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The uncertainty and surprise of the coming of Christ (1–3), the need for moral vigilance (4–7) in faith and love and with the hope of salvation (8–10); mutual admonitions to this (11) with disobedience to their leaders, teachers and leaders (12-14), with concern for the weak and mutual beneficence (15): the success of others in a joyful and prayerful mood of gratitude (16-18) with the illumination of the Spirit and the dominion of prophecy (19-20); strict testing of everything with abstention from all kinds of evil (21–22). The Apostle’s prayerful wishes to the readers (23-24) with a request for prayers for themselves (25) and with a call on them to mutually kiss the saint (26), a commandment to read the letter to all brothers (27) and sending them the grace of Christ (28). 1 Thessalonians 5:1. There is no need to write to you about times and seasons, brethren, 1 Sol.5:2. for you yourselves know with certainty that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 1 Sol.5:3. For when they say, “Peace and safety,” then destruction will suddenly befall them, just as labor pain befalls a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. Having eliminated the first difficulty, F. Apostle moves on to the second - the question of the time of the parousia. Doubting the fate of those who died to the last, and precisely regarding their participation in the bliss of the second coming, F. treated with redoubled impatience the fact that this event was slowing down, rightly fearing that they too might find themselves among the “κοιμωμένων.” Apostle, having explained the first difficulty, and saying that the Lord will come, still warns F. that “the day of the Lord (an expression from the V. Testament; see Joel.2:31; Isaiah 2:12; Am 5:18, where the day of G. is the day of judgment) will come like a thief in the night.” Here the description of the day of G. strongly resembles the words of G. Christ Himself - Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39, and the expression ακριβώς seems to indicate that the teaching of Ap. “about times and seasons” was based on the actual words of the Lord Himself, and was taught with all possible thoroughness and detail (see 2 Thessalonians 2:5). “Then suddenly destruction will befall them” - the coincidence between the words of Ap is interesting here. Pavel and Ev. Luke, which is generally noticed between these two writers - compare 1 Thess. 5:3 - Luke 21:34, 36. Compare also: 1 Cor 11:23–26 – Luke 22:19–20; the appearance of the risen Lord to Peter 1 Cor. 15:5 – Luke 24:34; “rewards and food” in 1 Timothy 5:18 – Luke 10:7 and Matthew 10:10. 1 Sol.5:4. But you, brothers, are not in darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief. But since the day of the Lord will come like a thief, it is necessary to always watch, so as not to be taken by surprise. In 4 tbsp. reading κλέπτης is better than κλέπτας (Α and Β), for the first best of all sets off the suddenness of the onset of the day of the Lord, like the unforeseen arrival of a thief. The whole power of the verse lies in the words ούκ έστέ έν σκότει. “You are not in moral darkness,” Ap says, as it were. Pavel, - so that the day of G. finds you unprepared. You are sons of light - you were once darkness, now you are light in Christ. Not only are you enlightened, but you are constantly moving in the sphere of the day. But if you live in the light, you must watch and be sober, and not sleep spiritually, like the pagans and Jews.” The figurative expression “light” as applied to Christ is widely used by St. John the Theologian (John 8:12, 9:5–6). The first duty of a Christian is wakefulness: but it must be accompanied by “sobriety” - not only mental awakening, but also moral self-collection, which makes the awake person ready for the great event - the parousia. 1 Sol.5:5. For you are all sons of light and sons of day: we are not sons of night nor of darkness. 1 Sol.5:6. So let us not sleep, like others, but let us stay awake and be sober. 1 Sol.5:7. For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. Ap. Paul alludes here to the picture of full libation offerings that he could witness in Ph. and Corinth. 1 Sol.5:8. Let us, being sons of the day, be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation, A new comparison of a Christian with a warrior preparing for battle. It is interesting to compare this passage with Eph 6:14–17. Here we read: the armor of “faith and love,” and in Eph. “I am the armor of righteousness”; here, “helmet of hope of salvation,” there, “helmet of salvation.” Love - here - mentioned in second place - compare 1 Cor 13:13; in Eph. love is completely omitted. “Hope” - in accordance with the general spirit of the letter to F., is placed in last place (see 1 Thessalonians 1:3). The basis for the entire verse could be the trace. places in Is.59:17 and Wis. 5:17–20. 1 Sol.5:9. because God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Sol.5:10. died for us, so that whether we wake or sleep, we might live together with Him. “The hope of salvation” in 1 Thess. 