Paul, Silas and Timothy have been writing to the church in Thessalonica. The tone of the letter has been giving encouragement to the church to continue in their relationship with God, in the face of persecution and difficulty. In chapter 4 Paul explained that the will of God for believers is for us to be sanctified. This means we should be taking off sin and putting on Christ in every aspect of our lives. The Thessalonian Church, in particular, was instructed to avoid sexual immorality and learn to control their bodies, instead of living lives of passionate lust. He ended chapter 4 discussing death, and that topic is continued in chapter 5. The first thing he said was that he didn’t want the church to be uninformed about death. Christians do not need to fear death and grieve like the rest of mankind. We have a promise of resurrection, given by Christ who raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was a man who spoke with integrity and authority and when he gave a teaching, it demanded the listener to consider it. When Jesus gave a promise, it wasn’t like promises from every other human being. Instead of being an empty promise, we are given an empty tomb, evidence that Death is not the end. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring (together with Jesus) those who have died in Him. The church seemed concerned about whether or not people who have died first would miss something as opposed to those who survived until the second coming of Christ. Paul explained with imagery of the voice of an archangel and a Trumpet call, that the dead will be raised in Christ, preceding those who still live. It’s worth reading 1 Corinthians 15 to her Paul describe this in other similar words. He describes Christ’s resurrection as the first. Then those who had died were the firstfruits, then when he comes again, those who belong to him are resurrected. But he says In the twinkling of an eye, all the dead will be caught up together in the clouds and meet those who are still alive in Christ in the air. Sometimes the wording makes it sound like a zombie movie, that the dead will be raised up. But in 1st corinthians 15, the Bible explains that the perishable must be raised unperishable, which means we won’t be raised entirely physical like a rotting corpse like in the walking dead. To the extent that we are raised Physical, it would be Physical but non-perishable. Paul describes it to say we are sown a natural seed and a natural body, but will be raised a spiritual body. God makes seeds look different than the plant that grows from it, he makes different kinds of seeds and flesh for different kinds of bodies. Animals have a type of flesh, birds another, fish another. We will be raised in a resurrection body. We don’t know everything, and this is a bit of speculation but our resurrection body might look more like Jesus who was unrecognizable at first to his disciples, but then immediately recognizable when he broke bread. It might look physical enough to eat fish, but not too physical to be hindered by a locked door and enclosed room.
Other imagery makes it seem like there’s a big UFO and we will be pulled up in a sort of tractor beam into the air to meet God in the clouds. He didn’t actually mention a mothership or anything like that, but the fact that we would be in the clouds means we wouldn’t be in the earth, we wouldn’t be constrained by the ground, or the grave, or the dust when resurrection happens. Again this means that our resurrection bodies aren’t earthly or natural ones. We will be raised different, and while the exact timing is unknown, the simultaneousness of all of it is repeated a few times. We will meet together. Chapter 5 begins with timing.
5 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
According to Paul there is no time or date. The coming of the Lord, and also our deaths will arrive like a thief in the night. Paul didn’t just make up the idea of a thief in the night. If you’re an avid Bible reader, you’ve heard this before. If you aren’t, I will direct you to Matthew 24, where Jesus is asked about the destruction of the temple, but also the end times. He explained a lot of things that would happen at the destruction of the Temple, but then he began to talk about the end times. He mentioned a trumpet call, and a gathering of the elect but when he described this he said Matthew 24:36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”. That’s why these billboards and posters and crackpot theories by Harold Camping and others are so ridiculous. If Jesus said he doesn’t know, and the angels don’t know, how is Harold Camping so convinced that he’s figured it out? This was Jesus’s point though. Nobody knows when the thief comes, if they did, their decisions might look different. They would have kept watch and would not have allowed the home to get broken into. Jesus was explaining that we should always be ready. Be prepared. The time is unknown, but we can be ready for it whenever it happens. And not surprisingly (since the Bible happens to be consistent and accurate and agreeing with itself) Paul says the same message here.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Jesus and Paul both agree we don’t know the date or time, both compare it to a thief in the night, but look at verse 4. We Christians aren’t surprised by the thief! We have expectation that the thief is coming! We are ready for Jesus return. We are also ready for death. In our preparedness, we look different than the rest of the world. We don’t act like those who belong to the night. We are children of the day. We aren’t bumbling blindly through a dark life, living one mistake to the next. We aren’t enslaved to sin and disobedience. We don’t live in ignorance whether or not there is a God. We acknowledge Him and recognize that His way is better than our way. We generally live with self control and sobriety, as if it’s daytime. People who sleep and get drunk, people who sin purposefully do these things in darkness, and serve that darkness. The darkness suits them, because they can hide their sins in darkness and they can make sin look better when it’s not in the light. On the other hand, God is light, in him there is no darkness at all. That means we will know Him and be made known to Him. That’s a scary because under perfect light and transparency of our motives and thoughts, ugly things will come out. But because we are children of the light, When we sin, we repent and apologize and pray to God to remove those desires from us. We are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. We are children of the day. He said to put on faith and love as a breastplate, and hope of salvation as a helmet.
