1 Thessalonianschapter 5
28 verses · Paul · AD 50 or 51 · Paul's letters
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 1 Thessalonians Overview.
The last chapter of the letter speaks to a church that wanted to know when. Its hearers lived under a Roman order that promised peace and security, and they had been taught about the Lord's day while Paul was with them. The chapter answers with a picture from the night and a call to stay awake. Then it moves quickly through a string of short commands for a church learning to govern itself. Listen for how many of them are only two or three words long. The letter ends with a prayer, a request and a charge that it be read to everyone.
Context
- Who
- A house church learning how to run its own meetings without its founders present
- What
- Teaching on the day of the Lord and how to wait for it, followed by instructions for church life, a closing prayer and greetings.
- Where
- Written from Corinth to be read aloud to the assembled church in Thessalonica.
- When
- About AD 50 to 51, at the close of the letter written after Timothy's return.
- Why
- To ready the church for a day whose timing is unknown, and to give it a working order while its founders were away.
Historical context
'Peace and safety' was not a random phrase. Peace and security was the standing boast of Roman rule, stamped on coins and carved on monuments, the promise that the empire had ended the wars. Quoting it and then saying destruction comes suddenly was aiming at the slogan itself.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The night imagery is practical. Cities were dark; a person out after sundown carried a lamp or stayed put. Burglary was a night trade and there was no police force, so a householder's only protection was staying alert. Roman armies split the night into watches, and soldiers on watch wore the breastplate and helmet named here.
The letter itself was an event. Very few members could read, so a letter was performed aloud by a reader to the assembled group, probably in the largest house available. Paul's charge that it be read to all of them is a charge about who gets included.
The instructions about leaders are the earliest picture in the New Testament of church life running itself: men who work hard among them and look after them, prophecies to be weighed rather than swallowed, and the disorderly to be warned by the group rather than by an apostle.
Significance
For hearers anxious about when the day would come, the answer is that the timing is not their business, their business is being awake. Children of the day do not need to be told the hour.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The closing list gave a leaderless group a working order: respect the ones doing the labor, do not stamp out prophecy, test everything. That is a church being handed responsibility for itself.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A Thief in the Night: but You Are Children of Day
1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
the times and seasons: Paul declines to teach the Day of the Lord, since the teaching given at Thessalonica stood sufficient. Verse 2's figure, the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, borrows the Lord's own words from Matthew 24:43.
1 Thessalonians 5:1
“But of the times and the seasons - See the notes, Act 1:7. The reference here is to the coming of the Lord Jesus, and to the various events connected with his advent; see the close of 1 Thes. 4. Ye have no need that I write unto you - That is, they had received all the information on the particular point to which he refers, which it was necessary they should have. He seems to refer particularly to the suddenness of his coming.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Thessalonians 5:1
“The thing is certain that Christ will come, and there is a certain time appointed for his coming; but there was no need that the apostle should write about this, and therefore he had no revelation given him; nor should they or we enquire into this secret, which the Father has reserved in his own power.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the Day of the Lord will come like a thief: The Day of the Lord is the Old Testament's phrase for God's judgment day, and Albert Barnes notes that Lord here means the Lord Jesus. What they knew well was that its date is hidden. Theophylact of Ohrid applies the thief figure also to the end of each person's life.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
“For yourselves know perfectly - That is, they had been fully taught this. There could be no doubt in their minds respecting it. The day of the Lord so cometh - Of the Lord Jesus - for so the word “Lord” in the New Testament commonly means; see the notes, Act 1:24. The “day of the Lord” means that day in which he will be manifested, or in which he will be the prominent object in view of the assembled universe. As a thief in the night - Suddenly and unexpectedly, as a robber breaks into a dwelling.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:2
“And no doubt the apostle had told them, as of the coming of Christ, so also of his coming suddenly, which is the meaning of his coming as a thief in the night, Rev. xvi. As the thief usually cometh in the dead time of the night, when he is least expected, such a surprise will the day of the Lord be; so sudden and surprising will be his appearance.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
While people are saying: The false security, Peace and security, echoes the condemned prophets of Jeremiah 6:14, who proclaimed peace just before judgment fell. The labor figure is the one Isaiah 13:8 and Jeremiah 6:24 use for the day of the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:3
“For when they shall say, Peace and safety - That is, when the wicked shall say this, for the apostle here refers only to those on whom “sudden destruction” will come; compare Mat 24:36-42 notes; 2Pe 3:3-4 notes. It is clear from this: (1) That when the Lord Jesus shall come the world will not all be converted. There will be some to be “destroyed.” How large this proportion will be, it is impossible now to ascertain. This supposition, however, is not inconsistent with the belief that there will be a general prevalence of the gospel before that period.”
1 Thessalonians 5:4-5
But you, brothers, are not in the darkness: But you turns the thief figure around, since you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. Verse 5 grounds the claim in identity, you are all sons of the light and sons of the day.
1 Thessalonians 5:4
“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness - Probably St. Paul refers to a notion that was very prevalent among the Jews, viz.: that God would judge the Gentiles in the night time, when utterly secure and careless; but he would judge the Jews in the day time, when employed in reading and performing the words of the law.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
sons of the light: is a Hebrew idiom, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain it by likeness. As sons resemble their fathers, these believers share the character of light. In the second half Paul changes you to we and stands on the same side.
1 Thessalonians 5:5
“Ye are all the children of light - All who are Christians. The phrase” children of light” is a Hebraism, meaning that they were the enlightened children of God. And the children of the day - Who live as if light always shone round about them. The meaning is, that in reference to the coming of the Lord they are as people would be in reference to the coming of a thief, if there were no night and no necessity of slumber. They would always be wakeful and active, and it would be impossible to come upon them by surprise.”
1 Thessalonians 5:6-7
let us not sleep as the others do: Identity in verses 4 and 5 becomes duty here: let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober. The command is watchfulness, drawn from a day whose timing verse 2 left unknown.
1 Thessalonians 5:6
“WE DO NOT usually sleep towards the things of this world. We rise up early, and sit up late, and eat the bread of carefulness, for Mammon’s sake. In this age of competition, most men are wide enough awake for their temporal interests; but, so is it, partly through our being in this body, and partly through our dwelling in a sinful world, that we are all of us very apt to sleep concerning the interests of our souls. We drive like Jehu for this present world, but loiter for the world to come.”
those who sleep, sleep at night: The verse states a plain fact before it becomes a figure. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take it literally first: sleeping by day showed laziness, and drinking by day showed shamelessness. Theophylact of Ohrid reads the sleepers as those who stay settled in evil, unmoved toward good.
1 Thessalonians 5:7
“This verse is to be taken in the literal sense. Night is the time when sleepers sleep, and drinking men are drunk. To sleep by day would imply great indolence; to be drunken by day, great shamelessness.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
since we belong to the day: The armor figure gathers the letter's triad into equipment: the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation. Faith and love from 1:3 now guard the chest, and hope, the third grace, guards the head.
1 Thessalonians 5:8
But let us, who are of the day, be sober,.... As in body, so in mind; let us cast off the works of darkness, and have no fellowship with them; since the day of grace has passed upon us, the darkness is gone, and the true light shines, let us walk as children of the light, living soberly, righteously, and godly: putting on the breastplate of faith and love; this is the coat of mail, 1Sa 17:5 which was made of iron or brass; and the Ethiopic version here calls it, "the iron coat."
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:8
“Putting on the breastplate - We are not only called to Work, but we are called also to fight; and that we may not be surprised, we must watch; and that we may be in a condition to defend ourselves, we must be sober; and that we may be enabled to conquer, we must be armed: and what the breastplate and helmet are to a soldier’s heart and head, such are faith, love, and hope to us.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 5:8
“This good hope, through grace, of eternal life, will be as a helmet to defend the head, and hinder our being intoxicated with the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season. If we have hope of salvation, let us take heed of doing any thing that shall shake our hopes, or render us unworthy of or unfit for the great salvation we hope for.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
ConnectionsEphesians 6:14
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
God has not appointed us to suffer wrath: For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation states the promise of 1:10. He died for us grounds it in the cross, and whether we are awake or asleep repeats chapter 4.
