11/2/18
Tom Lowe
Lesson 19: For God has Appointed Us to Salvation Through our Lord Jesus Christ
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (NIV)
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Introduction:
These words by the Apostle Paul are an appeal to the whole church of Thessalonica, to comfort and edify one another. Though the ministry (the church in Thessalonica) is charged with doing this, yet private Christians are to practice it on one another; the former does it through the authority granted to them by Christ, the latter as an act of charity.
Lesson 19
(5:9) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath [destruction and ruin, the effect of wrath] — the primary purpose of God in sending His Son into this world, was not to condemn the world but to save it. He did not reveal the gospel so that sin might aggravate more, and so be punished more; but the motive was love, and the purpose was so that He could show more mercy: and He hath selected none to receive wrath, except for those who willfully and stubbornly refuse to believe and obey the gospel. They are rightly called vessels of wrath reserved for the day of evil; but there are others who are equally children of wrath, and are deserving of the wrath of God, who are not appointed to it; which, to them is an occasion of wonderful and distinguishing grace.
The truest parallel to this expression? “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath”? is these words of Peter (1 Peter 2:8{1]), where he speaks of the disobedience of the rejecters of Christ, and adds, “whereunto also they were appointed,” set apart, as it were, in the purpose of God to this end. This end was also the eager choice of their own will. Paul speaks confidently of the election of the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1:4{2]), because he had witnessed the fruits of it, in their turning from idols to serve the living God. The “wrath” spoken of is the manifestation of the Divine anger against sin in the coming and judgment of Christ.
But to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. It was evident from their having believed in Christ that the Thessalonians had received salvation. Those who believe in Christ and obey his commands show that they are elected to eternal life and are heirs of heaven.
SALVATION IS AN OVERALL PROCESS. It starts when we first believe in Christ and have been ‘saved’ (Ephesians 2:8), that is when we experience the work of the Holy Spirit and believe, and are deemed righteous before God through the sacrifice of the cross. It goes on as the Holy Spirit continues His work within us, changing us from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18), as we continue to grow in faith and are “being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18), becoming more and more like Him. And it reaches its final accomplishment when we are presented before God holy and without blemish (Colossians 1:22; Ephesians 5:27), and made like Him (1 John 3:1-2).
(5:10) He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
He died for us so that, ? that is, He died to redeem us. The elect of God, who are not appointed to wrath, but to salvation by Christ, which required that He dies for them; not merely as a martyr to confirm His doctrine, or only to serve as an example, but as collateral (guarantee) for His people; as a sacrifice for their sins, to make atonement for them, and save them from themselves; so that his death lays a solid foundation for hope of salvation by Him. He intended by His death to ensure that we would ultimately live with Him, and this result of His death could be possible only as a result of His atoning sacrifice.
Whether we are awake or asleep, whether we live or die, whether we are in this state or in the other world, we shall live together with Him; shall enjoy His life, and the consolations of his Spirit, while here; and shall be glorified together with Him in the eternal world. The words show that everywhere and in all circumstances, genuine believers, who walk after God, have life and communion with Him, and are continually happy, and constantly safe.
And this is also true whether we are found among the living or the dead when he comes. The object here is to show that one class would have no advantage over the other. This was designed to calm their minds as they pass through their trials, and to correct an error which seems to have prevailed in the belief that those who were found alive when He returned would have some priority over those who were dead; see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Paul may have intended to address these words to the recurring anxieties of the Thessalonians regarding their deceased friends and family members, hence he reminds them that the very object of Christ in dying was to secure a life for His people which no death could interrupt or destroy. Those who have died before His return suffer no disadvantage, for He has insured for us that whether we are awake or asleep; that is, whether we live or die, we can be certain that we will live with Him.
There is a truth to learn here; it is that eternal life and salvation by Christ does not depend on our watchfulness, thus it shall not be hindered by the sleepy, drowsy frame of spirit, the children of God sometimes fall into: but rather natural sleep and waking are intended; and the meaning is, that those for whom Christ died are always safe, whether sleeping or awake, whatever they are doing, and in whatever situation and condition they are in, in this world. However, it may be best of all to interpret the words, of life and death; and they may have a particular regard to the state of the saints at Christ's second coming, when some will be awake, or alive, and others will be asleep in Christ, or dead; and it does not matter which they are, whether living or dead. “For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone” (Romans 14:7). It is not only his food that the Christian consecrates to God (or rather, immediately, to Christ, and through Christ to God), but his whole life, to its very last moments; and then in death, we continue to worship and serve Him.
We may live together with him. Christ died for His people, who were dead in trespasses and sins, so that they might live spiritually a life of sanctification from Him, and a life of justification on Him, and by Him; and that they might live a life of communion with Him; and that they might live eternally with Him, in soul and body, in heaven, and reign with Him there, and partake of His glory; and this is true of all the saints, whether they are dead or alive at His coming; for the dead will immediately arise, those that sleep in the dust will awake at once, and they that are alive will be changed, and both will be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and be with him forever. Now the consideration of the death of Christ serves greatly to encourage hope of salvation by Him, and faith in Him, and an earnest expectation of His second coming.
The apostle, however, may refer to the doctrine he has delivered in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, concerning the dead in Christ, rising first; and the last generation of men not dying, but undergoing such a change as shall render them immortal. On that great day, all the followers of God, both those who had slept long in the dust of the earth, and all those who shall be found living, shall be acknowledged by Christ as His own and live together forever with Him.
The word rendered “together” is not to be regarded as connected with the phrase “with him”; the meaning then becomes that he (Christ) and they (the Thessalonians) would be “together.” “Together with him” refers to those who “wake and those who sleep”?those who are alive and those who are dead? meaning that they would be “together” or would be with the Lord “at the same time;” there would be no priority or preference.
(5:11) Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
“Therefore encourage one another,” either with the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, the second coming of Christ, and the thoughts of being with Him forever, and with one another, or with this consideration, that they were not in a state of darkness, ignorance, and infidelity, but were children of the light, and of the day, being called out of darkness into marvelous light, and therefore should enjoy the light of life. And along with all that there is the doctrine of predestination, and perhaps the greatest of all is the knowledge that they are not being appointed to that wrath they deserved, but to be given salvation by Jesus Christ, which could never fail, since the purpose of God according to election always stands upon what is never in doubt, not upon an unsure foundation of works, but upon His own sovereign and unchangeable grace. And yet there is even more; the doctrine of Christ's sufferings and death in their place and for them, whereby the law was fulfilled, justice satisfied, their sins atoned for, pardon procured, everlasting righteousness brought in, and their salvation fully accomplished. The apostle had spoken to them of these things: but his words will bear repeating, "encourage one another and build each other up"; that is, not to sleep, as do others, or indulge themselves in sin and sloth; but to be sober, and upon their watch and guard, and in a posture of defense against the enemy; to put on the whole armor of God, and particularly the shield of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation.
Comfort yourselves together: the apostle had laid before them many comfortable truths, which they were to comfort one another with; and if we read the words and exhort one another, it refers to the necessary duties of religion he had mentioned in this and the foregoing chapter.
“And build each other up.” Paul can readily see that the Thessalonians’ faith is not as strong as it should be, but he knows how to increase their faith; “build each other up,” he says, “and edify one another.” Then he gives them an example they should all be familiar with. He asks them to consider how a house is built. It is built up by degrees; foundation, floor, walls, roof, etc. Every church is the house of God, consisting of living stones; every part is to seek the building up of the whole, and by mutual encouragement and reassurance the whole may be built up. Those Christians, then, that only seek to edify themselves, and they pull down, and divide, and destroy, instead of building up are to be blamed for their weak faith.
“And build each other up” by praying together, conversing with each other about the doctrines of the gospel, and the dealings of God with their souls; abstaining from all corrupt communication, which has a tendency to hurt each other's principles or practices, or to stir up wrath and contention; focus only on those things which are for the use of edifying, in order that their souls might be more and more built upon Christ, and their most holy faith; and be a rising construction, and grow to be an holy temple in the Lord, and for an habitation of God through the Spirit. In other words, strive to build up each other, or to establish each other in the faith. The apostle told the Romans, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification{3]” (Romans 14:19).
It is the responsibility of Christians to do, practice, say and engage in only those things that contribute constructively to the building up (the figure is that of a building) of fellow Christians. It is not enough merely to refrain from saying what will discourage or damage another, or from practicing what will offend another, or from doing what may tempt another. The mandate is to do what will help the spiritual life and growth of fellow-Christians.
“Just as in fact you are doing,” that is to say, from what he has seen and heard, the Thessalonians are already making it their practice to do precisely what the apostle told them to do, for which he here again commends them, as he had done upon several occasions before, but not through flattery, but to encourage them to go on in this way; and from whence it may be observed, that mutual consolation, exhortation, and edification, are things the saints should be stirred up to do frequently and to set before other churches their example for imitation. Let nothing intervene to disturb the harmony and consolation which you have been accustomed to derive from these high and holy doctrines.
Special notes and Scripture
[1} "A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for” (1 Peter 2:8). That Stone is a Rock, the Rock of Ages, and the Rock on which the Church is built; but to the disobedient, it is a Rock of offense.
[2} “For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,” (1 Thessalonians 1:4). Here Paul is speaking of “election.” By election is meant that act of free grace by which God destines individuals to become believers in Christ. Thus the Thessalonian converts were chosen or elected by God from among their heathen countrymen to become Christians. The ultimate reason for their Christianity was their election of God.
[3} Edify. It is the "upbuilding," or mutual help and assistance in the spiritual life which Christians receive from their interaction with each other.
