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1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
In Pauls first letter to the Thessalonians, he addressed some doctrinal issues about which the believers
there were uncertain. We have seen that the first of these issues concerned those who sleep in Jesus that
is, believers who have died. The second issue concerned the Day of the Lord, for the Thessalonian
assembly was very absorbed in end-time events, and they wanted to know, if possible, when the Day of the
Lord would be which no one knows, as Paul explained.
We have to be thankful for the questions of the Thessalonians, dont we? It is because of their questions
that we have some of the greatest detail in Scripture available concerning the catching up of the church, and
the Day of the Lord. Id like to summarize a few things that we have learned.
First, we have learned that these are two very distinct and different days: the catching up of the church, a
day of rejoicing; the Day of the Lord, a day of terror. The catching up of the church involves a judgment on
believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but it is a judgment of reward, and of the purifying of believers,
before Jesus takes them to their heavenly home.
The Day of the Lord involves a very different kind of judgment one that is a just retribution for those on
the earth who have rejected the love of God in Christ Jesus, refusing Him as their Lord these are the
unbelievers who are alive and remain, after the catching up of the church. It is a terrible, punitive
judgment.
These two days actually occupy two very different time periods, as well: The catching up of the church
occurs in a moment of time in the twinkling of an eye and it just precedes the Day of the Lord, which
goes on for seven long years through the Great Tribulation, and including the Second Coming of Jesus at
its end. It is a time of judgment on the earth, followed by the return of the Judge.
When believers are caught up to be with their Lord, they will rise to meet Him in the air, and their bodies
will all be changed in that moment into bodies of glory, resurrection bodies like unto His glorious body.
The body of glory is their crown of rejoicing through which they will reflect the glory of their Lord they
will cast their crowns before Him (Rev 4:10). In those bodies, they will experience the light, the life and
the love of God, forever.
Those who do not believe will also be receiving bodies but theirs will come 1000 years after the return of
Jesus to the earth, in the resurrection of the unjust (Rev 20:5). They will possess their bodies just long
enough to receive their terrible judgment by the Lord at the Great White Throne (Rev 20:11).
Following their judgment, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death (Rev 20:14,
21:8) a place they have chosen for themselves in their unbelief a place of torment (Rev 20:10),
punishment (Mt 25:46) and destruction (2 Th 1:8-9), which they will experience forever.
So the Day of the Lord culminates with the return of the Lord, when He will judge those who are alive and
remain on the earth, and set up His kingdom. Did you ever consider why it is that the Lord delayed His
return to the earth, after catching up His church why He did not return right away? Why the Lord will
have those who do not believe go through seven years of terrible Tribulation first? Its because God so
loves the world.
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The seven years of Tribulation, terrible as they will be, will cause some stony hearts to soften, and to turn to
the Lord to be saved. Those who have not been captured by the tender love of Jesus may yet be saved
through His tough love.
For their sake, the Lord delays His return to the earth, while He presses them through dire circumstances to
call upon His name, and be saved. They will not be saved from the Tribulation, unless they die before it is
over, but they will be saved from eternal damnation from being separated forever from the love of God.
The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). Sadly,
some men are willing that they should perish and God must allow them their freedom of choice.
Paul made it clear in his letter to the Thessalonians that only unbelievers will experience the Day of the
Lord and its subsequent judgment. The Day will come on them suddenly, unexpectedly as a thief in the
night.
But not so for believers. The Body of Christ has been living in the expectation of their Day, when Christ
returns for them, for two thousand years. When the Bridegroom comes, the Bride will be ready.
Paul informed this expectant assembly in his day that they cannot know when the Day of the Lord will
come and it is not a day for them, anyway - but that they should always be ready for the Lords return for
them. To this assembly, it was necessary to show what being ready involved.
Some of the Thessalonians were preoccupied with the return of Jesus. They had abandoned their daily
work, and were meddling in the affairs of others. Paul showed them that they were not to be preoccupied,
but to occupy until the Lord comes (Lk 19:13) that is, to be occupied with whatever work the Lord gave
them to do, until He returned for them.
It was right for their minds to be on things above (Col 3:1-2); but meanwhile, their feet were still down
here on this earth, and the Lord intended them to do some walking. Their obedience to whatever work the
Lord gave them in life was a means of reflecting Christ to those who did not believe as they witnessed the
quiet lives of the Thessalonians, minding their own business, working with their own hands.
