THE SCENARIO: Thessalonica was the capital of Macedonia in Paul’s day. It was a well-to-do city with a natural harbor ( Balchin 235, Nelson 1245), and was situated directly on the Egnatian Way—the Roman highway that led to the rich East from Rome (“Via Egnatia”). The Church/church there was founded by Paul and Silas (Act 17:1-10, 1Th 1:1) on Paul’s second missionary journey (First Journey, Second Journey, Third Journey [Biola.edu Unbound Bible]), and consisted of converts from Judaism and paganism that were susceptible to all manner of religiosity. It is to these new converts, highly anticipatory of Jesus’ return, and faced with diverse spiritual challenges in a tough environment (Jewish and Gentile hostility and/or influence), but apparently growing in their faith and discipleship (1Th 3:6, 2Th 1:1-4), that Paul wrote the words of the title to this scenario (in approximately AD 50—it is one of Paul’s earliest letters [updated 08/10/2014, A.s.], “New Testament Canon”).
In the outworking of this scenario please consider the following:
Imagine what it was like in those early days of the Church when Jesus had just been raised from the dead, had then appeared to many of His disciples (1Cr 15:3-8), and had then ascended into heaven before their very eyes (Act 1:7-11). It can hardly be otherwise that the Church was “abuzz” with anticipation of His return, and much focused on that, given such fresh memories of Him—longing ones; given His promises, and the irrefutable first-hand evidences of His deity, and certainly given the signs of the times (the manifest evil operative in the world which He said would attend His return). Such focus would especially be true of new converts like those at Thessalonica learning of Jesus by way of Paul and Silas (indeed, all converts per se were “new” learners and converts in those early days). On the basis of, in the joyful anticipation of being with our Lord at His second coming, Paul encourages these saints to live as Jesus’ disciples, and so he must needs instruct them in the way of discipleship, thus doing his part in the same to serve our Lord’s interests in the interim. Likewise it holds down through the ages—we, learning of the things concerning Jesus are anticipatory of our Lord’s return—longing for Him, and similarly go about the business of discipleship awaiting His return (Jhn 13:35 in keeping with the title).
But in those days there were misconceptions regarding our Lord’s return that He through Paul cleared up, so we see Paul redirecting the Thessalonians’ focus more toward interim discipleship—those specifics (1Th 5:4-9,10-16, 17-23), and away from unaccountable, perhaps disengaged sort of waiting for Jesus’ return that promotes not His interests in the interim (that is, God is populating His Kingdom in the interim, which interest we disciples serve [1Th 2:11-12]). We are on the lookout for Jesus’ return, but we do this while serving His interests and in obedience to His commands (thus we love our Lord [Jhn 14:15]). Dear Christian friend, do you long for our Lord’s return, or are you satisfied with the status quo and would rather that He tarried and not interrupt your plans just quite yet? What motivates your discipleship in the interim?
The Wiktionary defines exhortation so: “Language intended to incite and encourage; advice; counsel; admonition,” and defines admonition so: “Gentle or friendly reproof; counseling against fault or oversight; warning,” and defines unruly so: “wild, uncontrolled.” Admonition is probably good in this context: ‘…Gently reprove the unruly, counsel against Sin vis-a-vis Scriptural precedents and norms; warn them with respect to the same…’ The application has a sort of constructive and positive nature to it this way (Act 20:31, 1Cr 4:14, Col 1:28, et al.). Deeper faith in Jesus Christ and deeper commitment to discipleship grows not steadily by-and-by in some believers, but by fits and starts. Oftentimes such must needs come into straits before even any exhortation does any good. Certainly the watchword here is exhortation, surely because our great God’s patience runs deep and wide. Thus we are counseled to engage the unruly brethren (or otherwise) in such a way as to sober them unto the truth of their folly, like a child, loved, is reproved, not given up on, nor brow-beaten, or worse (the unruly are oftentimes crudely antagonistic and natural defense systems may become offensive ones), because the goal is to prayerfully restore a degraded fellowship with God and others to its vibrant fullest. Our God’s ways, even as concerns the unruly, are so excellent and lofty, befitting deity; praised be His blessed Name.
Encourage is a terrific God-word. Jehovah our God thinks of words like that: “…Encourage the fainthearted…” What a tender, feeling heart He has. How good it is that we have Thee great God. Who are the fainthearted in our midst? It is the anxious, the despondent, the troubled, the vexed of spirit, the beloved whom the evil vicissitudes of life have beaten down too many times; those who have lost hope; lost hope about this and that and the other, lost hope about life, about God. And how shall we encourage them? Let us bring them to the One who knows them; knows them intimately; knows their plight; the One who has a tender heart for them and cares deeply for them—here and now, and into eternity (“A Letter of Invitation”). And let us find some time to have a nice chit-chat with them and hear them out with loving interest, maybe over a nice meal, and maybe by-and-by give them a hug if they’re willing.
Help is another one of those terrific God-words. Here is an extension of that loving, tender heart our God manifests: “…Help the weak…” He says. Is He not the greatest?! Yea (Psa 119:97). How good it is that we have Thee great God. ‘…Dost thou need a shoulder to lean on my brother/sister? an ear to hear thee out? some finances to see thee through? an advocate to defend thy cause, even thy good name?…’ Help is not opportunistic and steps on the weak in order to elevate a little bit; in order to get ahead a little bit. Help looks outward, not inward; looks to the needs of others, and is not consumed with the needs of self. Thus it is a God-word. Indeed, God calls (identifies, names, yea, and proves) Himself a Helper (Jhn 14:16, “Holy Week”). It is good to be a helper, like He is. It must needs be that a Christian is a helper, for thus is the One whose Name he or she shares; whose Name we share. Dear Christian friend, has God placed someone weak before you that needs the Helper you can witness to? That needs the help you can muster?
