1 Thessalonians 5:23

And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Peace" in this verse and "grace" a little later in 1 Thessalonians 5:28 are another variant, along with the instance in Ephesians, of Paul's varying the formula of "grace and peace." Here it is "peace and grace."

Sanctify you wholly ... Despite the "setting apart" unto God that takes place in one's conversion (faith, repentance and baptism) into Christ, the sanctification in this verse refers to the continuation of the sanctification that is begun at the beginning of the Christian life. The word "wholly" indicates that it is a perfected or completed state of sanctification that Paul desired the Thessalonians to possess.

Spirit and soul and body ... Despite the prevalent opinions to the effect that Paul used these words loosely and that man is not a triple being, this writer cannot resist the thought that these words do indicate that man, like his Creator, is a trinity. After all, was he not made in the image of God? Spirit and soul are often confused, but as Ward pointed out, "Through the Holy Spirit man's mind has been quickened, and Paul called such a quickened mind "spirit."[34] This view seems correct, and thus we have man as a creature of mind, soul and body, the mind standing for the intellect, the soul for his spiritual nature, and the body for his physical being. The three institutions in every society appointed to minister in these three separate categories (the mental hospital, the penitentiary, and the hospital of joint and bone diseases) clearly prove man's triple nature.

Be preserved entire, without blame ... The summation of the effect of salvation of people will be their presentation "without blame" before the throne of the glory of God. This can be only by the saved being presented "in Christ" (Colossians 1:28), and as being fully identified with Christ, in Christ and as Christ, and by no means in their own identity as perfect souls.