In the close of his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote a series of exhortations to the assembly in
Thessalonica. Pauls desire was that, until the Bridegroom returned, the Bride would be making herself
ready (Rev 19:7). Paul had already admonished this assembly in a few things in which they were deficient,
in order to perfect what was lacking in their faith (1 Th 3:10).
Now, Paul exhorted them concerning relationships within their assembly first, with their relationship with
their leaders (vv. 12-13), then, their relationship with those brethren of little faith and with unbelievers (vv.
14-15), and finally but foremost, their relationship with God (vv. 16-22). As sons of light and sons of day,
all of their earthly relationships were to be characterized by philadelphia brotherly love (1 Th 4:9).
5:12-13 This section of Pauls letter addresses the relationship of the brethren with those who are over
them in the Lord (v. 12); that is, the leaders in the assembly. Although they are not mentioned by name, or
by any title, we can assume that these leaders were the elders in the church at Thessalonica.
The term elder emphasizes the maturity of these individuals not in years, but in their growth in the
grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Pet 3:18). These men were often teachers in an assembly.
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Lukes account in the book of Acts shows that there were elders in the church in Jerusalem from the early
days of the church (Acts 11:30), and that Paul appointed elders in the assemblies he had established even as
early as his first missionary journey (Acts 14:23). Although Paul did the appointing, you can be sure that
he did so based on whom the Holy Spirit showed him to appoint (Acts 20:28). These elders were not
selected by men, but by God.
In later church letters, we find the term pastor used (Eph 4:11), which literally means shepherd. These
are undershepherds of the Chief Shepherd, Christ. The term bishop is also used, which means
overseer, or guardian. These terms emphasize the role of these leaders within the assembly, to watch
over and care for the believers.
And how did they lead? By serving. Elders, pastors and bishops were all different terms for the leaders in
the assembly, emphasizing their different qualities.
Paul states that these leaders were over the brethren in the Lord. Does that imply a hierarchy? No, not
ever, in the Body of Christ; we are all one in Christ Jesus; equal members of His Body. Leaders are
essential for there to be order in an assembly, but they are not to preclude each member having their own
personal relationship with the Lord.
The members are to submit to their leaders, but in the Lord; they are not to expect their leaders to be like
gods unto them. Likewise, the leaders are to watch over and care for the brethren, but in the Lord; they are
not to lord their position over the people.
The brethren and the leaders are equal members of the Body of Christ; they simply have different
functions, different roles, within the assembly. At the same time, you can see how, without submission to
Christ, the order of God would be changed into an organization, instead which is not of God which we
frequently find in the formal church, today.
Peter wrote a beautiful description of the relationship that should exist between the elders and people in an
assembly. Turn to First Peter chapter 5.
[1 Peter 5:1-5]
v. 1 Notice Peter says the elders are among you; they are fellow members of the Body of Christ.
v. 2-3 The emphasis is on willing service, for the gain of others. An elder is a servant of the Body of
Christ.
v. 4 Look who the undershepherds (that is, the elders) are responsible to the Chief Shepherd. Scripture
indicates that elders will have to give an account for the souls that the Chief Shepherd entrusted to them
(Heb 13:17).
The elders will receive the same reward from Christ for their work that was done in Him, as every other
member of the Body a crown of glory a glorified body.
v. 5 Both elders and people are to submit to one another in humility treating each other more highly than
themselves. Thats how the relationship works.
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[Return to 1 Thessalonians]
Now, as we read this section, we see that Paul was not exhorting the brethren here the whole assembly
but instead was urging them he was beseeching the brethren, as equal members in the Body of Christ.
Paul was using gentle persuasion, by which we can begin to surmise that this might have been a touchy
issue.
What was the issue? It involved the brethren, and those who were over them in the Lord their leaders.
Further evidence that there was an issue between them is supported by how Paul concludes this section:
Be at peace among yourselves (v. 13). It appears that there was a lack of peace contentiousness
between the brethren and the leaders of the assembly in Thessalonica.
How serious was this issue? Certainly not as serious as what developed at Corinth, where the brethren had
become divisive over their leaders. This is not a sharp corrective by Paul, but a gentle admonishment.
Although we cannot know the specifics of the issue, we can know, from what Paul writes, that the brethren
did not appreciate the value of their leaders; that they did not hold them in very high regard. It is likely that
Timothy heard some complaints from the Thessalonian believers about their leaders; and it is possible that
the leaders had been somewhat heavy-handed in matters of church discipline, as Paul mentions them here
admonishing the brethren.
These leaders would have been inexperienced remember, the whole assembly is less than six months old.
The leaders may have been somewhat at fault. But the implied reaction of the Thessalonian believers to
their leaders definitely made Paul feel that they were in need of correction; that they were not treating their
leaders with the respect they deserved.
Why did the leaders deserve respect? Why should they be esteemed very highly? Paul writes, for their
works sake. They labored among the believers; the word here for labor means wearisome toil. This
reminds us of what Paul said concerning the missionaries laboring night and day for the brethren (1 Th
2:9).
Paul appealed to the brethren to respect their leaders, not because of who these men were, nor even because
of their office, as elders in the assembly; but to respect them because of the wearisome labor that they did
for the assembly. This brought the issue close to home. Each member could reflect on the valuable
contribution that the leaders had made to their assembly in Thessalonica; teaching them the truth, caring for
their needs, admonishing them when they were in error.
This would be sure to cultivate the respect that was the leaders due, for their work in the Lord a labor of
Love. And as the brethren considered the love with which their leaders served them, they would be
inspired by the Holy Spirit to love, in return.
Paul encouraged both leaders and brethren to be at peace together. The leaders had their part, too they
must not provoke the brethren by ruling like tyrants. Both must bear with one another in love.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 4. Paul wrote to this assembly also of how to keep the peace. By this time, Paul
was in prison in Rome.
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[Ephesians 4:1-3] Keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is an endeavor its hard work. But
it is a powerful witness to those on the outside. We are brethren, so we are to love one another no matter
how unlovable another in the family might be. We were all unlovable, when Christ loved us.
[Return to 1 Thessalonians]
The next section deals with the brethrens relationships with other brothers of little faith and with the
faithless.
v. 14 This verse speaks of the care that the brethren are to have for one another. It is not only the leaders
who are to care for the people; the people are to take care of one another, as well.
Notice that Paul is exhorting the assembly here; he is calling them to take action. The three groups of
people he mentions are all believers who, in some way, were not submitting to the leading of the Spirit.
The first ones named are those who are unruly. This word is used for a soldier who is not keeping rank. He
is not holding up his end of the line. In this context, the idea is of those believers who are slackers.
Paul has previously referred in his letter to some of the believers in Thessalonica who had given up their
work in life, thinking that the Lord would be returning at any moment. Paul has already stated that these
slackers are to mind their own business, and work with their own hands (1 Th 4:11). Now, he charges the
brethren with responsibility for them and any others that may be neglecting their duties.
What are the brethren to do? Warn them; thats sin; thats unbecoming of a Christ One. In this case, not
to warn them would result in these unruly brethren being a burden on the other productive members of the
Body a poor witness to those outside the community of believers.
Warn is the same word translated admonish in verse 12, which is a responsibility of the elders. All
believers are responsible to admonish one another in the Lord; to correct each other, as loving brothers, to
direct those who have sinned back in the way of righteousness. Admonition is for the edification of the
whole Body of Christ; but it is only effective when done in love (Eph 4:16).
Next Paul wrote of the fainthearted. Feebleminded (KJV) is misleading; this word means those who are
fretful or worried. Synonyms refer to those who are cowardly or terror-stricken. They are immobilized by
fear. This word can refer to those who naturally lack courage, or to those who have become discouraged
by particular circumstances. Maybe you can relate to this.
People admire courage, dont they? Boldness is a great quality. But what people do with the timid, the
fearful? At best, people ignore them; at worst, they show contempt openly; or even walk all over them.
But this is not the way in the Body of Christ, is it? The fainthearted are to be dealt with by the way of love.
What are we to do with the fainthearted? Comfort them. This means, encourage them.
Paul had devoted part of his letter to the fainthearted; to those who were worried about their loved ones
who had died in Christ. He comforted them with a strong encouragement in the truth, then urged the other
members of the assembly to comfort one another with the same words.
Its easy to ignore the fainthearted but you have not so learned Christ (Eph 4:20). The fainthearted need
strong comfort. They need to be encouraged in their faith; to hear of the victories that others have had in
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conquering their fears. They need to see how to turn anxious thoughts into prayerful requests to God (Phil
4:6). They need to learn of the strength they can have in Jesus, so that they, too, can be overcomers.
