Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you
completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1st Thessalonians 5:23)
The potential for biblical expressions being
figurative should not be underestimated here also. If Paul were underlining a
doctrine on the nature of man when writing to the Thessalonians it begs the
question why the following verse is not viewed in the same way.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul
and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
If 1st Thessalonians 5:23 confirms that man is a tripartite
being then why does Hebrews 4:12 not confirm that he is, in fact, more than
that? Even if one were to argue that ‘joints’ and ‘marrow’ are one
single part (the body), the ‘heart’ is presented
as having ‘thoughts and intents’. It can hardly be the physical heart then. So why is ‘heart’ distinguished from ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’? Following
the logic which is used to deduce a doctrine from 1st Thessalonians
5:23 I can therefore redefine that doctrine with Hebrews 4:12 – man has at
least four constituent parts: body
(divided into joints and marrow), soul, spirit and heart.
But such logic would also be challenged when encountering the following
verse:
‘And you shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. (Mark 12:30)
I tend to think that all of the above verses contain
expressions that convey the idea of the ‘complete being’. Which of the verses
loses their significance when interpreted in such a way? I do not believe that 1st
Thessalonians 5:23 is done any disservice when understood like this. The entire
entity ought to be sanctified by God. The entire entity is known by God in the
tiniest detail. The entire entity should love God. This, to me, is the inherent
theology of the verse – no composition of man can be read into it without
having God’s Word contradict itself.
In fact, there is an even more obvious reason why 1st
Thessalonians 5:23 is not detailing the composition of a man. In the context, ‘you’ does not refer to any individual
but rather the corporate group of saints in Thessalonica.
And we
urge you, brethren, to recognize those who
labour among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem
them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Now
we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the
fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders
evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves
and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain
from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you
completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. (1st Thessalonians 5:12-25)
Therefore when Paul refers to ‘your’ spirit, soul and body, he is talking to a single group of
people, but this group nonetheless possesses only one spirit, soul and body. They
are one body, one spirit and one soul. The unity of these saints in their quest
to please God ought to be the main thought of the verse. To use the verse to
teach about a single man’s composition is to derail the apostle’s train of
thought.
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