Часть вторая нравственно-догматическая (главы 4 и 5)

Chapters 4 and 5 primarily contain moral lessons, in the midst of which the teaching about the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of all is inserted - 1 Thess. 4, 13-18, so, however, that it is also aimed at stimulating and strengthening moral alertness and sobriety - 1 Thess. 5, 1-11. From this, the content of these chapters consists of three sections: 1) first, lessons are given about chastity, brotherly love and hard work. One must think that these are the lessons that were caused by the moral state of Thessalonians, as it was recognized and told to the Apostle by Saint Timothy, 1 Thess. 4, 1-12. 2) Then comes a presentation of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ, with a moralizing extract from it, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5, 11. And here, rightly, the bewilderment that tormented the Thessalonians is resolved. 3) Finally, a list of moral lessons is made that determine the moral structure of Christian societies and every Christian at all times and in all places - 1 Thess. 5, 12-24. 1. Lessons on the special moral needs of Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:1–12) The Apostle Paul praised the Thessalonians. But since no one is perfect and no society can expect everyone to be as one, he writes life lessons for them, for those who are correct - to confirm them in good rules, and for those who are defective - to correct them. There is no doubt that these lessons are in accordance with what the Apostle Paul heard from Saint Timothy; but during the Apostle's speech they stand as a direct consequence of the previous one. He prayed that God would fill the hearts of Thessalonians more and more with love for each other and confirm them in chastity and purity. But how the formation of Christian life does not depend on grace alone, but is the fruit of a person’s own efforts; then he invites them to take care of the same thing themselves. And in the first place he puts a) an admonition about chastity, protecting it with the strongest motives. His deficiency was common to all pagans; Meanwhile, he blocked the entrance of God’s grace and put a decisive barrier to any success in the Christian life. That is why Saint Paul speaks about him at the beginning and with such tension. Or maybe this vice was revealed among the Thessalonians with great incontinence, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. Then the Apostle reminds b) of brotherly love, 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10; Finally, he appends lesson c) about diligence, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. a) Exhortation on chastity (1 Thessalonians 4:1–8) 1 Thessalonians 4:1. Therefore, brethren, we ask and pray for Christ Jesus, as He has received from us, as it is fitting for you to walk and please God, as you also walk, so that you may abound even more. “Even worse.” - He expressed his prayerful wishes before this. Now he invites them to be jealous of becoming worthy of the benefits they desire, which is why he begins the speech “the same wretchedness” - as a result of this, you should live this way and that way. "We ask and pray." He speaks not as one invested with power from above, but as an equal to them, their sincere well-wisher. He does not impose bonds, but begs, making it clear that, due to his strong love for them, their life, pleasing to God, is the greatest good for him. But when he adds: “about Christ Jesus,” then his word takes on binding force. He who believes in Christ the Lord and loves Him, reverently accepts everything offered in His name and unquestioningly submits to it. The Apostle speaks as one devoted to the Lord and having dedicated his life to Him, to them, also as devoted to the Lord and in conscience having accepted the obligation to live according to His will. In another place he expresses the same thing like this: “for Christ we pray” (2 Cor. 5:20). This is such an exhortation that no believing heart can resist. We beg you by Christ God, for Christ’s sake do this and that. By granting our request, you will not do what is pleasing to us, but to Christ Jesus the Lord. “We beseech you by God in Christ Jesus” (Chrysostom). - “Look, what humility! He does not consider himself worthy of faith, even in matters of exhortation, but he offers a word from Christ. By Christ, he says, I beg you” (Ecumenius). “As you have received from us” - as you were taught by us and learned from us. “Receive" refers not only to words, but also to deeds" (Chrysostom). So we say: accept and adopt. The Apostle says: how you received from us through the words of the sermon and how you adopted from our life. “How you (the Apostles) lived, this became a model for the Thessalonians” (Ecumenius). The Apostles immediately ordered the lives of converts everywhere, giving them the necessary rules, considering with the character of the people and their established customs, approving some and rejecting others, so that faith does not remain bare faith even for a minute, but immediately passes into life, changing it and transforming it in its spirit. The Apostle now reminds us of these orders. “How one should walk and please God.” “How one should walk” indicates the entire way of life” (Chrysostom). “Walk and please” - stand in a row, like inseparable companions. In fact, pleasing God is inseparable from walking right before Him, because the former is the goal of the latter. Walking - embraces private affairs, actions, behavior, "pleasing" - indicates what should be on the heart in this regard. That is the body of life, and this is its spirit. One is practice, the other is the driving force. Together we can say this: walk, pleasing God, always having God before your eyes, with all attention, prudence, reverence directing your steps, fearing to offend Him in any way, taking care to do everything in accordance with His will. The same here it is said that before - “to walk worthy of God” (1 Thess. 2:12). And this is where all the Apostles directed - a good life does not exist for itself, but to please God, and they themselves did everything “not just to please man, but to God who searches the hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4). “Walk as you will.” He tells them the same thing below: “For you do this” (1 Thessalonians 4:10), and further: “As you also do” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). He considered it necessary to inspire them with the already revealed beginnings of a good life, and that’s why he says so. Or he said that so that his lessons would not seem like a reproach for his fault. In every possible way, these words are in place and should not be omitted, as was done in the Russian translation. Besides the fact that they are read in the Sinaiticus and Vatican manuscripts, and in many others, without them: “let you abound,” will not entirely agree with the flow of speech. “May you be more abundant,” more and more may you succeed in the godly life you have begun, may you become more perfect day by day. Christians do not tend to stand in one place, but to ascend higher and higher, “from strength to strength” (Ps. 83:8). In their meaning they are “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14), “created in Christ Jesus for good works... that they may walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). And Christian life is of such a kind that it cannot be suddenly absorbed and quickly expressed in deeds. She gradually fills the heart until, having transformed it all according to her spirit, she makes it an inexhaustible source of godly deeds. The way to this is to comply with private instructions. From skill, cordial goodwill is formed in them as a permanent character of the face. Whoever reaches this point no longer needs instructions and orders. Saint Chrysostom says: “Let you be abundant,” that is, so that, as your zeal increases, you do not stop at fulfilling the commandments, but rise higher and higher. In the previous chapter he praises the firmness of their faith, and here he teaches them to succeed in a virtuous life. Success consists in doing more than what the commandments and regulations require, for then everything is done not under compulsion from a mentor, but according to one’s own free will.” 1 Sol.4:2. We know what the Lord Jesus commanded you. “We know” - there is no need to repeat, you know. So recently everything was taught to you, how you should organize your life in the spirit of the faith of Christ, that it is unnecessary to explain it again. “He left his commandments written in their memory” (Ecumenius). “By the Lord Jesus” is the same as “about the name of the Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 3:6), or the name “Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:10). From His face, by His power given to us. For He chose us and sent us, indicating what to preach and legislate, and constantly directing. We give commands not from ourselves, but from the Lord Himself. He is the lawgiver, and we are the heralds of His laws. He brings everything up to God, so that he can invest his word with unearthly authority and plant unquestioning obedience to Him in our hearts. These two verses express the general law of Christian life. Live as commanded, keeping in mind only pleasing God, and do not stand still, but become more and more successful. Then private rules are written, but not according to an abstract system, but according to what was required for Thessaloniki. 1 Sol.4:3. This is the will of God, your holiness, keep yourself from fornication. “Bo” - for. The proof is based on what was said before, that the commands given to them were given on behalf of the Lord. As it were: for what I insisted on when I was with you, and what I will now remind you of, is not my advice, but the direct will of God. The words: “This is the will of God” - or stand as a title: for this is the will of God - holiness and so on. In this case, they will briefly express the already stated general law; or refer directly to holiness. In this case, they elevate the commandment of purity to the special exclusive will of God, as it were: God demands nothing more from you than holiness - purity. This last seems to be what the Apostle had in mind. The obligation to cleanliness is strained, due to the difficulty of weaning off uncleanness, which was so common in paganism that it was not even considered a sin. The damage to man's fallen nature has most of all made man susceptible to carnal sins. The pagans indulged in fornication; Among them, the Thessalonians are perhaps more open, if not more so than others. Why did the Apostle speak against him more orally, and now in writing puts instructions about this in the first place and sanctifies it by the will of God. Saint Chrysostom says with this word: “Notice that he never hints at anything else as often as he does this. And in another place, writing, he commands, “Have peace and holiness with everyone, and no one else will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). And he said to Timothy: “Keep yourself pure” (1 Tim. 5:22). And we will find this in many places, both in the letter to the Romans and in all the other letters. And truly, this evil is harmful to everyone.” The ecumenium adds: “In each epistle the word about chastity offers a lot. For he knew that there is no passion more unbridled, more difficult to correct.” “Holiness” - αγιασμος - sometimes means the sanctifying action of God’s grace in the sacraments (1 Pet. 1:2); sometimes the purifying action of grace, acceptable by freedom, as moral sanctification, cleansing, correction of the soul (1 Cor. 1:30); sometimes a state of moral purity, an established disposition to live purely and blamelessly according to all the commandments God: “Be holy, as I am holy,” the Lord demands (1 Pet. 1:16). In the present case, obviously, the Apostle understands holiness in the latter sense, and moreover in relation to the purity of soul and body from lustful passion, as shown by the following words: “keep yourself from fornication,” which in the course of speech are a direct explanation of the word: “holiness.” General moral purity can only be understood in this text on the basis that without it it is impossible to form and maintain purity from lustful passion, or chastity, in its full meaning and power. “Keep yourself from fornication” - they explain holiness. “He said that the will of God requires holiness, then he makes it known what virtue he calls holiness” (Theodoret). “Keep for yourself”, in Greek, to abstain, to keep yourself from something, to withdraw. By fornication he means all kinds of carnal uncleanness. “There are many types of outrage, many varied and varied lusty pleasures, which are unbearable to even talk about. (All of them are cut off with one word: “keep yourself from fornication”) (Chrysostom). 1 Thessalonians 4:4–5. And lead each one from you to acquire his vessel in holiness and honor, and not in lustful passion, like the pagans who do not know God. The meaning of the text depends on how you understand the word: “vessel.” And every person, according to Scripture, is either a vessel of God’s mercy or a vessel of wrath (Rom. 9:22–23). And the body is called a “mean vessel” (2 Cor. 4:7). And a wife is “the weakest vessel” (1 Pet. 3:7). The first meaning, obviously, is not applicable here. Of the last two, some take one, others another meaning. And this has been since the time of Theodoret, who writes: “Others interpret “one’s vessel” as follows: “one’s own wife.” From the ancients, Blessed Augustine understood this word in this way, pointing out in the words of the Apostle the lesson - not only not to touch other people’s wives, but also to treat one’s own honestly and sacredly. should give an advantage. But even based on the letter, one cannot adhere to the opinion that the wife is meant here, for some of the words used here by the Apostle are not entirely conveniently applied to the wife. Blessed Theodoret, having said that some by a vessel mean a wife, adds: “But I think that the Apostle calls everyone’s body a vessel, because he gives the law not only to those living in marriage,” “but also offers a lesson to the celibate and widowed,” adds Ecumenius. Saint Chrysostom, Damascus and Theophylact had the same idea. The body is called a vessel either as a container for the soul and, together with the soul, gifts of grace (2 Cor. 4:7), or as an instrument for borrowing what is needed from the outside and for revealing one’s inner self outside. Let the body be pure as an instrument to purely perform godly deeds; let it be as pure as the container, for an unclean vessel spoils even pure wine. May everything of a Christian be pure, from the thoughts and feelings of the soul to the last movements and irritations of the body - and may his life - bodily, mental and spiritual - be united and flow purely, just as the light-transparent water of a pure source flows purely, flowing through clean places. “Lead - acquire.” To acquire is to appropriate, use and simply have. The Apostle inspires - to own the body, use it and keep it in holiness and purity. He who gives himself over to fornication gives over his body to sin; whoever stops this sin redeems him from this captivity, takes possession of it again and begins to use it for his own purposes, and not according to the attraction of lust. Saint Chrysostom writes: “When the vessel (body) is clean, we own it and it remains in holiness, but when it is unclean, then sin owns it. For then he does not do what we want, but what sin commands.” Such mastery of the body requires labor, achievement, and training of the body. Why does the Apostle write: “lead - acquire.” To lead, not in the sense of theoretical knowledge, but in the sense of active experience, is to be able to control the body. “Consequently, one must study, and a lot, so as not to indulge in uncleanness” (Chrysostom). “Consequently, chastity requires training and achievement” (Ecumenius). This is a feat not only for those who are celibate, but also for those living in marriage. This passion is very disorderly and tactless. "In holiness and honor". The shrine here is the same as the higher holiness, that is, purity. But if we take into account the words of the Apostle about the body in other places, then we can see a lesson here - to hold the body as a sanctuary of the Spirit of God, to reverently treat it as the church of God. “Do you not know,” he writes to the Corinthians, “that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit living in you?” (1 Cor. 6:19). And again: “Don’t you know that you are the church of God and the Spirit of God lives in you”? As a result, he instructs them, as “the churches of the living God, not to touch uncleanness” (2 Cor. 6:16-17), threatening that “whoever corrupts the church of God, God will corrupt him” (1 Cor. 3:17). The meaning of the word “in honor” will also fit into this. He maintains his body in honor who does not allow himself to fall into the “passion of dishonor” (Rom. 1:26). Prodigal deeds are primarily shameful deeds. Whoever indulges in them covers his forehead with shame. “And not in lustful passion.” It is necessary to distinguish manifestations of illegality in this passion. Carnal movements are natural in the body and there is no sin in them. The sin is how a person treats them with his freedom and conscience. He who delights in these movements, arbitrarily excites them and is ready to satisfy them, lusts. Whoever, by frequent satisfaction of this lust, forms in himself an inclination to enjoy it, he suffers from lustful passion, which burdens, torments and torments him tyrannically. In this state, it takes possession of the whole person, and he begins to spend his life only among such orders as can nourish and delight her. For the sweetness of satisfaction. The Apostle Paul, in his instructions, condemns the entire area of ​​​​this passion, starting with the first pleasures of the movements of the flesh and embracing the entire space of deeds, skills and orders in which it rules. Saint Chrysostom writes: “Here the Apostle shows the way how one should be chaste, namely, cutting off lustful passions,” that is, its first movements, urges and attractions. Blessed Theophylact adds: “The Apostle calls passion lust everything that kindles lust: pleasures, entertainment, idleness, pomp, etc. And you must abstain from all this, which incites lust, if you want to be chaste.” According to its destructive effects on the soul and body, this passion for the Apostle is “the lust of evil” (Col. 3:5), and because of its humiliation of rational creatures, “the passion of dishonor” (Rom. 1:26). “Like the pagans who do not know God.” It is reliably known that in those days the Romans and Greeks indulged openly in all the unbridledness of this passion. And now people and peoples who return to pagan views on life are predominantly enslaved to this passion. To explain why the pagans and all those who imitate them are like this, the Apostle points to the ignorance of God. The ignorance of God here is of course not mental, but mainly heartfelt and conscientious. In the latter case, and with good theoretical knowledge, the fear of God leaves the heart, and with it the only strong guardian of purity. What good can you expect from something like this? He who does not remember God and does not have the fear of God, already indulges in shameful deeds without restraint, “the pagans are like that because they do not anticipate future punishment” (Chrysostom). “Not knowing God, they do not expect proper reward for their deeds, and do everything only for their own pleasure” (Ecumenius). By placing those who indulge in lustful passions along with the pagans who do not know God, the Apostle gives a strong incentive to abstinence to Christians who have loved Christianity and have known its great value. Christians, from the moment they believed, separated themselves from the pagans both in their concepts and in their behavior. They honored themselves by the fact that they were not what they were before. The danger of returning to the old ways greatly aroused in them the energy to eliminate such matters and cases. This is what the Apostle points out to them. “This is also a powerful thing to turn away from fornication, because the fornicator is placed alongside those who do not know God” (Damascene). “The Apostle says, as it were: you have been freed from error, you have come to know the real God; do not imitate those who live in the darkness of ignorance and do not be enslaved by the passion of lust” (Theodoret). 1 Sol.4:6. And do not transgress and take covetousness from your brother’s property: the Lord is the avenger of all these, just as I came to you before and testified. According to Saint Chrysostom, Blessed Theodoret, Saint Damascus, Ecumenius, Theophylact and many other interpreters, the Apostle here continues the instruction on curbing lustful passion, and in the words: “do not transgress and do not covet” they see a lesson not to touch other people’s wives. The flow of speech also forces one to hold the same opinion. The next verse, the seventh, says that God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. And this is put as the basis for what is said in verse six, therefore, in both verses the thought is the same - a warning against uncleanness, the same as in the entire section - 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8. “Do not transgress and do not covet” - consists in accordance with: “keep yourselves from fornication” and with: “lead your vessel to acquire holy things,” and together with them they outline the entire circle of fornication prohibited by the Apostle. “Do not transgress” - the limits set by law in this regard, “do not extort your brother,” do not take possession of his property by attracting his wife to you. Saint Chrysostom writes: “Before the Apostle spoke about fornication in general, but here he speaks about adultery. One should not commit fornication either with other people's wives or with unmarried women. "Do not transgress"; for God gave each a wife and set the limit of nature, namely, copulation with one. Therefore, copulation with another is already a crime, robbery and extortion, even more terrible than any robbery, for we do not grieve so much when our money is stolen as when our marriage is stolen.” Theodoret supplements this speech: “The Apostle here called adultery covetousness, because he who does not belong to him touches the one who undermines the marital consent of others and steals the bed given to another. He strengthened the accusation by making it clear that the one being offended was a brother.” Why did the Apostle not use direct speech, says Saint Damascus: “With a euphonious word he covertly signified adultery, calling it the extortion of a brother.” “The Lord is the avenger of all.” It’s true that the Thessalonians were weak on this side. Why does the Apostle expose strong and formidable incentives to curb them. That’s why, of course, he writes so much to them about this subject. God is the avenger for all iniquities, but especially for prodigal deeds, because through them most of all man degrades the image of God, according to whom he was created. Now, however, the Apostle only reminds, and having been with them, he explained this to them at length and “testified” with certification that it was so, that this crime was very great, disgusting before God, humiliating and destructive for man. Saint Chrysostom expresses the Apostle’s thought as follows: “First he begged, made him blush, saying: “like the pagans”; then, through arguments, he showed the vileness of this, using the expression: “to covet a brother’s property”; then he added the main thing: “the Lord is the avenger.” By doing this, we are not left without punishment and do not experience such pleasure that would be equal to the torment that awaits us." The Apostle here “indicates punishment to curb lawlessness, opposing fear” (Theodoret). With the words: “about all these,” the Apostle makes it clear that God is the avenger not for adultery alone, but for all deeds of immorality, as it were: “Do not think that I am saying this only about the wives of the brethren. No, and about the wives of other people, and about unmarried ones, and about common ones. God takes revenge for mixing with all of them” (Theodoret). 