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Final Instructions and Greetings

1 Thessalonians 5.16-24

Good News Translation (GNT)

16  Be joyful always,
17   pray at all times,
18   be thankful in all circumstances. This is what
   God wants from you in your life in union with
   Christ Jesus.
19   Do not restrain the Holy Spirit;
20   do not despise inspired messages.
21   Put all things to the test: ;keep what is good
22   and avoid every kind of evil.
23   May the God ;who gives us peace make you
   holy in every way and keep your whole being -
   spirit, soul, and body - free from every fault
   at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24   He who calls you will do it, because he is
   faithful.

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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)

Final Instructions and Greetings

Be joyful always and pray continually.

We live in complete dependence upon God every hour of every day. We should not stop praying even for one day and give thanks in all circumstances.

To be joyful always, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances - this is God's will for [us] in Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is like a fire. What puts out the fire?
Sin.
Sin always puts out the fire of the Spirit in our lives.

Joy, prayer, and thanksgiving makes the fire burn more brightly.

There is a second meaning to this verse. The Holy Spirit gives different gifts to people. We must use the gifts the Spirit gives to us, or we will put out the Spirit's fire.

Some of the Thessalonian believers had been given the gift of prophecy, but others were not heeding these prophecies. Do not treat prophecies with contempt.

However, they must not automatically accept every prophecy; it is first necessary to weigh and examine each prophecy.

We also must weigh and examine each prophecy we hear or read by comparing it to what is written in the Bible.

If the prophecy is in agreement with Biblical teachings, then we can be sure that the prophecy is from the Holy Spirit, who never does anything that opposes God's written word, the Bible.

There is a second meaning of the word prophecies, as it is used in this verse: namely, preaching.

We must not treat with contempt the sermons we hear preached. Even if the preacher's manner doesn't please us, or even if we've learned nothing new, we still must respectfully heed his words.

Avoid every kind of evil. God's people must be holy. It is God Himself who makes us holy, or "sanctifies" us.

We cannot sanctify ourselves by our own efforts.

We need the help and power of God's Holy Spirit. Christian scholars believe that this verse teaches that man is made up of three distinct parts: spirit, soul, and body.

Our spirit is that part of us which has direct contact and fellowship with God.

Our soul is that part of us from which our feelings, thoughts, and desires arise. Sin also arises in the soul.

The Bible often calls the soul the "heart" or the "mind."

Then, the third part, our body, is the physical part of us.

Our body is under the direction of our spirit and soul.

In order for us to be fully holy and healthy in God's sight, all three parts of our lives must be holy and healthy.

It does little good to take medicine to make our body well, if our soul is sick with sin and our spirit is separated from God.

In fact, our physical body is the least important part of us; it is much more important that our spirit and soul be healthy, because they are the parts of us that will remain forever.

We don't need healthy bodies to enter heaven!

God has chosen us to be holy and blameless. He has called us to live a holy life.

God is faithful. He will surely complete the work He has begun in us.

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