The dead in Christ and the alive in Christ would together be caught up with each other to meet the Lord in the air when the Lord comes down from heaven. Return, Resurrection, Rapture, Reunion (cf. John Stott). And Paul said, “And so we will be with the Lord forever” (4:17). Which is just the greatest thing, isn’t it?
So, how do you get ready?
Well, one idea for getting ready would be to find out when it’s going to happen. The date and the time. That might be helpful to know, right? I mean, if I knew that my Dad was coming over on Father’s Day for lunch, I might get the house ready for his arrival. Maybe hide my dirty socks and get them off of his place at the dining room table. (Don’t worry, Dad. I did it already.)
It might be helpful to know when someone important is going to arrive so that you can get your place cleaned up. And Paul is telling us that the Person Who is on the way is the King of Kingdoms!
But Paul says that knowing the day and the time is actually NOT what we need to be ready for the Lord’s arrival. Look with me at chapter 5, verse 1. He has not changed the subject. He’s still talking about the return of Christ.
“Now, brothers [and sisters], about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (vv.1-2).
We said it last week. When is Jesus coming back?
We don’t know. And that’s okay!
We don’t need to know. And that’s okay.
In fact, it’s better that we don’t!
Paul says, “We don’t need to write to you about times and dates.”
Those are the same words that King Jesus used with His disciples in Acts chapter 1 when they asked Him “when?”
He said, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set...” (Acts 1:7). Jesus said at one point that He didn’t even know. So it must NOT be important for us to know. In fact, it must be important for us to NOT know.
Paul had already taught this to them when he planted the church. He says, “you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
How many here know when your next home invasion is going to be? Me neither. Thieves don’t tend to send a notification. They don’t even knock!
Jesus used the same illustration when He was teaching about His return (Matthew 24:43-44, see also 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, 16:15). I think the emphasis here is on how unannounced and therefore unexpected this event will be. It will be just sprung on those people. And for those who are not ready, it will be very scary. Verse 3.
“While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
These people are not ready. They think that life is hunky dory and they have everything together and they don’t need Jesus to have peace and safety. Those words were used in the ancient Roman world to describe the “Pax Romana,” the “Peace of Rome.” “Peace and safety.” “Peace and safety.” All is well. “Peace and safety.”
We’ve heard about a lot of those in the last few weeks as all of these moms have been having their babies!
Labor pains say that something big is happening, but you don’t know exactly when, right? And they get increasingly intense and inevitable, but you still don’t know exactly when it’s going to happen. Unpredictable. That’s what Jesus was emphasizing with this metaphor (see also Isaiah 13:8, Jer 6:24).
But I think Paul is also really emphasizing how dangerous and scary it could be. Back in those days a lot of women died in childbirth. And so that first big contraction hitting out of nowhere might be the harbinger not of joy, for some, but of doom.
“And they will not escape.” They will not escape what? Verse 2 calls it, “The Day of the Lord.”
“The Day of the Lord” is a phrase that comes up again and again especially in the Old Testament. It’s a time period predicted in the future when the LORD will bring both judgment on evil and salvation for His people. It’s not just one thing, it’s all of that. It’s a complex of events where evil is finally judged and God’s people are finally saved.
The Prophet Joel calls it “great” and “dreadful” (see also Amos 5:18-20).
“The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11).
“Great” and “dreadful.” Especially for those who are going to experience judgment when Jesus returns (either in the Great Tribulation or/and in the Great Judgment).
“They will not escape.”
They don’t even know it’s coming! They might have heard something about it, but they don’t believe it. They think everything is “peace and safety,” and then destruction falls.
That sounds scary, and if you are not ready for it, you should be scared. Let this be your wake-up call! The King of Kingdoms is coming. The Day of the LORD is on the way. And you won’t know when. So get repent while you still can.
But that’s not the main the reason why Paul writes about it here. Paul actually writes to reassure the Thessalonians that they will escape! Not to scare them but to encourage them. “Eternal encouragement!” Look what he says in verse 4.
“But you, brothers [and sisters], are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day” (vv.4-5a).
“Children of the light and children of the day.” It’s not just the boys. The title of this message comes from verse 8 where it says, “We belong to the day.” Literally, “We are OF the day.”
We belong to the day. We are characterized by the day. We are children of the light and children of the day. That means that we are characterized by the light and by the day.
What a beautiful thing to say, right?! “Hello, Light People! My, you are glowing today!”
King Jesus said that He is the Light of the World. Remember that? And He also said that we, His people, are the Light of the World. The Children of God are the Children of the Light. And the Children of the Light are the Children of the Day.
What Day is that? It’s the Day of the Lord! We belong to that Day. It’s ours. And we are it’s. We are not scared of it. We want it to come, amen?
I have three simple points this morning. Here’s the first one.
Because we belong to the day we are:
#1. NOT SURPRISED.
We will not be surprised when the Day comes. Listen to verse 4 again.
“But you, brothers [and sisters], are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.”
What does he mean? He doesn’t mean that we will know the timing of Jesus’ return. We will NOT know the timing. We’ll still be surprised in that way.
“We don’t know, and that’s okay.” It’s better if we don’t.
But we do know that it’s coming. And it won’t be for us like a home-invasion and everything is ripped away from us in the night. No, we belong to the day, so when the day comes, we will rejoice!
I once saw a movie where these zombie-like things came out a night, and when the dawn came and the sun broke through and hit them, they all died. If they saw the sun, they were stopped. They hated the day arriving! But the good guys in the movie were happy when the sun came out because they were safe in the daylight. They belonged to the day.
We will not be surprised that the Day of the Lord has arrived. Because we have been looking forward to it with great anticipation.
That’s our Day!
We know who we are. We are children of the light and children of the day.
Do you know who you are? Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians by reminding them of their true identities. “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.” How encouraging that must have been for them to read!
I love that word “all” there in verse 5. He doesn’t leave out any true believer in Jesus Christ.
“You are ALL sons of the light and sons of the day.”
I won’t make you say it to your neighbor, but you should do it anyway. We should say this to each other. Tell them, "You are a child of the light and a child of the day.”
