Stay Awake!
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Encourage one another, brothers & sisters, to persevere in the faith by the grace of God for he has set you apart for salvation!
#salvation
#faith
#grace
Published April 6th, 2022
Look-up
Main Point Summary
Discourse
Observations
Meditations & Takeaways
Look-up
NT
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
esv
The Day of the Lord 5 1 Now concerning w the times and the seasons, brothers, 1 x you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that y the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then z sudden destruction will come upon them a as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you b are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all c children 1 of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then d let us not sleep, as others do, but let us e keep awake and f be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, g are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, h having put on the breastplate of i faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for j wrath, but k to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 l who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
lookup
notes
Main Point Summary
Children of light, live as ones set apart in Christ who are destined for eternal salvation with our God! Encourage one another to persevere in the faith with this news!
Discourse
editing
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
mine
msg
Now concerning w the times and the seasons, brothers, 1 x you have no need to have anything written to you.
Now , brothers and sisters in Christ, we know that we do not need to take time to explain to you when the Lord will decend again from heaven to unite us with himself forever.
(1-3) I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.
For you yourselves are fully aware
For you know as well as we do
that y the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
that the date and time will not be written on our calendars, but be as sudden and unannounced as a burglar in the night.
While people are saying, “There is peace and security,”
While others go about convincing each other that there is peace and security, just like in the times of Noah or Lot,
then z sudden destruction will come upon them
you know that their destruction will come as suddenly as the flood waters when Noah entered the ark and as unexpectedly as the fire when Lot left Sodom
a as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
or as inescapable as a mother's labor in her time.
But you b are not in darkness, brothers,
But you, brothers and sisters, are not blind
(4-8) But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.
for that day to surprise you like a thief.
to be caught off guard by the coming of our Lord.
For you are all c children 1 of light, children of the day.
Because you are all partakers of Christ's family, shining a light in the world.
W e are not of the night or of the darkness.
We are not creatures of the night, with our lives in darkness.
So then d let us not sleep, as others do,
So let us act as light in the world! We shall not sleepwalk through life,
but let us e keep awake and f be sober.
but be alert and clear-headed.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, g are drunk at night.
For the darkness breeds drunkenness, deceit, and passive, purposeless living.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober,
But as children of Christ, light to the world, we live with purpose,
h having put on the breastplate of i faith and love,
in that we have adorned ourselves with the protective garments of our Lord. Guarding our hearts is faith and love
and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
and our minds are protected by the hope of our salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For God has not destined us for j wrath,
For God did not prepare for us a place to receive his wrath,
(9-11) God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
but k to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
but rather a place to receive forgiveness and be made righteous, freely given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ,
l who died for us
who's life was given as a ransom for many
so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
so that in our life and in our death, we are counted as alive in Christ.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Because of this, continue to motivate one another to persevere in the faith.
Commands Means Motives Anchors
Luke 17:26-30
discourse
Observations
Author: Paul, Silas and Timothy Recipient(s): The church in Thessalonica Relationship: They shared the gospel with the Thessalonians Occasion: They are writing to them to see how they are doing and to encourage them in the faith Themes: Giving thanks for their faith in the Gospel Encouraging them and instructing them to mature in their faith Tone: Loving, kind, caring (use of "brothers" often in an endearing way Urgency for their message of the coming Lord Purpose: Remind the Thessalonians of the urgency of the message that Paul, Silas, and Timothy brought to them Key Words: Darkness/night/sleep/drunkenness vs light/day/awake/sober - comparing and contrasting spiritual state of the heart awake/asleep in v 10 referring to life/death? Protection/dress: helmet the hope of salvation & breast plate of faith and love General: Why is the Lord's coming compared to "a thief in the night"? v 2b What happens if they are not prepared: inescapable destruction v3 What happens if they are prepared: life & salvation through Jesus Christ v 9b & 10
Meditations & Takeaways
God has destined us for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ Jesus' death on the cross is the only payment that sufficiently covers our sin and awakens us to everlasting life The means by which we can be sober- be set apart from those in darkness- is the faith, love, and hope which comes from Jesus. We should encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to persevere in the faith because of these truths.
Comments
Matthew Carver
Matthew Carver
Matthew Carver
Matthew Carver
Matthew Carver
Matthew Carver
Matthew Carver
Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.