1 Thessalonians SeriesPt 8

1 Thessalonians Series

Part 8

“Living in Light of His Return”

Last time we saw that the church has not been called to experience the wrath of God as it is revealed in The Book of Revelations. 5:9-10 “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.”

Indeed, each of the 5 chapters in 1 Thessalonians speaks of the imminence of Christ’s return:

Chapter 1 deals with “The Lord’s Coming: A Saving Truth (1:3-10)

Chapter 2 looks at “The Lord’s Coming: A Stimulating Truth (2:1-20)

Chapter 3 touches on “The Lord’s Coming: A Stabilizing Truth (3:1-13)

Chapter 4 involves “The Lord’s Coming: A Strengthening Truth” (4:1-18)

Chapter 5 explores “The Lord’s Coming: A Sanctifying Truth” (5:1-22)

Now this time we’re going to explore what the Bible says about how the Christian is to live in light of the Lord’s return. Paul closes out his letter with a series of exhortations. First, he addresses church leaders and what they do.

5:12 “Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.”

The properly appointed leaders of the local church are vested with authority. The church is not a dictatorship, and it is not a democracy; it is a theocracy. The Holy Spirit is the One that qualifies and calls people to roles of leadership (Acts 20:28).

These leaders are to be known; they are to be recognized, acknowledged, appreciated, and valued. Spiritual people will quickly recognize those whom God has raised up to evangelize, teach, and pastor the flock. Those who refuse to acknowledge such leadership label themselves as carnal.

1 Cor. 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

The scope and the sphere of the labors and authority of church leaders is spiritual. The characteristic of a true spiritual leader is that he labors. The word means “toil that results in weariness.” And their labor is in prayer and the Word of God.

Acts 6:3-4 “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Paul goes on to exhort: 5:13 “Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.”

In the book of Hebrews, the church is exhorted along this same vain: Heb.13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

5:14 “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.”

First, “Warn the unruly…”

Warn—exert positive pressure

Unruly—out of God’s order

The Holy Spirit here tells church leadership to exercise authority in a disciplinary fashion. This includes the solemn process of binding and loosing as found in Matt.18:15-20, which deals with the attempted restoration of a backslidden or erring brother.

If, in the final analysis, that person refuses the repeated attempts of the church to correct and restore him, he is to be excommunicated. This is the original meaning of the passage, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The church has the authority to excommunicate, but solely for the purpose of that person coming to their senses and experiencing restoration back into the fellowship. Paul said of the fallen brother in 1 Cor.5:4-5:

“…in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. 5 Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.”

When a person is removed from fellowship, he is thrust into the world which is what Paul means by being “turned over to Satan.” The hope is that he will repent and be restored as was the offender in 2 Corinthians.

2 Cor. 5:6-7 “This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.”

I believe that the average local church today is weak and divided because it has abandoned sound doctrine, and has lost the will and the power to carry out effective spiritual discipline. Instead, churches are catering to the sins of its members, even sanctioning them.

Next, Paul says “Comfort the fainthearted…”

Comfort—console

Fainthearted—literally; “those of little soul.” This speaks of the despondent, the dispirited. These are the opposite of the unruly. The unruly are too sure of themselves. But the despondent lack confidence in themselves. They can’t take criticism. Their feelings are easily hurt. They worry about the future. Speak with them, Paul says. Encourage them regularly.

Then, we are to “uphold the weak.”

Uphold—sustain

Weak—those without adequate strength. The dependent. The church is to care for them, stay close by, cleave to.

Be patient with all—patiently bear others, flaws and all. Be long-tempered in contrast to short-tempered. The church is a potpourri of different personalities, backgrounds, temperaments, and professions.

In fact, the church is one of the few places on earth where you will find such a mix of people under the same roof, all in different stages of spiritual development. Without longsuffering and patience, it would be a hot bed of conflict!

Paul goes on to write that, not only are people to be helped but there are principles to be held. 5:15 “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.”

God Almighty holds the corner on the vengeance market. In Romans He commands us, “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”

Peter added a promise to our obedience in this area: 1 Pet. 3:8-9 “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”

THAT WE MAY INHERIT A BLESSING!

We are to be like Jesus, not carnal man. And Jesus left all judgment and vengeance to God.

Paul’s pointed demands now become shorter and sharper than ever. He has a word to say about praise: “Rejoice evermore” (5:16). The Lord is coming. Rejoice! The praising person is the prevailing person. So never give up your praise.

Next, Paul mentions prayer: “Pray without ceasing” (5:17). The door to the throne room of the universe has been thrown wide open. Take full advantage! God says, “Come on in!” “Stay as long as you like.” “Talk about anything you like. I’m listening.” Pray at the bus stop. Pray in the elevator. Pray on the highway. Pray at all times.

Then, we are to be thankful: “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (5:18). There is always something for which to be thankful. He didn’t say FOR everything give thanks. He said IN everything.

The fact is that we might find ourselves in harsh circumstances, facing persecution, or pressured by events beyond our control. We can complain, worry, or rebel, or we can thank God that He is still on the throne and that He is too wise to make any mistakes, too loving to be unkind, and too powerful to be thwarted in His purposes for us (Ro.8:28).

Paul next has something to say about presumption: “Quench not the Spirit” (5:19). The Holy Spirit is a person. He can be resisted, grieved, and quenched. The unsaved can resist the Holy Spirit to their own destruction. Stephen said to the spiritual leaders of his day, “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you so always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51).

But believers on the other hand can grieve the Spirit. In Ephesians Paul wrote, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption” (4:30).

The word “grieve” is a love word. You cannot grieve someone who does not love you. A church can quench the Holy Spirit. The word “quench” means “to extinguish a fire.”

We all know churches that were once on fire for God. Souls were being saved; lives were being blessed. Then false doctrine, or squabbles, or divisions, or jealousies, or immorality raised its head and the fire was extinguished.

Paul next has something to say about prophecy: “Do not despise prophecies” (5:20). We are not to treat prophecies with contempt. The reference here seems to be to preaching. In this context it is the gift of communicating and enforcing revealed truth. Not “foretelling” but “forthtelling.” They were not to undervalue preaching in comparison with other things.

It is possible that in Thessalonica, as appears to have been the case in Corinth (1 Corinthians 14:19), there were those who regarded the power of working miracles, or of speaking in tongues, as a much more important endowment than that of stating the truths of the faith in language easily understood.

We should “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (5:21). TEST is “to analyze, examine, check to see if something is of God.” Don’t gullibly swallow everything you hear. Run it through the sifter of the scriptures. If it’s good, hold it tight. If it’s bad, throw it out.

Next, Paul has a final word about propriety: “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (5:22). The word for “abstain” means “to hold yourself back from.” The Christian is to be careful about being placed in a situation where our testimony might be compromised by a wrong appearance of things.

NEXT TIME: We will close out chapter 5 with verses 23-28 and a totally comprehensive look at the Rapture and 2nd Coming of Christ—what are the differences between the two, and God’s sanctifying work in our life in preparation for His return.