Category: 1 Thessalonians
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Faithful Is He – 1 Thessalonians 5:23–28
1 Thessalonians 5:23–28 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.Brethren, pray for us.Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.I charge…
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Test It. Keep It. Walk Away. – 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22
1 Thessalonians 5:21–22 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.Abstain from all appearance of evil. Paul does not tell believers to swallow everything. He says, “Prove all things.” Test it. Examine it. Lay it against Scripture.Measure it by the character of Christ.Watch the fruit it produces. Christian maturity is not gullibility. It is…
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Do Not Put It Out – 1 Thessalonians 5:19–20
1 Thessalonians 5:19–20 Quench not the Spirit.Despise not prophesyings. Two short warnings. “Quench not the Spirit.” That word quench is a fire word. It means to extinguish. To throw water on something that is burning. The Spirit’s work is often described like flame—alive, moving, warming, illuminating. You can’t manufacture fire. But you can smother it.…
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The Simple Will of God – 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 Rejoice evermore.Pray without ceasing.In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Three short commands. No commentary attached.No explanation.No footnotes. Just three steady beats. Rejoice.Pray.Give thanks. People spend years trying to decode the will of God. “Should I move?”“Should I change jobs?”“Should I marry…
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Four Postures of Ministry – 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15
1 Thessalonians 5:14–15 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Paul gives four instructions—and if you look closely,…
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Esteem Them in Love – 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13
1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Paul turns here to something deeply practical and deeply needed: leadership in the…
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Build Each Other Up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. After all the talk about the Lord’s coming…After resurrection…After trumpets…After wrath and salvation… Paul brings it right back to something simple. Comfort one another.Edify one another. He doesn’t end with speculation. He ends with responsibility. “Edify” means to build…
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Not Appointed to Wrath – 1 Thessalonians 5:9–10
1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. This is one of those verses you don’t rush past. “God hath not appointed us to wrath.” Let that land.…
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Dressed for Daylight – 1 Thessalonians 5:7–8
1 Thessalonians 5:7–8 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. Paul keeps using the same contrast—night and day. Night…
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Children of the Day – 1 Thessalonians 5:3–6
1 Thessalonians 5:3–6 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the…
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Times and Seasons – 1 Thessalonians 5:1–2
1 Thessalonians 5:1–2 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Paul just finished talking about being caught up, about reunion, about comfort. Now he pivots. “But of the…
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Caught Up – 1 Thessalonians 4:17–18
1 Thessalonians 4:17–18 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.Wherefore comfort one another with these words. “Caught up.” That phrase carries force. Not drifting upward.Not slowly ascending.Caught up. It…
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The Shout and the Trump – 1 Thessalonians 4:15–16
1 Thessalonians 4:15–16 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump…
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Alive With Him – 1 Thessalonians 4:14
1 Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Paul anchors everything to one fact. If Jesus died…And if Jesus rose again… Then this changes everything about death for a believer. He does not argue sentiment. He argues…
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Not Ignorant, Not Hopeless – 1 Thessalonians 4:13
1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Paul shifts the tone here. He has talked about how they lived. Now he talks about how they grieve. “But I would not have you to be…
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Work Quietly – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12
1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. Let that first phrase sit for a minute. Study to be…
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Study to Be Quiet – 1 Thessalonians 4:9–11
1 Thessalonians 4:9–11 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;And that ye study to…
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Not Rejecting Man – 1 Thessalonians 4:8
1 Thessalonians 4:8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. Paul is not offended here. He’s clarifying. If you shrug this off, he says, don’t pin that on me. I didn’t invent holiness. I didn’t wake up and decide to tighten everybody’s life. If…
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The Lord Is the Avenger – 1 Thessalonians 4:6–7
1 Thessalonians 4:6–7 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. Paul is still talking about the same subject. He has not changed…
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Not Like the World – 1 Thessalonians 4:2–5
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:…
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Keep Walking – 1 Thessalonians 4:1
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. Paul isn’t correcting a disaster here. This church was doing well. They had received instruction. They were walking in…
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Pour Me – 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13
Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you. Paul isn’t just praying for safe travel. He’s praying for growth. “Increase.”“Abound.” That’s not maintenance language.…
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Sleepless for Their Sake – 1 Thessalonians 3:10
Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face… Paul wasn’t casually praying for these people. He says “night and day.” That tells you something. There were probably nights when sleep wouldn’t come easy. Nights when the room was quiet but his mind wasn’t. Instead of staring at the ceiling or replaying the…
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Joy That Makes You Forget Yourself – 1 Thessalonians 3:9
For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God. Paul almost sounds overwhelmed here. “What thanks can we possibly give?” He’s not exaggerating. He’s not being poetic for effect. He’s trying to put words around something that feels bigger than…
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Now We Live – 1 Thessalonians 3:5–8
For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of…
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Appointments on the Calendar – 1 Thessalonians 3:3–4
That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. Paul basically says, “Don’t panic.” Don’t feel sorry for us. Don’t be shocked that…
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Strengthening the Saints – 1 Thessalonians 3:2
And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith. Paul couldn’t sit still anymore. Athens was impressive. Marble everywhere. Thinkers debating in the marketplace. But Paul wasn’t thinking about philosophy. He was thinking about young believers back…
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Left Alone – 1 Thessalonians 3:1
1 Thessalonians 3:1 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; Paul had already been driven out of Thessalonica. He went to Berea. The Bereans received the Word eagerly. They searched the Scriptures daily. It must have felt refreshing. Encouraging. But the agitators from Thessalonica followed…
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The Wreath That Waits – 1 Thessalonians 2:19–20
1 Thessalonians 2:19–20 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?For ye are our glory and joy. Paul uses one small word that says everything. Crown — στέφανος (stephanos). Not a king’s diadem. Not a ruler’s jeweled band. A…
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The Blocked Road – 1 Thessalonians 2:17–18
1 Thessalonians 2:17–18 But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. Paul does not pretend everything is smooth in ministry.…
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Following in Their Steps – 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16
1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not…
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The Word That Works – 1 Thessalonians 2:13
1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Paul is not…
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Holy, Just, and Fatherly – 1 Thessalonians 2:10–12
1 Thessalonians 2:10–12 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and…
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Working Night and Day – 1 Thessalonians 2:9
1 Thessalonians 2:9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Paul reminds them of something they had seen with their own eyes. His hands were calloused. “Labour and travail.” This is…
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Gentle as a Nurse – 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8
1 Thessalonians 2:7–8 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. After speaking of boldness, contention, and integrity, Paul shifts…
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No Cloak of Covetousness – 1 Thessalonians 2:5–6
1 Thessalonians 2:5–6 For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. Paul says his ministry was not wrapped in flattery.…
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Trusted With the Gospel – 1 Thessalonians 2:3–4
1 Thessalonians 2:3–4 For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. Paul defends his ministry on three negatives and one glorious positive.…
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Bold Through Contention – 1 Thessalonians 2:1–2
1 Thessalonians 2:1–2 For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. Paul reminds them that…
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Delivered From the Wrath – 1 Thessalonians 1:10
1 Thessalonians 1:10 …whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Paul ties the resurrection directly to rescue. The One raised from the dead is the One who delivers. And what does He deliver from? The wrath to come. Revelation 6–19 describes a period of judgment so…
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Turning, Serving, Waiting – 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 (a)
1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 (a) For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;And to wait for his Son from heaven… Paul says the reputation of the Thessalonians was already circulating. People were reporting what…
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A Sound That Travels – 1 Thessalonians 1:7–8
1 Thessalonians 1:7–8 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. Paul says they…
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Chosen Before You Knew – 1 Thessalonians 1:4
1 Thessalonians 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. Paul does not hesitate. He calls them beloved.He speaks of election.He speaks with certainty. Knowing your election of God. Election is often misunderstood. It is not God scanning humanity for the most impressive résumé. It is not divine admiration for human potential. It is not…
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Faith, Love, and Hope – 1 Thessalonians 1:2–3
1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father. Paul thanks God not for their size or influence,…
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Grace and Peace – 1 Thessalonians 1:1
1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. The letter opens with three men. Paul.Silvanus, whom we know as Silas.Timotheus, or Timothy.…
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Background to 1 & 2 Thessalonians
Along with Galatians, First Thessalonians is one of the earliest of Paul’s letters, written roughly twenty years after the Resurrection of Jesus. It was addressed to believers in Thessalonica, a prominent city of about two hundred thousand people in Paul’s day, known today as Thessaloniki. After his remarkable deliverance from prison in Philippi (Acts 16),…