1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

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Paul Weir

Fellowship Baptist Church

1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago • Presented 4 years ago • 38:06

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

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Have you ever had a dream in which something really awful happened?

This past week as I was preparing this message I had a dream one night where I got shot by some random guy in the neck. I was lying there in my dream thinking that I was going to die. I thought of my wife and family, which was of course a sad thought that I was going to die and leave them. …

And then I woke up! Can you imagine how I felt? I felt a great sense of relief and gratitude. For all I knew - when I was actually in the dream - that dream could have been reality.

There’s a great sense of comfort associated with coming to terms with the worst reality possible and then becoming aware that you yourself are not going to experience that reality.

This is what the apostle Paul leads us through in this next passage in 1 Thessalonians. So, please turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 5. We’ll be studying verses 1-11.

It’s in this passage that we’re confronted with the reality of the Day of the Lord - a time period unparalleled in the history of mankind wherein God’s punishing wrath will be poured out on the world.

But the refreshing and wonderful reality that we’re going to see here is - because of the teaching from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 concerning the Rapture of believers before this event - you are not going to experience this wrath.

So, let’s behold the nightmare that is the Day of the Lord - and then be comforted by our guaranteed escape from this terrifying event as we read the passage and then examine the details.

Text

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 AV 1873

1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren,are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Verse 1

1 Thessalonians 5:1 AV 1873

1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

5.1 Περὶ δὲ τῶν χρόνων καὶ τῶν καιρῶν, ἀδελφοί, οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ὑμῖν γράφεσθαι,

But of

5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

5.1 Περὶ δὲ τῶν χρόνων καὶ τῶν καιρῶν, ἀδελφοί, οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ὑμῖν γράφεσθαι,

Starting in verse 1, we see the fourth question or issue that Paul needed to address with the Thessalonians. He got word somehow - probably though Timothy - that the Thessalonian believers wanted or needed to know about this matter. Just like they wanted or needed to know about sexual purity, brotherly love, and those who died in Christ before his return.

ye have no need that I write unto you

ye have no need that I write unto you.

οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ὑμῖν γράφεσθαι,

But Paul says that they actually don’t have any need for anyone to write anything to them about this matter - just like he said concerning brotherly love earlier in chapter 4.

the times and the seasons

τῶν χρόνων καὶ τῶν καιρῶν

The matter that they don’t need anyone to write to them about is this issue of “times and seasons”.

This phrase is used in Acts 1:7 where Jesus had just risen from the dead and had been with his disciples for about 40 days. They asked, “Is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel”? In other words, would Jesus be setting up his Millennial kingdom right there and then?

His response was that you and I aren’t permitted to know the “times” or the “seasons”. That’s the Father’s realm of knowledge, alone. Our job is to serve as witnesses to our fellow man concerning the truth about Jesus Christ.

So, these times and seasons have to do with Jesus’ coming to set up his kingdom on this earth.

ye have no need that I write unto you

ye have no need that I write unto you.

οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ὑμῖν γράφεσθαι,

But again, Paul tells the Thessalonians that they have no need for anyone to write to them about this.

Why is that?

Well, I think first of all, because Jesus himself says that we shouldn’t be people who are concerned with setting dates for his return. It’s not for us to know the times and season as he said in Acts 1:7.

Verse 2

1 Thessalonians 5:2 AV 1873

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

2 αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀκριβῶς οἴδατε ὅτι ἡμέρα κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτὶ οὕτως ἔρχεται.

For yourselves know perfectly

2 For yourselves know perfectly

2 αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀκριβῶς οἴδατε

But second - and explicitly in this passage - is this matter of what the Thessalonians already knew about this situation…

the day of the Lord

ἡμέρα κυρίου

The Thessalonians had no need of anyone writing to them about the times and seasons - because they already knew something about this event known as the Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. It’s a time of divine judgement. It’s when God moves to set things right in his creation. Because things are so wrong with this world, setting them right is going to take an extraordinary amount of judgement and punishment of wickedness. It’s an unprecedented time in this way. It’s described elsewhere as “great” and “terrible”. It’s described as “dark” and “gloomy” and dangerous - for evildoers.

Despite its title, it seems that this is not a one-day event. It’s a period of time in which the Lord moves in very definite ways in order to work back towards an equilibrium of righteousness in his creation.

Don’t you want to know the exact date and time in which this will happen? The Thessalonian believers did, apparently.

And others throughout the history of this world have wanted to know the precise date of this event and have even made claims to know what the date was going to be.

When I was in Israel in 2011, I saw signs on billboards declaring that May 21 was going to be “the end”. That was due to the fact that an American Christian radio host named Harold Camping was claiming that the Rapture and Judgment Day would take place on that very day, and that the end of the world would take place five months later on October 21, 2011. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_end_times_prediction)

That didn’t happen, as you know.

so cometh as a thief in the night

so cometh as a thief in the night.

ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτὶ οὕτως ἔρχεται.

If only that man had listened in on this letter from Paul to the Thessalonians where these believers had already been taught by Paul and Silas that this eschatological event of the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

In other words, no one is expecting it. No one expects a thief in the night. You go to bed every night and I imagine that the vast majority of those nights you are not expecting a thief to show up.

Even if a thief does show up some night, there’s no way to predict that. If you live in a crime-ridden part of a city, maybe it’s likely that a thief will appear at some point. But still you can’t predict when it will happen.

So too, no mere mortal can predict the date of the Day of the Lord. We believers are convinced that it’s coming. We just don’t know when.

But for the lost world, they won’t suspect a thing…

Verse 3

1 Thessalonians 5:3 AV 1873

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

3 ὅταν λέγωσιν· Εἰρήνη καὶ ἀσφάλεια, τότε αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐφίσταται ὄλεθρος ὥσπερ ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσῃ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκφύγωσιν.

For when they shall say

3 For when they shall say

3 ὅταν λέγωσιν

This is what’s going to happen to lost humanity some day. “They” will say this. “They” will experience this. Not “us”. I’m jumping a little ahead of the passage but “we” will not experience this.

What will those apart from Christ experience that we won’t?

Peace and safety

Εἰρήνη καὶ ἀσφάλεια

Well, it starts off pretty pleasant for them. This world is going to come to the point where they can all together claim, “peace and safety!” At least, that will be the prevailing sentiment in the hearts of most of the residents of this world.

Can this be said of the world today? Are people throughout the world enjoying near-universal peace?

Not yet.

Even in our relatively peaceful nation, from within we’ve been torn by riots and bitter partisanship that’s starting to sound more and more like literal war talk. Externally, we have numerous nations that are actively attempting to destroy us. And it’s much less peaceful elsewhere, as you know.

How about safety? Is the world today experiencing a general sense of safety? To consume any of our mainstream media these days is to be bombarded by all of the supposed realities that cry out to you that you are not at all safe in any way.

But there’s coming a time when unregenerate humanity is going to be able to credibly cry out in unison, “peace and safety!” And it won’t be an empty boast.

This is not explicitly taught in this passage, but it’s likely that this peace and safety will be brought about by a character known in Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica as “the Man of Sin”. The apostle John refers to him as the Anti-Christ. He’ll come on the world scene promoting peace and safety. What he’ll demand in return is worship.

then sudden destruction cometh upon them

τότε αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐφίσταται ὄλεθρος

But it’s at that very time - as the world comes to the point where it feels so safe and secure apart from Christ - that God will bring sudden destruction on them.

Jesus actually warned his Jewish audience concerning this time in Luke 21:34-36. He was speaking in the Temple to the Jews - some of whom were his disciples and the rest were not. He warned them about this day.

To a mixed group - spiritually-speaking - he urged them that they needed to be on their guard and not have their hearts weighed-down with drunkenness and unbridled indulgence and even the worries of this life. If they gave in to those things, this day that Paul’s speaking of in 1 Thessalonians 5 will close down on them like a trap! And Jesus says there in Luke 21 that this day is going to overtake all those who live on the earth.

as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape

as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

ὥσπερ ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσῃ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκφύγωσιν.

There will be no escaping this sudden destruction from God - as Paul says back here in 1 Thessalonians 5.

It’s just like when an expecting mother begins to experience true labor pains. When they start in earnest, there’s no reversing that situation until the process has run its course.

So too, when this Day of the Lord begins, there’s no stopping it.

If I’m speaking to a group that has both lost people and saved individuals, I would warn every one like Jesus did - Be on your guard. Stay alert. Seek to escape this doom. It’s coming. And if your life is characterized by care-free sinning then what reason do you have to think that you’ll escape what’s coming on the world of care-free sinners?

…

What we’ve considered to this point has been pretty heavy. It’s terrifying, really, to consider lost loved ones and friends who - through their refusal to receive Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins - put themselves in the position where they’re going to bear the full brunt of this Day of the Lord.

