028 The Sanctifying Effect of Fellowship

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

October 26, 2025

Tonight I want us to look again

At the tool of fellowship in regard to sanctification.

This morning we shared how the fellowship

Can be a great encouragement to those in leadership,

And even a sanctifying tool to push them forward.

TONIGHT I WANT TO RETURN TO SEEING HOW IT WORKS IN GENERAL.

And we are looking again at this letter to the Thessalonians.

I showed you this morning that Paul’s admonition was for them to “excel still more”.

Even a church as renowned as theirs still needed to grow.

· They were great, but they did not yet look like Jesus.

· Their sanctification was in process, but it wasn’t finished.

Paul here writes to help them see

How God will bring that sanctification to its full fruition.

I first want to draw your attention

TO THE END of the passage we are studying tonight.

We look down at verses 23-24 and we read:

(23-24) “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

When we read those two verses there are many truths

That sort of jump out at us regarding sanctification.

We see sanctification as SOMETHING GOD IS DOING

Paul says “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you…”

Paul there speaks of sanctification

And he speaks of it as something that God “Himself” is doing.

We are reminded that sanctification is part of salvation.

It is part of the process of God saving us from our sin.

And every time we talk about salvation

It is always something that God Himself is personally involved in.

1 John 2:25 “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”

And when it came time to secure that promise.

He Himself did it.

1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

God is intimately involved in every aspect of your salvation.

· He has worked to bring about your justification.

· He is working to bring about your sanctification.

· He will work to produce your glorification.

Moses taught us:

Leviticus 22:32 “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you,”

· He is Jehovah Mekadesh

HE IS SANCTIFYING US.

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

We certainly see that here.

I also find it interesting that Paul identifies God here as

“the God of peace”.

It is the reminder of the MOTIVE behind His sanctification.

It was not God who rebelled.

It was not God who broke the covenant.

It was not God who fell.

But it is God who is at work to restore the relationship.

We brought rebellion, He brings peace.

This is His objective in your life.

Any time we think of sanctification, even if the process is difficult,

We should always look at it through that lens.

· This is God repairing what is broken.

· This is God restoring what is fallen.

· This is God bringing peace to a hostile situation.

He is it work to sanctify us, that He may be at peace with us.

We also see here that GOD WILL DO IT COMPLETELY

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely;”

The Greek word for “entirely” is (ha-la-te-LACE)

HOLOS = whole (holistic)

TELES = the end

The word then means “whole to the end” or “through and through”

In short, God will not leave any part of you unsanctified.

When God works to sanctify you, it is not a partial mission.

He goes for all of it.

We remember Jesus’ frustration with the Pharisees:

Matthew 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.”

· Rest assured God is cleaning both parts.

· He is cleaning inside and out.

It was the gnostics who believed that

Physical matter was evil, only the spirit was good.

They were sort of opposite of the Pharisees.

· They viewed sanctification as only concerned about the inside of the cup,

· The outside could be as filthy as they wanted.

Paul here crushes both.

Paul says, “may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame”

He is completely cleaning you up and sanctifying you.

· He’s going to work on your attitude.

· He’s going to work on your motives.

· He’s going to work on your desires.

· He’s also going to work on your behavior.

· And your speech.

· And your mannerisms.

His sanctifying work is a complete and total work.

James 1:4 “And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

God is working to make you complete.

An interesting side note here.

Paul says that God is working to make you “without blame”

The Greek word there is – (a-MEMP-tose)

As archaeologists have excavated the ancient city of Thessalonica

· Have said that is not hard to identify the graves of those who were believers

· Because they had the word (AMEMPTOSE) on their grave stone.

This was how friends and family

Identified a deceased person as a Christian.

They wrote “blameless” on their tombstone.

It indicated not only that they had been justified,

But that God had done a sanctifying work in their life as well.

(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1&2 Thessalonians; Moody Press; Chicago, IL; 2002] pg. 207)

They understood what God was about doing.

God was making his people positionally and practically blameless.

He was sanctifying them entirely.

We also see WHY SANCTIFICATION IS SO IMPORTANT

Paul says, “may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We have already seen it several times in our study.

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

We are aware that sanctification is not optional.

John 13:8 “Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

If we have any indication of dwelling with Jesus,

Then a good washing is in order.

WE NEED TO BE SANCTIFIED.

