Paul concludes his first letter to the ecclesia of Thessalonian with words of strength to continue the struggle and persevere until the day of Christ’s return. How appropriate that we can find the same exact lesson nearly two millennia later. Paul, believing in the possibility of the Son’s return in his own lifetime (1 Thess 4:15), would have made it his main ambition to encourage and lead as many to salvation as he could in the limited time he had. The letter to the Thessalonian ecclesia shows just that. How thrilling would it have been to receive a hand written letter from the Apostle Paul in which his prime purpose for writing was to zealously remind them that the Lord’s return was imminent! Paul stresses to the brothers and sisters the difference between a God-fearing individual and a world-serving one. He uses the analogy of light and darkness, an echo ringing throughout Scripture, of the seed of the woman warring against the seed of the serpent. Paul concludes his letter with instructions to the Thessalonians on how to remain upright and righteous in the last days.
The lesson is no different for us, who truly are only moments away from Christ’s triumphant return where he will resurrect those of Thessalonian and all others who have fallen asleep in him, and after “we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord” will join with them for that glorious occasion. As we dive into the final chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, let us bear in mind the application for us.
The return of the Son
Paul begins the final chapter with words of irony and rebuke. Paul had spent much of his time teaching to them matters of prophecy and things concerning the coming of the Lord and that subject still occupies most of their time. He starts with the words times and seasons. Two fairly similar words in the Greek — times (kronos) and seasons (kairos). Kronos denotes an interval or length of time. Kairos on the other hand means a setting, and it’s suitability for an event. In this context, he is referring to the length of time until the return of Christ, and what the times will be like. Christ had indeed already warned the 12 apostles at his ascension the fruitlessness of trying to calculate the exact moment (Acts 1:7). Paul goes on to rebuke the Thessalonians by saying “ye have no need that I write unto you”. He had spent enough conversation on the topic of prophecy, and Paul tries to convey to the ecclesia that they needed to be more worried about their lives in the Truth than the exact time of Christ’s arrival. He continues the discussion into the next verse where his emphasis is on the suddenness and unexpected nature of the return. Still speaking with a touch of irony, the apostle states, “For yourselves know perfectly”. Indeed they did. As already stated, Paul emphasized enough on the subject in his visit, yet here they are still chasing a question without an achievable answer. Now, we can clearly see the problem with this, but it is important to take a step back and look at our lives. The same lesson that this ecclesia had to learn must be learned by us. We cannot obsess over insolvable riddles, and spend our time with figures and dates: instead our labor must be that of a patient servant. Let us look at the signs of the times for encouragement and motivation, but at the same time, sharpen each other and keep our lamps trimmed and full of oil for the time of which only our God in heaven knows, but which he will shortly reveal to His Son.
Paul refers to this day as the “day of the Lord” as we continue in the second verse. So many times does this phrase occur that it may have lost its power. It is a day that is almost here, a day in which Christ will come to this earth once more and begin the work of filling it with his Father’s glory. This day, as Paul describes it, will come “as a thief in the night”. Night is the time of slumber, a time of bewilderment and confusion, a time which people imagine as a time of “peace and safety”. It is a time that Scripture always uses in context of servants who have been instructed to watch. A thief strikes at night, when those who are not prepared will not see what the thief has done, until it is too late. It fits perfectly with those of us waiting. How many of us truly are prepared for Christ’s return, how many of us, at the day of the Lord, will be ready and waiting? The words of Christ ring true: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments” (Rev 16:15). Paul was worried about the budding ecclesia in Thessalonian and was encouraging them to stay on the path toward the kingdom and not stray. When our lives get a little too comfortable, this is the time of danger, this is the time the apostle warns us of — it is a time similar to childbirth. An expectant mother does not know when labor may begin but she does know it is about to happen. The event is inevitable, and a mother who is ill-prepared is in great danger.
Walk in the light and be prepared
The next set of verses is a reminder and a warning to the ecclesia of Thessalonian and to us to stay separate from the evils of this world, and be of the light. Scripture uses the examples of light and darkness over and over to demonstrate how that which is good is the complete opposite from that which is evil. Paul again brings in the analogy of the thief. He tells them that they should have no excuse to be caught by surprise in the night by the thief. He calls them “the children of light, and the children of the day,” as opposed to children of the night who are of darkness and of whom the thief will overtake. Those who are of the night, find themselves all too often “asleep” or unprepared. This is the last position Paul wants this new ecclesia to find themselves in. Instead he instructs them to “watch and be sober”. The word sober has a meaning of “to be in control of one’s own self”. The brothers and sisters were not in any way supposed to be drunk with intoxicating thoughts and actions of the world.
To defend against these things Paul goes on to say that those who have not fallen into darkness must put on “the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation”. The breastplate and helmet were the two most important pieces of armor a soldier could wear. Protecting the head and the critical organs of the chest, a soldier with these pieces of armor had a much greater chance of victory.
In the same context, he gives the three vital characteristics and defenses of a soldier in Christ. “Faith, hope, and love,” an echo from other Scriptures and also an echo from the beginning of this letter (1 Thess 1:3). Having put on faith, hope, and love, the soldier of Christ will escape the wrath to come and to rather “obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ”(v. 9). The gift of salvation is in no wise something that can be earned. As the apostle stresses here, it is a gift that was only made possible by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul ends this section with strengthening words of comfort. He states that it was because of this sacrifice that those who have died will join those who are alive, and together they will live with their Savior. Verse 11 concludes the section with words that ring just as true now as they did then: “comfort yourselves together, and edify one another”. What encouraging words from Paul to us! Take comfort in the thought that Christ is nearly here. Strengthen and edify your brothers and sisters in these final days.
Final remarks and responsibilities
Paul’s final section of the letter is a list of instructions and responsibilities of which the new ecclesia needed to adhere to as they waited with great anticipation their Lord’s return. Looking at verse 12 now, we have the apostle beseeching the brethren. He turns his emotions to a plea now, instead of a command. He begs the ecclesia to admire and support the brethren who lead them. Paul refers to these leaders as “laborers”. They did have positions of leadership and power, but the ecclesia was to respect these people for their laboring in the truth. And through the support they were to give and their admonition and love, the laboring leaders would continue to labor and continue to serve the ecclesia.
As we move into verse 14, Paul begins his list of responsibilities. As his letter was coming to an end, he saved the most vital lessons for last. He wanted the ecclesia of Thessalonian to remember these duties and these responsibilities first and foremost. Just as we would finish a letter with the wrap-up comments to sum up what we had written, so Paul does the same. If they were to get anything from the letter, here is what would be most beneficial to themselves on their walk, and to their new ecclesia as they together waited for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first duty in verse 14 states “warn them that are unruly”. Unruly brothers and sisters would be counterproductive in the ecclesia. He warns them to counsel those brethren who try to halt the work, stir up trouble, or gossip one among one another. If the ecclesia was to progress, these brothers and sisters needed to be warned against this kind of action. “Comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men” or “comfort the fainthearted, support those who are struggling in the faith, and show patience toward all”. Paul is trying to get the entire ecclesia involved in this building up of the spiritual household. Those who are new to the truth, those who have difficulties, or those who find certain beliefs confusing — these are the people whom Paul encourages the stronger members of the ecclesia to search out and comfort. Continuing into verse 15, Paul instructs the ecclesia that they don’t repay evil for evil to any man, which included those not in the ecclesia. Verses 16-22 include some straightforward lessons for the brothers and sisters. “Rejoice evermore.” As this new ecclesia began growing, it was a time of great excitement. Paul warns them, though, that tough times lay ahead. Even through these tough times, they were told to rejoice. What a lesson for us! In our world today, rarely do things go the way we would like them to go, yet, these issues are insignificant in the grand view of things. “Pray without ceasing.” A servant of God must live his life as if he is God’s presence at all times. To pray without ceasing is impossible, but the lesson is the same. We are always seen of God, and to lose communication with him is the same as straying in our walk. “In everything give thanks.” We often find ourselves neglecting to thank our Father enough. He has indeed given us every single thing. Paul here, though, is stressing the fact that not only are we supposed to give God thanks for the things we enjoy, but also for the things that cause us grief or trial. For these issues are the things that straighten us out and keep us in the way. “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings.” In the ecclesial life in Paul’s day, there were the apostles — and Paul himself — who had the power of the Holy Spirit and the gift of prophesying. Paul urges them to stand up to those Pharisees, scribes, and elders who would want to ban such acts. Paul states that the Holy Spirit should not be quenched but rather respected. “Prove all things.” They were commanded to prove whether these Holy Spirit gifts were genuine or false. Many people may have tried to imitate these miracles and would have drawn away brethren from the Truth. The lesson can be tied to our lives as well. Search out the Scriptures for yourself. In these final days, we have to watch for the wolves in sheep’s clothing trying to take us away from the flock. “Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” Humanism is a deadly religion that is creeping into our ecclesias and threatening to violently rip them apart. We can witness this all around. Paul saw this coming in his time and it is certainly true in our time as well. We have been warned and instructed to hold fast to that which is right. Do not let the purity of the Truth slip away. Hold on to it and do not let this go. He goes so far as to say, stay away from any appearance of evil. Eternal life in service to our father is not something that should be toyed with.
The conclusion
As Paul inserts the final words into his first letter to Thessalonian, he chooses his words with the utmost of care. Here is an ecclesia that is just learning and developing; these words from the apostle would be the very words of encouragement they needed to get through the rugged road ahead. “The very God of peace;” just as Paul opened his letter in verse 1, so he concludes it with “peace”. Knowing that a time of peace was promised to them that believe, the war in ourselves may more easily be won. “And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here we have the spirit, soul, and body, all acting together. The spirit (pneuma) is the mind of the believer, the soul (psuche) is the individual and their personal psyche, and the body (soma) is the shell that contains our “soul” and our “mind”. It is the dust that makes up our carcass. Our entire being must remain holy until Christ returns. Christ will judge us according to how all three parts have acted. A servant will not be accepted into the Kingdom if his soul and body have somehow remained separate but his spirit has indulged in the immorality of the world. Our entire being must remain steadfast until the coming of His Kingdom.
Moving to verse 25, “Brethren, pray for us”. There is no argument against Paul being an extraordinary brother, but he, just as we all, needed strength and guidance in the remaining years of his life. Just as he no doubt prayed for every single ecclesia, so he asked for their prayers as well. “Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.” A kiss is a deeper sign of appreciation. The brothers and sisters were now a family in their Lord. “This epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.” Paul included so many lessons in his letter. Lessons for the righteous, the unrighteous, the knowledgeable and the young, the dedicated and also the unmotivated. Having this letter read to all would put the brethren in the ecclesia on common grounds. They would have guidance for difficult situations — situations Paul knew would arise in the future. As these same situations arise in our ecclesias, may we also look to the Scriptures for the answers instead of our own personal beliefs or opinions or emotions. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” Nearly identical to the words he began with, so he ends. The grace which has been granted each and every one of us, may we not take it for granted, but instead live our lives in accordance with the Word of God — so that in that day, “we which are alive and remain” may live and reign with our Lord Jesus Christ for the Kingdom age.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One