But here’s the reality that ought to have all of us crying “glory!” from our hearts. You and I who know Jesus Christ personally - who have trusted him for the forgiveness of all of our sins - we are not going to experience this aspect of the Day of the Lord…

Verse 4

1 Thessalonians 5:4 AV 1873

4 But ye, brethren,are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

4 ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σκότει, ἵνα ἡ ἡμέρα ὑμᾶς ὡς κλέπτης καταλάβῃ,

But ye, brethren

4 But ye, brethren,

4 ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί,

Let’s do a little exercise. Look at verses 1 and 2 and spot the personal pronouns (I, you, s/he, it, we they/them). Which of those are used in verses 1-2? I count 3 “you’s” in those verses.

What about verse 3? I count 3 “they’s” or “them’s”.

And on to verses 4-6. I count 6 “ye’s” or “you’s” or “we’s” or “us’s”.

The point is that verse 3 here is not for believers. Verses 4-6 give an alternative for those of us who are trusting Christ.

Instead of experiencing this sudden destruction that’s to come upon the whole world, we’re not going to experience that.

How is it that we believers in Christ are somehow going be exempt from this inescapable sudden destruction?

That’s where our last message comes in. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 happens first. Then 1 Thessalonians 5:3 occurs.

Believers who have died will be raised to the clouds and we who are still alive at that time will be instantaneously changed and meet those believers and the Lord in the air and be with him forever. In other words, the Rapture will occur.

After that, the punitive destructive aspect of the Day of the Lord will begin for those who are left on the earth.

… ye … are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief

… ye … are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

ὑμεῖς … οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σκότει, ἵνα ἡ ἡμέρα ὑμᾶς ὡς κλέπτης καταλάβῃ,

God gives us every reason to believe that those who are in Christ will not suffer through the Great Tribulation - which is another title given in Scripture to the Day of the Lord.

We are not in darkness. You used to be. You were pictured as just sitting in darkness (Matthew 4:16). It was so dark for you morally that you had no idea where to go. You couldn’t even stand and walk. So you just sat there, doing nothing for the Lord.

You actually loved darkness rather than the light (John 3:19).

But then Jesus graciously gave you light and guided your feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:79). He did this when you believed in him (John 12:46).

Because of this light that you received from your Savior Jesus Christ, this Day of the Lord - which is going to come upon this earth like a thief - will not overtake you.

This is not saying that you won’t be surprised as God starts pouring out his wrath on this world. As if you’ll be just fine while God begins to punish this world and there you are right in the middle of it. But - hey - at least God’s going to preserve you through it and you’re not going to be surprised like you would be by the coming of a thief.

No. Taken together with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, this is telling you that you won’t even be present as the Day of the Lord commences in all of its full fury and power.

As this day sneaks in, you will already have sneaked out, so to speak.

So, negatively you are not in darkness anymore.

Positively, you are light…

Verse 5

1 Thessalonians 5:5 AV 1873

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

5 πάντες γὰρ ὑμεῖς υἱοὶ φωτός ἐστε καὶ υἱοὶ ἡμέρας. οὐκ ἐσμὲν νυκτὸς οὐδὲ σκότους·

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day

5 πάντες γὰρ ὑμεῖς υἱοὶ φωτός ἐστε καὶ υἱοὶ ἡμέρας

This is what you are, brothers and sisters. You are children of light and of the day. In other words, you are characterized by these things, morally speaking.

You are characterized morally as being in the light and in the bright day.

we are not of the night, nor of darkness

we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

οὐκ ἐσμὲν νυκτὸς οὐδὲ σκότους·

Negatively once more, you are not characterized as being morally benighted or darkened.

The darkness and the night spiritually are things of the past for you.

Now, you might feel like you’re in the dark or that you’re stumbling through what seems to be a kind of night in your life. But listen to God. The reality is that you are not in the dark and that you are not in the night. Who’s correct on this matter? God or your feelings?

If you trust Jesus Christ and he’s forgiven your sins, you are bright and light and day. The light has been turned on for you. The darkness has been cast off.

This is really what is the case in your life and in your eternal soul.

This is all of us - every single believer is like this in actuality. It’s not that some of us are of light and of the day and the rest of us are still kind of in the dark. We’re all together in the light spiritually.

But oftentimes our outward physical existence needs to synchronize with our true inward spiritual condition. Which is what Paul exhorts these believers to in verse 6…

Verse 6

1 Thessalonians 5:6 AV 1873

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

6 ἄρα οὖν μὴ καθεύδωμεν ὡς οἱ λοιποί, ἀλλὰ γρηγορῶμεν καὶ νήφωμεν.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others

6 ἄρα οὖν μὴ καθεύδωμεν ὡς οἱ λοιποί

In chapter 4, Paul used this word sleep to describe the physical death of a believer. But that’s not what he’s saying here. He’s rather urging us to shun living your life as if you were asleep spiritually.

