Preserved Complete; Spirit, Soul, and Body

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 – See the note below.

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify [37- “to make holy”] you entirely [3651- “complete to the end, perfect”]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved [5083- “to attend to carefully, take care of”] complete [3648- “complete in all its parts, entire, whole”], without blame [274- “faultlessly, blameless”] at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. [This means we cannot bring it to pass. Apart from Him we can do nothing to cross over.]

NASU

• Man is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27; “image” – “statue, image, copy, semblance”, “likeness” – “likeness, shape, figure, form, pattern”).

• Man is tripartite (“divided into or composed of three parts”); spirit, soul, and body, like God (trinity).

• God’s order: spirit to soul to body; inside to outside (Ezekiel and the temple, Matthew 23:25-28, Genesis 6:14; “…coat it with pitch inside and out.”, for their/our “entire preservation”)

• The devil’s order: outside to inside; external appeal to the flesh

In his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul declares the order for the complete preservation of our spirit, soul, and body at the end of this age. The process of God for preparing those who will be alive on earth when Christ returns, and then “snatched away” to meet Him in the air, is being revealed to us now; through sanctification, setting apart Jesus Christ as Lord.

Noah is a “type” given to us in regards to the character of those who will enter into the Lord’s vessel of deliverance at the end of this age. The Lord’s witness of him was that he was “a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9) The Hebrew word interpreted into English as “blameless” is tamiym (taw-meem'). It’s defined as “complete, whole, entire, sound, healthful, without blemish or spot.” He is a picture of the bride of Christ. Within this, a mystery is revealed concerning the end of this age and the perfecting of the saints.

As Jesus taught us through His discussion with His disciples, one of the signs of His coming and the end of the age is revealed through what occurred during the days of Noah. He is a picture of the final perfecting and delivering of the faithful followers of Jesus Christ on earth during the extreme wickedness that will abound in the world at the time of His return. Like Noah, they will “give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” (Genesis 5:29) Their obedience to the good works in Christ Jesus that they were created for will lead to the ushering in of a new day of rest known as the millennium, the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. They too are being sent ahead to prepare a vessel of deliverance for those who will hear the call of God and do what He says.

Being perfectly joined together as one in Christ through their obedience, they will then be spared in the Day of the Lord’s wrath on earth. As with Noah and his family, the same judgment used to destroy the wicked will also be used to elevate the righteous to a safe place in Christ. This is our destiny in Christ, the way to be “preserved complete” (i.e. our perfection). It’s our “Christ-likeness” (Romans 8:29) being fulfilled so that we too are “without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (see 1 John 3:2) Praise the name of the Lord!

Lordship; The Way Of Preservation

Jesus said in Luke 17:33, “Whoever seeks to keep his life [i.e. soul] will lose it, and whoever loses his life [i.e. soul] will preserve it [“be preserved complete”].” The Greek for “life” is psuche (psoo-khay'), the word interpreted “soul” in many passages. This same Greek word is used in Luke 21:19 where Jesus said, “By your endurance [“a remaining or abiding under (i.e. “lordship”), endurance; a patient, steadfast waiting for”] you will gain [“to acquire, get or procure a thing for oneself, obtain, possess”] your lives [i.e. souls].” The Greek for endurance is defined as “a remaining or abiding under [i.e. “lordship”], endurance; a patient, steadfast waiting for.” Per Jesus, endurance, remaining under His lordship over you, is the “way” to be preserved complete at His coming. This is why the “once saved, always saved” doctrine is a lie. It says once you’re in and you can never be out, even if you don’t endure until the end. This would mean that Jesus was just using a figure of speech, that He didn’t really mean what He appeared to have said.

At one point in Matthew 24, while answering the disciple’s question regarding the sign of His coming and of the end of the age, Jesus explained;

“At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures [see def. right below] to the end, he will be saved [“to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction”].” [Also see Matthew 10:22 where Jesus said the same thing.]

