1 Thessalonians 5:18-The Thessalonians Must Continue to Make it Their Habit of Giving Thanks in Every Circumstance

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (NET)

1 Thessalonians 5:18 contains a command which is followed by a causal clause which contains the reason for this command.

The command is solemn because of Paul’s use of the figure of asyndeton and required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community continue to make it their habit of giving thanks in each and every circumstance.

This command mentions one of the essential elements of a productive prayer life for the church age believer, namely, thanksgiving (Matt 15:36; 26:27; Mark 8:6; 14:23; Luke 22:17-19; John 6:11; 23; 11:41; Acts 27:35; 28:15; Rom. 1:8; 7:25; 1 Cor. 1:4; 11:24; Eph. 5:20; Col. 1:12; 3:17; Phlp. 1:3-4; 4:6; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13).

Colossians 4:2 Each of you must continue to make it your habit of being dedicated to persevering in prayer while at the same time continuing to exist in a state of being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. (My translation)

Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. (NASB95)

The humanity of Christ employed thanksgiving to God in prayer when performing miracles (Mat 14:19; 15:36; Mark 6:41; 8:6; Luke 9:16; John 6:11) and when instituting the Lord’s Supper for the Church (Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:17, 19; 1 Co 11:23-26).

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the adjective pas, “everything” means “each and every circumstance.”

There are two reasons for this interpretation.

First, the word pertains to not only the totality of events in a person’s life but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.

Secondly, the word pertains to both, the condition or state of a person with respect to income and material welfare, and the existing conditions or state of affairs surrounding and affecting an agent.

Lastly, pas is the object of the preposition en, which I interpret as a marker of circumstance under which something takes place.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase is expressing the idea that the Thessalonians were to continue making it their habit of giving thanks “in each and every circumstance.”

The present imperative conjugation of the verb eucharisteō is a customary present imperative which has the force of continuing to perform an action habitually.

Therefore, the idea of the present imperative conjugation of this verb here is that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community must continue to make it their habit of giving thanks to the Father in each and every circumstance.

It implies that the Thessalonians were already doing so and were to continue to do so.

This interpretation is indicated by Paul’s statements in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and 6.

Notice also that in 1 Thessalonians 1:6, Paul affirms that the Thessalonians received his teaching with great joy which was produced in them by the Holy Spirit.

This joy would be accompanied by thanksgiving of course since it is the natural byproduct of experiencing joy.

After issuing this command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the apostle Paul provides the Thessalonians the reason why they must obey it, namely that it was God the Father’s will for them to do so.

He then presents the reason why it was the Father’s will for them to give thanks in each and every circumstance, namely because of their union and identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

In other words, it was the Father’s will that they gave thanks in each and every circumstance because they were in union with Jesus Christ and identified with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

The proper name Christos, “Christ” contains the figure of metonymy which means that Christ is put for the Thessalonians’ union and identification with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

The proper name Christos is functioning as the object of the preposition en, which means “because of” since the word is functioning as a marker of cause.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase “in Christ Jesus” is expressing the idea that the Thessalonians were to continue making it their habit of giving thanks in each and every circumstance “because of their union and identification with” Christ Jesus.

At the moment of justification, they received every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places because of this union and identification according to Ephesians 1:3.

Prior to their justification, the Thessalonians were condemned in Adam because they were under his headship and thus they were condemned to face the wrath of God forever in the lake of fire.

They were spiritually dead, possessed a sin nature and would die physically with no hope of eternal life, however, as a result of their justification, they were now blessed because they were now under the headship of the Last Adam.

Therefore, it was the will of the Father that they give thanks to the Father in each and every circumstance in life because they were in union with Christ and identified with Him since they were now in a place of blessing because of this union and identification whereas prior to their justification they were under a curse and the wrath of God.

Therefore, we can see why Paul makes his famous statement in Romans 8:28.

Romans 8:28 In fact, we know without a doubt that for the benefit of those who are characterized as divinely loving God the Father, He (the Spirit) always works each and every circumstance together for the good, for the benefit of those who are the chosen ones, in accordance with His predetermined plan. (My translation)

1 Thessalonians 5:18 is the fourth time in First Thessalonians that the apostle Paul has mentioned the concept of giving thanks to the Father (1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13; 3:9).

However, it is the first time that Paul uses the concept in relation to the Thessalonians giving thanks to the Father since every occurrence up to this point in the epistle, Paul mentioned he, Silvanus and Timothy giving thanks to the Father for the Thessalonians.

So therefore, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, we can see that Paul provides two reasons why the Thessalonians must continue to make it their habit of giving thanks to the Father in each and every circumstance.

The first is that it is the Father’s will.

The second is that they were in union with Christ and identified with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father because they were now under the headship of the Last Adam, Jesus Christ.

However, the contents of First Thessalonians reveals that there were other reasons why the Thessalonians must continue to obey this command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

First of all, the Thessalonians were to obey this command to give thanks in each and every circumstance because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8 that the Thessalonians’ were remaining faithful to the gospel in spite of severe persecution which 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 give thanks in each and every circumstance in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 that the gospel was working mightily in their lives.

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

They were to give thanks in each and every circumstance 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 give thanks in each and every circumstance 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.

Consequently, both groups would be with the Lord forever.

Lastly, they should give thanks in each and every circumstance 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.

The command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which required the Thessalonians to continue to make it their habit of giving thanks in each and every circumstance is significant in light of the fact that the Thessalonians were experiencing underserved suffering in the form of persecution at the hands of the non-Christian community in Thessalonica (cf. 1 Thess. 1:6-10; 2:13-14).