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A Cluster of Exhortations
Christ Church on October 18, 2020
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The Day of the Lord

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INTRODUCTION

As we work through this next portion of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, we want to continue to hold the various elements of “the last things” loosely, and in the palm of our hand. After we have all the pieces on the workbench before us (e.g. after 2 Thess. 2), we will then look at how they relate to one another. For the moment, to help keep things clear in our minds, I am going to begin referring to the end of all things as the Final Coming, and not the Second Coming.

We should work through all of this in humility, remembering that Augustine, one of the greatest minds in the history of the church, once said of 2 Thess. 2: “I frankly confess I do not know what he means.”

THE TEXT

“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. 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 day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 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. 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. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thess. 5:1–11).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul had not had the opportunity to teach the Thessalonians everything he had wanted to, but he had already covered this. You know the “times and seasons,” he said (v. 1). The day of the Lord would be sudden and unexpected, like a thief in the night (v. 2). Be aware that throughout Scripture, “the day of the Lord” is commonly used for any number of historical judgments. The day of the Lord is not necessarily the Final Coming. When they are expecting peace and safety, they will suddenly give birth to “sudden destruction” (v. 3). But their complacency was a moral darkness, not an intellectual one (v. 4). The believers in Thessalonica were children of the day, children of light, which would prevent the day from overtaking them like a thief (vv. 4-5). So his exhortation is that they remain awake and sober (v. 6). Sleep and drunkenness belong the night, not the day (v. 7). Those who are of the day should be sober, putting on the helmet of the hope of salvation, and the breastplate of faith and love (v. 8). The reason for this preventative behavior is that God has not appointed them to wrath (as He did the others), but rather to obtain salvation through Christ (v. 9). Christ died for those believers who were already dead, and for those who remained alive, so that all would live through Him (v. 10). These were to be words of comfort and edification, which Paul assumed the Thessalonians would continue in (v. 11).

THE SOMEWHAT OBVIOUS

Paul obviously has the Thessalonians of the first century living in a state of high alert. They are to be awake, and with their armor on. If they could read his words to them, and not be looking out the window at what might be happening in their day, then it would the result of not paying close attention. That tone of urgency is very clear in this passage. Just as I have argued that the presence of the general resurrection is an indication we are talking about the Final Coming, so also the presence of an “any minute now” vibe is an indication that we are talking the events that run up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In the two letters of Thessalonians, we have both elements weaving in and out with each other.

And looking ahead to 2 Thess. 2:6-7, we see something similar, in that Paul tells the Thessalonians that “he that restrains” is currently restraining, and that is why the man of lawlessness has not yet appeared.

A BASIC TAKE

As the first century Christians were navigating their way through a very dark pagan century, they were warned by Paul against some very real perils in their day. Formal emperor worship had begun under Augustus, and Thessalonica had a temple to the emperor. In 41 A.D. Caligula had ordered a statue of himself to be set up in the Temple at Jerusalem, which was only forestalled because Caligula was murdered. To give you a sense of the atmosphere of the times, in the forecourt of one of his homes, Nero had a bronze statue of himself built, a statue that was 120 feet tall—like a twelve-story building.

There were certain signs that indicated the pending destruction of Jerusalem (the day of the Lord), and that destruction was something that had to occur before there could be a Final Coming. That Final Coming was in Paul’s view, but it was like a very high and distant mountain range behind the mountain range that they were about to cross.

The Jewish War would “fill up” the sins of Israel (Matt. 23:32). That time would begin the “times of the Gentiles,” a period of time that would eventually be completed. I take that completion as being marked by the conversion of Jews, an event that has not yet happened (Rom. 11:15).

REMAINING ON HIGH ALERT

Once the judgment begins, that is no time to begin to prepare. The judgment might be temporal and historical (a day of the Lord), or it might be the Final Coming. In either case, the daylight is coming, and so Paul’s charge to us is to act as though the day has already come. We are not to be ethically groggy for whatever reason. You don’t want to be among those who were appointed to wrath—because that appointment will be kept. Rather, we should yearn to be among those who will “obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us.”

And this is what brings us back to the everlasting center—Christ, our Lord. Because He was not overcome by the night, it becomes possible for all those who have trusted in Him to follow Him and to do the same.

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Earthly Good and the Heavenly Mind

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INTRODUCTION

In this next portion of this letter from Paul, we find a marvelous balance between our daily mundane concerns and our ultimate eschatological concerns. A taunt is sometimes leveled against certain Christians that they are “so heavenly-mined that they are no earthly good.” But this not how it works, actually.

