As we come to the conclusion of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we come to a litany of exhortations that, at first glance, are almost overwhelming. It is almost as if Paul had a maximum word count that he could not exceed, and he is trying to fit all of his exhortations under that limit.
Just as we have seen over the last two weeks, Paul is going to continue his fiercely practical tone as he continues to remind the Thessalonians of the way they ought to walk and please God (1 Thess. 4:1). Having encouraged them in the faith and defended his own ministry against opponents, Paul is giving specific exhortations regarding the way the Thessalonians should live. In the first half of chapter 4, he addressed the issues of sex, love and work (4:1-12), before laying out the way the Thessalonians should live in light of Jesus’ second coming (4:13-5:11). In this last half-chapter of the book, we will see Paul sum up various instructions to the community of believers regarding a number of specific areas and relationships before expressing his supreme confidence that God will sanctify them and keep them. We will first look at the instructions Paul gives before looking at his bold declaration of confidence in the Lord.
Even though this list of 20 exhortations can seem overwhelming at first sight, it does seem that the various commands can be addressed in specific groups. This does not lessen the strictness of the commands, but it does help us process them a bit better.
The first group of exhortations Paul gives relates to the way the Thessalonians should interact with their leaders. Though Paul never explicitly uses the word “elder” or “pastor,” it is clear that this sort of person is in his mind by the description he gives of them as “those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you” (5:12). Before looking at Paul’s specific exhortations, it is critical to understand this description of church leadership. The pastor(s) of a church are not CEO’s looking to create a profitable and successful institution. Rather, they are those given to “labor among you.” They should not be lazy or idle. They are also “over you in the Lord.” It is crucial for the church to understand that pastors are given by God as shepherds of the flock to keep watch over that flock. They are in a position of authority in the church - to the extent that the author of Hebrews told his readers to obey and submit to their leaders (Heb. 13:17). And Paul also makes clear that these leaders are to “admonish you.” This is important because it highlights the fact that the leaders of God’s people are responsible, even commanded, to confront those who are in sin or error. Rather than being an invasion of personal privacy, such confrontation is necessary and expected of the leaders of the church. This is a wonderful picture of a biblical leader: he is a man who labors diligently among God’s people, keeping watch over them and caring for them and even rebuking them as necessary because he recognizes that he has been placed over them by the Lord – the Chief Shepherd.
With those assumptions in mind regarding the church’s leadership, Paul’s exhortations to the Thessalonians are very specific: “respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and…esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves” (5:12-13). It is clear that Paul expects the Thessalonians to hold a very high opinion of those who serve as their leaders. They are commanded to respect them and esteem them in love. If nothing else, this means that the church is supposed to think well of their leaders. Rather than deriding them or speaking ill of them to others, they should praise them. Rather than refusing to listen to them, they should heed their teaching and their correction because they understand that those leaders are laboring as those who will give an account. If a person is unable or unwilling to respect and esteem their leaders, there is sin in at least one (and possibly both) of the parties. Paul also closes this section saying, “Brothers, pray for us” (5:25). Though Paul is asking for prayer for himself and not the leadership of the church, we must recognize the unique situation in which Paul found himself. He was very much a leader of this new church – hence the letter to them in the first place! So, alongside respect and esteem, the church should earnestly and fervently pray for its leaders. Personally, I believe that I can commend you in this regard as those who truly do respect and esteem your leaders in love – even at times when we may not be respectable or “esteemable.” I know you pray for us because you make that clear to us often. Thank you for your obedience in this area, and I exhort you to obey more and more. It is a direct command of Scripture that the Church respect her leaders and be at peace with them. This is a specific way to live as we ought to live and to please God.
Interacting with those who are struggling (14)
The next set of exhortations Paul gives relates specifically to interactions with the rest of the body. He begins by addressing the way we should interact with those who are struggling as he writes, “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (5:14). Here we have a series of people that, no doubt, can test our faith and our love.
The first person is one Paul has addressed before in 4:11-12 – the idle person. This person who is unwilling to work and also seems to use their spare time meddling in the business of others and being a busybody is to be admonished. There is a place for loving and stern rebuke among the people of God, and the person who is idle should receive such a rebuke.
