Mark Galli writes in Christianity Today: Are We Transformed Yet? Why the spiritually mature don't talk about how God has made them spiritually mature.
An excellent article, on where the focus of the church ought to be.
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"" (Matthew 13:24-30)
What does the work of Christ accomplish in the life of the believer? Jesus' parable of the Wheat and the Tares provides us with a word picture that I think answers that question: God creates something genuinely real and eternal in the life of the believer. The wheat that will be gathered into the barns is already growing in the field. Until the harvest, however, God's new creation is radically (i.e. at the root) entangled with the tares of this fallen age.
Jesus' allegorical interpretation of the parable in Matthew 13:36-43 identifies the good seed as the children of the kingdom and tares as the sons of the evil one.
Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then "the righteous will shine forth as the sun" in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:36-43)
Matthew's vision is simple: God's children will live side-by-side with evil doers in the world until the end of the age. Then, the unrighteous will be destroyed; the righteous will live perfectly in God's ideal kingdom.
This view of the world is often called "dualistic"; in it, everyone ultimately belongs to one of two groups: the saved and the damned (left to natural decay, annihilated or sentenced to eternal punishment, depending on your point of view). Please note that I don't use the word "dualistic" as a pejorative as some others do. When it comes right down to it, everyone must logically fall into one of these groups at the end of the age. Universalists believe that everyone falls in the "saved" category. Folks like Carl Sagan believe we all fall in the "worm food" category. If there is a day of resurrection and judgment coming, after which life in God's eternal kingdom is possible, then you're either in it or your not. An eschatological world view like this doesn't posit the possibility of being "half saved." "Dualism" is not a dirty word.
Even this dualistic interpretation, however, contains the seed of a more complex view of life in this age. The Son of Man, Jesus says, will send the angels to gather up all "stumbling blocks" (skandalon) or "causes of sin," in addition to those individuals who commit lawlessness. There are more problems in this world than simply the existence of bad people.
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. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB)
Lectionary - Advent 3B - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Both the Old Testament and Gospel lections for the 3d Sunday in Advent recapitulate and expand themes introduced on the 1st and 2d Sundays: hope that transcends mere restoration, God's prevenient grace in the prophetic call and use of the means of grace to prepare for God's kingly activity.
The Epistle introduces a new theme: sanctification and perseverance.
Attention Wesleyans: The words "entire" and "sanctification" are found here in one phrase.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 is a benediction. It belongs to a unit of thought that begins in 5:12 and ends in 5:24. The lectionary cuts the unit short by beginning the reading in 5:16. Each verse in the reading could stand on its own, but together they constitute some of Paul's thoughts on practical Christian living in the interim between the resurrection and the parousia. If one wants to know what Paul thinks that "sanctification" means in this context and what it means to be found blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, one just has to look back a few verses.
Taken together, these verses address both individual and community life in Christ. They range from the abstract spirituality to practical matters such as earning a living. They speak about both deeds and attitudes. Most of all, they are actions that Christians perform. In verse 23-24, Paul turns to God's actions. May God sanctify you. May God keep you blameless until the coming of our Lord. God is faithful and will do this. Human effort and divine grace are inseparably intertwined.