C.S. Lewis sums the situation up nicely when he says this:

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next . . . It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither” (Mere Christianity)

THE TEXT

“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 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. 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. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 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 of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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” (1 Thess. 4:9–18).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul begins the next section by saying that he does not need to teach them about brotherly love—for God Himself had taught them that (v. 9). And they were doing what they had been taught to do, loving all the brothers throughout Macedonia (v. 10). Paul’s plea was that they do what they already knew how to do more and more (v. 10). However, this active love is not a busybody love. It studies to be quiet (v. 11), to mind its own business (v. 11), work with its own hands (v. 11), as Paul had commanded. The reason for this ethic was so that they could walk honestly before outsiders, and not lack anything (v. 12).

He does not want them to be in the dark over what happens to fellow believers who “fall asleep in the Lord” (v. 13). They should not sorrow over them in the same way as those who have no hope (v. 13). For if Jesus died and rose (v. 14), even so those who have fallen asleep will be brought by God (v. 14). For Paul assures them by the word of the Lord that those who survive to the Lord’s appearing will have no advantage over those who died beforehand (v. 15). The Lord will descend from Heaven with a shout, an archangel’s voice, the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise (v. 16). Those alive at that time will follow after (v. 17). These are to be words of comfort (v. 18).

TEND TO YOUR OWN KNITTING

The great Pauline principle here is “mind thine own business.” You do this, not because you are telling the rest of the body to get lost, but rather because you need to acquire something before you can give it. You cannot give what you do not have, and you cannot have something to give unless you came by it honestly. Paul says something very close to this in Ephesians, when he tells the thief to work with his hands instead of pilfering with them. The reason is so that he might have something to give (Eph. 4:28). Loving more and more means gathering more and more, and it also means being generous with it. We give to get, in order that we might be enabled to give even more.

Notice how this works. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they were already loving all the brothers throughout all of Macedonia, and he urges them on. Do this more and more, he says. With this as the basic baseline charge, what is the action he then demands? Study to be quiet. Mind your own business. Work with your hands. Conduct your business honestly. Save your money.

And do all your work with the Second Coming on your mind. This is a juxtaposition that has radical implications for societal transformation.

COMFORT ONE ANOTHER

Paul moves seamlessly into his next topic, and we learn that Monday morning in the workplace and the end of the world are actually all part of the same subject.

In the short time that Paul and the Thessalonians had been acquainted, some of the saints in the Thessalonian church had already died. There was therefore some concern among the Thessalonians that these departed saints were somehow going to miss out if the Lord came. What is going to happen to them? Paul says that it goes the opposite way. When the Lord comes, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those who remained alive until that glorious day would be transfigured. That is when we will all be together with Lord, and we will be with Him together forever.

In an earlier message, we noted that not every Parousia in Scripture refers to the Second Coming. But this appearing unmistakably does refer to the end of the world. If you have any doubts, look at the events that surround it. There is a general resurrection of the dead. The living are caught up into the clouds. There is a great shout, probably that of the archangel. There is the last trumpet blast. The Lord descends from Heaven. This is not the demolition of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

HEAVEN AND EARTH KISS

So in the work of the saints, we should be able to see God’s declared purpose of bringing heaven and earth back together (Eph. 1:10). The Fall was the point where Heaven was “removed” to an almost infinite distance. But in Christ we are privileged to learn that Heaven is close, and by grace can be opened, and it is merely one short dove flight above the Jordan. When the Lord descends from Heaven, He will come down to your shop, your office, and your kitchen. He will come down to inspect His workmanship (Eph. 2:10), and He will look at your work as part of that (1 Tim. 6:18; Tit. 2:14; 3:8,14). This is because your work is part of His workmanship, and all of it is under a thick layer of grace.

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Not Like the Gentiles (1 Thessalonians)

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INTRODUCTION

We come now to the passage in Thessalonians that addresses the vast difference between the Christian sexual ethic and a pagan sexual ethic. We want to be careful here because there is a ditch on both sides of the road. Some Christians have confused being fastidious with being holy, and they are not the same thing at all. Other Christians have veered off the road on the opposite side, and are drinking all the ditch water that the porn industry can supply. So let us try to stay on the road, shall we?

THE TEXT

“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. 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: 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. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 4:1–8)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We have seen how dear the Thessalonians were to Paul, as expressed in the previous chapter, and these exhortations are built on that foundation (v. 1). Paul says that just as they had received Paul’s teaching on how to please God, he now begs them, exhorting them, to do this more and more (v. 1). For “you know,” he says, reminding, what commandments we gave you (v. 2) “by the Lord Jesus.” Sanctification is God’s will for them, especially sexual sanctification (v. 3). Every one should know how to “possess his vessel” in sanctification and honor (v. 4). This is contrasted with the “lust of concupiscence,” which is characteristic of Gentiles who do not know God (v. 5). Sexual immorality is not “victimless,” as Paul says here that it is a matter of defrauding your brother—and God is the avenger for the defrauded one (v. 6). God’s calling for us is not to uncleanness, but rather to holiness (v. 7). If a man despises this commandment, he is not primarily despising man, but rather God (v. 8)—the same God who has given us His Holy Spirit.

THE POSSIBILITY OF PLEASING GOD

First, we must set the stage. Far too many Christians, particularly in our own Reformed camp, think of their Christian lives as having the ultimate goal of “not displeasing” God. Like the servant in the parable, they think their master is a hard master, and so their objective is simply to stay out of trouble. And that’s actually how they get into trouble.

Notice that Paul had taught them how to walk in a way that pleased God, and now he wanted them to do this more and more. Holiness is not the absence of sin, although cleansing from sin is a precondition. Holiness is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). It is the presence of something, and it is crowned with the pleasure of God. Not only so, but there is always room for advancement.

CAN GOD’S WILL BE THWARTED?

This is a good place for us to note that the phrase “the will of God” has to be understood in two senses. The decretive will of God cannot be thwarted by anyone at any time. Even Nebuchadnezzar knew this (Dan. 4:35). If God has determined that something will happen, then that something is going to happen.

God’s preceptive will has to do with what He has commanded us to do. This will can be thwarted, which is why we are instructed in v. 3 here not to disobey that will. We are told not to disobey that will because we could.

And remember there are times when the two kinds of wills intersect. When Jesus died on the cross, it was the will of God (Luke 22:42; Acts 4:26-28) even though it was accomplished by wicked hands (Acts 2:23). The violation of God’s preceptive will by Judas, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Sanhedrin, etc. was the instrument God used to accomplish His decretive will.

POSSESSING YOUR VESSEL

There is an ambiguity here. When Paul says that each one should know how to “possess his vessel,” is he talking about the person’s own body, or is he talking about that person’s wife? It is true either way, and it amounts to the same kind of behavior either way, but I am taking it in the latter sense.

When it comes to sexual behavior, it is not a contrast between the Gentiles possessing and the Christians not possessing. Both possess “their vessels.” But one does so with these descriptors—dishonor, uncleanness, passionate lust, fraudulence, and contempt. Don’t possess anything that way, Paul says.

By way of contrast, he requires sexual behavior from Christians (not sexless behavior) that is sanctified, honorable, honest, clean, and holy. When Paul says in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, he is talking about avoiding sexual impurity (1 Cor. 6:18). He is not talking about avoiding refined sugar or transfats. (Something is transfat, for example, when a baby carrot identifies as grease on the inside.)

Some of you may be thinking, “Great. Now I have to talk with my kids about all this on the way home.” To which an appropriate response might be “and about time.” The Thessalonians had learned from Paul how they were supposed to behave in this area (vv. 1-2). He taught on it. To leave the subject untouched (for the sake of remaining prissy and fastidious, as mentioned earlier) will not leave your children in some neutral zone. The world does not hesitate to catechize everyone in their sexual mores—through sex ed, through pop entertainment, and through porn. But in our revolt against this, we want to be joyful in holiness, not grim in our moralism.

JUSTIFICATION AND THE PLEASURE OF GOD

We are called to live in such a way as to please God. But this is not possible without the baseline of justification—the legal and forensic declaration of not guilty in the court chambers of Heaven. Our free and complete justification sets us free to pursue our sanctification without timidity.

Because of that great declaration of not guilty, we have no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). On the foundation of that great declaration, we are set free to be spiritually minded, which is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). To fall short of this, to be carnally minded, results in what? It means that those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8).

And this is why we declare Christ as your righteousness, as your complete justification. Because of that, and only because of that, His Spirit is at work in your for your sanctification, which includes your sexual life—whether in thought, words, or deeds.

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Face to Face (1 Thessalonians)

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INTRODUCTION

The first letter to the Thessalonians was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is part of the Word of God. But at the same time, it was Paul’s second choice. What he really wanted was to be together with the Thessalonians, face to face, so that he could truly encourage them.