This can happen in the life of a believer. If it couldn’t, then Paul would have no need to warn against it.

It’s possible for any of us to get to the point where we’re just tired and lulled into a sense of sleepiness, spiritually. You’re just snoozing through your Christian life and wasting all sorts of opportunities to serve the Lord and others.

but let us watch and be sober

but let us watch and be sober.

ἀλλὰ γρηγορῶμεν καὶ νήφωμεν.

That’s no way to live, believers. We’re called out of our practical sleep - which is a potential for any believer - and into a life of watchfulness and sobriety.

Watch - like a man who has discovered that a thief is coming to his home at a certain time. And he’s ready with methods of self-defense.

Watch - like Noah did as he built his ark and waited for God to send the flood which he knew was coming.

Watch - like those ten unmarried ladies who were all waiting for the bridegroom to come. But some dozed off and showed themselves to be foolish and unprepared. They were not watchful.

Watch - like someone who knows of the presence of a lion walking around on the streets outside your home.

But if you hear these admonitions and still willfully choose to sleep morally and refuse to watch and be sober, then understand what that’s indicating about you…

Verse 7

1 Thessalonians 5:7 AV 1873

7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

7 οἱ γὰρ καθεύδοντες νυκτὸς καθεύδουσιν, καὶ οἱ μεθυσκόμενοι νυκτὸς μεθύουσιν·

Paul is stating a physical reality that most of us are aware of.

Sleeping tends to happen at night. I know there are people who work third shift. But the normal average human sleeps at night.

And for those who get drunk - this tends to happen at night as well. Again, there are exceptions. I lived for several years in a secular college town and saw the shamefulness of people being drunk all sorts of times - and even in the day. Yet, even there, the night was by far the preferred time for drunkenness for those people.

So, this is just how it is. This is the reality in this fallen world. Sleeping - which is amoral - and drunkenness - which is immoral - both tend to happen at night.

And if you - as a professing Christian - are not characterized by a life of watchfulness and sobriety (verse 6), then you are declaring without words your true spiritual condition as being benighted and in the dark - as asleep and drunk…

But as the author of Hebrews says, we are persuaded of better things concerning you and things which accompany salvation.

So, Paul once again contrasts the “they’s” of verse 7 with the “us” of verse 8…

Verse 8

1 Thessalonians 5:8 AV 1873

8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.

8 ἡμεῖς δὲ ἡμέρας ὄντες νήφωμεν, ἐνδυσάμενοι θώρακα πίστεως καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ περικεφαλαίαν ἐλπίδα σωτηρίας·

But let us, who are of the day, be sober

8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober,

8 ἡμεῖς δὲ ἡμέρας ὄντες νήφωμεν,

We need to be sober because that’s just what goes along with being “of the day” - belonging to the day rather than the night, morally- and spiritually-speaking.

How are we to be sober?

putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation

putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.

ἐνδυσάμενοι θώρακα πίστεως καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ περικεφαλαίαν ἐλπίδα σωτηρίας·

We need to put on some clothing, metaphorically. The clothing is described as a breastplate and a helmet - typical armor for the soldiers of Paul’s time.

The breastplate protects your heart and the helmet protects your head.

What’s portrayed as protecting your heart? It’s these two Christian virtues of faith and love.

And what protects your mind is the third Christian virtue of the confident expectation of salvation.

Faith, hope, and love are attributes in yourself that demonstrate that you are in fact living soberly.

Now, it’s evident that neither a breastplate nor a helmet are offensive weapons. The drowsiness and temptations toward spiritual inebriation are themselves on the attack. Our faith and love and hope are viewed defensively in this text.

One more issue to explore here is - in what way are we to hope for our salvation? Because, of course, once you trust Jesus, he saves you. What are we to be confidently expecting after that?

The answer that we’ll see in verses 9 and 10 is surprising. Paul is going to include the concept of the Rapture back from chapter 4 in with the total package that is our salvation. We might tend to think that the teaching on the Rapture of the Church and even what we’ve been hearing in this chapter concerning our absence from the earth during the Day of the Lord - that maybe these matters are secondary issues. Maybe their importance isn’t all that great. After all, so many good people disagree on these matters.

