teacher or
the school whether you choose to learn or to just enjoy the atmosphere.
Pays the same either way. But the benefit to you, in either example,
can only come of actually seeking to pursue the exercises being given
you.
Obviously, such analogies must fall apart to some degree as we turn
attention to God and His work in us. But they aren’t entirely unapt.
God, unlike the gym instructor or the college professor, does in fact
have the power to enforce compliance. Yet, it is rare indeed that He
acts so forcefully. He has created us, after all, as moral creatures,
beings with a will of our own, and with responsibility for the choices
we make by our own free will. “He has told you, O
man, what is good for you” (Mic 6:8),
“Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with
God. This is what He requires of you.” There’s your
exercise. Apply yourself for your good. And what is expressed there is
but the outworking of what is expressed here: “Bodily,
mental, and moral entireness.”
So having expressed this prayer of God’s will, Paul immediately adds an
encouraging assurance. I would say it comes in two connected pieces.
First, there is again a reminder of just who God is, and just how He has
already acted in regard to us. This same God who is
the God of peace is also He who calls you. There is nothing of the
optative voice here, which applied in the request portion of Paul’s
prayer. What we have is a description of an ongoing state. It is not
that God called you once, some time back, and now it’s up to you to
maintain course towards Him. It is not God who called you, but God who
calls. It’s ongoing. It doesn’t stop. It’s not just
the present result of past action. It is present action. Always. This
appointing unto salvation, while we may trace it back to that first
moment when the Spirit arrived and opened our ears to hear this call of
God, is not a momentary event. It is an eternal event. The call is
ever present, ever upon us, and so, then, is our heartfelt response.
Here is the hiding place of the Christian. I am appointed unto
salvation. God has appointed. Note the terminology. He called. It
wasn’t just, “Psst. Hey you, c’mere for a minute.”
No! It’s far more than that. This is an appointing, a declaration of
who you now are. We could make of it an assigning to office, but
there’s no office involved. But He is making a determinative statement
about who you are. He has called you by name, and named you as His
own. He Who has the power of determination over your life, being your
Creator and Sustainer, has made His determination. “I
have called you by name. You are Mine.” And nothing, no
earthly calamity, no demonic interference, no dense willfulness of self,
can change that determination.
And that brings us to the most powerful of assurances that we have set
before us here. This God who called you His own is faithful, utterly
faithful. As James says, there is no shadow of turning in Him. He does
not change. His decrees do not fade or fail. They are, as He is,
utterly reliable. And this sanctification about which we have been
praying is His determined will. The preservation of spirit, soul, and
body, while it involves our diligent pursuit, is not finally dependent
upon our diligence in that pursuit. “He also will
bring it to pass.” God will do it! This is
stunning, is it not? Of course, this is the same God Who set forth
plans and purposes which have worked their course through all of
Creation from before the first day dawned right on through to the
culmination of all things at Christ’s return, with the critical focal
point that transpired when Jesus, nailed to the cross though entirely
sinless in all His human life, proclaimed, “It is
finished!” God will do it, because He has already
done it. Having paid so high a price for your salvation, it
would be a strange thing indeed were He not determined to see that price
prove worth paying. You are appointed to salvation, and that necessarily
indicates an appointing unto sanctification as well.
And this is not some new theology which Paul has devised to make the
Gentiles feel at ease. No! It has always been there if one was paying
attention. I am thankful for the ESV bringing this out in their
selection of parallel verses here. They point us back into Exodus,
near enough the beginning of the biblical tale of redemption. There, we
find Moses given a message to relay to the freshly redeemed nation of
Israel. “You shall surely observe My sabbaths, for
a sign between you and Me throughout your generations, that you may
know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you” (Ex
31:13). Now, I have to confess a certain concern at this
stage, for I cannot say that I am a particularly observant maintainer of
sabbath practices, either on the old, Jewish schedule or on the
Christian calendar. And that certainly should be cause for concern, for
there can be no valid suggestion that the Law of changeless God has
changed. What held as expressing His covenant terms then surely holds
now. There may be some adjustments, as moving from Saturday to Sunday
to mark the newness of the covenant in the blood of His Son. But the
fundamental principle still holds. Six days you work, one day you
rest. But it’s not merely a day for idleness and chilling. It’s a day
to pull back from our business and truly focus on this LORD who
sanctifies.
Of course, there are activities which are rightly given release from
specific schedule in this regard. The pastors and others who serve to
guide our service of worship, for example, have always had an exemption,
being as their assigned role in things rather requires them to be
working on that day. Other activities, such as those of law
enforcement, medical care, or other necessary pursuits conducive to the
well-being of life are likewise granted to adjust schedule to account
for the need of ongoing activity on that day. So, one will find
pastors, for example, scheduling a different day of the week to break
from the business of church. Nurses and law enforcement types may
likewise need to find an alternate day on which to rest from their
labors.
Then, too, we could have lengthy discussion as to what sorts of
activities and pursuits are permissible on that day, whenever it is
scheduled, and which are not. But again, my focus here, though I have
allowed some brief divergence, is not upon sabbath observation, but upon
the purpose revealed for that observation: That you may know that I am
the LORD who sanctifies you. To this recognition, Jesus adds His own
encouragement as He gives voice to His high priestly prayer. He calls
upon the Father to, “Sanctify them in truth”
(Jn 17:17). Now, who is doing the work
here? It is Him. It is the Father Who will do it. “Thy
word is Truth,” He continues. And there are so many different
ways we might hear that simple declaration. I have always tended to lay
emphasis on the is. Here is what defines Truth: It
is the very word of God, the expression of His own essential and perfect
knowledge. But we could as readily emphasize word,
and even capitalize it. “Thy Word is
Truth.” And then, suddenly, we have Jesus referring to His own
role in this redemptive act. Sanctify them in Me, the Word,
the living expression of that same essential and perfect knowledge. “I have told them all that You gave Me to tell them.”
But do you see where this leaves us? Right here where Paul is
praying. God will do it! He is utterly faithful. There can be no
doubt as to the outcome because the outcome is not in your hands, but
His. Your sanctification, this whole-self sanctification for which Paul
has prayed, is not some hopeful, maybe it will happen event. It is a
certainty because God, Who will bring it to pass, is utterly, entirely,
essentially faithful. It cannot but come to pass.
So, how are we to respond to this? Well, let’s begin with how not
to respond. Don’t make it a work. Don’t suppose this
process of sanctification is some desperate action on your part, done in
hope of perhaps securing eventual entry into His kingdom. Honestly, if
that’s your angle, you’re already lost. That’s not the way, and it’s
not the Way. This isn’t a work. This is a redemption of your very
character. This is beyond soul-deep transformation. It has gone right
past soul and on into spirit. Indeed, it began there, because the work
is a top-down work. And as concerns your being, your spirit is the
top. But more, as we expand our scope and recognize God in the work, it
is He who is the top. Jesus is set as head over the Church, head over
you. God is in charge, and He will do it. You, dear child, have but to
do your exercises as He has given them to you. Do so for your own
benefit, but not to make you Teacher happy. Do them simply because it’s
good for you. Eat your vegetables. Let love have its perfect work in
you, and truly enter into that sabbath rest, that rest of knowing that
you aren’t doing it, God is.
Father, how thankful I am that the outcome does not depend on my
perfection, but Yours. You have called us to walk humbly with You,
and what could produce greater humility in us than to recognize that
in spite of our stubborn and stiff-necked ways, yet You love us. Yet,
You pursue Your plans and purposes in us. Yet, You continue to so
work in and upon us that we are in fact being sanctified, rendered
more holy and set apart for You day by day, more properly fit for Your
presence day by day, in spite of our stumbling and falling and running
from You more often than one cares to admit. You are indeed a great
and good Father, and my love for You grows daily. It seems in the
hardest days, my appreciation blossoms best. I suppose it is in our
greatest failures that we discern our greatest gain, as You show
Yourself strong in our weakness. So, thank You. Draw me nearer,
Lord. Let me remain more fully aware of Your company. How often have
I prayed these same thoughts? And how often have I found yet another
need to pray them again? Yet, this is no barrier to seeking answer
once more, nor reason to doubt that You will again answer. You are
faithful, and You have called me, continue to call me. And I am
Yours. May I know that more fully even today.
