TEXT: 1 Thessalonians 5:23

1 Thessalonians 5:23
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.

Introduction
Holiness, though as very important and unwaivable requirement from God for any man to see Him as it is, still, has continued to be trivialized and mocked by many Christians and preachers alike.

In part one of this teaching, I stated in the introduction that while many Christians believe that holiness is somewhat an unrealistic and unattainable standard set by God for man, yet, others believe that no conscious effort is to be taken to live a holy life apart from just confessing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

Another group of Christians, by far most articulating and influential than the first two mentioned above, on their own, believe that holiness is just a matter of heart and that it has nothing to do with what you do with your body, or what you wear on your body. Their line of argument was based on God’s conversation with Prophet Samuel concerning whom the prophet should anoint as king over Israel. See 1 Samuel 16:7.

While Prophet Samuel was considering the physical posture and appearance of the candidates to be anointed as king as the major yardstick to use in selecting a king, God rebuked Samuel and made him to know that it is the condition of the hearts that He (God) uses as the major yardstick in selecting a king and not the physical appearance.

But since God told Samuel that He sees the heart, does it mean that the body of a believer does not matter to Him anymore when it comes to the issue of holiness? Does it mean we can dress the way we want, attach what we want to our hairs, draw the tattoos that we want, fix the eyelashes and false fingernails that we want and so on? The answer is ‘No’.

While the first part of this teaching emphasized the gross importance of the heart in the matters of holiness and holy living, this second part tries to discard the dangerous heresy that God is not interested in the body of believers and how they dress by pointing out clearly that holiness, indeed, cannot be complete without also taking the issue of outward appearance very serious.

Why Your Body is Important to God
God is not just interested in your heart alone as some Christians will have you believe. God is equally interested in your body as your heart. The following points will try to underscore the gross importance God places on the body of Christians.

-1. A person can be cast to hell because of the activities of his body.

Mathew 18:7-8
8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

The scripture above makes us to know that the activities of a person’s hands, foots and eyes can make a person go to hell. Other parts of the body like tongues can also lead a person to hell.

-2. The body is needed to express what is in the heart.

Mathew 12:3434
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

The scripture says a lot. For instance, a woman that dresses like an harlot does so, simply because the attire is the type of clothe her heart had desired to wear. No person can give what he does not have.

-3. The Holy Spirit lives inside of our body.

1 Corinthians 6:19
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

If the body of a believer is indeed the temple of the Holy Ghost, it means that the believer does not have liberty to dress or adorn the body with anything that is abominable or not befitting to The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is holy and the body He occupies must also be holy.

-4. Believer’s body can be rendered as a living sacrifice unto God.

Romans 12:1
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

This scripture charges us to render our bodies as living sacrifices unto God but with a caution that such body must be holy before God can accept it as sacrifice.

-5. Believers’ bodies are members of Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:15
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

These are few reasons that show that God is interested in our bodies as much as He is interested in our hearts.


Complete Sanctification Versus Partial Sanctification

Let us refer to our text above, 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

1 Thessalonians 5:23
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.

In this text, Apostle Paul prayed that God should sanctify us wholly and preserve us blameless till the Lord, Jesus Christ comes back at rapture. To be wholly sanctified is to be completely or totally sanctified. Apostle Paul, in the statement that followed, however, explained that to be sanctified wholly is to be preserved blameless in the spirit, soul and body.

This blameless preservation of the spirit, soul and body is what is meant by complete sanctification/holiness.

It then follows that any sanctification/holiness that does not encompass the spirit, the soul and the body is a partial sanctification and will not suffice any man to make the rapture.

We can immediately see that concentrating on sanctification of the heart (spirit and soul) alone while disregarding bodily blamelessness amount to incomplete sanctification. Both the cleanliness of heart and body are required for us to make rapture.

Sanctification/blamelessness of the body

1 Thessalonians 5:23
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.

Again, if we logically considered our text, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, above, the following equivalence can be made.