The next group Paul wrote of was the weak. Now, the weak do not refer to those who are physically weak,
but spiritually. These are brethren who are weak-minded; doubtful; vacillating in their faith. Although as
believers they no longer sin as a way of life, they are still prone to sin, easily shaken from their position of
faith by circumstances and by temptations.
So what are the brethren to do with the weak brothers? Someone once said that Christians shoot their
wounded; should we shoot them? No; Paul writes that we are to uphold them. The idea here is to provide
them with a support.
What is it that upholds the one who is tempted to sin? The word of God. The psalmist wrote, Your Word I
have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you ( Ps 119:11). That is how the strong uphold those
who are weak in an assembly; not by propping them up with something of this world thats just a crutch;
instead, the strong must support the weak by building them up on the Word of God.
Finally Paul writes, Be patient with all. Those who are obedient, courageous and strong in the faith can
easily become frustrated with those who are less so. In order for us to be of any use to the Lord in helping
our brethren who have little faith, we must be patient with them.
Love is patient. Love suffers long as it must, to go the distance, until these unruly, and fainthearted and
weak brothers are built up in the faith. Quick platitudes will not bear any fruit; you must be willing to give
of yourself and your time with your brethren, as the Lord shows.
v. 15 Now in the uncivilized world, the rule is get the other guy before he gets you. In the civilized world,
you reciprocate if someone does you good, you do them good in return; but if someone hurts you, you
hurt them back. The world of the Christ Ones is quite different: to give back blessing for reviling.
This is something that hearkens back to the teaching of Jesus. Turn to Matthew chapter 5. Jesus was
expounding on the Law of Moses before the multitudes of Jews. He was showing the precepts in the royal
law of Love.
[Matthew 5:38-48] Jesus showed them the complete standard of righteousness, which He fulfilled Himself.
He is perfect love.
[Return to 1 Thessalonians]
Jesus is perfect love, and in Him, we can have such love; love that even returns blessing for cursing. Paul
was referring here to relations between believers (for yourselves), as well as with those in the outside
world (for all).
This was a particularly important lesson for the assembly at Thessalonica to learn, for they were
experiencing much affliction at the hands of unbelievers there, both Jew and Gentile. To love in the face of
evil speaks of the power of God. As the Thessalonians submitted themselves to Jesus, and responded with
acts of love to those who persecuted them, they provided a potent witness to their Lord for those in the dogeat-dog world.
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Paul continued his exhortation. Now he speaks of the relationship between the brethren and God.
v. 16-18 The things mentioned have both a personal and collective dimension; rejoicing, prayer and
thanksgiving can be experienced both by the individual, as well as when the brethren are assembled
together, such as for worship. In both cases, the essence is still the same.
Rejoice always. That certainly stands in contrast to many things the world deals out: sorrow, hardship,
oppression, persecution, distresses, afflictions. These things are common to man believer and unbeliever
alike. How can one rejoice always?
Turn to Pauls second letter to the Corinthians. Paul has just catalogued some of the sufferings the
missionaries had endured. They he shows what caused them to persevere.
[2 Corinthians 4:13-18]
v. 13-14 Paul knows that the resurrection of Jesus guarantees their resurrection how? Because they
believed; they have the spirit of faith.
v. 15-18 That is how they did not lose heart; they kept their eyes stayed on the unseen, eternal realities
when they will be in glory with their Lord. Noticed that their affliction, which Paul terms light, is working
for them how? Because it works in more and more of the Lord Jesus knowing Him, believing in Him,
submitting to Him, doing His will.
Thats treasure for them in heaven a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, that will be housed
in their bodies of glory, forever. With that mind, the afflictions can seem light, indeed.
[Return to 1 Thessalonians]
Rejoice always always have joy. Its not a feeling. Not a state of mind. Not a matter of circumstances.
In fact, its not of this world; but it can be experienced in this world. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit; and the
Christ One who is always submitted to the Lord, will always experience that joy.
Paul exhorts further, Pray without ceasing. Now, Paul was not advocating that the brethren should be on
their knees before the Lord 24-7. But that should be the spirit of prayer, in their hearts. The believer
should be constantly conscious of his full dependence upon God; there is nothing for which he cannot, or
should not go to God in prayer. Praying to God should be as natural to the Christ One as breathing.
