Paul calls for the sanctification of three dimensions in 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul makes a very powerful statement. He said,

"May the God of peace" (notice peace comes from God, not Prozac) "sanctify you wholly". (KJV)

When I talk to believers and ask what they think that means, they say, "Well, that's easy Pastor. God wants to sanctify us to make us
holy as in h-o-l-y."

It doesn't say that. The word "wholly" is not h-o-l-y. It says, "May the God of peace sanctify you wholly" which is w-h-o-l-l-y in the King James version. We know the word sanctification means holiness as in h-o-l-y. Actually Paul is saying, May the God of peace sanctify you - to make you holy - so that you can be made whole and that you may be preserved blameless in this wholeness - spirit, soul and body, until the coming of the Lord Jesus.

We're still waiting for the Lord Jesus to come back, so this is a statement of practical application for every generation between when
it was written and when the Lord comes back. It offers us an equation: lack of holiness produces lack of wholeness.

Paul is saying our spirit, soul and body need sanctification to be made whole - all three. This opens up a whole new dimension of
thought.

One of the areas often lacking in Christianity is they deal with the psychology and maybe the body to some extent, through nutrition.

But they don't include the fact that man is a triune being. They read it in the Word, but do they think about what it means? They tend to
accept familiar clichés like:

I only need my mind renewed.
These are negative emotions.
These are psychological defects.
My spirit is sinless.
I'll get a perfect healing in heaven.

As the pastor of a local church, I'm very concerned, not just about healing, but also about sound doctrine. It's important that we be
Berean. Being Berean means we go back to the Word ourselves to study it and find out what it says.

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