I THESSALONIANS - CHAPTER FIVE
[As
translated from the Aramaic (Syriac) text]
PART TWO
Note: Please read the
introduction to I Thessalonians Chapter Four (4) and be sure to read I
Thessalonians Chapter 5, PART ONE, before continuing.
I
Thessalonians Chapter five (5) [from the George M. Lamsa translation of the
Aramaic Scriptures]:
12. We
beseech you, my brethren, to respect those who labor among you and admonish you
in our Lord and teach you,
Simply put, this verse is
encouraging us to show some respect for those who teach you God's Word. Those
who instruct you in the ways of the scriptures appreciate even a small gesture
of respect and appreciation from the people that they love and teach.
13. That
you esteem them very highly in love, and be at peace with them for their work's
sake.
This verse continues to
exhort you to reckon your Bible teacher very highly in love. It also goes on to
say that you are to be at peace with them for their work's sake.
You may never realize just
how much work and time goes into these teachings. We do it cheerfully and God
blesses us with peace and joy as we continue to teach others His perfect Word.
It should only be a normal situation, that any student of God's Word, would be
at peace with their teacher and love them very much -- giving them all the
support that they need, especially their prayers.
14. Now we
beseech you, my brethren, correct those who offend, comfort those who lack
courage, bear the burdens of the weak, and be patient toward all men.
As you should clearly know
by now, a believer's mind DOES NOT change once he is born again. We need to
renew our mind to God's Word and this is a very slow and continuous process.
But the renewed mind is our key to power.
God is showing us that
there are apparently some believers who need help with their renewed mind walk.
So we are exhorted to correct those who offend. It is a terrible thing to
offend other people if it can be avoided. Only someone who is out of fellowship
and is sinning would do such a thing. It is up to us who are strong in the Word
to correct those who offend other believers or anyone. We must remember that
this reproof and correction MUST COME FROM THE WORD. You will bang your
head against a wall time after time trying to correct someone with logic or with
worldly wisdom which is sensual and devilish or by any other source . . . and
you will fail.
When you are to correct
someone and do it right according to God's way, you will prepare ahead of time
WITH THE WORD concerning what you will say and do. You are to let the Word do
the correcting.
If a fellow believer lacks
courage, you are to comfort that believer. He or she may be a babe in the Word
and may need a lot of time to grow and mature spiritually. A lack of courage is
due to fear and fear is due to either ignorance or wrong instruction. In both
situations, the Word of God is the ultimate and only cure for fear. Bring out
the best in that person and work on their strong points until they can renew
their mind to get rid of their fear and become more courageous.
We are to bear the burdens
of the weak. We let believers walk on our feet until they can stand on their
own. This again takes time and much love. It is up to you to undershepherd this
person to the very best of your ability. If it is someone new to God's Word,
you should see that person every single day. Witnessing is a beautiful
experience and it is an art that must be developed. Think of the person who
undershepherded you concerning God's Word. If it weren't for that person, where
would you be today? Sometimes, it is the person who introduced us to the Bible
that we never forget. It's really a beautiful thing.
We are to be patient
toward all men. This is difficult at times as I'm sure you know. It is the
person who masters patience who will also master peace and the ability to
handle almost any situation in a successful manner. Patience or longsuffering
is one of the nine fruit of the spirit that we acquire with the operation of
the nine manifestations of Holy Spirit.
This verse expects a lot
from a Christian, but when we walk with the love of God in the renewed mind in
manifestation, it becomes a way of life.
15. See
that none of you render evil for evil; but always follow that which is good,
both among yourselves and to all men.
You see, it is so
tempting, especially for someone who is not spiritually mature, to render evil
for evil. This is referring to seeking vengeance upon others. If you have not
surpassed this goal of never seeking revenge, you must work hard at this area
and understand that vengeance is God's job. It's only our old man who has been
taught by the world that we are to get even with those who cause us harm, while
God's Word teaches us to overcome evil with good. This is the exact opposite of
what the world tries to influence you to do.
God says to always follow
that which is good and that means to follow the directives of the Word of God.
God says that we are not only to apply His principles among ourselves, but to
all men whether they are believers or unbelievers. Keep in mind, that at times,
God will tell you to keep away from certain people and certain situations and
you are to listen to Him wholeheartedly. But when we get a chance, we are to
overcome evil with good. The temptation to do otherwise may almost always be there
depending on how strong your old man ways still are in contrast to your renewed
mind efforts. God's Word says that Greater is He that is in you than he that is
in the world. Sometimes, you need to make an effort to resist doing the wrong
thing. When you obey God Almighty, He will find ways for you to be peaceful,
blessed, and to have an inner joy that is honestly unexplainable. You need to
experience it for yourself.
