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.
"In a prayer expressing Paul’s wishes for the congregation, two of the basic themes of the letter are again highlighted. The prayer utilizes two optative verbs, asking that God ’may . . . sanctify’ the Thessalonians and that they ’may . . . be kept blameless.’ The prayer for sanctification reminds the readers of the exhortations in chaps. 4-5. In fact, the call for sanctification brackets these final two chapters. Chapter 4 begins with an exhortation to the people to lead sanctified lives (1 Thessalonians 5:3-8), and chap. 5 ends with a prayer that God would sanctify his people (1 Thessalonians 5:23 a). The prayer for the preservation of the saints until the coming of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:23 b) reflects back on encouragements to persist in hope despite affliction (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:10-11)." [Note: Martin, p. 188.] 