1 Thessalonians - 4

1 Thessalonians – 4

5:1-28

This is a church that is seeking answers to very important questions. Seemingly they have sent some questions back with Timothy to ask Paul. We know that from a Greek phrase he uses (peri di) that denotes he is responding to questions. It is the same phrase he uses in . He uses it here in 4:9; 4:13; and 5:1.

5:1-11

There are 2 common problems with death: 1) concerning them: where are they and will I see them again? 2) concerning us: are we ready for it? Paul addressed the first one in 4:13-18. Now he is addressing them about the second one.

v. 1

how and when – chronos and Kairos

chronos – specific, measured time (chronological)

Kairos – seasons, right time (e.g. “now is the time to…”)

Don’t need to write – already know the answers, have already been taught

Need for reminders and remembrance

One purpose for daily bible reading…reminds us what is true

v. 2-3

you know – repetitive phrase throughout entire letter

quite well – accurately, carefully

already been taught

day of the Lord’s return – lit. Day of the Lord

-typically viewed as a day of destruction and judgment

;

NT mentions: ; ; (positive)

So if Paul is teaching them about this day, he is using the OT. This is what they have learned. That’s enough to make anyone nervous. They are not asking out of mere curiosity, but because they want to ensure they are ready when it does come.

Apostles asked about times and dates: ;

-only the Father knows

-not for anyone to know

-it will be unexpected

"Paul was convinced that his prior teaching on the Lord’s coming was sufficient. Dates and times were not part of God’s revelation (; ). There are at least two practical reasons for this. First, knowing that His coming was hundreds or thousands of years in the future would only stifle their urgency and passion. As we have seen, a spirit of indifference had already settled over some in the church (4: 11-12). The last thing this church needed was more deadbeat Christians. Second, if they had advance knowledge that His coming was soon, it could lead them to make rash decisions or even cause widespread panic. God never intended for you to know when Christ is coming—He always intended for you to know that Christ is coming. The Bible does not give dates and times; it gives a promise: Christ is coming. An indifferent church lacks motivation and a panicked church lacks peace. However, an expectant church is filled with passion. That is exactly the means by which God designed the church to pursue its mission—with passion and expectancy."[1]

They already know this. Paul uses 2 metaphors to describe the nature of Jesus’ return to the Earth:

1) Thief – kleptos (v. 2)

;

2) Labor pains (v. 3)

Peace and security – ; ;

Sudden – only 2x in NT –

“Suddenly, in the middle of the night, a burglar breaks in. Suddenly, in the pregnancy of an expectant mother, labour begins. At the same time, there is an obvious difference between them. For although both are sudden, the burglar is unexpected, whereas labour (once pregnancy has begun) is expected. So, putting the two metaphors together, we may say that Christ’s coming will be (1) sudden and unexpected (like a burglar in the night), and (2) sudden and unavoidable (like labour at the end of pregnancy). In the first case there will be no warning, and in the second no escape.”[2]

v. 4

but you…the fear induced by v. 2-3 has no power over them

won’t be surprised – katalambano

– they could see they had been with Jesus

– possess/take hold of (2x)

– focus

– power to understand

-not just “unsurprised” but focused upon, see it coming

Though we are not given dates and times, and though the day of his return comes unexpectedly like a thief, and unavoidably like labor, we still live in expectancy of that day.

“Being spiritually prepared for the return of Christ does not involve date setting, clock watching, or sign seeking. God has chosen not to reveal the specific time of end-time events so that all believers will live in constant anticipation of them.”[3]

Though we do not know when a thief may come, we lock our doors, have alarm systems, and are diligent with security. Why? Because it might happen tonight. That’s expectancy. Though a pregnant woman does not know exactly when labor will begin, she absolutely knows THAT labor will begin. So they have bought diapers, clothes, have a bag packed. That’s expectancy.

v. 5

lit. we are “of the day” not “of the night.”

Sadly, we still live in a world dominated by both realities, light and dark. And this is an encompassing OT/NT theme. Bible writers viewed time in happening in two distinct seasons.

-present age, which was evil

-age to come, when the Messiah be made known

The Kingdom of God has broken through ()

But the old age is not gone yet ()

We are living in an in-between age, the “already-but-not-yet”

We are not ‘of the dark.’ We are ‘of the light.’

“Imagine that you and your family are enjoying your summer holiday. One evening the sun goes down, you draw the curtains, and everybody goes to bed. You sleep well too, because the following day you are expecting a visit from the family’s favourite Uncle Bill. But because you are tired, you oversleep. In the morning the sun rises as usual, but you know nothing about it because you are still fast asleep and the curtains are still drawn. Only one member of the family wakes early, your eldest daughter. She gets up and flings back the curtains of her room, so that the sun streams in. Suddenly, there is a loud knock on the front door, and Uncle Bill stands outside. Your daughter is ready to welcome him. She is not taken by surprise, for she is awake, alert and in the light. But the rest of you are covered with confusion because you are still asleep and still in the darkness.”[4]

Since we are of the light, we are to have “daylight” lives. No yawning our way through life or wearing pajamas. We are to awake, alert, properly dressed.

v. 6

asleep – sometimes used for morally indifferent

v. 8

protected – lit. clothed, dressed in

What protects us? What are we to wear?

