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. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

One thing I love reading in the Epistles of Paul are the closing statements, or what we may refer to as the benediction or blessing. Often if I’m preaching at a Church, I like to use one of his benedictions for the closing of a service. And while we might usually, skip over the final closing of a letter from Paul, there is still some useful teachings in his statements.

First Paul says “The God of Peace”, now this is an interesting statement, as you could say Paul is referring to Jesus as God here. Let’s remember one of Chist’s titles is “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) and Paul also taught the “Peace of God” can only be obtained through Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7) So we could probably assume, Paul is addressing Christ’s deity in the opening of his benediction.

Secondly Paul says “Sanctify you wholly or completely” . We talked previously about Paul’s in depth teachings on sanctification. Paul here seems to indicate,  sanctification is expected for Christians. Again, this is only possible by the Holy Spirit and becoming Born Again in Jesus Christ (John 3:3) The Lord said “We will be known by our fruits” (Matthew 7) The Church will be known by its sanctification in the Holy Spirit

Paul makes another interesting theological statement here “your soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” Many Christians accept the teaching of “soul-sleep”, however here Paul makes it very clear we have a soul and a body. Just as Jesus said “Fear the one who can destroy both body and soul into Hell” (Matthew 10:28) Christ also indicates , we have a body and soul

Lastly, Paul orders that this letter be read to “all the holy brethren” These letters are not just for the Church of Thessalonica, these letters all for all Christians. We here many arguments by liberal theologians, certain epistles are only for certain Christians, this is not Biblical. As Paul says “ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16) The Bible is for everyone, not just a specific group of people. 

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Amen!

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

The Apostle Paul continues to give us practical and applicable advice for our daily Christian lives. The first lesson is to “Rejoice at all times”. Think about all the things Paul suffered during his ministry, imprisonment, beatings, and illnesses, yet Paul continues to rejoice always. Why? Because Paul knows this is not our “best life now”, this is actually our worst life now. The best is yet to come, the New Heavens and Earth (Rev.22) because Christ is Risen!

Secondly we should “pray without ceasing”. Prayer should be central to our daily lives. Prayer should be like oxygen for our souls. How can we have a relationship with Christ, if we are not praying? How can we know our Fathers will, if we are not praying? How can the Holy Spirit fill us up , if we are not praying? Pray without ceasing in all circumstances!

Give thanks for everything! All these actions tie into each other, if you don’t know what to pray, give thanks to God! We have been blessed with so many things, we have so much to be thankful for, we need to keep an eternal perspective on our daily lives. Be Thankful that God created us and breathed life into our lungs. Be Thankful , that Jesus chose us and died for our sins. Be Thankful, the Holy Spirit has baptized us and made us Born Again

Listen to the Holy Spirit! Jesus called the Holy Spirit our advocate, our counselor, our helper (John 14:26) To deny or neglect the wisdom of the Holy Spirit is to deny God. Remember blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31-32) We need to be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit as our guide and counselor

Finally, another application is to “Abstain from all evil” As Born Again Christians (John 3:3), our bodies are the Temple of God with the Holy Spirit living inside of us (1 Cor.6). We can’t pollute our temples or bodies with sin and evil, this is an abomination before God. As the Apostle Peter said “Be holy because He (God) is Holy” ( 1 Peter 1:16)

Being a Child of God, a Born Again Christian is the greatest honor and calling anyone could receive, walk worthy of being a servant of Christ, Amen

And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15

We know that the Church of Thessalonica was well known for their respectable behavior, as Paul stated “You have become an example to all the believers” (1 Thess. 1:7) Why? Because this Church didn’t just talk the talk, but they also walked the walk. They lived a Christian life to the best of their abilities, as Paul also said “walk in a manner worthy of God’s calling” (1 Thess. 2:12) When we become saved in Christ, this is just the beginning of our journey, this is certainly not the end

So with that said, how do we live as a Christian? Many people focus on things in the Bible such as prophecy and history, but there are also a lot of practical applications that can be applied to our daily lives as Christians. Paul’s letters to the Churches, gives us a lot of practical instructions we can all apply to our daily Christian lives, again our goal should be to want to “conform to the image of Christ” (Romans 8:29) If Jesus is truly our Lord, we should want to be just like him, live like him, act like him. While we will never reach the superiority of The Lord, we should still want to follow in his ways

So Paul is giving the Church some practical applications to living a Christan life. The first teaching is to respect authority. Paul says “acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in The Lord, and give you instruction”. What a simple concept, for brothers and sisters in Christ to show each other mutual respect, however we know this simply doesn’t happen much anymore, especially on social media. We often hear Pastors being continually analyzed and picked apart from every word they say. While it’s good to verify what your Pastor is saying , we should also be demonstrating love and respect for your spiritual authority

Secondly the Apostle Paul tells us to “Be at peace among yourselves” This should be applied not only to the Church, but also to people outside your Church also. As Jesus commanded us to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31) Christ was not just referring to other Christians, he was referring to your physical neighbors, people in your community, people online, basically everyone. While it may not always be possible to live in peace with everyone, we should strive to do everything we can to “keep the peace” as Paul says “strive to live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18)

A third application as Paul says “Don’t repay evil for evil, pursue what is good for everyone” This coincides with what Jesus taught “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39) When somebody wrongs us, it’s natural to want to get revenge, however as a Christian we need to live at a higher standard. Our battles belong to The Lord (1 Samuel 17:47) and not ourselves. We need to remember everyone is watching us, when we behave in a hypocrite way, it actually brings dishonor to our Lord Jesus, as well as ourselves

As the Apostle Paul says “Always pursue what is good for everyone”, while the right thing is not always the easiest thing, our goal in life should always to bring honor and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!