You may have noticed that in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul talked only about what happens to believers, living and dead, when Jesus returns on the last day. He did that because he was writing the letter especially to encourage the church at Thessalonica, made up of believers. He wanted them (and us) to know that we would all be taken care of, whether living or dead, because of Christ’s death and resurrection for us. Because He lives, we also will live forever with Him
As Chapter 5 begins, though, P...
You may have noticed that in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul talked only about what happens to believers, living and dead, when Jesus returns on the last day. He did that because he was writing the letter especially to encourage the church at Thessalonica, made up of believers. He wanted them (and us) to know that we would all be taken care of, whether living or dead, because of Christ’s death and resurrection for us. Because He lives, we also will live forever with Him
As Chapter 5 begins, though, Paul briefly reminded the church again that there was a whole world of difference between them and unbelievers. Believers trust in Jesus and the light and love and future He gives to them by His grace. Unbelievers may think they have “peace and security,” but it is a false sense of security in themselves and what they have and what they have done or in false “gods” who cannot help them in any real way.
They have their own “truth," but they are actually living in darkness. When Christ returns on the last day, they will face “sudden destruction” and “they will not escape” (1 Thess. 5:1-3). (Paul used a Greek double negative for these words. It means, “They will not, they definitely will not escape” judgment.) If they choose to live their lives apart from God and their Savior, Jesus, in this life, they will live an eternity separated from Christ and His love and His goodness. (We will hear more about this in 2 Thessalonians.)
To make this point, Paul used the same words and picture images used by Jesus Himself and other Biblical writers. The last day and the return of Jesus is definitely coming, but no one knows when that will happen - what “the times and the seasons” will be (1 Thess. 5:1). See Scriptures like Luke 12:40 and 21:34, Matthew 24:3-4. 36-44, and Acts 1:7.
For images of the end coming like “a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2), see Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39-40, 1 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, 16:15. etc. The image of the end coming like “labor pains” for a pregnant woman simply emphasize the sudden and unexpected nature of the return of Jesus. His return cannot be avoided. It will come, though none of us knows when (1 Thess. 5:3). And it will be a time of great sorrow for the “sons of disobedience” whose nature is to follow Satan and the ways of this world instead of Jesus. See Ephesians 2:1-3 and 5:6-7 and Colossians 3:3-6, for example.
Paul quickly switched, then, to remind the believers in Thessalonica, “You are not in darkness… You are children of light and… of the day.” Believers know that they must continue spiritually “awake” and “sober," self-controlled by Jesus and His Word and will.
As we heard in 1 Thess. 4:11, believers still quietly carry on their own lives and work, but connected to Jesus and with His spiritual armor - “faith and love” and “the hope of salvation” as gifts of God provided by the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:4-8). See similar passages such as Romans 13:11-14, 1 Peter 1:13-14, and Ephesians 6:10-17.
Believers do none of this on their own, in their own power. As Paul said so clearly, “God has not destined us, appointed us, for wrath,” for judgment and punishment for all our sins. Rather, God has prepared us “to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This salvation comes to us because “Jesus died for us,” for our sins, in payment for them all; and He has brought us to faith in this Good News. The barrier of sin that separates us from God is taken away and now, “whether we are awake or asleep, alive or dead, we can live with Him.” That is the certainty of our eternal future, as well, because Jesus died and rose again for us (1 Thess. 5:9-10). See also Romans 14:8-9, John 3:16-18, 35-36, etc.
Paul encouraged the Christians of Thessalonica with these great promises of God and what He had done for them and given them in Christ Jesus. And, as we also heard last week, Paul called the believers to encourage each other also with these words of hope. In that way they could help build one another up in faith, as the Holy Spirit worked through that Word in them, too (1 Thess. 5:11). See also Ephesians 2:19-22.
Next week, we might be able to finish the closing words of this letter of Paul and then move on to 2 Thessalonians, which fits in so closely with and follows 1 Thessalonians.