1 Thessalonians 5:9
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath - This is designed as an encouragement to effort to secure our salvation. The wish of God is to save us, and therefore we should watch and be sober; we should take to ourselves the whole of the Christian armor, and strive for victory. If he had appointed us to wrath, effort would have been in vain, for we could do nothing but yield to our inevitable destiny. The hope of a final triumph should animate us in our efforts, and cheer us in our struggles with our foes.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:9
“And, as it is the salvation that Christians hope for to be for ever with the Lord, so one foundation of their hope is their union with him. And if they are united with Christ, and live in him, and live to him, here, the sleep of death will be no prejudice to the spiritual life, much less to the life of glory hereafter.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Thessalonians 5:9
“Christ "acquired (so the Greek for 'purchased') the Church (and its salvation) with His own blood" (Ac 20:28); each member is said to be appointed by God to the "acquiring of salvation." In the primary sense, God does the work; in the secondary sense, man does it.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
whether we are awake or asleep: Awake and asleep here mean alive and dead, and John Chrysostom notes that sleep meant moral dullness a few verses earlier. Together gathers both groups into one company. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown link it to 4:13 to 17, where the living and the dead meet the Lord at once.
1 Thessalonians 5:10
“Who died for us - His death was an atoning sacrifice for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews. Whether we wake or sleep - Whether we live or die, whether we are in this state or in the other world, we shall live together with him-shall enjoy his life, and the consolations of his Spirit, while here; and shall be glorified together with him in the eternal world. The words show that every where and in all circumstances genuine believers, who walk after God, have life and communion with him, and are continually happy, and constantly safe.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Therefore encourage and build one another up: Therefore draws the practical conclusion, encourage and build one another up. It is the command 4:18 gave the resurrection hope, now applied to the whole Day of the Lord. The closing words, just as you are already doing, commend a practice under way.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Wherefore comfort yourselves - notes, 1Th 4:18. And edify one another - Strive to build up each other, or to establish each other in the faith by these truths; notes, Rom 14:19. Even as also ye do - Continue to do it. Let nothing intervene to disturb the harmony and consolation which you have been accustomed to derive from these high and holy doctrines.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“We must bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. They must edify one another, by following after those things whereby one may edify another, Rom. xiv. As Christians are lively stones built up together a spiritual house, they should endeavour to promote the good of the whole church by promoting the work of grace in one another.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks; Quench Not the Spirit
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge: The letter turns to church order: acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction. In love, hold them in highest regard because of their work grounds the honor in the work.
1 Thessalonians 5:12
“Know them - Act kindly towards them; acknowledge them as the messengers of Christ; and treat them with tenderness and respect. This is a frequent meaning of the word γινωσκω. See on Joh 1:10 (note). Them which labor among you - The words τους κοπιωντας have appeared to some as expressing those who had labored among them; but as it is the participle of the present tense, there is no need to consider it in this light. Both it and the word προΐσταμενους, the superintendents, refer to persons then actually employed in the work of God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:12
“Sometimes the same person may both labour, that is, preach; be over, or govern; and admonish the flock by particular application to each: sometimes two or more different persons, according as God variously dispenses his gifts. But O, what a misery is it when a man undertakes this whole work without either gifts or graces for any part of it!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 5:12
“They are over the people in the Lord, to distinguish them from civil magistrates, and to denote also that they are but ministers under Christ, appointed by him, and must rule the people by Christ's laws, and not by laws of their own. This may also intimate the end of their office and all their labour; namely, the service and honour of the Lord.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Thessalonians 5:12
“Paul's practice seems to have been to ordain elders in every Church soon after its establishment (Ac 14:23). them which labour . . . are over . . . admonish you--not three classes of ministers, but one, as there is but one article common to the three in the Greek.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
hold them in highest regard: Highest regard renders a doubled word, more than abundantly in John Wesley's reading. The reason given is the work, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that the office is hard labor to the point of weariness. Peace with one another guards that bond from both sides.