On this Father’s Day, your Father is light, and you are a child of the light. Your Father is the Day, and you are a child of the day. Paul goes on to say it the other way around (v.5).
“We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”
And that means we are not surprised, and we are not asleep.
#2. NOT SLEEPING.
Look at verse 6.
““We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.”
There are a lot of contrasts here in this passage, aren’t there?
They and you.
Night and day.
Darkness and light.
And here, asleep and alert. Some versions have “asleep” and “awake.”
Now does that mean true believers in Jesus Christ never go to sleep? “Sleep is bad!”
Of course not. We all need sleep. Even our Jesus Christ needed sleep. Sleep can be a really good thing, amen? God made Sunday afternoons for naps!
But this kind of “sleep” is a bad thing. Sleep here is a metaphor for spiritual indifference and spiritual lethargy. [It’s not like last week where “sleep” was a metaphor for death.] In verse 6, Paul is talking about how unbelievers are insensible to spiritual things. They are dull and lethargic and missing out on true life. They are cut off from the light and the day. And they are out of control. It’s like they are drunk. Look at verse 7.
“For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.”
He’s saying that’s the general rule of when that happens. And it was back in that day because there wasn’t any harnessed electricity. You sleep at night because that’s your chance. There was no third-shift working under the lights. And if you were going to get drunk, the night was when you did that, too. Because it’s hidden.
And “drunk” is a metaphor here, as well. He’s not just railing against drunkenness (which is sinful, of course, see Ephesians 5:18), but he’s warning against all kinds of being out of control and acting like the darkness, acting like the night.
We’re supposed to be different. As children of the day, we need to be different from the children of the night who are going to be “caught napping” when the Lord returns.
Paul says (in v.6), “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.”
What does it mean to be “alert?” The Lord Jesus used the same word when He was teaching on His return (see Matthew 24:42-43, 25:13). It’s the opposite of “asleep” in this context. It means to be vigilant, aware, sensitive to spiritual things. It means to be connected to the light and the day with the eyes of our heart fully open and taking in truth, seeing things for how they really are. It means to be spiritually conscious.
And Paul pairs it with a word that means the opposite of “drunk,” sometimes translated “sober,” but it doesn’t just mean not having too much alcohol, but not being out of control. So most of our English versions say, “self-controlled.”
“Let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled” (v.6).
That means calm, cool, and collected. It means steady and unfazed.
Have you ever noticed how people lose their minds over the end-times? Every time something happens in the world that seems like it might be a part of what Jesus said was going to happen, people start going crazy. Speculation. Following conspiracy theories. Listening to crackpots. Quitting their jobs. Stocking up on ammunition. Going into a panic.
I get it. Sometimes it seems like the world is ending. And one of these times, the world is going to end.
But we are not going to know when! And the New Testament tells us that when it seems like it’s the end world, that’s not the time to go into a panic. Again and again, the New Testament says, “Alert and self-controlled.”
As the Brits say, “Keep calm and carry on.”
“Alert and self-controlled.” Why? Because we are not sleeping. We are not children of the night. Look at verse 8.
“But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled [same word], putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (v.8).
That’s the very opposite of sleeping. That’s dressing for battle!
“...putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
The picture here is of a warrior who is putting on his armor. It’s kind of like “the armor of God” from Ephesians 6, but it’s a little different. Here, the breastplate, which protects the soldier’s core, is faith and love. And (as in Ephesians) the helmet which protects the soldier’s head is the hope of salvation.
Paul says that we (and notice how ever since he got to verse 5 he’s been including himself in all of this. It’s not just “you;” it’s “we.” We) belong to the day, so we need to put on this armor.
Faith, Love, and Hope.
Faith, Love, and Hope.
Faith, Love, and Hope.
Do three things sound familiar?
Paul loves these three virtues, and he employs them over and over again his letters. The most famous is in 1 Corinthians 13 when he puts them in this order, “Faith, hope, and love.”
It’s sometimes called “The Pauline Triad” or Paul’s Triangle of Virtues. Faith, Love, and Hope. He’s already used this triangle back in chapter 1. Do you remember this? Paul was so thankful for the Thessalonians? He wrote, “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:3).
This is the answer to the question we started with this morning:
How do you get ready for the return of Jesus Christ? By putting on faith, love, and hope.
Put on faith. Faith in God’s promises. Believing what God has said. Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that genuine faith will work itself out in genuine love. Loving one another and loving even our enemies!
But the waiting we do is not like waiting at the bus stop or at the gate at the airport, just passively sitting there waiting for our ride to come. "Beam us up, Jesus!" No, our waiting is active. We stay busy. We stay awake, alert, and active loving other people, putting other people ahead of ourselves.
Following our Lord’s example of love.
Put on love. This week, I had multiple occasions to watch God’s people loving others with a Christ-like love. These loving people “belong to the day” and they showed it with how they gave of their time and energy and life-blood. They were warriors–not against flesh and blood but against the darkness. And not with worldly weapons of iron and steel but heavenly weapons of love.
“Faith and love as a breastplate, and [on top of it all] the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
One thing that’s really neat to know, and maybe you’ve got a footnote or something to point this out, but Paul is almost certainly drawing this imagery from Isaiah 59:17. Isaiah writes about this armor with a breastplate and a helmet, but it’s not believers who are putting it on, but the LORD Himself.
Isaiah says, “The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak” (Isa. 59:15-17).
In that context, the LORD put on His armor to save His people–fully fulfilled perhaps on the Day of the Lord. And here Paul says that we need to put on the armor ourselves, so it’s not just our armor, but it’s the Lord’s armor for us!
We can’t do this on our own. But He has done it for us. And that includes our salvation. We have hope for our salvation from our sins, not because of us, but because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross and at the Empty Tomb. Because of Jesus, we can put on that helmet of the hope of our salvation to come.
And it’s real hope. Biblical hope. That’s not just wishful thinking or what we want to happen but don’t know if it will. This is real hope. This is certainty. This is God’s promises guaranteed.
Look at what Paul says in verse 9.
