We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
Brothers, pray for us.
Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 (ESV)
Commenting on verses 15 through 18, John Byron writes:
Having addressed the life of the community in relation to its leaders and those in need, Paul turns his attention to the attitudes and response they should foster in their current, difficult circumstances. In three verses with seven Greek words, Paul exhorts the Thessalonians how to keep their focus on God. With the way the verse numbers have separated out each exhortation, a reader could not be faulted for concluding that these are three different attitudes that they should work on. While each exhortation could certainly be commended to the individual believer, that is not the way Paul wrote them. In light of the exhortations toward community life in 5:12-15 and what Paul will say about community worship in 5:19-22, it is probably best to understand these exhortations as what they are to do together as a community. These are not individual practices that Paul is saying they should work on in their private hearts and homes, although such practices are not without merit. Rather, these are the attitudes that believers should have as a community in the context of their worship together.
MEMORY WORK – Shorter Catechism Q/A 73
Q. 73. Which is the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal.