The first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians 5:1-11

1 Thessalonians

5:1-11

3. Exhortations toward Christian living, 4:1-5:22

iv] Being prepared for the return of Christ

Argument

In chapter 4, Paul the apostle writes to the Thessalonian believers concerning the coming of the Lord. This subject is most likely the purpose of the letter. In the passage before us, Paul addresses their concern over their participation in the eschatological events associated with the day of the Lord / the last days / the parousia, "coming, revealing", of Christ.

Issues

i] Context: See 4:1-8.

ii] Structure: Being prepared for the return of Christ:

Issue / Topic, v1

peri de:

As to your concerns about

the eschatological events associated with the parousia;

Creedal truth, v2-3:

The Lord's coming will be unexpected, but inevitable.

Proposition, v4-5

The sons of light will not be caught out by the Lord's coming

Exhortation, v6-8:

Let us be awake and sober ....

Proposition, v9-10:

God has destined us for salvation, not wrath.

Exhortation, v11:

Encourage each other.

iii] Interpretation:

Paul continues to address the issue of the return of Christ, a subject of some importance to the Thessalonian believers. He has addressed their concerns regarding deceased believers in 4:13-18, and now he focuses on those living during the interim, those awaiting the return of Christ.

Again, it is not clear what is troubling the Thessalonian church, but it is likely to do with the immediacy of the day of the Lord. Do they think that they are even now experiencing the tribulations, and that Christ's return is all but upon them? Could the tribulations overwhelm them, even to the point of undermining their salvation? If we take v1 at face value, then the Thessalonians have specifically asked Paul to lay out the eschatological events (the signs of the times) associated with the return of Christ. Paul points out that he doesn't really need to do that because they know the facts. The day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night; what more do they need to know!

Of course, there are many other theories as to what the Thessalonian believers were worried about, eg., Malherbe suggests that "the matter requiring attention was the promise of some Christian prophets in Thessalonica of peace and security which Paul thinks could have ruinous consequences".

So, although the Thessalonians are worried about the parousia, and want to pin down the signs of the times, Paul reminds them that the terrible day, the parousia of Christ, his coming / appearing, will be like a thief in the night; it will be like the inevitable birth-pangs of a pregnant woman. While people are proclaiming peace, unforeseen destruction will come upon them unawares.

Yet, for a believer, the day of judgment is not bad news. Believers have no need to fear that terrible day. Paul provides two reasons, first, in v4-5 he reminds the Thessalonians that they are members of Jesus' family, the children of light, saved through faith in the faithfulness of Jesus, bound together in love. So unlike the rest of humanity, bound in darkness, believers aren't going to be caught out by Christ's parousia and end up facing the wrath of divine judgment. The second reason why the Thessalonian believers have no need to fear "the day of the Lord" is outlined in v9-10. Believers are destined, by God, not for indignation, but salvation, so whether asleep on that terrible day, or alive and waiting, we end up with the Lord.

As is so often the case with Paul, an indicative is followed up by an imperative, and so both propositions are followed with exhortations; v6-8 and v11.

The fact that Paul has to quickly write a second letter to the Thessalonians indicates that although he has addressed their worries concerning deceased believers, he has failed to get to the nub of their worries for believers living in the here and now. Their realised eschatology is likely to be the problem, improperly reading the present troubles as the tribulations associated with the day of the Lord. In his second letter, Paul will stress the not yet, reminding them that "the rebellion" and "the revelation of the man of lawlessness" still lie in the future. Paul's message is simple, they just need to settle down and get on with life; when the day comes they will be OK.

It is often argued that the passage reflects a delay in the parousia, as against its immediacy in the previous verses, and that such indicates that the passage is an addition to the original text. The problem facing this argument is that a delay in the second coming is not overtly present in the passage. Source issues have also been raised as if the writer has used the synoptic gospels, but there is nothing unusual in Paul being aware of a pre-synoptic tradition, a tradition which would be taking shape at this time through the preaching and teaching of the apostles.

iv] Homiletics: Another one bits the dust

[illustration] In Helensburgh, a small village south of Sydney, Australia, there was a little Methodist church set in bushland. It was called the Bushland Chapel. In its final years it was used by the local Baptist congregation as their place of worship. It was a tranquil little corner in a busy world, a haven of rest, constructed in 1967 by voluntary labour. Yet, as is so often the case with little churches, the powers-to-be seem more driven by property values than Christian values, so despite all protest, it went the way of the world.

Life is short, and in this gifted moment we possess, while we wait to meet our maker, our reading today reminds us of two fundamental endeavours for the Christian life, for our life.

First, Fortitude - I love this word. It's a word that best describes the business of persevering in the Christian life; the business of sticking at it. The equipment for this battle, this contest of life, is that we stand firm in our reliance on Jesus, focused in our love of God, and unfaltering in our eternal hope.

Second, Brotherly Love. Rather than managing the lives of others guided by worldly constructs, let us seek to encourage one another, rather than discourage, build up, rather than pull down. Such is brotherly love.

Text - 5:1

Prepared for Christ's return, v1-11: i] Issue / Topic, v1. Now concerning the signs of the times with respect to the day of the Lord.

peri de "Now" - but/and [brothers] concerning, with respect to. Transitional de with peri expressing reference / respect, serving as a topic identifier.

twn cronwn kai twn kairwn gen. "times and dates" - times and seasons. "Times and seasons" is an apocalyptic term used to describe the end-time eschatological events, the signs of the times, Dan.2:21, signs which may come with a divinely appointed time, Dan.4:34, cf., Mk.13:4. It is unclear whether the Thessalonian believers want Paul to outline the events / signs, and/or the timing of the events / signs. Either way, it's not for them to know, cf., Act.1:7, but it is something believers do find hard to give up on!

grafesqai (grafw) pres. pas. inf. "[we do not need] to write" - [you have no need anything] to be written. The infinitive could be classified as epexegetic, explaining / specifying what Paul has "no need" to do, namely, to write to them on the issue of Christ's parousia. Although a rare classification for an infinitive, it could be classified as introducing an object complement, complement of the direct object "a need", serving to assert a fact about the object, namely, " that I should write to you" = "you need no correspondence", Berkeley. The accusative subject of the infinitive "anything" is assumed.

uJmin dat. pers. pro. "to you" - to you. Dative of indirect object / recipient.

ii] Creedal truth - The Lord's coming will be unexpected, but inevitable, v2-3. Paul is not willing to be drawn on the subject of signs and/or their timing when it comes to the second coming of Christ. Jesus himself settled the matter - "It is not for you to know". Acts 1:7. The gospel tradition is simple and to the point; Christ's coming will be unexpected and inevitable. And when it occurs, the unbelieving world will be unable to escape its consequences.

gar "for" - for. Introducing a causal clause explaining why Paul has no need to write to them on the subject of the day of the Lord - although obviously he does have a need to write to them about this subject!!!! "Because you know ..."

autoi "you" - [you] yourselves [know]. Reflective use of the personal pronoun.

akribwV adv. "very well" - accurately, precisely. Modal adverb. Not a common word in Paul's usage and so possibly it comes from the Thessalonians themselves, some of whom know very well!!! Do some in the congregation think they know the details of the second coming? "Perfectly well", NEB.

oJti "that" - that. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing what they know.

kuriou (oV) gen. "[the day] of the Lord" - [day] of lord. The genitive is adjectival, probably descriptive, idiomatic / temporal; "the day when the Lord comes" = "the day of judgment." The expression is anarthrous, possibly due to Semitic influence, BDF. "The Lord" is used initially of God in the LXX (Heb. Yhwh) and then of Jesus in the NT. The phrase "the day of the Lord" comes originally from Amos 5:18 and refers to the day of judgment. The popular prophets spoke of the day of God's coming to Israel as a day of blessing, but this day is a day of weeping and gnashing of teeth. The term is picked up in the NT, again with the idea of judgment; "the day of the Son of Man", Lk, 17:24-30, "that day", Matt.7:22, cf. Matt.10:15, 12:36.

