For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11
The summarizing statements in verses 9-11 of Paul’s preceding verses remind us of key crucial perspectives for walking out the Christian life.
First, God has not destined us for wrath. Said another way, God does not intend for us to receive His wrath. In the time of Paul, the existence and severity of the wrath of God was not something that the Church needed to be convinced of.* Indeed, the relief felt from these words of Paul would have propelled the hearers to gratitude.
Second, Jesus did the work. It’s important to remember that as we attempt to live a life that honors God, our salvation depends upon the work of Jesus Christ, not our own merits.* The words “for us” are significant because it tells us that the death of Christ and His resurrection were not simply cosmic displays of power and identity, nor were they merely etherial shifts in an unseen, spiritual power structure. No, the work of Jesus Christ was very personal. It was for you. It was for me. Why? Because He wants to live with us forever. The intimacy of this statement and the desire of our God to be close to us cannot be overstated. It is wildly beautiful, and it welcomes a pause to reflect.
Third, the work of Christ requires a response.* The coexistence of the terms “destined” and “obtain” speak to the beauty of the invitation of God for His people. God destines all to come to Him. He does not discriminate amongst all whom He created in His image, but He extends salvation to everyone. Obtaining that gift, however, requires a response that not all choose to make.*
Lastly, Paul reminds the church that encouragement (or building up as you would build a structure/building) does not come from the leader, but from one another. Each of us has walked away from a teaching or a sermon thinking, “wow! I feel so encouraged!” The temptation in these very beneficial moments is to begin to look to leaders as our source of encouragement.
This danger threatens to cause us to miss out on encouragement that God desires for us, but it also threatens us in another way. It threatens to disarm us of our own ability to encourage others. Thinking that encouragement comes from leaders, we may lay down our own ability to encourage, waiting for leaders to do that good work. Indeed, God is our source for all things, and He tells us through the words of Paul that He sends us encouragement through the people in the Christian community around us.* Yes, leaders are a part of the Christian community, but it is their membership in the Christian community that qualifies them to encourage, not their role as leader within that community.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to walk in gratitude for His salvific work. Perhaps today God would invite you to recalibrate yourself away from earning right-standing with Him and back to dependance upon Christ. Maybe today God wants you to share the Good News of Jesus with someone just waiting to obtain it. Perhaps today God wants you to encourage someone. Maybe today God wants you to hear someone encourage you.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 168–169). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 210–212). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 240–246). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 435–444). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 97–99). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 153–157). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 365–374). Baker Academic.