“Putting on...the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him” (vv.9-10).
Because we belong to the day, we are:
#3. NOT SCARED.
We are not scared of God’s wrath.
It must have been so encouraging for them to read this, right?!
Paul assures and reassures this church that because they belong to the day they are not headed into wrath but headed into salvation. They have nothing to worry about! Nothing to worry about in the grand scheme of things.
Again, I see Christians getting worried about the end times. Every once in a while, somebody tells me that they think the end is near, and what do I think about that. There is some development in current events that has them spooked.
And if I have a good relationship with them, I like to say, “Great! That means that Jesus is coming back soon, and He’s going to bring us salvation! The King of Kingdoms is going to bring the Kingdom of Kingdoms!”
We who are children of the light, children of the day, have nothing to fear.
God has not appointed us to suffer His eternal wrath, but to receive eternal salvation. [Pre-tribulational Christians would also say that Christians will not receive God’s wrath poured out on those alive during the Tribulation.]
And not through ourselves, but through His Son! V.9, “...salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And here’s how He did it. He suffered God’s wrath in our place. V.10
“He died FOR US.” He took our place. He died the death we deserve. He took the wrath of God that we had earned in our sin. And He died on that Cross to save us. And He did save us, and He is saving us, and one day He will bring salvation in all of it’s fullness. Body and soul. Verse 10.
“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.”
I think that Paul is going back to talking about “sleep” the way he was at the end of chapter 4. “Sleep” as in a metaphor for “dead.” Paul is saying that whether we are alive or dead, when Jesus Christ returns, if we belong to the Day, then Jesus’ death and resurrection guarantees that we will “live together with him.”
Like he said in chapter 4, verse 17, “And so we will be with the Lord forever”
That is our blessed hope, is it not? That is the helmet that we put on every single day, reminding ourselves of our salvation that is on the way. We have nothing to be scared of, if we belong to the day.
And how do we apply that truth to our lives today?
By now, it should be no surprise. We encourage each other with this truth. Look at verse 11.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Paul wants to encourage each other. Remember, encouragement comes in two related flavors: consolation and exhortation, comfort and command. This one is both.
Paul is comforting them. “Don’t worry, Christians. You are not headed into wrath. You are headed into salvation.”
And He’s also urging them to live differently than the world does. Awake, alert, and active.
Faith, love, and hope.
Faith, love, and hope.
Faith, love, and hope.
And we need the same.
Who have you encouraged this week? Did you send an encouragement card? A text? A message? A phone call?
Did you remind another Christian who they are?
“You are a child of the light.”
“You are a child of the day.”
“We belong to the day.”
Did you remind another Christian where they are headed?
Not just where this world is headed. The Day of the Lord is coming. “Great and dreadful” like a thief in the night, like the first dangerous contraction out of the blue, like destruction that the world will not escape. But we will! We will escape the wrath of God, not because we deserve to escape, but because Jesus absorbed the wrath of God in our place on the Cross. So that we are headed into salvation.
Have you encouraged somebody with that truth this week?
I’ll bet you have! Paul says that the Thessalonians were already doing it.
And he was just encouraging them to do it more and more. And I know Lanse Free Church. For the last 27 years, I’ve seen you in action encouraging each other and building each up in this truth.
“Just as in fact you are doing.” Keep it up, church! Keep it up!
Because we belong to the day!
We are not surprised. We are ready. We are waiting. We are eager for the return of Christ.
We are not sleeping. We are alert. We are self-controlled. We are putting on faith, love, and hope, every single day.
We are not scared. The world should be, the darkness should be, the night people should be scared, but we belong to the day.
Jesus Christ is coming back to bring wrath and salvation. And we know which one of those is ours!
There are some really encouraging words in this passage today, and Paul says that we are not just supposed to be encouraged by these words, but to encourage each other with these words.
So my goal in this message today is to encourage you with these words and to encourage you to encourage each other with these words! Does that make sense? We are not fully obeying this verse until we have encouraged someone else with these encouraging words.
Our summer series on these two letters is called “Eternal Encouragement,” and I hope it has been encouragement to you already. It has to me.
The last section, that we looked at last week, was really encouraging because Paul said that these folks were doing really well and just to keep the up good work. They were striving to please God with their whole lives. They were living out a holy sexuality with their bodies. They were loving their brothers and sisters in Christ and not being a burden to each other. And Paul said, “Well done, you, keep it up. Do that more and more and more and more.”
But the words in this section, the last 6 verses of chapter 4 are maybe even more encouraging because they are directly about the return of Jesus Christ.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
We’ve noted that Paul talks a lot about the return of Christ in these two letters. He mentions it at least once in every chapter. But now, he’s not going to just mention it, but to go deeper into teaching about it and its relevance to their (and our) daily lives. Because Paul was concerned that the Thessalonians may have not understood some important things about the Lord’s return. Specifically, about how it related to Christians who had already died. Look with me at verse 13.
“Brothers [and sisters], we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (v.13).
Paul was concerned that there was something lacking in their understanding about those disciples of Jesus from Thessalonica who had already died (see 3:10). When he says, “those who fall asleep” in verse 13, 14, and 15, he doesn’t mean people who got sleepy during a long sermon. They might not be missing anything too important!
That’s why he mentions “grief.” Because the Thessalonians were confused about those who had already died.
Now, it’s not 100% clear what their exact point of confusion was. Some, perhaps, had missed what Paul had taught them already about the resurrection and the return of Christ. They weren’t there that day. Others, perhaps, had misunderstood what they had been taught. It seems like they thought that maybe their loved ones were really missing out on something important if they died before the Lord returned.
Some may have gotten the idea that no Christian would die before the Lord returned. Paul had taught them that the return of Jesus could be very soon, and so they all might have expected it to happen right then, and then be shocked when some of them died before Jesus came back. What happens to them?! Did they miss it?!
Paul had taught them that the return of Christ was going to be glorious. And, here, their brother or sister in Christ had died, and did that mean that they were going to miss Jesus’ return?
Some of them might have even thought that the dead were going to miss heaven altogether. Because Paul says he didn’t want them to grieve like the rest of the population that have no hope.