ercetai (ercomai) pres. "will come" - comes. The present tense is futuristic here, as NIV, etc., although certainty may be the purpose behind the use of the present tense here.

wJV "like" - as [a thief in the night so comes]. Comparative. "The day of the Lord (ouJtwV, adverb of manner) so comes / in this way comes (wJV, comparative) as / like a thief in the night." The image serves to emphasise the unexpected nature of the parousia.

en + dat. "in" - in. Temporal use of the preposition; "during the night."

nukti (nux, nuktoV) dat. "the night" - night. This image from Jesus is further developed by Paul in the passage. The early Christians came to believe that Jesus would return in the night, even Easter eve (Jerome). Paul develops the image of night in the terms of moral indifference and this was also used to identify a particular time for the return of Christ - a time of moral decay. Yet, here the image is portraying a moment when we least expect it.

The bad news is further emphasised, with the distinction between believers and unbelievers highlighted. On the great day of the Lord, unbelievers will find themselves aligned with Israel's false prophets, prophets who proclaim peace when there is no peace; their end is assured, "there will be no escape".

The lack of a connective like kai or de in the Greek text leaves this sentence grammatically ambiguous. Weima suggests that v3 is contrastive. For believers, the parousia will come like a thief in the night - unexpected, v2 (but not disastrous, v4ff). For unbelievers, the parousia is inevitable, and disastrous.

oJtan + subj. "while" - whenever. This construction introduces an indefinite temporal clause, treated as definite; "when people are talking of how peaceful and secure life is", Barclay.

eirhnh (h) "peace" - [they say] peace [security (secure from outward threats)]. "Peace and security" forms a dependent statement expressing what they say, often translated as a quote; "Just when people are saying 'There is peace', 'There is safety', ......" Best in the sense of security, rather than Paul's usual sense of inward peace. It is unclear whether this "peace" is the opinion of secular Thessalonians, a version of pax Romana, or whether Paul is alluding to Israel's pre-exilic false prophets. The noun asfaleia, "safety", is a hapax legomenon for Paul, cf., Ezk.13:10.

tote adv. "-" - then [sudden disaster]. Temporal adverb, serving to introduce a temporal clause. The word aifnidioV is another hapax legomenon for Paul. The sense is "sudden" if used as an adjective, or "suddenly / all of a sudden", if used as an adverb. Restating the unexpected nature of the parousia revealed in v2, but now applied to unbelievers, those who think they live in peace and safety, cf. Lk.21:34-36. They face oleqroV, "disaster, ruin, destruction", a sense opposite to salvation / life and therefore illustrating disaster in the sense of separation from God. "Suddenly they will suffer terribly", TH.

autoiV dat. pro. "them" - [comes upon] them. Dative of direct object after the epi prefix verb "to come upon."

w{sper "as" - as, just as. Comparative.

hJ wdin (in inoV) "labour pains" - the birth pain. "Like/as labour pains [coming upon] a woman who is pregnant." Often used to describe God's judgment in the Old Testament. The sense of the image is debated. It is probably not illustrating the unexpected nature of the parousia, given that a pregnant women would not regard labour pains as unexpected. So, the suddenness of the parousia may be in mind, but more likely its inevitability.

th/ ... ecoush/ (ecw) dat. pres. part. "on a pregnant woman" - to the one having a child. The participle serves as a substantive, dative of interest; whether advantage or disadvantage depends on your perspective!!!

en + dat. "-" - in [her womb]. Local, expressing space. "With child."

ou mh + subj. "[not [escape]". [and] no no [can they escape]. A subjunctive of emphatic negation; "escape there is none", Moffatt.

iii] Proposition - the sons of light will not be caught out by the Lord's coming, v4-5. The Thessalonian believers belong to the coming day of the Lord, they belong to the light, not the darkness, so they are not going to be caught out by the sudden coming of the Lord like those entrapped in darkness. The children of light are secure in the Lord and have no reason to fear the coming day of judgment. In typical Pauline style, an imperative will often follow an indicative; ara oun, "so therefore .......", v6. This consequence is drawn out by two hortatory subjunctives encouraging watchfulness, v6, and supported by an observable reason, gar, "for ....", v7.

