I Thessalonians 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24  Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Peace is something that all people want. Even groups like the Mafia want peace. The problem is that most people want peace on their own terms. We noted that in another devotional regarding Cain. He wanted peace. He wanted to modify God so that he could have peace with God on his own terms. What he was essentially doing was created a false god. The true God cannot be modified. He is right all the time. He does not need to change. We need to change.
The true God is the God of peace. War is not God’s fault. War comes from those who oppose God. The Bible tells us that there was war in heaven. God is the righteous One. Anyone who opposes Him is fighting against the truth. There is only one righteous standard. Anything else is less than righteous.
When people are fighting against God, it will also cause fighting on lesser levels such as homes and society. The war in Ukraine is the result of NATO, largely encouraged by the U.S., trying to expand and force Ukraine to join its alliance against the wishes of the Russians. The U.S. has been trying to cover up its corruption for years. Whenever there is something they want to promote and the opposition is seemingly getting too close to success, they howl: “Russian interference”. Russia has its own issues. It is not a God-fearing nation. However it is not the evil empire that the U.S. and Canada want to make it out to be. It is interesting how Russia is the bad one, but China is the good one. China is actively seeking to overthrow the peace that we have enjoyed for many, many years; yet our P.M. loves China. He hides it in plain view of all. He lies about it but it is very easy to see what is going on.
Our world will never know peace. This world will eventually be destroyed because it is so corrupted since the fall of man. There will be a forced peace during the Millennium. Jesus Christ will rule with a rod of iron. We know that at the end of the Millennium, the devil will convince the majority of those living during that time, to rise up in one final attack against Jesus Christ. This will be of no consequence. Jesus Christ will take care of all the opposition all by Himself. Those who opposed Him since the fall of man will then be raised up to stand at the great white throne judgment. They will face their final sentence and be cast into the lake of fire. They will be there from that moment and for ever after.
There will be no war after that. The God of peace will rule and reign. Paul wrote that the God of peace sanctify His saints wholly. The Greek word translated as “sanctify” means “to be made holy.” We need to be made holy. We are not born holy. Those who are saved are given a new nature. However, the old man is still trying to interfere. We need the God of peace to sanctify our entire body. Our body, soul and spirit need to be changed constantly. Due to the ungodly influences of our time, there are a few people who have been saved and have then tried to remove their tattoos. They have understood that tattooing has no place in the Christian life. Tattooing is not that easy to remove. The simplest way to deal with that is to dress modestly and that will hide most of the tattoos.
God’s salvation does not make the tattoos holy. It removes the stain of sin and condemnation that accompanies the tattoos that were received prior to salvation. There are sins that we can commit that have long lasting scars. The inner man needs to be changed and made holy. When that takes place, then the outer expressions will also be made holy. We talked about slang words that have been developed over time to sneak ungodly language into the common language. The born again Christian has the ability to be made holy and to see that their language must change to reflect who they now are.
There have been many people who claim to be saved but they fight against true Biblical modesty. They come up with all kinds of excuses, but none of them are valid. The true child of God needs to be sanctified wholly. When that is taking place, things will change.
Paul continued to explain the first part of this verse with the second part. He was praying to God that the saints’ whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
No true child of God wants to be caught in sin at the Lord’s coming. Paul has warned of the loss of reward that can happen for the child of God. Man’s destiny is sealed at the moment of death. No changes can be made then. No confession of sin can take place then. The sins that the saved person has tried to bury or ignore dealing with, will stand against them. God is gracious. His grace never overlooks sin. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.
Paul reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again. Christians are encouraged to look forward to that day. When the truth is taught properly and when saints listen to the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, they will be growing in the Lord and will be living with that excitement that comes from expecting a special person to show up. God does not want His children to be fearful of the Lord’s return. He wants them to be living in anticipation of that soon return.
In verse 24 we are reminded that God is faithful. God here being the Godhead. Those who are saved are called. The call of God is only appropriated to those who accept the call. All people are called to be saved. A few will accept the call. Those who respond to God’s call of salvation are called to be blameless before God.

Jude 1:24  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

God’s design is for His child(ren) to be holy. He is well able to do that. No saint will be able to make excuses for disobedience in the presence of the Lord. God is faithful. He can accomplish all His will. There is nothing God cannot do. If He promises something, He will accomplish that. If He calls a person to a certain task, He is able to equip that person to do all that He wants done. The important fact is to know the true God. That is what Paul was directed to write about.
Everything we learn here is directly related to knowing the true God. We need to be rightly “connected”. Many people want to make sure they know the right person to get ahead. They will sacrifice principles for the sake of getting ahead.
The true child of God is saved by the grace and mercy of God. He is equipped to serve God by His grace and His mercy. When he chooses to humbly submit to God, he enjoys His peace in his life. God gives His child blessings that can never be earned or purchased. They are invaluable and they are only for those who know Him. Do you have God’s peace in your heart today?
Pastor Bartel