Does that mean that Christians should not grieve? Do followers of Christ feel bad and weep and cry when their Christian loved ones die? Yes, often, yes. Is it bad if we do? Of course not. What did Jesus do at the tomb of his friend Lazarus? John 11:35 (shortest verse in the Bible), “Jesus wept.”
His tears were perfectly appropriate, and so are ours when we have to say “goodbye” to a loved one. Even if it’s not “Goodbye forever,” but “See you soon.” Jesus knew that He was going to raise Lazarus, and yet He wept.
So, yes, we grieve, but we do not grieve like the rest of the population who have no hope. If our loved one belonged to Jesus, we have hope!
For the world, death is the end. If you are an atheist, then you think that when you die, that’s it. There is no more. There is no more you. There’s nothing to hope for, nothing to hope in. No hope.
But it’s different for us who belong to Jesus. We grieve, but we grieve with hope. And verse 14 says what our true hope is:
“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
I want to summarize the encouraging words of this passage in three points, and here’s the first one.
Encourage each other with these words:
#1. JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN, AND SO WILL ALL OF US!
Amen. Isn’t that encouraging?! Say that to the person sitting next you. Say their name, and then say, “Jesus died and rose again, and so will all of us!” That is, if we belong to Jesus and if we die, then we will rise again.
Paul starts with what we know based on what has already happened. Jesus had died and has come back to life. He has laid down and gotten back up again. It actually says, “He died,” not just that He fell asleep. No quiet metaphor here for Jesus.
We know how He died. He was crucified. And we know why He died. He was bearing our sins in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24).
That’s why it’s good news that He died. Because He was dying in our place. But He did not stay dead. He got up again.
Do you believe that? I do! That may be the craziest thing we all believe as Christians, and we believe a lot of crazy things! We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that means that our sins are paid for and that He is going to bring us back to life, as well.
You and I may die, but if we belong to Jesus, we are not going to stay dead!
A lot of people think that the point of Christianity is that when we die we go to heaven. And, praise God, when we die, our souls do go to be with Jesus (see 2 Cor 5:8, Philippians 1:21-24).
But that’s not the end of the story! We believe that we are going to come back to life, body and soul reunited (see Romans 8:11, 1 Cor. 6:14, 1 Cor. 15:12-25, 2 Cor 4:14, Col. 1:18).
“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life...” (Dan. 12:2).
The unimaginable power that brought Jesus back to life will bring you and me back to life one day, someday, too. And that’s true, not just of us, but of all the Christians who have died including all of the Christians that you and I have known and loved and lost.
I said the other day that I have never preached through 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. I’ve preached from these books, but never through them. But I have preached this passage several times. Because it is very appropriate for the funeral of a Christian.
I preached it at my Grandma Mitchell’s funeral in 1999. My dad’s mom. Grandma has been gone now for almost 26 years. But I expect to see her again. Because Jesus died and rose again and so will she. She hasn’t missed out.
Ever walk through a graveyard and see the names of the Christians buried there? Some you may know. Most you do not. One day, every single one of them is going to come out. And they are not going to miss out on the return of Christ! Verse 14 again.
“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
When Jesus returns, He’s not leaving His sleeping followers in their graves. He’s bringing them with Him! And not just their souls but their bodies, as well. And we know that on the authority of Jesus Himself. Look at verse 15.
“According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.”
Do you follow that? It’s a little twisty, but it’s wonderful. Paul says the Lord Himself has revealed this. I’m not sure when He did. I don’t think it’s directly taught in the Gospels though Jesus did talk a lot about His return in the Gospels.
He may have taught this then, but it wasn’t recorded in the Gospels. We know He taught many things that didn’t make it into Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There wasn’t room (remember John 21:25!). Or maybe, He revealed it directly to Paul, and now Paul is giving it to them. Any of those could be when, but what we know for certain is that Paul knew for certain that this was from Jesus Himself.
And that is that we who are alive when the Lord comes (the “parousia”) will not be privileged ahead of those who have died!
He’s saying, “Don’t worry, Thessalonians, your loved ones will not lose their place. They will not miss out. You are not going to have the greatest experience of seeing the return of Christ with your own eyes, and your dead loved ones just missed the boat and are out of luck.”
No, no, no. If anything, they will have the front row seat. Look at verse 16.
“According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. [V.16] For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
They are not going to miss anything!
How encouraging that must have been for these precious people to read.
“The dead in Christ will rise first.”
Now, I don’t think that means that they will be the first to be resurrected, though that’s probably also true (see Revelation 20:4-7).
I think he means that before the next thing that he’s going to talk about in verse 17, first, the dead in Christ will be resurrected. This is the order of things. Jesus died and rose again, and so will all of us (if we die)! And it will happen in this way. Listen to verse 16 again.
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven...”
The Lord Himself. He doesn’t just send somebody. He’s coming in His own flesh. His own body. The same body that He died in and rose with and ascended with.
And He’s coming...in loud! V.16 “...with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God...”
That sounds loud to me! When the Lord comes, He’s going to issue a very loud order. Remember when He was at tomb of his friend Lazarus, after He was done weeping, what did He say? “Lazarus, come out!” And we said last year that maybe if He hadn’t specified “Lazarus,” that everybody would have come out!
Perhaps the loud command here is, “My people, come out!” And all of the Christians who have died will obey! They will be getting up out of their tombs. They’ll be rising up out of the sea if they were buried in the ocean. Their molecules will reassemble and reform if their ashes were spread somewheres.
And not like zombies. It doesn’t say so here, but Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 and Philippians 3, that their bodies will be changed, transformed to be like His glorious body. These are the just the undead. These will be the truly alive.
Church, this is not a metaphor or a bed time story; this is what’s going to happen! Paul doesn’t want us to be ignorant about this! He wants us all to know this and to be encouraged by it. And encourage each other by it!
“The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel...”
And somebody is playing a trumpet! Trumpets in the Bible aren’t so much for music as they are for assembly and announcing God’s marching orders.
