How Now Shall We Live?

As we are about to finish this first letter to the Thessalonians, we have observed a very caring, pastoral Paul, as he has engaged with this young church. He has briefly pointed out what they used to be, but more importantly, he has focused on what they have become through Jesus Christ. He has encouraged and challenged them in their day-to-day living, and given warnings about the many temptations that Satan would throw at them in an attempt to discourage them and ruin their testimony. He has also responded to some of their concerns regarding the end times.

He is about to close this letter with some thoughts on the here and now. How Now Shall We Live?

Simply put, Our lives should reflect the fact that we belong to Jesus Christ.

We Should Avoid Doing Evil to Others. - 5.12-15

These next two verses help us to know how to live with leaders. 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.”

The word for appreciate is actually the Greek word oida. This word means "to know.” It is an appreciation of those who are leaders in the church. It shows an understanding for the true value that is found within them, and all of their duties and ministries. Some might suggest that people should stop thinking critically of your leadership and think rightly and appropriately of them. We know that this is of the church leadership because of the context. He is talking about those in the church who labor and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction.

In the next verse, he uses the phrase, "esteem them very highly." Some translation suggest the wording, "hold them in the highest regard." The reason follows up from verse 12. The attitude should not be governed by partiality or prejudices. The attitude results from understanding the intrinsic worth of what church leaders are doing.

The last sentence is actually an imperative sentence, live in peace. It is a fairly obvious fact that churches cannot grow spiritually, unless there is peace between the brothers and sisters in the church body. The wording is even more than just "live in peace." There is the imperative concept of a continuing action which we would phrase as "keep on maintaining peace.”

I can honestly tell you that there is no way that a church leader can be effective in their leadership unless the followers are being obedient to scripture.

The next two verses are relating to how we are to live with others. 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”

To whom is Paul referring when he states "admonish the unruly"? Some translations use the word idle, which is somewhat weak. The term is actually a military term. It refers to a soldier who neglects normal duties and ends up, falling into careless and reckless habits, which are harmful to the rest of the unit.

Paul then goes on to tell them to "encourage the fainthearted." Most likely, all of us had probably fallen into that category. This describes individuals in the church who have become discouraged for some reason. It almost looks like a level of depression, as they seem to be of being able to actually live the Christian life.I find it fascinating that there is no recommendation to rebuke those individuals, but rather to encourage them.

Then he says "help the weak." This is not referring to physical weakness. Rather it is describing moral or spiritual weakness. Again, the picture is not of reprimand or condemnation, but rather a picture of putting our arms around those individuals and helping to guide them.

To end the sentence, Paul states that we need to "be patient with everyone." This actually is an excellent summary for the three recommendation which come before this. And it makes perfect sense within this context.

The first part of verse 15 is a reminder that we do not have to succumb to our normal human tendencies. Nowhere in the Bible, does it recommend that we allow or promote behavior that is contradictory to God's ways. In fact, as you look at various passages through the scripture, we see that it not only tells us what not to do, but it tells us what to replace the inappropriate behavior with as an active. We see this, even in this verse as he gives a negative, followed by a positive recommendation in behavior. It only makes sense that we will not do evil to other people if we avoid being evil in our own attitudes. This is found in the next section of scripture.

We should Avoid Being Evil in Attitude. - 5.16-22

The first three verses describe how we ought to think as followers of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

In the original Greek, the modifier actually comes before the verbs. In other words, we need to "always rejoice;” “do not cease to pray;” “in everything give thanks.” We might ask the question, how can a person always rejoice? This becomes very real, when life doesn't seem to be very pleasant or good. The answer can be found in the last part of verse 18; because we belong to Jesus, we understand that this is God's will for us. This is able to happen as a result of the dwelling Holy Spirit.

When we look at the concept of prayer, it is understood here that this is constantly recurring prayer in our lives. It is a spirit of ceasing prayer, which is not limited to time or place. It is living out every day with the understanding that we can bring anything to God at any time because of Jesus Christ.

The idea of giving thanks needs to be understood that it is not dependent on our circumstances. Rather it is dependent upon the reality that we know that everything that comes our way is for our good, and for God's glory.

Even as we ask, why, we must simply be content to realize it is God's will for us. It is a truth that is relevant for every single believer.

Now that we have been told how to think, Paul goes on in the next few verses, to tell us how not to think. 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22 “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

Each of these commands is emphatic. They are not merely suggestions, but commands from God.

The idea of "do not quench the spirit," is not referring to the Holy Spirit himself, but rather His activity in our lives. Anything that we might do would be contrary to the nature and the work of the Holy Spirit, is as if we put out the fire. In other words, we would have ignored sin, because we have chosen to tolerate immorality.

Ephesians 4:11 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,” is a passage which describes the human channels through whom the Holy Spirit has made known his will and purpose for the early church. Something that would be well for us to remember is that whenever the spirit of God is at work, Satan seems to always introduce a counterfeit in order to create confusion.

The idea of “examining everything carefully,” shows a continual process. There are many things that seem to be wonderful, but are actually evil. Even 1 John 4:1 tells us that this needs to be a constant caution. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” There are many inspirations that come from Satan, as well as from God. We must be constantly testing ALL things that claim to be from God. We must weigh everything against the Word of God.

If it’s from God, we “hold fast to that which is good.” Cling tightly to it. If it is of Satan, avoid it. You see, Christian growth requires not only keeping and practicing good, but also the rejection of evil.

We Should Avoid Evil By Leaning On God. - 5.23-24

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

The only way to avoid evil and to live the way God wants us to live is by leaning on God.

Afterthoughts - 5.25-28

1 Thessalonians 5:25 “Brethren, pray for us.” Such a simple request of these brothers and sisters. They did not have to have many years of belonging to Christ under their belts to pray for Paul and his friends. They had the same access to the Father as he did.

1 Thessalonians 5:26 “Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.” An encouragement for this group of believers to continue to be a blessing to each other and to keep showing love to one another.

Verse 27 instructs this group to make sure the information gets out to all of the family of believers there.

1 Thessalonians 5:28 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” A loving reminder of who they are and how they became to be a people of hope and faith.