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Paul called this Thessalonian church children of the Light. As believers it’s important to be reminded that we aren’t like the rest of the world. Although we deserve to suffer wrath, we have been given mercy, an Amazing Grace. We have been predestined, foreknown, and called by God to be children of Salvation. We’ve been appointed to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. The bible never says we do this on our own, or by our own works. The Gospel says that it’s by our faith in Christ’s works, and even that faith was a gift from God, so nobody can boast. Jesus died for our sins, and that means that whether we have died or are still alive, whether we leave this Earth before His Second Coming, or whether we see the coming of the Lord, we will not see a permanent death. We have every hope that will meet him together and experience a life together with him. This isn’t just a pie in the sky fantasy. Christ left us evidence, an empty tomb and many witnesses of him being alive in many places over a long period of time after he was pronounced Dead on the cross. Paul reminds the church that they will see God and live together with him for eternity. Because of this fact, he exhorts them to encourage each other and build each other up. This letter has had many reminders of the Gospel truth, peppered with encouragement to continue doing what they are doing, do so more and more. Love each other more and more as you already do. He gives them a final set of reminders for the last half of this letter. Let’s read:
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
Paul reminds the congregation in Thessalonica to acknowledge those who work hard among you. The church sometimes had trouble honoring hard work and diligence. We can get caught up in results and honor big achievements or hitting a goal, but we should extend encouragment to all hard work, not just the fruits of hard work. He particularly mentions those people who care for them in the Lord, which means the pastors, deacons, the teachers. But that could also mean loving comforting care and disciplinarians like a parental or mentor type role. He even reminds them to acknowledge those who admonish you. It’s not human nature to like the people who are correcting you, or scolding you, or rebuking you. We don’t want to be challenged or questioned. Paul says to hold those people in the highest regard because of their work.
14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Acknowledge those who work hard, on the other side of the spectrum, warn those people who are idle! If work is to be praised, idleness should be warned. People who are disruptive should also receive warnings. Give encouragement to the disheartened, help the weak. Different people need different things, right? The disheartened doesn’t need help; they need encouragement. The idle don’t need encouragement, they need a warning. Paul says to be patient with everyone. Live at peace with each other! Don’t repay wrong with wrong. If somebody wrongs me, I need to forgive them, in case I am tempted to wrong them back. And the other way around, if I wrong somebody, I hope that you don’t hold it against me. I try to be the guy who ends any type of vindictive or revenge cycle. If I do something, and they do something back, and then I do something back, things find a way of perpetuating. But it has to end somewhere, Paul says make it you who ends it! We should be the ones who strive to do what is good for each other and everyone else. Each other means the church, and everyone else means the commuity or the secular world! He says to Strive. That means it’s not always easy or your first instinct. Striving involves a degree of work.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit.
Some very short verses here but Paul gives these recommendations regularly. 16 Rejoice Always. 17 Pray continually. 18 Give thanks in all circumstances. These are things we should always be doing. If we find ourselves not rejoicing or praying, we should redirect our emotions towards joy and our thoughts towards prayer. We should train our hearts and minds and move towards thankfulness. This is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. When we feel disheartened, dissatisfied, unthankful, or far from God, why not try praying. And when we pray, let’s start by trying to say thanks for something. Even the most miserable person here (and sometimes I feel like I fall in that category) can find things to be thankful for. But our prayers don’t need to end there, when we’ve thanked God for things. We should pray for guidance. When did we stop asking God for help for us, or to guide the decisions of those in power, or for those who are in charge of running society and governing things. Jesus said to pray for those who persecute you.
