Words for the Wise, Encourage each other to remain Strong, 1 Thessalonians 5

1 Thessalonians 5

New Century Version (NCV)

Be Ready for the Lord’s Coming

5 Now, brothers and sisters, we do not need to write you about times and dates. ² You know very well that the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief that comes in the night. ³ While people are saying, “We have peace and we are safe,” they will be destroyed quickly. It is like pains that come quickly to a woman having a baby. Those people will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not living in darkness, and so that day will not surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all people who belong to the light and to the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness.

⁶ So we should not be like other people who are sleeping, but we should be alert and have self-control. ⁷ Those who sleep, sleep at night. Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But we belong to the day, so we should control ourselves. We should wear faith and love to protect us, and the hope of salvation should be our helmet. ⁹ God did not choose us to suffer his anger but to have salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ Jesus died for us so that we can live together with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. ¹¹ So encourage each other and give each other strength, just as you are doing now.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹² Now, brothers and sisters, we ask you to appreciate those who work hard among you, who lead you in the Lord and teach you. ¹³ Respect them with a very special love because of the work they do.

Live in peace with each other. ¹⁴ We ask you, brothers and sisters, to warn those who do not work. Encourage the people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to do what is good for each other and for all people.

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Pray continually, ¹⁸ and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecy as if it were unimportant. ²¹ But test everything. Keep what is good, ²² and stay away from everything that is evil.

²³ Now may God himself, the God of peace, make you pure, belonging only to him. May your whole self—spirit, soul, and body—be kept safe and without fault when our Lord Jesus Christ comes. ²⁴ You can trust the One who calls you to do that for you.

²⁵ Brothers and sisters, pray for us.

²⁶ Give each other a holy kiss when you meet. ²⁷ I tell you by the authority of the Lord to read this letter to all the believers.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

NIV Application Commentary

Congregational Responsibilities Toward God (5:16–18)

In 5:16–18 Paul turns from instructions covering attitudes and actions toward fellow believers and other human beings to instructions dealing with attitudes toward God. Whereas 4:3 established “holiness” as God’s will with respect to individual behaviour, here three closely connected imperatives (5:18b goes with all three commands, not just the last one in the series) spell out “God’s will in Christ Jesus” for the Thessalonians as a community.

With regard to the command to “rejoice always” (nrsv; cf. Phil. 4:4), “the emphasis on joy is not so much on the experience of joy, but the active expression of it.” Thus the translation “rejoice” (nrsv, nasb), which makes it clear that an action or attitude is involved, is preferable to “be joyful” (niv), which misleadingly suggests more an emotional state. Though the basis for joy is not indicated here, the earlier references in the letter to joy (1:6; 2:19–20; 3:9) make it clear that the basis is God’s activity and work among his people.

In urging the Thessalonians to “pray” and to “give thanks” (5:17–18a), Paul is giving advice he himself modelled (cf. 1:2; also 2:13; 3:9–10, 11–13; 5:23; 2 Thess. 1:3, 11; 2:13, 16–17). Similar encouragement to pray occurs in several letters (cf. Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 2 Thess. 3:1). For “continually” (cf. 1 Thess. 1:3; 2:13), “persevere in prayer” (Rom. 12:12, nrsv) gives the sense.

Giving thanks (5:18) is another common command or theme (cf. Rom. 14:6; 1 Cor. 14:16; 2 Cor. 1:11; 4:15; 9:11; Eph. 5:4, 20; Phil. 4:6; Col. 2:7; 3:17). Like the command to rejoice, it is deeply rooted in Paul’s theology, that is, his understanding about God. Because he was convinced that in any and all circumstances God was at work on behalf of his people (Rom. 8:28), he could therefore urge the Thessalonians to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18). This was so even if the circumstances involved the death of a believer because, even though death was an awful reality, it was not the last word or act (cf. Rom. 8:31–39). The last word or act belongs to God, and it is resurrection and life. Thus for Paul, both rejoicing and giving thanks become forms of worship or praise of God.

From NIVAC: 1 & 2 Thessalonians by Michael W. Holmes. Published by Zondervan Academic.

The Bible Panorama

1 Thessalonians 5

V 1–3: SUDDEN SURPRISE When the world least expects Christ, and when it is said that peace and safety has come, Jesus will return ‘as a thief in the night’. This is as sure to happen as the labour of a pregnant woman will bring forth birth. 

V 4–11: WAKEFUL WATCH The world is not prepared for that. Christians should be ready and waiting for the coming of the Lord. Preparation for this event involves living a sober life characterised by faith, love, assurance of salvation, comforting one another, and building one another up in the faith. Christians, whether sleeping the sleep of death or awake at Christ’s coming, rejoice that He died for them and that they will be together with Him. Salvation, not wrath, awaits them. This knowledge comforts those worried about the salvation of Christians who have died. 

V 12–22: WISE WORDS Paul then exhorts the Thessalonians in different practical matters. We see in these that true spirituality is always translated into practical living, working on good relationships with others, turning from evil, rejoicing, prayer, honouring God’s Spirit, Christian discernment, and submitting to God with thankfulness for who He is and what He has done. 

V 23–24: COMPLETE CONSECRATION Paul prays that God will sanctify the Christians completely in spirit, soul and body, so that they are ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus who is faithful to them.

 V 25–28: GRACIOUS GREETINGS Paul’s greetings include a request for prayer, a holy kiss for them all, an instruction to read the letter to everyone, and the desire that they will know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ with them.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.