16. Be
joyful always.
The most amazing part of
this verse is that if God says this, then it must be available. It's something
to strive for, isn't it? It's inspiring in many ways to think that we can
always be full of joy and peace in believing. It is apparently available to
rejoice at all times. When your mind is renewed to such a strong point, there
is nothing that can make you feel down, depress you, or make you feel
discouraged or defeated. God does say in the book of Romans that we are more
than conquerors in every single situation in life. The verse inspires one to
continue to renew their mind with a diligent effort.
17. Pray
without ceasing.
This is quite an
interesting statement, would you not say so? God is saying that we should pray
unceasingly without intermission. Well, how can this be? The Word teaches us
that there are two ways to pray -- one is with our understanding and the second
way is by the spirit. Speaking or praying by the spirit is what this verse is
referring to. Back in Corinthians, Paul says: "I thank my God I speak with
tongues more than ye all."
Please remember that our
Heavenly Father never wants us to condemn ourselves. Every believer should
speak in tongues as much as possible during every waking moment of their lives.
It is not easy to acquire this habit after we are born again. I'm simply trying
to say to do your best to pray without ceasing. It has been my understanding
that if we listen to God and learn to speak in tongues much in our private
prayer life, that our lives on this earth will be dynamic. So have patience and
do your best to speak in tongues as much as possible during your everyday life
and walk with God. First, you may want to try to listen to God and to do what
His Word says. This will result in an exciting but yet peaceful life and this
will inspire you to speak in tongues more often.
18. In
everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ concerning
you.
I was taught a lesson
about this subject at one time that always stayed with me -- I simply cannot
forget it. If you think about this for a moment, you will realize that you cannot
be negative when you are thankful. God wants us to look around during our
day and see even the smallest thing that we can be thankful for. If you look
away from your computer, you may see something on your desk that you can
be thankful that you have. If you can discipline your mind to be thankful for
even the smallest thing, you will always be blessed and be thinking positive.
This can overcome any and all types of negative feelings and emotions that may
occur during the day. God states clearly in this verse that it is His Will as a
result of what Jesus Christ accomplished concerning you, His child, that you be
thankful and give thanks not only in your prayers but as you go through your
day. If you can master this renewed mind principle, you will rejoice in your
heart and many problems that you may have been experiencing will simply
disappear. The simplest life is always the best and this principle of being
thankful will help greatly to make your life simple and enjoyable. I cannot say
enough about the importance of applying God's Word in this area of giving
thanks. It will bless you -- it will set you free -- it will improve your
mental health -- you will feel more ambitious. You will be stronger when it
comes to overcoming any problem or opportunity that may confront you while out
in this present world.
19. Do not
quench the spirit.
To understand this verse,
we must understand what the word "quench" means. This is why it is so
important that biblical research precedes teaching. That is the premise upon
which this website is established. If we guess at what the Word means, we
privately interpret God's Word and God strictly forbids us to do this. Now
let's get to the meaning of the word "quench". Let me say one other
thing before we go on and that is that it is fun and very exciting to research
God's Word. It is like going on a treasure hunt and I urge you to give it a
try. There are many research materials that are available to you such as a
Lexicon and a large Concordance. You may also purchase a Bible dictionary or
Bullinger's massive work on Figures Of Speech Used In The Bible. God will meet
your needs -- He will always take care of you when you dedicate your life to
keeping Him first and teaching His Word to the best of your ability.
This word "quench"
means to dampen, to hinder, or to repress. You can think of this as a light
that is being extinguished or put out. The Word of God is urging us to pray and
to be thankful which are results of renewing our mind to what the Word directs
us to do. We have the option, by our own free will, not to do this, if we so
choose. You see, God does not want people to love Him because they have no
choice. You have a choice every single day to keep Him first in the morning and
to do your very best to keep God first throughout your day or to ignore Him. If
you ignore Him, you will never experience peace and you will always be striving
towards a goal that you will never completely achieve. Without God first, you
will live a miserable existence even though you may think that your life is
normal. Eventually, the god of this world, will steal, kill, or destroy your
life.
God does not want you to
hinder or repress your progress with Him. Apparently, it is very possible to do
so. You can decide at any time that you are not going to renew your mind and
that you are not going to make any attempt to walk by the spirit of God.