(v.10-13; NASU)

The Greek for “endures” is defined as, “to abide under, to remain in a place instead of leaving it [i.e. falling away with an apostate heart as prophesied by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12], to bear bravely and calmly.” Because of the extremely difficult situation on earth at the end of this age (2 Timothy 3:1), we will all need to be encouraged by these words of truth so as to be able to endure to the end, and be saved. By our leaning upon the strength of the Holy Spirit, repenting where necessary, we will be rescued from all danger and destruction being poured out on earth at that time.

In a conditional statement, Paul used the same Greek word in his second letter to Timothy;

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us [i.e. “I never knew you.”]”

(2 Timothy 2:12/NASU)

To deny is, by definition, “to disown, to refuse to acknowledge, to renounce, to reject.” It becomes very clear that to be saved, and to reign with Christ in His approaching 1,000 year reign on earth, Christians, must “endure to the end,” standing firm in Christ, not falling away from our devotion to Him when many do so at the end of this age. Otherwise, He will deny/disown us as His children. It will be as if He never knew you. It is that serious.

Spirit, Soul, and Body

Spirit – God-consciousness

• The place of God’s “breath of life” lost at the fall, awakening our conscience (Genesis 2:7, 6:17; John 20:22; Revelation 11:11)

• The place of communion with God, thru the Holy Spirit, thereby influencing the soul

Soul – self-consciousness

• The place of our personality (i.e. mind, will, emotions)

• The “middle-man” seated between the spirit and the body

• The place of “evil things” within man (Jeremiah 17:9-10; Mark 7:21-23)

• The place where battle lines are drawn within mankind, determining our actions (Matthew 10:28, 16:24-26; 1 Peter 2:11)

Body – sense-consciousness

• The 5 senses that are in contact with the outer world (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch)

The Quickening Of Man’s Dead Spirit

Genesis 2:16-17 – See the note below.

16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

NASU

When Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, they did not immediately die, but their communion with God was broken. It was a spiritual death. Physical death would follow later. At that point, the connection with God through man’s spirit was cut off. It was the beginning of the empowering of the sinful nature, or the flesh, within mankind. This would, in turn, initiate the way of reestablishing our relationship with Him through the future death and resurrection of the Son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the law of God. When mankind partook of it, against God’s will, death was the result. It’s what some would refer to as moral autonomy. Autonomy is the freedom to make your own choices and decisions, acting as the “self-ruler” of your own life. It’s a moral freedom apart from God, determined by one’s own will and choices. This is what we see today in full measure within society, and even worse, in the church. Many now call good evil, and evil good (Isaiah 5:20). Because of this, God’s light has become dimmed, or even put out in many congregations (see Matthew 6:22-24, and Luke 11:34-36).

In Romans 1:18-24, Paul says that when  people who “know God” reject His truth, exchanging the glory of God for an image of some sort (i.e. idolatry), that He can “give them over in the lusts of their heart to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” To be “given over” is, by definition, “to surrender, to give into the hands of another, to give over into one’s power or use.” The only other power at work in the world besides God is the devil. Open rebellion leads to a state where, professing to be wise (in your own eyes), you are given over to your own desires, thereby becoming foolish with a heart that becomes darkened, unable to see the light, or reflect it. This “foolish virgin” spirit can now be witnessed throughout much of Christianity in America, blocking the light of Christ that was meant to come from within His people to those living in darkness. Outward, “soulish” Christianity led by the flesh is the fruit of this self-ruling, self-glorifying spirit that has leavened much of the church in America today, dishonoring their corporate “bodies” of so-called worship.

In 1 Corinthians 15:56 Paul states that, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” What man found out was that which was is good (i.e. the law of God) also stimulates the flesh of man, bringing to him a choice that actually stimulated his sinful passions. Paul, again, says it like this;

“For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet.’ But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.”