1 Thessalonians 5:13
“Esteem them very highly - Literally, more than abundantly, in love - The inexpressible sympathy that is between true pastors and their flock is intimated, not only here, but also in divers other places of this epistle. For their work's sake - The principal ground of their vast regard for them. But how are we to esteem them who do not work at all?”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:13
“At the same time, the word "work," teaches ministers that, while claiming the reverence due to their office, it is not a sinecure, but a "work"; compare "labor" (even to weariness: so the Greek), 1Th 5:12. be at peace among yourselves--The "and" is not in the original.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Thessalonians 5:13
“This is certain, that ministers and people should avoid every thing that tends to alienate their affections one from another. And the people should be at peace among themselves, doing all they can to hinder any differences from rising or continuing among them, and using all proper means to preserve peace and harmony.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly: The whole church cares for three kinds of struggling believer: admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak. The unruly are the idle of 4:11, and the closing charge, be patient with everyone, governs all three tasks.
1 Thessalonians 5:14
“Warn them that are unruly - The whole phraseology of this verse is military; I shall consider the import of each term. Ατακτους· Those who are out of their ranks, and are neither in a disposition nor situation to perform the work and duty of a soldier; those who will not do the work prescribed, and who will meddle with what is not commanded. There are many such in every Church that is of considerable magnitude.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:14
“There will be in all societies some who walk disorderly, who go out of their rank and station; and it is not only the duty of ministers, but of private Christians also, to warn and admonish them. Such should be reproved for their sin, warned of their danger, and told plainly of the injury they do their own souls, and the hurt they may do to others.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Thessalonians 5:14
“Paul practiced what he preached (1Co 9:22). be patient toward all men--There is no believer who needs not the exercise of patience "toward" him; there is none to whom a believer ought not to show it; many show it more to strangers than to their own families, more to the great than to the humble; but we ought to show it "toward all men" [BENGEL].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Make sure that no one repays evil for evil: forbids retaliation as a settled policy, addressed to the whole congregation. The phrase for one another and for all people carries the command past the church's walls, the reach 3:12 already gave the church's love.
1 Thessalonians 5:15
“See that none render evil for evil - See the notes on Mat 5:39, Mat 5:44. The meaning here is, that we are not to take vengeance; compare notes on Rom 12:17, Rom 12:19. This law is positive, and is universally binding. The moment we feel ourselves acting from a desire to “return evil for evil,” that moment we are acting wrong.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:15
“We must always endeavour to be beneficent and instrumental to promote the welfare of others, both among ourselves (in the first place to those that are of the household o faith ), and then, as we have opportunity, unto all men, Gal. vi. Various Short Exhortations. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice at all times: Three commands stand in a row: Rejoice at all times, Pray without ceasing, Give thanks in every circumstance. The ground covers all three: for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. The call to holiness at 4:3 is stated the same way.
1 Thessalonians 5:16
“Rejoice evermore - Be always happy; the religion of Christ was intended to remove misery. He that has God for his portion may constantly exult. Four MSS. of good note add εν τῳ Κυριῳ, in the Lord: Rejoice in the Lord evermore.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:16
“Our Lord has purchased joy, as well as righteousness, for us. It is the very design of the gospel that, being saved from guilt, we should be happy in the love of Christ. Prayer may be said to be the breath of our spiritual life.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 5:16
“THIS is a sunny precept. When we read it, we feel that the time of the singing of birds has come. That joy should be made a duty is a sure token of the blessedness of the New Covenant. Because Jesus has suffered, we are encouraged, commanded and enabled to rejoice. Only the Man of Sorrows and His chosen Apostles can teach for a precept such a word as this—"Rejoice evermore" Happy people who can be thus exhorted! We ought to rejoice that there is a command to rejoice!”