The imagery of light and darkness / day and night, may describe moral behaviour, good / evil, so Malherbe. Martin suggests that it describes a condition of spiritual dullness, a lack of spiritual perception. We are on safer ground if we follow Weima who suggests that status, with respect to God, is the issue at hand. The Thessalonian believers are no longer in darkness because they have turned away from the worship of idols and dedicated their lives to the living God through Jesus, 1:9-10; "Light and darkness are words of salvation, not of philosophical speculation on the cosmos nor intellectual enlightenment", Shogren. The human condition is one of darkness, night, sleeping in denial of the existence of a holy and loving God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. A believer stands in the light, indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, and therefore has nothing to fear of the coming day.

de "but" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the argument.

uJmeiV pers. pro. "you" - you [brothers]. Emphatic by position and use, although it should be noted that a personal pronoun with a verb to-be is often idiomatic rather than emphatic.

en + dat. "in" - [are not] in [darkness]. Local, expressing sphere; "immersed in the sphere of darkness." Here the sense is of the realm of wickedness, an image often used to describe the human condition with respect to God.

iJna + subj. "that" - so that. This construction usually introduces a purpose clause, but in Greek, a consecutive sense, expressing result / hypothetical result, is never far away. Here hypothetical result ("conceived result", Burton); "so that."

katalabh/ (katalambanw) aor. "should surprise" - [the day] should overtake, take [you]. Different meanings are possible, such as "harm" or "seize", but "surprise" seems best. "The day", of course, is "the day of the Lord."

wJV "as" - as, like. Comparative; just as a thief surprises their target.

klepthV "thief" - a thief. Variant kleptaV, acc. gives the sense "surprise you like thieves are surprised" - the end will come suddenly and unexpectedly, but we will not be surprised as a thief is surprised by the light of the new day. This reading is unlikely. The surprise is ours when we discover that we were robbed during the night while we were asleep. A believer who is in the Lord's house is not caught out by thieves, floods or anything else - safe and secure!

Paul stresses the status of the Thessalonian believers; they stand in the light and not the darkness and so have nothing to fear.

gar "for" - for. If the accusative klaptaV is read then gar would be causal; "The great day cannot catch up on you like a thief is surprised by sunrise, for you are all sons of the light", Barclay. If the nominative klepthV is read, then gar is explanatory and so not translated, as NIV. Believers are not in darkness and so are not caught out by the parousia.

panteV adj. "all" - [you are] all. Here used with an inclusive sense - there are no second-class Christians who, unless they try harder, will miss out. All believers, no matter how flawed and fallen they are, belong to the light.

fwtoV (wV wtoV) gen. "sons of light / children of the light" - [sons] of light [and sons of day]. The genitive is adjectival, possessive; "children who belong to the light". As also with "sons of the day / children of the day", the phrase "sons of" is Semitic idiom and simply means belonging to. So a phrase like "son of wickedness" means "those given over to wickedness." Those belonging to / given over to the light, are given over to Jesus / given over to the age to come / the new day; "you belong to the light", CEV.

nutkoV (ux uktoV) gen. "belong to the night" - [we are not] of the night [or of darkness]. The genitive is adjectival, possessive.

iv] Exhortation - Let us be awake and sober, v6-8. Paul, having outlined the indicative, now lays out the imperative, expressed by two hortatory subjunctives, v6. As children of light, rather than children of darkness, we are to be "awake and sober", probably with the sense alert and self-controlled, "ready and steady", Weima. Of course, the question is, in what sense? The idea of watchfulness, of being prepared for the Lord's coming, derives from Jesus' apocalyptic teaching, although even there, it is not clear what action is required, cf., Matt.24:42-44. The inclination is to head toward moral imperatives (love of neighbour), although in v8, Paul specifies the sobriety / self-control as faith, love and hope (love of God???). Personal morality has to be part of the package, but priority rests with a firm reliance on the faithfulness of Jesus on our behalf, on the loving grace of God in Christ and on the hope of glory through Christ. Watchfulness / preparedness / steadiness, comes down to an ongoing commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the rough and tumble of life - the perseverance of faith, FORTITUDE. It is this action, above all other actions, that maintains status / standing in "the day", as opposed to "those who sleep at night".

