I. Its meaning.—1. There is a great trinity of powers—body, soul, and spirit—linking man with three different worlds. The physical, the intellectual, the spiritual. 2. These three ranges of powers become gateways of temptation from three different worlds, and unless they are all consecrated we are never free from danger.

II. Its attainment.—1. We cannot consecrate ourselves. 2. God preserves the entire sanctification by imparting peace.

III. The motive for endeavouring to attain it.—“Until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1. A day of manifestation when the shadows and unrealities of time will fade in the full morning of eternity. 2. A day of everlasting gatherings.—E. L. Hull.

The Trinity.

  1. The first power or consciousness in which God is made known to us is as the Father, the Author of our being.
  2. The second way through which the personality and consciousness of God has been revealed to us is as the Son.
  3. A closer and a more enduring relation in which God stands to us is the relation of the Spirit.—It is the graces of the Spirit which harmonise the man and make him one; and that is the end, aim, and object of all the Gospel.—F. W. Robertson.

Ver. 24. The Faith of Man and the Faithfulness of God.

  1. The highest object of man’s existence is to hold communion with his God.
  2. Rightly to believe in Christ is to know and feel this communion.
  3. The unalterable faithfulness of God is a fidelity to His own gracious engagement.
  4. The prominent character of God is unshaken stability.
  5. God is faithful to his warnings as He is to His promises.—A. Butler.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Verses 25–28.

Closing Words.

I. An important request.—“Brethren, pray for us” (ver. 25). The most gifted saints have need of the prayers of God’s people. The great apostle, much as he prayed for himself, did not himself feel independent of the intercessions of others. His large experience of the power of prayer made him only the more anxious to strengthen his personal interest at the throne of grace. The least gifted saint in other respects may be mighty in prayer. Believers are so bound together as to be dependent on one another, and all on the great Head of the Church. The richest inheritance of the anxious minister are the prayers of his people. A praying Church will never have to complain of an insipid and fruitless ministry.