5:8 finds its definition in οργή. Ap. F. says that God determined them not to sin, but to receive salvation through Christ. Receiving salvation is a future acquisition, for wrath is a fact of the future. But F. will find their salvation through Christ. 10 tbsp. remarkable because it contains a proclamation of the great Christian dogma of redemption. This is the only place in our epistles where a hint is made of this dogma, although later, in the second group of epistles, Ap. constantly touches on this main point of his teaching. “This dogma is presented here as dual in its content, firstly, as containing an indication of the act on the part of Christ - “who died for us”, and as including the idea of ​​​​the unity of the believer with Christ (“so that ... we would live together with Him”). The mention here of this dogma is very important, since it shows that the doctrine of atonement was inherent in the mind of Ap. Paul in his early writings... it is not, therefore, a later product of his more mature reflections, as is sometimes asserted" (Lightfoot, Notes, 77). - “Whether we are awake or asleep” - whether we are alive or dead, we all live with Him. 1 Sol.5:11. Therefore encourage one another and edify one another, just as you are also doing. 1 Sol.5:12. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you, and those who preside over you in the Lord, and those who admonish you, These verses contain the admonitions of Ap. Paul to F. regarding their attitude towards the leaders (12–13) in the church, and regarding the need to lead a quiet lifestyle; the admonitions are addressed to the entire church in general. Having taught F. advice - to exhort and edify one another (v. 11), Ap. immediately moves on to a new shortcoming among F. Christians - their lack of proper respect for the leaders of the church, to whom teaching and edification rightfully belong. Ap. is in a hurry to prevent the possibility of usurpations in this area. F. must value and respect (είδέναι) those who work for them, and who exactly is explained by the application of two epithets: προϊσταμένους και νουθετοΰντας. Here, undoubtedly, there is one class of persons, for all three sacraments are connected by one member, and namely the elders, who actually have two functions - leadership and teaching. Ap. advises not only to value and respect them, but also to do so in a spirit of love. 1 Sol.5:13. and honor them primarily with love for their work; be at peace with each other. 1 Sol.5:14. We also beseech you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone. “Admonish the disorderly” - strictly speaking, “those who do not keep in line” - an allusion to military discipline. Ellicott thinks that this probably contains a hint of the neglect of duties and professions that F. was guilty of, thanks to his erroneous views on the time of the coming of Christ. This view is supported by such passages as 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12. “Comfort the faint-hearted” - those who have lost their balance of spirit, perhaps. from excessive grief for the dead, or from fear of persecution. “Be patient” - do not give way to irritation against those who are weak, but treat everyone patiently, carefully and lovingly. 1 Thessalonians 5:15. See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good of each other and everyone. Here is Ap. repeats the lesson given by Christ in Matthew 5:43 etc. “Seek what is good” - “τό αγαθόν” not in the sense of absolutely good (το καλόν), but in the sense of useful (util), the opposite of everything that can be called τό κακόν. This “search” should extend not only to brothers in faith, but to all people in general. 1 Sol.5:16. Always be happy. These verses contain a number of beautiful aphorisms concerning various aspects of the spiritual and moral life of a Christian. Compare Phil.3:1 and Phil.4:4. The source of this joy (Rom 14:17) is the Holy Spirit poured out on Christians. Having become a participant in the great councils of God about the salvation of the world, a Christian sees the saving hand of God everywhere in the world, even in suffering and persecution. This serves as an inexhaustible source of his joy. 1 Sol.5:17. Pray without ceasing. Ap is given here. advice concerning unceasing spiritual prayer, which is the natural result of the disposition spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 5:16. 1 Sol.5:18. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Sol.5:19. Don't quench the spirit. "Do not quench the spirit." The connection of this verse with 1 Thess. 5:20 gives reason to think that here we are talking about a negative attitude that has arisen among F. towards spiritual gifts, about which Ap. says in 1 Cor 12, and 1 Cor 14. The reaction against them, perhaps, arose because they brought a certain amount of disorder into the meetings of Christians. 1 Thessalonians 5:20. Do not disparage prophecies. The same negative attitude, apparently, was in relation to “the prophecies.” The latter does not include the idea of ​​predicting the future. In N. 3. this idea is in the background. “Prophecy is closely related to prayer (1 Cor 11:4-5). He who prophesies speaks to people for edification, admonition and comfort (1 Cor 14:3). Conviction of sin, revelation of the secrets of the heart are attributed to this spiritual gift as its work (ibid. XIV: 24-25). In short, prophecy is passionate and inspired speaking of the mysteries of God” (Lightfoot, op. cit. p. 63). The suppression of such a gift would be a great loss for the spiritual life of the F. Christian community. 