Final Exhortations

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 NKJV

12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

1 thess 5:12

Paul is finishing up his letter with some final instructions. There are a lot so I want to break them down clearly.

Recognize Those Who Labor

The word recognize means “to acknowledge the high status of a person or event, to honor, to show honor, to respect.” It’s from the word “eido” (G1492) which means “to see with perception.” This is the opposite of taking advantage of.

One thing about true and mature five-fold ministers is that they are living before an audience of one and work as unto the Lord meaning they will keep a lot of the behind-the-scenes “work” to themselves. They don’t need the approval or praise of men. This dynamic means that it can be easy to miss what all they are doing or even going through. Like David, like Joseph, like Moses, they take it to the Lord in private not always the people. Or they have some in their inner circle they share with, which is what the Lord did and wise. And to have others perceive, recognize these things is like a refreshing drink.

But this doesn’t just apply to those in the five-fold ministry. All are ministers and those who labor amongst us whether it’s cleaning the Hub like Dorena, interceding like Richard and Diane, manning the video equipment and being the best husband ever like Mike, being generous and an evangelist like GG, praying and ministering to the physically and emotionally unwell like Margie and Roberta—all of these are valid ministers and ministries that must be recognized! Marketplace ministers are also extremely valuable and must be recognized.

And to have others perceive, recognize these things is like a refreshing drink.

Here Paul is specifically referring to those “who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you.” Let’s see what this looks like.

Labor is not the same as work (ergazomai G2038) used in other places in the Word. It is “to engage in hard work, implying difficulties and trouble.” It’s work that can wear one out. It also refers to “a teacher who labors in the gospel or the Word.”

Over you. Over is “hegeomai” and means “to lead or go before, go first , lead the way, to be a leader, chief, spoken of those who have influence and authority, officers and teachers in the churches, guide, direct.” The Hebrew equivalent is “archon,” which means ruler or prince used to speak of Joseph in Egypt, the Messiah, and even the devil is called the “archon” or ruler of this world system. A good leader is a servant. And while it’s refers to someone who goes ahead of, that person must also show you the how or demonstrate how one ought to according to the Greek. Being a leader REQUIRES doing and showing not showing minus the doing. I mean how can one show how and where if one hasn’t done so first? In fact, the original meaning of the Latin “rule” means “pattern.” Leaders find the patterns of living life well in the faith and reveal them to others.

“In the Lord” implies concerning spiritual matters of the Christian faith, but I believe practical matters are also very spiritual. If you can’t pay your bills because of poor stewardship, that’s both a spiritual and practical matter. If you can’t get along with others, that’s a very practical and spiritual matter. If you can’t do your call because of health issues, that’s a very practical and spiritual matter. But I believe it also gives a “sphere” for the leader meaning that a leader must be “in the Lord” in their leading. You can’t just rule over people in a power trip. You can’t go into their homes and dictate where they should spend their money, how many kids to have, where to live, etc. You can offer counsel but you have no right to meddle.

Admonish is from two words that mean “to place in the mind.” It’s to warn and exhort, “to provide instruction as to correct behavior and belief, to teach, instruction, teaching.” If you want to lead, you better learn how to instruct. You don’t need to spend hours studying and breaking down the Greek and Hebrew and then preparing sermons unless you want to. But you dang sure better have enough word that’s interpreted correctly plus some in Christ life experience that allows you to admonish others. I felt led to look at the exact chapter and verse number in Hebrews and this is what it is: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”

The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Ok, so with these credentials in place for those who labor and are over you and the charge to recognize them, Paul then goes on to say “to esteem them very highly in love for their WORK’S sake.” It’s the exact Greek word for “over you” and means “to lead out before the mind, esteem an individual in a particular light.”

Esteem means “to regard highly or favorably; regard with respect or admiration, to consider as of a certain value or of a certain type; regard, and obsolete. to set a value on; appraise.” The reason I like the obsolete definition the most is that it implies a choice and action, which is important because it’s inevitable that your leader will do something that annoys you, hurts you, or seems stupid. During those times you have a choice “to set value on” and Paul says the measure of this esteeming is “VERY HIGHLY.”

“Very highly” means “over and above, more than enough, abundantly, vehemently.” It’s a “degree which is considerably in excess.” But to keep that esteem in its proper context and not go over into the realm of “worshiping the leader,” Paul marks the boundary “IN LOVE,” agape. Again, agape, has its order:

to consider as of a certain value or of a certain type; regard: I esteem it worthless.

God first.

Obsolete. to set a value on; appraise.

Yourself.

Your neighbor.

If you stay within that order, you won’t love anyone, including yourself, over the Lord. Only one is worthy of worship. By keeping all within AGAPE, you will also protect yourself from abusive leaders. Remember a few weeks ago, Holy Spirit showed us that WHATEVER WE LOVE MORE THAN HIM opens the door to FEAR. If you love your leader more than the Lord, you will walk in fear of them and even stepping out in obedience to Holy Spirit.

Paul then says WHAT we are to esteem them for: THEIR WORK’S SAKE. Work, here, is different from labor. It is "ergon” and means “performance, the result or object of employment.” I.e. Paul is saying to esteem them for the RESULTS of the work, the ACTION taken, the deeds. The deeds are the evidence of the leader doing his or her assigned labor.

He then adds one more thing that all would do well to heed: “Be at peace among yourselves.” It’s the opposite of fighting or constantly quarreling. It means “to behave peacefully.” There’s nothing worse for a true leader than strife among the people. Persecution, being misunderstood, forgotten, and even overlooked are easier to deal with than strife!

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 TPT

12 Dear brothers and sisters, make sure that you show your deep appreciation for those who cherish you and diligently work as ministers among you. For they are your leaders who care for you, teach you, and stand before the Lord on your behalf. 13 They value you with great love. Because of their service to you, let peace reign among yourselves.

Final Appeal

1 Thessalonians 5:14–22 NKJV

14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

Ok. Let’s break these down one-by-one.

Warn those who are unruly. Warn means “to rebuke.” Unruly is “disorderly, irregular, neglectful of duties, which includes WORKING FOR A LIVING! The Greek Lexicon defines it as “pertaining to work—idle, lazy, lazily.”

Comfort the fainthearted. Comfort means “to speak kindly, soothingly, to console.” Fainthearted is very interesting because my initial response wouldn’t necessarily be this: “pertaining to having limited or diminished motivation for the attainment of some goal.” To me, it’s like suck it up and take care of business. But the fainthearted is sourced in “discouragement” implying that this person has been trying but is getting discouraged. They are losing courage and need comfort not dismissal or rebuke.

Uphold the weak. Uphold means “to assist in supplying what may be needed, to help.” Weak is those “without strength, powerless, without physical ability.” It can be both physically and spiritually weak. It implies “a want of decision or firmness of mind, i.e. doubting, hesitating, vacillating in opinion or in faith.” There are times that we face things that we have no grid for because we’ve not been through them and can struggle. That’s NOT a time to kick someone when they’re down. That’s a time to supply what may be needed—the Word, your faith, some helpful act. Being people of faith doesn’t mean we never go through hard things and it dang sure doesn’t mean that we hold in contempt or mistreat those going through hard things.

Be patient with all. There are two Greek words for patient and this one means to put with up with difficult people. It “involves exercising understanding and patience toward persons.”

No one renders evil for evil to anyone. This simply means to dish out pay backs for those who have been harmful or harsh to you. And this means not only those in the church but those outside it as well.

Pursue what is good for yourselves and all. Pursue means “to do something with intense effort and with definite purpose or goal.” Good is something that’s for the benefit of others and yourself. I like that Father put yourselves in here, too. Many would dismiss that for themselves because we seem to be so hard on ourselves. But agape love pursues goodness for yourself, too.

Rejoice ALWAYS. Rejoice means “to enjoy a state of happiness and well being.” If you can’t find much to rejoice in then rejoice that you’re not going to hell. And always means always.

Pray without ceasing. The baseline definition for pray to “to speak to God.” It can be requests for material blessing and spiritual help, intercession for others, thanksgiving, and praise.” Without ceasing doesn’t mean to the exclusion of all other things. It means “that every time an opportunity presents itself” pray! It’s like sneezing. You can’t stop it. Pray is such a part of your life that your immediate response is to pray!

In EVERYTHING give thanks. Why? Because of . You don’t thank God FOR trials and tribulations but you can thank Him IN them. Paul then adds “FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS FOR YOU. If you want to know God’s will, it’s THANKSGIVING.

Do not quench the Spirit. It literally means “to extinguish a fire, to cause a fervent activity to cease.” Don’t DAMPEN, HINDER, REPRESS the Holy Spirit from exerting His full influence whether using your agenda and schedule for church, teaching doctrine that hinders him, repressing the gifts of the Spirit, or any other influence. He is God. You are not. He respects authority and will abide by your wishes, but to quench Him is not advisable.

Do not despise prophecies. It makes me wonder if people were already quenching and despising even back then. Despise means “to despise someone or something on the basis that it is worthless or of no value.” WOW! Prophecy is “an utterance inspired by God” This is done in churches all across America every Sunday. Paul wanted EVERYBODY to prophesy. The completion of the Bible didn’t negate the need for prophecy.

Test all things. Test means to make sure something is genuine. And that includes doctrine, prophecy, leaders, a work, gifts of the Spirit, believers, etc. Christians can be too gullible. We don’t take things at face value not out of suspicion but out of the command to make sure it’s genuine.

Hold fast to what is good. Hold fast means “to continue to believe and practice those things that are of a positive moral quality, excellent, choice and praiseworthy.

Abstain from every form of evil. Abstain means “to keep your distance.” Form is “appearance.” Evil is “being morally corrupt, immoral, wicked.” Don’t even go near something that even has the appearance of evil!

Blessing and Admonition

1 Thessalonians 5:23–28 NKJV

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. 25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

I love this. It’s the God of peace that sanctifies. Peace is “peace, health, welfare, prosperity, and every kind of good.” GOD IS NOT MAD AT YOU. Recognizing that and that He’s at peace, has given peace, and continues to work out peace in you and your life creates a sanctification process that impacts you body, soul, and spirit. Allowing His peace to have its work in you keeps you blameless, innocent, without guilt. He is trustworthy to complete His work. We cooperate with Him, but He’s doing the work.

Hebrews 12:11 NKJV

11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

God wants “every kind of good” to be evident in your life in abundance to the point that it evokes a healthy fear of Him.

Hosea 3:5 NKJV

5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.

Goodness means “property, goods, goodness, fairness, and beauty. The root concept of this noun is that of desirability for enjoyment. It is used to identify the personal property of an individual, the plentiful harvest of the land, items of superior quality and desirability, inward joy, the manifest goodness of the Lord, and notably, the state of spiritual blessing.” THAT TYPE OF GOODNESS BRINGS THE FEAR OF THE LORD. I’ve experienced it once when He got us our new home. I can’t describe it or even tell you what I was thinking but I just remember an incredible sense of awe.

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 TPT

23 Now, may the God of peace and harmony set you apart, making you completely holy. And may your entire being—spirit, soul, and body—be kept completely flawless in the appearing of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 24 The one who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete his work in you.