1 Thessalonians 5
v.2
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
His coming comes as sneakliy as the end of our short lives (James 4:14).
v.6
So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
v.8
But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
This was written before the full of armor in Ephesians. Also this is biblical support for why Paul Bae goes to sleep early.
v.9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Lord Jesus Christ.
This does not disprove interim judgement. do more research
v.10
He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
But if you would put a comma after ‘together,’ you would understand better what Paul meant. He refers to two forms of union. Whether we wake or sleep we shall live all aggregated together, and all aggregated ‘together’ because each is ‘with Him.’ That is to say, union with Jesus Christ makes all who partake of that union, whether they belong to the one side of the river or the other, into a mighty whole. They are together because they are with the Lord.
The word rendered “together” (ἁμα hama) is not to be regarded as connected with the phrase “with him” - as meaning that he and they would be “together,” but it refers to those who “wake and those who sleep” - those who are alive and those who are dead - meaning that they would be “together” or would be with the Lord “at the same time;” there would be no priority or precedence. Rosenmuller.
See also 1 John 1:7.
v.12-13
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
The Greek construction is three participles united under one article, thus indicating that they are not three distinct groups but one class of men discharging a threefold function.
It is a part of the duty of a minister to put his people in mind of the truth; to warn them of danger; to exhort them to perform their duty; to admonish them if they go astray.
See “admonish” in Greek. See more in leadership.
v.14
And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
It is not difficult, in an army, when soldiers get out of the line, or leave their places in the ranks, or are thrown into confusion, to see that little can be accomplished in such a state of irregularity and confusion. As little difficult is it, when the members of a church are out of their places, to see that little can be accomplished in such a state.
Every Christian - especially every one who has been long in the service of his Master - has a fund of experience which is the property of the church, and which may be of incalculable value to those who are struggling now amidst many embarrassments along the Christian way. He who has that experience should help a weak and sinking brother; he should make his own experience of the efficacy of religion in his trials and conflicts, the means of sustaining others in their struggles.
v.15
Make sure that noboy pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
v.16-18
Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Turn this book over and see if there be any precept that the Lord has given you in which he has said, ‘Groan in the Lord always, and again I say groan.’ You may groan if you like. You have Christian liberty for that; but, at the same time, do believe that you have larger liberty to rejoice, for so it is put before you.
When joy and prayer are married their first born child is gratitude.
v.19
Do not put out the Spirit’s fire;
Neglect of cultivating the Christian graces, or of prayer, of the Bible, of the sanctuary, of a careful watchfulness over the heart, will do it. Worldliness, vanity, levity, ambition, pride, the love of dress, or indulgence in an improper train of thought, will do it. It is a great rule in religion that all the piety which there is in the soul is the fair result of culture. A man has no more religion than he intends to have; he has no graces of the Spirit which he does not seek; he has no deadness to the world which is not the object of his sincere desire, and which he does not aim to have. Any one, if he will, may make elevated attainments in the divine life; or he may make his religion merely a religion of form, and know little of its power and its consolations.
v.20
do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good.
They were not to receive it on trust; to take it on assertion; to believe it because it was urged with vehemence, zeal, or plausibility.
🔥Christianity does not require people to disregard their reason, or to be credulous. It does not expect them to believe anything because others say it is so.
It is, more than any other form of religion, the friend of free inquiry, and would lead people everywhere to understand the reason of the opinions which they entertain;
It is biblical to question the content preached behind the pulpit no matter who stands on the platform. Yet, we are not give ourselves over to cynicism for we are to hold onto the good.
It is significant that Paul tells the Thessalonians to test the prophecies, not the prophets…It is the “prophecies” (plural of Gk. propheteia, “prophecy”) that are not to be despised but are to be tested. It is the “good” content in prophecies that they are to “hold fast.”
v.23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The spirit connects us to God and enables us to worship God and to fellowship with Him. The soul is the seat of emotions and makes us conscious of our being. The body connects us to our environment. We need to be kept faultless by God in our worship of Him and in our fellowship with Him. We need to be free of any legitimate accusation in our inner being and in our social relationships.
v.24
The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Similar to 1 Corinthians 1:9.