1 Sol.5:21. Try everything, hold on to the good. Continuation of the thought of 1 Thessalonians 5:20. Spiritual gifts are a beautiful thing: they need to be nurtured; but it is necessary to test them. Not all types of inspiration come from above. The idea here is partly the same as in 1 John 4:1. Τό καλόν in the moral sense is different from τό αγαθόν; the first means good in itself: the second means good in its consequences. The first is very appropriate here, because it indicates the good that was accepted as the result of the test. “Hold firmly what you have accepted as the result of your “δοκιμάζειν.” 1 Sol.5:22. Refrain from all kinds of evil. Here is Ap's thought. partly the same as in Rom 12:9. Είδος – genus, species, form; - this translation finds confirmation in recently discovered papyri in Egypt dating back to the 2nd century. BC and II century. according to R. X. In ordinary speech of this time, the word είδος has precisely this above-mentioned meaning (see Milligan - op. cit. pp. 76–77). 1 Thessalonians 5:23. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved completely without blemish at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thought Ap. P. returns again to the parousia of Christ. He prays that God will not only make them perfect in the parousia of Christ, but also preserve them in this perfection (όλοτδλείς and όλόκληρον). Here we encounter the so-called trichotomy, the tripartite division of human nature into spirit, soul and body. In N. 3. human nature is usually divided into 2 parts, which sometimes have different names, for example. σώμα and ψυχή (Matt. 10:28), σώμα and πνεύμα (Rom. 8:10, 13), sometimes σαρξ and πνεύμα (Col. 2:5), and finally σαρξ and νους (Rom. 7:25 ). But sometimes a tripartite division of human nature is recognized; so in the last to Hebrews 4:12, a distinction is made between ψυχή and πνεύμα, and in 1 Cor. 2:14 and 1 Cor. 15:44–46, a distinction is made between ψυχηκός and πνευματικός. This trichotomy is not just a Christian teaching; it is also found among pagan philosophers - Plato, Neoplatonists and Stoics. The highest, spiritual principle of human nature is divided into two parts - the lower - ψυχή, which embraces sensations, feelings and impulses, and the higher πνεύμα, through which we enter into communication with God. This tripartite division is found very often among the ancient church fathers. For Ap. P. this division is hardly just a rhetorical figure of expression. In principle, there is, strictly speaking, no reason to deny the tripartite division of our nature. Compare also N.N. Glubokovsky: The Good News of St. Apostle. Paul, T. I, 368 and T. II, 1032 and 1123. 1 Sol.5:24. He who calls you is faithful, and He who will do this. 1 Thessalonians 5:25. Brethren! pray for us. 1 Sol.5:26. Greet all brothers with a holy kiss. 1 Thessalonians 5:27. I conjure you by the Lord to read this message to all the holy brethren. To whom are these verses addressed - the entire F. church, or just the elders? The expression τό φίλημα άγιον, apparently, indicates a personal meeting and personal intercourse, and therefore can limit the expression “all are brothers.” But it is still better to think that these verses are addressed to the entire church in general. The expression τό φίλημα άγιον here hardly refers to the liturgical rite of kissing. But in the messages of Ap. this kiss, with the addition of the epithet “holy,” is common; see: Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12, and also 1 Pet 5:14. The first mention of “kissing” in the sense of a liturgical rite is found in St. Justin the Martyr in his “Apology” (1 Apostle 65). – “I conjure” – ένορκίζω – here the change in the 1st person plural is interesting. h., generally accepted in the message, on the 1st sheet. unity hours (compare 1 Thess. 2:18 and 1 Thess. 3:5). The explanation for this change and the associated force of expression (amplifying pronoun of the 1st person singular) should not be sought in any disagreements between the flock and the elders or Christians from the Jews and Christians from the pagans (Harnack’s opinion about him below), but rather in the fear of Ap. P. regarding the possible abuse of his name and authority. Hence his desire for the message to be read loudly and publicly (άναγνωσθήναι), in order to avoid any misunderstandings and misinterpretations. 1 Thessalonians 5:28. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you. Amen. The message ends with a welcoming blessing, which may have been written by the hand of the Ap himself. Pavel. It contains the characteristic expression Ap. – χάρις. In their form, these greetings of Ap. P. vary greatly. Some are distinguished by their length (2 Cor 13:13), while others, on the contrary, by their brevity (1 Tim 6:21). These greetings were adopted by Christian writers Ap. centuries (for example, St. Clement and Apostle Barnabas), and then passed into liturgical use in the church. You might be interested in: