1 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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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As Paul concludes the letter, he offers a benediction-prayer asking God to complete the sanctification of believers and preserve them whole until the Lord returns.
What Does 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Mean?
Paul closes his instructions with a prayer that God himself would do what believers cannot do for themselves: "the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." To sanctify is to set apart and make holy, and "wholly" stresses that this work is meant to reach the entire person, leaving no part untouched. Paul names God as the source -- the "God of peace" -- because the same God who reconciles us also makes us whole.
He then prays that the believers' "whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless" until the Lord's coming. By naming spirit, soul, and body together, Paul stresses completeness: God's saving work embraces the entire human being, not merely an inner or invisible part. The body is included, affirming that the physical person matters to God and will be preserved, not discarded. "Blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" sets the goal in the future Paul has described throughout the letter. This is both a prayer and a promise of what God intends, embracing the whole person from now until Christ returns.
In the Original Language
"Sanctify" is hagiazo, to make holy, set apart; "wholly" is holoteles, complete to the very end; spirit, soul, and body are pneuma, psyche, and soma.
Cross References
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
- Philippians 1:6
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:20
“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,”
- Jude 1:24
Application
Trust God to do the deep work of making you holy in your whole person, body included, and cooperate with that work as you await Christ.
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