Now here is a challenge: “…Be patient with all…” (!) How do we get this one done? With lots of prayer to be sure (leaning on God is the only way). Philip Keller likened the challenge of some relationships to the flies that would embed themselves in the nasal passages of his flock, there laying their eggs, which literally “drove the sheep nuts” if you will, they snorting and banging their heads against trees and boulders and brush and what not to relieve some of the irritations; to get some measure of relief (Keller 31ff, 112ff). Metaphorically speaking, some relationships can indeed be that tough and trying. And he as sheepman of his flock, watching for the behavior and symptoms attending such irritations, immediately applied linseed oil, sulfur, and tar over the sheep’s nose and head to protect and rid the sheep of the pests. And so it is with us—we cry out to our God, even our Good Shepherd (“Psalm Twenty-three Commentary”), at the first sign of relational irritation, for His help to be patient; to know and do His will. And He, gracious, attentive to our cry (Psa 145:17-19), applies the medicine and oil of the Holy Spirit to our heads to calm and relieve and strengthen us in our relational trials: “…only the strictest attention to the behavior of the sheep by the shepherd can forestall the difficulties of ‘fly time.’ At the very first sign of flies among the flock he will apply an antidote to their heads […] What an incredible transformation this would make among the sheep. Once the oil had been applied to the sheep’s head there was an immediate change in behavior. Gone was the aggravation, gone the frenzy, gone the irritability and the restlessness. Instead, the sheep would start to feed quietly again, then soon lie down in peaceful contentment…” (Keller 113). There is peaceful contentment in patience with all. It is birthed by the anointing of the blessed Holy Spirit by which you and I dearest Christian friend are sealed by our God’s unfathomable Grace. Yes, He covers all eventualities and makes it possible for us, yielded to Him, to be patient with all. Praised be His blessed Name. To Him be the glory.
It is good to rejoice, is it not? Amen. But sometimes it is hard to rejoice—in times of loss or suffering, when disappointments hit, and the like. But God wants us to rejoice always (imagine that—what a great “command” that is). We are convinced that having an eternal perspective that has in view eternal fellowship with Jehovah God, and really values and appreciates the same, is the only way to rejoice always. We are human of course and of necessity get involved in things—family things, job things, entertainment things, thinking about the future things, all kinds of things, but precisely these sort of things leave us flat oftentimes because they are transient things to say the least, and because they are prone to the very mundane law of “diminishing marginal utility” (marginal in the sense of one more, an extra). This pervasive law is inescapable, and is characteristically such that one gets to a point where “just one more parcel/piece of the mundane” begins to dissatisfy, and the next indulgence even a little more, and so on (economists know this law well). One needs an anchor that doesn’t move here, one that completely transcends this “law.” The beauty is that the law of diminishing marginal utility never manifests in fellowship with God—such is always new, fresh, and astonishing, to the extent that one’s joy in Him actually grows with extra “indulgences of Him,” instead of flattening out and diminishing. This must needs hold throughout eternity for those in fellowship with Him because His engagements with His own are ever amazing, fresh and wonderfully different (this holds because He is deity). He is said Anchor (there is nothing transient about God), who imparts the law of “[ever] increasing marginal utility” if you will (through His Spirit today). Maybe this sounds a little irreverent—we do not mean it that way—we mean to say that fellowship with Jehovah God may always be undiminished; may always be vibrant and vital, because of who He is (“may” because Sin can get in the way—but check: 1Jo 1:8-10, “First John Chapter One Commentary”). Fellowship with such a One, such an eternal perspective, always translates to rejoicing. Praised be Jehovah our great God in whom we may ever rejoice (Psa 5:11, “A Letter of Invitation,” “O, That Name!”). Dear Christian friend, is your joy full (“Is Your Joy full”)?
“…Father I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me…” (Jhn 11:41). Prayer is very much a joining of spirits—God and we thus intimately joined; thus seamlessly joined. Our praise and worship; our desires and emotions, our very inmost thoughts, quite wholly shared with Him. Thus praying, ceaselessly, we may rejoice always. But how so, to pray ceaselessly that is? It must come to be effortless, natural; like life-sustaining breathing persists effortless, natural; sometimes shallow, sometimes deeper; sometimes slow, sometimes a little bit faster…ceaselessly.
But there is a clincher here: “…pray without ceasing, in everything giving thanks…” In everything giving thanks. ‘…Father God I thank Thee that Thou hast refined me; art refining me, in the fiery furnace of Thy wisdom and love, shaping me thus to become more like Thy dear Son Jesus. I thank Thee for forgiveness, for Thy blessed Spirit in my heart and person. I thank Thee for my dear brethren, my dear family and friends. I thank Thee for Thy sustaining care and abiding shelter. I thank Thee for the gift of life eternal with Thee—for this especially I thank Thee my great God, whom I love and wish to be near forever…’
Praised be Thy blessed and holy Name great Jehovah God, even Exhorter, Encourager, Helper, Patient, very Joy, Hearer of our prayers.