Remember, it is an everyday decision. Don't let the world lure you away from
the Word. For all my life, I have remembered the advice that my earthly father gave
me. He often tried to make me realize that it would be best for me to stay home
and to study hard during my college days. Can you imagine that was 33 years ago
and I still remember his advice? Why? Because so often, it reminds me of what
God tries to teach me when I am tempted and distracted to get off course. My
earthly father used to say to me: "You're not missing anything out
there, you know?" So the next time you’re tempted to walk away from
your commitment to God, even if it's just for a day, remember, there is
absolutely nothing out there for you. Stay put on God's Word and learn
patience. God honors commitment, steadfastness, and a believer who is unmovable
concerning his stand on the principles stated in the Holy Scriptures. Galatians
6: 9 clearly states: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due
season we shall reap if we faint not." The word "shall" means
absolutely, positively.
20. Do not
reject prophecies.
Now be careful here
because I am going to tell you something that many will not mention. Make sure you if you are at a Bible
fellowship, that it is conducted decently and in order, especially if you think
you hear someone prophecy. Devil spirits cannot speak in tongues, BUT
THEY CAN PROPHECY.
God stresses here that if
a true prophet or believer is operating the manifestation of prophecy decently
and in order, we are not to reject that prophecy or conclude that it is
worthless. Someone who operates true prophecy is not possessed, remember that.
He speaks forth, by his own free will, what God is inspiring him to say.
The person operating the manifestation of prophecy BELIEVES to operate
it. So often, this subject area of the Word is very much misunderstood. You see
one person speak in tongues and another person give the interpretation. This contradicts
the Word of God as stated in Corinthians which gives us a guide as to how
these manifestations are to be operated. The person who speaks in tongues is to
give the interpretation. If another interprets it, it is prophecy, not the
interpretation of the person who spoke in tongues.
21. Prove
all things, uphold that which is good.
If some of you may be
reading this teaching or something from this web site for the first time, you
may not believe a word of it and that's your privilege. But I'm going to tell
you something that may shock you. You will never know if God's Word is
true until you put it to the test in your life. God is challenging you in this
verse to prove him. There is
only one major difference that contradicts the pattern or system of the world
in this example. You have to believe AND ACT FIRST before you will receive
anything from the true God and Father of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. You
may say to yourself right now that I will believe it after I see it. This
will never happen when it comes to God's Word. That's just the way God set
this thing up. I did not write the book. You will see it AFTER you BELIEVE
it. And the word 'believe' is a verb and it requires ACTION on your part.
So if you are one of those people who are going to sit back and wait for God to
pull off some type of miracle for you while you sit back and do absolutely
nothing, you're in for quite the surprise and a very long wait! YOU MUST ACT
FIRST ON WHAT THE WORD TEACHES, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE RESULTS. God wants you to prove Him and to
support that which is good. Well, what is good? The Word of God is what we are
to support for all the days that we spend on this earth or until Jesus Christ
returns.
22.
Abstain from every sort of evil.
We often talk about the Bible
being our guide throughout this life. God is giving us a simple directive here
as to how we should appear before others. If there's one thing I remember about
teaching at a fellowship, it is the following: A believer, especially one who
is new, sometimes will look for anything wrong in your life or in your
home or in anything that you do. It is quite an obnoxious habit but I have seen
this happen time and time again. If you have even the smallest fault or
problem, it is best that you do not let that babe in Christ see anything wrong
in your walk with God. A more mature believer is able to understand that all of
us need improvement in some area of our lives with God.
Every time I share
something with a believer about a problem or an opportunity that I may be
having in my life, I take a certain type of risk. It doesn't take much for a
believer who lacks spiritual maturity to lose faith or respect in a teacher or
leader who is not perfect. The fact of the matter is that I myself always
abstain from every possible appearance of evil. The devil just waits for a
leader or teacher or someone who has a gift ministry to do something wrong so
that he can accuse that person. In the Bible, one of the names given to the
devil himself is "THE ACCUSER". So be sharp in this area and
watch what you say and how you act and be the best example that you can
possibly be for God at all times.
23. May
the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and
body be preserved without blemish to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice how many times God
will repeat a subject because He knows that we need to hear something many
times before we finally learn what He is trying to tell us. Again, and in this
verse, he is getting more specific concerning our appearance and our daily
living activities. God states that we are sanctified by Him who is the God of
peace. We are set apart from the unbelievers and in many situations, we are a
peculiar people as compared to worldly people.
God also wants our spirit,
soul, and body to be preserved without a spot or a blemish. God is basically
saying something similar to what was said in the previous verse. He is more
specific and telling us that we are to live a godly lifestyle until Jesus
Christ returns because He has set us apart from the rest of this world. We have
been bought back from the realm of the devil by what Jesus Christ accomplished.
Also note that this verse
mentions body, soul, and spirit as three separate entities. This clearly
illustrates that there is a difference and all three were either made or
created by God. [Please refer to the teaching "Body, Soul, and
Spirit" for a more detailed explanation of this subject.]
I have seen believers who
were great leaders and yet they ignored some of the things that God is saying
in these verses. If you need to smoke a cigarette or gamble or once in a while
use foul language, you had better learn that you should never appear evil in
any way to others who depend on you as an example to follow. None of us are
perfect and I myself have worked very hard to break every bad habit that I've
ever had in my life. Overall, I feel much healthier and much sharper in my
mind. There's no doubt that if we live a Godly lifestyle, that we have an
advantage over the unbeliever because the unbeliever's life is controlled by
Satan.
24.
Faithful is he who has called you, and he will keep his word.
This is a beautiful verse
in many ways. God is assuring us, His children, that He will be faithful to you
who He has chosen from before the very foundations of the world. He is stating
clearly and concisely that He will keep His Word to you. This is something that
we need to understand and never forget and that is that God cannot break
His Word. His Word will always stand true if no one in the world believed a
word of it. God is faithful who has called you and He will keep His Word. His
Word is filled with over 900 promises and He must fulfill every one that you
learn and apply in your life. That is really exciting when you think about it. God
must keep His Word. God is not a man that he should lie. What a comforting
verse this is. We should honestly commit it to memory.
25. My
brethren, pray for us.
We understand that Paul
wrote this epistle by revelation to the church of the Thessalonians. One of the
last directives that Paul gives is for the brethren to pray for him and the
other believers who are moving God's Word. Prayer is VERY IMPORTANT and
many times we do not realize this. We are to pray with and for each other. When
we are in fellowship and our prayers are in alignment with God's Word, God is
FAITHFUL and will answer our prayers. We just read that in the last verse.
Remember to have your need and want parallel/equal when you pray. You should need
what you are praying for as bad as you want it. You must BELIEVE that
God will answer your prayer and EXPECT it to be answered.
26. Salute
all our brethren with a holy kiss.
It has been a tradition
for many years that Christians either give each other a hug or a kiss on the
forehead when they meet. It was meant as an act of love and respect. That is
the simple meaning of this verse. I can remember clearly this gentle act of
affection in the fellowships I attended when there were about 100,000 of us who
stood for and held forth God's Word rightly divided. When our founder
passed on, very many went separate ways and were deceived into practicing
unsound doctrine and watering down God's Word. My wife and I stood our
ground and continued to teach God's Word in all its magnificence and ACCURACY
as we were once taught. We will continue to teach you God's perfect Word
verbatim as I was taught it 37 years ago. Men may come and go, but the Word of
God liveth and abideth forever. The devil himself has tried everything in his
power to shut down this web site AND HE HAS FAILED every time. There are
very few places where the Word is taught WITH MINUTE ACCURACY. This is one of
them.
27. I
adjure you by our Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.
God would like us to make
an oath and be under its obligation to see that this epistle is read and made
known to all the holy brethren. God wants every believer to be aware of what is
written so that he can be edified, blessed, encouraged, and strengthened by
God's mighty Words. God wants you, by your own free will, to MOVE HIS WORD. It
is the only thing that defeats the devil and his devil spirits. The rightly
divided Word of God has tremendous power spoken on the lips of believing
believers -- power that we can't even comprehend.
28. The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Finally, and in
conclusion, God tells us so lovingly that it is His Will for us to have the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ upon us. "Grace" means DIVINE FAVOR.
Can you imagine being a person who has God's 'divine favor' upon you?!! I can
tell you that this Word of God is so tremendous that sometimes you want to jump
in the air with joy. I don't see how you can be alive and not get excited at
the tremendous encouragement, comfort, and exhortation that God's Word
projects.
THE GRACE OR DIVINE FAVOR OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR
JESUS CHRIST,
WHO IS COMING BACK FOR US,
BE WITH YOU. TRULY.
~~~~~~~