1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”

We know that as the bride, Christ has every intention

Of presenting a pure and holy bride to Himself.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

We are in the process of being washed for the wedding.

We are in the process of being cleaned up for the groom.

God is doing it. He is washing us thoroughly.

And we also see that HE WILL GET IT DONE

(24) “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

God is going to finish the job.

· He is going to sanctify us.

· He is going to prepare us for Christ.

Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We will be ready.

He will have us spotless and blameless for Christ.

HE FINISHES WHAT HE STARTS.

So you just see there another encouraging promise

Regarding the sanctifying work in your life.

BUT THE PURPOSE OF OUR STUDY TONIGHT

Is to look at one of the ways in which God is doing it.

And in 1 Thessalonians 5 that tool is FELLOWSHIP.

Verses 12-22 show us how God is sanctifying us entirely.

And they reveal that He is using the fellowship of the church.

· He is using fellowship to sanctify us entirely.

· He is using fellowship to preserve our spirit and soul and body complete.

· He is using fellowship to make us blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a tool that we most definitely should not overlook.

It is a tool that we should not disregard.

· And in our day of youth sports conflicts…

· And in our day of the ease of virtual attendance…

· And in our day of ecclesiastical laziness…

· And in our day of selfish division…

· And in our day of alternative entertainment…

We certainly need to be reminded that fellowship is a tool God uses.

If we forsake it we are missing out

On what God could be doing in our lives.

So with the remainder of our time tonight

I just want us to quickly look at verses 12-22

And see 4 truths about the fellowship.

We could call them 4 truths about the church gathering.

What we will see here is that

All 4 of these truths about the fellowship

Are meant to have a sanctifying effect in our lives.

GOD DESIGNED THE CHURCH

He is using what He designed to prepare us to stand before Christ.

So here’s the church.

· Here’s what your getting when you attend.

· Here’s what your missing when you forsake it.

#1 IT’S STRUCTURAL ASPECT

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

When we talk about the structural aspect of the church,

We are NOT talking about the concrete foundation or the brick walls.

We are talking about the structure of leadership God has put in place.

It wasn’t that long ago that we studied the book of Titus

We spent a lot of time examining Paul’s exhortation

To appoint elders and what qualifications define who those men are.

· God did not create the church as some sort of structureless amoeba.

· Nor did He leave it up to men to figure out the best way it should work.

· God is very specific throughout His word about the structure in which the

church functions.

· He lays out guidelines for leadership with multiple passages speaking to elders

and overseers and shepherds and deacons.

· He lays out the qualifications and duties of those men.

· He lays out the groundwork for ministry and discipline and function and order.

And there are any number of passages we could go to in order to flesh that out.

But the simple point to be made here is that

There are clearly God-ordained leaders in the church.

Paul identifies them several ways:

In verse 12 as “those who diligently labor among you”

Sometimes EVANGELISM is referred to as labor.

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Sometimes DISCIPLESHIP is referred to as labor.

Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

Elders are referred to as those “who work hard at preaching and teaching”.

Certainly deacon work is a labor of service.

It is simply those who have a job to do in the church and they do it.

Paul also identifies them as those who “have charge over you in the Lord.”

And this is biblical too.

· Just as we see commands for children to submit to parents.

· Just as we see commands for citizens to submit to the governing authorities.

· Just as we see commands for wives to submit to husbands.

So also we see commands for congregations to submit to their leaders.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

1 Corinthians 16:15-16 “Now I urge you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints), that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.”

And I’m not here to defend that so much tonight

But rather just to simply point it out that the Bible says

That God places leaders in the church who have authority.

And we also see that they are those who “give you instruction.”

That’s what those in charge do.

· God places someone in charge, they seek the Lord, and then they instruct the others regarding what should be done.

But what we understand from Paul here is that

This very structure is meant to have a sanctifying effect in your life.

If for no other reason, learning to submit to authority is sanctifying.

Any time you are forced to die to yourself

And do what someone else tells you

There is a natural humbling and sanctifying effect that occurs.

What we also know is that people tend to resist such a process.

We are very individualistic in America.

· We don’t like the thought of anyone telling us what to do.

· We don’t like the thought of anyone having charge over us.

· We like the good old democratic process where we call the shots.

· We like to remind those in charge that we put them there and they work for us.

In short, we like to resist the sanctifying process

That God intended when He put us under leadership.

(Just read Numbers)

Which is why Paul writes here:

“But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who…have charge over you.”

He says in verse 13, “that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work”

He goes on to say “Live in peace with one another.”

· “appreciate”

· “esteem”

· “live in peace”

Sounds like an awful lot of self-denial is going to have to go on there.

Sounds like I might have to do some things I don’t like.

Sounds like I might not get to do what I want.

It is designed to be a means of your sanctification.

The God who is at work to sanctify you entirely

Included in that process us being under spiritual leaders

Who would instruct us.

This is one of the reasons you need the church.

· This is one of the reasons it is not healthy for you to skip the fellowship.

· This is one of the reasons it is not good for you just to stay on the outskirts.

Believers need to find a church.

· They need to join the church.

· They need to be involved in the church.

· And they need to submit themselves to the leadership of that church.

If you reject that structure then who is to keep you accountable?

Have you ever seen a kid who had no parental supervision or guidance?

They don’t just naturally make the best decisions do they?

God designed society and the church with a structure

Meant to guide and direct and even to sanctify.

You need the fellowship for that.

And you need to be involved in it.

The very structural aspect of the church will sanctify you.

#2 IT’S SUSCEPTIBLE ASPECT

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

What I mean by this is that the church is not perfect.

· It is filled with fallen people.

· It is filled with people who are susceptible to temptation.

· It is filled with people who mess up.

When God put the church together,

He was well aware that it would be populated with

People who are at best a work in progress.

So there is a call amongst the church, not only to submit to leadership,

But also to take an active role in the sanctification of your brother.

You see that in this list here.

And incidentally you need the church

Regardless of which side of this process you are on.

· If you are the unruly, fainthearted, weak believer then you need the church.

· If you are not, then you need to be here to help those who are.

AND BOTH SIDES OF THAT PROCESS ARE SANCTIFYING.

· It is certainly sanctifying if you are the unruly brother is being admonished.

· It is certainly sanctifying if you are the fainthearted brother who is being

encouraged.

· It is certainly sanctifying if you are the weak brother who is being strengthened.

· BUT IT IS ALSO sanctifying if you are the one doing the admonishing.

· It is also sanctifying if you are the one doing the encouraging.

· It is also sanctifying if you are the one doing the strengthening.

HOW?

Well look at what Paul says: “be patient with everyone.”

· Ministry is messy.

· Ministry is tiring.

· And when you have to encourage the same brother for the umpteenth time as you patiently wait for him to get it, that will teach you patience and that will sanctify you too.

The point is that the fellowship is designed to be sanctifying

As we interact with each other.

To be sure there are some who are “unruly”

It is a word that actually means “perverse”.

· And Paul says you’ve got to “admonish” him or place his sin before him.

· You’ve got to show him that he’s out of line.

There are some brothers who are “fainthearted” (literally small hearted)

They are pessimists.

· And you’ve got to come beside them and encourage them to keep going.

There are some brothers who are “weak”

· You’ve got to attach yourself to them and help them.

That is work, but it is beneficial for both of you.

I don’t care if you’re the man in the ditch who was beaten by robbers

Or if you’re the Samaritan who stops to help,

Both of you are going to be sanctified in the process.

AND THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF WHY YOU NEED THE FELLOWSHIP.

The fellowship will provide you a constant opportunity to learn:

· Patience (as we have seen)

· Compassion (as we have seen)

· Also forgiveness

· Also mercy

· Also humility

Paul says, (15) “See to it that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”

That’s just called learning to get along.

AND WE NEED THAT!

We need that sanctifying work in our lives.

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;”

But look, if you never participate in the fellowship…

If you always keep the church at arm’s length…

· If you just sit at home with no one but you and your dog who never corrects you

and always does what you say,

· Then you have insulated yourself from the very things that are designed to

make you grow.

You need to be invested in the lives of your brothers and sisters.

And I don’t just mean sit next to them in church.

That’s not enough.

You need to invest in their lives.

· Be here and be a part.

· Get to know them.

· Talk to them, listen to them, pray with them.

Yes come to the worship services,

· But you also need to get into a Sunday school class and build a connection.

· You need to join those small groups like SALT or WOM or the men’s prayer

breakfast and get involved with people in their life.

· Work with them, serve with them, laugh with them, cry with them.

· And when they are unruly admonish them.

· When they are fainthearted encourage them.

· When they are weak, help them.

· When they get wronged don’t let them repay evil for evil.

That is how the church was designed.

That we would all be a part of each other’s messy lives.

The church was never designed to be a purely virtual experience.

That is drastically limiting the sanctification

The fellowship was meant to provide.

So we see how fellowship helps.

· There is the structural aspect of the fellowship that sanctifies.

· There is the susceptible aspect of the fellowship that sanctifies.

#3 THERE IS A SOCIAL ASPECT

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What I mean by this is that what you do and how you act

And how you respond will be seen by people.

Paul’s commands here are simple and incredibly difficult.

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks”

· That is a catchy phrase.

· It’s easy to memorize.

· It looks great on Hobby Lobby wall art.

BUT IT IS A BOOGER TO PUT INTO PRACTICE.

Life throws some really unhappy things and yet I am called to rejoice.

James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”

The praying statement is difficult too.

· To be in a constant state of seeking God, even in this distracted world.

Sometimes people wonder how we are to “pray without ceasing”?

I learned very early on when working around my dad to anticipate.

· Pay attention.

· Watch for what he was going to want me to do next.

· Watch for what tool he might want.

· Now I learned that from him because a failure to be ready could mean an

explosion.

God is certainly not short-fused, but the same idea applies.

We are to be in constant check with His will.

But that is also hard.

And so is the gratitude part.

· It’s hard to give thanks for our suffering.

· It’s hard to give thanks when we’re disappointed.

· It’s hard to give thanks when things don’t go our way.

But the command is there none the less.

Colossians 3:15-17 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Gratitude is difficult.

Now you say, “Ok, I get that those are hard,

But what does that have to do with fellowship?”

Well, when you are faithful to the fellowship

YOU WILL LIVE OUT THOSE RESPONSES PUBLICLY.

If you only duck and hide from the fellowship

· No one will ever know if you rejoiced in your trial.

· No one will ever know if you gave thanks for your suffering.

· No one will ever know if you spend your life seeking the will of God.

But when you’re part of the fellowship there’s a public and social aspect that cannot escaped.

· Other church members spot bitterness.

· Other church members spot discontentment.

· Other church members spot a lack of seeking God.

And that’s a good thing.

There is an accountability that sort of forces us to live this life properly.

There was the constant old joke about the family

That fought all the way to church and then got out of the car

And everything looked like roses and sunshine.

Now, I’m not endorsing phoniness, but there’s a reason they do that.

It’s because they understand that the attitude they had in the car

Was an unacceptable attitude and they had about 5 seconds to fix it

As they walked into the church.

THAT’S CALLED PEER PRESSURE, AND IT CAN BE A GOOD THING.

The church provides that.

The fellowship provides that.

Church ought to sanctify you like that.

You need that.

And one more area real quickly.

#4 THERE IS A SUPERNATURAL ASPECT

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Here we are reminded that the Holy Spirit is at work.

Here we are reminded that spiritual gifts are present.

The church is unlike any other organization.

The church is used by the Holy Spirit.

When Paul says don’t “quench the Spirit”

· He’s using the same word like to put out a fire.

· In other words, don’t try to stop what the Spirit of God is trying to do in your life.

When Paul says not to “despise prophetic utterances”

· He’s talking about not getting angry when the preaching steps on your toes.

Now certainly discernment is required,

Because there are false spirits and not all preachers are telling the truth.

But the point is that the Holy Spirit is using the fellowship to sanctify you.

The Holy Spirit is using the preaching and the fellowship

To conform you into the image of Christ.

· You should not despise that.

· You should not quench that.

· You certainly shouldn’t neglect that or avoid it.

YOU SHOULD EMBRACE IT.

The fellowship is a tremendous tool in the hands of God to conform you into the image of Christ.

· At church God will confront you and convict you and correct you.

· At church God will lead you and guide you down the right path.

· At church God will call you to die to self and patiently help someone else.

· At church God will force you to rejoice and be grateful and pray.

· He’ll pull you out of your bitterness.

· He’ll correct you in your rebellion.

· He’ll encourage you in your pessimism.

· He’ll help you in your weakness.

· He’ll teach you and train you and guide you.

The fellowship is a good thing, be devoted to it.

And look for ways to be even more devoted.

If you’re serious about sanctification, read your bible.

If you’re serious about sanctification, pray.

If you’re serious about sanctification, trust God’s providence.

If you’re serious about sanctification, get involved in the church.

GOD USES THOSE THINGS.

(23-24) “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”