Verse 19 says do not quench the Spirit. Wow. Sometimes we do that! We get inspired (and that word inspired means to receive a spirit). We get inspired to do something, or to stop doing something else. Something gets sparked or stoked and we want to act or serve or change. It’s like a fire has been lit, and when you run with it and let your God given passion take over, amazing things happen. Paul says don’t quench that spirit. I don’t want to think about how many amazing sermons or fiery exhortations throughout history must have been totally quenched or extinguished when the guy sitting next to the inspired listener asks, “so what are we doing for lunch”
20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
Prophecy is a new topic, so we can talk about it briefly. Prophecy is a concept that is described a few ways in the Bible. In the Old Testament prophets would basically be the voice of God. They were the people who spoke or brought people the Word of God. Many times their messages would instruct people about God’s Character, or God’s will. They would warn people to change their behavior and repent of their sins. Often times, to prove the authenticity of the source of their message, God, they foretell a future unknown event. In the Old Testament if you prophesied and it was false, the prophet was to be put to death. So people weren’t encouraged to use prophecy from God as an excuse to get other people to do something or believe something. The risk was high. In the New Testament, the Book of Hebrews begins by saying in the Past God spoke through prophets, but now God speaks through his Son.
Prophecy can still be defined as a message that brings people God’s word, but the word became flesh and dwelt among us. So to be true prophecy, Christ must be exalted and preached. Christ must be the center of all prophecy today. Some churches and Christians participate in modern day prophecy, which seems more like pep talks, “Oh I’ve had a prophecy. God has big plans for you, I see you speaking in a stadium to a sold out crowd”. If Jesus Christ isn’t preached, if the Word of God, Scripture, isn’t referenced, the prophecy is most likely false. Now I like that Paul says don’t treat prophecy with contempt. And it sounds like I do treat these modern day predictions skeptically. But his next verse says Test them All! So Contempt isn’t the same as skepticism. He said to test them, hold on to the good, and reject the evil. How do we test them? Read more scripture. Know Scripture, and reference it. Ronald Regan said trust but verify. It’s kind of a similar idea here. But Don’t just trust prophets. Test them. Listen to the Prophecy, Study the word. Keep the motivation that is based on Biblical truth and Biblical Promises. Reject everything that isn’t Biblical.
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. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Last chapter Paul explained that God’s will for us is to be sanctified (grow in holiness) In his closing prayer, Paul is praying that God Himself, The God of Peace, sanctify them. Our sanctification isn’t internally motivated. It’s from God Himself. The same God who is known as the God of Peace. He turned enemies into friends by giving his only Begotten Son to die for our sins. He made peace with us. And HE will sanctify and grow us. He will keep us blameless, with the righteousness of Christ until Christ’s return. I love verse 24. Paul’s so confident. God called us, He is Faithful, He will do it. WE know he’s all powerful, so it isn’t even a question of if he can do it. He will do it. End of story!
25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
Paul’s final remarks in the letter. Pray for us! Another reminder to pray continually, pray for us. Sometimes praying is tough. If you don’t know what to pray for, Paul’s saying pray for us! We are preaching the word. Pray we can grow God’s kingdom. Greet God’s people with a holy kiss. I don’t think we need to say this is a Biblical command to kiss everyone, and I am not going to go into length about what socially acceptable forms of casual affection are. Paul gives a charge to have the letter read to all the members of the church. If you’ve been here consistently for my sermons, we’ve done just that. You will have had the letter read to you, and we discussed it. If you missed some, or want a refresher, please read 1st Thessalonians again on your own! Paul’s final blessing and wish is that the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with them. Grace is unmerited favor, an undeserved gift. The Grace of Jesus Christ is a very personal grace. Because Jesus was human, the Grace of Christ is forgiving, loving type of mercy and kindness. When Paul writes about the Grace of God he tends to write about foregone wrath, punishment withheld, just and righteous pardon of sin. Or he writes about traits that are part of his personality. Like we’ve received grace from God to be apostles. But the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is a grace that compassionately says, “forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” when they themselves are being wronged. a Grace that makes Jesus remind his disciples to forgive a wrong seventy times seven times. A grace that weeps with women who lost their brother. A grace that endures hardship for the sake of brothers and sisters in faith. This is the type of Grace that Paul leaves the Thessalonians to ponder and to meditate upon.