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1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called “Lessons from a Growing Church,” and today we come both to the end of 1 Thessalonians and to the end of our series. This week we have an impossible task before us. We have seventeen verses left which are jam-packed with instruction, and we cannot possibly look at each verse in depth. So, today’s message is going to move fast. We will cover more breadth than depth, and we will cover a lot of different topics as we finish out the letter. (Pray for message.)

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Okay, here we go, fasten your seatbelts as we speed our way through these last seventeen verses together. We’ll break this down into two sections. Verses 12-22 contain a series of instructions concerning Christian community. And then verses 23-28 contain Paul’s final words of blessing to the Christian community at Thessalonica.

I. Instructions concerning Christian community (12-22)

So, let’s look at verses 12-22 first. In this first section we find instructions concerning four different aspects of church life and community. We have instructions concerning leadership, fellowship, worship and discernment.

   A. Instructions concerning leadership (12-13)

First, we have instructions concerning leadership. Look at verses 12-13 with me:

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

Leadership is an important aspect of church life and community. We read in Acts 14 that as Paul and Barnabas spread the gospel to various communities, they “appointed elders for them in each church.” (Acts 14:23) They were careful not to leave a newly planted church without established leadership.

The church rises or falls on its leadership. Church leaders have certain responsibilities to the church, and church members have certain responsibilities to the leadership. We find instructions about both here.

      1) Responsibilities of the leadership towards the church

First let’s look at the responsibilities of the leadership towards the church. Paul outlines three responsibilities here: hard work, pastoral care and spiritual direction.

Paul says, “Respect those who work hard among you.” The phrase “work hard” is a word which means “to grow weary or tired.” It was often used of hard physical labor. Pastoral ministry is hard work. I get a chuckle when people say things to me like, “It must be great being a pastor. You only have to work Sundays!” I always tell them: “Yes, ministry hours are great! I work half days, and I even get to pick which 12 hours!” Pastors preach, pray, teach, visit, counsel, evangelize, administrate. They are always on call, and often missed by their families. Ministry is hard work. You’re tired at the end of the day. Now I’m sure there are some lazy pastors out there, but most of the ones I know work hard at the ministry.

A second responsibility is that of pastoral care. Paul says, “Respect those who are over you in the Lord.” The phrase “over you” means “to watch over or care for.” It was a word used for parents and guardians. It is translated in 1 Timothy 3 as “taking care of God’s church.” (1 Timothy 3:5) The pastor is responsible for the flock. He is a shepherd and overseer. Notice Paul says that your leaders are “over you in the Lord.” The pastor may be over the flock, but he must never forget that he is under the Lord. He is there to serve the church, not to rule over it. He is accountable to God for his leadership.

The third responsibility is that of spiritual direction. Paul says, “Respect those who admonish you.” “To admonish” is “to warn or exhort.” It means to counsel, correct, advise, instruct or urge people to follow a certain direction. The pastor does this through preaching, teaching, counseling, confronting and exercising church discipline. The pastor is responsible for the spiritual direction of the flock.

      2) Responsibilities of the church towards the leadership

Now the church also has responsibilities towards the leadership. Paul says to respect your leaders and to hold them in the highest regard in love. Pastors always have a difficult time preaching these verses, and rightly so, because we do not want to be accused of self-interest. However, it is part of Scripture and must be taught.

God commands the highest honor, love and respect for those who lead the church. The word translated “highest regard” here is a word which means “exceedingly, abundantly beyond measure.” It’s the same word we find in Ephesians 3:20: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20) Paul tells the Thessalonians, “When it comes to loving your pastors, don’t hold anything back. Hold them in the highest regard. Esteem them beyond measure. Do this out of love for them because of their work.”

Now, why would I tell you to respect and honor your pastors in this way? Believe me, it’s not because I want or deserve it. Frankly, I’m embarrassed by the extravagance of Paul’s language. But this is God’s word to the church. And I firmly believe that when a local church honors, loves and respects its pastors, that God’s blessing will be on that church in a special way. Some churches seem to have the ministry of beating their pastors up. They chew them up and spit them out faster than watermelon seeds, and then they wonder why God doesn’t bless their church.