The second person is the fainthearted person who is fearful and wavering because they are struggling in the midst of suffering or opposition. To these, Paul says that our response should be encouragement. We should point this person to Christ and to the hope that they possess in Him. We should encourage them to persevere because they have been redeemed by the Lord who has given them life and the promise of an everlasting Kingdom. We should encourage them to believe in the One who has snatched them out of darkness into the light and brought them from death to life.
The final group Paul addresses is the weak – those who, much like the fainthearted, are struggling because they lack the necessary strength or wisdom or ability in a particular area. To these, Paul says we should offer help so that their weakness might be addressed. The weakness of another brother or sister in Christ should not be ridiculed or exploited but addressed, and the responsibility falls not on someone else but on you.
Paul closes by exhorting his readers to “be patient with them all.” Though admonishing, encouraging and helping can at times be wearying and even frustrating, we should do these things with patience. Such patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) as well as a mark of genuine love (1 Cor. 13:4).
Interacting with those who have wronged you (15)
After addressing interactions with those who are struggling, Paul turns his attention to those who have been wronged and the way they should respond. He writes, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” This is a very simple instruction that could be very difficult to hear and carry out. Paul explicitly states that the one who has evil done against them should not retaliate. A Christian is never permitted to repay evil for evil. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, declared, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). Paul himself told the Romans, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Rom. 12:14). Interestingly, in that passage, Paul also makes clear that such a reaction is possible because Christians know that God will judge: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). Christians can refrain from responding to evil with evil because they trust the justice and righteousness of God.
But, just like in the Romans text, Paul does not stop at telling the Thessalonians to refrain from retaliating. He specifically instructs them to “always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” Rather than returning evil for evil, Paul urges them to do good to others. In Romans 12, Paul writes, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coal s on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:20-21). Paul is very clear that the Christian should not only refrain from something (doing evil) but also actively engage in something else (doing good). This is the essence of how Christians should interact with those who do evil to them. We should care for their needs and minister to them faithfully, so that they might see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
Interacting with the body in general (26)
Paul also addresses interactions with the body specifically in one of his closing verses as he writes, “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss” (5:26). Most likely, this sort of instruction seems very strange to us because we do not greet each other – unless married – by kissing. That was a part of Paul’s culture at the time. But even though the exact instruction is not for us, the essence of the instruction is clear: Paul is urging them to love one another and demonstrate that by their actions. In Paul’s mind, they should genuinely care for each other, and – because that is the case – they should demonstrate that by greeting each other with a holy kiss. Because of their common bond in the faith, they are tied together and their love for one another should be obvious.
This same reality is true of us. Even though we would not demonstrate affection by kissing each other, we should love one another. John goes so far as to declare that our love for each other proves whether our salvation is genuine: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14). And this love should be demonstrated in action rather than existing only in word because the way other people know we follow Christ is because of our love for each other: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). We should love each other, and the world should know us as those who love each other.
Joy (16)
The next group of exhortations Paul gives deal with some specific attitudes that should characterize the individuals that make up the Church. Once again, while these exhortations may be easy to understand, they are more difficult to follow. First, Paul tells them, “Rejoice always” (5:16). Just as we saw earlier with patience, joy is a particular fruit of the Spirit in the lives of believers. For those who have hoped in Christ and been redeemed, the abiding attitude of their hearts should be one of joy. Paul also instructed the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). This is not to be confused with a mere emotion of happiness because true joy runs much deeper than mere emotion. This is an abiding attitude of contentment, hope and joy in the circumstances God has brought about. And for those who are believers, there is always sufficient fuel for joy. Even the heart of Paul’s exhortation in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 is that genuine mourning for believers who have died contains an element of joy as we look forward to the resurrection. James told his readers, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3). At root, the joy that should characterize every Christian’s life stems from the incredible redemption that we have experienced in Jesus Christ. As Jesus told His own disciples, “rejoice that your names are written in the heaven” (Luke 10:20).