1 Sol.4:7. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. "God does not call". We are called to the confession of the Gospel, to faith in Christ, in Christianity. Saying: “us”, he puts himself in line with Thessalonians and all Christians. After threats, he reminds of the spirit of Christianity. This is the name of Christians, according to the eternal purpose, to be pure. “For - for” - indicates the reason why God is an avenger, especially for prodigal deeds. Because they are directly opposed to the calling of God and do not so much upset the proper relationship towards the brethren and towards themselves as they offend God Himself. “God will punish you,” says Saint Chrysostom, “not because to avenge your brother, but because you have offended God Himself. He called you, and you insulted the one who called.” This is why Christianity begins with a vow of purity and the rejection of lustful deeds. The pagans, upon receiving baptism, pledged to leave them and fall in love with chastity. Under this condition, they are given from God the grace of the Holy Spirit, which requires from the recipient that the vessel of his nature be clean. “The devil,” writes Blessed Theodoret, “filled the dogmas of non-existent gods with lewdness, encouraging people to take this path (that is, lewdness); The true God commands us to deviate from this path and orders us to walk the path of chastity. Christians differed sharply from the pagans in this respect, so that the latter were amazed that they “do not agree” with them “into the same fornication” (1 Pet. 4:4). 1 Sol.4:8. Likewise, when you sweep away, you are not sweeping away a person, but God, who gave His Holy Spirit in us. To sweep aside is to throw away with contempt, not to give due attention and respect, to neglect. The Apostle says that whoever neglects this commandment and is not careful about its exact fulfillment does not show disrespect and contempt to man, but to God Himself. Not “a man with” - either to a brother whose wife he takes possession of, or to the Apostle who gave the commandment about purity. In the first case, he despises God because God called him to purity, and he indulges in impurity; God says: I am the avenger of those, and he is his. Consequently, it puts the threat of God and God Himself into nothing. In the second, because the Apostles did not give their own commandments, but God’s; as a result, whoever does not obey them disobeys God Himself: “dismiss you, Me is swept away; reject Me, He who sent Me will be swept away,” says the Lord (Luke 10:16). St. Chrysostom shows both thoughts. “God takes revenge,” he says, not on the persons you have offended, but on Himself. You have defiled yourself - you have insulted God. Although the harlot has no husband, yet God will take vengeance on you, since He will avenge Himself. By doing this (adultery), you show contempt not so much for a person as for God. This is evident from the fact that you at least hide it from your husband, but don’t even think about God, Who sees. Tell me, if the king awarded someone the scarlet robe and many other honors, and he, having received an order to live in accordance with his rank, went and desecrated himself with some woman, who would he insult - the woman or the king who honored him with the reward? “He gave His Holy Spirit in us.” “In us” - to us. To whom? – Or the Apostles, who did not speak on their own, but were taught by the Holy Spirit. “You will not be the ones who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you,” said the Lord to the Apostles (Matthew 10:20). Why, whoever resists them sins not against men, but against God, like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:4). In this sense, the above words will contain an explanation of why he who rejects the commandment of chastity does not reject a person, but God; or for us - all Christians, who, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit and having Him living within themselves, must rest in Him and not offend Him (Eph. 4:30). He is offended most of all by uncleanness. Why is it that another time the Apostle, as an incentive to purity, especially points out that Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit living in them (1 Cor. 6:19). He who indulges in fornication despises, insults and expels this heavenly guest of his. Ecumenius writes: “God gave us the Holy Spirit, but we cast Him out with uncleanness. How then do we not offend both the giver and the given?” – In this sense, the above words give Christians the strongest incentive to keep themselves pure. b) About brotherly love (1 Thessalonians 4:9–10) 1 Sol.4:9. You do not demand brotherly love, but let it be written to you; For you yourselves are taught by God, even one another. The brothers, whose love is mentioned here, are Christians, as can be seen from the following verse (1 Sol. 4:10). “He does not speak of love for everyone, but of love for the brethren” (Chrysostom). And, moreover, about love, not as a feeling, but as a brotherly loving activity: “The Apostle here indicated generosity in monetary donations” (Theodoret). If this kind of deed immediately began to characterize the Thessalonians, it is clear how fully they accepted the spirit of Christianity. All Christians with the acceptance of the Spirit of grace become one. Uniting in spirit, they communicate in mutual charity, directing it mainly to the poor. With all this, however, love for the brethren is commanded to Christians everywhere in the epistles (Rom. 12:10; Heb. 13:1; 1 Pet. 1:22), either as a reminder or as a guide in how to fulfill it. “You don’t demand, but it’s written.” The apostles measured their words with the needs of those who had to read their epistles. They wrote not to say more, but to satisfy the spiritual needs of their students. In saying this, the Apostle used an image of expression that was encouraging and exciting for the Thessalonians. It not only softens the severity of the moral teaching, but also excites energy and imposes a certain obligation - to stand in what was begun. Saint Chrysostom writes: “What does it mean that the Apostle puts the foundation of all virtue – love – aside, as it were, saying: there is no need to write about that. This stems from great prudence and spiritual wisdom. Through this, he achieves two goals: firstly, he shows that this virtue is so necessary that there is no need to teach it, for everyone knows what is of particular importance to everyone; secondly, expressing himself in this way, he admonishes them more than even if he addressed them directly with edification. For, assuming that they lead a righteous life, even if they did not live like that, and therefore not encouraging them to do so, he rather leads them to such a life. Of course, if there was no need to write, then he should have been silent and not said anything, but now, by saying that there was no need to write, he did more than if he had said that it was necessary.” Ecumenius somewhat complements this thought: “Saying that they are good in this (brotherly love), he encourages them to do it, even if they are faulty, in order to maintain such an opinion and such glory about themselves.” "Teach by God". When and how? – Along with receiving the Spirit of grace. The Holy Spirit, given to Christians, pours out love into their hearts (Rom. 5.5). This Spirit inspires not only the feeling of love, but also the ability to show love. He arouses desires corresponding to “suggestions of feeling, gives incentives to them, indicates means and inspires with moral force. The Apostle says, as it were: The Holy Spirit is in you, and He teaches you and instructs you to love one another. That's how you love; love has become a natural feeling for you. - And there is nothing to learn. Saint John writes about this inner teaching from the Spirit as the fruit of anointing (1 John 2:27). Where God teaches, man be silent. “Look at the honor he gives them, saying that God Himself teaches them this. You don’t need, he says, to learn from a person. The prophet speaks about this: and all your sons are taught by God (Is. 54:13). This serves as a strong incentive to fulfill the duty of love” (Chrysostom). 1 Thessalonians 4:10. For do this to all the brethren in all Macedonia. We pray you, brothers, to be even more abundant. “Do.” That it is definitely not necessary to write to them about brotherly love, as those who were taught this from God, is shown by the deeds of love for the brethren in Macedonia. Raising their deeds to God as the source, he sanctifies them, and gives them an incentive to continue. The Thessalonians, it is true, were good-willed by their natural disposition. Being with them and giving lessons to them personally, the Apostle gave a godly direction to this natural disposition. By the acceptance of grace, which sanctified and transformed nature, and it became from God. “Yes, you are more comfortable with excesses.” You know and do. There is no point in teaching you how to live and giving you incentives to do so. All that remains is to wish you and ask you to succeed more and more in what you started. The purpose of the speech is to remind us of the need to ascend higher and higher in the perfection of brotherly love. That this reminder was not in vain, the Apostle testified about this later, writing to the Corinthians, where he says that they appeared “willingly more than might,” not only offering, but also begging to receive grace and fellowship from them, and this is not only to the Macedonians, but to the saints, Christians who lived in Judea and Jerusalem. The Apostle generates such a disposition among them from the fact that they betrayed themselves They were ready to give everything they had to the brethren, placing their fate in the hands of God, believing that He who commanded them to act in this way would not leave them to provide for themselves (2 Cor. 8:3-5). c) About hard work (1 Thessalonians 4:11–12) 1 Sol.4:11. And kindly remain silent, and do your own work, and do with your own hands, as you are commanded. Saint Paul mentioned brotherly love as if in passing, just to tell them: prosper in it more and more. Now he continues his speech again about why the Thessalonians had defective faces. The Apostle found out that some of them were restless and loved to wander around the market places: silence and homesteadiness are prescribed for such; others did not take care of their own affairs: he commands such to do their own; others did not want to work - they are idle and eat other people's things, and not only cannot help others: they - “do it with their own hands.” That such persons were definitely among the Thessalonians is evident from the second letter to them, where the Apostle writes: “We hear of some who walk disorderly among you, doing nothing, but going around craftily. We forbid such people and pray in our Lord Jesus Christ, that they who work in silence may eat their own bread” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-12). Whatever shortcomings were exposed in the second epistle, I wrote rules of conduct against those in the first, in order to avoid the need to expose them later. But just as bad things are not suddenly corrected, reproof turned out to be necessary. Although all this determined only the external behavior of Christians, the Apostle strongly insists on correctness in this too. For when the external is faulty, it is very doubtful that the internal will also be in good order. Why does he pray for them - “to be kindly diligent”, to be jealous about it with all zeal (compare: Rom. 15:20; 2 Cor. 5:9), φιλοτιμεισθαι, to set it as an honor for themselves, as an honor to achieve the proposed behavior. “Be silent” - not to run into the desert into silence, but to avoid rumors, noise, turmoil, and not only not to excite them, but also not to participate in them - to stay at home in order to avoid unpleasant collisions with anyone, and in general to show a quiet, calm, peaceful disposition. “Do your own thing” - do only what concerns everyone at home and in external relations, which constitutes his duty and obligation according to his position. There is a moral weakness, due to which some, even without being idle for a minute, are always busy only with other things, while neglecting their own. If everyone only conducted his affairs correctly, according to conscience and with the fear of God, there would be more contentment, happiness and order among people. “Do with your own hands” - to work, to have such handicrafts, occupations and bodily labor with which you can earn a living for yourself, not live at someone else’s expense, but eat your own bread by the sweat of your brow, and not abuse the charity of others. Blessed Theophylact writes: “It happened that some generously gave what they needed to those in need, and those, due to their generosity, neglected to do their work. And the Apostle rightly praised some, and gave useful advice to others.” Saint Chrysostom expresses his thought in more detail: “Here it makes it clear how many evils are the cause of idleness, and, on the contrary, how many benefits hard work brings. The duty of love to one's neighbors is not to receive from them, but to give to them. And this depends on hard work, so as not to live in idleness, but by working, to give to others; for it is said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Their poverty came from the plunder of their estates. If he commands those whose property was plundered for Christ to eat through labor, then how much more to others.” “As I commanded.” The command is not only to work, but also to mind your own affairs and lead a peaceful life. But if he commanded, it means that those shortcomings were evident among the Thessalonians, so the Apostle noticed them immediately and reprimanded them when he was with them and personally taught them. 1 Sol.4:12. Yes, walk decently towards those outside, and demand nothing of the kind. The purpose of the proposed behavior is to walk gracefully towards outsiders. The outsiders are not Christians, then pagans and Jews. The church is the house of God. Those who are not in it are outside it, or external. The Apostle commands us to behave decently among them - in relation to them, so that the visible behavior of Christians is pure, bright, generally approving, and no one can say anything bad about them. Thus, it is obligatory for Christians to be a visible example for the lives of all outsiders, to be luminaries for them. “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven,” commanded the Lord in the person of the Apostles to all Christians (Matthew 5:16). Walking decently before outsiders is defined by the Apostle by all the rules proposed before this; here he seems to bring them all together, adding: “and you demand nothing,” so as not to ask anyone for anything, not to bother anyone with your needs. “The Apostle interpreted the words: “let you walk gracefully toward those outside”, adding: “and you demand nothing more.” It is a shame, he says, to live in inaction, not to earn what you need by your own labor, but to love a beggarly life and expect the generosity of others” (Theodoret). Saint Chrysostom writes: “He did not say: do not disgrace yourself by begging; however, he hinted at this, although he used a condescending way of expression, so as to make them feel (how indecent it was) and not to upset them too much. For if our brethren are tempted by such things, then those from outside, who seek a thousand accusations and reproaches, are all the more tempted when they see that a healthy person, who can feed himself, asks for alms and needs the help of others. Because by this “the name of God is blasphemed” (Rom. 2:24). But he didn’t show anything like that, but only what could especially touch them, namely indecency.” 2. The doctrine of the second coming of Christ with its moral application (1 Thess. 4–5:11) There is nothing so powerful to calm down someone who lives in trouble and to confirm the rightness of someone who walks in good order, as the conviction that the Lord will come again in glory - to reward everyone according to his deeds. This, perhaps, served as the motivation for the Apostle, why he, having a need for other reasons to write about this subject of Christian belief, inserted the teaching about it into the midst of moral lessons that were to be offered to the Thessalonians. This, of course, is the reason that he did not leave this teaching as a mere mental idea, but immediately introduced it into the movement of moral Christian life, indicating in it an incentive for vigilance and sobriety, these levers of self-government in those who are zealous to please God by excelling in virtues. a) The doctrine of the second coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18) It is assumed that the Thessalonians, having heard the Apostle preach about the second coming of the Lord, imagined that it would certainly take place within the limits of their lives and that only those who would be alive at that moment would be partakers of its benefits. From this thought arose the question: what will happen to the dead, and from not knowing how to solve it, anxiety about their fate, and at the same time about one’s own, because anyone could die earlier. The Apostle writes in relation to this: the Lord will come, but His kingdom will not be on earth. He will come down from heaven; Both the living and the dead, who for this purpose are resurrected first, will be caught up to meet Him - and there they will always abide with the Lord. This clarified the side of the second coming that remained dark for the Thessalonians and dispelled any concern about the dead. But the coming itself was not presented in a complete picture, which the Apostle did not mean; Only two moments of it are indicated here - the beginning and the end. The Apostle did not touch upon the middle of the proceedings of the court. And what was said was enough to calm those who were worried. 1 Sol.4:13. I do not want you, brothers, not to know about the dead, so that you do not grieve, like others who have no hope. “I do not want not to lead” is a usual turn of phrase for St. Paul when he wants to draw the special attention of his readers to any subject, whether he is discussing it again or just reminding him. “I don’t want to lead”; Therefore, I want you to know, I want to teach you an accurate concept of the situation of the dead for your peace of mind. During his stay with them, he did not have time to teach them everything about this subject. Now he completes what was missing, which confused the Thessalonians. Let us clarify matters. The Apostle wants to give them consolation. “Do not talk about the dead”; regarding the dead, they are called here (from Greek) “dead,” as it is proper to call them when writing to believers in the resurrection, about which speech begins here. By the dead, in the course of his speech, the Apostle here means believers, Christians, although, of course, he taught everywhere that all people - not only Christians, but also Jews and pagans - are not only immortal in soul, but have the ability to be resurrected with the body in order to accept due retribution for everything that they have done to the body, whether good or evil (2 Cor. 5:10). We are not talking about everyone here, but only about believers, because others did not care in this case. "Don't mourn." The desire to make the Thessalonians graciously endure the death of loved ones made the Apostle write. His goal is to eliminate the immoderate sorrow for the dead, into which the Thessalonians were plunged by ignorance of how the dead would become partakers of eternal bliss in Christ. He seems to be saying: I will explain this - and you will have nothing to grieve. “For,” as Chrysostom says, “many objects plunge us into sorrow simply because we do not know them, but when we know them well, we put aside sorrow.” Ignorance, or unbelief, about the resurrection is not visible among the Thessalonians; and the Apostle “speaks to them this way, not because they did not believe in the resurrection, but because, despite this, they mourned the dead” (Chrysostom). “Like others who have no hope.” These others - and some of them were Jews, because among them the Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead - and all the pagans, who had no idea about the resurrection, cluttered the afterlife itself with ugly dreams, which gave many reasons to completely reject immortality. Why does the Apostle call them “having no hope” (Eph. 2:12). Their writers say: hopes are the lot of the living, but the dead are hopeless (Theocritus). The sun sets and rises; for us, if one day the ray of life fades, we must sleep soundly in eternal night (Catulus). No one has ever returned from those who were once seized by the cold pause of life (Lucretius). – It is common for such people to mourn the dead, “because all the dead are nothing to them” (Chrysostom). Christians who yearn for a better way of life after death should not grieve, but rather rejoice over those who are departing, because they have completed their course and are going to receive the prepared crown (2 Tim. 4:8). What is the Apostle’s thought in this comparison: “like others”? Does he want to eliminate all sorrow, saying: so that you do not grieve at all, as those who have no hope grieve; or does he only say: do not grieve to the same extent and in such a Spirit as those who grieve? Blessed Theodoret accepts the latter: “The Apostle does not at all forbid sorrow, but rejects the immoderation of sorrow and consoles us with the hope of resurrection. For those who do not have this hope are excusable to indulge in moderate sadness. That is why he did not say: about the dead, but about those who have fallen asleep, concluding consolation in the very name: for sleep follows awakening.” Saint Chrysostom insists on the first: “It is common for those who have no hope to grieve for the dead. And truly, the soul, completely unaware of the resurrection and considering this death to be death (that is, destruction), naturally grieves for the dead as if they were lost, laments and cries inconsolably; and you, who long for resurrection, why are you crying?” According to the spirit of Christian faith and hope, the latter is more appropriate for Christians; for for them death has lost its sting. And whoever clearly contemplates with conviction what awaits Christians after death will not cry for the dead. The first is to be more kind to our infirmities. You can do this: start with moderate grief and ascend to complacency in the face of death, seeing off the dead as one sees off those leaving for another country for a better life. 1 Sol.4:14. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so God will also bring those who died in Jesus with Him. Grief for the dead is caused, firstly, by separation from them, and secondly, by the uncertainty of what will happen to them. The Apostle exemplifies the first cause of sorrow in this verse, saying that when the Lord appears, God will bring the dead again into fellowship with us; the second - in the following verses, saying that they, having been resurrected, will be caught up together with the living in the clouds to meet the Lord and will always be with Him there. The Apostle’s goal in this verse is not to prove the resurrection of the dead, but only to bring to mind the whole truth and present it more clearly, so that it comes out by itself: so why should you grieve? – He clarifies and revives this truth in the consciousness by placing it in connection with the resurrection of the Lord and by briefly saying it, like lightning, illuminates the entire area of ​​life and death. The resurrection of the dead is not only here, but everywhere, according to Saint Paul, depending on the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:12–23, 6:14; 2 Cor. 4:14). The risen Christ is the Firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:20). His resurrection is the deposit of the resurrection of all. Those who are contained in the fear of death through faith in the Risen Lord arise to the hope of resurrection and eternal life. “If Christ’s resurrection seems to us worthy of faith, then we cannot help but believe that we too will receive the resurrection, because the mystery of the incarnation is being built for us” (Theodoret). But the resurrection of Christ is not only the basis of faith in the resurrection of all, but also the reason for the resurrection itself. For Christ the Lord and all who believe in Him constitute one body, livingly united. Where the head is, there are the members; The head has risen, He will draw the members to Himself. “Only everyone in his own order: Christ is the firstfruits, then he who believed in Christ at His coming” (1 Cor. 15:23). “He raised all people in His flesh (laid the foundation for this resurrection), which is why He is called “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18)” (Damascene). It was not in vain that Saint Paul mentioned the death of the Lord. His death is part of hope. He died for our sins, which are cleansed by faith in His death on the cross. This colors faith in the future life with good hopes. This life is darkened by the fear of punishment for sins; the death of the Lord takes away this fear. The death of the Lord is not accidental, but necessary, just like the resurrection. In both ways, the spirit is tuned to hope and stands in it. After the words: “if we believe,” one would expect: we must believe that God and so on. But Saint Paul says directly: so “God will bring with him those who died in Jesus.” Due to his undoubted confidence in this, he does not say that we should believe or hope, but puts forward the very thing that is hoped and believed. He needed to deduce not faith from faith, but deeds from deeds. The Lord Jesus died and rose again; Those who believed in Him died and will rise again. But he says about the Lord that He “died and rose again” - Himself: He died by His will and rose again by His power; believers will be resurrected by the power of God. That is why he says: “So God will bring” them. “He will bring” - or into the circle of the living: they are not there now, leave us, and then God will bring them to us again and we will see each other. “The words: “he will bring with Him,” make it clear that they will be gathered from many places” (Chrysostom). Or - he will bring them into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus, so that they will be with Him where He is, as partakers of the benefits He acquired for those who believe in Him by His death and resurrection. Comparing this word with the previous one, one cannot help but see that it stands instead of - will resurrect; will lead through resurrection, or by resurrecting first. “He will lead either before His face, or to the resurrection” (Ecumenius). Explaining this expression, our ancient interpreters, following Saint Chrysostom, connect the words δια ` Ιησου - connect either with “died”, in the sense: those who died in Jesus, that is, in faith in Jesus Christ, - or with “will lead”, in the thought that God will bring the dead to life with the body through Jesus Christ, for “The Son is the author of the resurrection and that that we will see the Father” (Ecumenius); “He will be the mediator of the resurrection of the dead and will present them before the face of the Father” (Theophylact). Saint Chrysostom, having given this twofold explanation, seems to give preference to the first, for, bypassing the latter, he focuses only on the first, saying: “How do the faithful die in Jesus? “Obviously, having Christ in you.” – It is more consistent with the structure of speech in this text, and has a similar expression below, in 1 Thess. 4:16: “dead in Christ.” The words of the Apostle that God will bring those who have died in Christ give rise to the question: what will happen to those who have died not in Jesus, or to those who do not believe? - Ecumenius solves it this way: “Well, who will say, won’t there be a general resurrection, as if unbelievers will not be resurrected? - No, not that, - but that not everyone will be brought. For to be brought means to be caught up in the clouds and brought before the face of the Judge. The faithful, who do not falsely bear this name, will be caught up into the clouds to meet Christ, and the unfaithful will wait for His arrival, not being worthy to meet Him.” He borrowed this idea from Saint Chrysostom, who writes: “The Apostle speaks here not only about the resurrection, but about the resurrection and the honor with which believers will be surrounded in a state of glorification. In the resurrection, he says, everyone will participate, but not everyone will participate in glory, but only those who have fallen asleep in Christ. And since he wants to console them, he consoles them not only by talking about the resurrection, for they already knew about it, but also about the great honor and speed with which the resurrection will follow.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, for we who are alive and left behind at the coming of the Lord are not imams before the dead. The Apostle said that those who have died in Christ will be brought back into the circle of life with the body - in mutual communication with everyone, now he shows how this will happen, 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Thess. 4:16. But, explaining this, it reveals new features in the phenomena of the last days, which were hitherto unknown. The Lord said that in due time the chosen ones would be gathered from all over the world to live blissfully with Him (Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27), but what would happen to those whom the second coming of the Lord would find alive was not said anywhere. The Apostle now reveals this, speaking not on his own behalf, but on behalf of the Lord with His words: “For we say this to you by the word of the Lord,” in a word heard from the Lord, we speak as the Lord commanded. What is this word of the Lord? – Some believe that this is the same word with which the Lord Himself described His second coming, as it appears in the Gospel. But it says nothing about the circumstances that the Apostle writes about here. Others - by the word of the Lord they mean a word that came from the Lord, but was not preserved in the Gospel, like: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). This, of course, could have stopped there if it had not been known from the lips of the Apostle himself that he received direct revelations from the Lord (1 Cor. 11:23; 2 Cor. 12:1; Gal. 1:12). This latter should be recognized as the only correct interpretation of the words: “the word of the Lord.” And this is all the more necessary because the Apostle himself points to a circumstance related to this event as a revelation. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: for we will not all sleep, but we will all change” (1 Cor. 15:51). How else can you know a secret if not by revelation?! Saint Chrysostom writes: “Intending to say something extraordinary, he added a certificate: we speak not on our own, but having learned from Christ. The prophets, wanting to show the authenticity of what they intended to talk about, first of all say something else: “the vision that Isaiah saw” (Is. 13:1); or: “the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah” (Jer. 1:1); and again: “Thus says the Lord” (Is. 8:11). Many saw God Himself sitting on the throne (Is. 6:1), as far as it was possible for them to see Him. But Paul, who did not see him sitting, but had within himself Christ speaking, instead of saying: “Thus saith the Lord,” he said: “Because of temptation, seek Christ speaking in me” (2 Cor. 13:3), and also: “Paul, the messenger of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 1:1), and through this he showed that he was not speaking on his own behalf, because the messenger conveys only the word of the one who sent it. And again: “I imagine that I also have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 7:40). So he spoke everything according to the inspiration of the Spirit. But what he says now, he heard from God (who spoke to him in separate words).” “We are the living who are left behind at the coming of the Lord.” These words give reason to think that the Apostle was convinced that he and all believers in his time would live to see the second coming of the Lord, that it would take place during their lifetime on earth. But such a conviction cannot be assumed in him, for this would mean determining the time of the coming of the Lord, and he himself says that this time should not be determined. Thus he would be contradicting himself. Why do some understand the word: “those who remain” as if it stood: remaining, if we remain, if we live to see the second coming of the Lord. The structure of Greek speech does not interfere with such a translation. And the holy fathers, seeing that the coming of the Lord did not take place within the life of the Apostle, believe that, in saying this, “he was not speaking about his own person, but about the people who had to live to see that time” (Theodoret). “Having used the expression: “we,” he did not mean himself, but meant the faithful” (Chrysostom). “Since he spoke about the living (who will be alive at the coming of the Lord) and he himself was still alive, he used the common word: we are the living” (Damascene). Others do not allow conditions and see the Apostle’s position as decisive, unconditional. And we can agree to this. The Lord said: “Watch, for you do not know the hour of the day, but the Son of Man will come” (Luke 12:40). Because the hour is unknown, no one could determine it; but for the same reason, everyone must expect it, be ready, have oneself in such a way as if the last day were to overtake him this very minute, and think of oneself and speak of oneself as being overtaken by this day, as already inherent in the coming of the Lord. In this sense, the Apostle speaks of himself and of all believers as being caught by the coming of the Lord. Just as the Apostle was then with the believers of that time, so at all times all believers should consider themselves to be the same in their hearts. The Lord is about to come, and with us who remain at the coming of the Lord, this and that will happen. - That this has not happened before, under any believers, does not mean that it will not come true in our lifetime, and our duty - to have ourselves in our hearts overtaken by the coming of the Lord - does not lose its binding force because of this. In this sense, in the New Testament the last day appears everywhere to be coming (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Pet. 4:7; 1 John 2:18; James 5:8). “Do not preempt the imams” - we will not forestall them, so that they can more quickly and more fully taste the blissful life with the Lord, as happens on the lists, where the one who surpasses others and reaches them faster to the required mark receives a bonus with the exclusion of others from participating in it. 1 Thessalonians 4:16. For the Lord Himself, in command, in the voice of the Archangel, and in the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. That those who remain alive at the coming of the Lord will not precede the dead, the Apostle proves this by presenting the main moments of that great last event: the Lord will appear, the dead will be resurrected, they and those who remain alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord. In this, the most precious advantage of believers, the living will not be preferred in any way to the dead. “Like the Lord Himself.” – The person in whom all the aspirations and hopes of Christians are concentrated is the beginning and accomplisher of rebirth, the decider of the final fate of all. “In the command, in the voice of the Archangel, in the trumpet of God.” In this, either only the aspects and features of the greatness, splendor and glory of the appearance of the Lord on the last day are presented, in contrast to His humble descent for incarnation and in accordance with the appearance of God on Sinai, or various Divine actions are depicted in the restoration of all things in a new form. “In the commandment” by which God, worshiped in the Trinity, will pronounce the determination that time is over, the moment has come, that the dead will be resurrected and that everything will appear in a renewed form. "In the voice of the Archangel". God's command will be accepted by the first Archangel, of course, Michael, the guardian of the people of God - first Israel, then Christians (Dan. 9:21, 10:5, 13, 21, 12:1). The accepted command will be announced by the “voice” of the Archangel - to the other armies of heaven, who, through the “trumpets of God”, will proclaim God’s command to all the ends of the earth. By pipe here we mean not just one pipe, “there will be many pipes; The Lord will descend through the last trumpet” (Chrysostom). “Gods with it” it is called, as transmitting God’s command, acting with the power of God. The trumpet will be a conductor of the power of God, penetrating everything and reviving everything; she will awaken the dead and bring them together with the living into one. The trumpet in the Old Testament was also the organ for convening the people of God to listen to the will of God and fulfill it (Lev. 25:9; Num. 10:2, 31:6). “And those who are dead in Christ will rise first.” The Apostle says the same thing in another place: “the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible” (1 Cor. 15:52). The word: “first” does not mean that first those who have died in Christ will be resurrected, that is, believing Christians, and then non-Christians, as if there were some period of time left between one and the other resurrection, which others extend even by a thousand years, to which there is no hint here. The Apostle only wants to say that first the dead will be resurrected, then their rapture will follow along with the living in the clouds. The unbelievers are not mentioned here, because they are not the speech concerned the Apostle’s word to the believers only about the resurrection of the believers. But this does not exclude the general resurrection of all. Photius in the Ecumenium says: “The Lord will descend with His command, the Archangel’s proclamation and the sound of trumpets. The Lord commands, the Archangel proclaims the Sovereign command, and transmits it like an echo to all the ranks of heaven. The Lord commands, the Archangel will convey the command of the Lord to those under Him, and they will sound it to all ends of the world. “And the dead will rise and be gathered from the whole universe.” He depicts the resurrection of the dead in such detail in order to impress them more deeply in the souls of Christians. The voice of the Archangel will command all the angels to gather and prepare everyone to receive the Judge, who is ready to appear. In order for the earth to give back those it has received changed into incorruption, this will be accomplished by the command of Christ, and in order to gather together those scattered to the last of the earth, the angels will do this, according to the voice of the Archangel, through the trumpet of God. The prototype of these trumpets was the trumpets of Sinai. And when the King approaches, the trumpets are blown.” Saint Chrysostom: “What is the significance of the voice of the Archangel? - The same as what is said about the virgins: Arise, the bridegroom has come. “Behold the Bridegroom is coming, go forth to the meeting” (Matthew 25:6). Either he is talking about this here, or about the fact that when the angels serve the resurrection, something similar to what happens under the king will happen. Precisely, God will say: let the dead rise again! And this will be carried out not by the power of angels, but by the power of His word: as if the king had commanded and said: let the prisoners come out, and let the servants lead them out, then these latter would have fulfilled this not by their own power, but as a result of the king’s command. Christ speaks about this in another place: “His angels will come with a great trumpet sound and will gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the heavens to the end of them” (Matthew 24:31). “And everywhere you will see angels hastening to fulfill God’s commands. Resurrection is the work of Almighty God, commanding the earth to return what was entrusted to him, without any assistance from servants, just as it was when the Lord called to Lazarus: “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43), but it will be the work of the servants to bring the resurrected.” Theodoret: “The Lord Himself of all will first of all appear to those descending from heaven and command the Archangel to cry out and raise the dead. The trumpets will sound something great and wondrous everywhere. - If at the sound, which on Mount Sinai was commensurate with the hearing of those living then, the people did not endure the excessiveness of fear, but said to the great Moses: “Speak thou with us, and let not God speak unto us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:19); then who will bear the voice that will sound then? - “And the dead in Christ shall rise first”: the Apostle calls the faithful dead, not only those who believed in the Gospel, but also those who shone forth under the law and before the law.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Then we who are left behind will be caught up with them in the clouds at the meeting of the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. “Then we are living..”. The dead will be resurrected; what will happen to the living, in accordance with the resurrection of those, the Apostle does not speak about this here, hastening to say that it will happen to both of them together. In the letter to the Corinthians the Apostle writes that while the dead will be resurrected, the living will change into the same way of being that the resurrected will assume. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: for we will not all fall asleep, but we will all change, soon, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; The trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52). After some are resurrected, others are changed and everyone is gathered together, judgment will follow and the separation of good from evil. The Apostle does not touch upon this, for this was not part of his purpose, and quickly shifts his attention to the last, most comforting moment for believers of this terrible final event - to meeting the Lord and always being with Him. Having become equal in the way of being with the dead, the living, equal to them, will have the advantage of meeting the Lord in the clouds. “Buy with them” – equal with them, we will not get anything extra over them. “We will be raptured” - we will rise to a place akin to those resurrected in a renewed nature. This is said to mean the speed of movement, in accordance with the desire and uncontrollable desire of those who love the Lord to be with Him. "Caught Up in the Clouds". The Lord ascended on the clouds (Acts 1:9), and will come again on the clouds (Acts 1:11; Matt. 24:30); on the clouds and believers will be worthy to meet Him. “Just as the Lord Himself ascended on a bright cloud, so those who believed in Him, both those resurrected from the dead and those still alive, carried on the clouds, will meet the Judge of the universe and will abide with Him for endless ages” (Theodorit). "At the Meeting of the Lord". The Lord will descend from heaven to take His own; and they will flow from the earth to meet Him, like the virgins in the parable (Matthew 25:1-6). The place of meeting is possible only in the “air”, above, in the highest spheres of the atmosphere, during the transition to the heavenly dwellings. But here they will only meet, and will not remain. They will be with the Lord, but not in the air, but where He is. He is at the right hand of the Father, and they are around Him, or about His country, each in his rank. “And so we will always be with the Lord”—partakers of His glory and blessedness. Having met the Lord, having become close, face to face, in blissful conversion, we will no longer be separated from Him. This is the height of hope that inspires Christians! - This is what the Lord Himself promised: “I will come and take you to myself, so that where I am, you too will be” (John 14:3). About this He prayed to the Father: “Father, these things which you have given to Me, I will, that even where I am, they also may be with Me, that they may see My glory, which you have given to Me” (John 17:24). With this the Holy Apostle consoled believers in their sorrows for the sake of faith: “as children and heirs; heirs to God, and heirs to Christ, since we have suffered with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I have no feeling, for the passions of this present time are unworthy of the glory that desires to be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:17–18, like Col. 3:3–4; 2 Tim. 2:12). Saint Chrysostom writes: “If the Lord intends to descend, then why will we be raptured? - For the sake of honor. For even then, when the king enters the city, the honorable citizens come out to meet him, and the criminals inside await the Judge; and then, when the tender father returns, the children and those who deserve the name of children ride out in a chariot to meet him in order to see and greet him, and those of the household who insulted him remain at home. “We will rush on the Father’s chariot.” For just as He (the Father) caught Himself (the Lord) up in the clouds (Acts 1:9), so we too will be caught up in the clouds. You see what honor awaits us! We will meet the Descendant and, what is most joyful, “so we will be with Him. Whoever speaks of the mighty powers of the Lord will make all His praises heard” (Ps. 105:2)? What blessings He has bestowed upon the human race! The dead will be resurrected first and thus will all meet Him together. Abel, who died first, will then come out to meet him along with the survivors, so that they will not have any advantage, but the decayed one, who has been lying in the ground for so many years, will meet Him along with the living, just like everyone else.” Photius in Ecumenius solves the question that naturally arises from this, why the Apostle speaks only about the fate of believers on the last day, without mentioning the fate of the unbelievers and the wicked. “Do you notice that, when describing the resurrection, the Apostle does not mention those who will rise again for punishment and torment? “He does this, I think, for three reasons. - Firstly, he writes to the Thessalonians about the resurrection to console them. It was inappropriate for someone writing for the purpose of consolation to mention bitter and regrettable things. Through this, he would have increased the sorrow more, and not provided consolation. Secondly, he wrote about the resurrection to believers, and properly did not mention those who are about to be led away into torment. For believers who live according to the commandments of the Lord will not be subject to any punishment, but will remain in eternal joy and eternal bliss. Why was there no need to remember the torment of outsiders when writing to believers about the glory, bliss and joys prepared for the faithful? Thirdly, he interprets the resurrection itself here, how it exists in itself and why it exists. God determined the resurrection to be for the salvation of people, so that they would taste eternal blessings in ineffable glory, and He prepared hell for the devil and his angels, as the Gospel says, and not for people. If others, by their untruths, choose instead of the blessings prepared for them what is prepared for the devil, then this happens against the desire of the humane Master. Why does Saint Paul, writing about the very essence of the resurrection and about the reason for which the Creator of all determined it, rightly remains silent about those who will go into eternal torment? 