-a. sanctification = blamelessness

-b. whole sanctification (complete or total sanctification) = blamelessness of the spirit + sanctification of the soul + sanctification of the body.

In part one of these teachings, the center point was the sanctification of the heart – the symbol of both spirit and soul. However, for a believer to have complete sanctification, he needs to be sanctified or blamelessness not just in the heart alone but also in the body as well.

For us to know how to make our body blameless, let us first see what the bible means by blamelessness and then we can apply it to our body. Let us consider the scriptures below.

Luke 1:5-6
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

2 Peter 3:14 1
4 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless

The two scriptures, above, combined together defines blamelessness as;

-1. righteousness before God

-2. walking in the commandments of God (see also John 14:15)

-3. walking in the ordinances of God

-4. being without spot

Based on the points above, a believer can be said to be blameless or sanctified in the body when

-1. The clothes he/she wears is determined by the commandments of God.

-2. He/She conducts his/her body in line with the ordinances of God.

-3. His/Her body is without spot or defilement.


Things that defile the body

-1. Attires of harlot; Proverb 7:10

Proverb 7:10
10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

Any clothe that, if a woman wears, can sexually induce men easily and made them fall into lust is an attire of an harlot. These include clothes that reveal or expose erotic body parts, or tightly reveal your body shapes the way a swimming trunk does and so on. In fact, any clothes that make other men see the parts of your body or see some obscene shapes of parts of your body that are supposed to be the exclusive right of your husband may be an attire of harlot.

-2. Tattoos; Leviticus 19:28

Leviticus 19:28
28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print marks upon you: I am the LORD.

Children of God are not supposed to draw tattoos. They are an abomination to God. If you cannot resist tattoos, do you think you can resist the mark of the beast? Since we say we are the body of Christ, we should let our bodies be without spots or wrinkles?

-3 Jewelries; these includes rings, earrings, nose rings, lips rings, necklace and so on.

See the message titled ‘the true ornament of God’.
See also the message of the Lord on how a woman should dress holy.

-4. Fornication;

1 Corinthians 6:18
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

-5. Anything that destroys the body; these include but are not limited to alcohol, cigarettes, hard drugs, bleaching of skin and the rest

6. Anything that changes the truth of God for a lie; these include but are not limited to artificial eye lashes, artificial nails, hair weavons and so on.

-7. The use of charms and occult materials on the body.

-8. The use of anything that does not glorify God on the body;
1 Corinthians 10:31
31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.


Sometimes, one of my friends, who was working in a company that distributed beer drinks, gave me two shirts. The name of a popular beer brand, that believes it is the ultimate, was printed on them. We were wearing the clothes innocently. Then, one day, in a revelation, the Lord told me that I was the one teaching people how to drink beer. My reaction suggested that I disagreed. Then, He asked me to look at the shirt on my neck. Behold! It was the beer shirt. Immediately, I became dumbfounded. I repented of my sins and henceforth I turned those shirts into rags.

Today, Christian youths, especially in Nigeria, are wearing something that looks like a muslim rosary on their hands, even to church. I have asked many of them what the item was and used for. Their typical answers are ‘we are just wearing it” Others may say ‘it is just for fashion’.

These same items are worn by garage touts, people of other religions, occultists and so on. How can a child of God be wearing what is in vogue among unbelievers without knowing why they wear it or what it is used for or even if it is biblical to do? We need to be cautious and watchful.

Summary
The outward reveals the inward. Any holiness that centers on the heart alone will not be complete and cannot be enough to make you see the Lord at rapture.

When God wanted to visit the Israelite at Mount Sinai, He told them to sanctify themselves and washed their clothes.

Exodus 19:10
10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

Exodus 19:10
14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

It can be inferred from the scriptures above that their sanctification would not be complete unless they washed their clothes. So it is today. Any sanctification that renders your body with wrinkles and spot is not complete.


