“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 NIV)

Love never fails

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Cor. 13:4-8 NIV)

Love covers all transgressions

“Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.” (Prov. 10:12 NASB)

Foster love

“Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” (Prov. 17:9 NIV)

Clothe yourself with love

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” (Col. 3:14 NLT)

 “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20 ESV)

The truth is not in the hypocrite

“Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4 ESV)

The hypocrite’s heart is far from God

“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matt. 15:7-9 ESV)

Hypocrites won’t escape God’s judgement

“Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?”

Covered things will be revealed

“Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” (Luke 12:2 ESV)

The answer to hypocrisy

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” (Matt. 7:5 ESV)

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” (1 Peter 2:16 ESV)

 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark. 15:16 ESV)

How will they know without someone preaching?

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Rom. 10:14 ESV)

And Jesus is with you

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19:20 ESV)

The Holy Spirit will give you power to be witnesses to the end of the earth

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV)

You can say, “Here I am! Send me”

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isa. 6:8 ESV)

 “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 Thess. 5:23 NIV)

According to this passage we are made up of three distinct parts, spirit, soul and body.

1) Spirit: You cannot see or feel this part of yourself. Like God, it is invisible. Inside each one of us is our own spirit which is the part of us that gets transformed when we become "born again". Jesus explained this truth to Nicodemus in John 3:1-12.

Made brand new and perfect!

You become a new creatures by Jesus, (2 Cor. 5:17), your spirit becomes instantly brand new and perfect, (1 John 4:17, 1 Cor. 6:17, Eph. 4:24)

“But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.” (Job 32:8 ESV)

“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Eccles. 12:7 ESV)

“For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Cor. 2:11 ESV)

“But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Rom. 8:10 ESV)

2) Soul: The seat of your thoughts, affections, and reasonings. Your mind is not transformed instantly as your spirit is, when you receive Christ. You must continually work daily to bring your thinking into alignment with God's Word, which is a lifelong process (Phil 1:6). This continual process "renews your mind" and enables you to "prove (demonstrate) what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Prov. 23:7a NASB)

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:2 NKJV)

This process, or lack of it, explains why some born again Christians continue to struggle with fear, sin, and addictions, even though they are actually redeemed. The better you get at "transforming your mind" and bringing it into agreement with God's Word, the more victorious you will be in life and as a Christian.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:5 NASB)

3) Body: Your physical self. Your body, the third part of you is the easiest part to understand because you can see and feel your human body. If I ask you how you feel you can easily know and tell me. If I ask you if you are cold or warm, you can easily answer.

This part of you, (your body) is not transformed when you become a Christian. If you are fat, skinny, tall, young, or old, when you are born again, you will be that way afterwords. The Bible calls your body "the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and also only temporary as in "jars of clay" (2 Cor. 4:7). We are told to take care of our bodies and someday they will die and our spirits will leave them (2 Cor. 5:6).

There will eventually come a day at the appearing of Jesus that our bodies, too, will be transformed and we will then have brand new transformed ones, (2 Cor. 5:3).

Therefore

The Bible says, "as long as we are in this earthly tent" (your body), you must work to do everything you can do to serve God faithfully until He returns, (Heb. 3:14-18).

You must study your Bible to discover God's truths (2 Tim. 2:15) and apply them to your thinking to transform your mind (Rom. 12:2).

You must pray for and about things (spirit), (1 Thes. 5:16-18).

God will do it!

And, finally, the next verse following today's promise about your spirit, soul, and body says that God Himself, will make it happen for you. “He will do it”, because He is “faithful!”

“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Thes. 5:24 NIV)

And, that too, is an amazing and wonderful promise!

 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7 ESV)

Run your race to win

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Cor. 9:24-27 ESV)

Race toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14 ESV)

Lay aside every weight

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:1-2 ESV)

Do not give up

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9 ESV)

Hold fast to the word of life

“Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” (Phil. 3:16 ESV)

The crown of righteousness awaits you

“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:8 ESV)

 “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52 NASB)

Jesus kept increasing

In the passage above, which was written about Jesus when he was twelve years-old, we learn that He increased in four areas: in wisdom (mentally), in stature (physically), in favor with God (spiritually), and in favor with man (socially). Jesus was balanced in all four areas of His life, and we can be too.

• Wisdom – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5 ESV)
• Stature – “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13 KJV)
• Favor with God – “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17 ESV)
• Favor with man – “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11 ESV)

Therefore

“And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.” (Job 8:7 ESV)

“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Eph. 4:13-16 ESV)

 “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints.” (1 Cor. 14:33 ESV)

The Lord will give you understanding

“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Tim. 2:7 ESV)

Understanding according to God’s Word

“Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word!” (Psalm 119:169 ESV)

The Spirit of Truth will guide you

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13 ESV)

Lean not on your own understanding

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6 ESV)

And finally

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5 ESV)

 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ez. 36:26-27 NIV)

A new creation in Christ

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV)

A new life by faith in Christ

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20 ESV)

A letter from Christ written on the tablet of your heart

“And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Cor. 3:3 ESV)

 “An angry man stirs up strife, And a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.” (Prov. 29:22 NASB)

The cost of anger

• It causes arguments

“Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace. “  (Prov. 15:18 GNT).

• It causes mistakes

“He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.” (Prov. 14:29 NASB)

• It causes foolish things

“Short-tempered people do foolish things, and schemers are hated.” (Prov. 14:17 NLT)

Control your anger and be better than the mighty

“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Prov. 16:32 ESV)

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” (James 1:19 ESV)