A Prayer for Believers

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 New Living Translation
23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 New International Version
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

1. God wants you to be Holy
23 Now may the God of peace make you holy (NLT)
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you (NIV)

1 Peter 1:15–16 says:
“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”

Holiness is not just something we talk about on Sunday.
Holiness affects how we talk.
How we think.
How we treat people.
How we handle our money.
How we conduct ourselves when nobody is watching.
How we respond when we're hurt.
How we behave when we're angry.
How we live when we're tempted.
Holiness is allowing God to have His way in every area of our lives.
And notice something powerful in Paul's prayer:
He doesn't say, “May you make yourself holy.”
He says, “May God make you holy.”
That doesn't mean we have no responsibility.
It means that sanctification is ultimately God's work in us.
We surrender.
We obey.
We cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
But God is the One who changes us.


2. God wants you to be Wholly
23b in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. (NLT)
23b through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (NIV)

The greek word here is holoteles.- it means complete to the end, absolutely perfect, holy, complete in extent, amount, time or degree or throughout..  


3. God wants to make you Wholly Holy
24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.
24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.


Philippians 1:6 says:
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished...”