Faith and love – armor (lit. thorax – breastplate)

Confidence of salvation – elpis - hope

;

v. 9-11

shifts gear to explain why our salvation is our hope that guards our head

Our salvation is well-founded. It stands firmly on God’s will (chose) and Christ’s death, not on shifting sands of our performance or our feelings.

“Our life is due entirely to his death, and the kind of life he has won for us is a life lived together with him. So he died our death that we might live his life.”[5]

Only time he explicitly tells Thessalonians that Jesus’ death was “for us.”

-writing from Corinth

; ;

Regardless of our dead or alive, awake or asleep, we live with him forever.

Encourage – paraclete

Build up – oikodomeite – root is house (oikos)

– builds life on sand or rock

– I will build my church

– edify, built together

5:12-22

"The purpose of Paul’s instruction in 5: 12-22 is straightforward: he desires for the Thessalonians to be a “real church.” After taking them on a journey from present to future and from earth to heaven (4: 13–5: 11), you can imagine how easy it would be for them to want to absorb all of this. But without missing a beat, Paul quickly brings them back to earth by reminding them that they have lives to live and a mission to pursue. He dives right in by giving them practical instruction about everyday living in the body of Christ."[6]

v. 12

honor – comes from root “to know,” better as “acknowledge”

leaders – proistemi – stand first, protect, care for

"The word translated “lead” has several potential meanings. It could mean “to preside, lead, and direct” or “to protect and provide.” It is difficult to know exactly which meaning Paul had in mind. However, the word is used four times in Paul’s instruction to Timothy concerning elders within the church (,,; ). Three of those usages refer to an elder “managing” (leading) his family. The fourth usage is in where Paul speaks of an elder as a “leader” of the church. While it is possible that Paul has in mind to protect and care for the church, the more likely meaning is that just as elders must lead and direct their families, so also they have the unique calling to preside over or direct the affairs of God’s church."[7]

work hard – labor (from 1:3)

spiritual guidance – lit. admonish in the Lord

"The Greek word translated “admonish” means “to put in the mind” or “to warn.” Paul uses the same word again in 5: 14 to refer to the Christian’s response to those who are unruly in the church. The word carries with it the idea of confronting a sinful habit or warning against a bad behavior. Interestingly, admonishment is always closely tied to the work of preaching, teaching, and applying scriptural truth (; )."[8]

“This position of authority is not to be performed in a dictatorial or sinful way, but the elders are over the rest of the believers in the Lord. Their authority can be exercised only in so far as the Lord has given them authority to act. . .. Church leaders are not autonomous sovereigns but represent Jesus’ authority. They are commissioned by Christ to carry out their oversight of the flock according to his will and not their own.”[9]

v. 13

great respect – hyperekperusso – beyond measure (superabundantly)

work – ergon – not word for labor

Respect and love comes because of the tasks they perform.

Above all…live peacefully.

“It will make for the effective life and witness of the church and for peaceful relations among its members if its leaders are recognized and honored and their directions followed. The corollary of this is that the leaders should be the kind of people who deserve to be recognized and honored by their fellow Christians.”[10]

“[The church members] should not regard him as a distant man, or as a stranger among them. . .. They are to “know” and regard him as their spiritual teacher and ruler; not to be strangers to the place where he preaches the word of life, and not to listen to his admonitions and reproofs as those of a stranger, but as those of a pastor and friend.”[11]

Sadly, in unhealthy church situations, the relationship between church and preacher, or church and Elders, becomes an “us versus them” mentality. That defeats the church and defeats the mission.

v. 14

urge – paraclete

warn – admonish (same as guidance in v. 12)

lazy – ataktos – undisciplined soldier

encourage – lit. comfort alongside

timid – not shy, but discouraged (only 1x in NT), likely those in suffering

take tender care – lit. devoted, hold fast to

weak – in a moral sense

v.15

pays back – apodidomai

Good Samaritan

Try to do – lit. pursue, normal word for persecution, chasing after

Paul the Persecutor –

Love –

Righteousness –

Peace –

v. 16-18

joy always – pantate chairete

praying – proseuchomai – ask toward

never stop – constant

Obviously we cannot spend 24/7 actively praying, but we can live in continual attitude of prayer, awareness of our need for/dependence on God.

Specific will – likely refers to all 3 commands

v. 19

stifle – sbennumi – quench, damp down

– fire never goes out (Hell)

– virgin’s lamps going out

– smoldering wick

– shield stops fiery arrows

General command –

v. 20

this is likely what v. 19 is referring to

don’t scoff/despise prophecies (word from God)

; ; ; ;

v. 21

test – dokimazo – used in 2:4 (2x)

good – kalos – used of coins ringing true

only way to do this is test by standard of Bible

v. 22

stay away – apecho – a=not, echo=have/hold (used in 4:3)

5:23-28

Q & A (if time permits)

[1] Mark Howell, David Platt, Dr. Daniel Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Nashville, Holman Publishers, 2015), 132.

[2] John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians: The Gospel & the End of Time, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 109.

[3] John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 143.

[4] John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians: The Gospel & the End of Time, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 111–112.

[5] John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians: The Gospel & the End of Time, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 113–114.

[6] Akin, Exalting Jesus, 147.

[7] Akin, Exalting Jesus, 150.

[8] Akin, Exalting Jesus, 151.

[9] G.K. Beale, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 160.

[10] F.F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 120.

[11] Albert Barnes, Notes on 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 56.