Pray without ceasing: Charles Spurgeon notes where the command stands, after rejoice at all times, as if Paul answered how anyone can always rejoice. The answer is to pray always. Matthew Henry reads it as keeping set times of prayer and praying without growing weary, and Thomas Aquinas sets it beside Luke 18:1.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
“We should keep up stated times for prayer, and continue instant in prayer. We should pray always, and not faint: pray without weariness, and continue in prayer, till we come to that world where prayer shall be swallowed up in praise. The meaning is not that men should do nothing but pray, but that nothing else we do should hinder prayer in its proper season.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:17
“THE POSITION OF OUR TEXT is very suggestive. Observe what it follows. It comes immediately after the precept, 'Rejoice evermore;' as if that command had somewhat staggered the reader, and made him ask 'How can I always rejoice?' and, therefore, the apostle appended as answer, 'Always pray.' The more praying the more rejoicing. Prayer gives a channel to the pent-up sorrows of the soul, they flow away, and in their stead streams of sacred delight pour into the heart.”
Give thanks in every circumstance: Every circumstance includes the hard ones. Adam Clarke grounds the command in Romans 8:28, where all things work together for good to those who love God. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read in Christ Jesus as naming the one who reveals that will.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
“In every thing give thanks - For this reason, that all things work together for good to them that love God; therefore, every occurrence may be a subject of gratitude and thankfulness. While ye live to God, prosperity and adversity will be equally helpful to you. For this is the will of God - That ye should be always happy; that ye should ever be in the spirit of prayer; and that ye should profit by every occurrence in life, and be continually grateful and obedient; for gratitude and obedience are inseparably connected.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:18
“If equanimity be the contention, you have Lycurgus choosing death by self-starvation, because the Lacons had made some emendation of his laws: the Christian, even when he is condemned, gives thanks. If the comparison be made in regard to trustworthiness, Anaxagoras denied the deposit of his enemies: the Christian is noted for his fidelity even among those who are not of his religion.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · The Apologypatristic
1 Thessalonians 5:19-20
Do not extinguish the Spirit: forbids putting out a fire already burning, the Spirit's active work in worship treated as its normal state. Do not treat prophecies with contempt names the danger the first command guards against, contempt for a gift working among believers.
1 Thessalonians 5:19
“Quench not the Spirit - This language is taken from the way of putting out a fire, and the sense is, we are not to extinguish the influences of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Possibly there may be an allusion here to fire on an altar, which was to be kept constantly burning. This fire may have been regarded as emblematic of devotion, and as denoting that that devotion was never to become extinct.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:19
“We can thus see why Paul, not wanting the grace of the Spirit given to us to grow cold, exhorts us, "Do not quench the Spirit." The only way we can continue to be partakers of Christ is to cling until the end to the Holy Spirit, who was given to us at the beginning. Paul said, "Do not quench" not because the Spirit is under the power of men but because evil and unthankful men certainly do wish to quench the Spirit. Demonstrating their impurity, they drive the Spirit away by their unholy deeds.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Festal Letters 4.4patristic
1 Thessalonians 5:19
“Quench not the Spirit - Wherever it is, it burns; it flames in holy love, in joy, prayer, thanksgiving. O quench it not, damp it not in yourself or others, either by neglecting to do good, or by doing evil!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Do not treat prophecies with contempt: Readers differ on what the prophecies were. Adam Clarke and Matthew Henry take them as the preaching and applying of Scripture. Thomas Aquinas names both the gift of prophecy and the teaching of divine doctrine.
1 Thessalonians 5:20
“For he has already quenched and despised the thing which he destroys, and is unable to forbid what he has despised. It is then incumbent on Marcion now to display in his church that spirit of his god which must not be quenched, and the prophesyings which must not be despised.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:20
“Despise not prophesyings - Do not suppose that ye have no need of continual instruction; without it ye cannot preserve the Christian life, nor go on to perfection. God will ever send a message of salvation by each of his ministers to every faithful, attentive hearer. Do not suppose that ye are already wise enough; you are no more wise enough than you are holy enough. They who slight or neglect the means of grace, and especially the preaching of God’s holy word, are generally vain, empty, self-conceited people, and exceedingly superficial both in knowledge and piety.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
but test all things: The charge to test all things supplies the safeguard the previous two commands need. Hold fast to what is good is the positive outcome, genuine prophecy kept while what fails the test is let go.
1 Thessalonians 5:21
“Meantime, prove all things - Which any preacher recommends. (He speaks of practice, not of doctrines.) Try every advice by the touchstone of scripture, and hold fast that which is good - Zealously, resolutely, diligently practice it, in spite of all opposition.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:21
“Prove all things - Subject everything submitted to you to be believed to the proper test. The word here used (δοκιμάζετε dokimazete), is one that is properly applicable to metals, referring to the art of the assayer, by which the true nature and value of the metal is tested; see notes, 1Co 3:13. This trial was usually made by fire. The meaning here is, that they were carefully to examine everything proposed for their belief. They were not to receive it on trust; to take it on assertion; to believe it because it was urged with vehemence, zeal, or plausibility.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21
“Note, The doctrines of human infallibility, implicit faith, and blind obedience, are not the doctrines of the Bible. Every Christian has and ought to have, the judgment of discretion, and should have his senses exercised in discerning between good and evil, truth and falsehood, Heb. v. 13, 14 . And proving all things must be in order to holding fast that which is good.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
every form of evil: Form renders eidos, so the Berean every form of evil differs from the King James appearance of evil, which Adam Clarke follows. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that Jesus healed on the Sabbath though it looked wrong to some, so the command concerns evil in any shape.
1 Thessalonians 5:22
“I am greatly grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, because he so little understands the place that was given him [in the Church]. I exhort you, therefore, that ye abstain from covetousness, and that ye be chaste and truthful. "Abstain from every form of evil." For if a man cannot govern himself in such matters, how shall he enjoin them on others? If a man does not keep himself from covetousness, he shall be defiled by idolatry, and shall be judged as one of the heathen.”
Polycarp of Smyrna · written before 155 · Epistle to the Philippians 11patristic
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:22
“Abstain from all appearance of evil - Sin not, and avoid even the appearance of it. Do not drive your morality so near the bounds of evil as to lead even weak persons to believe that ye actually touch, taste, or handle it. Let not the form of it, ειδος, appear with or among you, much less the substance. Ye are called to holiness; be ye holy, for God is holy.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 5:22
“In many cases the Christian should not abstain from what has the semblance ("appearance") of evil, though really good. Jesus healed on the sabbath, and ate with publicans and sinners, acts which wore the appearance of evil, but which were not to be abstained from on that account, being really good.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Spirit, Soul, and Body Kept Blameless
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely: The prayer returns to the will of 4:3, may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, the adverb meaning entire, to the utmost degree. It ends at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the letter's fifth mention of it.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
“And the very God of peace - The God who gives peace or happiness; compare notes, Rom 1:7. Sanctify you - See the notes at Joh 17:17. Wholly - ὁλοτελεῖς holoteleis. In every part; completely. It is always proper to pray that God would make his people entirely holy. A prayer for perfect sanctification, however, should not be adduced as a proof that it is in fact attained in the present life. Your whole spirit and soul and body - There is an allusion here, doubtless, to the popular opinion in regard to what constitutes man.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:23
“He prays that they may be wholly sanctified, that the whole man may be sanctified, and then that the whole man, spirit, soul, and body, may be preserved: or, he prays that they may be wholly sanctified, that is, more perfectly, for the best are sanctified but in part while in this world; and therefore we should pray for and press towards complete sanctification.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Thessalonians 5:23
“And "whole (entire)," individually, each one of them entire, with "spirit, soul, and body." The mention of the preservation of the body accords with the subject (1Th 4:16). TRENCH better regards "wholly" as meaning, "having perfectly attained the moral end," namely, to be a full-grown man in Christ. "Whole," complete, with no grace which ought to be wanting in a Christian.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The One who calls you is faithful: , and He will do it grounds the prayer of verse 23 in God's own character. The promise answers any worry the standard of verse 23 might raise, since the One who calls also completes.