All three of these loud noises are there to wake up the sleeping and get them going. Even if their sleep is the sleep of death!
“And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
And notice it doesn’t say the “sleeping in Christ.” It’s really clear here. These folks were totally dead, and they will be totally alive. And they will totally not miss the return of Christ!
Encourage each other with these words:
#2. JESUS WILL COME BACK FOR ALL OF US!
Amen?! He’s coming back, and He’s coming back for all of His people. Isn’t that encouraging?
Say that to your neighbor. Encourage the person next to you. Say their name, and then say, “Jesus will come back for all of us!”
That’s the point that Paul is making in the first part of verse 17. Look at that.
“After that [after the dead in Christ rise first, then], we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
“Together with them.” You see how it’s all of us? It’s not just those who are alive when the Lord returns. And it’s not just the those who have died before the Lord returns. It’s both at the same time. It’s them, and us, and Jesus together. Nobody misses out. None of Jesus’ people miss out.
Jesus is going to come back for all of us.
The Greek word translated “caught up” in verse 17 is “harpazo,” and it means “snatched up, or swept up, suddenly.” It’s often a violent word. Like somebody got grabbed or swept away like by a rushing river. And, of course, this is the opposite of being swept away into death, this is being swept up into the life that is truly life!
The Latin translation of “harpazo” is “rapiemur” from “rapio” which is where we get our English word “rapture.” The alive in Christ will be “raptured” together with the formerly dead in Christ “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
Let me ask you a question: When is this going to happen? When is Jesus going to come back for us?
Answer: I don’t know...and that’s okay.
All I know is that it will be soon. And that “soon” is a very elastic term. I also know it’s closer now than it ever has been.
And I’m sure that Paul didn’t know either. Some people think that Paul expected to be alive himself when the Lord returned because he says, “we who are alive and are left” in verse 17.
But that’s just because he was alive then. The “we” are any Christians who are alive when Jesus returns. “We” will be taken up together with those who had already died.
And there are several different opinions among faithful Bible-believing Christians about when this rapture will take place in relation to the other events of the “End Times,” especially that dark time period we often call “The Great Tribulation.”
The three main views are called:
The Pre-tribulational rapture.
The Mid-tribulational rapture.
And the Post-tribulational rapture.
So it’s whether the rapture happens before, during, or after the tribulation.
Some of you have never heard of these things. Some of you have heard too much about these things. Some of you have been taught that there’s only one right way to think about these things.
Which one is right? I’m not sure, and that’s okay.
I think it’s okay for us to differ on this. All three positions are acceptable within the Statement of Faith of the EFCA.
Article 9 says, “We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.”
If can agree about all of that, then we can disagree about the timing of Christ’s return and be just fine. Because we can’t change it, anyway about it.
I heard someone say once, “We’re not on the planning committee. We’re on the welcoming committee.”
And we need to be ready to welcome Him!
I was taught the pre-tribulational rapture position when I went to Bible school, and I respect that viewpoint and revere all of my teachers. It very well may be right, and it makes sense of a lot of the biblical data. It might very well be your position, and praise God if it is.
Over time, however, I have come to lean in the direction of the post-tribulational rapture position.
One reason is that this “rapture” does not seem very “secret” to me. It seems loud and public. With resurrections and shouts and trumpets.
And the word translated “to meet” the Lord (“apantaysis” in verse 17) was often used to describe the reception of a dignitary, perhaps a king, and the people who come out meet him then turn around and come back with him on his royal visitation (see Matthew 25:6, Acts 28:15 for examples of this word in action. Is that what is meant by “bring with Jesus” in verse 14?).
Perhaps that’s the picture here. All of Jesus’ people being swept up into the air when Jesus returns and then following Him down to earth to inaugurate His kingdom.
But it does not say that outright. It only says that they will be caught up together with each other in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. It doesn’t say where they are after that, in heaven or on earth.
It does say, however, WHOM they will be with! V.17
“And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
#3. ALL OF US WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER!
Encourage each other with these words!
Say that to your neighbor. "Neighbor, all of us will be WITH the Lord forever!”
Yes, forever. As in, there will be no end to our “withness” with the Lord. We will never be separated from Him in any way that matters.
Right now, we have His Spirit in us. Hooray for Pentecost! But we are away from Him, bodily. And those who have died are with Him in their spirits. Absent from the body means present with the Lord. But they are not with him bodily either.
But one day, and one day soon, we will all be–body and soul together–reunited, resurrected, raptured, and with the Lord Jesus forever!
All of us!
That’s the emphasis here. That we’re together with each other and Him. Nobody left behind. Nobody second class. Nobody missing out.
The King of Kingdoms. And we will never leave His presence.
Never, never, never. With the Lord forever, with the Lord forever, with the Lord forever.
No wonder, Paul says (v.18), “Therefore encourage each other with these words!”
This time last year, we were studying chapter 14 of the Gospel of John where Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be [what?] with me that you also may be where I am” (Jn. 14:1-3).
It doesn’t get any better than that. And it doesn’t matter what your position on eschatology is, because it’s the same for all of us, “We will be with the Lord forever.”
What is the application of all this glorious truth? It’s verse 18, “Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
Encourage each other with these words!
Take these words and encourage each other with them. Write them on a card and give them to a brother or sister in Christ. Remind your brothers and sisters in Christ that Jesus died and rose again and if we die, we will rise, too! Remind your brothers and sisters in Christ that the Lord himself will come down from heaven for all of us. Remind your brothers and sisters in Christ that we will be with the Lord forever. And encourage them with these words.
Remember, encouragement comes in two major flavors: consolation and exhortation. I think the emphasis here is on consolation. These are comforting words. This is not just helpful information. This is consolation. “Comfort each other with these words.” Say these words to someone, and say that this is going to make everything okay.
It’s right for us to say these things at a funeral for a Christian. Don’t just say, “He’s in a better place.” Especially if he’s not. But if the one who died is a Christian, say, “He will not miss the return of Christ! He will not miss the resurrection. He will not miss the great reunion.”