But we’re going to see Paul actually lump in with this concept of salvation - that we’re to be confidently expecting - his teaching on the Rapture of the Church so that we won’t have the Day of the Lord overtake us. We’ll see this in verses 9 and 10…

Verse 9

1 Thessalonians 5:9 AV 1873

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

9 ὅτι οὐκ ἔθετο ἡμᾶς ὁ θεὸς εἰς ὀργὴν ἀλλὰ εἰς περιποίησιν σωτηρίας διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

For God hath not appointed us to wrath

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath,

9 ὅτι οὐκ ἔθετο ἡμᾶς ὁ θεὸς εἰς ὀργὴν

If there’s one verse in this whole section that clinches the idea that believers aren’t going to experience the punitive Day of the Lord, this would be it. God has not appointed you and me to wrath - neither eternally nor temporally. You - as a believer in Jesus Christ - right now are no longer under God’s wrath. Neither will you ever on this earth be subject to God's wrath.

But that’s exactly what the Day of the Lord is all about. It’s God pouring out his wrath on this wicked world that resolutely and relentlessly rejects him.

You have not been appointed to receive that same treatment.

but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ

but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

ἀλλὰ εἰς περιποίησιν σωτηρίας διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

Rather, God has appointed you to salvation - the very thing you were said to be confidently expecting in the last verse.

Salvation from our sin is multifaceted. One monumental aspect of our salvation is that we have been removed from the realm of God’s wrath. We are no longer in God’s cross-hairs. He has removed the noose from around our neck - granted a pardon just minutes before the execution was scheduled to occur.

by our Lord Jesus Christ

by our Lord Jesus Christ,

διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

He has granted you eternal escape from his wrath through Jesus Christ. And if he’s done this in your life, then he has also granted you temporal escape from his wrath through that same Jesus Christ.

Are you confidently expectant of this reality in your life? God’s not angry at you any more. Nor will he ever again be- in eternity or here on earth.

And this has all been brought to pass through of our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ …

Verse 10

1 Thessalonians 5:10 AV 1873

10 who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

10 τοῦ ἀποθανόντος περὶ ἡμῶν ἵνα εἴτε γρηγορῶμεν εἴτε καθεύδωμεν ἅμα σὺν αὐτῷ ζήσωμεν.

Jesus’ death ensures that we will not be subjected to God’s wrath.

It guarantees - on the other hand - that we will be with him forever.

Paul ties together everything he’s said since chapter 4 and verse 13 in this verse.

The reference to being awake or asleep really doesn’t fit with what we’ve been studying in chapter 5. Because in this chapter, the wakefulness or the sleepiness under discussion has involved moral and spiritual aspects.

But this verse here is getting back to the way that Paul spoke of waking or sleeping back at the end of chapter 4 where the waking or sleeping was referring to physical death and life.

So, this verse - by capping off all that’s been said since chapter 4 verse 13 - gives us another reason to see this larger section as two sides of the same coin.

You have chapter 4 telling you about the Rapture of believers - dead and alive - to meet the Lord in the air and to forever be together with him.

Then you have the other side of that - which is right after the Rapture occurs, the Day of the Lord sets in and God starts pouring out his wrath on this world of unbelievers.

Of course, you as a believer wouldn’t be there because God hasn’t appointed you to wrath but to obtain salvation from that wrath.

But don’t forget - it was the death of the Son of God which procured all of this for you: Deliverance from wrath and eternal bliss in his presence with all of his saints.

Does that affect your heart at all? Does this teaching have any impact on your inner person?

God intends it to - as he closes this section in verse 11…

Verse 11

1 Thessalonians 5:11 AV 1873

11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

11 διὸ παρακαλεῖτε ἀλλήλους καὶ οἰκοδομεῖτε εἷς τὸν ἕνα, καθὼς καὶ ποιεῖτε.

This section from chapter 4 verse 13 to here in chapter 5 verse 11 is meant to comfort us - and to help us in comforting one another.

Unfortunately, I think this passage is used very seldom by Christians for this purpose. Instead, there’s just endless debate - on the one hand - or an apathy that leads to ignorance of what’s actually here for us - on the other.

But what can be more comforting than to realize and truly believe in your heart that you will never ever experience God’s wrath - although you deserve it? You will be caught away before God’s wrath is finally poured out during the Day of the Lord. And you’ll be with your fellow-believers and with the Lord Jesus who died for you - forever.

This is comforting. It will build you up - it will edify you… if you believe it. If you doubt, you miss out on the comfort and the edification that God gave his own Son for you to experience.

He wants you to be comforted and edified by this section of his word. Are you? Will you use this section of Scripture - and attempt to help others along as well?

[S] May the Lord help us to fully believe what he’s revealed and to apply this teaching to our lives and the lives of our fellow-believers.

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