Word of Encouragement (7/2/2021)
Today, we will finish our reflection on Paul’s prayer in 1 Thess. 5:23-24: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
Paul prays that God would sanctify us completely. Then he prays that our whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until Christ’s return. This raises an interesting question, doesn’t it? Is Paul saying that we are made up of three parts—spirit and soul and body? I’m sure many of you are familiar with the idea that we are made up of two parts—soul and body. That’s what Jesus suggested when He said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). There is actually a theological debate on this, though a minor one. Those who believe that man is made up of three parts—spirit, soul, and body—are called trichotomists. Those who believe that man is made up of just two parts—soul (or, spirit) and body—are called dichotomists. Which one are you? Do you believe in dichotomy or trichotomy?
But we have to keep in mind that v. 23 is not the only biblical passage that mentions different aspects of our being. Take, for instance, the Greatest Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). Jesus doesn’t mention our body here. But is Jesus saying that our inner being consists of our heart and soul and mind? Should we say, then, that we are made up of four parts—our heart, soul, mind, and body? What about our spirit? Are we to believe, then, that we are actually made up of five parts—our heart, soul, mind, spirit, and body? Maybe Paul is not giving us a three-part division of man in v. 23 but something else. Jeffrey Weima says,
“Just as Jesus’s exhortation to love God with ‘all your heart,... soul,... mind, and... strength’ (Mark 12:30 par.) is not intended to teach something about the makeup of humans but rather to stress the need for one’s total and absolute devotion to God, so also Paul’s prayer concerning ‘spirit and soul and body’ says less about the apostle’s view of anthropology than about his concern that sanctification be expressed in every aspect of the Thessalonians’ being and conduct” (p. 422).
We may say, then, that the human soul is the totality of our inner being and, as such, has many functions and abilities. Different names are given to the soul, each highlighting one function over the other. The “mind” generally highlights the rational, intellectual activities of the soul. The “heart” highlights the emotional and volitional activities of the soul. The “bowels” (often translated as “affection”) highlight the soul’s intense emotional activities. We can say that the spirit highlights the soul’s religious, spiritual activities.
The focus of Paul’s prayer is our complete sanctification, the sanctification of every aspect of our being. So then, it is only right that we submit every aspect of our being under the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Even our emotions must not be exempted. In thinking about this, let us not lose sight of the positive side: God will sanctify every aspect of our being, including our emotions: we will think after God’s thoughts, feel after God’s heart, and will after God’s will. He has already begun the good work in us and He will surely bring it to glorious completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). May this work of God become more and more evident in our lives as we pray this prayer and submit our whole being to God’s sovereign lordship!