Prayerfulness (17)
The next exhortation Paul gives is equal in comprehensiveness to its predecessor: “Pray without ceasing” (5:17). Once again, this is a common theme of Paul’s letters. He told the Romans: “be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12). He exhorts the Ephesians to be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph. 6:18). He also tells the Colossians, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2). Every Christian should possess a general attitude of prayerfulness. Once again, we must not misunderstand this exhortation to mean that we must always pray and do nothing else. Rather, for Christians who have the Holy Spirit living within them, we should realize that we have constant and immediate access to the throne of grace. Moreover, we should regularly and continually make use of that access. If something wonderful happens, our first response should be to pray and thank God. If we hear of a brother or sister who is struggling, we should immediately pray for them. If we sin, we should immediately pray and repent. We should be praying constantly about everything. Moreover, we should be diligent in our prayers. Jesus’ story to his disciples in Luke 18 uses the picture of a nagging old woman as the paradigm example of the way we should behave toward God in prayer. God will not grow impatient with us, so we should nag and nag, pleading with the Lord continually until he answers our request. Christians should be characterized by prayerfulness.
Thankfulness (18a)
The final instruction Paul gives in this section regarding attitudes is to “give thanks in all circumstances” (5:18a). For Christians, this is a logical outworking of our faith. In the Christian worldview, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). This being the case, it makes sense for us to always thank the giver of the gift rather than merely delighting in the gift itself. As Christians, we should never receive anything without realizing that it has come to us from God. As a result, we should not merely rejoice in the gift but thank the giver. Moreover, Paul makes clear that we should give thanks in all circumstances. We should thank God for everything that comes our way because we know that He is good and he intends everything that comes to us for our good (Rom. 8:28). As Paul told the Ephesians, we should be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). We, as individuals and as a body, should be characterized by thankfulness.
This is God’s will (18b)
Interestingly, Paul closes this section by emphatically declaring, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (5:18b). Once again, amid all the discussion regarding knowing God’s will in our world, Paul is clear that God’s will can be known in this area. It is God’s will for us to be joyful, prayerful and thankful. May we be found faithful.
Do not quench the Spirit (19)
The next set of exhortations Paul gives relate specifically to the Word of God. He writes, “Do not quench the Spirit” (5:19). Particularly within Baptist circles, there is a tendency to neglect the third person of the Trinity when, in reality, He is as vital as the Father and the Son. Moreover, we must never forget the crucial role the Spirit plays in teaching us truth. Jesus told His disciples that the Spirit was being given to “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is indispensable in helping us understand truth and know God. We must never begin to think (even unwittingly) that we can open the Bible and understand its truth on our own. If it were not for the Spirit’s work in our hearts and minds, we would reject the truth and be unable to understand any of it. This was Paul’s message to the Corinthians: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12). The Spirit is essential in this process, and if we quench his work, we will fail to rightly know God.
That said, we should also be careful about assuming the Spirit’s work will always take a particular form – as if the Spirit is only at work if there is miraculous manifestation of his presence through tongues, healing, or the like. We must be careful to avoid ditches on both sides of this road, because when a person reads the Bible and the truth of the Scriptures moves their heart to rejoice in the Lord or repent of sin or cry out to the Lord for grace and help in time of need, the Holy Spirit is actively at work. When a person preaches the Word and those who hear are convicted or encouraged, the Holy Spirit is actively at work.
Do not despise prophecies (20-22)
Paul, in context, immediately connects the quenching of the Spirit with the despising of prophecies as he writes, “Do not despise prophecies” (5:20). It seems most likely that Paul is not speaking of prophecies found within the pages of recognized Scripture but of words of knowledge that various people claimed to have from God. Interestingly, Paul’s advice is not to completely ignore such things. He is very clear that such words of knowledge should not be ridiculed or ignored. Paul is recognizing something that he makes clear in other letters as well: prophecy is a legitimate gift of the Holy Spirit. Romans 12:6-8 says, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” Paul provides a similar list in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 which identifies prophecy as a legitimate gift. Recognizing this, Paul is clear that such prophecies should not be dismissed offhand or ridiculed.
