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1 Thessalonians

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Meeting the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

All people need hope, and most hold onto the possibility of better things in the future.  But Christians are confident that their hope is not in their imagination; it is secured on the promises of God.  The Lord Jesus said that He will come again to eliminate evil and to reveal His eternal kingdom (Acts 10:42).  He left His personal instructions about what will happen at the end of time (1 Thessalonians 4:15).  Everybody will see Jesus as the Lord, the King of everybody and everything (Philippians 2:10-11).  It is His right to command, and our responsibility to submit to His authority.

Inescapable Joy and Judgement

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

Everybody in God's redeemed family should be looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:10-13).  Their eager expectation is part of the evidence that they belong to Him. They are brothers and sisters awaiting the joy of meeting their Saviour.  But they do not know when it will be.  Nor does anybody else, believer or unbeliever.  And Jesus did not reveal the date of His coming (Matthew 24:36).
 

Don't Live In The Darkness

1 Thessalonians 5:4-8

The Second Coming of Christ will affect everybody (Revelation 1:7).  Great joy will come to the believers and the fear of judgement to unbelievers (1 Thessalonians 5:3).  The contrast will be the difference between night and day.  So, all believers should be waiting expectantly, even though the world will be utterly shocked by the unexpected appearance of its Judge.  Therefore Paul urged God's people to wake up, realise their eternally privileged position, and stop living like the people who are away from God.
 

Waiting For The Appointment

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

Each of us has an appointment to meet Jesus.  When we see Him we will tell Him everything (2 Corinthians 5:10), and God's wrath will fall on all unrighteousness.  But nobody is fully righteous (Psalm 14:3).  That is why the anger of God against sin fell on Jesus, so that all who believe in Him will not suffer in the judgement but will have eternal life (John 3:16).  So the appointment will either result in joy (for all who have trusted that Jesus' death was for them) or judgement for all who have resisted the grace of Christ (Romans 2:8).
 

Respect Spiritual Leadership

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Each follower of Jesus is related to every other believer; they are spiritual brothers and sisters.

Godly Relationships

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

Believing in Jesus is the start of a whole new set of relationships.  Each person who repents and receives Jesus as their Lord and Saviour is made a child of God (John 1:12).  Because they all have the same heavenly Father, they are all brothers and sisters (Ephesians 4:6).  That applies not just in the local church, but also wherever we go world-wide.  All God's children are all equal in His sight, which is why Paul urged the Thessalonian believers to express that equality as they related together.
 

Joy, Prayer and Praise

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Joy is a deep conviction of inner gladness.  It is more than happiness, which arises from pleasant things that happen and easily fluctuates.  The Holy Spirit's presence in the believer produces joy (Galatians 5:22): the confidence of being totally loved by God, the relief of sins forgiven, and the anticipation of being welcomed by Jesus when He comes again.  Joy is therefore bound to both love and hope.  But difficult circumstances, our own inner conflicts, and Satan’s lies may stir doubts which dull our joy.  So, the Apostle Paul’s instruction is: deliberately choose to express our joy in

Spiritual Wisdom

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

God the Holy Spirit has been given to every believer (Romans 8:9).  He is God's indwelling voice to our hearts - convicting us of sin, teaching us about Jesus and urging us to live in a way which will please the Father (John 16:13-15).  Before the New Testament Scriptures were completed, God spoke to the new churches through the Old Testament writings (1 Peter 1:10-12), apostles and prophets.  But how did people know whether what the prophets said was really from God, or just something which came from their own thoughts?
 

God is Faithful

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

What is the faithfulness of God, and to whom is He faithful?  Faithfulness is part of His character; He never deviates from who He is, and He always fulfils what He has promised.  He is true to His Word.  Because of God's unchanging nature, the Father, the Son and the Spirit implicitly trust one another (Hebrews 3:2).  Because of God's faithfulness to Himself, we can trust His every Word and be totally certain that His promises will be fulfilled.
 

Stand Together in Prayer and the Word

1 Thessalonians 5:25-28

Although the Apostle Paul was God's chosen gospel messenger to the Gentiles (Acts 26:17-18), he and his team were humble.  They considered themselves equal to their brothers and sisters in Christ, and not too proud to ask for their help.  In particular, they asked that the church in Thessalonica would pray for them as they faced danger for the sake of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 3:6-8).  It was a practical example of what he emphasised to various churches (Romans 16:2); he stood with them, and also asked them to stand with him … and with each other.
 

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