(Romans 7:5-10/NIV)

The only way for the relationship to be restored would be through repentance, that is the death of our wills. In Galatians 2:20-21, Paul said;

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

So we see that the only way to now live apart from the dominion of sin when under the law is to no longer live for ourselves, but to live by faith in Christ, under the power of the Holy Spirit. This is called lordship; our willing submission to live under the headship of Christ, His rule over us. Again, it’s the only way to not be under the dominion of the law, and to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful natures. This “quickening” in our spirit can only take place through acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we accept His death on our behalf, surrendering ourselves to Him as our Lord and Savior, His “life-giving Spirit” comes to give His “breath/spirit of life” back into our dead spirits. As Paul declared, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57/NIV)

In regards to pregnancy: Quickening is the term for the first time a pregnant woman feels the baby move. It’s the first sign of life within her womb. (See the Bible study Salvation; A Two-Part Process for more on this.)

Biblically: In the Bible, “quicken” mainly means to make alive or to revive. The Holy Spirit “quickens” or makes alive those who are “dead” in their sins, giving them spiritual life and regeneration through faith in Christ. 

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with [4806- “to quicken together with”] Christ. He forgave us all our sins…”

(Colossians 2:13/NIV)

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to [2596- “agreeably to, like as”] the course of this world [165- “an age, era, period of time”], according to [2596] the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature [i.e. the fallen, sinful nature] children of wrath, even as the rest.”

(Ephesians 2:1-3/NASU; see the Bible study Meeting In The Air)

“So also it is written, ‘The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.”

(1 Corinthians 15:45-49/NASU)

So we see that when Adam sinned, the spirit of all mankind became dead in our “sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature [i.e.flesh].” It would be “quickened” back to life (i.e. born again), or revived, when the “breath [pneuma (pnyoo'-mah); spirit] of life” entered our spirit through repentance, restoring our broken communication line with God.

After receiving this conception in Christ, the circumcision of the sinful nature then begins through the inner working of the Holy Spirit (Romans 2:28-29). It is that which will “mark you out” as His child, and protect you from His wrath (Ezekiel 9 and Revelation 9). As with physical circumcision given to Abraham by God, it is this inner mark on the soul that determines our place in Him as His son and daughter, through which we will be given the right of our eternal inheritance (i.e. eternal life). Without His mark, we cannot enter in and be “saved.”

Living By The Spirit

Galatians 5:16-25 – The Spirit of God in the spirit of man, and the devil working thru the flesh (i.e. bodily senses) are at war in an attempt to control the mindset in the soul. (See the Bible study The Required Mindset Of An Overcomer.)

• Walking by the Spirit, or by the flesh

• “desire” – “a desire, craving, longing, mostly of evil desires” (see Romans 6:12-23)

• The “deeds/acts/works” of the flesh – “…those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (v.21)

“practice” – [4238] “to perform repeatedly or habitually (thus differing from [NT:4160], which properly refers to a single act”)

• v. 24-25 – “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

“live” – In John 7:38, Jesus declared that rivers of “living” water (same Greek word as Galatians 5:25) will flow out from our innermost part, or from “within.” They will come from the Holy Spirit into our spirit, and then into the soul, with the intent to enter the body, preserving us alive, like Noah and his family, at the coming of the Lord (see Matthew 24:37-41).

The condition for the Spirit to be given; when Jesus was glorified… through death (see Romans 6:4). As we join Christ in His death to ourselves, the Spirit of Life will be poured out into us (see Romans 8:2 note below). The route for gaining His glory is the same route traveled by Christ; Calvary to Pentecost. There are no alternate routes.

John 2:1-11 reveals a picture of the emptied-of-self human vessels of the Lord that will receive the final outpouring first, pictured by the six stone empty waterpots used for the Jewish custom of purification. These obedient, consecrated servants will in turn pour out of them to those who come to the wedding supper that which the Spirit has poured into them; i.e. the best wine saved for last.

In Romans 6:2, Paul says; “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” As a Christian, the only way for the life of Christ to flow continuously through us is by our continuous walking by the Spirit, rather than our own will and desires (i.e. death to self).

Proverbs 4:20-27 – It is crucial that we guard our hearts because out from it flow the “rivers of living water,” the life of Christ (“the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” in Romans 8:2 below) that is meant to be poured out for others (John 2:1-11, 7:37-39). Sin and rebellion dam the river of His life from flowing outward through us to the world. Paul instructed Timothy to “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14/NIV)

20 My son, give attention to my words [truth, words of life; Hebrews 4:12]; Incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep [8104- “to keep, to guard”] them in the midst of [8432- “midst, middle”] your heart [3824- “the inner man, the mind, the will, the soul”].

22 For they are life to those who find them and health [4832- “health, healing, cure”] to all their body [1320- “flesh, body”]. [Individually and corporately.] 

23 Watch over [5341- “to watch, to guard”] your heart [3820- “the inner man, the mind, the will, the soul”] with all diligence, for from it flow the springs [8444- see below] of life. [See right below for more insights on this particular verse.]

24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you.

25 Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. [See Hebrews 12:1-2]

26 Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established [3559- “to be firm, to be stable, to be readied, to be prepared” (see the Bible study The Sons Of Jephunneh for the heart/mindset of those who will remain alive/be preserved alive at the coming of the Lord); in Joshua 4:4 below, referring to the 12 men chosen by Joshua, it’s interpreted as “appointed”]. [Genesis 6:18- “But I will establish My covenant with you [Noah]; and you shall enter the ark…” The covenant must first be established within us through a fixed mindset before entering in. See Colossians 1:23 further below, and the Bible study Establishing The Covenant.]

27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil [see Proverbs 3:7-8; the healing of the body].

NASU

The Place Of Departure (This is the day of heart/soul preparation)

The way of escape from God’s wrath (more on this further down), and death at the end of this age by entering into our eternal inheritance in Christ alive (1 Thessalonians 5:23) is now being revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. It’s the appointed time/season for the body of Christ to cross over into our promised land in Him. But first, as with the children of Israel at Shittim, their last encampment in the wilderness before crossing over through the Jordan River into Canaan, the Promised Land, we are being sifted, and given instructions from the Holy Spirit to prepare us.

While in their final encampment (the 41^st one) before crossing over into the Promised Land (their 42nd), the demonic weapon of choice used for exposing the hearts of the people was sensuality, and idolatry;

“While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them.”

(Numbers 25:1-3/NIV)

I believe this is another piece of evidence that we, the body of Christ, stand at the doorway of our eternal inheritance. A widespread spirit of sensuality and idolatry is now exposing and bringing down many ministers in the church, and their followers, just as it did with the Israelites.

In response to the people’s open rebellion, the Lord said to Moses;

“‘Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord's fierce anger may turn away from Israel.’ So Moses said to Israel's judges, ‘Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.’”

(Numbers 25:4-5/NIV)

They became so blatant with their rebellion that a man took a Moabite woman in his tent right in front of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel as they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. A man named Phinehas rose up, went into the tent, and drove a spear through both of them. God was pleased with him for being zealous for His name, making a covenant for a lasting priesthood with him and his descendants. His actions stopped the plague that had broke out in the camp, killing 24,000 Israelites (Numbers 25:7-15, 31:16).

Our sifting the last few years has also been for the exposing of those in the church who walk in open rebellion against the lordship of Jesus Christ. Take notice of the “old guard” that has been dying, and the ministries being exposed for their wicked actions. Their deceived hearts have led astray many in the church from the Lord to themselves, and their kingdoms (i.e. “self-glorification”). God is not finished. There will be more “house-cleaning” as an act of mercy to get the attention of those who have been bewitched under them. Come out quickly from among the harlot church system, or you too will face the judgment of the Lord.

“I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her [Babylon, the harlot], My people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues [as did “God’s people,” the Israelites]; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, “I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning [a false sense of security].” For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire [like Sodom and Gomorrah]; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.”

