I
Thessalonians 5:1-11
I.
I Thessalonians 5:1-3
a. V.
1
i.
It’s possible that Timothy had reported
the Thessalonian churches struggle with eschatology
ii.
“times and seasons” is a stock phrase
which always refers to eschatology in the scripture
1. Chronos refers
to the quantity of time, while kairos refers
to the quality of time
b. V.
2
i.
Irony in that they are wanting to know
accurately, what cannot be known at all
1. “thief
in the night” stresses suddenness and unexpectedness, but also its unknown
timing
ii.
Cf. Zephaniah 1:14-18; 2:1-3
iii.
Cf. Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:38-39; II
Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3; 16:15
c. V.
3
i.
The Thessalonians’ enemies would have
found safety in the Pax Romana, but
the empires might cannot protect them from the Day of the Lord
1. Cf.
Jeremiah 6:14
ii.
For believers the timing is unexpected,
for unbelievers the event itself is unexpected
1. The
“they” of this verse will be contrasted with the “but you brothers” of the next
iii.
This passage is meant to be an
encouragement, not a threat
II.
I Thessalonians 5:4-11
a. V.
4-5
i.
Sons of “light” and “day”- Christ is the
light, the day points forward to the final realization of God’s kingdom
1. “Night
is the time for thieves, daylight is the time for truth.” – Euripides
ii.
Cf. Luke 16:8; Ephesians 5:8
b. V.
6-7
i.
Paul characterizes the opposition as
asleep and drunk, thereby exhorting the Thessalonian Christians to be the
opposite, awake and sober
1. “Sleepers”
are careless and indifferent, “drunkards” are profligate and reckless
2. For
Christians, there are 24-hours of daytime
ii.
Cf. Mark 13:32-37, Romans 13:11-14
c. V.
8
i.
The Greek does not have us “putting on”
the armor, but rather has us clothed with armor that comes from God
ii.
“Thus the phrase ‘hope of salvation’
does not refer to a vague ‘hope’ for salvation
in the future; rather, this phrase has to do with one’s certain future based on God’s saving work effected by
Christ.” – Gordon D. Fee
iii.
The triad of “faith, hope, and love”
occur again
iv.
Cf. Isaiah 59:17, Ephesians 6:14-17
d. V.
9-10a
i.
Converts are to put on the armor
“because” God did not appoint them for wrath
1. “Wrath”
is not the lot of believers. Paul is
operating with an OT view of wrath not as an emotional response of God, but as
a judicial one
ii.
“This passage is somewhat like Romans
8:28-29, and in both cases the language of destining is used to reassure
Christians, those who love God, about their future. The subject is not about destining or
electing some to be believers.” –
Ben Witherington, III
iii.
The goalà “the obtaining
of salvation”; the agentà “through our Lord Jesus Christ”; the
meansà”who
died on our behalf”
1. “Christ
became what we are and died, so that we might become what he is and live.” –
Ben Witherington, III
2. Destinies
and destinations can change
e. V.
10b
i.
The latter part of chapter 4 deals with
the deceased, the beginning of chapter 5 with the living, with this clause
tying the two “together”
f. V.
11
i.
Cf. I Thessalonians 4:18
g. “Those
who believe in the immortality of the soul believe that life after death is as
natural a function of man as digestion after the meal. The Bible instead speaks of
resurrection. It is entirely
unnatural. Man does not go on living
beyond the grave because that’s how he’s made.
Rather, he goes to his grave as dead as a doornail and is given his life
back by God (i.e. resurrected) just as he was given it by God in the first
place, because that is the way God is made…The idea of immortality of the soul
is based on the experience of man’s indomitable spirit. The idea of resurrection of the body is based
on the experience of God’s unspeakable love.” – F. Buechner
h. “Learning
how to die has something to do with living each day in full awareness that we
are children of God, whose love is stronger than death.” – Henri Nouwen
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