◄ 1 Thessalonians 5 Devotional Commentary ►
1 Thessalonians 5:2
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament that foretell of this future time of judgement called the 'Day of the Lord'. The Thessalonian Christians knew all about the coming 'Day of the Lord', a time of great trouble for Israel when God's wrath is poured out on a Christ-rejecting sinful world. But like us, they were unaware of the timing that this event, only knowing that it would descend upon an unprepared world as a thief in the night, for as the Lord Jesus read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:5
Paul longs to be with the Lord, knowing that the suffering and pain of this present age will one day give way to the unimaginable glory of being with Christ forever. And having detailed the return of the Lord in the air for His Church "with a loud shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet-call of God," when we shall all be changed in the twinkling of an eye, Paul then outlines how we should behave as we wait for Christ's glorious and imminent read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:6
The coming Day-of-the-Lord is a future period of time when God will intervene in the history of mankind once again. This prophesied 'Day' is not a 24-hour long period, but a specific season in the history of the world.
As Christians, we are exhorted to be alert and sober as we see this 'Day' approaching. We should not to allow this 'Day' to creep up on us unawares, or sleep as others do. We should not be indifferent or lukewarm read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:8
Both the Corinthian and Thessalonian Christians received some important and complimentary teaching on the Rapture and the resurrection of believers. The Corinthians received detailed facts on the resurrection of the body and our future, immortal state, while in Thessalonians we are given encouraging revelation about the end times and the moment when we, who are alive and remain, will be caught up in the clouds with the resurrected saints - to be with the Lord, read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:9
The wrath of God must be poured out on ALL sin, and the wages of sin is death. For the Christian, the full force of God's wrath was poured out on Christ instead of on us. He was punished in our stead. He was made sin for us. He shed His blood on our account. The wrath of God was poured out in fullest measure on Christ so that your sin and mine could be forgiven by grace through faith in Him.
God's wrath was poured out on Christ in read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:10
There is no solitary place to which we can go, nor a single state in which we find ourselves, that is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He died that we could be united to Him by faith, and live together with Him, forever. This extraordinary knowledge is beyond our understanding. This truth is so majestic that we are unable to fathom it, in our limited comprehension.
Clearly, the wages of read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:11
1 Thessalonians holds a special place in the canon of Scripture, as this was the first epistle the apostle Paul wrote and it contains a significant amount of Church-age doctrine, including much notable information about the Rapture of the Church and Christ's Second Coming to set up His Millennial Kingdom.
Unlike many of his other epistles, there are no controversies to correct or false teachings to refute in this book. 1 read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:16
Having just told us the glories of our bodily resurrection and the Rapture of the Church (which is the believer's confident hope), and also having given us full assurance that we are not appointed to go through the coming period of Great Tribulation (when the wrath of God is poured out on a Christ rejecting sinful world, and Israel is restored to their God-appointed position of supremacy on earth), Paul gives us some wise instruction on how to live godly lives that read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Knowing that the Day of the Lord is fast approaching, and also knowing that our citizenship is reserved for us in heaven by grace through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, Paul outlines what sort of life a believer should live.
Close to the top of his list of godly instructions on how to live a fruitful Christian life is: "Pray without ceasing;" pray continuously, pray and keep on read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:18
In summing up his first epistle to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul admonishes them (and us) to live a life that is pleasing in the sight of the Lord; a life that glorifies our Father in heaven. He calls us to encourage the fainthearted, to support the weak, to show goodness and grace to all people, and not to return evil with evil.
He exhorts us to engage in ongoing rejoicing and ceaseless prayer, as we take every thought read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:19
Although the heavens declare the glory of God and creation shouts abroad the wonders of His name, only the Word of God gives us a full and final revelation of the Father, in the face of Jesus Christ. And we discover that by faith in Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, the Holy Spirit of God does many wonderful things in our hearts.
We are born from above, regenerated, sealed, adopted, baptised into the Body of Christ, and permanently read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:21
In his final greeting to the Church at Thessalonica, Paul gives various warnings and exhortations to the Body of Christ on how to live a godly life that is worthy of our position in Christ. Here we are called to: "Test all things, examine everything carefully, and to hold fast that which is good, genuine, and true." In order to do so we need to be like the Berean believers who searched the Scriptures daily to see if the things they were being read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:22
So often as Paul draws his epistles to a close, he gives a list of wise instructions on godly living with the view to developing a Christ-like nature, where the man or woman of God may learn to grow in grace and mature in the faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit. One such instruction, which follows a call to worship the Lord in spirit and truth, is: "To abstain from all sorts of evil."
To separate ourselves read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Full maturity and the complete sanctification of each and every believer (spirit, soul, and body) is Paul's earnest desire for all Christians. Some incorrectly consider that we can reach sinless perfection in this life, but this is unbiblical, for our old sin nature which resides within this mortal body, lusts against our new life in Christ. This will continue until we discard this fallen, earthy, mortal frame and are taken to be with the Lord forever: "For read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:24
Down through the generations, God has proved Himself faithful. Down through those same ages, God has been working towards His perfect plan and purpose for humanity, which is that Christ is all and in all. And the work that He wants to do in the lives of each of His children, is to transform us into the image and likeness of the lovely Lord Jesus Christ - spirit, soul, and body.
God has set out in His Word how this is to be read more...
1 Thessalonians 5:25
Prayer has been called 'the breath of the soul' and expresses the very essence of faith in our Heavenly Father. Prayer is the fruit of a humble and helpless heart that comes before the Lord in loving trust.
It is the means of two-way fellowship between the Lord of heaven and earth and His helpless child, and it is a most precious tool that God has given to each of His children. Prayer is the tool that encourages our continuous appeal to His Father-heart read more...