      3) Responsibilities of both leaders and the church together
Paul says to honor, respect and love those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord. And then he adds a word to both leaders and the church together: “Live in peace with each other.” Blessed is the church whose pastor and people love and care for each other and live in peace together. So, those are the instructions concerning leadership in Christian community.

   B. Instructions concerning fellowship (14-15)

Next, we have instructions concerning fellowship. Look at verses 14-15:

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15)

The church of Jesus Christ is not made up of perfect people, and trust me, that includes the pastors. You’ve heard the old joke, “If you ever find a perfect church, don’t join it, because you’ll only mess it up.” In these two verses Paul tells us how to deal with those who are troubled in the church, as well as with those who cause trouble.

      1) Dealing with those who are troubled

In verse 13 he describes three categories of troubled people: the idle, the timid and the weak. It’s possible that Paul has had these groups in mind all the way through chapters four and five. Paul spoke about the idle back in 4:11-12. These were the busybodies who brought disrespect on the church of Christ by refusing to work. Paul spoke about the timid in 4:13-5:11. These people were worried about Christ’s return. They were concerned for their loved ones who had passed away, and they were afraid of God’s judgment when Christ returned. And then, Paul addressed the weak in 4:1-8. The weak were those who struggled with temptation, especially in the area of sexual immorality.

Notice how each group requires a different type of care. We should warn those who are idle. Why? Because they present a poor testimony in the community and bring disrespect on the church of Christ. We should encourage the timid. How? By reminding them that Christ’s return is a glorious day. We have nothing to fear when Christ returns. On the contrary we will be reunited with our loved ones and delivered from wrath by Christ who died for us. And then, we should help the weak. How? By encouraging them to stand strong in the face of temptation and to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Paul then gives us one final instruction for dealing with those who are troubled: “Be patient with everyone.” You’ve all seen the poster: “Please be patient with me; God isn’t finished with me yet.” Guess what? God isn’t finished with any of us. We all have plenty of faults and shortcomings, and so we need to be patient with each other.

      2) Dealing with those who cause trouble

Then, in verse 14 Paul tells us how to deal with those who are causing trouble. First, he says, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong.” When someone does you wrong, don’t return the favor. As a Christian you are not allowed the luxury of retaliation. Don’t strike back. Don’t try to get even. Make sure that no one else in the church fellowship does either. God only allows one kind of payback, and that is good for evil, not evil for evil, and certainly not evil for good.

Instead of seeking revenge, Paul says, “always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” “Try to be kind” is a strong phrase in the original language. It literally means “to pursue the good.” This is not a half-hearted attempt at kindness, but the full-fledged pursuit of that which is good for those who have mistreated us. Notice that Paul expands this command beyond the church fellowship. Instead of returning evil we are to pursue that which is good for each other and for everyone else, that is, those outside the body of Christ as well.

   C. Instructions concerning worship (16-18)

We have looked at instructions concerning leadership and fellowship. Next, we comes to instructions concerning worship. Look at verses 16-18 with me now:

Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

These three verses are quick to read, easy to understand and hard to follow.

      1) Be joyful always

“Be joyful always.” Being joyful is a choice; it’s an attitude. Someone might say, “Can’t I just be joyful when everything is going the way I want?” No. Circumstances may change, but God never does. He is always loving, always faithful, always there for you. You may walk through the darkest valley but take heart: Jesus walks with you. If God is for you, who can be against you? God is good all the time. Therefore, be joyful always. The Christian who stops being joyful stops professing the goodness of God.

Joy is the hallmark of Christian worship. This is true of both individual and corporate worship. Worship is simply delighting in the goodness of who God is. You can’t have worship without joy anymore than you can have an ocean without water. “Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.” (Psalm 105) “Be joyful always.”

      2) Pray continually

Next, “pray continually.” Now, this doesn’t mean that all you do is pray. Rather, it means that prayer accompanies all that you do. In other words, don’t leave God out of anything. Talk to him throughout the day. Praise him. Thank him. Ask for his guidance and help. Confess sin. Receive his forgiveness. In all that you do give him the praise and the glory. Prayer for the Christian should be as natural as breathing. Private and public worship of God are both marked by a continual attitude of prayer. D.L. Moody once said, “I never pray for more than five minutes at a time. But I never go five minutes without praying.”

