Paul ends with a prayer, a charge, and a benediction, all wrapped into one profound ending to an eternal message. Paul wrote this letter through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so this isn’t just Paul’s personal ending; this is the Word of God for all generations, including those of us who read it today. What this ending provides is an outline for the Christian life till Christ returns.
Paul gives us permission to be skeptical in the best sense of the word. If someone tells you they’ve got a vision from God, test it! Think of this as your spiritual quality control process. You’re not rejecting everything outright; you’re just inspecting it for cracks before you let it into your life. And when you find something good—like that friend who always brings snacks to Bible study—hold onto it for dear life.
To begin, Paul never said we would always be happy, but he did say we should always rejoice. How do we reconcile these two things? It begins with understanding the words Paul used in verse 16. The word “rejoice” does not mean the same thing as the word “happy.” Happiness is often predicated upon what "happens" to us, while rejoicing, as Paul used the word here, refers to Christ in us, the hope of glory (Co 1:27).
In addition to digging around it, the gardener said he would fertilize it. Back then, there was one main kind of fertilizer, which we still use today. The best fertilizer was animal manure. It stinks, and it ain’t pretty, but it works to prompt the trees and vines to produce fruit. May I suggest that sometimes the stuff that stinks in our lives is God prompting us to produce fruit?
This is a one person play. The pastor (or other minister) comes to the stage as one of the shepherds who was in the field with the sheep the night the angel(s) appeared. It chronicles that event and his experience seeing the baby Jesus in the manger.
When Jesus was born, He was carried out of the cave by Mary or Joseph, but when He rose again, He carried us out, out of our spiritual death, and gave us new life. Through the birth of His only begotten Son, God was preparing to manifest His saving grace in you and me.
We should always remember that we are the Church of the living God, the body of Christ, and the bride of Christ. We represent Christ in the world until the trumpet sounds and the angel announces that the King is Coming for His people. As the Church, we are to shine the light of God’s love into a dark and broken world. But we can only do this when we stand together, work together, and honor one another. We do this by warning those who are unruly, comforting the fainthearted, upholding the weak, and being patient with all.
Look at verse 1. When Paul writes, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren,” it probably indicates that he was responding to a question that the Thessalonians sent to Paul through Timothy. They may have wanted to know how long they would have to wait until Jesus returned. Paul said, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.” It appears that he had already instructed them on the Second Coming of Jesus when he was with them, but he was willing to put this teaching from the Lord in writing.
Paul knew that he could provide the information they were missing and help them be at peace with the passing of fellow followers of Jesus Christ. He said, “I don’t want you to lack knowledge about the coming of Christ, ‘lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.’” Paul was about to drop some knowledge that would give them hope concerning the deceased Christians. In verse 14, he said, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus."
Paul said that the Thessalonian Christians had been taught, and were still being taught, by God to love one another as the family of God. But how was God teaching them to love one another, and how does it continue to happen in the church today? What methods does He use, and are we listening to the lessons God is teaching? This is important because love for God and one another is at the very heart of the Christian faith. In fact, if we cannot love God and love one another, then we cannot be a follower of Jesus.