ara oun "so then" - therefore. Drawing a logical conclusion.

mh kaqeudwmen (kaqeudw) subj. "let us not be [like others] who are asleep" - let us not sleep. Hortatory subjunctive. Often interpreted as moral laxity, but spiritual perception is more likely.

wJV "like" - as, like [others]. Comparative.

alla "but" - but. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction; "not ...., but ....", as NIV.

grhgorwmen (gregorew) subj. "alert" - let us keep awake, be vigilant, watchful. Hortatory subjunctive. Vigilant in faith.

nhfwmen (nhfw) subj. "self-controlled" - [and] sober, not influenced by alcohol. Hortatory subjunctive. Focused in faith.

Paul recapitulates the point that he has made in v6 with an explanatory illustration (gar) - those who are not watchful / ready, the sleepers, sleep at night = exist in the dark; those who are not self-controlled / steady, get drunk at night = exist in the dark. The implication is that we not be sleepers and drunkards as are the children of darkness, but be "ready and steady" as are the children of light.

gar "for" - for. More reason than cause, explanatory.

oi ... kaqeudonteV (kaqeudw) pres. part. "those who sleep" - the ones sleeping. The participle serves as a substantive, subject of the verb "to sleep".

nuktoV (x ktoV) gen. "at night" - [sleep] of night. The genitive is adverbial, modifying the verb "to sleep", temporal; "get drunk during the night."

oiJ ... mequskomenoi (mequskomai) pas. part. "those who get drunk" - the ones being drunk [get drunk of = at night]. The participle serves as a substantive, subject of the verb "to get drunk". "Drunkards", Moffatt.

Believers are children of the light, such is their status before God, a status which provides security at the parousia. This status rests on an action which may be compared to the action of a soldier putting on pieces of armour for battle. "Since we belong to the day, let us be sober / self-controlled / steady = persevere by putting on a breastplate that consists of faith and love, and a helmet that consists of hope, our hope in salvation."

de "but" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the argument, here with a contrastive edge; often translated "but", as ESV.

onteV (eimi) pres. part. "since [we] belong" - [we] being. The participle of the verb "to be" is adverbial, probably causal, providing the basis for the following exhortation; "because we belong to the day, then ......"

hJmeraV (a) gen. "belong to the day" - of day. The genitive is adjectival, relational / possessive, as NIV.

nhfwmen (nhfw) pres. subj. "let us be self-controlled" - may we be sober. Hortatory subjunctive. The role of the watchman is to be "alert and self-controlled"; "ready and steady".

endusamenoi (enduw) aor. part. "putting on" - having clothed / armed oneself with. The participle is adverbial, possibly modal, or even causal, although instrumental, expressing means is more likely, so Findlay, Frame, Malherbe, Green, Weima, ...; "by putting on ......" This is supported by the use of an aorist indicating action simultaneous to the action of being self-controlled. "It is not enough to watch and be sober, we must also be armed", Chrysostom.

pistewV kai agapaV gen. "faith and love" - [a breastplate] of faith and love. It is not always possible to determine the precise sense of a genitive, and this because it will often serve to express a shorthand idiomatic turn of phrase. Here, the genitive is adjectival, limiting "breastplate", best classified as epexegetic, serving to specify / explain the noun "breastplate"; "by putting on a breastplate which consists of faith and love". The sense would be something like, "Let us put on faith and love just as we would arm ourselves with a breastplate for battle."

For his illustration, Paul is drawing on Biblical imagery, cf. Isaiah 59:17, Wisdom 5:17-22. In Ephesians 6:10-18 Paul uses a similar image of the Christian soldier's armour. In Ephesians the breastplate is "righteousness". Paul's meaning there is open to debate. Is he telling us to take on the divine qualities of Christ through identification with Christ, or is he telling us to behave in a particular way (righteousness then means acting rightly)?

So, when it comes to the word "faith" here, is Paul developing the ethical idea of putting on trustworthiness, in the sense of doing it? "Love", in the sense of love towards a neighbour, is certainly an ethical action, so faith and love can be viewed as ethical. If we take "faith" as belief, then faith is that which promotes love, an essential first step in the triad, faith, love and hope, as in 1:3, so Bruce, Morris, Fee, Wanamaker, Furnish, Marshall, Best, .... cf., Gal.5:6 - "their faith in God (1:8) and their love to other Christians and to all people (4:9-10)", Green. "Faith" may also possibly be "the Christian faith"; "committed and equipped, the Christian soldier stands firm in the faith, stands firm in the face of opposition, stands firm until the end", Martin (unlikely!).

So, "faith" here likely takes the sense of to believe. This is supported by its common use in this letter: 1:3, 8, 3:2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 4:14, 5:8. And when it comes to "love", there seems little question among commentators that "love" here is love of neighbour, the fruit / the natural product of faith. None-the-less, love of God should not be discounted. "Let us be ... outfitted with faith and love for our coat-of-mail", Berkeley.

elpida (iV idoV) acc. "helmet" - [and a helmet] hope. Accusative noun, limited by the adjectival genitive "of salvation", standing in apposition to "helmet", functioning in much the same way as the epexegetic genitives "faith and love", specifying / explaining the "helmet"; "put on ..... a helmet, that is, a hope of salvation".

swthriaV (a) gen. "of salvation" - of salvation. The genitive is adjectival, limiting "hope", probably verbal, "the salvation in which we place our hope"; "let us put on hope, our hope in salvation, just as we would arm ourselves for battle with a helmet." Here the imagery is the same as Ephesians, and as in Ephesians, it is difficult to see how the imagery is ethical in nature. On the surface it seems like an exhortation toward assurance - "be sure of your eternal hope, your salvation." So, "hope" is used in the sense of "their hope in the coming of the Lord Jesus (1:3)", Green. "And the hope of salvation for a helmet", Berkeley.

v] Proposition - God has destined us for salvation, not wrath, v9-10. In v9-10 Paul provides the base on which "the hope of salvation" (v8) rests. From a translation point of view, it is best to treat the introduction as elliptical. As with the introduction of the first proposition, where Paul makes the point, "You, however, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day will surprise you like a thief; because (gar, causal) ......", so we have here something similar, "We, brothers, can be sure of our eternal hope; because (oJti, causal) God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us". Our security rests in the ministry of Jesus, the purpose of whose death was (iJna + subj. = purpose / hypothetical result clause, "so that", v10) "we may live together with him."

oJti "because" - because. Here causal, as NIV. "Paul grounds his statement about the eschatological dimension of their hope of salvation by placing it in the soteriological purpose of God", Malherbe.

ouk eqeto (tiqhmi) aor. "did not appoint" - [god] did not put, arrange, appoint [us]. The word "appoint" carries with it divine intent in the sense of "chose", "destined", but a simple sense of the word is probably intended, so "put". God did not gather us into the Christian fellowship to then destroy us.

orghn (h) acc. "wrath" - [into] wrath / anger. In v9-10 Paul defines the basis of our assurance. We are not set to face condemnation in the day of judgment.

alla "but" - but. Strong adversative, standing in a counterpoint construction; "not ...., but ....".

eiV "to" - into. Expressing direction toward arrival at. Introducing the prepositional phrase "to the attainment of salvation", which phrase goes with the prepositional phrase "through our Lord Jesus Christ" rather than "God did not appoint us."

peripoihsin (iV ewV) "receive" - the preservation / possession, attainment. Here taking a positive sense, the attainment of the gift of eternal life.

swthriaV (a) gen. "salvation" - of salvation. This genitive is adjectival, probably verbal, objective.

dia + gen. "through" - through, by means of. Expressing agency here - Christ is the agent of our salvation. As already noted, the prepositional phrase, "through our Lord Jesus Christ" goes with swthriaV, "salvation", rather than eqeto, "appoint, destine."

Ihsou Cristou gen. "Jesus Christ" - [the lord of us] jesus christ. "Jesus Christ" stands in apposition to "Lord".

v10

Salvation is dia, "through, by means of", Jesus Christ, v9. Paul now fills out in what sense salvation is "through" Jesus; it is "through" his death, his substitutionary sacrifice, a death uJper, "on our behalf", a death iJna, "so that", we might live with him.

tou apoqanontoV (apoqnhskw) gen. aor. part. "he died" - of the one having died. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "Jesus Christ", v9, genitive in agreement; "who died for us".

uJper + gen. "for" - for. Variant peri. Benefit / advantage is possible, "for our benefit", but given Paul's use of this preposition, substitution, "on behalf of us", is more likely, cf., Rom. 4:25, 1Cor.15:3, 2Cor.5:14, Gal.3:12, and/or "for us" in the sense of in our place / interchange, Rom.14:9, 2Cor.5:15-21, Gal.1:4.

iJna + subj. "so that" - in order that [...... we might live]. Introducing a final clause expressing purpose / hypothetical result.

eite .... eite "whether ....... or ...." - either ..... or .... Comparative construction.

kaqeudwmen (kaqeudw) pres. subj. "asleep" - [we are awake or] we are sleeping. Here the sleep is most likely the sleep of believers in death, while those who are awake are those believers who are living now and await the parousia. Paul does seem to have changed the imagery at this point from the imagery of waking and sleeping earlier in this chapter. A bit confusing! If Paul had used koimaw for "sleep", as in 4:13f, then obviously the use here, as there, would serve as a euphemism for death, but he uses kaqeudw, as 5:7, where it is a euphemism for living in darkness / night. So is Paul referring here to believers who are spiritually dull, rather than self-controlled and vigilant, and who, although caught out by the coming day, are saved? Probably Paul is using the word here for death, so Morris, etc. "Sleeping in death", Moffatt. "So that, whether we are [still] keeping alert or whether we have [already] died, we shall live together with him", Shogren.

zhswmen (zaw) aor. subj. "we may live" - we may live. The aorist is futuristic and possibly ingressive, "begin to live", Best. The purpose of Christ's death on our behalf is that we might live eternally with him. "We should live together with him", Moffatt.

aJma sun + dat. "together with" - together with [him]. This construction, the adv. + prep., expresses association. Possibly with the sense "we might together live with him", but note 1:17, "caught up together with...." A picture of life forever with Jesus.

v11

vi] Exhortation - encourage each other, v11. This exhortation probably serves to conclude the eschatological section of the letter, 4:13-5:11, so Bruce, Shogren, .....; "a concluding command", Weima. Possibly transitional, so Malherbe.

dio "therefore" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion, probably for the whole section, 4:13-5:10.

parakaleite (parakalew) pres. imp. "encourage" - encourage [one another and]. We should encourage one another to live as children of light as we await that awful day. Possibly in the sense of 4:18, "encourage one another with these words."

oikodomeite (oikodomew) imp. "build [each other] up" - build up = edify [one the one = one on one]. This is a popular concept for Paul, namely, the building up and constructing of the Christian character. It is possible that kai is epexegetic such that "encourage", "build up" interprets / further explains, "encourage". The following verses, v12-22, explicate this building up. "So then, we must encourage each other, and we must always make life stronger and better for each other", Barclay.

kaqwV "just as" - [even] as / just as [also] [you do]. Comparative. "It can be irritating to be told to do what one is already doing; this note of commendation would guard against such a possibility", Bruce. "As indeed you are doing."

1 Thessalonians Introduction

Exegetical Commentaries

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