1 Thessalonians 4:18. In the same way, comfort one another in these words. This is the purpose for which St. Paul touched upon the resurrection of believers and their blessed destiny after the resurrection! Comfort one another; so as not to grieve for the dead, like others who have no hope. Comfort “one another” - less embarrassed and more calm, conveying to others the words of faith about the resurrection, repeating them before them with heartfelt conviction, dispel the darkness of sorrow in Others. Comfort “in these words” - with these words that I conveyed to you, with this teaching, with this image of the bright fate of the resurrected faithful, saying to each other: this is what will happen! Is it proper for us to mourn? – You can console yourself with this not only in grief for the dead, but also in any other grief. For nothing can so powerfully dissolve the bitterness of sorrows as the certainty that this life here is not final, that there will be another, in which the sorrowful here will be rewarded with inexplicable bliss, as long as those who mourn are sincere in the right faith and right in life. This is especially comforting to those who suffer in vain. b) Moral application of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:1–11) Having depicted the second coming of the Lord and what will then happen to the dead and those who remain alive, Saint Paul now proceeds to the lessons that naturally follow from this teaching. The main lesson bb) vigilance and sobriety - attention to yourself and your deeds, which leads to a good life (1 Thessalonians 5:4-11). Since the teaching about the day of the Lord can have the power to arouse and maintain vigor and sobriety only in this case, if one constantly remembers this day and incessantly expects it, and this latter is imprinted on the mind with the confidence of aa) about the suddenness of the Lord’s appearance, then Saint Paul puts the thought of this in front, as a transition to his lesson (1 Thess. 5. 1-3). The time of the last appearance of the Lord is unknown. Don't move it away and don't bring it closer. Stand on guard, for the Lord will come suddenly and reward everyone according to his deeds. aa) The suddenness of the appearance of the Lord (1 Thess. 5, 1–3) 1 Thessalonians 5:1. And you don’t need to write about flights and times. And the Lord said to the holy Apostles in response to their question about His second coming: “You do not understand the times and years that the Father has ordained in His power” (Acts 1:7). “Times and years” - both words are used as unambiguous (compare Luke 1:57 with 2 Tim. 4:6; Acts 20:18 with Luke 21:36). But more subtle experts in languages ​​distinguish between them, meaning by time χρονος - any indefinite time, and by summer - καιρος - a specific time at which it is suitable or appropriate for some business or event to take place. Here the Apostle has in mind a certain moment of the appearance of the Lord, as it were: and regarding exactly when the Lord will appear, there is no need to write to you. – Both words often appear together in Scripture (Acts 1:7; Dan. 2:21; Eccl. 3:1). In the plural, they stand here to mean, as they guess, the circumstances related to the appearance of the Lord, preparatory to it, for which their own moments are defined, or more directly, due to the uncertainty of the day and hour of this event. “You don’t need to write” does not mean that there is no need to talk about it or know about it, but that there is no need to write to them, there is no need to write again now, because they were told about it personally and they know it. What they know is that no one can know anything about this and, therefore, write anything definite. It is not clear that the Thessalonians had any dispute or bewilderment or wrong opinion about this. It is reminded to teach a lesson about sobriety and watchfulness and about walking in the light of hope. The apostle says, as it were: it was necessary to consolate you to write about the fate of the dead at the coming of the Lord, and I wrote it. When the coming itself takes place, there is no need to write to you about it. For, as you know, nothing definite can be said about this, and to torture about it would be empty curiosity, not worth satisfying. Why does Saint Chrysostom, when starting to interpret this passage, first place a reproach on inquisitiveness? “In no one’s nature, it seems,” he says, is there as much inquisitiveness and greed for knowledge of the invisible and hidden as in human nature. This is usually revealed in her when the mind is still imperfect and uneducated. Thus, inexperienced children constantly bother teachers, mentors, and parents with many questions that contain nothing other than, for example: when does this happen and when does that happen? The same thing happens to people who are older because they are lazy or because they do not have a specific occupation. Thus, our mind strongly desires to know and even comprehend many things, but especially the time of the end of the world. And what is surprising if this occupies us, when the holy Apostles themselves were most occupied with this? So before the suffering (of Christ) they approached Christ with the words: “Tell us, when will this happen? And what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age” (Matthew 24:3)? And after His suffering and resurrection from the dead they also said to Him: Tell us, “If in this year you will establish the kingdom of Israel” (Acts 1:6)? “And they had never asked Him about anything else before.” But it wasn’t like that after. When they have been granted the Holy Spirit, not only do they not ask themselves, but they also keep others from doing so who are suffering from such inappropriate curiosity. Listen to what Blessed Paul says now: “But about the years and the times, brethren, you do not need to write about things.” 1 Sol.5:2. For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord, like a thief in the night, will come. “You yourself” - not by your own comprehension of this truth, but from the previous instructions of the holy Apostle (Theodoret). “You know the news”, you know for sure, with such certainty that does not allow any doubts and hesitations - you know not the time, but the untimeliness of the coming of the Lord: “suddenly” it will appear. “The Day of the Lord” - the holy prophets have a day on which God promised to reveal in a special way His goodness, omnipotence and righteousness (Joel 2:31; Micah 4:6; Ezek. 13:5; Isa. 2:12). In the New Testament, the Day of the Lord is exclusively the day of the second coming of Christ, when Christ the Lord will appear again on earth in His glory, in order, after the resurrection of the dead, to bring judgment on all people and to finally complete the establishment of His eternal kingdom, including here terrible signs in heaven and earth, which, according to the word of the Lord Himself, will accompany this appearance. It is also called: “the day of the Lord” (2 Pet. 3:10) and also: the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:8, 5:5, 2 Cor. 1:14); in the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6); and simply Christ (Phil. 1:10, 2:16; 2 Sol. 2, 2). “Like a thief.” The comparison is taken from the words of the Lord Himself and usually not to the Apostle Paul alone (2 Pet. 3:10). “Only the suddenness of the Lord’s coming is likened to a taty” (Theodorit). When everyone is sleeping in the confidence that there is no danger, a thief sneaks up. Thus the day of the Lord will creep up. This is not hidden from us and is often suggested so that that hour does not suddenly find us, like the thief of a careless owner. A convenient time for daddy is late at night. Perhaps the Lord will appear at midnight, like the bridegroom in the parable of the ten virgins. Some of the teachers of the Church thought that this might happen at midnight of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, as was the appearance of an angel on the first Passover of the Jews in Egypt. Is this not where the all-night vigil is held on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ and on other Sundays (as on Athos). “So he will come” - the Greek “comes”, according to the expectation of His sudden appearance, according to which at every moment one can say: here he comes, - or to express the certainty of His coming, the matter is finished - comes, as in the Epistle to the Romans: “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven” (Rom. 1:18). By the day of the Lord one cannot actually mean the hour of death of each person. For he, too, suddenly comprehends, and after him will immediately follow a preliminary decision on the fate of everyone, just as then the final one. Morally, let everyone apply to himself the sudden onset of the day of the Lord, as the sudden onset of the hour of death, experiences of which are everywhere and not in small numbers. Wait for the Lord, whether He will come during your life or not. Let him not come; but still death will come, which is the decisive moment for you. If the long non-coming of the Lord can weaken the conviction that death is about to come, then nothing else can renew it so strongly as the conviction that death is about to come. Reminders of this are very frequent. Wait for her. And under it is the day of the Lord for you, the terrible decree of the Lord about you. Saint Chrysostom writes: “Listen to what Paul says: “For you know it, the day of the Lord, like a thief in the night, will come” - not only the universal day, but also everyone’s own. For this latter is likened to the first, because it has similarity and affinity with it. What is the meaning of the first for everyone in the aggregate, the same is the last for each in particular. (A little higher.) Doesn’t the end of a century constitute the end of its life for every person? Why are you so curious about the universal demise, and why do you cause yourself sadness? – But what happens to us in other cases, we notice the same in the present. Just as in other cases, without paying attention to our own affairs, we sort out the affairs of others, saying: such and such a fornicator, such and such an adulterer, this one stole, this one offended, but we don’t say a word about our own - on the contrary, we care more about the actions of all other people than about our own, so here each of us, not caring about our own demise, wants to know about the common end. If you prepare well for your death, then you will not tolerate any evil from everyone. Whether she is far away or close, this will not in the least affect the decision of our fate. That is why Christ did not speak about her. Listen to what He says to the Apostles: “You have no understanding of the times and seasons that the Father has ordained in His power” (Acts 1:7). After this, why should you be curious? This is what those who were with Peter heard, wanting to know more than they needed to know.” 1 Sol.5:3. Whenever they say: peace and affirmation, then all destruction will suddenly attack them, like a disease in the belly of a woman, and they will not be able to escape. The Lord comes so unexpectedly not because he deliberately wanted to take everyone by surprise unprepared, but this will happen because of the carelessness of people. In a prophetic spirit, Saint Paul is transported to the end times and sees that people will then behave the same way as in the days of Noah, not at all thinking that a terrible thunderstorm is ready to break out over their heads. The Lord says: “As it was fast in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. As I ran in the days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and committing violence, until that day Noah went into the ark, and was not taken away until the water came and was all taken away: so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37-39). One can assume here that the Apostle has a hidden comparison of the sudden appearance of the Lord with a sudden attack by enemies and with all cases of sudden disasters - earthquakes, storms and the like. "Whenever they recite"; who is speaking? - Those who have to live before the coming of the Lord, but, obviously, have forgotten about this coming, despising the truth, not caring about salvation, indulge their passions, not thinking about the imminent judgment and the decision of their final fate. “Rekut” - that is, they will form in their minds and hearts, rest in the conviction that “peace and affirmation” are strong; everything is calm inside and the fence on the outside is solid, the foundations of prosperity and security are solid; like people living peacefully in their estates and not thinking about anything else, like: eat, drink and be merry. The prophet Ezekiel exposes such boasting on the part of false prophets, with the judgment of God for this (1 Sol. 13, 10 ff.). “All destruction will suddenly attack” - a misfortune that is overwhelming, everything destroys and, moreover, hopeless, from which there is nowhere to escape: “and they cannot escape.” There would only be one remedy - complete destruction: “the mountains will fall”; but it is not readily available, only horror and despair will remain. In the second letter, the Apostle depicts that “the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven” will be with “the angels of His power in flaming fires” in order to give “vengeance to those who do not know God and do not listen to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will receive torment, eternal destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His strength” (2 Thess. 1: 7-9). The Apostle presents the second coming of Christ from a terrifying side, giving the Thessalonians an incentive to a cheerful life, so as not to fall into the carelessness of the people of this world, expressed here in the words: “peace and affirmation,” where sin reigns, attracting the wrath of God, which, however, the careless do not realize due to self-delusion. Everyone will have different hopes and desires, but what they will meet is that! “Like a disease that gives birth.” This expresses the suddenness, the inevitable extremity, and the extreme painfulness of the disaster. The woman giving birth knows that she will soon give birth, but the moment of birth seizes her suddenly - unexpectedly, such will be the coming of Christ (Theodoret and Ecumenius). All the signs will already be clear, but the moment of the phenomenon will not be known and will come suddenly. “Do not forget at this hour, the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 24:44). “Just as lightning comes from the east and appears to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27). Saint Chrysostom shows at this one bewilderment, which he decides: “It is worth paying attention to the following circumstance: if the Antichrist comes, if Elijah comes, then how, “when they say: peace and affirmation, will all destruction suddenly attack them”? These events, as signs of the coming (of Christ), will make one know about that day. But Christ will not give a sign about Himself, but will come suddenly and unexpectedly. So it is not by chance that the time comes for a pregnant woman to give birth, says the Apostle, for she knows that in nine months she will give birth. Meanwhile, this time is very unknown to her, because some give birth in seven months, others in nine, and the day and hour of birth are in any case unknown. So this is what Paul is saying about this. Indeed, he uses the right comparison! There are not many signs of birth; As a result, many, not foreseeing it, gave birth on the roads and outside the home. But the Apostle wanted to point out in this comparison not only the uncertainty of time, but also the cruelty of suffering. For just as a woman giving birth, playing, laughing, not foreseeing anything at all, suddenly becomes overwhelmed with inexpressible suffering and is tormented by the pangs of birth, so the souls of those people will certainly be struck upon the coming of that day. “And they cannot escape.” Having abstracted somewhat from communication and speech, we can, regarding the words about diseases of the childbirth, enter into thought about the meaning of the current state of humanity. It is similar to the formation of a child in the womb. When the moment of its complete formation comes, then the present way of being of everything will end: a new one will be born. – In relation to every Christian, baptism is the beginning of a new life; labors of good deeds, feats of self-correction, sorrows of enduring adversity represent the period of carrying in the womb and the formation of a new person - death will be birth. The entire current period until the end of the world is a period of womb-bearing for everyone. bb) The main lesson is vigilance and sobriety (1 Thessalonians 5:4–11) 1 Sol.5:4. But you, brothers, are borne in darkness, so that the day will come upon you like a thief. Having spoken about the suddenness of the Lord’s appearance, the Apostle deduces from this an obligation to a cheerful and sober life, under the influence of the ever-present hope of the Lord’s day, in the consciousness that Christians are sons of light and day. One could rightly say after the above words (1 Thessalonians 2:3) as the Lord said: “Beware, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42). But the Apostle puts forward a characteristic feature of Christians - sonship to the light, according to which, in addition to the hope of the sudden coming of the Lord, they must live cheerfully and soberly, acting as they act during the day. “You are carrying in darkness.” Darkness here is or ignorance of Divine things, as the source of delusions and vices. So Theodoret: “The Apostle calls ignorance darkness, and knowledge day. He says, as it were: having received the ray of God’s knowledge, flee the beginnings of darkness, so that the sentence of punishment is not suddenly pronounced on you.” Or life in sin, in dark deeds. So Saint Chrysostom: “Here he speaks of a dark and unclean life, since depraved and evil people do everything at night, hiding from everyone and surrounding themselves with darkness, for, tell me, isn’t the adulterer waiting for the evening and the thief waiting for the night? And he who robs graves does not carry out his undertaking at night?” We must take both, and in the Christian meaning, according to which both knowledge and the goodness of life are all from Christ, in Whom there is light, and without Whom there is darkness. The Apostle says, as it were: you are not outside of Christ, you are not in the darkness of the fall, not in the bonds of sin and the devil, not in the region of the prince of darkness, where they know neither the Lord nor His will and do not have the strength to fulfill it, and (raising the darkness of sin to the sources) - you are not in a state of carelessness, insensibility and blindness, are not darkened by the vanity of the world, are not mired in sensual pleasures (John 3:19, 8:12, 12:35, 46). “Yes, the day will befall you like a thief.” Here we can assume two meanings: or - you are not such that the day finds you like a thief. The thief creeps up at night when it is dark and everyone is sleeping; you have come out of darkness and night and are in the state of a master, watching over the house; the day will not catch you like a thief, it will catch you, but not like a thief of a careless master. Or, saying that they are not like that, he means: you should not be such that the day finds you, like a thief, unprepared; it is indecent for you to allow yourself to do so: it will be contrary to your essential character - freedom from darkness and sonship of the light. – Both lead to the same thing – “let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:6). Saint Chrysostom asks with these words: “So, what? Will the last day not befall them like a thief? Will it really not come unexpectedly for them, will they really know it?” - And he answers: “Here he hints not at the knowledge of time, but at the misfortune associated with it, that is, the last day will not come to their misfortune, for for them it will come suddenly, but will not bring them any sorrow. Just as a thief cannot do any harm to those who are awake and in the light, even if he manages to enter among them; so surely that day is for those who live worthy lives.” 1 Sol.5:5. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day: the nights are endless, below darkness. He said that the last day will not, or should not, catch them like a thief, because they are not in darkness. Now explains why they are not in darkness, or should not be in darkness? - Because they are sons of light. The word of God usually calls the sons of something those who bear the characteristic features of that which they are sons of, are essentially akin to that, and are filled with that spirit. The sons of light - the One who is the light of the world - are those who are enlightened by the Gospel teaching, born by the grace of the Holy Spirit and live in the light of the face of God and according to His will - bright in knowledge, life, hopes. Sonship of the light does not mean belonging only to the realm of light, but also the perception of it into oneself, penetration by it and, a kind of luminosity, albeit borrowed. “There is darkness, but now there is light in the Lord,” says the Apostle (Eph. 5:8; compare: Matt. 5:16; John 3:21; Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Eph. 2:2-3). “Just as the sons of God are those who do what is pleasing to God, so the sons of the day are those who do the works of light” (Chrysostom). “Just as those who do what is worthy of Gehenna are called sons of Gehenna, and those who stubbornly resist the will of God are called sons of disobedience, so those who do deeds of truth and light are called sons of light and day” (Ecumenius). The Apostle then expresses what has been said positively negatively, and moreover in such a way that he embraces himself and all believers in the general position: “there are no nights, below darkness.” Thus, in paintings, the shadow exposes the light part more sharply and imparts relief to the entire figure. Night and darkness are unambiguous here; but the Apostle seems to distinguish them in degree: we are not only not night, but also not darkness. In this case, darkness will mean the weakest gloominess, an accidental, transitory darkness. Thus, St. Paul depicts the Holy Church in another place as having no “filth, or vice, or anything of the kind” (Eph. 5:27). In the expression: “unfortunate nights...”. others mean “sons,” while others paraphrase: we do not belong to the region of night and darkness. The apostle wants to say: we are not night, not dark, not darkened. 1 Sol.5:6. Likewise, let us not sleep, like others, but let us be awake and sober. This is what we are in terms of our meaning and purpose. But in order for each of us to actually be like that, we must not sleep, but stay awake and sober. “Let us not sleep” - let us not live in carelessness and failure to remember the day of judgment, like others who do not lead Christ. “Let us be watchful and sober” - let us pay attention to ourselves and what we should be and how we should act; and cheerfully, - energetically, - we will act in accordance with this - we will not allow bad thoughts, unclean sympathies, sinful inclinations, passionate hobbies and vicious deeds. The Savior commands: “I say to all, watch” (Mark 13:37). In another place: “Take heed... lest your hearts be burdened with gluttony and drunkenness and the sorrows of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. For a snare will come upon all who live, upon the faces of all the earth. Be vigilant, praying at all times, so that you may be deemed worthy to flee from all these who wish to be, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36). All the holy Apostles instill the same thing: “be sober and watchful,” writes Saint Peter (1 Pet. 5:8). Saint Paul explains himself in another place: “Watch, stand firm in the faith, take courage, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13). “Here,” writes Saint Chrysostom, “the Apostle shows that the presence of daylight depends on us. In an ordinary day and night it does not depend on us, but the night also comes against our desire; on the contrary, with that night and that dream it is not so, but one can constantly remain awake, one can constantly be in the middle of the day. To close your spiritual eyes and indulge in sinful sleep is not a matter of nature, but of arbitrariness. “Let us watch,” he says, “and be sober.” For even he who is awake, if he does not do good, can sleep; That’s why he added: “and let us be sober.” Indeed, even during the day, if anyone is awake but not sober, he may be exposed to countless dangers. Sobriety is an increase in wakefulness.” Explaining the last thought, Ecumenius adds: “It happens that someone, even while awake, is no different from someone sleeping. The apostle said, as it were: let us soberly do good and arrange our lives.” According to the writings of the ascetic fathers, “sobriety” is sometimes the detachment of the heart from attachments and addictions, while vigor is the tension of active forces. 