      3) Give thanks in all circumstances

And then thirdly, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances. We certainly don’t thank God for sin or sickness or evil in the world. But we do thank him in the midst of these things. This is part of our worship. We trust that God is above our circumstances and that he is in sovereign control of all things. We recognize God’s blessings in the midst of our deepest trials, and we give him thanks.

Christians not only joyful and prayer people. We are thankful people. We recognize that every good thing we have in our life comes from God and thank him accordingly. Part of our private and public worship should always include giving thanks, and especially giving thanks for the wonderful gift of salvation God has given us through Jesus Christ our Lord. We can never thank God enough. Therefore, we should give thanks at all times and in all circumstances.

Paul closes out this section by saying, “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” It is God’s will for you to be joyful always, to pray continually, to give thanks in all circumstances. This is what God wants, this is what God desires, this is what God requires of his people in worship: constant joy, unceasing prayer, and continual thanksgiving.

   D. Instructions concerning discernment (19-22)

So, we have looked at instructions concerning leadership, fellowship and worship. Now, we close out this first section on Christian community by looking at several instructions about discernment. Look at verses 19-22 with me next:

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)

Christian community cannot exist without discernment. Part of the church’s function is to discern truth from error. So, Paul gives the following instructions concerning discernment in the church.

      1) Do not reject what comes from God

First he says, “Do not reject what comes from God.” And here includes two things: the Spirit of God and the word of God. When he says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire,” he means don’t reject that which comes from the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit burns like a flame within the church of Christ. He longs to ignite our hearts in passionate worship of God and loving service to each other. Don’t quench the Spirit of God. Don’t stand in God’s way. Don’t put out what the Spirit is doing in your midst.

And then when he says, “Do not treat prophecies with contempt,” he means don’t reject that which comes from the word of God. Prophecy is the gift of speaking God’s word to man. We talked about this when we talked about “How to Listen to a Sermon.” The preaching of God’s word is prophetic. You should receive the word of God “not as the word of man, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) To treat with contempt means “to disregard or to consider of no account.” So, Paul is saying do not disregard God’s word when it is preached. Do not consider God’s word of no account.

In both of these verses Paul is saying the same thing: “Do not reject what comes from God.” Whether it comes from the Spirit of God or the word of God, do not reject that which comes from God.

      2) Do not accept everything that claims to come from God

But he adds an important corrective in the next two verses. “Do not accept everything that claims to come from God.” Not everything that claims to come from God really does. There are false prophecies and false manifestations of the Spirit. God calls us to be wise and discerning. “Test everything. Hold on to the good and avoid the evil.”

Christian community can only be truly Christian when it faithfully adheres to the word of God. So, Paul says, “Test everything.” Test it by the word of God. Test it by the gospel of Christ. Test it by the character of the speaker as measured by the word of God. Test it by its fruits in the body. Hold on to the good and get rid of the evil. Exercise discernment in the body of Christ.

So, this is Paul’s bold vision of church life and community: 1) godly pastoral leadership which is reciprocated by the love and respect of the people; 2) loving church fellowship which cares for each other’s hurts and bears with each other’s faults; 3) vibrant worship of God which is characterized by joy, prayer and thanksgiving; and 4) wise spiritual discernment which holds to the truth and guards against error. It is a beautiful picture and one we should all aspire to as a church.

II. Final words of blessing to the Christian community (23-28)

Finally, in this last section, verses 23-28, Paul gives his final words of blessing to the Christian community at Thessalonica.

   A. Prayer for sanctification (23-24)

He begins with a prayer for sanctification. Paul’s final words in his letters often pick up on various themes he has addressed throughout the letter. Here his prayer brings together the two themes of sanctification and the return of Christ. Look at verses 23-24 with me now:

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

We saw earlier in our series that sanctification means to grow in holiness, to grow more and more like Christ. Paul has emphasized Christian growth throughout this letter. Even in areas where the Thessalonians were already doing well, he still urged them to grow.