1 Thessalonians 5:24
“Faithful is he that calleth you,.... Into the fellowship of his Son, and to his kingdom and glory, and who continues to do so, not only externally by his word, but internally by his Spirit and grace. Who also will do it. Two things the apostle mentions as the ground of confidence that the above petition, would be heard and answered; that is, that God would wholly sanctify them, and preserve the whole of them blameless to the coming of Christ; and they are the faithfulness of God, and the effectual calling of his saints.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:24
“The kindness and love of God had appeared to them in calling them to the knowledge of his truth, and the faithfulness of God was their security that they should persevere to the end; and therefore, the apostle assures them, God would do what he desired; he would effect what he had promised; he would accomplish all the good pleasure of his goodness towards them.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Thessalonians 5:25-26
Brothers, pray for us as well: The apostle who has prayed for the church through the whole letter asks the same in return: Brothers, pray for us as well. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss names the early church's customary greeting, and all leaves no member out.
1 Thessalonians 5:25
“Brethren, pray for us - A request which the apostle often makes; notes on Heb 13:18. He was a man of like passions as others: liable to the same temptations; engaged in an arduous work; often called to meet with opposition, and exposed to peril and want, and he especially needed the prayers of the people of God. A minister, surrounded as he is by temptations, is in great danger if he has not the prayers of his people. Without those prayers, he will be likely to accomplish little in the cause of his Master.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:25
“Some oldest manuscripts read, "Pray ye also for (literally, 'concerning') us"; make us and our work the subject of your prayers, even as we have been just praying for you (1Th 5:23). Others omit the "also." The clergy need much the prayers of their flocks.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
a holy kiss: Holy marks the greeting off from two other kinds, and Thomas Aquinas names them: the treacherous kiss of Judas and the kiss of passion. First Peter 5:14 calls it the kiss of love.
1 Thessalonians 5:26
“Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. In opposition, to an unchaste and hypocritical one. His meaning is, that they would salute the members of the church in his name, and give his Christian love and affections to them. And his view is to recommend to them brotherly love to each other, and to stir them up to the mutual exercise of it more and more.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:26
“But when is peace more to be concluded with brethren than when, at the time of some religious observance, our prayer ascends with more acceptability; that they may themselves participate in our observance, and thereby be mollified for transacting with their brother touching. their own peace? What prayer is complete if divorced from the "holy kiss? " Whom does peace impede when rendering service to his Lord? What kind of sacrifice is that from which men depart without peace?”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Prayerpatristic
1 Thessalonians 5:26
“Greet all the brethren - See the note on Rom 16:16. Instead of all the brethren, the Coptic has, greet one another; a reading not noticed by either Griesbach or Wetstein.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
I charge you before the Lord: Charge renders an oath formula, so the call to have this letter read to all the brothers is the letter's strongest word. The charge gives Paul's letter an authority owed a public hearing, an early step toward reading apostolic writings beside the Scriptures read in the synagogue.
1 Thessalonians 5:27
“I charge you by the Lord - Margin, “adjure.” Greek, “I put you under oath by the Lord” - ενορκίζω ὑμᾶς τὸν Κύριον enorkizō humas ton Kurion. It is equivalent to binding persons by an oath; see the notes on Mat 26:63; compare Gen 21:23-24; Gen 24:3, Gen 24:37. That this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren - To all the church; compare notes on Col 4:16. The meaning is, that the Epistle was to be read to the whole church on some occasion. on which it was assembled together.”
3 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 5:27
“I charge you by the Lord - Christ, to whom proper divine worship is here paid. That this epistle - The first he wrote. Be read to all the brethren -- that is, in all the churches.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 5:27
“I charge--Greek, "I adjure you." read unto all--namely, publicly in the congregation at a particular time. The Greek aorist tense implies a single act done at a particular time. The earnestness of his adjuration implies how solemnly important he felt this divinely inspired message to be.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Thessalonians 5:27
“The public reading of the law was one part of the worship of the sabbath among the Jews in their synagogues, and the scriptures should be read in the public assemblies of Christians also. The apostolical benediction that is usual in other epistles: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: be with you closes the letter as it opened, the church greeted with grace in the first verse. The coming named five times over now rests in the one word grace that makes the waiting bearable.