I think the idea can well be seen in the golden altar of incense; thats the article of furniture in the
tabernacle that represents Christ as our intercessor (Ex 30:1-10). The High Priest used to offer incense on
the golden altar every morning and evening, with the idea that it was a perpetual offering. And it was for
the smoke of that incense rose up before the Lord day and night as long as it was in contact with the coals
on the altar, which were burning continually.
In Scripture, incense is likened to the prayers of the saints (Ps 141:2, Rev 5:8). We are in a constant attitude
of prayer as long as we are in contact with the fire the Holy Spirit. Then, we are always in a spirit of
prayer, realizing our dependence on God for all we have and are, being conscious of His presence with us
wherever we may be, and yielding ourselves continually to Him, to do His will.
Thanksgiving is the natural outcome of our prayers. Through prayer, we are brought around to the Lords
thinking on matters. When we see circumstances from His perspective, we cant help but be thankful.
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Can you thank God for all circumstances? No sometimes, the circumstances are evil. But can we thank
God in all circumstances? Yes because God is sovereign over all circumstances good or evil.
God is good, and only does good. God never does evil. But every circumstance in our lives is allowed by
Him whether good or evil and is used by Him to work out His good purposes.
God is in control. Is that a cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving? Yes. You can see how interrelated joy,
prayer and thanksgiving are how pleasing they are to God (to whom they are directed) and how beneficial
they are for the believer. In fact, Paul wrote, this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus. His good will is
always whats best for us.
The exhortation continued.
v. 19-22 I think that Paul meant verse 19 and verse 20, which have a parallel construction, to be taken
together. The word quench has the meaning of extinguishing. It is used of putting out both light and fire.
In its figurative use here, it means to repress or hinder the Holy Spirit; to prevent Him from exerting His
influence.
A very important way that the Spirit exerted His influence in the early church was through prophecy. To
prophesy is to declare the mind of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit as we see in the OT, it is
Thus saith the LORD. All prophecies center around Gods Christ, and a great many are specific to Him.
Prophets are the mouthpiece of God; He speaks through them. OT prophets often spoke of future events,
pointing to the coming of the Christ to the earth (both His first and second comings).
After Jesus had come, the Holy Spirit graced members of the Body of Christ with the spiritual graces, or
charisma, one of which was prophecy. These NT prophets were inspired by the Spirit to exhort local
assemblies with the Word of God; their ministry was less of fore-telling, than of forth-telling. Paul and
Barnabas are two examples of NT prophets.
Paul would later write that the church was the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (Eph 2:19-20). The prophets were
foundational, because they built up the church on the Word of God on the Lord Jesus Christ His life,
His teachings, the OT Scriptures which He fulfilled, and additional revelations which Jesus made, such as
those to Paul.
In our day, we have this revelation in written form the NT. With that revelation complete, the spiritual
grace of prophecy today pertains more to exhortation, edification and encouragement of the Body of Christ
(1 Cor 14:3).
Now, in Pauls day, that revelation had only started going out, and the building of the church had just
begun. Revelation by prophecy, then, was an essential teaching tool in the early church, one that must be
used for complete instruction in righteousness.
That is why Paul was exhorting this assembly not to despise prophecies, sometimes translated in the verb
form: prophesying. To despise something is to count it for nothing, or to treat it with scorn.
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The Thessalonian brethren must not presume that prophecies spoken by their members or by preachers who
were visiting the assembly were meaningless; that prophecies could not be a form of instruction. To rule
out prophetic utterances would be to quench the Spirit; it would extinguish the light of fresh revelation of
the mind of God to their assembly.
It might be that the brethren in Thessalonica were inclined to despise prophecies because they recognized
that some things that had been uttered could not have been from God. Their discernment was good, in that
case, but they were throwing the baby out with the bath water.
What they needed to do was to test prophetic utterances, to determine if they were of God or not which is
what Paul wrote in verse 21. If any man spoke a prophecy that was not of God, he was a false prophet,
never to be believed.
But how could they test prophecies? First, they must see if what was spoken was in agreement with
Scripture. Then they must test the spirits that is, the spirit of the prophecy.
Turn to First John chapter 4. John spoke of this because of all the false prophecy and teaching that was
coming into the assemblies.
[First John 4:1-3] If the prophetic utterance denies Jesus being the Christ, or denies His incarnation, it is
not of God, but of the spirit of this world.
