How do you usually end your letters to others? By wishing them well? Maybe you remind them of your love for them? Maybe by saying something to the tune of “May God bless you…” This is exactly how Paul ends his letter to the Thessalonian church. However, before he does that we see him giving a list of exhortations to the church, and this is what we are going to look at today as we wrap up this study in 1 Thessalonians.
(A) 13 Commands for Sanctification (1 Thess 5:12-22)
We are at the end of this epistle, and it is important for us to recap the big themes in this letter.
Paul has covered these before, and some of these themes are also drawn upon when he wraps up the letter.
1 Thess 5:12-22 contains 13 commands that Paul gives to the Thessalonians
1. Respect and esteem in love those who labour among you, and are over you in Christ to admonish you (1 Thess 5:12-13a)
We often struggle with submitting to the authority that God has placed in our lives. At work, we struggle with our bosses. At home, we might struggle with our parents. We often think we know better and are actually better than those in authority over us
The word here for “over” means to rule, to be at the head of”, hence this is speaking about our church leaders/elders. They are the ones who admonish/warn us. We are to respect and esteem our elders very highly in love because of their work of labour in serving/leading God’s community.
How often have we been frustrated with our leaders in church? We think we know better, and can do better than them in different areas of ministry. We often rather hear worldly advice than from our leaders.
How can we respect and esteem our elders in love? We remember that they are labouring for our sake, leading us to love Christ more. Paul is calling us to appreciate and love them. When was the last time you cared for your leaders in church and showed your appreciation for their work?
We can also love them by praying for and with them. We saw the love and concern with which Paul yearns for the Thessalonians in this letter. Paul is a picture of “those who labour among you”. We can only be thankful to have leaders like this who care and love us well (1 The 2:9).
2. Be at peace among yourselves (1 Thess 5:13b)
The extreme opposite of peace is war. Possibly, there are some disagreements within the Thessalonian church. Thus, Paul calls us to make peace with each other in the church. Paul calls us to take actions and not to just leave it alone.
How often have we not sought peace with others after disagreements? We would rather avoid them. Some of us just “peace out” and just not talk to the people we have an issue with. We recall that the Thessalonians were precisely those who practiced brotherly love, and they were urged to do this more and more (1 Thess 4:9-10).
3. Admonish the idle (1 Thess 5:14a)
The word for idle here means undisciplined or disorderly. Work was part of God’s design in Gen 2:15. In fact, Paul has already urged the Thessalonians in 1 Thess 4:9-12 to work with their hands, so that they might walk properly before non-believers and be dependent on no one.
Christians are not to be idle, we cannot be shirking our responsibilities. How have we tried to avoid work?
4. Encourage the fainthearted (1 Thess 5:14b)
The fainthearted could be those anxious from their affliction and suffering as Christians or about the deaths (1 Th 3:3-4, 4:13). We are to encourage the ones who are fainthearted.
Encouragement means to come alongside these who are disheartened by some circumstance or experience
5. Help the weak, be patient with them all (1 Thess 5:14c)
Help the weak calls us to look out for those are burdened with something. We must be on the look out for those who need help. We should try to offer practical help.
With all of them (the idle, the fainthearted, and the weak), we are to be patient. Helping others always require patience since it will require time, effort, energy, and sacrifice. We might not see immediate results, but will we continue to show love? Do you see these people in your churches? What do you do for them?
6. Do not repay evil for evil, but seek to do good to one another and everyone (1 Thess 5:15)
We are never to repay evil for evil. This is a tough thing to do, to not seek revenge.
Christians are told even to go one step further to seek the good of those who does evil to them (Rom 12:19-21, Matt 5:43-44). This means that we cannot just avoid people we do not like, or people who wrong us. We have to seek their good. We are to show them kindness This applies even to those outside the church In all of this, we know that we have a fair Judge who will do justice for all the wrongs we face
7. Rejoice always (1 Thess 5:16)
Christians are called to rejoice always. Joy is a mark of Christian life and a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Therefore, Christians can find reasons to be joyful in all seasons of life. In fact, Christians have an ultimate hope of being with Christ to be joyful about. This was what Paul said in 1 Thess 4:17. Remember that the Thessalonians received the gospel in much affliction, but with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 1:6). The gospel that we have is good news even in the most trying of circumstances
8. Pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)
Prayer is a spirit of dependence on God. When we pray, we recognise how powerless we are but how powerful God is. We are to pray frequently and repeatedly. How often do we pray? What do we pray for? Recall what he prays for in 1 Thess 3: God to direct Paul and his companions to the Thessalonians, Christ to make them increase and abound in love for one another and all, and Christ to establish their hearts blameless in holiness.
9. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus (1 Thess 5:18)
Christians are to be thankful in all circumstances. We are more prone to grumbling and complaining than thanksgiving. Being thankless can be a symptom of a spiritual problem. Rom 1:21 tells us that those who reject God did not honour him nor give thanks to him. This is a tough one to follow. How can one give thanks in poor circumstances? We remember Christ who was in the poorest circumstance when he was going to the cross to die for our sins. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. Today, Christians too have ultimate hope in the glory that we will share with Christ.
Our light momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor 4:17). We know that our unfavourable circumstances are preparing us for Christ’s return. To be joyful, prayerful and thankful is what God wills for us in Christ. In Christ only, can we be able to live like this.
What have we seen Paul give thanks for? Throughout this book, we continually read of Paul giving thanks for the Thessalonians’ faith in God (1 Thess 1:2, 2:13). We can learn to love others by caring for their spiritual health like Paul did for the Thessalonians. Was Paul in the best of situations? Probably not, but that didn’t stop his thanksgiving that he mentions “constantly”. (Paul thanked God for their faith even though he was in poor circumstances.)
10. Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19)
It is important for us to first understand that the Spirit is our helper and He is the one who helps us live lives that are pleasing to God (John 14:16). This is command not to extinguish the Spirit. This means that we need to recognise the Spirit is working in our lives and we should not reject him.
We know that apart from the Holy Spirit causing us to believe in the gospel, the gospel would have meant nothing for us. The Thessalonians received the gospel in the Holy Spirit, and as we read earlier with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 1:5-6).
11. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything (1 Thess 5:20-21a)
This is the manner in which the Thessalonians are quenching the Spirit. 1 Cor 14:1 tells us that we are meant to desire the gift of prophecy. We have to be open to the disclosure of God’s will through fellow Christians exercising the gift of prophecy. However, we are told to test everything: this can apply even for our own lives as Christians where we have to test our own prophecies.
We can test it in several ways — check if it conforms to authoritative scriptural revelation, verify if it edifies or builds others up or we can even ask our elders in church. Paul in 1 Cor 14:37 tells us “if anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord”. You can test prophecies against the writings of the apostles, and that is exactly what we are reading today.
12. Hold fast what is good (1 Thess 5:21b)
We are to cling to what is good, probably in context of the prophecies. We are even to seek good to our enemies, hence good must permeate our lives.
13. Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thess 5:22)
We are to avoid every form of evil. Sin and evil are not to be toyed with. In fact, we must hate what is evil according to Rom 12:9. There must be a sharp rejection of what is evil.
(B) God’s Faithfulness in Sanctification (1 Thess 5:23-28)
Paul starts praying for the Thessalonians (! Thess 5:23). Paul prays for the God of peace to sanctify (make holy) them completely, i.e. that their whole being (spirit, soul, body) will be kept blameless at the coming of Jesus Christ. Paul previously prayed for Christ to make them increase and abound in love for one another and for all so that Christ may establish their hearts blameless in holiness before God the Father at the coming of Christ.
Why is blamelessness and holiness so important? Paul has already told them about the coming of Christ at the end of 1 Thess 4, and from there, we learn that everyone of us must come before Christ the judge (2 Cor 5:10). We will be given what is due us.
Once again, we are reminded of Paul’s priorities here, he is most concerned about their spiritual health and outcome than anything else. Are we looking for circumstantial change or are we concerned with being holy before God? How often have we prayed for spiritual outcomes for others? There is nothing more important than for God to sanctify us completely at the coming of Christ.
Paul ends off with an assurance and some closing remarks (1 Thess 5:24-28). Paul assures us and the Thessalonians that God is faithful. If he calls us to himself, he will surely sanctify us. The God who calls is the same God who sanctifies.
Does that mean that we don’t have to strive to live in holiness since God is faithful and will sanctify us? No, when we placed our faith in God to save us, he not only promises to justify us, he promises to sanctify us. Relying on God to save us is not only in justification (in being declared righteous before Him) but also in his sanctifying work, in making us more like Christ (Rom 8:29).
An easy way to see this is in how Paul prays in 1 Thess 3:11-13 where he prays for their love for one another and all to increase so that they might be established blameless in holiness. He prays for God to work in them right now, for them to increase in Christ-like love. Hence, God’s sanctifying work starts now, not only when Christ comes.
Why must God sanctify when he has called? Because that is his purpose in his calling (1 Thess 4:7, Rom 8:29). We can be assured that the God who calls is faithful, he will keep us blameless. John Piper puts it this way: “What gives us assurance in this matter is not primarily focusing on the measure of our holiness, but on the measure of God’s faithfulness to do the sanctifying work he promises to do”.
Paul calls us today to live lives that are quite different from what the world might tell us. It is in love that he has written these things, that they may become more and more like Christ. Instead of reading this list as a list of dos and don’ts, we know that we are not doing this list alone. As we we seek to please God and live in a manner worthy of our calling as Christians (Eph 4:1), we know God is working in us through his Spirit to make us more like his Son. At the coming of Christ, we know that God who is faithful will surely sanctify us completely.