²³ 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. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1) Looking before these verses, there is a long list of “do’s and don’ts” for us as believers. How can we have a “checklist” and still trust that God is the one doing the work in us?
Paul was a pastor and teacher and a discipler of believers. His letters were written for the purpose of instructing Christians and teaching them how to live the Jesus life. The apostles couldn’t live everywhere and model it for everyone, so they wrote letters to explain what it looks like to live out Christ’s calling for His Bride, the Church. All of these “behaviors” are a natural outflow of what has already happened in the heart. Living a new life is a result of a heart made new in Jesus, not our own ability to check off another “do or don’t”.

2) What is the significance of the title, “God of peace”?
Most often, when Paul refers to God as the “God of peace”, he’s making the point again to his audience that God desires unity in the Body of Believers. The early church had significant conflict within themselves and Paul was continually pointing them back to God’s heart of peaceful union with each other and with Him. This title is also significant because without God, we can’t have peace in our souls and no real rest. Without His peaceful leading, we attempt to manufacture righteousness on our own, which is nothing but a heavy, chaotic burden.

3) What does “He will surely do it” refer to?
The “it” refers to the entire sanctification process. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely.” This means that every part of a believer’s life becoming more like Christ, is foundationally the responsibility of God. He is the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), everything that He began, He will finish (Philippians 1:6). We won’t always make the best choices, we won’t always choose to live a life of love, but we are guaranteed that one day, He will make us entirely perfect!

1) Looking before these verses, there is a long list of “do’s and don’ts” for us as believers. How can we have a “checklist” and still trust that God is the one doing the work in us?
Paul gives various example “lists” in almost all of his letters, but always the “actioning” of these lists is based on the foundation of God’s work in us. These lists are an overflow of the gospel transforming us from the inside out. But, yes, there is tension here because we always have choices to make. Will we relinquish our way to the Spirit’s leading or will we choose to live as if we were still bound up as a slave to Satan?

2) What is the significance of the title, “God of peace”?
Are you denying God His title of “peace” in your life? Have you surrendered your everything to Him and stepped across the line of faith? Maybe you have trusted Him for salvation, but you tend to pull back the reigns of control and end up with anything but peace. Take time for self-reflection and ask the Spirit to lead you into His peace!

3) What does “He will surely do it” refer to?
We can be encouraged right now, in the middle of our messiness, our sadness, our heaviness, and frustrations that He is making us new. We can have confidence in our everyday lives that, no matter how much we feel we are failing, God will never abandon the work of His hands, promising to finish the good work of sanctifying us (the process by which He re-shapes us to have God’s heart and character).

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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