Well this evening we are continuing our series of studies in Paul's two epistles to the Thessalonians. We've already considered the first four chapters of 1 Thessalonians and the first 15 verses of chapter 5. So this evening we shall be considering the last 13 verses of chapter 5, thus finishing, completing our studies in this first epistle. We've seen from our previous studies that the city of Thessalonica was the capital city of Macedonia, an area that would now equate to northern Greece. And we know that Paul and some of his companions spent a relatively short time in Thessalonica preaching the gospel of God's grace. And there were some who had trusted in Christ and were going on in the faith despite some very stiff Jewish opposition. And not only had they trusted in Christ, but their witness had been such that their faith was spoken of throughout Greece and beyond. It was probably whilst Paul was in Corinth that he received tidings from Timothy that prompted him to write his first epistle to the Thessalonians, addressing the problems which had reportedly arisen in that developing Thessalonian church. And later, receiving reports of further or continuing problems, Paul was led, after just a brief interlude, to write his second epistle to the church. And it appears that the main problem that had arisen amongst the saints at Thessalonica was to do with the Lord's return, namely when it would be and how to prepare for it. In our last study, the study of the first 15 verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, we saw how believers need to be prepared for the Lord's second coming so that none of us are taken unawares. We also saw the importance of esteeming those who are leaders in fellowships, of not rendering evil for evil, and of seeking to live in peace with all men. Well, as I've already said, this evening we are studying the last 13 verses of Chapter 5, thus finishing our studies in this epistle. And before we start, you may have been wondering, as I have, as to why Many of the verses that we're going to consider this evening consist of just one sentence. And I have to tell you that I haven't been able to find out why this is. The division of the Old and New Testaments into chapters and verses is helpful in enabling us to locate certain passages more easily than would otherwise be the case. But the original books had no chapters or verses. So whoever was responsible for dividing the first epistle to the saints at Thessalonica into chapters and verses, and deciding that some of the verses in this fifth chapter should consist of just one sentence, did so at his or their own pleasure, so as to speak. This shouldn't, however, affect our study of these verses. And we're going to begin, therefore, by looking at verse 16, which is a short verse which reads as follows. Rejoice evermore. Rejoice evermore. And those of us who have been adopted into the family of God have more cause to rejoice than anyone else in the world. We have had all of our sins forgiven, we are now accounted righteous in the sight of God, not because of any righteousness of our own, but because the righteousness of our Saviour has been imputed to us, it's been put to our account. We all deserve to be punished for our sin in an eternal place of torment, hell. But instead we have been granted and promised a place in heaven. where we will spend eternity with our Saviour and with all our brothers and sisters in Christ from every generation. Who would not rejoice at such a prospect? And so when Paul exalts the saints at Thessalonica to rejoice evermore, he isn't ignoring the fact that some or all of them are facing persecution but he is exhorting them to rejoice despite any person, persecution, which they might be suffering or liable to suffer. And so this question arises for us. Are we a rejoicing people? Are we always rejoicing? Now there are many other references to rejoicing in the New Testament and we certainly don't have time to consider them all this evening. But I just want to draw to your attention to a few of them, particularly those which show us that we can rejoice even if we are being persecuted. So first of all let's take a look at Luke chapter 6 verses 22 and 23 which are from the Sermon on the Plain and those verses reach thus. That's Luke 6 verses 22 and 23. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you and when they shall separate you from their company and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy. For behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. And then turn, if you will, to the end of Acts chapter 5, where Gamaliel advised his fellow council members to be careful how they treated the apostles. Verses 40-42 of Acts 5 read thus, And to him, Gamaliel, they agreed. And when they had called the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. may seem counterintuitive, may it not, this concept of rejoicing when being persecuted. And some of us may struggle to comply with what is clearly taught in the scriptures. But saints are to rejoice always, as Paul told the Philippian saints. If you go to Philippians chapter 4 and verse 4, you'll find it reads thus. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. And the commentator John Gill had this to say when commenting on this verse, and I quote, he wrote, for there is always cause and matter for rejoicing in Christ, even in times of affliction, distress, and persecution, since he is always the same. His grace is always sufficient. His blood has a continual virtue in it, and always speaks for peace and pardon. His righteousness is an everlasting one, and so is his salvation, and such is his love. That's what John Keel had to say. But we move on now to verse 17. Pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. We've just seen how we're to rejoice evermore, to continually rejoice and now we're told to pray evermore, to pray without ceasing. Now some people have struggled with this verse as they have taken it to mean continuous prayer rather than continual prayer. What it actually means is don't stop praying. Or as one commentator puts it, there must be no decline in the regularity of the habit of taking hold on God, of communing with God in prayer in the midst of all and every circumstance of life. Now we all know how hard prayer can be. It's hard to have regular prayer times because the devil hates our communion with God and he will do all he can to disrupt this. It requires self-discipline as is true in so many other aspects of the Christian life. And of course we don't have to confine prayer to specified prayer times, we can pray whenever we feel the need. Many of us struggle in prayer, but our Heavenly Father is always pleased to hear us. And so this question arises for us. Is our prayer life what it ought to be? Some of you may have heard of a royalist commander in the Civil War, a man called Jacob Astley, whose prayer before going into battle was reputed to be this. O Lord, thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget thee, do not thou forget me. Many people lead extremely busy lives, whereas others have more free time and are thus able to spend more time in prayer. But whatever time we have, We mustn't neglect to spend time alone with God every day. It's an essential part of the Christian life. Some would say by far the most essential. We must never cease to pray. But we come now to verse 18 of this evening's passage, which reads as follows. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. One commentator has said that this precept is universal in sphere just as the two before are continuous in time. Now some people have questioned how it's possible to give thanks in everything. But if we look at this directive in conjunction with that well-known verse in Romans, Romans 8 and verse 28, things might become clearer. Romans 8 and verse 28 tells us this. All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. So even in the most trying circumstances we can thank the Lord, knowing that even things which seem to be against us are in fact in some way working for our good. Now when Paul wrote, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, He wasn't just referring to the directive about giving thanks, he was also referring to the previous two directives of rejoicing evermore and of continuing in prayer. These three practices, amongst others, are what is required of believers, including ourselves. It is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us too. And so we ought to examine ourselves to see if our conduct matches our professions. Are we a rejoicing people? Are we a praying people? Are we a thankful people? Now verse 19 of our passage directs us not to quench the spirit. Not to quench the spirit. And the Greek word used here means to extinguish. as one would put out a fire, or a burning oil lamp, or to damp down a fire so that it doesn't blaze as much as it once did. And here Paul is referring to the possibility of hindering the work of the Holy Spirit by disallowing or casting doubt on certain manifestations of the Holy Spirit that were more prevalent in the early church than might be the case nowadays. In those early days of the church, there were special gifts given to men to validate the message that they were proclaiming. Paul wrote about these gifts in his first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 12 and verses 4 to 11. 1 Corinthians 12 verses 4 to 11 and those verses read as follows. Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit and there are differences of administrations but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues, but all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. Now some of us believe that for the most part these spiritual gifts are no longer necessary or available in the church whereas we know that others are not convinced of this. Whatever your view may be on this subject everyone agrees that they were present in the New Testament and here in 1 Thessalonians Paul is telling those to whom he is writing not as it were to put a damper on things. As I've already said, the Thessalonians were not to hinder the work of the Holy Spirit by disallowing or to cast doubt on certain manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In particular, Paul told the saints at Thessalonica that they were not to despise prophesying. meaning that they were to give due weight to what was spoken by those who had been given the gift of prophecy. Now, to understand what this was all about we need to remember that the early church had very few Christian books or such literature as we have today. There was no complete Bible such as is available to us today. And so God gave the gift of prophecy to some men so that they could speak forth or declare the mind or will of God to believers assembled for that purpose. And we see evidence of this, do we not, in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 where Paul explains how the gift of prophecy could be more useful than the gift of tongues. Having just explained how important charity is, Paul goes on to stress how important prophecy or foretelling is. Now we haven't time to read all of 1 Corinthians 14 this evening, but I'd like to read you a good bit of it. First of all, just consider what we're taught in verses 1 to 5. That's verses 1 to 5 of 1 Corinthians 14. And those verses read as follows. Follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God. For no man understandeth him, albeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men through edification, and exhortation and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself, but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied. For greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret that the church may receive edifying. And then further on in that chapter, commencing at verse 29, we have these words. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, and all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. What, came the word of God out from you, or came it unto you only? If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order. So prophecy was a gift to be coveted, something desirable. But for some reason, the converts at Thessalonica, or some of them, didn't esteem its outworking as they should have. And that some of them wouldn't have received the benefit of those things mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14, namely edification and exhortation and comfort. And so this question arises for us. Do we despise prophesians in any way, or their modern-day equivalent, false tellings, which we conclude to be the exposition of God's Word? There are some people who think that they know it all, that there's nothing that they need to be taught by anyone. Those saints at Thessalonica were relatively new believers and as such should have been keen to learn and to grow. But whatever our spiritual age, whether we are young in the faith or more seasoned believers, we need to listen to what God has to say to us through his appointed mouthpieces. Now verse 21 of our study passage this evening is very much connected to verse 20 and reads thus, prove all things, hold fast that which is good. And this word prove is a word which means to test something. In Luke we read of a man, do we not, who said he had to prove five yoke of oxen, meaning that he had to test them, to try them out, to see if they were up to the job. And in a similar way we are to put to the test those things that we are being taught, to see if we're being taught the truth. In the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy chapter 18, we find there some advice as to how it was to be determined if someone was really speaking on God's behalf. And Deuteronomy 18 and verse 22 reads thus, when a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is a thing which the Lord hath not spoken. But the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him. And also in the New Testament we find warnings about false prophets. First of all we have 2 Peter 2 and verse 1 which reads thus, But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And then we have 1 John 4 verse 1. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Try the spirits. Put things to the test. Prove all things. This is what we are to do. And having done that, we are to hold fast that which is good. And this means that having determined or proved those things which are good and acceptable, we stick with them. We cling to them, as it were, and never let them go. We hold them fast. Now some commentators have linked verse 22 of our study passage with the end of verse 21. Verse 22 reads as follows, abstain from all appearance of evil. And some feel that having just written, hold fast that which is good, Paul is now in effect just saying, and abstain from that which is evil. Now, there's much to commend that view, but I happen to believe that there's more for us to consider here. We are to abstain from all appearance of evil, from all perception of evil. As far as possible we are to conduct ourselves in a way which will give no one cause to believe that we are behaving in an unseemly fashion. Things which may of themselves be quite innocent can be perceived to be wrong in other people's eyes. And so for us to be good witnesses We need to take this into account in the way in which we live our lives. Now we could all take the view that if we know that we are doing things with a clear conscience, we shouldn't then be overly concerned with what others think. But are we not taught elsewhere in the scriptures to take others into account? Just consider 1 Corinthians 10 verse 25 onwards. and see what they say. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for content's sake. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. If any of them believe not, bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go. Whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for content's sake. But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, Eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience' sake. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other. For why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if by grace I be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that which I give thanks? Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God. Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." So that shows that there are circumstances where even though it's okay for us to do things, we choose not to do them. We move on now to verse 23, which is a prayer of Paul's for the Thessalonian saints as he concludes his letter. He wrote, and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our great God has many attributes or qualities and when Paul refers here to him as a God of peace, he does so in light of the fact that God has made a way whereby we may know peace with him through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, mankind never sought peace with God. By nature we are all at enmity with him, but all praise to his name. In Christ he drew us to himself with cords of love. How blessed we are if we are at peace with God. Paul's prayer was that the Thessalonian saints would be sanctified wholly by the peace of God, meaning that his desire was that they would be made wholly holy, that they might be progressively conformed to the Saviour. Now, when Paul wrote the words, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, I don't suppose he realised that some of those words would divide believers, as has proved to be the case. Well, we're not going to spend a lot of time this evening on this matter, but it would be wrong of me to ignore the reason for the division. Basically there are two positions, two main positions. The first of which proposes that man is a two-fold being, having a body and a soul, and those who hold this position are termed dichotomous. On the other hand, trichotomists believe that man is a three-fold being, having a body and a soul and a spirit. Well I happen to be a dichotomist. But as I've already said, we're not going to spend much time on this matter this evening. But if you want to find out more about the different positions that people hold and why, I'm sure there's much material available which may be helpful to you. What we can be sure about is that Paul's prayer was that, in their entirety, the Thessalonian saints would be preserved blameless until the Savior's second advent. And as a matter of interest, the Greek word translated here as blameless is only found on two occasions in the New Testament, both times in this first letter to the Thessalonians. And apparently this word has also been found inscribed on certain tombs in Thessalonica, blameless. The saints at Thessalonica were concerned about the second advent of the Lord. And in his prayer Paul was showing that his concern was that those saints would be preserved blameless until that time. If indeed he should return in their lifetime as some expected. If Christ didn't return soon then their bodies would be buried when they died and their souls would go to be with Christ and be reunited with their bodies when the Lord did return. But what guarantee was there that the Thessalonian saints would be preserved blameless. Well, verse 24 of our passage tonight gives that guarantee. Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. And here we have Paul reminded the saints at Thessalonica that the God who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light was a faithful God. who would always do that which he had promised to do. Someone once said that what should be encouraging to the believer is that, whatever befall, what matters is not a believer's feeble hold on God, but God's strong grip on the believer. Now this doesn't mean that we have no responsibilities because we do. And one of those responsibilities is to pray for one another, which is why Paul asked the saints at Thessalonica for prayer. He wrote this, brethren, pray for us. requesting that his brothers and sisters in Christ at Thessalonica would remember him and his co-workers before the throne of grace. And I'm certain that the Apostle didn't just have in mind a one-off prayer session, but prayer for him and his associates on a regular basis. And this raises a question for us, does it not? Are we praying for brothers and sisters in Christ on a regular basis? Has anyone asked us to pray for them? Have we responded to that request? I happen to believe that one of the very best things that we can do for our brothers and sisters in Christ is to pray for them. And if we have the time to pray for their families also. Well, we move on to verse 26. greet all the brethren with an holy kiss, which refers to a custom prevalent in the early church and for some time thereafter, but was apparently abandoned for the most part in the West during the 13th century. And I was surprised to see how often this directive is found in Paul's epistles. Romans 16, verse 16 reads thus, Salute one another with an holy kiss. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 20 reads thus, All the brethren greet you, greet ye one another with an holy kiss. 2 Corinthians 13 verse 12 reads thus, Greet one another with an holy kiss. And the Apostle Peter also made mention of this custom. Verse 14 of 1 Peter 5 reading as follows, Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. In our own day we might say to someone say hello to everyone for me or something like that. And here in 1 Thessalonians we have Paul doing something similar. Do we not? Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. Notice that it was to be a holy kiss. A kiss untainted with sin. A pure kiss out of a pure heart. A custom not to be abused. And I believe that it was because the practice came to be abused that it was eventually abandoned in the Western Church. Well hopefully we can warmly shake someone's hand nowadays, can we not, without causing any offence. Now the penultimate verse that we're considering this evening is Paul's charge to the recipients of his letter that they should ensure that all the saints there referred to as the Holy Brethren, should have the epistle read to them. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the Holy Brethren. Now if you think about it, all the New Testament epistles would in the first instance have been delivered to just one person or a group of people. And thus it was essential that a means be found whereby all the people to whom the epistles were addressed should have the opportunity of being made aware of the contents either by reading them themselves or having them read to them, possibly when meeting together for worship. And we also know that on at least one occasion, Paul gave instructions for the swapping of letters so that more people could benefit from them. When we studied Colossians, we saw from verses 15 and 16 of Colossians chapter 4 the following. Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea and Nymphos and the church which is in his house. And when this epistle is read among you, calls that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And it's felt by some people, we noted this when we went through that epistle, it's felt by some people that the epistle from Laodicea is in fact the epistle to the Ephesians. So we need to remember that in the early church there was a dearth of Christian literature and so epistles and other documents would have been copied and circulated so that many other congregations could benefit from them. And how we praise God for this as this was all part of his plan for the preservation of his word. which would eventually result in the Bibles which I trust are so precious to us today. Paul knew how important it was for what he had written to be made available to others and in like manner can we not say that we would also like God's Word to be available to as many people in the world today. But we come now to The final verse in our study, verse 28, which reads thus, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. who desired that all those in Thessalonica who were truly saved would continue to know the grace of God in their lives. Paul was ever desirous of drawing attention to the grace of God, having been such a beneficiary of it himself. And he knew that the very best thing that he could ask for those saints at Thessalonica and others was that they would continue to know God's grace. Well, we've come to an end of this evening's study, our final study in One Thessalonians prior to moving on to the second epistle. And I trust that what we have learned or been reminded of will help us in our walk with God. We've covered quite a bit of ground this evening, but perhaps we might remember in particular those three directives given by Paul. Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk. you