1 Thessalonians 5:9
in 1 Thessalonians 5For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
KJV
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
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This verse in 1 Thessalonians 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
not appointed us to wrath
on 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation states the promise chapter one already named, and it stands among this book's Tier A positions as a load bearing verse, read by pretribulational teachers as the church's exemption from the outpoured wrath that chapter 4 has just described her removed from, and read by other schools as assurance of final salvation without settling the timing question, this site's own tradition holding the pretribulational reading while the others are argued honestly from the same text. Who died for us grounds the promise in the cross rather than in escaping difficulty as such. Whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him repeats the resurrection comfort of chapter 4 in miniature, the dead and the living united in him regardless of which condition the day finds a believer in.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us." Thus God has not inclined to this, that He might destroy us, but that He might save us. And whence is it manifest that this is His will? He has given His own Son for us. So does He desire that we should be saved, that He has given His Son, and not merely given, but given Him to death. From these considerations hope is produced. For do not despair of thyself, O man, in going to God, who has not spared even His Son for thee. Faint not at present evils. He who gave His Only-Begotten, that He might save thee and deliver thee from hell, what will He spare henceforth for thy salvation? So that thou oughtest to hope for all things kind. For neither should we fear, if we were going to a judge who was about to judge us, and who had shown so much love for us, as to have sacrificed his son. Let us hope therefore for kind and great things, for we have received the principal thing; let us believe, for we have seen an example; let us love, for it is the extreme of madness for one not to love who has been so treated.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Therefore, he says, one must acquire this armor, because God has not appointed us to wrath, that is, He has not destined us to bear His wrath, but rather to acquire us for Himself and save us, having given His Son to death for us. …
Then when he says, for God has not destined us for wrath, he shows the manner in which God works in us; this is first shown to be out of divine preordination and then as derived from the grace of Christ. Finally, Paul treats the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath - So then it appears that some were appointed to wrath, εις οργην, to punishment; on this subject there can be no dispute. But who are they? When did this appointment take place? And for what cause? These are supposed to be “very difficult questions, and such as cannot receive a satisfactory answer; and the whole must be referred to the sovereignty of God.” If we look carefully at the apostle’s words, we shall find all these difficulties vanish. It is very obvious that, in the preceding verses, the apostle refers simply to the destruction of the Jewish polity, and to the terrible judgments which were about to fall on the Jews as a nation; therefore, they are the people who were appointed to wrath; and they were thus appointed, not from eternity, nor from any indefinite or remote time, but from that time in which they utterly rejected the offers of salvation made to them by Jesus Christ and his apostles; the privileges of their election were still continued to them, even after they had crucified the Lord of glory; for, when he gave commandment to his disciples to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature, he bade them begin at Jerusalem. They did so, and continued to offer salvation to them, till at last, being everywhere persecuted, and the whole nation appearing with one consent to reject the Gospel, the kingdom of God was wholly taken away from them, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles. Then God appointed them to wrath; and the cause of that appointment was their final and determined rejection of Christ and his Gospel. But even this appointment to wrath does not signify eternal damnation; nothing of the kind is intended in the word. […]
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὅτι | hoti | because | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἔθετο | etheto | has destined | G5087 → | |
| ἡμᾶς | hemas | us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεὸς | theos | God | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| εἰς | eis | for | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| ὀργὴν | orgen | wrath | G3709 → | 36 times |
| ἀλλ᾽ | all᾽ | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| εἰς | eis | for | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| περιποίησιν | peripoiesin | obtaining | G4047 → | |
| σωτηρίας | soterias | salvation | G4991 → | |
| διὰ | dia | through | G1223 → | 664 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίου | kuriou | Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἡμῶν | hemon | of us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| Ἰησοῦ | iesou | Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| Χριστοῦ | christou | Christ | G5547 → | 523 times |
ὅτιbecause
hotiG3754 →1292 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἔθετοhas destined
ethetoG5087 →
ἡμᾶςus
hemasG3165 →1936 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
θεὸςGod
theosG2316 →1312 times
εἰςfor
eisG1519 →1755 times
ὀργὴνwrath
orgenG3709 →36 times
ἀλλ᾽but
all᾽G235 →635 times
εἰςfor
eisG1519 →1755 times
περιποίησινobtaining
peripoiesinG4047 →
σωτηρίαςsalvation
soteriasG4991 →
διὰthrough
diaG1223 →664 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
κυρίουLord
kuriouG2962 →711 times
ἡμῶνof us
hemonG3165 →1936 times
ἸησοῦJesus
iesouG2424 →908 times
ΧριστοῦChrist
christouG5547 →523 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 13:48When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
it leads to
- Romans 8:29–30
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
- Ephesians 1:4
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
- Romans 8:29–30
Through
1 Peter 2:10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
it leads to
- Hosea 2:23
And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they…
- Hosea 2:23
Through
Proverbs 16:4The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.
it leads to
- Romans 9:22
What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?
- Isaiah 43:21
The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise.
- 2 Peter 2:9
if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Romans 9:22
Through
1 Thessalonians 1:10and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:8–9
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- Romans 5:9–10
Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!
- Isaiah 25:8–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
About 1 Thessalonians
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Thessalonians 9; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians.