1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

“Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.”

— ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭11‬‬

 If they didn’t need anything written to them, then why are 1 and 2 Thessalonians’ primary theme the end times? Lol Paul.

Times and seasons: phrase regarding things of the end. (Good place to remind us that “end times” began at Jesus’ resurrection. Regardless of eschatological views, that launched God’s restoration of all things, and so final redemption/judgment is coming and has been coming since Jesus)

Thief in night: Jesus used this picture, too. I don’t think the point is that Jesus is the thief and stealing people away. The point is that no one is expecting it. It’s a surprise, even with all the “signs” that have pointed to His appearing throughout history. 

The world preaches peace and security. All is well. Nothing to worry about, and from some perspectives that may be true. Certainly not worth worrying about the list they give. Again, the point here is that Jesus’ appearing will occur. No one can stop it. And those who are content with the status quo of culture on a moral/religious level may be surprised by the final verdicts.

We are “of the light.” “The Day” as in when God vindicates His people and judges the nations will not surprise us like a thief. I wonder why, because we don’t have a date or time. Sure, we have signposts that point in the right direction, and we can see indications in Bible of what precedes Jesus’ appearing. But any attempt to date set breeds awful results. Perhaps we won’t be surprised because we won’t be judged. We are not “of wrath.” 

Sleeping in this passage seems to represent moral dullness. Those in darkness sleep. They do not have the renewed minds. And thus, the thief at night surprises them. We are of the light. We are alert, and sober. We can wear faith, hope, and love, anticipating our final redemption. 

That “for wrath” is obviously debated, whether it’s a specific period of God’s wrath on the world, i.e., a tribulation period. Or whether it’s final judgment. I suppose this passage could be taken either way, but I am not a fan of piece mealing a view of the end with various texts. I’m more comfortable saying we have been saved from wrath in general and not limit it to specific things. Though in this case, Paul probably does have a specific referent. I would say it’s final verdicts before God as judge.

Asleep—in this passage seems to be moral. But ch 4-5 together talk about those who have fallen asleep, i.e., died. I haven’t read arguments either way, but the nearer context does seem to point to being morally foolish. Whether we are alert and sober or sleeping in the darkness, Jesus will bring us to ultimate salvation. We will be raised to life. 

It’s important to remember that studying end times and all the different “events” or people can be fascinating. For some it’s downright scary. But this final verse reveals the purpose of study. It’s encouraging to know that Jesus is returning. He will save His people. And vindication and justice will come finally. Our job is simply to endure to the end, probably with that faith, hope, and love he talked about.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Prayer for Strength

“Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and be honored as in fact it was among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing – and will do – what we are commanding. Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ.”

— ‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭5‬‬

 2 Thessalonians is one of the most dispute Pauline letters for authorship (outside the Pastorals). 

After 1 Thessalonians’ heavy emphasis on Jesus’ return, the church (and some false teachers) got the wrong idea that it was going to happen, like, tomorrow. They stopped working, sitting on rooftops, waiting for Jesus. They spread rumors about various leaders and spread fear. 2 Thessalonians brings some clarity about these false teachers and some more information about preceding signs of Jesus’ appearing. (Glad this isn’t chapter 2, yet. That’s difficult.)

Paul here asks for prayer in his mission, because he is still trying to spread the gospel. Shocker: not everyone wants to hear it. Paul is still being persecuted, obviously not in Roman jail/ house arrest, yet. Not all have faith. We would hesitate to call people evil/perverse. Always good to remember our own faults, too (of course). Also good to remember people are not enemy. But yes, humanity has a problem with evil. Society has a problem with perverseness. Gospel is only hope.

But God is faithful…seems to be a recurring theme throughout Scripture. He offers strength and protection from the evil one. I know this is probably a substantive adjective. Definitely better not to translate as “evil.” (Same in the Lord’s Prayer—not “deliver us from evil” but “the evil one”) Verses like this keep our eyes on the true enemy. 

Paul loves this church and encourages them in what they are doing and will do. Yes, they have needed some correction, but they are serving well. If hearts gaze at the love of God and the faithfulness of Christ, we may be filled with the same. Those phrases are perhaps examples of “plenary genitives,” where the actions of God/Jesus motivate us to imitate the same. (It’s debated grammatically if it could just be the love God shows or only the love we show. Perhaps best to see both.)

Titus 2:11-15

Grace Appeared to All People

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good. So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke that carries full authority. Don’t let anyone look down on you.”

— ‭‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭15‬‬

Titus 2:1 has a “but” to contrast instructions for Titus with the corrupt, destructive actions of the community around Paul’s young protege on Crete. Always have to keep in mind that Timothy and Titus are not exactly pastors, but they are sent by Paul to raise up churches/leadership in their respective areas. I believe, per Mounce’s commentary, the appropriate term is apostolic delegate.

Chapter 2 is a bunch of instructions for groups of people: husbands, wives, slaves, young and old men, so falls under the category of a household code. I think this is one reason Paul uses the term “all people” in v .11. Yes, this is perhaps also emphasizing all nations/races. All socio-economic classes. And all of this may be wrapped up in the first ten verses. (So I would not use this verse for any kind of universalism. Perhaps that’s my theology getting in the way of pure exegesis. Literally “all men” doesn’t mean “all nations,” yes, but I am using a more chapter approach to inform the phrase.)

Why would the church have different instructions? Or what motivates different lifestyle from ch 1? Grace of God appeared. This is classic — such were you, but not anymore. Now, grace teaches/trains you to live differently. You can now be self-controlled, disciplined, pure. On our own, we can’t be any of this. 

I think it’s important to note that what “changes” us — at least in this passage- is grace. A full understanding of God’s love and forgiveness. This is explained further in the passage.

We wait for the fulfillment of salvation when the Lord appears. Hope now waits for fulfillment of hope later. Hope is not just forgiveness of sins, but in the resurrection of bodies. The restoration of creation. The final and ultimate reign of Jesus for eternity. But that hope must have effects in the present.

Jesus gave Himself to redeem a people for Himself. A people willing to do good. A pure people. All of these statements must be taken in context of Titus. Nothing can be preached/taught as a proof text against random things we see on the daily. But yes, those who follow Jesus should become more pure in their pursuit of Jesus. Yes, we should do good works/ serve those around us. We should be eager for these things. This not only contrasts the society around us, but the people we used to be. None of this is possible apart from grace.

Paul exhorts Titus to preach these things boldly, and there’s a similar line as to Timothy (1 Tim 4:12) about being young. True doctrine and an example of godly living/humility/service is far greater than perceived authority by world’s metrics.

1 Timothy 6:11-16

 “But you, as a person dedicated to God, keep away from all that. Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession for in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession before Pontius Pilate, to obey this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ – whose appearing the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, will reveal at the right time. He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.”

— ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭16‬‬

Previous paragraph and following paragraph discuss those with riches. Paul rebukes the wealthy and then gives them commands on what to do instead of pursuing money. Then here in the middle are commands for Timothy, his young protege/ambassador left at Ephesus to oversee the churches there. (Not the pastor)

First, he should keep away from pursuing/dreaming about money. As many have said, having money is fine but building one’s life around it is so dangerous and actually pointless. We’d have to look at previous passage for why. “All kinds of evil.”

Paul (assuming he wrote these books for now) lists several other attributes worth pursuing. Lay hold of eternal life may sound strange to someone with background of strong “assurance of salvation.” But over and over in NT we see emphasis on endurance, need to pursue eternal life while following Jesus. Yes, God preserves/keeps His own, but faithfulness on our part is important. Not really worth debating, since passages emphasize both sides.

Paul says to seize it, and not make it questionable basically. Timothy made confession either at his baptism or ordination of some sort. Lots of witnesses just as Jesus had at His trial.

Without failure?? Wow, high standard, but wavering (at least for Timothy) has consequences. A faithful life is necessary. Not pursuing riches but righteousness and and gentleness and love. 

Just read a book that focused on this term of Jesus’ appearing not coming, as if He will just become visible, not necessarily descend in clouds. Basis of thought depends on where heaven actually is (he thought another dimension basically, and heaven will become one new earth. Heaven and earth overlap now). There are other reasons for Jesus not to descend, per se, since a descent on one side of earth is an ascent from the other hemisphere. But God can do things however He wants. There are verses that say all will see Him. I’ll focus on that.

He alone has immortality. So we don’t have immortal souls? We won’t live forever? Same author reached this conclusion. God gives immortality/eternal life to those who believe. What about unbelievers? This position is annihilationism, and has some merit, but I’m not there yet. Does God give immortality to all people to give eternal life or judgment forever? Hmm.

Paul doesn’t focus on these implications. He jumps straight to praise for all that God is. He alone is worthy. 

Then he gets back to yelling at the haughty rich people.

Luke 12:35-40

 ““Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them! Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves! But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.””

— ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭35‬-‭40‬‬

O boy. Much to say, but probably nothing like the doomsday crowd. This is content of daily verse, and Peter’s follow up question below actually helps more. “Is this for us, or for everyone (or at least a broader crowd)?” Parable is at least for disciples or those who claim to follow Jesus.

I think this is actually two images. Wedding celebration is different from the thief illustration. No thief mentioned elsewhere in passage. Weddings could last up to a week. Jesus warns followers not to grow weary in their “service” to Him. 

The paragraph below returns to this image and says some servants even start beating up the other servants. Sounds applicable. 

Yes, Jesus is coming back. Yes, there are various theories about when and circumstances surround it and lots of biblical evidence for all of them. I can argue for all of them. Focus on the main thing. Anyone who gives a date/time or focuses on fear over victory…run. 

Point of parable is to be a faithful steward with what we’ve been entrusted, whether much or little. Jesus is master, and He is returning as reigning King.