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.