That said, Paul also makes clear that prophecies should not be uncritically accepted as sure words from God. He writes, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (5:20-22). Rather than accepting everything, Paul exhorts his readers to test everything. The Biblical example of this is the Bereans of Acts 17 who Luke tells us “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Rather than assuming Paul and Silas were speaking the truth, they searched the Scriptures themselves. In the same way, we should test all prophecies and claims of knowledge against the Scriptures. We must recognize that prophecy is real and is a genuine gift from God. We must also recognize that there is such a thing as false prophecy. We must test everything and, as Paul makes clear, hold fast whatever is good while abstaining from every form of evil. By the Spirit’s guidance and the guidance of the Word, we must do our best to discern the truth.
Rightly cherish the true Word of God (27)
One final note Paul gives regarding God’s Word is actually a reference to His own letter. He writes, “I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers” (5:27). Though the connection between his previous words regarding testing prophecy and these words regarding his own letter may not have been as explicit in Paul’s own mind, we now recognize that Paul’s letter is part of the Scriptures we use to test everything. On some level, Paul recognized that his letter carried authority and weight, and he wanted all the brothers to hear his instruction and be built up. In the same way, if we are going to rightly test everything as well as know what we should believe and how we should live, we must uphold the word of God faithfully. It is our guide and source for truth. The only way we can know God is by knowing Jesus (John 14:6), and the only way we can know Christ is through the Scriptures.
Having walked through all of these many exhortations, we could very well be feeling overwhelmed. We might be tempted, like Paul, to cry out, “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16). Thankfully, Paul does not end simply by giving the exhortations. He also expresses his confidence that the Lord will bring about the people’s obedience to the commands.
The need for God’s grace (23, 28)
After laying out the exhortations, Paul prays, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:23). In this short statement, Paul is acknowledging the need for God’s grace if the people are going to be holy and blameless. This is also Paul’s reason for closing the letter by writing, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (5:28). This obviously does not negate the responsibility of Paul’s hearers to obey, because he just gave them specific, concrete exhortations that he expected them to obey. But here we see Paul recognizing that if God does not sanctify them and keep them, then their labors are in vain. Paul expressed a similar thought to the Philippians as he wrote, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). Paul is very clear that we are responsible to obey, but he also understands the absolute necessity of God’s grace to make that happen. Therefore, he prays that God would sanctify them and keep them holy until Jesus Christ returns. Without such grace, we will never make it.
He will surely do it (24)
But can we be sure that God will actually give the grace we need? Absolutely. After praying that God would keep them and sanctify them, Paul writes, “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (5:24). Paul, after making clear that they need God’s grace to obey, makes clear that God will give it. After making clear that they must be holy, he makes clear that God will make them holy. After praying that God might keep and preserve them until Jesus returns, he makes clear his confidence that God will do that very thing. Paul is confident that God will make the Thessalonians holy and keep them safe.
But how can Paul be so sure? It is because he knew his God and he knew the truth. He knew that God had chosen His people in Christ before the foundations of the world for the very purpose of being holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4). He knew that Jesus gave His life for the Church for the very purpose of presenting her holy and blameless (Eph. 5:26-27). He knew that the God who predestined them had called them and justified them and would surely glorify them (Rom. 8:30). He knew that God ultimately saved a people not for their names’ sake but for His own names’ sake. He knew that God would never let His name be ridiculed by failing to make the Church holy. In the same way, we can be confident of God’s work in our lives and the lives of others. The One who has called us is faithful and He will surely do it. The Church will be pure and holy, without spot or blemish because God will do it.
For those of us who are believers, this is a glorious reality. As we come to the table, we can rejoice in the glorious death and resurrection of our Lord that has made our redemption possible. We (hopefully) readily recognize our own failures. But the glorious message of the gospel is that God the Son took on flesh and lived the perfect life we could never live so that he could die the sacrificial death that we deserved so that we could have live. Such a reality is mind-boggling and heart-changing, so let us rejoice in coming to the table. Let us go forth as those who have trusted in Christ and been changed. Let us go forth in confidence that the One who called us is Faithful and will surely sanctify us and keep us until Jesus returns. Amen.