1 Sol.5:7. Those who sleep, sleep in the night, and he who gets drunk in the night gets drunk. He obliged me to be vigilant and sober. Now he says that they cannot act otherwise. For not being awake is sleeping and inebriation; drunkenness happens at night, not during the day, and you are sons of light and day; Sleeping and drinking should not come to you. But just as he understands wakefulness and sobriety to be moral, so in the moral sense he should understand sleeping with drunkenness. Here we mean those who sleep through carelessness, insensibility and blindness, and those who revel in addictions, sensuality, passions, who, from the intoxication of all this, lose their Christian consciousness. Explains his thoughts with examples from everyday life. They usually sleep and drink at night, but during the day they work and correct their affairs. It is implied: we, the sons of light, should not sleep and commit moral outrages, but live as Christian duty dictates, not carelessly, not without concern for the salvation of the soul, not allowing earthly worries to consume all our time and sensual pleasures to keep us as if intoxicated: both of these knock out the eternal fate awaiting you from memory. The ancient interpreters understand sleeping and drunkenness this way: “Here the Apostle calls those who remain in evil as sleeping, as motionless towards virtue and immersed in dreamy delights” (Theophylact); “those who do not have energetic zeal for doing good deeds and remain in sin. He seemed to say: sinners live in sinful darkness; those who decide to do deeds of righteousness should not neglect virtue - sleep - should never stop doing good deeds. Their distinctive feature is that they remain not in the night of sin, but in the light of doing good and acting legally” (Ecumenius). “But why does he cry out for sin with sleep? – Because, firstly, a sinner does not have the strength necessary to perform good deeds; further because he is constantly carried away by his imagination and does not see anything in its true light; on the contrary, he is filled with dreams and often reckless dreams, and even if he saw something good, he does not derive anything solid and unchangeable from it. The sleeper does not see what is and really exists, but dreams of what does not exist at all, as if it exists. Such is sin and such is a sinful life! She does not see what exists, that is, spiritual, heavenly, unchanging, but sees only that which flows, flies away and soon leaves us” (St. Chrysostom). “By drunkenness the Apostle here means not intoxication with wine, but the fog and darkening of the mind with sins” (Ecumenius) - not that which comes from wine, but that which comes from passions, since they darken and remove from their order the sovereign (the soul, that is, the mind). “You should not be like that, for you are not the sons of night and darkness, but sons of the day through baptism and acceptance of the yoke of the commandments of God” (Theophylact). “The intoxication of the soul consists of covetousness, and addiction to money, and carnal love, and everything that you mention in this way is the intoxication of the soul” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Sol.5:8. Let us, being sons of this day, be sober, putting on the armor of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation. The reminder of vigil and attention brought to mind the military guard, the alert, the guard - weapons. The Apostle now moves on to this new comparison, which he especially loves and often uses (2 Cor. 10:4; Rom. 6:13, 13:12, Eph. 6:11). Just as a warrior on guard watches carefully to see if the enemy is creeping up, and in case of an attack he is armed to repel the enemy, so we should not only watch for the tricks of our moral enemies, but also be ready to repel them at any time, armed as a Christian should. “It’s not enough to stay awake and sober; you also need to be armed. For if someone does not have a weapon, then even if he is alert and sober, robbers can immediately kill him. So, if it is necessary to stay awake, and to be sober, and to be armed, and we will remain without weapons, we will be naked and also sleep, then who will stop the enemy from plunging a sword into us? That is why the Apostle arms us” (Chrysostom). “He said this in another place: “The night has passed, and the day is drawing near: let us therefore put aside the dark works and put on the weapons of light” (Rom. 13:12). Let faith in God and love for one’s neighbor protect us, he says here, instead of armor, and let the hope of the promised salvation be an indestructible helmet for us” (Theodoret). Faith and love protect the entire composition of the soul, not allowing right thoughts and movements of the heart, and hope will cut off the chapter of life - energy, which immediately falls as soon as hopelessness creeps into the soul. Faith, love, hope - the main principles of Christian life - are also strong weapons to repel enemy attacks: faith repels the arrows of lies, unbelief, and delusion; love is the lure and attraction of sin and passions; hope - all the fluctuations of fidelity through present troubles and sorrows and the concealment of the future, assuring that the Lord will never leave us if we do not depart from Him, will keep us and protect us and will undoubtedly lead us into His eternal kingdom. Full of faith, love and hope is the son of the day. He has a clear view of everything that exists and happens from faith; the conscience is bright from never giving up deeds of love; everything around and ahead is bright from trust and devotion to the will of God: “if God is for us, who can be against us” (Rom. 8:31)? - This is a real cheerful and teetotaler! Saint Chrysostom writes: “Putting on”, he says, “in the armor of faith and love,” thus commanding to lead a righteous life and profess right dogmas. See how he explained what it means to be awake and sober—namely, to have the armor of faith and love. Not just any faith, but fiery, sincere, making those protected by it invincible. Just as no one can quickly cut through armor and it forms a stronghold for the chest; So you protect your soul with faith and love, and not a single one of the devil’s kindled arrows will be able to pierce it. Where the strength of the soul is protected by the weapon of love, there all the attempts of those who are malicious will be vain and vain, because neither anger, nor envy, nor flattery, nor hypocrisy and nothing else will be able to touch such a soul. He didn’t just say: in love, but he said that you need to put on it like strong armor. Having said this, he further adds: “and the helmet of the hope of salvation.” Just as a helmet protects the most important thing in us, that is, the head, surrounding and covering it on all sides, so hope will not allow our mind to fall, but keeps it straight, like a head, not allowing anything extraneous to fall on it. And as long as nothing falls on it, we do not bend down. Indeed, it is impossible for anyone who is protected by this weapon to ever fall. For “abide,” it is said, “faith, hope, and love, these three” (1 Cor. 13:13). 1 Thessalonians 5:9–10. For God did not put us in wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we watch or sleep, we live together with Him. Some think that here are the truths on which the exclusively hope of salvation is affirmed and nourished - one of the proposed Christian spiritual weapons; others see in the truths given the source of all three weapons - faith, love and hope. It is true that what was most needed for the Thessalonians was the strengthening of hope, and the holy Apostle could have aimed to act especially on this fundamental Christian feeling. But hope alone cannot stand: it is born by faith and matures under the influence of deeds of love. Therefore, it is more likely that he wanted to revive with these truths the entire structure of inner Christian life. This is how Saint Chrysostom understands this: “Having said: put on your clothes and arm yourself, the Apostle prepares a weapon and shows where faith, hope and love are born, and how they become the strongest weapon, when he adds: “as you will not put it down,” and so on.” "Don't put us down". This is not why God deigned for us to be Christians who believe in the Lord; this is not God’s definition and intention for us; this is not our purpose. “Into wrath." Of course, either the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Matt. 3:7), that is, by the court, condemnation to eternal torment. “God did not call us to condemn us to punishment” (Theodoret); or, in general, a state under God’s displeasure. “God did not ordain us for this purpose, so that we would bear His wrath” (Theophylact), “so that we would experience His wrath” (Ecumenius). “But in receiving salvation ". So that we receive salvation. The Greek περιποιησις, in modern usage, means a feast. In receiving salvation there will be a feast of salvation. The same as in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "to supply the soul" (Heb. 10:39). According to ancient usage, this word means more - acquisition, acquisition by purchase. There will be salvation - in the acquisition of salvation. He purchased us for himself, bought us, giving the highest price for us - the blood of His only begotten Son. Having such proof of God’s love for us, let us have faith in Him, love for Him and for our neighbors, and good hope that He will save us, bought so dearly” (Ecumenius). "Our Lord Jesus Christ". For “there is no other salvation for us” (Acts 4:11). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Now, if any are saved, then they are saved “by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, which God hath set forth for cleansing through faith in His blood, for the revelation of His righteousness, for the remission of former sins” (Rom. 3:23-25). “To those who died for us” - either for our good, or in our place. The Lord died in our place, condemned to death, and thereby opened for those who believe in Hero and those who walk according to His commandments the entrance into the treasury of blessings of the boundless goodness of God. “So, God called us not to destroy us, but to save us. How can we see that this is exactly what He wants? - “His Son,” it is said, “he gave to eat” for us (John 3:16), He so desires our salvation that He gave His Son, and not just gave, but to death. From such reflections hope is born. Do not despair, man, when you come to God, Who did not even spare His Son. Do not be afraid of real disasters: He who betrayed the Only Begotten in order to save you and snatch you from Gehenna, will he spare anything else for your salvation? Therefore, we must expect everything good and great, because we have received the main thing if we believe, - But we see the example, therefore we will love Him, otherwise it would be extreme madness not to love the One who loved us so much” (St. Chrysostom). “Yes, if we are vigilant, if we are asleep.” Vigil and sleep here have a different meaning than above. There, vigil meant moral alertness, and sleep meant carelessness “and negligence about a virtuous life. But here sleep means bodily death, and vigil means life” (St. Chrysostom). The Apostle says, as it were: whether the coming of Christ finds us alive, or we die before that, we will all be worthy to be with Him forever. “And even after death, and while we are still alive, we participate in life with Him. For the Apostle called the living watchful, and those who have died sleeping” - (Theodoret). “We live together with Him.” “Completely” - or so: so that we all together, both living and dead, then enter into blissful cohabitation with the Lord and always remain in Him. Or this: together with Him. The idea is the same. “What is said here has the following meaning: do not be afraid of dangers; even if we die, we will live. Do not despair because you are in poverty: you have a sure deposit. He would not have betrayed His Son if He did not have extraordinary love for us. Therefore, although you die, you will live, for He Himself died and is alive. So, whether we die or live, we will live together with Him. I don’t find the slightest difference in this, I don’t care whether I live or die: because with Him we will live. Therefore, let us do everything for that life, let us fulfill everything, directing our gaze to it” (St. Chrysostom). 1 Sol.5:11. For this reason, console each other, and build up your neighbor, just as you create. This is the second time the holy Apostle speaks such words. Having spoken about the comforting fate of those who died at the coming of the Lord, he added: comfort yourselves with this (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Now, having drawn from this the lesson of cheerfulness and sobriety, he added again: console and build up yourselves mutually. First, console, second, create. Comfort in sorrow, create when the soul is upset by perplexity and unkind movements of the heart and flesh. Set yourself up mutually, in accordance with the above, for a cheerful and sober life in faith, love and hope - create your thoughts, feelings, dispositions and deeds. “As you create.” With kindness he encourages to continue the same image of mutual creation and to succeed in it. Thus, mutual teaching of oneself in the spirit of faith and mutual encouragement of oneself to live by faith is an apostolic institution in the Church. “Since teachers do not have the opportunity to teach everyone everything themselves, the Apostle gives them the rule so that they mutually console and teach themselves” (Ecumenius). “See? “So why make an excuse: I’m not a teacher” (Theophylact). Saint Chrysostom, in this text, mainly focuses on arousing attention to one’s deeds and feelings and to the path along which one should go. This speech of his is thorough and powerful; It can be recommended to read it more often to anyone who does not want to fall asleep on the way. She is also a model of mutual encouragement for a sober life. Let's summarize it briefly. “Therefore, I beg you,” he says, “let us always act in such a way as to never fall asleep. Haven't you seen that often long standing guard remained useless because the guards indulged in sleep for a short time? For through this short sleep they lost everything, giving the attempted theft greater courage. For just as we do not pay attention to thieves so much as they spy on us; so the devil watches us most of all, lies in wait and gnashes his teeth. So, let's not fall asleep; Let’s not say: nothing threatens us from this side, nor from that. We often get robbed from places we didn't even think about. It’s the same with regard to evil: we can die in ways we didn’t expect. “We will carefully examine everything, we will not get drunk, and we will not fall asleep; Let us not be satiated, and we will not slumber; Let us not rush madly into external blessings, and let us remain sober. Let's protect ourselves from all sides. Just as those walking on a tightrope cannot be even a little careless, because from this small thing great evil occurs - having stumbled, they immediately fall down and die, so we should not remain careless. We walk a narrow path, surrounded on both sides by rapids, on which both feet cannot stand together. You see how much caution is needed. Don’t you see that those who walk along a path surrounded by rapids not only tread carefully with their feet, but also look carefully with their eyes? Even if the walker steps in a certain place apparently and carefully, and even if his foot stands firmly, his eye, clouded from looking into the abyss, can overthrow him: he needs to think about himself and about how to step; That’s why it is said: “neither on the wrist nor on the surface” (Proverbs 4:27). The abyss of evil is deep, the rapids are great, the darkness below is thick, the path is narrow. Let us listen to ourselves with fear, let us walk with trembling. Walking along this path, no one indulges in laughter or burdens himself with drunkenness, but walks along this path soberly and with attention. Going this way, no one. does not carry anything extra. Happy is he who, being well girded, can pass through it safely. In this case, no one binds his feet, but leaves them free. But we, binding ourselves with countless worries and burdening ourselves with countless burdens of life, being inattentive and absent-minded, how can we hope that we will walk along such a narrow path? The path is narrow, for when we must give an account in words, in thoughts, in deeds, and in everything, then truly such a path is narrow. And we make it even tighter, fattening and expanding ourselves and stepping with a careless foot. The narrow path is difficult for everyone, but especially for the fat; on the contrary, one who exhausts himself will not even feel cramped: he who has learned to cramp himself will not complain of cramping. So, let no one expect to see the sky in bliss - this is impossible! With luxury, let no one hope to walk the narrow path - it is impossible! Let no one who walks along the broad path hope to reach the belly. If you see someone enjoying himself with baths, an expensive table or numerous servants, then do not consider yourself unhappy because you do not have this, but feel sorry for him, because he is walking the path of destruction. Let us consider as lucky not those who live in luxury, but those who do not live in luxury. These latter hurry to heaven, and those to Gehenna. Someday we must perk up, we must open our eyes, awaken, take up eternal life, interrupt our long-term sleep. There is judgment, there is punishment, there is resurrection and testing of works! The Lord is coming on the clouds, “a fire will kindle before Him and a green storm will surround Him” (Ps. 49:3). A river of fire flows before Him, an undying worm, an unquenchable fire, utter darkness, gnashing of teeth! There is eternal, joyless torment there - there will be no defender! “Who will have mercy,” says Scripture, “the charmer beheaded by the serpent” (Sir. 12:13)? When we do not have mercy on ourselves, who will have mercy on us, tell me? When we have the opportunity to improve and do not improve, who will take pity on us? - Nobody. Let us have mercy on ourselves. When we pray to God, saying: “Have mercy on me, Lord,” we will say this to ourselves, and we will have mercy on ourselves! It is in our power for God to have mercy on us. He Himself gave this to us. If we do something worthy of mercy, worthy of His love for mankind, then God will have mercy on us. If we do not have mercy on ourselves, then who will have pity on us?” 3. A list of moral lessons that determine the moral structure of Christian societies and every Christian at all times and in all places (1 Thess. 5, 12–24) Although the holy Apostle here offers general instructions on how to live, they are not sketched out in any way, but have their own order. They outline the entire Christian life in its essential features and directions. It is not surprising, however, that the Apostle also had in mind the state of Thessaloniki, although it did not determine his thoughts to the same extent as at the beginning of this part. It is not difficult to see that in these lessons Saint Paul a) first offers the virtues on which the structure, strength and well-being of Christian societies rests - 1 Thess. 5:12-15; b) then depicts the characteristic features of truly Christian life in every Christian - 1 Thess. 5:16-22; c) finally indicates the final goal to which everyone should strive (in the form of prayer, with hope in the possibility of achieving such a goal) - 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24. a) Virtues on which the structure, firmness and well-being of Christian societies rest (1 Thess. 5:12–15) The virtues on which the structure, firmness and well-being of Christian societies are based are: aa) a strong union with the shepherds and among themselves - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, and bb) mutual maintenance of a truly Christian life among themselves, through the correction of emerging shortcomings, common condescension towards each other and active goodwill towards everyone - 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15. aa) A strong union with the shepherds and among themselves (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13) Union with shepherds is determined by recognition of their dignity and power, reverence for them and love for them. The union between each other is expressed by a common world within itself. These two unions constitute and constitute the work of the Church. 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13. We pray you, brethren, know those who labor among you, and your superiors in the Lord, and those who punish you, and have them in abundance in love for their work; be at peace within yourself. The Holy Apostle calls shepherds laboring, admonishing and admonishing. These words do not mean different persons, but different activities of the same persons to correct their positions. In other places the Apostle directly calls them presbyters and bishops, appointed by the Spirit of God to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God (Acts 20:17, 28; cf. 1 Tim. 3:1; Tit. 1:5, 7). Shepherds work to satisfy all the spiritual needs of their flock: they proclaim the word of truth, laboring in word and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17), - they baptize, confess, teach the Body and Blood of the Lord, perform all other prayer orders, and generally devote themselves to serving the saints, that is, Christians called to holiness and sanctified by grace (1 Cor. 16:15 ). The Apostle speaks about them to the Thessalonians: they work for you. This is either among you, or above you, in the formation of you according to the spirit of the new life in Christ Jesus, in the development of the seed of this life placed in you by faith and baptism, in raising you to “a perfect man, according to the stature of the fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Pastors are in charge - they look after the moral and religious order in Christian societies, they rule everything, they lead in everything, whether in church meetings, or in the common life of Christians outside them. From Greek - who “stand”, in the sense of primacy and power, not according to the spirit of the world, but about the Lord, according to his institution, according to His Spirit, proving their primacy by intense service to everyone, with the consciousness of responsibility before the Lord. This “stand” can mean “stand” to mean that among the duties of a shepherd is intercession for all believers before the Lord. Theodoret writes: “Know,” he says, “your leaders,” that is, those who pray for you and intercede for you before the Lord.” Blessed Theophylact combines both meanings: “They do not intercede in worldly things, but in spiritual things, which are about the Lord, they pray for you, watch over you, admonish you and heal you.” (The same with Saint Chrysostom and Ecumenius.) Pastors punish - admonish - in various cases, special for each, requiring admonition and guidance, either because another is perplexed as to what to do, or because he has already acted imprudently and has deviated from the general order of Christian life and requires correction. – This fulfills what was later commanded to Saint Timothy: “Be present in good time and in untimely times, reprove, rebuke, entreat” (2 Tim. 4:2). Such punishment - suggestion and admonition - comes in addition to general labor in word and teaching, which is already designated under the word: those who work. These three occupations of shepherds determine their main task - caring for the salvation of their flock, or “watching for their souls” (Heb. 13:17). The Apostle expresses the attitude of the flock to the shepherds with the words: “know” and “have them in abundance in love.” “Know” - recognize their dignity and power and your subordinate attitude towards them, with a consciousness of duty to obey them in everything and obey them. (In our speech, this meaning of the word “to know” is very clearly expressed in a negative form in the phrase: I don’t want to know him) - Theodoret writes: “Justice requires that teachers receive every honor from you, that you give them the due reward and do not contradict what they say.” St. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “obey such, that is, those whom you have committed to serve the saints,” and “know such” (1 Cor. 16, 15, 16, 18). “Have them in abundance in love.” In this form, the word of the Apostle obliges only the flock to love the shepherds abundantly for the love that they themselves show to them, working for their salvation. He says, as it were: know and obey them, but not out of fear, but out of love, which they are fully worthy of. – But if we take into account the Greek word corresponding to the Russian “have”, ηγεισθαι - read, then it turns out that the Apostle also commands high veneration for them. “Give them the great honor that comes from sincere affection” (Theodoret). This is how this passage is translated in the Syrian Bible: may they be honored by you with complete love. Thus, three responsibilities lie with the flock in relation to the shepherds: to recognize their power over them, to be willing to obey them in everything, to deeply honor and love them. All this is “for their work,” for the work of serving the saints, for intercession and intercession, and for admonition and guidance, in other words, for the fact that “they watch over your souls” (Heb. 13:17). The Apostle only lists the affairs of shepherds, but gives a commandment about the duty of the flock; and although he says: “we pray,” he nevertheless uses a word to express this prayer, which also responds with a strict suggestion ερωτωμεν. One cannot, however, credulously assume that the Thessalonians are faulty in this regard. Rather, he does this to prevent malfunction, since the proper relationship of the flock to the shepherds can most easily be violated. This is how he understands Saint Chrysostom: “The abbot, of necessity, has many reasons to upset others. Just as doctors are often forced to upset the sick by preparing food and medicine for them, which are not at all pleasant, although, however, they bring great benefit; or just as fathers are often harsh in their treatment of their sons: so are teachers, and even much more so. Anyone who is rebuked and reproached, no matter what he is, generally feels annoyance instead of gratitude. The one to whom we turn with advice, admonition and request will do the same. That is why St. Paul reminds us of this in different places. In his letter to Timothy, he writes: “Let elders who practice good deeds be considered worthy of special honor” (1 Tim. 5:17); and in the Epistle to the Hebrews he says: “Obey your guide and repent” (Heb. 13:17); and again: “We pray you, brethren, know those who labor among you, and your superiors in the Lord, and those who punish you.” Since he said before this: “Build up everyone’s neighbor” (1 Sol. 5:11); so that they would not conclude that he himself was elevating them to the dignity of teachers, he added these words.” Then Saint Chrysostom explains how legitimate such a demand of the Holy Apostle is: “If someone intercedes for you before a person, then you do everything for him, express full gratitude to him. And this (priest) stands before God for you, and will you not feel grateful to him? – But how does he present himself, you say? - So, he prays for you, gives you a spiritual gift imparted through baptism, watches over you, teaches you, admonishes you, at midnight, if you call, he goes. Let no one resist, let no one contradict! He who loves Christ will love the priest, no matter what he may be, because through him he was made worthy of terrible mysteries. Tell me, if you wished to see the royal palaces, everywhere glittering with gold and shining with precious stones, found a man who had the keys to them, and he, at your request, would immediately open them and let you inside, would you not prefer him to everyone - would you not love him like your own eyes, would you not kiss him? And this (priest) opened heaven to you, and you don’t love and honor him?! So, if you love Christ, if you love the kingdom of heaven; then respect those through whom you receive it.” Heartfelt union with pastors is the first basis for the standing of Christian societies; the second is the living union of all Christians among themselves, expressed in common peace. Why, having spoken about the first, the Apostle adds: “Be at peace within yourselves” - be peaceful among yourself. Under shepherding, honored and loved, the mutual common world makes a single body, slender and strong, out of many. “Be at peace within yourself” - εν εαυτοις - can also have the following meaning: may each of you be at peace within yourself, at peace with God and with your conscience, at peace in your thoughts, feelings and dispositions, not allowing lies and unbelief, passions and hobbies to upset your inner world. This is not contrary to the first understanding, but is assumed by it. He who is not peaceful within himself finds it difficult to maintain peace on the outside, and all violations of peace with Others have their beginning in inner unpeace. On the contrary, who is peaceful internally, what can force him to disturb the external peace? - Moreover, by commanding mutual peace, the Apostle, of course, wanted to inspire that everyone should have peace among themselves, not only externally, but also heartily. – Consequently, it requires peace with others, not without peace within itself. In other manuscripts, instead of: “in yourself” there is: “in them” - that is, in the shepherds. In this case, here is either the following thought: be peaceful in relation to them, the same as with them, or this: be peaceful with each other under their influence, guidance and supervision. The latter is closer to the flow of speech. Subordinateship and under-shepherding are the protection of mutual peace. With the weakening of subordinate authority, the mutual union disintegrates and all sorts of things happen disorder. But the first one is not inappropriate. The Apostle said ahead, so that they know, honor and love the shepherds. Now he adds: look, do not break the peace with them when they begin to reproach you for something. “You see,” says Ecumenius, “how he foresaw the possibility of the emergence of displeasure against the teachers, by exposing evil, they incur hostility to themselves. “Everyone has the duty to love them.” Theophylact gives a new shade to this thought, saying: “We must make peace with them (that is, with the shepherds) and, moreover, not only in outward appearance, but in ourselves.” And it is very likely that the reason for such a speech was the reading of the text of St. Chrysostom, who says: “Peace yourself in them.” - One can say because it will not be a sin for anyone to see in the word of the Apostle a commandment about all-round peace, about peace with the shepherds and, under their guidance and supervision, about peace among themselves and in themselves. bb) Mutual maintenance among ourselves of a truly Christian life (1 Thessalonians 5:14–15) The union of the flock with the shepherds and among themselves serves as the basis for the formation and establishment of Christian society, and well-being depends on the mutual assistance and assistance of all to each and each to all. The Apostle now speaks about this primarily, but in a spiritual and moral sense, since Christian society is organized on spiritual principles and with spiritual goals. 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15. We pray, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, intercede for the weak, be patient with everyone. Be careful that no one will repay evil for evil, but always pursue goodness towards each other and towards everyone. This “we pray” here has a different connotation in Greek than the previous one. There it responds with strict suggestion, and here with pleading conviction (παρακαλουμεν). The reason for this is the subjects of speech. There deeds of righteousness were commanded, but here deeds of brotherly spiritual love are instilled. But to whom is the holy Apostle speaking? - “brothers”, to the entire body of the Thessalonica Church, and in its person to all Christians. Mutual edification of each other, mutual support of each other in the Christian life and mutual correction are commanded by the Apostle in other epistles (Rom. 15:14; Col. 3:13, 16; Heb. 3:13, 10:24). This, however, does not eliminate the primary duty of pastors - to fulfill everything prescribed. Moreover, in the Church of God everything must go well and in order. Therefore, it cannot be thought that the Apostle had the idea of ​​leaving to his own devices these lofty deeds of brotherly spiritual love, for which, moreover, not everyone may be capable. They could not and cannot become fruitful without the instructions and guidance of shepherds. Rather, we must assume that the commandment is given to the entire Church, and the fulfillment of this commandment falls on the shepherds, and under their leadership, on other Christians who are more successful in life. Saint Chrysostom, and after him Ecumenius and Theophylact, believe that here the Apostle’s speech is addressed to the shepherds, although they do not deny that it is not only appropriate, but also the need to admonish and edify oneself mutually, as can be seen from their thoughts on their verse. “Admonish the unruly.” “The Apostle calls those who act against the will of God disorderly” (Chrysostom); “they do not act according to the order established by God” (Theodoret and Ecumenius). “God assigned each one his own rank; he who transgresses it is a disorderly person” (Theophylact). These are the same persons whom the Apostle in his second letter called “walking about them disorderly, not according to tradition, which they received from us,” also “doing nothing with them, but walking about them disorderly” (2 Thess. 3:6, 11). In general, these are those who are careless about their duty and, with their disorderly behavior, violate general peace and tranquility, and disgrace Christian society in the face of non-Christians. “The church rank is slimmer than the military rank; As a result, the scolder is disorderly, and the drunkard is disorderly, and the covetous, and all who sin. “Since they do not march in order, but in disorder, they break the order” (Chrysostom). The Apostle commands to admonish them, that is, “not to reprimand them with severity and arrogance, but with condescension, with meekness. For the one who is given severe reprimands, having become embittered, becomes more impudent and neglects them; but therefore, through exhortation, healing must be made pleasant” (Chrysostom), urging them to understand the inconsistency of their behavior with their title and to correct themselves. “Comfort the faint-hearted.” “He is cowardly who falls in spirit from troubles, misfortunes, from oppression, persecution and deprivation, from sorrows and illnesses; he is cowardly who cannot bear insults; he is cowardly who cannot bear temptations for Christ. He is precisely the one sown on the stone” (Chrysostom). As one who is ready to fall away, the duty of love obliges everyone to support him, comforting and encouraging him to endure with the great promises of blessings laid aside for true Christians who, despite sorrows, will remain faithful to their calling. And the faint-hearted, like Christians, themselves know all this; but in the hour of sorrow and cowardice, all comforting Christian truths fall from the memory and heart. To resurrect them in consciousness and bring them closer to the heart again is to indicate a source of consolation and inspiration for the faint-hearted. “Stand up for the weak...” Those who are weak in faith (Rom. 14:1-2), and those whose “conscience is weak” (1 Cor. 8:7, 11-12), weak in the knowledge of the faith, in convictions, in the rules of Christian life, and are ready to either fall from the faith or fall into sins, are also weak. For Christians who are successful and strong, the duty of love commands them to support them. “Strengthen those who do not have unshakable faith” (Theodoret), “who are weak in relation to it,” because in relation to it there is weakness. But see how he does not allow them to be despised. So writing in another place, he said: “Accept him who faints in faith” (Rom. 14:1); just as in our bodies we do not allow the weak member to perish” (Chrysostom). But perhaps this also means those who, in cases of wrongdoing, cannot defend themselves, although there are ways to do so. The Apostle orders us to intercede for such people and support their just cause with our advice, assistance and intercession. “Be patient with everyone.” Whoever, encountering troubles and insults from another, does not allow himself to be moved towards unpeace, anger and hostile feelings against him, suffers; and whoever maintains an undisturbed peaceful disposition towards another, despite the fact that he continues to act in such a way that his deeds constantly shake such a disposition, is long-suffering. It’s impossible to stay in a dormitory without clashes. By enjoining long-suffering, the Apostle forbids any feeling of displeasure against anyone because of it. But since our soul is very susceptible to displeasure, the Apostle often instills the virtue of long-suffering (Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:12), pointing out its source in love (1 Cor. 13:4). When he says: “to all,” the Apostle means anyone from whom trouble comes, or who causes trouble, not having in mind his faith, whether he is a believer or an unbeliever. Do not look at who arouses anxiety in the heart, but at the anxiety itself, so that, having restored inner peace, you will be strong for long-suffering. This also includes all the persons who were mentioned before - disorderly, cowardly, weak, and, perhaps, mainly they - in order to inspire that in relation to them one must act with the patience of love, without any ardor and irritation. For those who want to have a beneficial effect on others, this is “the most decent property, powerful to calm down the most brutal people” (Theodorit), “to defeat the most inflexible” (Ecumenius), “to convert and shame the rudest and most shameless” (Chrysostom). “Be careful that no one will repay evil for evil.” Longsuffering graciously endures all troubles from others. But among these troubles there are especially irritating ones, such as humiliation, personal insult, intentional evil and the like, which cause self-defense or, more directly, under its cover, revenge. Our fallen nature is inclined to take revenge, so this seems to have become part of natural law. This plausibility of vengeance, the essence of which is to repay evil for evil, prompted the holy Apostle to single out from the general range of subjects of long-suffering the troubles that arouse revenge, in order to put everyone on guard against these particularly wrong movements of an irritated heart. It is difficult to resist impulses of frustration, anger and revenge; That’s why the Apostle puts this virtue under general supervision: “watch,” and, of course, under the special supervision of those who have the duty to watch over all the moral and religious states of Christians. Revenge puts a stain on the entire Christian society in the face of the pagans. Why is it rightly incumbent on everyone to ensure that it doesn’t get pushed through? Let the meek and calm restrain and calm the hot ones. By forbidding Christians to take revenge, God takes vengeance upon Himself: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). Christians themselves are allowed to take revenge only with good: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. While doing this, he collected coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:20-21). “But always do good things to each other and to everyone.” Outside the context of speech, this word of the Apostle commands not only to be always ready to do good to others when the opportunity presents itself, but also to seek out these opportunities yourself, as if to chase after them as if it were the most profitable prey. In connection with speech, a mode of action opposite to revenge is indicated here. Those who want to take revenge look for ways to do evil for evil; and you, he says, do not worry about this, but about how to do good instead of evil - and worry intensely, with zeal, so as to certainly achieve this goal and thereby extinguish the destructive enmity. This is the highest wisdom, not only not to pay evil for evil, but to pay for it with Good. Truly, this is the kind of revenge that brings great benefit to both you and that (enemy), if he wants” (Chrysostom). This rule is reminiscent of the Savior’s commandment: “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who harm you and those who drive you out. For you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, as His sun shines on the evil and on the good, and rains on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45). And Saint Peter taught, “not to repay evil for evil, and annoyance for annoyance; and bless that which is contrary” (1 Pet. 3:9). And the Apostle Paul repeated the same instruction in other places: “bless those who persecute, bless and do not curse... but repaying no one evil for evil, providentially being kind to all men” (Rom. 12:14, 17). – The words: “to each other and to everyone” or mean the same as: to the whole body of the Church and, in particular, to every Christian. Or: “to each other” means to the Christian brethren, and “to all” - and to the infidels (Chrysostom, Ecumenius, Theophylact). This way of acting in relation to offenders elevated Christians in the eyes of the pagans more than charity itself. For here the natural goodwill of the heart was satisfied, and there things went against the heart; which the unregenerate pagans could not understand from their beginnings and marveled at how something extraordinary, which is what it really is. b) Characteristic features of a truly Christian life in every Christian (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22) Having indicated the virtues on which the structure, firmness and well-being of Christian societies rest, St. Paul now proceeds to depict the characteristic features of the Christian life in every Christian - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22. aa) The highest manifestations of spiritual life in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18) Here, first of all, it means the highest manifestations of spiritual life in Christ Jesus, such as: joy, unceasing prayer, constant thanksgiving - 1 Thess. 5:16-18; then he defines bb) the producers of this life, which are: α) Divine grace, which is revealed in everyone by the burning of the spirit, and in some in addition to special gifts, such as, for example, the gift of prophecy (1 Thessalonians 5:19–20), and β) everyone’s own efforts, revealing themselves in considering what is good and what is bad, and in compelling themselves to do good and resist evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21–22). The course of spiritual life in everyone is as follows: having come to his senses and repented, a Christian sets the intention to work for the Lord unswervingly and, having received grace through the sacraments, begins, with a spirit of grief, to be zealous for pleasing God, turning away from all evil and doing all good. When, as a result of labors and exploits in this order, the soul begins to be cleansed of passions, a feeling of health and salvation comes to it, filling the heart with the joy that a sick person rejoices in when he recovers. At the same time, the heart cleaves more and more to the Lord and, constantly maintaining attention, gives rise to unceasing prayer, in which not only petitions are expressed, but petitions with thanksgiving - for everything that has been received, is being received and is about to be received (Col. 4:2). All this was signified by Saint Paul in brief but comprehensive statements; only in his testimony he does not go from bottom to top, but from top to bottom. 1 Sol.5:16. Always rejoice – joy “in the Lord” (Phil. 3:1, 4:4) and “in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17), which settles in the heart under the influence of living faith, warm love and strong hope, and is so deep that no external troubles can upset it. In a Christian, such joy is as natural as the joy of a son who is taken back into the arms of love by his father whom he had angered, of a captive and prisoner who was awaiting execution and death and received freedom, of an unpaid debtor from whom debt obligations have been removed, and in general of a person who was in the last extreme and suddenly unexpectedly received complete happiness. What these people do externally, everything in the highest sense is accomplished in the Christian’s spirit. Man was created for joy - for heavenly life; lost it through the fall; now in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he is again restored to his first rank. Although outwardly he is not yet in heaven, but inside he already receives a heavenly system. That's why he's happy. In everyday life, people are in a cheerful mood, when needs are not burdensome, relationships with others are peaceful, things are going smoothly and no trouble threatens ahead. For Christians, sins are forgiven, moral strength is restored by grace, peace is established with God, a clear conscience is kept towards everyone and everything, the confidence that the Lord will protect and will keep it blameless to the end is unshakable, the hope of the bliss of eternal life is deep. Living in such a joyful atmosphere, he cannot help but be in a constantly joyful state of mind. But the essential basis of a Christian’s joy is the renewal of fallen nature. In rebirth, the seed of new life is placed, in the image of the risen Lord (Rom. 6:4). Having begun from this moment to walk in newness of life, he is more and more freed from the bonds of sinful corruption and filled with a sense of Spiritual health. This feeling is almost the same as the feeling of resurrection. Hence the constant joy of living in the Lord. From all that has been said, it is clear that the joy of a Christian is a reflection of his spiritual state and is therefore not an arbitrary feeling. How is it prescribed? – And it is prescribed to keep oneself in the same Spiritual state, which brings constant joy, to surround oneself with such convictions that bring joy to the soul, not to deprive oneself of the destruction of all the spiritual benefits offered in the Lord, which cannot but cheer the heart, to never shun labors and exploits, which, although along a narrow path, lead to the stomach. The Apostle does not want a Christian to develop joy in himself through dreams, but rather through action, entering the joyful region of light and life. And just as much as the latter is inevitable for a true Christian, joy is inseparable from true Christianity. Why is it repeatedly prescribed in the Word of God (Phil. 3:1, 4:4; Rom. 12:12; 2 Cor. 6:10; Rom. 14:17; James 1:2). When there is peace and joy within, then external troubles and sorrows do not affect a Christian, so that he can only be considered by others to be mourning, but within himself he always rejoices (2 Cor. 6:10). 