1 Thessalonians 5:16-Paul Commands the Thessalonians to Begin to Make It Their Habit of Rejoicing

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Always rejoice. (NET)

Now, here in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, the apostle Paul solemnly issues another command, which required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community begin to make it their habit of rejoicing always.

This rejoicing is the product of the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of the individual members of the Thessalonian Christian community.

Here it refers to the joy the Holy Spirit produces in the child of God when they obey the Spirit inspired commands and prohibitions in the Word of God.

The believer experiences this Spirit produced joy by experiencing fellowship with the Spirit, which is accomplished by exercising faith in the Spirit’s teaching in the Word that they have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.

This results in obedience to the Spirit inspired commands and prohibitions in the Word of God.

This in turn enables the Holy Spirit to produce a joy that is divine in quality and character and is not based upon outward circumstances or what one possesses.

So therefore, the Holy Spirit produces this joy in the child of God as a result of the latter experiencing fellowship with the Trinity as a result of obeying the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of God.

The present imperative form of the verb chairō is an ingressive-progressive imperative which has the force of begin and continue to do something implying that that this action was not being practiced.

Therefore the present imperative form of this verb indicates that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was to begin to make it their habit of rejoicing and continue doing so.

The ingressive present imperative conjunction of this verb implies they were not doing this prior to receiving this epistle.

This is indicated by the fact that 1 Thessalonians 4:13 reveals that the Thessalonians were emotionally upset about the dead in Christ because they erroneously thought that the dead in Christ would not take part in the rapture.

They might have erroneously believed that the Christian will never die.

However, more than likely because they were living as though Christ could come back at any moment, they never considered the fate of those who died as Christians.

Although, Paul does affirm 1 Thessalonians 1:6 that when he, and Silvanus were in the presence of the Thessalonians, the later received their teaching in the midst of great adversity with a joy produced by the Holy Spirit, the Thessalonians had lost that joy because of their fear that the dead in Christ would not take part in the rapture.

A comparison of the command in 1 Thessalonians 4:18 and the contents of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 indicate that the Thessalonians were to begin to make it their habit of exhorting and encouraging each other for two reasons.

The first reason is that God the Father through the personal agency of His Son Jesus will certainly bring with Jesus those Christians who have died at the rapture.

The second reason is that these dead Christians will receive their resurrection bodies first before those Christians who are left alive on the earth at the time of the rapture.

Thus, Paul is reassuring the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 that the dead in Christ have a confident expectation of receiving a resurrection body like those Christians who are still alive at the time of the rapture.

Therefore, they must not grieve as the non-Christian does when a loved one departs this life.

Consequently, we can see the need Paul, Silvanus and Timothy felt to issue this command in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 which required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community begin to make it their habit of rejoicing always.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 is the second time Paul has mentioned the subject of joy in relation to the Thessalonian Christian community since he mentions it in relation to them in 1 Thessalonians 1:6.

Paul, Silvanus and Timothy assert in 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 that the Thessalonians were their joy.

In 1 Thessalonians 3:9, Paul and Silvanus also speak of their joy upon hearing Timothy’s report that the Thessalonians were remaining faithful to the gospel despite experiencing severe persecution from their own countrymen.

Although Paul does not mention explicitly in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 why the Thessalonians must obey this command to begin to rejoice always, the contents of First Thessalonians does provide reasons why they should.

The Thessalonians were to obey this command to rejoice because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8 that the Thessalonians’ were faithful to the gospel in spite of severe persecution was serving to encourage the Christians in the Roman province of Achaia and Macedonia.

Also, they were to obey this command because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 that the Thessalonians would be delivered from the wrath which will be experienced by the inhabitants of planet earth during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel and subsequent Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

The Thessalonians should obey the command to rejoice in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 that the gospel was working mightily in their lives.

They should rejoice because 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:10 reveals that the Thessalonians’ were faithful to the gospel was causing Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to rejoice.

They were to rejoice because Paul affirms in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 that the Thessalonians were experiencing their sanctification and in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 they were practicing the love of God when interacting with each other and those in the non-Christian community.

The Thessalonians should rejoice because Paul assures them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 that the dead in Christ will be raised first at the rapture and then those Christians who are alive at the time of rapture will receive their resurrection bodies and consequently, both groups would be with the Lord forever.

Lastly, they should rejoice because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 that the Thessalonians were not destined to experience the Lord’s wrath during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week and His Second Advent but rather they were destined to experience the perfection of their salvation at the rapture.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 is not only place in Paul’s writings that he issues a command to rejoice to a Christian community in the Roman Empire since he issues this same command to the Roman, Philippian and Colossian Christian communities.

Romans 12:12 Concerning your confident expectation, all of you continue to make it your habit to rejoice. Concerning adversity, all of you continue to make it your habit to persevere. Concerning prayer, all of you continue to make it your habit to be persistent. (My translation)

Romans 12:15 Continue to make it your habit to rejoice together with those who are rejoicing. Continue to make it your habit to weep together with those who are weeping. (My translation)

Philippians 3:1 From now on, my brothers, all of you begin rejoicing and continue doing so because of the Lord. (My translation)

Philippians 4:4 From now on, all of you rejoice because of the Lord always, again I will order: from now on, all of you rejoice. (My translation)

Colossians 1:24 I am presently rejoicing because of my sufferings on behalf of each and every one of you. In fact, I am supplementing that which remains of the one and only Christ’s intense sufferings by means of my physical body on behalf of His body which is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the church. (My translation)

Paul teaches in Romans 14:17 that the joy of the Lord characterizes the kingdom of God.

Romans 14:16 Therefore, continue to make it your habit of not causing that which is good in character possessed by you to be spoken of as evil. 17 Because, God the Father’s kingdom is by no means, characterized by food and drink but rather righteousness as well as peace and in addition joy by means of fellowship with the Holy Spirit. (My translation)

Galatians 5:22-23 teaches that happiness and contentment are one of the nine manifestations of the work of God the Holy Spirit in the Christian’s life.

The fruit of the Spirit can only take place in the life of the believer who is influenced by means of the Spirit, which takes place when the believer obeys the Spirit who reveals the Father’s will through the communication of the Word of God.

Since the Holy Spirit reveals the Father’s will through the teaching of the Word of God and inspired the Scriptures, the joy of the Lord is the direct result of obeying the Word of God (Psalm 19:8; 119:14, 16, 111, 162; Jeremiah 15:16).

The joy of the Lord is the direct result of trusting in the promises of God (Psalm 28:7) and is the direct result of experiencing fellowship with God (Psalm 16:11; 89:15-16; 64:10; 63:5-7; 1 Chronicles 16:27; John 15:1-17).

The believer is to serve the Lord with joy (Psalm 100:1-5).

Joy is related to unity (2 Corinthians 13:11)

The propaganda of Satan’s cosmic system has promoted the lie that wealth, good environment, marriage, having children, approbation from men will produce happiness.

Satan’s propaganda machine promotes the lie that good circumstances and people are the basis for happiness, but God’s Word states that true happiness is based upon a relationship and fellowship with God for the purpose of doing the Father’s will.