1. Christian rejoicing is a deep, calm joy. The surface may be ruffled while the depths are still; cross-currents may vary while the undercurrent runs steadily on. Surface pain may conceal sacred joys which it cannot destroy.
2. The secret of Christian joy is inwardness. These Christians do not depend on external circumstances for their happiness. The spiritual sources of rejoicing in the love and presence of God are not disturbed by earthly calamities. Often they give forth sweetest blessedness under the blows of affliction, as the waters flowed out when Moses struck the rock. If we want to rejoice always we must live always near to God. The first exhortation is closely connected with the second.
3. Christians are also helped to rejoice always by living in the future (2 Corinthians 4:17, 2 Corinthians 4:18).
II. CEASELESS PRAYING. It is needless to say that this does not mean that we are to be always on our knees. That is not possible; nor would it be right, for the work of life must be done. We are not only worshippers; we are servants.
1. Ceaseless praying is a continuous direction of the heart towards God. The essence of prayer is not the uttering of devout phrases. God does not hear us for our much speaking. Christ condemned long prayers, not because we could pray too much, but because they became superstitious as though a worth lay in their length, and also because they became formal when the spirit flagged. Prayer is essentially spiritual communion with God. This must be supported, however, and inspired by definite seasons wholly given to devotion. People often abuse the motto, Laborare est orare. It is only true of the prayerful man.
2. Ceaseless praying is attainable through the enjoyment of unbroken union with God. Our thought may not be always occupied with. God because the duties of life demand our attention, and its recreations are requisite for our health. But if we live near to God we shall have an abiding sense of God's nearness, a quick uplifting of the heart to him in quiet moments, and many a secret talk with him even in our busiest hours.
III. UNIVERSAL THANKSGIVING. The difficulty is to make this honest. For it is an insult to God to utter words of thanksgiving while the heart is ungrateful. How can we thank God for pain, for loss, for things the good of which we cannot discover?
1. Universal thanksgiving is possible through the perception that under all circumstances blessings outnumber and outweigh troubles. We fix our thoughts on our trouble to the neglect of a thousand blessings. A fairer, wider consideration would call up more grateful thoughts.
2. Universal thanksgiving is possible by means of faith that holds troubles sent by God to be blessings in disguise. A mere consideration of the facts of life will not create it. But when we have come to believe that "the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever," we have learnt the secret of universal thankfulness.—W.F.A.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 - Quenching the Spirit.
This verse is often misread. The context shows that it does not refer to the resistance of the sinner to the striving of the Holy Spirit in his heart. For the words immediately following, "despise not prophesyings," indicate its reference to the work of the Spirit in inspiring utterances in the Church. Some prosaic, cautious people were inclined to check these enthusiastic utterances. Perhaps there were foolish would-be prophets who were making themselves and the Church ridiculous by their predictions about the second coming of Christ, a subject in which the Church at Thessalonica was then deeply interested. St. Paul does not wish his readers to accept all that is offered to them, for he says, "Prove all things." But he fears lest, in the rejection of imposture, pretence, illusion, and misguided fanaticism, genuine teachings of the Divine Spirit should be discarded. Therefore he warns his readers against the danger of quenching the Spirit.
I. THERE IS A FIRE OF THE SPIRIT. It is fire that is not to be quenched. In Old Testament times a prophet was fitted for his mission by having a live coal from off the altar laid upon his lips (Isaiah 6:6). Christ, who came to baptize with the Holy Ghost, came also to baptize with fire. The Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost under the form of tongues of flame. God's Spirit deepens feeling, kindles enthusiasm, rouses sacred passion, sets the soul aflame with love. He who has not felt the fire knows nut some of the strongest working of the Spirit, as the psalmist knew it when he said, "While I was musing the fire burned" (Psalms 39:3).
II. THERE IS A DANGER LEST WE SHOULD QUENCH THE SPIRIT.
1. In our own hearts. If we check our more generous emotions, and harden ourselves with maxims of the world, and so immerse ourselves in grinding business cares that we have no thought or heart left for spiritual feelings, we shall quench the Spirit in ourselves. For us there will be no revelation. To us heaven will be black as midnight, silent as the grave. No warmth of devotion nor flash of spiritual perception will brighten up the dull and dreary chambers of our souls.
2. In others. Beware of checking young enthusiasm. It may err; but it had better err than die. Middle-aged common sense may not understand it. But this may not be the fault of young enthusiasm. It may result from the deadened perceptions of an unsympathizing mind. If we cannot follow, at least let us not check an inspiration which may be too high for our low sunken lives.
3. In Scripture. Absolutely, of course, we cannot quench the Spirit in Scripture. The Book remains, whatever we may think of it. But to ourselves we may quench the Spirit. A dry, hard critical examination of the Bible, ignoring all devotional, practical, and spiritual uses of it, will rob it of all inspiration for the reader. With some the fires are burnt out; they only grope among the ashes, and cannot find. a lingering spark. To such people the Bible is the most dreary book in the world. In order that the fire of inspiration should touch us, the fire of love and faith must be kept alive on the altar of our hearts.—W.F.A.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 - Private judgment.
This verse should be read in connection with the preceding passage. There we find a caution against quenching the Spirit and despising prophesyings by a narrow, cold, or prejudiced refusal to listen to the utterances of our fellow-Christians. Here we have a warning in the other direction, that we may guard against accepting every saying which professes to be the outcome of spiritual influences. We must try the spirits and accept each only as its claim is proven. But the universal character of the verse before us gives it a more general application to all teaching.
I. ST. PAUL RECOGNIZES THE RIGHT AND DUTY OF PRIVATE JUDGMENT. This fundamental principle of Protestantism is Pauline. The apostle is not writing to doctors of divinity or authorized teachers; he is addressing the whole Church (see 1 Thessalonians 1:1). To the general congregation of Christians he says, "Prove all things." The advice was in accordance with his own practice. He speaks of himself and his colleagues—"by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God" (2 Corinthians 4:2). Contrast the Koran with the New Testament. Mohammed dogmatizes; St. Paul reasons. We cannot shelter ourselves in error under the aegis of high authority. St. Paul abandoned with contempt the errors which he cultivated while he sat at the feet of Gamaliel. It is our duty as well as our right to have independent personal convictions.
II. THE REQUIREMENT OF INQUIRY IS UNIVERSAL. "All things." We must take nothing for granted. Some of the surest convictions of one age are absolutely repudiated by another age. This statement becomes softened in practice by the ease and unconsciousness with which many things may be proved to us. We have not to carry on elaborate, original inquiries to establish every point of our belief. There are beliefs which are best proved without any such inquiry. But all must be proved. The reason is twofold.
1. Many specious delusions threaten to deceive us. There have been false prophets flattering the people with smooth words since the days of Jeremiah's opponents. Truth and error are mixed. Forged coins closely resemble good sovereigns. Care must be taken to sift the chaff from the wheat.
2. Truth is most valuable to us when we have tested and proved it for ourselves. Then we understand it most clearly, believe it most heartily, and value it most highly. The few islands of truth for which a man has labored and fought through seas of difficulty are more precious to him than vast continents of truth which he inherits at second hand.
III. THE METHOD OF INQUIRY MUST BE EXPERIMENTAL. This is implied by the word "prove," which means test, and is used of the assaying of precious metals. High it priori argument is a dangerous guide. The more tedious and less pretentious methods of observation and experiment, are safer. To this method Christ referred when, speaking of the various teachers who should arise, he said, "By their fruits ye shall know them." This does not mean that we are to taste the fruits, i.e. to adopt every system in order to discover its merits. We can observe its working in others. Therefore the first requisite in regard to any new teaching is patience. Give it time to reveal itself by its fruits, and do not pass a hasty judgment upon it. If you do not wait for the harvest, you may eel out wheat with tares. Next, careful inquiry is to be made; ideas and their fruits are to be tested. But two cautions should he borne in mind.
1. The experience and testimony of other people is evidence. We may not accept what any say simply on the authority of their official position. We who do not believe in the Pope of Rome would be very foolish if we adopted a little private pope of our own creation. But the authority of knowledge, experience, and ability is weight in evidence.
2. We must not assume that nothing is true but what we can prove. To do this is to dethrone the pope only to set up our own infallibility.
IV. THE END OF INQUIRY IS TO DISCOVER AND TO HOLD TO WHAT IS GOOD. It is not reasonable, nor happy, nor healthy to live in a permanent condition of unsettled conviction. It is useless to inquire at all if our inquiry is not to lead us to some decisive issue. When we have arrived at a truth, we need not repeat the process of seeking for it over and over again. Having proved certain things to be good, we may rest satisfied with the result—always preserving an open mind for new light, for it is a great mistake to confound an open mind with an empty mind.
1. The result of inquiry should be to discover what is good. The good is more important than the beautiful, the pleasant, the convenient, the striking, and the novel.
2. When the good is discovered it should be held firmly. Then the seeker after light is to become the guardian and champion of truth.—W.F.A.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 - Complete sanctification.
In concluding his Epistle, and finishing his list of practical exhortations, St. Paul sums up his desires for the welfare of his readers by one comprehensive prayer for their complete sanctification.
I. CONSIDER THE NATURE OF SANCTIFICATION. The sanctification of a man makes a sanctuary of him. It consecrates him to the service and for the presence of God. It includes two things, the second of which is essential to the first.
1. Dedication. The sanctified man is dedicated to God. He yields himself up to the will of God. He is ready for any use to which God may put him. He lives to glorify God.