Conclusion
Remember that You have been bought with a price and you are not your own? You must now live to fulfill the wills of your master, Who paid your ransome and not the wills of the world. Remember the Lord’s prayer in Mathew 6:10

Mathew 6:10
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

And His will is that you be without spot nor wrinkles and be preserved blameless in your spirit, soul and body till He comes.

Actions
Are you an elect of Christ? Are you truly saved? Are you on the narrow road? Do you want to make the rapture/heaven? If your answers are yes, then,
• Make all efforts to heed the warnings of Jesus Christ.

• Be watchful. Pay attention to what is happening around the World and see whether they match what the scriptures say.

• Be filled with the Holy Spirit and be in the Spirit all the time.

• Fast, consecrate yourself, run away from sin and worldliness.

If your answers are NO, then you can repent today. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Kindly sincerely and faithfully pray the prayer of repentance below and make a determination never to commit sin again.


Prayer Of Repentance
Lord, Jesus Christ, I am sorry for all my sins. I confess them with my mouth and I ask for mercy. Please forgive me and wash me in your blood. I accept you as my personal Lord and Saviour. Write my name in the book of life. Give me power over sins and fill me with your Spirit and Joy of Salvation. When rapture trumpet sounds, let me make it. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, I pray.

Begin to read bible. Begin with the book of John. Pray always. Fast regularly (you can begin with once in a week). Look for a bible believing church where they teach repentance, holiness, salvation and fellowship with them. Pray before you go. Always run away from SINS.


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Shalom.

To Make Rapture:
Confess your sins to JESUS CHRIST and ask Him to save you.
Repent of your sins constantly on daily basis and run away from sins.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit
Live in Holiness and Righteousness
Do all Restitutions
Cut off all worldliness.
Forgive all people.
Pray and fast.
Consecrate and study the bible.
Watch.

JESUScoming

May you be sanctified wholly, completely, totally in Jesus name.

He is coming. Stay ready.

Be preserved blameless spirit, soul and body till the coming of the Lord

For without holiness, no man shall see the Lord

Everything in heaven is holy. Satan and his angels that wanted to pollute heaven and been cast out.

No sinner will enter there to pollute it. To make heaven, do away with sins and live holy.

Majority of the Pastors of today are trivialising the issue of holiness. They preach money buy failed to rebuke sins.

God is holy. Heavrn is holy. Lord, Jesus Christ is holy. Spirit of God is holy. Angels of God are holy. Word of God is holy. Saints in heaven are holy. Without holiness no man can make heaven. Be holy.

Christians are holy. If you are a believer you have been sanctified and therefore holy but you should live as out God's holiness in you.

Cleanse yourself with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Blessed are the pure in the heart, for they shall see God. Wash yourself clean with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Purify your heart.

Praising God in sin is like giving a person he loves best but which has been mixed with poison.

Stop praising God under His anger.

Let those that name the name of Christ (Christians) depart from iniquities.

But it is a pity that Christians want to handle Christ with sins. It is not going to work.

Guard your hearts with all diligence, for Out of it proceed issues of life.

Becareful what you store in your heart. They can make or ruin you.

God is not just interested in your heart alone as some Christians will have you believe. God is equally interested in your body as your heart. The following points will try to underscore the gross importance God places on the body of Christians.

Live holy in converstaion and in all things

Live a holy life.

Behold he cometh with the cloud

Be therefore perfect, even as Your father in heaven is perfect

Jesus Christ is Messiah. Follow Him. Others are impostors.

He that overcome shall inherit all things. Strive to overcome all the evil hurdles on our way home.

The number one worldliness is to set affection on the things of the world/earth rather than those of God and His kingdom.

Set your affection on the things of heaven, today.

Be holy within and without

annyplenty:
Be holy within and without

If Holiness as prescribed by God is available only to those who have the blood of Israel running through their veins, then explain to us how you can come about it. Remember Jesus Christ warned His followers not to give that which is Holy -- the Kingdom of God --- to the dogs aka Non-Israelites- Matthew 7 vs 6.