1 Thessalonians 5:23–28

5:23–24 Paul’s concluding benedictions typically ask for blessing on the churches to whom he writes (e.g., Eph. 6:23; 2 Thess. 2:16–17; 3:5, 16–18). Paul had previously closed the long first half of this epistle with a benediction addressing (as here) God the Father and the Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 3:11–13). In both benedictions of this epistle, Paul prays for the believers’ sanctification in light of Jesus’ second coming, thus resonating with the letter’s eschatology (4:13–5:11). Differences between the two benedictions, however, also indicate that each is crafted to fit its immediate context and to convey particular emphases. Thus the benediction in 3:11–13 requests that God both grant Paul opportunity to return to Thessalonica and also enable the congregation to grow in mutual love—themes key to the context of chapters 2–3.

In these verses, Paul prays that the “God of peace” will sanctify the believers “completely.” Paul addresses the “God of peace” frequently (e.g., Rom. 15:33; 16:20; Phil. 4:9), and in a related way he often invokes (especially at the beginning of his letters) grace and peace on his readers “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. comment on 2 Thess. 1:2). Sanctification is mentioned earlier in the epistle, especially in the context of sexual purity (cf. comment on 1 Thess. 4:3). Most often in Paul, sanctification refers either to how God renders the believer positionally holy through union with Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Eph. 5:26) or to how God causes the believer to grow in holy conduct in his or her everyday life. In this verse, the focus appears to be on the church’s growth in holy conduct, since this makes best sense of the word “completely” and of the subsequent request that the church be “kept blameless.”

Parallel to his request that God “sanctify you completely,” Paul asks for these believers to be kept “blameless” in every aspect of life (“spirit, soul, and body”). There is clear overlap between “sanctify” and being “kept blameless,” since both refer to the purity and holiness of the believers.

Some have pressed “spirit and soul and body” to indicate that human beings are tripartite (also referencing Heb. 4:12), with three distinct parts to our person. However, the NT elsewhere speaks of the whole of a person simply as “spirit and body” (cf. 1 Cor. 5:3; 7:34; 2 Cor. 7:1; Col. 2:5; James 2:26) or alternately as “soul and body” (Matt. 10:28). Indeed, Paul can employ the terms “spirit” and “soul” somewhat interchangeably (cf. Phil. 1:27). Moreover, even if in death our souls are for a while separated from our bodies, humans were created from the beginning to be whole beings, and our resurrection hope is that our souls will find an eternal home in glorified bodies. Thus we need to be careful about developing theories about the nature of our humanity based on such brief passages of Scripture. The broader point here is that Paul asks God to make the church and its individual members holy and blameless in every aspect of their being and lives.

Paul expresses in a wonderful way his confidence that God is at work in the church. God “calls” his people (cf. comments on 1 Thess. 2:11–12; 4:7) and is “faithful” (e.g., Deut. 7:9; Isa. 49:7; 1 Cor. 1:9). Since God is faithful, he will perform in these believers the sanctifying work to which he called them.

5:25 Cognizant of the many challenges in ministry, and aware of the importance of prayer, Paul invites congregations to pray with him for his team’s mission (e.g., 2 Cor. 1:11; Col. 4:3; 2 Thess. 3:1; cf. Phil. 1:19; Philem. 22). This also connects with his earlier broader directive to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

5:26 In keeping with another common Pauline closing exhortation, Paul asks the congregants to greet one another with a “holy kiss” (cf. Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; cf. 1 Pet. 5:14). Kisses in the first century were performed regularly as greetings between close friends and family (e.g., Luke 7:45; 15:20; Acts 20:37). Similar greetings remain common in Middle Eastern cultures today. When Judas saluted Jesus deceitfully with a kiss, he heinously violated this standard greeting of peace (Mark 14:45).

Paul commonly calls this greeting a “holy kiss,” likely to emphasize its distinctively Christian application among fellow believers, whom Paul often addresses as saints (“holy ones”). A clear desire for unity is conveyed in such greetings between “all the brothers.” In ways that connect well with our particular cultures, we should seek to institute forms of greeting and fellowship that promote further unity and lead to the edification of the congregation.

5:27 Paul desired that all in the church would hear his letter, and thus he delivers this oath. Paul assumes a formal church gathering, likely connected with a worship service. Probably some in the congregation were illiterate. More importantly, books were expensive, and few possessed their own copies of Scripture. Thus the OT was read aloud regularly in church services for the benefit of all. Circulating apostolic letters would receive similar treatment (cf. Col. 4:16; Rev. 1:3).

Paul shifts suddenly to the first-person singular (“I put you under oath”), perhaps as a way of emphasizing the letter’s origins (cf. Introduction: Author). Paul’s concern that everyone at Thessalonica should hear the letter may indicate a fear that not all would have the opportunity to do so, and many commentators suggest that Paul was worried about divisions in the community, finding hints of disunity in verses like 1 Thessalonians 4:6; 5:13–15, 20. It is possible that such tensions existed, but Paul does not provide enough direct evidence to know this with certainty.

5:28 Just as Paul opened his letter by invoking God’s grace on the Thessalonians (1:1), so he closes it in a similar way. With varied wording, all of Paul’s epistles conclude with an invocation of grace. Although this is Paul’s standard way of signing off, it also communicates a true desire for the church to abide in God’s grace.