1 Sol.5:17. Pray without ceasing. And in other epistles, Saint Paul commands to “continue” (Rom. 12:12) and “endure in prayer, being watchful in it” (Col. 4:2), “to pray with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18). The Savior Himself teaches constancy and persistence in prayer with the parable of a widow who persistently begged an unjust judge (Luke 18:1ff). It is clear that unceasing prayer is not an accidental prescription, but an integral feature of the Christian spirit. The life of a Christian, according to the Apostle, is “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). He must constantly remain in God with attention and feeling, which is unceasing prayer. On the other hand, every Christian is a “church of God” in which “the Spirit of God lives” (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19; Rom. 8:9). This “Spirit”, always abiding and interceding in him, prays for him “always with groanings that cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26), teaching him unceasing prayer. The very first effect of God’s grace, turning a sinner to God, is revealed by the aspiration of his mind and heart to God. When later, after repentance and dedication of one’s life to God, the grace of God, acting from without, descends into him through the sacraments and remains in him, then that aspiration of the mind and heart to God, in which the essence of prayer, becomes unchangeable and everlasting in him. It is revealed in different degrees and, like any other gift, must be warmed up (2 Tim. 1:6). It is warmed by its kind: by prayerful labor and, especially, by patient and purposeful stay in church prayers. Pray unceasingly—work in prayer—and you will acquire unceasing prayer, which itself will begin to take place in your heart without much strain. It is obvious to everyone that the commandment of the holy Apostle is not fulfilled by simply performing the prescribed prayers at certain hours, but requires always walking before God, devoting all affairs to God, the all-seeing and omnipresent, warming a warm appeal to heaven with the mind in the heart. All life, in all its manifestations, must be imbued with prayer. Its secret is love for the Lord. Just as a bride, who has loved the groom, is not separated from him in memory and feeling, so the soul, united with the Lord in love, remains persistently with Him, turning warm conversations to Him from the heart. “Be cleave to the Lord; you are one spirit with the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17). 1 Sol.5:18. Give thanks for everything. This is the will of God for Christ Jesus in you. Delighted by the receipt of invaluable benefits in the Lord Jesus and constantly approaching God in prayer, it is natural to express grateful feelings towards the one who has benefited him. Why, as long as there is joy and prayer in the heart, there is also thanksgiving there. Despite, however, the fact that both joy and prayer, and thanksgiving are prescribed to Christians in many places of Scripture as a reminder not to ignore this natural movement of the spirit turned to the Lord. Thus, the Apostle commands the Ephesians to kindle spiritual songs in their hearts, “always giving thanks to everyone in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God and the Father” (Eph. 5:20); The Philippians are taught to “be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” to make your requests to God (Phil. 4:6); instills in the Colossians: “Be grateful... And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father” (Col. 3:15,17); and again: “endure in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (1 Thessalonians 4:2). When it is commanded to give thanks “in everything,” it means either the benefits that a Christian is granted in the grace-filled kingdom of Christ, or, in addition, those benefits that everyone receives from the all-good providence by nature, such as being and everything necessary for well-being. The Greek expression εν παντι - “in everything” suggests that one should thank God in all circumstances life, in joy and sorrow, in happiness and misfortune. For the all-good God educates a person for eternity, intending to reveal all his good sides in him. And childish devotion to the will of God knows how to see God’s fatherly care for oneself in all cases of life, and to be grateful not only for what is pleasant, but also for what is unpleasant. Have you suffered any evil? But, if you want, it will not be evil at all. Give thanks to God, and evil will turn into good. Say like Job: “Blessed be the name of the Lord forever” (Job 1:21). “This is the will of God regarding Christ Jesus in you.” What is God's will? Should we just give thanks, or should we rejoice and pray unceasingly? – For all these three manifestations of spiritual life. For they are inseparable and constitute one constant mood of spirit in those being saved – joyfully and prayerfully grateful. Continuous lifting of the mind and heart to God, in the joy of the spirit with thanksgiving, are the inalienable fruits of the spirit in the hearts of true believers. When the Apostle says: this is the will of God, he wants to say that this is not my advice, but the direct will of God in Jesus Christ, revealed to you. Moreover, it is hinted that, even though such commandments were not directly expressed by the Lord anywhere, the very structure of our salvation, perfected by him, is such that he who is worthy of it, who enters into the order of life that brings salvation, and is confident that the Lord who has accepted him into his fellowship will not leave him, and, having begun his work in Him, will undoubtedly bring it to the end, is aware in his spirit of the underlying obligation - to always abide with the Lord in joy and grateful prayer. The will of God is “in you,” not exclusively only in you, but in you as Christians; therefore, in you, along with other Christians. Such is Christianity that he who has accepted it and tasted its fruits always rejoices, prays unceasingly and gives thanks for everything. bb) Producers of spiritual life in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5:19–22) 1 Sol.5:19. Don't quench the spirit. From the heights of spiritual life the Apostle now descends to its very source and spring. Usually a person lives in carelessness and carelessness about Divine services and salvation. Grace calling to salvation awakens the sleeping sinner; he, having heeded this call in feelings of repentance, rises to the determination to devote the rest of his life to deeds pleasing to God and thereby achieve his salvation; this decision is revealed by zeal, which becomes powerful when God’s grace is combined with it through the Divine sacraments. From this moment, a Christian begins to burn in spirit, that is, to be relentlessly zealous for the fulfillment of everything that his conscience points to him as the will of God. This burning of the spirit can be maintained and intensified, or it can be extinguished. It is warmed most of all by deeds of love for God and neighbors, which constitutes the essence of this spirit, fidelity in general to all the commandments of God with peace of conscience, merciless deeds of soul and body, prayer and the thought of God. It is extinguished by deviation of attention from God and the affairs of God, excessive preoccupation with the affairs of life, indulgences in sensual pleasures, indulgence in flesh in lust, addictions. If this spirit goes out, Christian life will go out. A person again becomes, as he was, careless and careless, and begins to live as he lives, without caring deeply whether he ends up with bad things or good things. Warning against this disastrous step, the Apostle suggests not to quench the spirit, that is, this spirit of jealousy, by leaning towards what is contrary to it, but, on the contrary, to warm and nourish it with what is akin to it. What Saint Paul expressed so briefly here, in his letter to the Romans he explains in three points: (be) “not lazy with diligence, fervent in spirit, working for the Lord” (Rom. 12:11). “Be not only thorough, but unremitting; not only have the spirit, but be ardent in the spirit, that is, be zealous and zealous” (Chrysostom at this point in the Epistle to the Romans). To burn in spirit means, therefore, to be diligently zealous to please the Lord, fulfilling His holy will unfailingly, as slaves do in relation to their masters, and not to quench the spirit - not to quench this zeal. Saint Chrysostom talks at length about this burning of the spirit. Here are his words briefly: “Some kind of thick darkness, darkness, and clouds are spread over the whole earth. Pointing to this, the Apostle said: “Sometimes there is darkness” (Eph. 5:8). We are surrounded by a moonless night, so to speak, and we walk in the middle of this night. God gave us a clear lamp. kindling in our souls the grace of the Holy Spirit. But, having accepted this light, some made it brighter and clearer, like Paul, like Peter, like all the saints; and others were extinguished, like the five virgins, like those who were shipwrecked in the faith, like the Corinthian fornicator, like the Galatians who fell away. Therefore Paul now says: “Do not quench the Spirit,” that is, the gift; because that is what he usually calls the gift of the Holy Spirit. His unclean life extinguishes him. For just as when someone pours water, or throws earth into the light of a lamp, or, even without doing anything like that, when he pours oil out of it, the light goes out, so the gift of grace goes out. If you brought earthly things, if you indulged in worries about current affairs, then you have already extinguished the spirit. The flame goes out even when there is not enough oil, namely, when we do not give alms. Since he himself came to you by the grace of God, when he does not find this fruit in you, he flies away from you. For he does not dwell in an unmerciful soul. - So, let's not extinguish it. Every evil deed extinguishes this light: slander, insults, and everything like that. As it happens with fire, that everything alien to it destroys it and everything akin to it strengthens it, so it happens with this light.” This is how the common Christian spirit of grace is revealed, descending into the soul of everyone in the sacrament of baptism for repentance and faith or returning in the sacrament of repentance. The fire of jealousy is his essence. But it can take different directions, depending on their faces. For some, it turns entirely to self-correction in strict deeds, for others - mainly to Works of love, for others - to the improvement of Christian society; others for the dissemination of the Gospel teaching by preaching, as, for example, in Apollos, who “with a burning spirit, he knew with words and words what he knew about the Lord” (Acts 18:25). In all these directions, not to quench the spirit means not to suppress its demands, suggestions and aspirations, but to prudently satisfy them, turning everything to the glory of God, to the salvation of oneself and of one’s brothers in the Lord. Some here understand by spirit a special gift to perceive sudden insights of the mind, to enter into the contemplation of revealed truths, whether already known or new, with an uncontrollable desire to communicate these insights and suggestions of the Spirit to others in a strong and animated word. Not to extinguish such a spirit means not to prevent it from revealing itself and acting in oneself and others, for the good of the Church. But in this case, it will be the same as: “do not disparage prophecies.” Since the Apostle writes life lessons in brief statements, so that each of them contains its own special rule, there is no reason to see the same thought in these two sayings (1 Thess. 5:19-20). Rather, it should be assumed that Saint Paul, having spoken about the preservation of this universal Christian spirit of grace - the spirit of life in Christ Jesus - also recalled the prophetic spirit, which was not treated as it should everywhere at that time, he mentioned it as if in passing, without having to say much about this special gift, or about other grace-filled gifts. This is all the more convenient to accept because immediately after: “do not despise prophecies”, there follow such lessons that determine the proper use of the general grace-filled spirit of life in the Lord, in compelling oneself to every perceived good and in opposition to every perceived evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:20. Do not disparage prophecies. In the primal Church there was a special gift of prophecy (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10), and those who possessed it were called prophets. This gift received its name from insight into the future and its prophecy, but its actions were not limited to this alone. “When a man prophesies, he says creation and consolation and confirmation” (1 Cor. 14:3), St. Paul defined in another place. Consequently, prophecy embraced all kinds of Divine truths and offered them, only always as a direct revelation of God. Consciousness of direct revelation is a distinctive feature of the spirit of prophecy, which is why the one who has prophecy is assigned knowledge of all mysteries (1 Cor. 13:2), and prophecy is suppressed by the unambiguous offer of revelation (1 Cor. 14:6, 30). It is clear that this gift was not always the exclusive property of some individuals, but it could and did come to every believer. The believer, excited by this spirit, realized that he had received a revelation and felt the urge and ability to enthusiastically present the truth he contemplated by revelation to other believers and inspire them with it, just as he himself was inspired. Whoever in a general meeting of believers, realizing that his mind was embraced by a new, important truth, implanted in him from above, which he therefore considered to be hidden from others as a matter contrary to the will of God, stood up and proposed it to the meeting, he prophesied, whether it was about the future, or about the present and past, or something hidden that always had a price was offered, or it was something that he had not previously been so clearly aware of, or that he did not know at all. All this, however, was of such a kind that believers could only draw from it creation, consolation and confirmation (1 Cor. 14:3). In this state, speech was poured out in a more elevated tone, with greater liveliness and energy, than in the usual, calmer teaching. It is obvious that to degrade this gift, that is, to regard it as nothing, and for the sake of course, to limit or completely eliminate its manifestation and action in the congregation of Christians, means to deprive Christian society of the always necessary influx of revitalizing, grace-filled stimulation, not to mention the fact that this is obvious opposition to the Spirit of God and an insult to Him (Eph. 4:30). The Holy Apostle forbids doing this. - But for what reason? Afterwards, inappropriate attitudes towards this gift were discovered in the Corinthian Church, and Saint Paul was forced to make special orders and decrees on this occasion (1 Cor. 14). Whether there was anything similar in Thessaloniki is not clear. Perhaps the holy Apostle was preventing only the possible or only meant to pay more diligent attention to the manifestations of this spirit, which were so fruitful especially in the young Church, where much had to be filled in and explained. Saint Chrysostom explains it this way: “In those days, many prophesied, some truly, others falsely. The devil, being evil, wanted to destroy everything in the Church regarding the gift of prophecy. As a result, both the one and the other predicted the future - both the demon and the spirit, although the first prophesied falsely, and the other truly, and there was nowhere to take a sign by which one could be distinguished from the other: for both those and other prophets taught without giving an account of their words, like Jeremiah or Ezekiel. Since at this time many of the Thessalonians were prophesying, having said: “Do not quench the spirit,” he opportunely added the following words: “Do not disdain the prophecies.” He wants to express the following thought here: because you have several false prophets, do not oppose the true prophets for their sake and do not turn away from them.” Blessed Theodoret, Ecumenius and Theophylact have the same thought. 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22. Keep it all tempting, kind. Get rid of every evil thing (every kind of evil). “Everything is tempting, keep the good one.” If these words are put in connection with the immediately preceding ones: “do not despise prophecies,” that is, because of false prophets, do not neglect the true ones, then we must see in them an apostolic guide on how to act in relation to false prophets. He seems to resolve the confusion: “Well? Should we really accept false prophets? - No. But tempt everything, that is, examine both the false and the true with testing, and then accept the prophecies that turn out to be good, that is, read them as true and take them into account” (Theophylact). When someone speaks as a prophet, “tempt whether this prophecy is genuine” (Chrysostom). “Know what is from the Spirit of God and what is from the enemy; and, rejecting what is from delusion, hold on to what is from the truth” (Theodoret). To discern whether what is said in the prophetic spirit is from God, or whether it is the speaker’s own dream and the delusion of the enemy, the primal Church had a special gift of discernment of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10). In our time, the positive teaching of the Church serves to discern whether speech is from the truth - inspired and captivating. This is the touchstone of all teachings. Whatever agrees with him, accept; whatever disagrees, reject. And this can be done without further considerations. The gift of discerning spirits, living and operating in the Church, definitely distinguished between what is true and what is false. Following the instructions of the Church, you will do the same as if you were following the grace-filled gift of discerning spirits. But if these words are put in connection with the words: “do not quench the spirit,” then we must see in them a continuation of the image of the original active principle of a truly Christian life. The spirit of life in Christ Jesus, generated by the combination of grace with freedom, is revealed by the heat of zeal for pleasing God and salvation. What this spirit strives for and what it seeks, the Apostle defines in another place like this: “What is true, what is honest, what is righteous, what is most pure, what is most loving, what is goodly praised, if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). That someone who is jealous in this spirit could consciously incline towards something that is not directly good, one cannot even suspect this. But both in internal movements and in the interweaving of external circumstances there is a lot that is only good in appearance, but in essence is not good, and, following which, you can deviate from the path of truth and goodness. The Apostle adds reasoning to the spirit of zeal, which should determine what in a given case should be adhered to and what to deviate from. In another letter he depicts this more fully, saying: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, as you may be tempted, that this is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). The subject of consideration and research is the will of God - what God wants from you in certain circumstances. The general will of God is already expressed in the commandments and is known to everyone. There is nothing to explore. But the application of the commandments can be varied, and which one should be chosen in the present combination of chance, this must be determined by everyone himself, here, on the spot, at the moment of action. Defines a mind renewed by grace. One external, written revelation already enlightens the mind and clears the conscience. Grace, having descended in the holy sacraments and combined with the human spirit, forms a spiritual sense of the will of God, which unspoken, but nevertheless correctly determines how, having acted, you will act in a manner pleasing to God. This is the same with St. John, “the anointing of the Holy One” (1 John 2:20, 27), and that “the senses are trained... to discern good and evil” in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 5:14). Reasoning reaches this perfection through “long learning” (ibid.), but its rudiments are given and revealed from the very beginning. The experiences of life with one who listens to oneself, with the help of the recorded experiences of saints and the advice of like-minded people, under the invisible guidance of the grace of God, are the essence of a school of learning. A jealous spirit alone, by itself, can be blind. The eyes for him are reasoning, indicating where he should go and which side to keep. When reasoning determines what is good and what is bad, the jealous spirit naturally holds on to the good and moves away from the evil. Only the careless and careless can still listen to the suggestions of evil and ponder whether this time not to indulge the urges of the passions. Whoever's spirit burns with jealousy, who, therefore, has the fear of God, who has a lively conscience, who is full of love for his Savior, he can feel the attacks of evil passions, but cannot please them. To do this, you must first extinguish the spirit - the burning one, this counterweight to the flame of passions. Thus, “to keep what is good”, and “to get rid of all evil” or, what is the same thing, “to turn away from evil and do good” (1 Pet. 3:11) are two branches of a single vital Christian principle, always inseparable - as if two legs walking after the Lord along the path of His holy commandments. “Keep what is good” - accept the recognized goodness in your heart, embrace it with love and hold it not just once, but throughout your life, as an unchanging rule of your activity. “Rake away from every evil thing” - “not from just one or the other, but from every one” (Chrysostom). From Greek - from every kind of evil - that is, from evil in words, deeds, thoughts and feelings, or from even any shadow, small trait of evil. The will of God is the norm. She should never allow anything contrary to happen, and if bewilderment is present, it is better to skip the matter than to do something doubtful, so that the consciousness of fulfilling the exact will of God before the face of the all-seeing God is always clear. It’s a wonderful word: “shovel out.” It makes one imagine one who walks along the path of the Lord’s commandments as looking like one walking among thorns or thick sticky grass, which at every step interfere with the free movement of the legs and force him, before stepping from one foot to the other, to clear his way, raking away from the stuck grass or thorny thorns that have caught on. This comparison makes it clear that in those who are zealous for pleasing God and salvation, an evil thought arises against every good undertaking, and sometimes even an attraction, exuded by an still unrefined passionate heart - and that in fulfilling the first, you cannot do without struggling with the latter. We must despise them, reject them, hate them, and thus get rid of them in order to more freely hold on to what is good. – This hints at what St. Paul writes about in his Epistle to the Romans: “I find the law, that I may do good, because evil is present upon me. For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man: I see another law in my hearts, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity through the law of sin which is in my hearts” (Rom. 7:21-23). Thus, the one who is burning in spirit, strengthened by the grace of God, either turns himself away from evil or inclines toward good. Resistance to evil and forcing oneself to do good are two of his constant activities, becoming easier as passions weaken and progress in good. The goal of his aspirations is to reach the point where only goodness reigns in the entire composition of his nature. c) The final goal to which everyone should strive, with hope of achieving it (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24) What every Christian should keep in mind, working on himself in a spirit of zeal for pleasing God and salvation, in forcing himself to do good and in opposing himself to evil, is the cleansing of himself from all passions, so that in no part of his nature nothing unclean remains, and he becomes completely pure and blameless before the face of the all-seeing God Himself. – This is why Christians were chosen even before the foundation of the world, so that “they might be holy and blameless before Him in love” (Eph. 1:4). The fallen one has taken into himself the seeds of evil passions, which have grafted themselves onto all aspects of his life and poison them all with their poison. When, by the grace of God, he rises up and sets the intention not to indulge the passions anymore, but to live otherwise according to the will of God, and by deed himself begins to do so, then the passions, not receiving food, will begin to weaken and weaken until they completely go out. On the contrary, natural exercises of power, freed from the corrupting effects of passions, under the influence of beneficial influences, deeds and pious exercises, begin to perceive their original goodness, to which they were destined in creation and in which they came from the hands of the Creator. When everything in a Christian becomes pure and perfect, then he becomes a saint; In the meantime, he goes to this degree - he is sanctified. God leads his chosen one to this perfection, although not without the participation of man’s own efforts and the strain of his zealous spirit for the salvation. This is why Saint Paul prays to God about this, teaching, of course, the Thessalonians themselves to continually sigh for His goodness. 1 Thessalonians 5:23. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you, who are all perfect in everything: and may your spirit and soul and body remain perfect at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With a burning spirit, fulfilling every known good and moving away from every shadow of evil, a Christian sets out on the path to complete purification. Anyone who is so tuned in is on the threshold of holiness. This is how Saint Paul sees the Thessalonians and, as if having equipped them on a good path, he bestows good wishes so that God will help them reach the end. He expresses this by prayer to God, from Whom every good and every gift is perfect. "God himself.." Do not rely on your efforts and labors; they will not bring you to your goal unless God Himself takes you into His protection and care. But be sure that when you use all your efforts on your part, God Himself will not abandon you, will come to your aid and with His assistance will crown your labors with success. When, in this way, He Himself acts in you, do not doubt that you will achieve what you are looking for - “the God of peace.” Sanctification begins with the establishment of the first fruits of inner peace with God and conscience, and, ripening itself, strengthens this world. This is the primary fruit of sanctification. Usually benefactors are called by the titles of the benefits received from them; and the Apostle, realizing that the highest good from the salvation arranged in us by God is peace, calls him the God of peace - not only here, but in many other places (Rom. 15, 33, 16:20; Phil. 4, 7, 9 and others). “Let him sanctify” - let him make you “holy and blameless and blameless” before Him (Col. 1, 22), so that no “filth or vice” or anything “from” remains anywhere in you. such”, but that you be “holy and blameless” in everything (Eph. 5:27), cleansed from all “defilement of the Flesh and Spirit” (2 Cor. 7:1). “All-perfect”, from Greek in all parts - ολοτελεις (as in Slavic in brackets - “in everything"). Just as sin and passions penetrated all parts of human nature and became intertwined with them, so the Apostle also desires sanctification in all parts, so that the grace of God, accompanied everywhere by the efforts of man himself, would fill everything with itself and from everything she took away everything sinful, and transformed all the uds, who had previously been slaves of “uncleanness and lawlessness into lawlessness,” into slaves of “righteousness into holiness” (Rom. 6:19). Further words explain what comprehensive sanctification in all parts means: “and your spirit is perfect,” and so on. - All-perfect, from Greek - ολοκληρον υμων - the whole of you, all yours, your whole composition. What is all this of yours? - Spirit, soul, and body. May all these components of human nature be preserved in integrity at the coming of the Lord. Just as, having acquired any property, one must still preserve it, so one must also preserve the purity and freedom from passions acquired through labor with the help of grace. There is a constant danger of distractions and falls, from which only the help of God can prevent us. Why doesn’t he say: save, but “let it be preserved” - by the same God of peace, Who also produces comprehensive sanctification. No matter what level someone stands at, the fear of falling does not leave him, and therefore, help is needed in protecting him from above. And this is until the very exodus, or until the coming of Christ. “Spirit and soul and body” is a divinely revealed indication of the composition of human nature. As a small world, man combines within himself all types of life that appeared in his predecessors along the ladder of creation. In him there is plant-animal life, and animal-soul life together with soul-human life, and spiritual life, which exclusively belongs to him and characterizes him. These are what the words mean: body, soul and spirit. The body is our animal-vegetable organism, with all its functions and needs; the soul is the beginning of those conscious phenomena within us that begin with sensory perceptions, drives and sensations and end with scientific constructions, vast undertakings and enterprises, works of taste; spirit is an organ of communication with God, a God-conscious, God-seeking and God-living force. Its essential features are consciousness and freedom, its driving principles are: faith in God, a feeling of complete dependence on Him and confidence in Him. The manifestations of life are: the fear of God, the actions of conscience and the thirst for communion with God, expressed (from the outside) by dissatisfaction with anything created. This is the breath of God-like life that God breathed into the primordial during creation. Combining in man with the animal soul, it transformed it into the human soul, which therefore in its actions shows a thorough affinity with both animals and spirit. As the spirit is a distinctive feature of man, this spirit is given a predominant position in man, a position over soul and body, under the condition of his complete submission to God. The normal structure of man is this: the spirit is in God, under his control is the soul, and under both is the body. When man fell away from God, the spirit lost power over the soul, and this power over the body. The life of the fallen has become predominantly carnal - sensual, with a weak spiritual and even weaker spiritual. The anticipatory - calling grace of God, approaching a person, acts directly on his spirit and, reviving his elements - the fear of God, conscience and thirst for communion with God, turns him to the Lord Savior, Who, combining with him forever grace in the sacraments, returns him again to a predominant position in man. From this moment, the blessed spirit begins to powerfully control spiritual forces and actions, in the form of transforming it all according to its principles, or spiritualizing it. Having become accustomed to other kinds of activities and tastes, a spiritual person does not suddenly give in: hence the struggle, an inevitable part of a truly Christian life. The body is a passive instrument of mental and spiritual life. The fallen life is sin-loving, passionate, sensual, and in it primarily forms its throne, settled life and stronghold. The grace of God, guiding the spirit in the labors of restoring man from the fall, teaches him, first of all, to take this fortress, in which everything sinful and passionate takes refuge and receives reinforcement. Hence, immediately after conversion, strict physical labors - the crucifixion of the flesh with passions and lusts - in order to drive out all corruption from here and thereby deprive it of support. The goal of labor is to sober up the body and make it a submissive instrument of the spirit in its goals and aspirations. Hence, everyone understands when the spirit, soul, and body are blameless? – The spirit is immaculate when it is all in God, and does not submit to the soul, but subordinates it to itself and directs and arranges it in its own way; the soul is immaculate when, suppressing all passion in itself, it follows in everything the contemplations, suggestions and tastes of the spirit and does not allow anything contrary to this, either in the sciences, or in the arts, or in undertakings - and controls the body, not submitting to it, but turning it into an instrument; the body is immaculate when they do not indulge it in lust, but keep it in the strict measure of nature, cutting off everything lustful. Saint Chrysostom, Theodoret, Saint Damascus, Ecumenius, Theophylact understand by spirit the Divine grace imparted to believers in baptism, and the prayer for the preservation of the spirit in integrity is understood as a prayer for the preservation of this unquenchable grace, which makes us blameless. This does not refute the thoughts proposed before this. The spirit of fallen man, by itself, cannot act according to its purpose. He receives the strength to do this from the grace of God descending on him, without which his actions are not visible, and it is as if he does not exist. So keeping the spirit is the same as keeping grace, and keeping grace is the same as keeping the spirit. Saint Chrysostom confirms this, saying: “When we completely retain the gift (of the Holy Spirit), then our spirit will remain unharmed.” – Ecumenius expresses the same thought when he says: “If we do not extinguish the grace of the Holy Spirit with bad deeds, then it will remain intact in us, brightly igniting our own lamp (that is, our spirit). If the spirit remains intact in us, then both the soul and the body will be kept immaculate,” - grace, having come to us, does not create new strengths, but restores fallen and frustrated ones. If, by grace, spiritual actions are revealed in us, then it is not otherwise than from our spirit, restored by grace. And grace itself is not something separate from God, but is the restoration of communion with God, interrupted by the fall and now restored again as a result of the God-made turning of the spirit to God and surrendering oneself to Him. The rise of grace in us is the expansion and deepening of communion with God. The Savior indicated its top when he said: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). It disposes one to observe the word of the Lord and gives strength to do so and, therefore, prepares a church suitable for the Infusion of God - the Holy Spirit - this highest good is directly connected with the purity of spirit, soul and body. Having expressed such high wishes, the Apostle hastens to eliminate any wavering hope in their fulfillment, restoring in their minds confidence in God’s faithfulness to Himself. 1 Thessalonians 5:24. He who called you is faithful, and he who will create you is faithful. He will do all this, which I wish for you, and what I command you to be, such he will make you, so that you will undoubtedly appear blameless before the Lord at His coming. This is as faithful as the one who called you is faithful. Called - he won’t leave. Just as He called you into His kingdom, where nothing unclean will enter, He who called you for the Kingdom will also purify you for entry into it. “He has begun and will complete it” (Phil. 1:6). “If He called you to salvation, and He is true, then He will surely save you, because He desires it” (Chrysostom). This is the basis of hope of salvation for every Christian. Who could approach God, or make a vow to work for Him alone, if the confidence did not descend in his heart that he who does not want the death of a sinner will never leave him and in what ways the message will lead him to the desired end (compare: 1 Cor. 1, 9, 10:13; 2 Sol. 3, 3; Heb. 10, 23, 11:11). – Don’t hesitate. The Lord will fulfill His promises, only you be faithful to Him and do everything required of you. Seek, strive, work without weakening, and it will happen. Man is weak and changeable; his decisions are shaky. But God, by His grace, in those who surrender themselves to Him, knows how to bring man’s shaky will into agreement with His will and fulfill His intentions for them in people through their own strength. 4. Final desires (1 Thessalonians 5:25–28) In conclusion, the holy Apostle expresses several of his heartfelt desires. The expressions here are brief, but full of deep meaning and feeling. Here the whole soul of Saint Paul is visible, his heart structure, the Spirit that guided his words and deeds. You see that he is completely devoted to God and expects everything from His omnipotence and goodness, asking for prayers for himself (1 Thess. 5:25); you see that he breathes love for his children and wants to express it in the most tender way (1 Sol. 5:26); you see that nothing interests him as much as the fruitfulness of the teaching he preaches (1 Thess. 5:27). Finally, just as in him, according to his consciousness, the grace of God works and produces everything (1 Cor. 15:10), so he desires this same grace, more than any other good, for the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:28). – And almost all of his messages have this conclusion. 1 Thessalonians 5:25. Brothers, pray for us, – so that God would preserve health, give strength, and arrange favorable circumstances for preaching the Gospel. In other epistles he expresses this more directly: “make haste in my prayers for me to God” (Rom. 15:30), “praying... that God may open for us the doors of the word, to speak the mystery of Christ” (Col. 4:3), “that the word of the Lord may flow and be glorified, as it is in you” (2 Thessalonians 3:1). His entire concern is for the success of the Gospel, and he expects everything necessary for this from the one God. But why does the Apostle ask for prayers for himself, when with him, as with all the Apostles, according to his promise, is the Lord Himself, promoting them and confirming their word with signs (Mark 16:20; Matt. 28:20)? – What forced him to do this was not just the humility with which he was filled, and not just the desire, through his humility, to teach others a humble way of thinking about themselves (Chrysostom, Theodoret), but especially the awareness of the power of communal prayer. Such is the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that everyone individually recognizes himself as nothing, and if he has anything or desires to have something, it is only by virtue of communion with the whole body of the Church, of which Christ is the head. That is why Christians always pray for each other, and although everyone realizes that the Heavenly Father is also his Father, his tongue cannot say: My Father, but always cries out according to the commandment: Our Father. Mutual prayer is a direct fruit of brotherly heartfelt love and evidence of living communication between everyone, according to which what concerns one concerns everyone. It constitutes the soul of Christian societies and the entire Church, both earthly and heavenly. If the Apostle asks for prayers from the brethren, then who can do without them? – Realizing this, Saint Chrysostom speaks to the Christians who listened to his conversation: “If the Apostle said this (that is, pray for us) out of humility, then we are not out of humility, but for the sake of great benefit and because of the desire to acquire something great through you, we say: pray for us too - and we say this not just for the sake of speaking, but sincerely desiring your prayers. For if I have taken upon myself the responsibility of interceding for all of you and will have to give an account of this, then your prayer becomes all the more necessary for me. For your sake I have taken on great responsibility; therefore, you should give me great help.” 1 Sol.5:26. Kiss all the brethren with the holy kiss. “Oh, what warmth (of love)! Since he, being absent, could not greet them with a kiss himself, he greets them through others. This is what we do when we say: kiss so-and-so for me” (Chrysostom). Love attracts mutual hugs and kisses. The grace of God, pouring into the hearts of believers, poured love into them (Rom. 5:5) - and they all loved each other not only by intention and desire, but carried within themselves the very power of love, living and active, which attracted them to each other. Hug and kiss were the outer expression of the inner combination of souls. The Apostle, in addition, wanted to hug and kiss the Thessalonians as children born of his gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). Not being able to do this himself personally, he instructs his successor-shepherds to do this, as well as to read this message in front of everyone. We can imagine this touching picture when the shepherds of the Thessalonica Church, having gathered all the Christians together and read the message before them, began to hug and kiss everyone on behalf of the Apostle. In other letters, the Apostle asks everyone to kiss “one another” (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Pet. 5:14). Perhaps this mutual kissing of all took place here also out of joy that the Apostle is alive, remembers them and loves them, and continues to establish them in communion with the Lord. This happens on the bright Resurrection of Christ, as a testimony to the common joy of the resurrection of Christ the Lord. The Apostle commands to kiss with a “holy kiss,” such as the saints can give to the saints and which is fitting for the saints to receive from the saints: in purity of heart, with a respectful attitude towards each other, as persons who bear God within themselves. Or he calls the “kiss of love” a holy kiss, like Saint Peter (1 Pet. 5:14), in contrast to the treacherous kiss, which was Judas’s (Ecumenius). Saint Chrysostom sees in this word of the Apostle an encouragement for all of us to preserve mutual love, which makes those separated by space inseparable: “Keep the fire of love within yourself, for distance is not an obstacle to it; on the contrary, it fills with itself all the space separating it (from the beloved object) and is everywhere.” 1 Thessalonians 5:27. I implore you by the Lord, read this message before all the holy brethren. Since the message was inscribed “The Church of Thessaloniki,” there was no need to remember that it should be read by everyone. But it could be read by everyone separately; with which the individual interpretation and individual understanding of what is written was naturally connected, and this should not happen in the Church of God. The Apostle does not remember that it should be read by everyone, but before everyone, in a general meeting, so that its interpretation, where necessary, would be common and the understanding would be the same for everyone. At the same time, he makes it clear that he considers everything written to be a law for the Thessalonians; laws were usually read in the squares, publicly in front of everyone. But just as this first time the message should be read in the general meeting of all - the Church, so, of course, it was read whenever there was a desire or need. One cannot help but see in this an indication that reading the apostolic writings in the church is an apostolic institution. But why the spell? - It is true that Saint Paul foresaw that, for some fear or reason, the shepherds might not read this epistle in front of everyone. To reject this, he conjures them in the name of the Lord to read it before everyone; which invalidates all the motives and reasons that the shepherds could present for a non-public reading. Read in front of everyone, no matter what comes of it. This is the will of the Lord, and there is no need to argue. If you do otherwise, you will be alienated from communion with the Lord. No considerations could withstand such a formidable speech. What exactly could keep pastors from reading publicly is not clear. You don’t have to bother with this, being content with the thought that the Apostle either knew or probably assumed something like this. – Is it not that the message contained denunciations, which, of course, concerned some famous personalities. Feeling sorry for them or fearing to irritate them, the shepherds might not read the messages in front of everyone. Although, all the same, everyone would have recognized them even without public reading, but for those exposed it would have been easier. Rejecting this plausibility, the Apostle conjures the epistle to be read in front of everyone. Through this, reproof turned out to be more effective for those exposed and more useful for others. Those who are convicted before everyone must correct themselves before everyone. Others all learned from this that such and such actions are disapproved and that, evading them, they were not doing any special work, but were fulfilling an apostolic injunction. Moreover, the spell protected the shepherds. Those exposed could say: why are they so disgraced in front of everyone? The shepherds had something to rely on: we could not do otherwise; The Apostle cursed us in the name of the Lord. “The spells were so terrible for the ancients! But, alas, they are not like that now, they are not like that for us” (Theophylact). A spell in the name of the Lord imposes a strong obligation to fulfill what someone asks another to do. It binds the conscience, affecting the living bonds of communication with the Lord and threatening to break it if not fulfilled. Saint Chrysostom discusses at length the importance of spells in the name of the Lord and gives an example of how fulfilling what is asked for with such a spell is valuable in the eyes of the Lord Himself. One slave, being in the last extreme, asked not her own, but another noble mistress to intercede for her before her masters; Having exhausted all her convictions, she finally added a spell: “Do not despise my request, lest Christ despise you on the day of judgment.” Alarmed by this spell, that mistress hurried to the slave's masters and arranged her business. And that same night she saw the heavens open and Christ Himself. She was awarded such a vision, concludes Saint Chrysostom, precisely because she paid her heartfelt attention to the spell. 1 Thessalonians 5:28. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you. Amen. This is the final benevolence, as well as the “Amen”, confirming this prayerful benevolence, in all the epistles of St. Paul with minor differences. And at the beginning of the epistle he desires grace, and at the end, because it is the beginning and the end in the work of our salvation; so much is always needed in everything that without it no one can do anything worthy of the kingdom of Christ. Just as people become sons of the kingdom through a new birth of grace, so their life and activities are in accordance with this spirit kingdoms can only be established by grace. A Christian, a son of the kingdom, a person with grace, is the same thing. As, on the contrary, a person without grace is no longer a Christian and not a son of the kingdom. Writing to Christians, the Apostle wrote to those who have been blessed, then in that thought, may he be preserved, may he increase, may there be no better good will for Christians. Christ's - On the other hand, the desire for grace is a reminder of the duty to fulfill the conditions under which grace instills itself in the hearts of believers and remains in them. Be faithful to grace yourself, and grace will never retreat or become scarce. In this regard, the Apostle seems to be saying to the Thessalonians: “Try to attract the most abundant grace for yourself by living worthy of what has already been given to you” (Theophylact). “Let this grace protect us also from every wrong path; may we live to the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen" (He). You might be interested in: