“Faithful is He who calls you who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
The faithfulness of God is a bedrock truth, and reality, that is a part of the glorious foundation for faith. What does “faithfulness” mean? We find in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that the concept and truth of it, especially as it applies to the believer, is seen in the believer’s calling. Paul wrote: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:9) What is Paul seeking to communicate to us here with regard to one’s calling, and God’s association, and commitment, to that calling? Paul is declaring that not only is the calling of every believer the act and will of God, but that, with that intervention in the believer’s life, comes the certainty of promise and realization of a communion with God, that exceeds what the believer could every conceive of. Not only would there be the promise of this communion, and all that pertains to the basis and power of it to be known and experienced, but that it is based upon the completed work of Christ on Calvary, all provision for it being known fully given. Not only is the believer “complete” in Christ, but by virtue of the Spirit’s indwelling in the soul, the power to believe God for His fulness, the fulness of His Spirit, the knowledge of His will, and the revelation of the fulness of the fruits of Christ’s life, are promised. God has provided in Christ, through the eternal Spirit, a union between Christ and the believer, so that out of that most certain union, and according to the revealed ways of God, a true communion with God can be known, and communicated to others on this earth. God’s faithfulness is that “full” commitment of all that He is, not only so that the believer can have a true concept of what it is to truly know God on this earth, but also, the commitment of His power, so that the believer, being strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man, can know the reality of Christ dwelling in the heart by faith. God’s unchanging faithfulness reveals itself in the fact that He is determined to make men and women of faith of us, so that there will be the appropriation of Christ for every need, the practice of true worship in Spirit and truth, and the knowledge of an experience of Christ’s resurrection power, revealed in everyday life. This is revealed in the victory of Christ, manifested in the Spirit, as the believer overcomes sin, self, Satan, and the world, doing the will of God, and glorifying Christ in all things.
When we read what Paul writes to the Thessalonian believers, we grasp a little more, and better, this concept and truth of God’s faithfulness, which applies to sanctfication, that conformity to Christ in soul, spirit, and body. Paul wrote: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:24) What is Paul saying here? When he speaks of being sanctified wholly, he is speaking of the believer “becoming what he is in Christ,” for the believer is already “set apart” unto God in Christ. He has been separtated in the eyes of God from all that is not of Christ. This is that full salvation which Christ has purchased for us. It is then for the believer to begin to grasp something of what this means in its truth, but also in its power. Called to be conformed to Christ, God in His faithfulness is always working in us the willing and doing of His good pleasure.
Lastly, God is faithful and just, according to the Apostle John, “…to forgive us our sins, and to cleane us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9) What does this mean but that if we confess our sins to God, He is absolutely committed to cleanse us from all sin.
Dear Father, Manifest Thy faithfulness today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.