It’s right for us to encourage each other that the dead in Christ will not miss out on anything truly important. And it’s right to tell each other that on our deathbeds. When I’m on my deathbed, and you come to visit me, I want you to remind me of this.
“Matt, you’re dying. But you’re not going to miss the return of Christ. You’re not going to miss the resurrection. Matt, you’re not going miss the great reunion in the air.”
Because this is our blessed hope. Brothers and sisters, encourage each other with these words.
Urge each other with these words. The emphasis here is on comfort, but the other flavor of exhortation is also true. These words should spur us on. Our statement of faith says, “The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.”
We’re going to talk about that more next week when get into chapter 5.
Encourage each other with these words. Because are not obeying this verse if we just believe these words. We are not obeying this verse even if we are just encouraged by these words. We are not fully obeying this verse until we are encouraging other believers with these words.
Now we know. We are not ignorant. We have been taught, and we are now responsible for what we do with what we know.
“Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
“Well done, you. Keep it up!>A pat on the back and an encouraging word, “More of that, please.”“You’re doing it right. Keep going! “Stay on that track, and you’ll get where you are supposed to be.”
Those kind of words are some of the most encouraging you will ever hear.
This fellow right here has said that to me so many times in the last 27 years. Wallace Kephart turns 89 years old tomorrow. Happy birthday, Wally. 89, wow! Can I brag on you for a second?
One of the things that Wally has consistently done for me over the last 27 years is to tell me that I’m doing a good job and to keep it up. He’s not been afraid to tell me when he disagrees with me or give me counsel to change something that he thinks needs fixed. But Wally has always told me when he appreciates what I’m doing and encourages me to do that same good thing more and more. Well done, you, Wally! Keep it up! Thank you and happy birthday to you.
He’s been constantly praying for them, and he even broke out into prayer in the last two sentences of chapter 3:
“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (1 Thess. 3:12-13 NIVO).
And now in chapter 4, Paul turns to telling them what he wants them to do. He’s going to give them instruction. And in this section (4:1-12), it’s repeated instruction. Paul is reminding them about stuff that he’s told them before.
And one of the most encouraging things he says is that they are already doing it. Paul knows that they are already living this way. He just wants them to do it more and more.
Did you hear that phrase when Keagan was reading it to us? “Do this more and more.” It’s in verse 1, and it’s in verse 10. And the idea is all over the place in these twelve verses.
Paul is not confronting them with their failures like he sometimes has to do with other churches. Paul is encouraging them to keep up the good work. And to double it. And to double it again.
“Do this more and more.”
I think there are at least three major things that Paul is encouraging them to do more and more which could serve as a summary for this section of the letter. Here’s the first one:
#1. LIVE TO PLEASE GOD.
“Do this more and more.” Look with me at 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 1.
“Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.”
There is so much encouragement in that verse! Starting with this idea: It is possible to live to please God!
I think that we often think about God as impossible to please. He is holy, after all, and we are not. We can get to thinking of God as implacable, unhappy, demanding, harsh, always looking to find fault and telling us, “You’re doing it wrong.” Some of you had a father or a mother like that, and it has skewed your view of God.
But Paul says that not only did he teach them how to they can live (literally “walk”) to please God, but that these Christians are actually doing it!
"....we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.”
That’s so encouraging to me. And it must have been encouraging to them.
Now, of course, they could not do it on their own. For starters, they needed Jesus to forgive them of their sins, and they needed the Holy Spirit to come live inside of them and give them power to live to please God. And they needed to have faith. Because without faith it is impossible to please God (see Hebrews 11:6). But they had those things! And they were doing it. The Christians in Thessalonica were living their lives in a God-pleasing way. And now Paul writes to them, “Good job! Now keep it up. Do it more and more.”
I said a couple of weeks ago that encouragement comes in two basic flavors. There is comfort (or consolation) and there is urging (or exhortation). One flavor of encouragement is, “You are doing it right. It’s going to be okay. God has you where He wants you.” That’s comfort or consolation. The other flavor is more of a kick in the pants. “I encourage you to do this or to do that.” Like, a parent saying, “I encourage you to go clean your room.”
This verse has both of those kinds of encouragement, doesn’t it? And the one feeds the other. “You are doing it right. Now do it more and more!”
Paul says, “We ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus.” That word for “urge” is the same word translated “encourage” in other parts of Thessalonians. Your version might have “encourage” there. I think the CSB translates it that way. It’s more than just a suggestion. This is not optional, but it is not a rebuke either! Do this more and more: Live to please God.
Is that your basic stance in life? Are you focused on living your life for the pleasure of God? Or are you trying to please someone else?
Maybe yourself? Our default setting is to live for our own pleasure. Our entire culture is built on that idea! “Suit yourself. You do you. Have it your way. Whatever makes you happy.”
Or many of us have fallen into the trap of living to please other people. That’s one of my biggest temptations. I like to be liked, and I loved to be loved. And I want people to approve of me. So I start doing things to make them happy with me. And that leads to all kinds of trouble.
Paul says he taught the Thessalonians to live for something higher and holier; to live to please God. And they were doing it!
Not perfectly. Not as much as they could. He wants them to increasingly do it more and more. But they were doing it. And to the degree that you and I are living for God right now, praise God! Way to go! Well done, you. I see it in so many of your lives. You want to know what God wants and you want to walk it out in your own life. You pray, “Have Your Own Way, Lord. Have your own way!” And that’s exactly right! Keep that up! And do it more and more and more.
Because the opposite is a terrible thought. Living our lives to displease God! What a scary idea. I don’t want to walk in that neighborhood. And neither did the Thessalonians. They wanted to know what God wanted, and then they wanted to do it. And they even knew what it was that God wanted. Look at verse 2.
“For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. [They were taught this already.] It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality...” (vv. 2-3).
Do this more and more:
#2. LIVE OUT A HOLY SEXUALITY.
Paul says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.” We don’t have wonder about that.
Have you ever thought, “I wonder what God’s will is for me.” Well, He’s told us right here! God’s desire is for you and me to be holy. To live holy lives. That’s what it means to be “sanctified.” It means to be set apart from the world, set apart from our old way of living, to be set apart from sin. God wants you and me to live differently from how we used to and how the world still does.
And specifically here, Paul says that God wants us to be holy in how we use our bodies in sexual ways.
So that includes adultery. A married man or a married woman having sex with someone other than their wife or their husband. Cheating. (Or an “open marriage” if both spouses are complicit in this immorality.)
And it includes sexual abuse and rape, of course. It includes incest.
And porneia includes prostitution, both selling or buying. In Thessalonica, prostitution was often tied to the worship of idols. The idols that the Thessalonians had turned away from to serve the living and true God (1:9).
In the Greek and Roman world of this time, there was almost an “anything goes” kind of ethic about sex, at least for the free men. Men could do just about whatever they wanted with other men, with children, with slaves, with prostitutes, with concubines, and against their wives.
But Paul says that God wants the Christians to “avoid” all of that. To say, “no to porneia.”
Porneia includes homosexual acts. Many of the things our culture is planning to celebrate this month with “pride.”
It also includes the use of pornography. You can see how we get our word “porn” from “porneia.” Lusting after, fantasizing over, desiring other bodies, bodies of those with whom we are not in covenant.
I know that’s “normal” now. Both in the culture and increasingly among people who claim to be followers of Jesus. But the Bible is saying that true followers of Jesus will run away from all of that. “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality...”
We should run like the plague from porneia!
Notice that Paul doesn’t just say what not to do, but also what to do. What to do instead, verse 4.
“It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality [v.4] that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God” (vv.3-4).
More and more, God wants us to live out a holy sexuality. To control our bodies in a way that is holy and honorable.
Now that phrase, “to control his own body” is a difficult one to translate from the Greek. It could be woodenly translated, “to possess his own vessel” which what does that mean? Some of your versions have a footnote with the reading, “acquire your wife” which takes the “possess” as “come into possession” and assumes that the “vessel” is like where Peter calls wives a “weaker vessel” (like 1 Peter 3:7). And that’s possible. That’s why it’s footnoted.
But most English versions take the “possess” as “controlling your possession” and the “vessel” as either being your body or perhaps the more sexual parts of your body. The parts that men, especially, sometimes have trouble controlling. I think that’s more likely and fits better in the context.
The point is that Paul is saying that Christians don’t have to sin sexually and shouldn’t. That it’s possible to learn to control your body in way that is holy and honorable!
Sexual self-control is possible.
Isn’t that encouraging?! You and I do not have to engage in porneia of any kind.
If you are single, you can be chaste unless and until you are biblically married. One man and one woman promised to each other for life.
If you are married, you can be faithful to your husband or to your wife.
If you are addicted to pornography, you can quit.
If you have been visiting a prostitute, you can stop going. If you have been selling yourself, you can get out of the trade. And that includes selling yourself on OnlyFans.
If you have been living like you’re married when you are not, you can move out and live a God-honoring life with your body.
Sexual self-control is possible. A pure sex life is possible. Paul says to live it out more and more.
It will be hard! That’s why Paul was praying for it in verse 13. “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (1 Thess. 3:13 NIVO). It takes strengthening of our hearts. But it is possible to be blameless and holy with our bodies!
You will not hear that from the world. We must be different from the world. Verse 5, “... not in passionate lust like the heathen who do not know God.” We don’t have to live “hot and heavy like the heathen” (Kerry S. Doyal). We can and should live differently, distinctly, set apart, holy. And the Thessalonians were! So Paul encourages them to do it more and more.
Notice that he doesn’t say that we should lecture the world on how to control their bodies, on how to possess their vessels. He’s writing to Christians about the Christian sexual ethic. More than telling the world, we should be showing the world how to live out a holy sexuality. We probably ought to get our act together before we go lecturing the world on how to behave with their bodies.
Now, I can imagine someone saying, “Pastor Matt, I just don’t see why this is so important. Who are we to judge?” And I understand that there other things to also be concerned about than just sexuality. Sometimes, Christians can get a reputation for thinking and talking about sex all the time. And some do. There are many other things that we should be concerned about: injustice, violence, and much more.
But it’s actually the world that talks about sexuality all the time. It’s like they know deep down that they are doing something wrong and are desperate to justify themselves and keep us on the defensive.
And the same is true for Christians caught up in sexual sin. There are so many justifications and excuses that some Christians offer up to downplay the importance of avoiding sexuality immorality in all of its forms.
But it is important because it is God’s will. It says so right here. And it also says that sexual self-control is possible because it’s God’s will.
And it doesn’t just affect us. Our sexual sin affects others, as well. That’s bound up in that word “honorable” in verse 4. Did you notice that word? Have you ever thought about your sexuality being either holy or unholy? Well, how about honorable or dishonorable? Paul says in verse 6 that when we sin sexually we are dishonoring other people. Look at verse 6.
“...and that in this matter [of sexual practice] no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him.”
Do we think about sexuality that way? That when we engage in porneia of any kind that we are not just sinning against God but against other people.
For example, if we engage in adultery, we are sinning against a spouse. Wronging a brother (or a sister).
If we engage in sex before being married, we are sinning against a potential eventual spouse. If you don’t get married to that man or that woman, and they eventually get married to someone else, you were illicitly having their marriage partner. You were stealing from them.
It doesn’t matter that they were giving themselves to you willingly. You were taking what isn’t yours.
Sexual sin is stealing. The point is not just that you might make a baby you didn’t intend to. The point is that you didn’t honor their body the way you should. It wasn’t your body to enjoy.
The same thing is true with prostitution.
The same thing is true with pornography. Her body on that screen is not yours to enjoy. His body on that page is not yours to enjoy. You are wronging someone, probably multiple someones. You are taking advantage of them. You are exploiting them. Even if they are complicit.
Of course, that’s true with abuse and rape. That’s obviously stealing.
And that includes marital rape. Just because her body is yours in covenant, guys, does not mean that you can demand it or take it at any time you want.
Our sexuality must be holy and must be honorable. We should be honoring others with our bodies and in how we treat their bodies. More and more.