1 Thessalonians 5:28
“The grace of our Lord Jesus - As the epistle began so it ends; for the grace of Christ must be at the beginning and end of every work, in order to complete it, and bring it to good effect. Amen - This is wanting in BD*FG and some others. It was probably not written by St. Paul. The subscriptions are, as in other cases, various and contradictory. The chief MSS. conclude as follows: The first to the Thessalonians is completed; the second to the Thessalonians begins - DFG.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: The close of a letter: teaching on the day of the Lord, a run of short commands, a prayer and a farewell, as This site's published exposition of 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to 18 and 5:28 classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Night and day, asleep and awake | Verses 2 to 10 set two groups of words against each other. In the Berean text night stands at verses 2, 5 and 7, darkness at 4 and 5, and day at 2, 4, 5 and 8. Sleep stands at 6, 7 and 10, and awake at 6 and 10. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read sons of the light at verse 5 as a Hebrew idiom for sharing the character of light.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 1 Thessalonians 5:5. | 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:10 |
| Faith, love and hope as armor | Verse 8 gathers the three graces of 1:3 into armor, a breastplate of faith and love and a helmet of the hope of salvation. The site's published exposition of the verse reads the armor as the letter's three graces put to a soldier's use.This site's published exposition of 1 Thessalonians 5:8, The exposition_notes row on 1 Thessalonians 5:8, citing Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, and John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament. | 1 Thessalonians 5:8 |
| Eight short commands | Verses 16 to 22 run eight short commands in a row: rejoice, pray, give thanks, do not extinguish the Spirit, do not despise prophecies, test all things, hold fast to the good, abstain from evil. The site's published exposition of verses 16 to 18 notes that the first three are a single word each in Greek.This site's published exposition of 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to 18, The exposition_notes row on 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to 18, citing Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, and Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament. | 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1 Thessalonians 5:22 |
Where the chapter stands in the letter
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Chapter 4 answered what happens to believers who have died, and chapter 5 turns to the question of when. Verses 1 to 11 teach the day of the Lord, and verses 12 to 22 give the church its order. Verses 23 to 28 close the letter with a prayer, a request, a greeting, a charge and a blessing. The prayer of verse 23 ends on the coming of the Lord, as every chapter of the letter has. The second letter takes up the day of the Lord again in its chapter 2, when some were saying it had already come.
The debated reading: appointed to salvation
Verse 9 says God has not appointed believers to wrath. The site's published exposition of verses 9 and 10 records two readings. Pretribulational teachers read it as the church's rescue from the wrath of the tribulation, and other schools read it as assurance of final salvation that leaves the timing open. The holders of each view stand at /featured/the-rapture.
The debated reading: spirit, soul and body
Verse 23 names spirit, soul and body. The site's published exposition of the verse records two readings, with John Gill and Adam Clarke as its sources. Some read three distinct parts of the person, and others read spirit and soul as two names for one inner nature set beside the body. The verse itself prays for the whole person.
The debated reading: the prophecies of verse 20
Adam Clarke and Matthew Henry read the prophecies as the preaching and applying of Scripture, and Thomas Aquinas names both the gift of prophecy and the teaching of doctrine. The site's published exposition of verses 19 and 20 reads them as the gift of prophecy at work in the church. The question is carried further at /featured/prophecy-as-a-gift-today and /featured/grieving-and-quenching-the-spirit.
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon; James Denney, The Epistles to the Thessalonians (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits.
The form and classifications
Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 2, on 1 Thessalonians 5:5 to 8 and This site's published exposition of 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to 18 and 5:28, The exposition_notes rows on 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to 18 and 5:28, citing Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, and Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1039, Pray Without Ceasing; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians; John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Thessalonians, Homily 9; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Polycarp of Smyrna, Epistle to the Philippians 11; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians.