1 Thessalonians 5

1 Thessalonians 5:1

E. The Day of the Lord (5:1-11) 5:1 Bible teachers often apologize for chapter breaks, explaining that the subject should continue without interruption. But here the chapter break is appropriate. Paul begins a new subject. He leaves his discussion of the Rapture and turns to the Day of the Lord. The words translated but concerning (Greek, de peri) indicate a new line of thought, as so often in 1 Corinthians. For true believers the Rapture is a comforting hope, but what will it mean for those who are outside of Christ? It will mean the beginning of a period referred to here as the times and the seasons. This period is primarily Jewish in character. During this time God will resume His dealings with the nation of Israel, and the endtime events to which the OT prophets pointed will occur. When the apostles asked Jesus when He would set up His kingdom, He answered that it was not for them to know the times and the seasons (Act_1:7). It seems that the times and the seasons cover the period prior to the setting up of the kingdom as well as the kingdom period itself. Paul felt no need to write to the Thessalonians about the times and the seasons. For one thing, the saints would not be affected by them; they would be taken to heaven before these epochs began. Also, the times and the seasons and the Day of the Lord are subjects that are found in the OT. The Rapture is a mystery (1Co_15:51), never revealed until the time of the apostles. 5:2 The saints already knew about the day of the Lord. They knew that the exact time was unknown, and that it would come when least expected. What does Paul mean by the day of the Lord? It is certainly not a day of twenty-four hours, but a period of time with certain characteristics. In the OT this term was used to describe any time of judgment, desolation, and darkness (Isa_2:12; Isa_13:9-16; Joe_2:1-2). It was a time when God marched forth against the enemies of Israel and punished them decisively (Zep_3:8-12; Joe_3:14-16; Oba_1:15-17; Zec_12:8-9). But it was also any occasion on which God punished His own people for their idolatry and backsliding (Joe_1:15-20; Amo_5:18; Zep_1:7-18). Basically it spoke of judgment on sin, of victory for the cause of the Lord (Joe_2:31-32), and untold blessing for His faithful people. In the future, the day of the Lord will cover approximately the same period as the times and the seasons. It will begin after the Rapture and will include:

1. The Tribulation, i.e., the time of Jacob’s trouble (Dan_9:27; Jer_30:7; Mat_24:4-28; 2Th_2:2; Rev. 6:1-19:16).
2. The coming of Christ with His saints (Mal_4:1-3; 2Th_1:7-9).
3. The thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth (Joe_3:18 [cf. v. 14]; Zec_14:8-9 [cf. v. 1]).
4. The final destruction of the heavens and earth by fire (2Pe_3:7, 2Pe_3:10). The day of the Lord is the time when Jehovah will publicly intervene in human affairs. It is characterized by judgment on the enemies of Israel and on the apostate portion of the nation of Israel, by deliverance of His people, by establishment of Christ’s kingdom of peace and prosperity, and glory for Himself. The apostle reminds his readers that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. It will be completely unexpected, taking men off guard. The world will be wholly unprepared. 5:3 This Day will also come deceptively, suddenly, destructively, inevitably, and inescapably. There will be an air of confidence and security in the world. Then God’s judgment will suddenly begin to descend with vast destructive force. Destruction does not mean loss of being, or annihilation; it means loss of well-being, or ruin as far as the purpose of one’s existence is concerned. It will be as inevitable and unavoidable as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. From this judgment there will be no escape for unbelievers. 5:4 It is important to notice the change in pronouns from they and them in the previous verses to you and we in the following verses. The Day of the Lord will be a time of wrath for the unsaved world. But what will it mean to us? The answer is that we are not in danger because we are not in darkness. This Day will come as a thief in the night (v. 2). The only way it will overtake anyone is as a thief, and the only persons it will overtake will be those who are in the night, that is, the unconverted. It will not overtake believers at all, because they are not in darkness. At first reading, this verse might seem to say that the Day of the Lord will overtake believers but not as a thief. But this is not so. It will not overtake them at all because when the thief comes to this world’s night, the saints will be dwelling in eternal light. 5:5 All Christians are sons of light and sons of the day. They are not of the night nor of darkness. It is this fact that will exempt them from the judgment that God will pour out on the world that has rejected His Son. The judgments of the Day of the Lord are aimed only at those who are in moral darkness and spiritual night, at those who are alienated from God. When it says here that Christians are sons of the day, it does not mean the Day of the Lord. To be sons of the day means to be people who belong to the realm of moral uprightness. The Day of the Lord is a time of judgment on those who belong to the realm of moral darkness. 5:6 The next three verses call believers to a life that is consistent with their exalted position. This means watchfulness and sobriety. We are to watch against temptation, laziness, lethargy, and distraction. Positively, we should watch for the Savior’s return. Sobriety here means not only being sober in conversation and in general demeanor but being temperate as far as food and drink are concerned. 5:7 In the natural realm, sleep is associated with night. So in the spiritual realm, careless indifference characterizes those who are sons of darkness, that is, the unconverted. Men prefer to carry on their drunken revelry at night; they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (Joh_3:19). The very name night club links the ideas of drinking and carousing with the darkness of night. 5:8 Those who are of the day should walk in the light as He is in the light (1Jo_1:7). This means judging and forsaking sin, and avoiding excesses of all kinds. It also means putting on the Christian armor and keeping it on. The armor consists of the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation. In other words, the armor is faith, love, and hopethe three cardinal elements of Christian character. It is not necessary to press the details of the breastplate and helmet. The apostle is simply saying that sons of light should wear the protective covering of a consistent, godly life. What preserves us from the corruption that is in the world through lust? Faith, or dependence on God. Love for the Lord and for one another. The hope of Christ’s return.

UnbelieversBelievers(they)(you)sleepingnot sleepingdrunknot drunkof the night and darknesssons of light and sons of the dayovertaken unexpectantly by the Day of the Lord as a thief in the nightnot overtaken unexpectedly by the Day of the Lord as a thief in the nightsudden and inescapable destruction, as labor pains of a pregnant womannot appointed to wrath but to obtain salvation5:9 The Rapture has two aspects, salvation and wrath. For the believer it means the consummation of his salvation in heaven. For the unbeliever, it means the ushering in of a time of wrath on earth. Since we are of the day, God did not appoint us to the wrath which He will pour out during the Tribulation Period, but rather to salvation in its fullest sensefreedom forever from the very presence of sin. Some understand wrath here to refer to the punishment which unbelievers will suffer in hell. Of course it is true that God has not appointed us to that, but it is gratuitous to introduce that thought here. Paul is not talking about hell, but about future events on earth. The context deals with the Day of the Lordthe greatest period of wrath in the history of man on earth (Mat_24:21). We do not have an appointment with the executioner but with the Savior. Some say that the Tribulation is the time of Satan’s wrath (Rev_12:12), not the wrath of God. They say that the church will experience the wrath of Satan, but will be delivered from the wrath of God at the Second Coming of Christ. However, the following verses speak of the wrath of God and of the Lamb, and their setting is during the Tribulation Period: Rev_6:16-17; Rev_14:9-10, Rev_14:19; Rev_15:1, Rev_15:7; Rev_16:1, Rev_16:19 5:10 This verse emphasizes the tremendous price our Lord Jesus Christ paid to deliver us from wrath and insure our salvation. He died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. There are two ways of understanding the expression whether we wake or sleep. Some scholars understand it to mean living or dead at the time of the Rapture. They point out that there will be two classes of believers at that timethose who have died in Christ, and those who are still living. So the thought would be that whether we are among the living or the dead at the time of Christ’s return, we shall live together with Him. Christians who die lose nothing. The Lord explained this to Martha: I am the resurrection and the life: he who believes in Me, though he may die [i.e., a Christian who dies before the Rapture], he shall live [he will be raised from among the dead]. And whoever lives and believes in Me [a believer who is alive at the time of the Rapture] shall never die … (Joh_11:25-26). The other view held by scholars is that wake or sleep means watchful or worldly. In other words, Paul is saying that whether we are spiritually alert or carnally indifferent to spiritual things, we will be caught up to meet the Lord. Our eternal salvation does not depend on our spiritual keenness during the closing moments of our time on earth. If truly converted, we will live together with Him when He comes again, whether we are on the tiptoes of expectancy or in the prone position of slumber. Our spiritual condition will determine our rewards, but our salvation depends on faith in Christ alone. Those who hold this second view point out that the word for wake is the same word translated watch in verse 6. And the word for sleep is used in verses 6 and 7 to mean insensitivity to divine things, involving conformity to the world (Vine). But it is not the same word used in 1Th_4:13-15 to mean death. 5:11 In view of so great salvation, in love for so great a Savior, and in the light of His soon return, we should exhort one another by teaching, encouragement, and example, and we should build each other up with the word of God and with loving care. Because we will live together with Him then, we should live together with one another cooperatively now.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

F. Varied Exhortations to the Saints (5:12-22) 5:12 Perhaps the elders of the church in Thessalonica had rebuked those who had quit working and were mooching off others. And no doubt the drones didn’t take the rebuke too well! That may account for this exhortation to the leaders and to those led. When Paul urges the saints to recognize those who labor among them, he means to respect and obey their spiritual guides. This is clear from the words and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. Elders are under-shepherds of God’s sheep. Their responsibility is to teach, rule, and warn. This verse is one of many in the NT that shows that there was no one-man rule in the apostolic churches. There was a group of elders in each congregation, pastoring the local flock. As Denney explains: At Thessalonica there was not a single president, a minister in our sense, possessing to a certain extent an exclusive responsibility; the presidence was in the hands of a plurality of men. However, the absence of one-man rule does not justify every-man rule. The assembly should not be a democracy, but an aristocracy, the rule of the best qualified. 5:13 Elders serve as representatives of the Lord. Their work is the work of God. For that reason, they should be held in high regard and love. The exhortation be at peace among yourselves is no incidental insertion. The number one problem among Christians everywhere is the problem of getting along with each other. Every believer has enough of the flesh in him to divide and wreck any local church. Only as empowered by the Spirit can we develop the love, brokenness, forbearance, kindness, tender-heartedness, and forgiveness that are indispensable for peace. A particular threat to peace which Paul may be warning against is the formation of cliques around human leaders. 5:14 This verse seems to be addressed to the spiritual leaders of the congregation; it tells them how to deal with problem brothers:

1. Warn those who are unrulythose who won’t keep in step but insist on disturbing the peace of the church by their irresponsible behavior. Here the unruly are those who refuse to work. They are the same as those described in 2Th_3:6-12, walking disorderly, not working, but being busybodies.
2. Comfort the faintheartedthose who need constant exhortation to rise above their difficulties and go on steadfastly for the Lord. Concerning the KJV rendering, Comfort the feeble-minded, Ockenga remarks: If the word meant feeble-minded we would still comfort them. They seem to gather when the gospel is preached. And isn’t this a tribute to the gospel and to the Christian church? At least there is one sphere where they find sympathy, love, and consideration.
3. Uphold the weakthat is, help those who are spiritually, morally, or physically weak. Spiritual and moral support of those who are weak in the faith is probably the main idea, though we should not rule out financial help as well.
4. Be patient with allshow the grace of longsuffering when others tend to irritate and provoke. 5:15 Speaking now to Christians in general, Paul forbids any thought of retaliation. The natural reaction is to strike back, to return tit for tat. But the Christian should be so in fellowship with the Lord Jesus that he will react in a supernatural way. In other words, he will instinctively show kindness and love to other believers and to the unsaved as well. 5:16 Joy can be the constant experience of the Christian, even in the most adverse circumstances, because Christ is the source and subject of his joy, and Christ is in control of the circumstances. Incidentally, Rejoice always is the shortest verse in the Greek NT, even if Jesus wept is the shortest in the English. 5:17 Prayer should be the constant attitude of the Christiannot that he abandons his regular duties and gives himself wholly to prayer. He prays at certain regular times; he also prays extemporaneously as need arises; and he enjoys continual communion with the Lord by prayer. 5:18 Giving thanks to God should be the Christian’s native emotion. If Rom_8:28 is true, then we should be able to praise the Lord at all times, in all circumstances, and for everything, just as long as in doing so we do not excuse sin. These three good habits have been called the standing orders of the church. They represent the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. The words in Christ Jesus remind us that He taught us these things during His earthly ministry and He was the living embodiment of what He taught. By teaching and example, He revealed to us God’s will concerning joy, prayer, and thanksgiving. 5:19 The next four verses seem to deal with behavior in the assembly. To quench the Spirit means to stifle His work in our midst, to limit and hinder Him. Sin quenches the Spirit. Traditions quench Him. Man-made rules and regulations in public worship quench Him. Disunity quenches Him. Someone has said, Cold looks, contemptuous words, silence, studied disregard, go a long way to quench Him. So does unsympathetic criticism. Ryrie says that the Spirit is quenched whenever His ministry is stifled in an individual or in the church. 5:20 If we link this verse with the previous one, then the thought is that we quench the Spirit when we despise prophesyings. For instance, a young brother may make some inelegant statement in public ministry. By criticizing him in such a way as to make him ashamed of his testimony for Christ we quench the Spirit. In its primary NT sense, to prophesy meant to speak the word of God. The inspired utterances of the prophets are preserved for us in the Bible. In a secondary sense, to prophesy means to declare the mind of God as it has been revealed in the Bible. 5:21 We must evaluate what we hear and hold fast what is good, genuine, and true. The standard by which we test all preaching and teaching is the word of God. There will be abuses from time to time wherever the Spirit has liberty to speak through different brethren. But quenching the Spirit is not the way to remedy these abuses. As Dr. Denney wrote: An open meeting, a liberty of prophesying, a gathering in which any one could speak as the Spirit gave him utterance is one of the crying needs of the modern Church. 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil may mean false tongues, prophecies, or teachings, or it may mean evil in general. A. T. Pierson points out that there are seven distinct frames of mind for the Christian in verses 16-22:
5. The praiseful frame (16). Finding all God’s dealings to be infinitely grand.
6. The prayerful frame (17). Prayer should never be unsuitable or unseemly.
7. The thankful frame (18). Even in circumstances not pleasant to the flesh.
8. The spiritual frame (19). He should have full liberty in and through us.
9. The teachable frame (20). Any channel which God chooses to use.
10. The judicial frame (21). Compare 1Jo_4:1. Test all by the word of God.
11. The hallowed frame (22). If evil takes shape in your mind, avoid that evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

IV. FINAL GREETINGS TO THE THESSALONIANS (5:23-28) 5:23 Now Paul prays for the sanctification of the Christians. The source is the God of peace. The scope is found in the word completely, meaning every part of your being.This verse has been pressed into service by some to prove the Holiness doctrine of entire sanctificationthat a believer can become sinlessly perfect in this life. However, that is not what Paul means when he prays, the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. He is not praying for the eradication of the sin nature but rather that sanctification would extend to every part of their beingspirit, soul, and body.

EXCURSUS ON SANCTIFICATION There are four phases of sanctification in the NTpre-conversion, positional, practical or progressive, and perfect.

1. Even before a person is saved, he is set apart in a position of external privilege. Thus we read in 1Co_7:14 that an unbelieving husband is sanctified by his believing wife. This is pre-conversion sanctification.
2. Whenever a person is born again, he is positionally sanctified by virtue of his union with Christ. This means that he is set apart to God from the world. It is referred to in such passages as Act_26:18; 1Co_1:2; 1Co_6:11; 2Th_2:13; Heb_10:10, Heb_10:14.
3. But then there is progressive sanctification. This is a present setting apart of the believer to God from the world, sin, and self. It is the process by which he becomes more Christlike. This is the sanctification which Paul prays for the Thessalonians here. It is also found in 1Th_4:3-4; 2Ti_2:21. It is brought about by the Holy Spirit when we are obedient to the word of God (Joh_17:17; 2Co_3:18). Such practical sanctification is a process that should continue as long as the believer is on earth. He will never achieve perfection or sinlessness on earth, but he should ever be pressing toward that goal.
4. Perfect sanctification refers to the believer’s final condition in heaven. When he goes to be with the Lord, he will be morally like the Lord, completely and finally set apart from sin (1Jo_3:1-3). The apostle also prays for the preservation of the Thessalonians. This preservation should include the complete personspirit, soul, and body. Notice the order. Man always says body, soul, and spirit. God always says spirit, soul, and body. In the original creation, the spirit was of first importance, the body last. Sin reversed the order; man lives for the body and neglects the spirit. When we pray for one another, we should follow the biblical order, putting spiritual welfare before physical needs. From this verse and others, it is clear that we are tripartite beings. Our spirit is that part which enables us to have communion with God. Our soul has to do with our emotions, desires, affections, and propensities (Joh_12:27). Our body is the house in which our person dwells (2Co_5:1). All of our parts need to be preserved entire, that is, complete and sound. One commentator has suggested the needs for preservation as follows:
5. The spirit from (a) everything that would defile it (2Co_7:1); (b) everything that would hinder the testimony of the Holy Spirit to the saints’ relationship with God (Rom_8:16); or (c) everything that would prevent the worship which He seeks (Joh_4:23; Phi_3:3).
6. The soul from (a) evil thoughts (Mat_15:18-19; Eph_2:3); (b) fleshly appetites that war against it (1Pe_2:11); and (c) contention and strife (Heb_12:15).
7. The body from (a) defilement (1Th_4:3-8); and (b) evil uses (Rom_6:19). Some deny that the unsaved have a spirit. Perhaps they base this on the fact that they are spiritually dead (Eph_2:1). However, the fact that the unsaved are spiritually dead does not mean that they have no spirit. It means that they are dead as far as fellowship with God is concerned. Their spirits may be very much alive, for example, as far as contact with the world of the occult is concerned, but they are dead Godward. Lenski warns: Many are satisfied with a partial Christianity, some parts of their life are still worldly. The apostolic admonitions constantly prod into all the corners of our nature so that none may escape purification. The prayer goes on to desire that God’s sanctification and preservation will so extend to every part of their personalities that the believers will be blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This seems to point to the Judgment Seat of Christ, which follows the Rapture. At that time, the Christian’s life, service, and testimony will be reviewed, and he will be rewarded or suffer loss.

5:24 As we learned in 1Th_4:3, our sanctification is the will of God. He has called us to eventually stand blameless before Him. Having begun this work in us, He will finish it (Phi_1:6). He who calls us is faithful to His promise. 5:25 As Paul closes, he asks for the prayers of the saints. He never outgrew the need for prayer and neither do we. It is a sin to fail to pray for fellow believers. 5:26 Next he asks that all the brethren be greeted with a holy kiss. At that time, this was the accepted mode of greeting. In some countries it is still customary for men to kiss men, and women to kiss women. In still other cultures men kiss the women and vice versa. But more often than not this has led to abuses and has had to be abandoned. The kiss was not instituted by the Lord as a prescribed form of greeting or taught by the apostles as obligatory. The Bible wisely allows for other modes of greeting in cultures where kissing might lead to sexual laxness. The Spirit of God seeks to guard against such irregularities by insisting that the kiss must be holy. 5:27 The apostle solemnly charges that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. Two points should be noted here:

1. Paul invests the Letter with the authority of the word of God. The OT was read publicly in the synagogues. Now this epistle will be read aloud in the churches.
2. The Bible is for all Christians, not for some inside circle or privileged class. All its truths are for all the saints. Denney wisely insists: There is no attainment in wisdom or in goodness which is barred against any man by the gospel; and there is no surer mark of faithlessness and treachery in a church than this, that it keeps its members in a perpetual pupilage or minority, discouraging the free use of Holy Scripture, and taking care that all it contains is not read to all the brethren. Notice that in verses 25-27 we have three keys to a successful Christian life: (1) prayer (v. 25); (2) love for fellow believers, which speaks of fellowship (v. 26); and (3) reading and study of the word (v. 27). 5:28 Finally we have Paul’s characteristic close. He opened his First Epistle to the Thessalonians with grace, and now he closes it with the same theme. To the apostle Christianity is grace from beginning to end. Amen.