2. Purification. We have come to regard this as essentially the same as sanctification. It is not so, for Christ was sanctified (John 17:19), and he never needed to be purified. But the great hindrance to our consecration of ourselves to God or to any special Divine purpose, is sin. Therefore for us the one great preliminary is purification.
II. OBSERVE THE SCORE OF SANCTIFICATION. It is to be complete:
1. In range. It affects spirit, soul, and body—St. Paul's human trinity.
2. In intensity. The sanctification is to be thorough. Each part of our nature is to be "wholly" sanctified. We must not dedicate ourselves to God half-heartedly. He requires the whole surrender of our whole nature.
III. NOTE THE SOURCE OF SANCTIFICATION. It is in God. St. Paul turns from exhortation to prayer. Here and there little duties are directed by our own will and energy. But the grand work of complete purification and consecration must be God's.
1. By means of his spiritual influence. He sanctifies by breathing into us his Holy Spirit. Contact with God burns out sin, and lifts the soul into an atmosphere of holiness.
2. By means of his providential care. St. Paul prays that God will keep his readers "entire"—as we read in the Revised Version. He guards from too great temptation.
IV. LOOK AT THE END OF SANCTIFICATION. This is to be "blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
1. Preparation for the second advent. We are required to be ready to meet Christ. The glad expectation should encourage every effort to prepare, lest we should be like the foolish virgins.
2. Blamelessness. Christ comes as Judge. How sad, after longing to see him, to meet, instead of a welcome from our Lord, only stern words of rebuke!—W.F.A.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 - God's faithfulness.
Between the Divine call to salvation and the full accomplishment of salvation, the Christian needs faith to watch and wait, to work and walk through the darkness. The rock on which he must build this faith is God's faithfulness.
I. CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.
1. God performs what he promises. God promises in his Word. He promises most solemnly, and as it were by oath, in his covenants, e.g. with Noah, with Abraham, with Moses and Israel, and the new covenant sealed by the blood of Christ. God also promises by his actions. Natural instincts, such as the innate thirst for light, the yearning for immortality, etc., are the Creator's promises written on the very being of his creatures. God's faithfulness means that he will not belie these promises.
2. God is true to himself. His consistency and immutability are the grounds of his faithfulness. Because he is true to himself he will be true to us: "The mercy of the Lord endureth for ever." If we are left to "the uncovenanted mercies" of God, these are large and sure enough to dispel all fear.
3. God justifies the confidence of his children. Faithfulness implies trustworthiness. If we commit our souls to God as to a faithful Creator, he accepts our trust, and thereby pledges his honor not to desert us.
II. GROUNDS FOR BELIEVING IN GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.
1. Our knowledge of the nature of God. If we believe in God at all, we must believe in him as moral, good, nay, perfect. A weak and limited being may change and fail. God is too great to be faith less.
2. The testimony of those who can best speak for God. We judge of a person's character largely on the evidence of those who have the most intimate acquaintance. Now we find prophets and saints who are nearest to God in thought and life most positive in asserting his faithfulness. Only they who dwell in the outer courts of his temple, or altogether away from his presence, venture to deny it.
3. The evidence afforded by the life of Christ. Christ was the great Revealer of the character of God; and Christ was faithful even to death.
4. The witness of history to the past faithfulness of God; e.g. the deliverance from Egypt, the return from the captivity, the advent of Christ, the presence of Christ in his Church to guide and strengthen and bless.
5. The confirmation of personal experience. Many have proved God's faithfulness in their own lives. They can say, "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his' troubles."
III. TEMPTATIONS TO DOUBT GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.
1. The weary time of waiting. God does not fulfill his promises as soon as he makes them. Long intervals try our faith. So was it with the Jewish expectation of the Messiah; so is it with the Christian expectation of the second advent. The heart is sickened with hope deferred. But this doubt is as foolish as that of one who, seeing the morning to be long in coming, begins to distrust the promise of sunrise.
2. Appearances of unfaithfulness. Nothing tries love so painfully as the necessity of so acting as to provoke doubts of its own constancy. Yet the truest love will not shrink from this necessity when it arises. God seems to desert us, or he visits us in chastisement. It is his greater faithfulness that leads him so to act as to cloud our vision of his love.
3. The unexpected fulfillment of Divine promises. God does not always fulfill his promises in the way expected by us. Then we are disappointed. But the error was in our previous delusion, not in any change on God's part. Moreover, the true Divine fulfillment, though at first less pleasing to us than our expectation of it, always proves in the long run to be far better.
IV. THE RESPONSE WHICH GOD'S FAITHFULNESS SHOULD CALL FORTH FROM US.
1. Adoration. The faithfulness of God is one of the most worthy themes of worship.
2. Trust Faithfulness merits confidence, and it encourages it.
3. Fidelity. If God is faithful to us, he has a right to bid us be faithful.—W.F.A.
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians Intro
1 Thessalonians 5 - 1-thessalonians-5 - worlddic.com