1 Thessalonians 5:23

[ResLight]

May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole
spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. -- 1 Thessalonians 5:23, World English Bible
translation.

autos de ho theos tees eireenees hagiasai
VERY (ONE) BUT THE GOD OF THE PEACE MAY SANCTIFY
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humas holoteleis kai holokleeron humwn to
YOU COMPLETELY WHOLE, AND WHOLE IN (EVERY) PART OF YOU THE
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pneuma kai hee psuchee kai to swma amemptws en
SPIRIT AND THE SOUL AND THE BODY BLAMELESSLY IN
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tee parousia tou kuriou heemwn ieesou christou
THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD OF US JESUS CHRIST
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teereetheiee
MAY IT BE KEPT.
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Westcott & Hort Interlinear
(from Bible Students Library CD)

Some present the above scripture as proof of the trinity, that there
are three persons in God, as man, created in the image of God, is
allegedly also three, as they claim this scripture shows.

We should first note that the scriptures plainly tell us that the
human soul is made of the spirit and the body. (Genesis 2:7)

Hope of Life After Death
http://hereafter.reslight.net/rl.html

The apostle prayed that the spirit, soul, body of the Church (at
Thessalonica, and by extension, the entire church) might be preserved
without blame to the coming of Jesus. While the Greek pronoun for you
is plural, Paul does not pray the spirits, souls, and bodies (plural)
of the Thessalonica church to be preserved alive until the coming of
our Lord Jesus, but he speaks in the singular regarding each of these.
Nor was he saying there were three persons in each of the individuals
in the church at Thessalonica, as some trinitarians claim for God in
their trinitarian dogma.

As applied by extension to the entire church, this prayer must be
understood to apply to the Church as a whole - the elect Church, whose
names are written in Heaven. In Acts 4:32, we read that "The multitude
of them that believed were of one heart and one soul," and in
Ephesians 4:4, the Apostle points out that there is one BODY AND ONE
SPIRIT. In Philippians 1:27, he prays that of Christians may "stand
firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the
gospel." The true spirit has been preserved in the faithful called-out
ones as a body. The body of the church has been discernible,
notwithstanding the multitudes of tares that would hide as well as
choke it, and the great apostasy which has sought squell it. And its
soul, its activity, its intelligence, its being, has been in evidence,
lifting up the standard of the people. In no other way could we apply
Paul's words, for however much people may differ respecting the
preservation of the individual spirits and souls of the people
addressed, all must agree that the bodies of the first century
Christians have not been preserved, but have returned to dust, like
those of others. Besides, the words, body, soul and spirit are in the
singular, not in the plural.

The apostle speaks then, not of each individual Christian at
Thessalonica, but in other words, his desire was that the Church as a
whole might continue to the full end of the Gospel age as a noble and
faithful congregation of the Lord's Body, full of his spirit and
courageous in the work. As applied to the church as a whole, the
church has been preserved in body, spirit and soul.

There is nothing, however, in this verse that supports the doctrine of
the trinity, or that God is three modes, or three manifestations, as
our "oneness" neighbors might claim.

Christian love,
Ronald
http://godandson.reslight.net