Consistency and Spiritual Maturity

Introduction

Beginning in 1 Thess. 5:13, Paul gives a series of 15 commands.

Thus far, we have seen seven of them.

Now they will come in rapid succession.

They all will fit within the framework of the letter.

As believers, we can live in different ways:

Indifferent: it does not really mean that much to us.

Hopeless, tired, and resentful: toward one another and, worse, toward God.

Filled with joyful, prayerful, and thankful.

This latter is an indication of spiritual maturity.

Consistent Joy

Paul admonishes the Thessalonians to “always be rejoicing.”

How do we define joy?

In this case, it is not a superficial happiness.

It is something more than feeling good about ourselves and about God.

It is not an acted out excitement.

It is the opposite of resentment and bitterness toward God out of a sense of undeserved tribulation.

Consistent joy: at a minimum, this requires a mature perspective.

It is too easy for us to become focused on our momentary troubles.

For many, it is easy to let troubles breed resentment and anger.

Few have the ability to look beyond the moment at a greater, transcendent reality.

Joy enables something other than an instinctual reaction to the worst possible situation and to do so with the best possible attitude, especially toward God.

Joy is a spiritual fruit.

We are able to rejoice in the Lord because we know:

His character (Phil. 4:4).

He will fulfill the promise of Jesus’ return.

Jesus is alive (see John 16:20-22).

1 Peter 1:3-9

Consistent Prayer

This is the “alarm” indicator that something may be going wrong in our spiritual lives.

Consistent, or unwavering prayer, was an important part of Jesus’ own teaching.

Paul follows Jesus here.

Lk. 18:1-8.

Not the exact language between Lk. 18:1 and 1 Thess. 5:17.

Jesus also states that the opposite of praying is fainting, getting to the point of exhaustion that one is willing to walk away from the faith (see Lk. 18:8).

Paul exhorts the Thessalonians not to stop praying, not to give up.

Thanksgiving in All Situations

It is easy to be thankful when things are going well.

We like to “count our blessings.”

Notice how this one, too, is the opposite of being filled with anger and resentment.

It is natural to our fallen state not to be thankful to God for his person (see Ro. 1).

Thanksgiving is a spiritual virtue that comes from knowing God through Christ as savior and through the work of God’s spirit.

Consider the incongruence between the Thessalonians’ situation and this, as well as the other, commands.

Paul cannot be asking for a thanksgiving for what they have, but for continual thanks to God in spite of what they have.

This is the opposite of embittered resentfulness.

Col. 1:9-12.

Spiritual Discernment not Hardened Skepticism

For the first time, Paul gives two negative commands.

They appear to go together to give us some direction for how he meant the Thessalonians to understand his instruction.

Be not quenching, i.e. causing to cease.

Be not despising where the term Paul uses mans “to despise someone or something on the basis that it is worthless or of no value.”

What he refers to is not an arbitrary claim to Spirit leadership through one’s feelings and emotions.

We also know from 1 Corinthians 14 that a church is not supposed to become a chaotic free-for-all.

It could be that, in the case of the Thessalonians, the presence of false teachers might have resulted in a built in skepticism toward claimed prophecy that had hindered their proper adherence to the faith.

Paul intends for them either not to start, or if started, not to carry on “quenching the spirit.”

We have to be careful to guard against becoming a congregation that is no longer open to God’s word.

Notice the bluntness of the command in 1 Thess. 5:20.

What seems to be possible is this: the Thessalonians had developed such a skepticism, or Paul was concerned they might, that they saw the Word of God as having little value at all.

The application for us would be not to be so skeptical of Bible interpretation that we refuse to listen at all.

The issue here is not information but how to handle the introduction of new information. This calls for discernment.

1 Thess. 5:21-22 gives the Thessalonians instructions how to handle the introduction of new information.

We are to be seekers of the truth. We want to learn the truth.

This implies we realize we do not have a complete handle on the truth.

In order to learn, we must be open to additional information.

Being open to new information, however, is not the same thing as being gullible.

Conclusion

How well are our lives characterized by these spiritual characteristics instead of our sinful, Adamic ones?

Paul’s letter would not even permit an interpretation of being embittered and resentful toward the city for its treatment of the Thessalonians.

Instead, these actions, especially directed toward God, are to be the perspective of true believers.