Here Paul prays for God to sanctify them “through and through.” This phrase means “to be complete in all respects.” Paul’s vision for sanctification in the Christian’s life is absolute, unqualified, unreserved dedication to God. And unless you’ve already reached that in your life, you still have room to grow.

Notice you cannot do this on your own. Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians is that God himself will sanctify them through and through. He is the God of peace, the God of shalom, the God of wholeness and completeness, and he alone can sanctify in this manner.

Paul goes on to pray, “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul continues the idea of wholeness and completion here. God’s desire is that every single aspect of your life and person may be kept blameless. The word “kept” means “to guard or protect.” It was used of the soldiers guarding Jesus’ tomb. It’s the same word Jesus used when he prayed for his disciples in John 17: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)

The word blameless means “without accusation.” Earlier in the letter Paul said that he and his missionary companions conducted themselves blamelessly and that no one could bring any accusation against them (2:10). Now Paul prays for such a complete sanctification of spirit, soul and body that no one will bring any accusation against us at the coming of Christ.

He concludes his prayer with this word of assurance in verse 24: “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” Paul has no doubt that we will in fact reach ultimate sanctification. But his confidence is not in us or in our own strength of will. His confidence is in the faithful God who calls us to glory.

Do you ever get discouraged over your own spiritual growth? Do you ever wish you were farther along in your faith? Do pesky sins keep cropping up in your life? Take heart – God would not have called you to heaven if he did not intend to bring you there perfected and blameless. In the meantime, pray along with Paul that God will continue to sanctify you through and through. Pray that you may grow to become more and more like Christ. This is your calling and hope as a Christian. This is your destiny. “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

   B. Three final instructions (25-27)

Paul now has three final words of instructions. Look at verses 25-27 with me as we close:

Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. (1 Thessalonians 5:25-27)

First, he says: “Brothers, pray for us.” Paul has told them repeatedly throughout the letter how he prays for them. Now he asks for their prayers. He addresses them as brothers. He may be an apostle, but they are all on equal ground before the Lord. He needs their prayers as much as they need his. “Brothers, pray for us.”

Secondly, he says: “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.” We find mention of the “holy kiss” several times in the New Testament (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12) In the book of 1 Peter, we find “greet one another with a kiss of love.” (1 Peter 5:14) The kiss was a common greeting of affection in Paul’s day, and people in eastern cultures still often use the kiss as a greeting. And so, Paul encourages Christians to greet each other with holy affection. For most of us that probably means a holy hug or a holy handshake! But others may feel comfortable with a holy kiss.

The word “holy” guards against the misuse of affectionate greeting in the church. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, and therefore we should greet each other as family. That’s why we have a greeting time in our morning service. That’s why the pastors like to greet you on the way out of church. We are family, and so greetings of brotherly affection are appropriate.

Paul’s third instruction is found in verse 27: “I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.” Paul’s language is surprisingly strong here. The word “charge” means “to put someone under solemn oath, to cause someone to swear by something.” Not only that, Paul charges them “before the Lord.” This means that God himself watches over them and holds them accountable to obey this command.

This reading of the letter is to be a public reading to the entire church. When the church met, they would normally read the Old Testament Scriptures publicly. Now Paul commands them to read his letter out loud to the fellowship, and he solemnly charges them before the Lord to fulfill this duty. In other words, he places his letter on the same level as Old Testament Scripture.

This eventually took place with all the New Testament letters. The churches read these letters out loud in their assemblies. They copied them and passed them around. Eventually all the letters were collected together, and this is how we got our New Testament.

   C. Benediction (28)

Paul closes out the letter with a final word of benediction in verse 28:

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:28)

Paul begins and ends every one of his letters with grace. How appropriate, because all of Christianity begins and ends with grace.

As we have learned in this message series, the gospel of grace gives birth to the church, sustains the church and defines the church. Salvation is by grace. Christian growth and sanctification are all by grace. And we look forward to the day of Christ’s return because we set our hope fully on the grace to be given us when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” It’s all about grace, because it’s all about Jesus.

© Ray Fowler

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