Paul wrote that the Holy Spirit graced some members of the Body with the ability to discern spirits, which
would be particularly useful for an assembly in the early church
( 1 Cor 12:10).
[Return to First Thessalonians]
Prophecy should also be in accordance with the gospel, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior through
simple faith alone. Finally, whatever is said in the prophecy must edify the church for that is its purpose.
This is how the Thessalonians could test prophecies, so that they could hold fast to what was truly of God.
Likewise, they could reject those prophecies that were not of God and the false prophets who spoke them.
This may have brought to mind a more general point to Paul to abstain from every form every kind of
evil. This pertains even to the appearance of evil things that simply look wrong, for a believer to do for
such things can cause weak brothers to stumble, and unbelievers to find yet another reason to reject the
faith.
Paul concluded his letter with a prayer for the Thessalonian brethren.
v. 23-24 In the middle of his letter, Paul had written, For this is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Th
4:3a). It is Gods will that these believers be sanctified. Now, they have their part in it, to consecrate
themselves unto the Lord, by holding fast to what is good, and abstaining from every form of evil (vv. 2122). But ultimately, it is God who will sanctify them He will see to it and He will do so completely.
Here Paul calls God the God of peace. This is not peace in the sense of the opposite of war, but peace in
the sense of prosperity. God will prosper these believers through their being utterly set apart to Him
spirit, soul and body.
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Their spirits were sanctified in the moment they first believed through the washing of regeneration, and
the renewing of the Holy Spirit to their spirit (2 Th 2:13, Titus 3:5, 1 Pet 1:2). Their souls were
experiencing ongoing sanctification, as they learned to yield themselves to God and their members to Him
as instruments of righteousness (Rm 6:13, Eph 5:26).
And one day, their bodies would be entirely sanctified set apart unto God when they are transformed
into bodies of glory (1 Th 3:13, Heb 10:10, 14) . Then they will be preserved blameless presented as the
glorious Bride of Christ, at His coming without spot or wrinkle or any such thing holy and without
blemish (Eph 5:27).
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Ph 1:6). All will be
accomplished by God, who upholds all whom He calls, and fulfills all that He has promised. He is the
Faithful One.
Paul writes his final remarks.
v. 25 Paul prayed night and day for this assembly (1 Th 3:10), and now he asks that they pray for him as
well. Paul and the Thessalonians are knit together by the Spirit; they are part of one another, and have each
others interests in mind; they are on each others hearts. Yet they are separated by distance and
circumstance so Paul encourages them to do as he does turn to the One who can meet the needs of those
they love, and pray for them.
v. 26 In that culture and day, a kiss was customary token of love and friendship like our hugs today. Paul
is basically saying, kiss all the brothers for me give them my love.
The last part of this letter, which up to this point would have been written by a scribe as Paul dictated, was
written by Paul himself note the change to I. It is thought that Paul commonly signed his letters so the
brethren could be certain the letter was really from him, and was not a counterfeit.
v. 27 To charge is to put to an oath; to make to swear. Why this strong charge by Paul that his letter be
read to all the brethren? There might be several reasons.
First of all, many of the brethren were illiterate in Pauls day; the letter would have to be read by them, in
order for them to know its contents.
Also, remember that the unbelieving Jews in Thessalonica had conducted a smear campaign against Paul,
including the slander that Paul had abandoned this assembly, and didnt care about them. This letter would
serve to counteract such charges. Paul wanted to make sure that every member of that assembly knew that
he loved them.
In addition to this, Paul had written concerning some doctrinal issues, and had some words of discipline for
the Thessalonians, in addition to his many words of praise. He wanted to be sure that these words, inspired
by the Holy Spirit, reached every member of the assembly.
As God-breathed words, Pauls letters, and those of several others, were eventually compiled and circulated
throughout all the assemblies they became part of our NT revelation.
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There would come a time in the history of the church when Gods word would be withheld by men, intent
on holding down the truth in unrighteousness. Pauls words in verse 27 are a strong statement showing that
Gods word is intended for every believer, and that it is to be read.
v. 28 Paul ends his letter as he began it extending the grace of our Lord His unmerited favor to all
who have chosen to receive it. And much more, those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of
righteousness such as these Thessalonian believers, and ourselves will reign in life through the One,
Jesus Christ (Rm 5:17).
Next Second Thessalonians read over break.