keepin’ on

1 Thessalonians 5 — Paul’s letter ends with a brief note to keep on keeping on:
warn the idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone, avoid evil, pursue good, rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything.

Though they be afflicted, their calling to reflect Christ is unchanged! Yes, there will be a day of retribution where wrongs are made right, but they must keep pressing on in their faith regardless. Belonging to the day (vs. 8) and not the night finds correlation to the list of attitudes later in the chapter (see vss. 13-22). Those who are in Christ ought to be defined by these attributes, not being lulled into the “night” as described in verses 6-7.

“Do not quench the Spirit.”

At the end of a long list of ideals for Christian living, Paul makes a brief but poignant statement for how NOT to be characterized: Do not quench the Spirit. I’ll be post-modern for a moment —for me— this is not about sinful behavior; rather, this is something the believer chooses to ignore or exclude from their Christian life. Christians are sealed by the Spirit in salvation (YES!) but they are also gifted by the Spirit for Gospel work (AMEN!). He is ever present within us, but it would appear Paul is saying that we can choose to ignore Him, and so we quench, stifle or restrict His permissibility in our lives, missing out on the opportunity for flourishing faith. (Read this letter again in light of the Spirit working in the midst of the Thessalonica believers though they be persecuted, and see afresh how their faith is characterized by Spirit-filled living).

But God wants to be involved in our lives; indeed, He is intimately involved. Never are we on our own as if God finishes His work in justification and leaves us alone to figure out sanctification. Before Paul concludes the letter, his benediction calls for God to complete their sanctification Himself (v. 23) indicating the reality of God’s involvement in the becoming-holy process. We ought to acknowledge God working in our lives at all times and be ready to act accordingly to the wooing of the Spirit within. When we ignore His promptings, we’re in danger of extinguishing the holy passion of God’s indwelling Spirit and diminishing our own spiritual growth.

I hope you’ll keep reading and digging into God’s wonderful Word! These are just preliminary thoughts on the Book of 1 Thessalonians. Our Bible study discussions took us far further than what is represented here in these blog posts. Keep striving!