Notes
The Day of the Lord will not come upon us as a thief if we are children of light, since Jesus died for us to save us from God's wrath.
#children
Published July 1st, 2021
Main point summary
Discourse
Notes
notes
Main point summary
We, the children of light, are ready for Jesus to come in the day of the Lord, unlike those in darkness. So let us walk in faith and strengthen one another as we eagerly await his coming.
Discourse
editing
NT
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
esv
mine
Now concerning w the times and the seasons, brothers, 1
Regarding what things are to come and when they are coming, brothers,
x you have no need to have anything written to you.
you don't need us to write anything more to you than what you already know.
For you yourselves are fully aware
Because you already have a complete knowledge
that y the day of the Lord will come
that the Day of the Lord is going to arrive
like a thief in the night.
unexpectedly, like a robber entering a home in darkness.
While people are saying, “There is peace and security,”
At the same time that many, who aren't ready, say that they are safe and secure,
then z sudden destruction will come upon them
then calamity will come to them all of a sudden
a as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman,
like the pain of labor can come all of a sudden on a pregnant woman
and they will not escape.
and they won't be able to get out of it.
But you b are not in darkness, brothers,
Here's the great news: you aren't surrounded by darkness, brothers!
for that day to surprise you like a thief.
That day won't surprise you like a robber!
For you are all c children 1 of light,
For each one of you is a child of the light,
children of the day.
a child of daytime.
We are not of the night or of the darkness.
We don't belong to the night or to the dark.
So then d let us not sleep, as others do,
Because of that, let none of us fall spiritually asleep the way some people have,
but let us e keep awake and f be sober.
but instead may we stay spiritually awake and be sober-minded.
For those who sleep, sleep at night,
Because those who sleep, do so in the nighttime,
and those who get drunk, g are drunk at night.
And people who get drunk, do their drinking in the nighttime.
But since we belong to the day,
But, since we live in the light and are of the day,
let us be sober,
may each of us remain sober,
h having put on the breastplate of i faith and love,
may each of us armor ourselves with faith and with love,
and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
with our hope of Jesus saving us as our helmet.
For God has not destined us for j wrath,
Because God doesn't have his furious anger in store for us,
but k to obtain salvation
but has stored up for us to get his salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through Jesus Christ, our King!
l who died for us
He is the one who, on our behalf, died,
so that whether we are awake or asleep
so that whether we live awake or fall asleep here on earth,
we might live with him.
we can live, by means of his life.
Therefore encourage one another
For this reason, give confidence to each other
and build one another up,
and help strengthen one another and edify one another,
just as you are doing.
in the same way that you are already doing.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are telling the Thessalonians that they don't need to worry about exactly when Jesus is coming back, or when the Day of the Lord is coming.
Like the days of Noah, and the man who built his house on sand, people who haven't trusted God will think they have security and peace. In reality, they couldn't be in more danger. Calamity and God's wrath will come suddenly to them, when they least expect it.
Here, the writers are extending the awake/asleep metaphor in another direction: addressing those who have fallen asleep (died) in the Lord.
Here, the sleep metaphor is used to refer to those who are spiritually asleep, not awakened to life in Christ. These are the children not of light, but of spiritual darkness.
The spiritually asleep pursue drunkenness and not reality and sobriety. They chase pleasure or escape rather than truth.
In contrast, we children of the light are called to be sober, to be awake and fully aware of reality in Christ.
We have nothing to fear anymore from God's wrath, but only because Jesus died and bore that wrath on our behalf. (verse 10a)
Takeaway: we need to encourage, build up, strengthen, and edify other Christians about these truths God reveals in this passage, and about our hope in Christ.
Takeaway: We must remain spiritually awake and spiritually sober. We must live as children on light, ready for Christ's return.
Takeaway: we know everything we need to know about Christ's return and the Day of the Lord. Later, we will see that we have nothing to fear, and the day won't come on believers like a thief in the night.
discourse
Notes
Next steps to implement the tools I've learned in this Paraphrase course: I plan to practice the steps in the books: The rest of 1 Thessalonians, then 2 Thessalonians, and then Isaiah (this one might take a while). I hope to take what I learn and be able to share clear scriptural knowledge with others in my church, especially in my weekly small group when we study Scripture. I also hope and intend to use the insights I've gained from using these tools to encourage and study with my family.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.