(Revelation 18:4-5/NASU)

To not be removed from the place of judgment by remaining among those who will be judged, continuing to participate together with them in their self-glorifying, sensual worship in the flesh (i.e. soulish Christianity) is to then be a partaker of their plagues that will soon come into their midst, from God, as what occurred with the children of Israel, killing 24,000 of them. Thankfully His mercy always precedes His judgments, but we must understand that He is a righteous God whose judgments are true and just, whenever, and among whomever they must come. He is an impartial God (Romans 2:11, Acts 10:34, Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 3:25, James 2:1, 1 Peter 1:17) which is why He is crying out to His people to separate themselves, if necessary, from that place which He has declared He will judge;

“After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ And again they shouted: ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.’”

(Revelation 19:1-3/NIV)

As you can see, we are presently in the process of being prepared in the place of His choosing. Like His first coming, this is occurring, for the most part, outside of a religious system that has been leavened by the traditions of man. The children of Israel did not cross over at some random place, by the way, but rather at the designated place of His choosing for them. It was the place the Holy Spirit had purposefully led them to.

As with those who were alive in Israel after the sifting took place through their final scourging, the obedience from God’s children to His final instructions today are crucial for those who will move forward in the will of God tomorrow, so as to be “preserved alive” at His coming (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Praise the name of the Lord for His true and just judgments.

The Big Mystery From A Small Source

There is a big mystery found within a small verse in the section above from Proverbs, chapter four;

“Watch over [5341- “to watch, to guard”] your heart [3820- “the inner man, the mind, the will, the soul”] with all diligence, for from it flow the springs [“departure, place of departure, outgoing, border, a going out, extremity, end, source (used of life), escape (from death), deliverance; see more further below”] of life.” (Proverbs 4:23/NASU)

“springs” totsa’ot (to-tsaw-aw') [OT:8444]

• “departure, place of departure, outgoing, border, a going out, extremity, end, source (used of life), escape (from death), deliverance”

• “The Greek word totsa’ot can connote both the source or place of “departure” (Proverbs 4:23) and the actual “departure” itself (“escape,” Psalms 68:20). However, the word may also represent the extremity of a territory or its “border” — the place where one departs a given territory (Joshua 15:7). (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

As we’ve seen, the life of God is poured out into our spirit first, thereby “quickening” it. If unobstructed, it then flows through our soul, all the way to our physical bodies (the Divine progression: spirit, soul, and then body). It is here, in the soul, where eternity is determined either by resolute submission to the will of God, repenting when necessary, or continued rebellion against Him. The soul, therefore, is, in the end, the divinely designated “place of departure” from this side, the side of death (mortality), to the other side, the side of Christ’ life in the likeness of His resurrected body (immortality).

When we fight the lordship of Christ in us, thereby not allowing His dominion/kingship over our lives within the soul, we are refusing to prepare the place within us at the end of this age through which we will depart this body of death, thereby gaining the glory of God with a resurrected body in the likeness of Christ.

Like Esau, who through an uncrucified, fleshly craving sold his birthright, we too can sell our birth-right of eternal inheritance in Christ, unable to find a place of repentance (Hebrews 12:14-17). May the Holy Spirit be allowed to guide each of us into His eternal “rest in peace.” This can only be gained, as Jesus taught, as we stand firm until the end so as to be saved (Matthew 24:12-13).

So then, the “place of departure” that we are now being called to as the Lord’s children, before He pours out His wrath on earth, is actually within us, in the “middle man” (i.e. the soul). It is the holy place of the Lord where the heavenly oil is gained, being deposited from the Holy Spirit through our spirit, thereby marking you out as His, filled with His light of life, preserving you alive at the quickly approaching coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). So, again, we see that the “place of departure” is also the “place of entry”, of leaving one place (i.e. eternal destruction through our flesh), and entering into the other side (i.e. eternal life through the flesh/body of Christ)!