THE TEXT

“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 us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? 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: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:6–13)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Remember that Paul had said earlier that he was beside himself with concern over how the Thessalonians were doing (1 Thess. 3:1, 5), which is why he had sent Timothy to them (v. 2). Now he said that Timothy had returned with very good news. That news was that their faith and love were solid, and that they had good memories of Paul (v. 6). They wanted to see Paul and company, and the feeling went both ways. That news was a comfort to Paul in the middle of his afflictions and distress. So the news was refreshment to Paul in the midst of a trial. It was such good news that Paul describes it in terms of life—“for now we live” (v. 8). The Thessalonians standing fast was life to Paul. Paul has so much joy over them that he is without words when it comes rendering thanks to God (v. 9). Paul had been praying day and night, and doing so “exceedingly,” as he asked for two things. First, he wanted to see the Thessalonians face to face, and second, that he might be able to complete or perfect whatever was lacking in their faith (v. 10). And so he repeats his prayer request again—that God Himself, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ “direct our way unto you” (v. 11). He also prays that God would make them grow and increase in their love for one another, not to mention everyone else, in the same way that Paul felt about them (v. 12). The purpose of this is so that their hearts might be established without blame in holiness before God the Father, until the parousia of the Lord Jesus with all His saints (v. 13).

THE END OF THE AGE

One of the challenges we will have as we work through the two letters to the Thessalonians will be the challenge of distinguishing the end of the age (which occurred in 70 A.D.) and the end of the world (which will occur we know not when). I am taking the reference to the parousia at the end of our text here as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the passage in 1 Thess. 4:16 as referring to the Second Coming. Briefly, that will happen when the Lord Jesus “will descend from heaven,” and when He does there will be a general resurrection. Then there will be another question, when we get to chapter 5, about whether the “day of the Lord” refers to the Second Coming of chapter 4, or is referring back to the judgment on Jerusalem found in the earlier chapters.

The word parousia simply means arrival, coming, or presence. The word is not a synonym for the Second Coming. Paul can even use it of his own arrival somewhere (2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 1:26; 2:12), or of the arrival of his companions (1 Cor 16:17; 2 Cor. 7:6-7). He uses it to refer to the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:9). And there are references to the coming of Jesus, as in our text here (1 Thess. 3:13). I take this as a coming in judgment on Jerusalem, the appearance of the Lord being manifested in the complete fulfillment of His prophecy that Jerusalem was not going to have one stone left on another. The phrasing is likely an allusion to Zechariah.

“And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (Zech. 14:5).

Here are the reasons for thinking that we are talking about a visitation of wrath in the first century. The first chapter refers to the “wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). The Jews in chapter 2 fight against Gentiles receiving gospel, and Paul says that “wrath is come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thess. 2:16). This is clearly a reference to 70 A.D. This book was written circa50/51 A.D. During Passover in 49 A.D. there had been a massacre of thousands of Jews at the Temple. Also the emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome in that same year. Such events were not the fullness of wrath, but the pot was starting to boil, and Paul certainly expected it to boil all over the stove. Although he moves on to talk about the end of the world in chapter 4, we make that determination from the context (“the dead in Christ shall rise”). From the descriptions in the first three chapters, we have no reason to believe that Paul has moved out of the first century yet.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Notice how deeply Paul yearns for the growth of the Thessalonians in holiness. Also notice that he “settles” for writing to them. He would much prefer to see them face to face. He prayed exceedingly that he might be able to see them in person. Catechized by our digital world, we think we have conquered distance when we really haven’t. Our letters have gotten much more sophisticated than they were in Paul’s day, but our face-to-face communication is not what Paul would have made of it. Our texting, and Zoom meetings, and online sermons, and POD books, and blogs, and phone calls, are just souped up letters. Paul would have used them all, but he still would have yearned to be with the Thessalonians, in the same room, breathing the same air, and not through a mask.

CHRIST WORK

As we grow in the Lord, notice that it is the Lord who enables us to grow in the Lord. God gives the increase. When we increase and abound in love for one another, this is not our doing. It is being done for us. The Lord is the one who makes us love each other, and He is the one who establishes us in holiness. Love for Christ is part of the work of Christ. We are commanded to love Him, and this command to bear fruit is fulfilled as the fruit of the Spirit.

As the great Augustine once put it, “Give what you command, and command what you will.”

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