1 Thessalonians 5:23

1 Thessalonians 5:23-26 . And the very God of peace — Αυτος δε ο Θεος της ειρηνης , literally, May the God of peace himself; that is, he who is ready to give you peace with himself after all you have done; who is in Christ reconciling you to himself, not imputing your trespasses unto you, if in repentance and faith you turn to him, but on these terms preaching peace to you by Jesus Christ: sanctify you wholly — That is, may he carry on and complete the work of purification and renovation begun in your regeneration, redeeming you from all iniquity, Titus 2:14 ; cleansing you from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, 2 Corinthians 7:1 ; stamping you with his whole image, and rendering you a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but made holy toward God, dedicated to and employed in his service, and without blame in the whole of your conduct toward men. The word ολοτελεις , here rendered wholly, signifies every part of you, and every part perfectly; implying that every faculty of their souls, and every sense and member of their bodies, should be completely purified, and devoted to the service of God. And I pray God — These words are not in the original, which is literally, and may the whole of you, ολοκληρον υμων , your whole constitution, the whole frame of your nature, all belonging to you, all of and about you, be made and preserved blameless.

And what the apostle means by this whole constitution, or frame, of their nature, he immediately specifies, mentioning the spirit, the soul, and the body. Here, says Whitby, “the apostle justifies the ancient and true philosophy, that man is, as Nemesius styles him, τριμερης υποστασις , a compound of three differing parts. This was the doctrine of the Pythagoreans, and also that of the Platonists, who held that there is in man a soul irrational, which includes the affections of the body; and a mind, which uses the body as its instrument, and fights against it. This also was the doctrine of the Stoics, whence Antoninus saith, The three constituent parts of man are σωμα , ψυχη , νους , the body, soul, and mind. Irenæus, and Clemens of Alexandria, and Origen, say the same.” He adds, “those two excellent philosophers, Gassendus and Dr. Willis, have established this philosophy beyond all reasonable contradiction.” It appears also, as the learned Vitringa has very accurately shown, a notion prevailed among the rabbis, as well as the philosophers, that the person of a man was constituted of three distinct substances; 1st, the rational spirit, which survives the death of the body, and is immortal; 2d, the animal soul, which man has in common with the beasts, and which dies with the body; and, 3d, the visible body.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 . Αὐτὸς ) [ The very ] Himself . You will be defended, says Paul, not by my zeal, but by the Divine protection.— ὁ Θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης , the God of peace ) who gives all that is good, and takes away all that is evil: εἰρήνη and ὁλοτελὴς , in the Hebrew שלם , are conjugates. [Therefore the following prayer shows what this title implies (involves in it).—V. g.]— ὁλοτελεῖς — ὁλόκληρον ) He wishes that collectively ( ὁλοτελεῖς ) and as individuals ( ὁλόκληρον ) they should be claimed for God [as His], and being so claimed, should abide in Him: collectively, all the Thessalonians without exception, so that no one should fail; individually, every one of them, with “spirit, soul, and body.” The exposition of this verse will perhaps be more matured in course of time.

There might be supposed an elegant Chiasmus, and if ὁλόκληρον were taken adverbially, it would cast new light on the exposition.[32] If we give the passage another sense, ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν , would constitute the genus and the whole; the three following words ( πνεῦμα , σῶμα , ψυχὴ ) would be the parts.— ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ σῶμα , your spirit and soul and body ) You; he just before has called them universally: and the same persons he now denominates from their spiritual condition, my wish being, saith he, that your spirit ( Galatians 6:18 ) may be preserved ὁλόκληρον , whole and entire; then from their natural condition, and soul and body , for the nature of the whole man absolutely consists of these two parts, my wish is, that it may be preserved blameless .[33] The mention of the body agrees with the preceding discussion, 1 Thessalonians 4:4 , note 16. [32] The Chiasmus would make ὁλόκληρον answer to σῶμα , and πνεῦμα to ψυχή : meaning, May your body be wholly preserved, as also your spirit and soul!—ED. [33] The Germ.

And the very God of peace {i} 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. (i) Separate you from the world, and make you holy to himself through his Spirit, in Christ, in whom alone you will attain to that true peace.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 . εἰρήνης , with a special allusion to the breaches of harmony and charity produced by vice ( cf. connection of 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 and 1 Thessalonians 4:3 f.), indolence, impatience of authority or of defects in one another ( 1 Thessalonians 5:13 f.), retaliation ( 1 Thessalonians 5:15 ), and differences of opinion ( 1 Thessalonians 5:19 f.) Such faults affect the σῶμα , the ψυχή and the πνεῦμα respectively, as the sphere of that pure and holy consciousness whose outcome is εἰρήνη .— ὑμῶν , unemphatic genitive (as in 1 Thessalonians 3:10 ; 1 Thessalonians 3:13 , cf. Abbott’s Johannine Grammar , 2559 a ) throwing the emphasis on the following word or words. πνεῦμα is put first, as the element in human nature which Paul held to be most directly allied to God, while ψυχή denotes as usual the individual life. The collocation of these terms is unusual but of course quite untechnical.— ἀμέμπτως has almost a proleptic tinge = “preserved entire, (so as to be) blameless at the arrival of,” which has led to the substitution, in some inferior MSS., of εὑρεθείη for τηρηθείη ( cf. textual discussion in Amer. Jour. Theol. , 1903, 453 f.). The construction is rather awkward, but the general sense is clear. With the thought of the whole verse compare Ps. Sol. 18:6: καθαρίσαι ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ … εἰς ἡμέραν ἐκλογῆς ἐν ἀνάξει Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ , also the description of Abraham being preserved by the divine σοφία in Sap. 10:5 ( ἐτήρησεν αὐτὸν ἄμεμπτον θεῷ ).

The very God of peace (αὐτὸς ὁ Θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης) Better, the God of peace himself. God's work is contrasted with human efforts to carry out the preceding injunctions. The phrase God of peace only in Paul and Hebrews. See Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20; Philippians 4:9; Hebrews 13:20. The meaning is, God who is the source and giver of peace. Peace, in the Pauline sense, is not mere calm or tranquillity. It is always conceived as based upon reconciliation with God. God is the God of peace only to those who have ceased to be at war with him, and are at one with him. God's peace is not sentimental but moral. Hence the God of peace is the sanctifier. "Peace" is habitually used, both in the Old and New Testaments, in connection with the messianic salvation. The Messiah himself will be Peace (Micah 5:5). Peace is associated with righteousness as a messianic blessing (Psalm 72:7; Psalm 85:10). Peace, founded in reconciliation with God, is the theme of the gospel (Acts 10:36). The gospel is the gospel of peace (Ephesians 2:17; Ephesians 6:15; Romans 10:15). Christ is the giver of peace (John 14:27; John 16:33). Sanctify (ἁγιάσαι) See on John 10:36; see on John 17:17. The primary idea of the word is separation. Hence ἅγιος, the standard word for holy in lxx is, primarily, set apart. Ἁγιάζειν is 1. to separate from things profane and to consecrate to God; 2. to cleanse or purify as one set apart to holy uses. Wholly (ὁλοτελεῖς) N.T.o.

So that nothing shall escape the sanctifying power. Ὅλος complete, and τέλος end or consummation. Spirit, soul, body (πνεῦμα, ψυχὴ σῶμα) It is useless to attempt to draw from these words a technical, psychological statement of a threefold division of the human personality. If Paul recognized any such technical division, it was more probably twofold; the body or material part, and the immaterial part with its higher and lower sides - πνεῦμα and ψυχὴ. See on Romans 6:6; see on Romans 7:5, Romans 7:23; see on Romans 8:4; see on Romans 11:3 and footnote. Be preserved entire (ὁλόκληρον - τηρηθείη) This is the rendering of Rev. and is correct. A.V. joins ὁλόκληρον with πνεῦμα, and renders your whole spirit. Ὁλόκληρον is predicative, not attributive. It does not mean whole, but is derived from ὅλος whole and κλῆρος allotment, and signifies having the entire allotment; complete in all parts. It occurs only here and James 1:4, where it is associated with τέλειοι perfect. It appears in lxx, as Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9; Deuteronomy 27:6. Joseph. Ant. 3:12, 2, uses it of an unblemished victim for sacrifice. As distinguished from ὁλοτελεῖς wholly, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, it is qualitative, while ὁλοτελεῖς is quantitative. The kindred ὁλοκληρία perfect soundness, only in Acts 3:16. For preserved see on 1 Peter 1:4.