Because God cares, and He will do something about it. Look at the end of verse 6.
“The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
If sexual sin is stealing (and it is), then it is an injustice. And God hates injustice and will eventually balance all of the scales. Some English versions say, “God is an avenger.” That means He will make things right once again. God will right every wrong. That might be some time. It sure seems like people are getting away with very impure lives. Our culture keeps going down, down, down that trail.
And one day, the Lord will bring judgment on all porneia. Paul already told them that and warned them. Because God cares. He didn’t save us so that we could live unholy lives. He didn’t save us so that we could just go on like we always have. He saved us to make us holy like Him. We were saved to be sanctified, down to our sex lives. V.8
“Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.”
This isn’t just Paul saying this or Pastor Matt. It’s God. The same God who put His Holy Spirit inside of you wants you to be holy, too. And to live out a holy sexuality more and more.
Now, what if you haven’t? These are strong words and serious ones. And we have all sinned sexually. We are all sexual sinners. Every last one of us.
The question is do we repent of our sexual sin and do we trust in what Jesus did for us on the Cross and at the Empty Tomb? Through that we can be forgiven. Jesus took the punishment for our sexual sin, and He came back to life to give us the power to live a holy life. Look at verse 7 again.
“God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
And, therefore, it is possible! That’s how the Thessalonians were living. The question is if we are aimed in that same direction, as well. We will all sin from now until Jesus comes, but we don’t have to at any given moment, and we don’t have to be controlled by it. We confess it and (by the power of the Holy Spirit living within us) learn to control our own bodies in a way that is holy and honorable. More and more.
In verse 9, Paul changes the subject, but only slightly. He is still talking about honoring in another other, but he broadens it from our bodies to brotherly love. Look at verse 9.
“Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more” (vv.9-10).
There’s that “more and more!” And that’s point number three and last:
#3. LOVE YOUR SPIRITUAL FAMILY.
More and more. Love your spiritual family.
Look at how encouraging Paul is once again! He says that he doesn’t have to teach them about how to love each other because they have been taught by God to love each other. And they’re doing it! That must have been so encouraging for them to read.
“Way to go, Thessalonians! Well done, you. Keep it up. Do it more and more.”
I’m not exactly sure what he means when he says they were taught by God. Perhaps he means that they have learned by the example of the Lord Jesus. They knew how as the Son of God Jesus showed us how to love each other. That’s certainly true.
Maybe he means that the Holy Spirit has been working inside of the believers in that church so that they obviously had been “God-taught” to love one another from the inside out. That’s probably true, as well.
Whatever he means, Paul could tell that God had taught them to love each other with “brotherly love.” The Greek word there is actually “philadelphias” where we get the name of our Pennsylvania city over by New Jersey.
It basically means “love for siblings of the same Father.” And we Christians have the same Father, don’t we? Paul says that the Thessalonians were doing a great job of loving each other (that’s encouraging!), and at the same time, he encourages them (same word) to do so more and more.
How we doing at loving our brothers and sisters in Christ? Especially those who are different from us. It’s easy to love people when they are the same or think the same or act the same as we do. But what about those who are different? Or those who are difficult? Some siblings are easy to love and others take a lot more effort. We have to work at it more and more.
One key way to love our spiritual family is to encourage them. That’s why I asked Jenni to create these “encouragement cards” that are in your bulletins. And there are more out in the foyer. Who might you send one of these to this week? Let me encourage you to think about someone whom you have maybe just met here at Lanse Free Church. We are growing as a spiritual family, and it’s harder to know each other and to encourage each other since there are now so many of us. How about looking around and picking someone that you are just beginning to get to know, and look in the church directory for their address or put it their box out in the foyer? Or hand it to them!
Our church family is a very loving church family. I’ve seen it again and again and again and again. Well done, you! Now, do it more and more!
There are lots of ways to love our spiritual family, but in verses 11 and 12, Paul focuses on one particular way–not being a burden to each other. Look at verse 11.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you [this is another thing they had already been taught], so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (vv.11-12).
Do you see how that is loving?
Paul says that we should be ambitious to be quiet. That’s a surprising way to put it! I think he means not “quiet” as in the opposite of “loud,” but quiet as in peaceful and peaceable. We are good neighbors. We’re not trying to be a problem. We’re not trying to stir up trouble in our relationships. Sometimes trouble comes, and we deal with it. And of course we speak up when we are called to. He’s not saying to always be silent. Paul was not always silent! But we are striving for peace.
And we are supposed to “mind our own business.” Not to be busybodies, not to meddle in things that don’t have anything to do with us. “Not my circus, not my monkeys,” right? Solomon said, Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own” (Prov. 26:17, NIV). That’s not loving! Paul will have more to say about that in this letter and the next.
And then Paul says, “Work with your hands...” And I don’t think he’s emphasizing manual labor as much as personal labor. Paul wants Christians [who can] to work for their own living. To be busy instead of busybodies. And not to be a burden to others.
Maybe some of the more poor Christians were tempted to give up work and let the more wealthy Christians support them. Paul had shown them with his own example that even a Christian who could rightfully be supported might pass up that support for loving reasons (see chapter 2). And now he’s encouraging them to think about others and work hard themselves to not be burden on the other brothers. v.12 “...so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
Now, of course, if you need to be dependent, then be dependent. The Christians in the New Testament took care of widows and the disabled and their elderly parents. If you don’t have your own hands to work with, then you can’t “work with your own hands.” But Christians who can, should, out of love for the brothers.
And as a witness to the world. Look at verse 12.
“...so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders...”
The world is watching to see if we love our spiritual family. The world is watching to see if all the things we say about Jesus actually changes our lives. The world is watching to see if we live our lives differently, including our sex lives.
Is it true that because of Jesus those Christians can be self-controlled?
Can they honor other people with their bodies?
Can those Christians keep from fighting with each other and lead quiet lives?
Can they mind their own beeswax?
Can they stay busy and not be a burden on each other?
Can they actually live to please their God?
What’s the answer to that?
Yes, it is possible! The Thessalonians did it.
And the Lord was calling them (and now us) to do this more and more.
