Tonight's message is called God
is Faithful. Tonight we'll be finishing this
study of this wonderful epistle. We will see Paul bring this letter
to a close with bringing forth the fact that our great God is
faithful to his people. He is never changing. Now our
faith can be fickle at times, but our Lord never changes. Therefore
his love for his people and his faithfulness to them never changes. So what a comfort that can be
we who are the born-again blood-washed people of God. Let's read verses
12 to 28 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and we'll read here to see
the context of our verses which we'll be studying tonight which
will be verses 23 to 28. And we beseech you brethren to
know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord
and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for
their work's sake and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort
you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded,
support the weak, be patient toward all men, see that none
render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which
is good, both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore,
pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit, despise
not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast that which is good,
abstain from all appearance of evil, 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. Faithful is he. that calleth
you who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet
all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord
that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. And this first epistle
was written to the Thessalonians from Athens. Now, last week in
our study of verse 22 of this chapter, we saw that this verse
is not teaching us to abstain from the appearance of evil or
that which folks think is sinful, although that is very, very good
advice. And we need to abstain from the
appearance of evil. But we saw in the context with
the surrounding verses that abstain from all appearance of evil is
referring to avoiding any false doctrine or any false teaching
as contrary to the inspired word of God. We are to come away from
the camps of false religionists and have no fellowship with those
unfruitful works of darkness. Now tonight we'll be looking
at verse 23 to the end of this wonderful letter before us. Let's
read verse 23. where we see the sanctifying
and preserving grace of God brought forth in this text, and take
note of the love which Paul has for the saints at Thessalonica,
and how it is brought forth in this verse here before us, as
Paul manifests his love for the saints of God by his sincere
prayer for them. Verse 23, And the very God of
peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray, God, your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved. Blame us unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now the natural man was ruined
through and through by the fall of Adam. His body, soul, and
spirit of the whole human race was plunged into the state of
corruption by Adam's sin. And this is why the scriptures
tell us that in our flesh dwelleth no good thing, and that the natural
man cannot please God. Scripture declares this in Romans
7, 18. For I know that in me, that is,
in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present
with me. But how to perform that which
is good I find not. And then Romans 8.8 says, So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But beloved
of God, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, brand new
creation. God did not take any part of
the old man to create us anew, when he sent the spirit of his
Son into our hearts, crying, I have a Father. And let's read
verse 23 again of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 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. Now listen to Paul's words in
Romans chapter 8 verses 9 to 11. But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. If so, be that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, He that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. This body that we are living
in cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. It is a mortal, corrupt
body, and we must put on immortality. we must put on in corruption.
One day, beloved of God, we'll get a brand new body that will
house the new man God has created in us, and that will occur on
the day of resurrection when Christ returns. If we're still
alive when our Lord returns, the bodies of those who died
in Christ will be raised first. Then we which remain will be
caught up to meet Christ and all our beloved brothers and
sisters in the air. That's when we get our brand
new bodies. And notice how Paul, again by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God, ends this wonderful letter. with comforting words
to the brethren as he encourages them to brotherly love. And we'll
see that with the ending words of this letter. Notice how he
brings them to look upon the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 23.
He sets Christ before them and he will have them to look to
Christ for all confidence and all peace while journeying through
this world. The first thing he addresses
is the things that are spiritual come from God in Christ. Notice
the words here in verse 23, the very God of peace. This is a
reference to our Lord Jesus Christ who is called the Prince of Peace,
and He is God incarnate in the flesh, and this is a title applied
to Christ. Why some may ask, why do you
say this is a reference to Christ? It is so because He established
peace by the blood of His cross, and it is He who gave peace to
His elect. that the world cannot give. In
reference to believing Jews and Gentiles, Christ is said to be
our peace, having broken down the wall of natural enmity between
us and made us to be one people. In him we see sanctify you wholly
in this text. It may be taken in two ways and
both are true. First, wholly could speak of
the entire community of believers at the Seneca. and sanctify could
be applied to their obedience to those exhortations previously
given in this chapter. This application often is made
to growth and grace. We have but to think of all the
exhortations we've seen given to us to know that this world
can cause our love to wax cold. We can take our eyes off Christ
and we can apply it to the flesh to solve our problems. But Paul
turns our eyes to Christ. And to be wholly sanctified in
this sense is to grow in the grace of God. Secondly, as to
the application of the word sanctify, refers to the effect of the work
of Christ on behalf of His elect people. God the Father, through
the Spirit, and in the Lord Jesus Christ, sanctifies them wholly.
Our God has made Christ to be their holiness. This is brought
forth in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Why? That according as is written,
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. So in either or
both cases, the sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit
of God through the gospel, and it's the work of the Holy Spirit
of God alone. So we clearly see that Paul's
prayer was that God himself would preserve his saints, spirit,
soul, and body. blame us unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul, God's anointed preacher,
was not wringing his hands, hoping against hope that this might
happen. No, Paul has never ever applied in any of his writings
that man can preserve himself by his own doings. He has only
exalted the Lord Jesus Christ in that position, that he alone
can keep us. alone can preserve us. Salvation
is of the Lord from start to finish. We see that clearly brought
forth in the next verse. Look at verse 24 of 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5. Scripture declares, Faithful
is he that calleth you, who also will do it. O beloved of God,
our God is faithful. We see this proclaimed in these
words. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Listen
to this verse from The literal Greek Bible, it says, the one
who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Oh my, my oh my,
what a declaration of God's sovereign grace before us here. Faithful
is he that calleth you, who also will do it. This is a declaration
of the sovereign grace of God. And so let we who are God's people,
let this comfort our hearts, we who are the born-again blood-washed
people of God, and marvel at the assurance of what is declared
here before us in verse 24. Oh my, this is all based upon
God's faithfulness, not man's, all based upon God's. It says,
faithful is he, that being God, that calleth you, who also will
do it. The one true living God, beloved,
who has called you by his grace. He will do this. He will sanctify
you wholly. He will one day present you blameless
before the throne of God. clothed in the perfect spotless
righteousness of Christ. So rejoice, beloved of God. The
very one who calls you God, the living and true God, is faithful
and he will do this. God is faithful to his word.
God is faithful to his purpose. God is faithful to his promise. His faithfulness here is not
in general. It's specific to those whom he
has called. That means it's specific to his
elect, beloved. His born-again, blood-washed
people. Those who were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Those who were purchased
by the precious, precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those
who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And so we can
conclude, salvation is of the Lord. It's all His doing. So
marvel then. how this refers to the predestinated
effectual call of the gospel also here in this verse it says
faithful is he that calleth you who's the one who called us well
god is the one who called us and he will he will and he does
sanctify us wholly we're sanctified in christ and one day our lord
jesus christ will present us blameless before the throne of
god Hallelujah praise his mighty name and think of how how this
verse here Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do
it think of how this is like chain links with these other
verses that I'll read You know, you get a chain and a good strong
chain. Those links are all joined together
They're welded and melded together, aren't they? And that chain holds.
Oh, my. So think of how these verses
that I'm going to read are like chain links together with this
wonderful verse proving and showing us that there is a call by the
shepherd of the sheep. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 10, verse three,
it says to him, the porter openeth and the sheep hear his voice
and he calls his own sheep by name and lead them out. In Acts
chapter two, verse thirty nine. Again, the scripture declares,
for the promise is unto you and to your children, to all that
are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
And there's the key. There's the chain link to our
verse, is as many as the Lord shall call. Our scripture declares,
faithful as he that calleth you, who also will do it. And then
Romans chapter eight, verses 28 to 30, the scripture declares
this. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. to them who are the
called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, moreover, whom he did predestinate, them
he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. And in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses
13 to 14, the scripture declares, But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief in the truth, whereunto he called you.
See, there's God's effectual call, his faithful call to his
people, where unto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So beloved of God, it
is God and God alone who is the one who begins the work of salvation
in the hearts of his elect by his Holy Spirit. He convicts
us of our helpless and hopeless sinful condition before him and
makes us to see our desperate need of Christ. and then we are
granted faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We're called
out of darkness with his sovereign, irresistible call, revealing
Christ Jesus, our Lord, and his gospel truth to us and in us. And this work is performed by
God, the Holy Spirit, all by the power of God, the Holy Spirit,
working in us under the preaching of his gospel, And God's preachers
are confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. So rejoice,
you who are born again, blood-washed saints of God, by the almighty
power of God the Holy Spirit, as those who were chosen in Christ,
purchased by Christ, and bought to Christ can never be lost. That's why if we believe what
the Word of God says, None for whom Christ died will wind up
in eternal torment, because Jesus Christ is a blessed surety of
all those who were given to him by God the Father in the eternal
covenant of grace before this world was created. And he met,
the Lord Jesus Christ, met all the conditions of that everlasting
covenant by his perfect obedience to the will of God our Father
as a substitute of his people, both in his life and in his death. He was obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. And brethren, we are the children
of promise, and our Heavenly Father will keep His promise
to His Son. Jude put it this way, knowing to Him that is able
to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Till the only
wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. Amen. And beloved of God, our
great God is faithful. He's faithful to His people.
Again, His faithfulness to his people is declared in scripture.
In Psalm 89, in verses 28 to 34, the scripture declares, my
mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast
with him. His seed also will I make to
endure forever, and the throne is the days of heaven. If his
children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, if they
break my statutes and keep not my commandments, Then will I
visit their transgression with rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving kindness
will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. Oh, what a wonderful verse. My
covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that has gone
out of my lips. Oh, my, our great God. He tells
us in Psalm 89, 33. that his faithfulness will never
fail. So the capstone of this sure
declaration of God's faithfulness we see here in our text is the
unconditional guarantee by God himself that he will do it. Look
at verse 24. Look at this wonderful verse.
Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. He will
do what he promises for his people. Marvel here at this little verse
which profoundly proclaims God's faithfulness to his people. And
He's the One who calls you. And the One who calls you is
faithful. He's God. He can have to come
to pass what He promises. Now, we make promises that we
can't keep. But God, when He promises something,
He keeps it. And He will do what He has said
He will do for His people. And there can be no more sure
thing than for God to do it or have done it. Solomon affirmed
this by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God in Ecclesiastes
3, verse 14, which proclaims this of our great faithful God. I know that whatsoever God doeth,
it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor
anything taken away from it. And God doeth it, that man shall
fear before him. Oh my, God says he's gonna do
something, he's gonna do it. Because whatsoever God doeth,
it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nothing
can be added to it, and nothing can be taken away, says, nor
anything taken from it. And God doeth it, that man should
fear before him. Oh, beloved of God, we can be
assured that if he does a thing, it is because it pleased him
to do so. Listen to what the scriptures proclaim in Psalm
115, verse three. But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. And then in Psalm 135,
verses five and six, the scripture declares, for I know that the
Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods, little G. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven and earth and in the seas and all deep
places. See, our Lord does whatever he pleases. What comfort then
can the weary saint of God who's traveling through this world
of woe glean, knowing that our great God does whatever he pleases? according to his sovereign will
and according to his sovereign pleasure. And we read these words
in Isaiah, remember the former things of all, for I am God and
there is none else. I am God and there is none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times,
the things which are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall
stand and I will do all my pleasure. Beloved, God saved us because
it pleased him to do so. And he will one day present us
faultless before his throne because it pleases him to do so. And
he is in no way coerced or under any duress by anything we do.
No, he's not compelled to save us by anything within us or anything
we do. No, he's compelled to save us
by his own sovereign will and purpose. Praise be to God. Now
let's read the closing verses of this letter. And we see this
first epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Athens. So we
see that we are here exhorted to pray for God's ordained preachers, that our Lord might deliver us
from unreasonable, wicked men, and that he might be pleased
to make his word, his gospel, that we have the honor of preaching
effectual for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We also see
that we are exhorted to show genuine affection for each other.
It was customary in those days to greet one another with a kiss
on the cheek, which is called the holy kiss. Now, some shake
hands, others embrace each other with a warm hug. When we assemble
together, it's like a family reunion, and we are very thankful
to see one another. Paul gave this charge, but it
was a charge from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. that this epistle
be read unto all the holy brethren, and we are only holy in Christ.
And it's to be read before all of God's preachers, and it's
to be read before all of God's born-again, blood-washed saints
who are dedicated to the study of the word of God. And hearing
the word read in the gospel preached is how we worship God in spirit
and truth. And we see the closing words,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, amen. Paul is here
saying, God be with you. Jesus Christ is the God of all
grace. And if he is in us, his grace
is with us, beloved. Praise his mighty name. And amen
means, so be it, I agree. Praise be to God, beloved, for
this wonderful letter written by Paul in Athens to the saints
at Thessalonica. And oh, how much we profited
from studying this wonderful book. To God be the glory, amen
and amen.