The word of the day is “whole.”  We sometimes think of the person as divided into  “soul” and “body.”  But today we find that this familiar psychology is incomplete. In our reading of 1 Thessalonians 5:14-23, Paul teaches a more comprehensive scriptural psychology. The apostle writes the concluding prayer:  “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 23). In other letters, Paul divides the person into two parts. These are “body and spirit,” never into “body and soul” (e.g., 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Cor. 7:34). But in our reading, the apostle notes that human nature has three parts:…