1 Thessalonians 5:11-The Thessalonians Must Continue to Exhort, Encourage and Build Up Each Other With Paul’s Teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10

1 Thessalonians 5:1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 5:2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. 5:3 Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 5:4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5:5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 5:6 So then we must not sleep as the rest but must stay alert and sober. 5:7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 5:8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. 5:9 For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 5:10 He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him. 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 brings to an end Paul’s teaching of the eschatological day of the Lord in relation to the Christian.

The discussion of this subject began in 1 Thessalonians 5:1.

This section of the epistle makes clear that Paul wanted to reassure the Thessalonians that they would not experience the prophetic events related to the day of the Lord.

In particular, they would not experience the events predicted to take place during the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

Specifically, they would not experience the Lord’s wrath or righteous indignation which He will exercise against every unrepentant, unregenerate human being on the earth during the seventieth week of Daniel and Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

Paul asserts that they were delivered from God’s wrath.

The implication of this pericope is that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community must live a godly life in contrast to unregenerate humanity in light of the fact that they are delivered from the Lord’s wrath which He will exercise against each unrepentant unregenerate human being on the earth during the seventieth week of Daniel and His Second Advent.

The purpose of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 is to reassure the Thessalonians that the eschatological day of the Lord does not pose a threat to them in any way whatsoever.

It is also to designed to encourage and warn them how they must continue to live their lives in light of the disaster which is about to come upon the non-Christian community.

Now, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 contains two commands and an emphatic comparative clause.

The first command required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continue to make it their habit of exhorting and encouraging one another.

This command is the result of or an inference from the previous statements recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 or in other words, the execution of this command by the Thessalonians is to be the direct consequence of Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

Therefore, this first command required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continue to make it their habit of exhorting and encouraging one another based upon Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

So therefore, the first command in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continue to make it their habit of exhorting and encouraging one another with Paul’s teaching in1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

The verb parakaleō in this first command contains the ideas of both exhorting and encouraging.

Thus, this first command is expressing the idea that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was to encourage one another by means of Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 with regards to the eschatological day of the Lord.

Thus, the word speaks of the Thessalonians filling each other with confidence because they will not experience God’s wrath during the seventieth week of Daniel and Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

It also speaks of them filling each other with confidence because they will be delivered from this period at the rapture of the church when they receive their resurrection body which will complete their salvation.

Also, this verb parakaleō in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 is expressing the idea that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was to exhort one another with Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 with regards to the eschatological day the Lord.

Thus, the word speaks of the Thessalonians exhorting one another in the sense of authoritatively training each other through instruction with regards to the fact that they will not experience God’s wrath during the seventieth week of Daniel and Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

It also speaks of the Thessalonians authoritatively training each other through instruction with regards to the fact that they because they will be delivered from this period at the rapture of the church when they receive their resurrection body which will complete their salvation.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, the present imperative form of this verb parakaleō is a customary present imperative, which is expressing the idea of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continuing to make it their habit of exhorting and encouraging one another with Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

This interpretation is supported by the comparative clause kathōs kai poieite (καθὼς καὶ ποιεῖτε), “just as you are in fact doing,” which follows it.

This comparative clause affirms the Thessalonians were already exhorting and encouraging one another with the things Paul taught them in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

The implication is that the Thessalonians were already familiar with Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 because he instructed them in the past with this teaching when he was in their presence.

Now, the second command in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continue to make it their habit of building up one another.

This command presents the result of the first command in the verse.

Therefore, this indicates that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community must continue to make it their habit of building up one another as a result of each one of them continuing to make it their habit of exhorting and encouraging one another with Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

In this second command, the verb oikodomeō is expressing the idea of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community building each other up spiritually in the sense of helping each other through Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 to become more mature spiritually.

It is also expressing the idea of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community building each other up spiritually through Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 in the sense that each one of them continues to improve their ability to function living responsibly and effectively.

The present imperative form of this verb is also a customary present imperative form of the verb which is expressing the idea of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continuing to make it their habit of building each other up with Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

This interpretation is supported by the comparative clause kathōs kai poieite (καθὼς καὶ ποιεῖτε), “just as you are in fact doing,” which follows it which affirms the Thessalonians were already building each other up spiritually with the things Paul taught them in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

The implication is that the Thessalonians were already familiar with Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 because he instructed them in the past which this teaching when he was in their presence.

Lastly, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ends with an emphatic comparative clause which affirms that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was already obeying the previous two commands issued by Paul in this verse.

This clause is marking in emphatic terms a comparison between each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continuing to make it their habit building up one another by means of Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 as a result of continuing to make it their habit of exhorting and encouraging one another with this teaching and each one of them already doing so.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 contains two of the “one another” commands and prohibitions which appear in the New Testament.

Obedience to these “one another” commands and prohibitions will result in the Christian community manifesting the love of God with each other.

These “one another” commands and prohibitions bring out an essential aspect of the love God, namely, the concept of reciprocation.

Therefore, by obeying these two “one another” commands in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, each member of the Thessalonian Christian community would be manifesting or demonstrating the love of God with each other.