I THESSALONIANS 5:12-22

 Whenever there is a list of any sort in the Bible, for most of us our eyes just sort of glaze over and we rapidly pass over it in order to get to something more interesting. But there is a lot of meat in such tabulations, even if they are just lists of name.

In the case of the First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul establishes a pattern that he follows in most of his other epistles. He begins by discussing various doctrinal issues and then moves on to practical advice concerning how we are to live our lives day by day. This penultimate section in the letter, right before closing greetings, has been variously defined as beginning with 5:12 and continuing through either verses 22, 24, or 28. And there are good arguments for each of these ending points, some of which will be discussed below.

As we read through these verses, they certainly give “the appearance of a collection of unconnected gnomic sentences haphazardly strung together. The style should not, however, lead to the misperception that the sentences are not related to one another or to the situation in Thessalonica.” Taking this warning by Malherbe to heart, I would like to show that these admonitions are not a random sampling, but are carefully arranged in such a way that several insights can be obtained by looking at the literary form these verses take. I would personally outline the passage as follows:

                                               The Structure of I Thessalonians 5:12-22

I. Our attitude toward the church leaders (5:12-13)

        A. opening: WE BESEECH YOU, BROTHERS

                1. Respect those who

                        a. labor among you

                        b. are over you in the Lord

                        c. and admonish you

                2. Esteem them

                        a. very highly

                        b. in love

                        c. because of their work

        A'. conclusion: BE AT PEACE AMONG YOURSELVES

II. Our attitude toward those who need help (5:14)

        A. opening: WE EXHORT YOU, BROTHERS

                1. Admonish the unruly

                2. Encourage the fainthearted

                3. Help the weak

        A'. conclusion: BE PATIENT WITH THEM ALL

III. Our attitude toward one another and God (5:15-22)

        A. Do not repay evil for evil, but seek to do good to all

                1. Rejoice always

                2. Pray constantly

                3. Give thanks in all circumstances

                        REASON: FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU

                1. Do not quench the spirit

        A'. Do not despise prophesying, but test every thing

                Hold fast to what is good

                Abstain from every form of evil

Scope

First, regarding the proper scope of this literary section, it is possible to carry it through verse 24 so that (a) the human triad “spirit, soul, and body” would match up with the divine Trinity in vv. 18-19 and (b) the word “peace in 13 and 23 could be seen as appropriate bookends for the whole pas age. Alternatively, Stott defines the passage as I Thessalonians 5:12-28 because of the repeated (5x) word “brother/brotherhood” in verses 12, 13, 25, 26, and 27.

However, in Figure 1 I have opted for concluding it with 5:22, in agreement with most commentators. One powerful reason for this choice can be seen in Section III above in that it begins with “evil” followed by “good” whereas the section concludes with the two words in reverse order. Although there are two different Greek words for “good” used in vv. 15 and 21, “It is questionable whether in Paul's usage to agathon and kalon can be sharply differentiated.” (Frame)

Major Divisions

Next there are the major sub-divisions of this literary unit to consider, an issue which is the subject of some contention among scholars. Opting for a two-fold division is Malherbe, who sees as sub-divisions verses 12-15 on “reciprocal edification” and 16-22 on the subject of prophecy. But the similar openings in verses 12 and 14 argue for two separate sections for 12-14 rather than just one. Another problem with his analysis is to say that all of 15-22 concerns prophecy when that is patently untrue.

But there is an alternative two-part division championed by Elias: verses 12-13 and 14-22. This is based partly on the obvious similarities in the opening verses of each. And another factor is that the first two verses concern the relationship of the congregation to the church leadership while: “In 5:14-22 the exhortations focus on the ministering activities in which the whole church needs to be engaged. This includes the way they conduct themselves both toward each other (5:14) and toward outsiders.” 

His analysis is a possibility, but a three-fold structure seems to better fit the context, especially in light of the other triads present in I Thessalonians 5:12-22. For example, Stott sees three units: leadership (12-13), fellowship (14-15), and public worship (16-28). Another way to characterize these is to recognize that they deal respectively with our relations toward our leaders, each other, and God – with the last expressed by our corporate and personal worship.

Section I

The first triad in the passage appears in this section. As Wanamaker says, “Paul is talking about one group of individuals in terms of three aspects of their activity.” But who are these people who are to be both respected and esteemed?

Malherbe declares that “there is no indication in this context or anywhere else in the letter that he has in view any officials in Thessalonica.” But the text does not match up with that statement since the people mentioned are “over you in the Lord.” Morris agrees and feels it is “very difficult to accept” the view that at this point in church history there were no accepted leaders of any sort.

Other scholars aver that those to be esteemed are the rich patrons of the congregation who support it in a monetary way. But money alone would hardly place them “over you in the Lord” although unfortunately I have attended congregations in which wealth and social standing appeared to be the prime considerations for choosing who would be an elder.

Hendricksen takes a rather non-committal stand in saying that “it may be safely affirmed that at least in verses 12 and 13 it is the church viewed as an organization that receives special attention.”

I would have to agree with Stott, who feels v. 12 applies to the designated group known variously in the New Testament as elders, pastors or bishops.

I am indebted to Elias for recognizing the triad under Unit IA2. Note how the last of the triad harks back to the first of the triad in IA1, both dealing with “work.”

This initial section concludes with the admonition to “be at peace among you.” Morris states that this phrase does not begin a new subject, as some suggest, but “it seems rather that Paul is continuing to deal with the situation that is in mind in the earlier part of the verse.” But also, it serves as a fitting summary of the teachings in the section rather than being a fourth command. I have witnessed several church splits in my life which were caused primarily by members in the congregation who took issue with decisions taken by the duly appointed church leadership.

Apparently, at least some in the early church also understood this section as referring to church leaders. We can see this by a minority textual variation of verse 13 reading “Be at peace with them.”

Section II

Some commentators such as Wanamaker see a sort of reciprocal relationship between sections I and II in which the second section is addresses to the leaders of the community themselves and describes those “under them in the Lord.” But the only real justification for that opinion lies in the fact that the verb “admonish” appears in both sections. Instead, most scholars feel this whole section describes the duties expected of any congregational member who sees someone in the flock hurting and is in a position to help them cope with their problems.

Section III

This is the longest of the three sections and the most complicated in terms of literary structure. However, a few things can clearly be seen in Figure I. First, as already noted is the inclusio formed by the pair “evil-good...good-evil” at the start and finish. Serving in the same capacity are the two paired injunctions at the start and conclusion which occur with the construction: “do not A but do B.”

In the center of the section with five admonitions on either side, we are given a reason for following these commands, namely “For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” And, as Wanamaker says, “There is no good reason for limiting this statement to only the last of the three injunctions.” Elias agrees with this contention: “Likely this refers back to all three acts of personal and corporate worship.”

Actually it applies to the whole of Section III. We thus have a NT counterpart to the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, which also consist of both positive and negative injunctions.

“In 5:19-22 are several further directives dealing with how congregational worship should be conducted. They clearly suggest that the instructions of 5:16-22 apply in the first place to their worship as a faith community, although the admonitions in 5:16-18 can also be taken to apply to individual expressions of piety.” (Elias)

Conclusion

Thus we see that this is no mere random collection of admonitions thrown together by Paul. It is really a carefully organized compendium of major directives on how the fledgling congregation is to act. Besides the utilization of a triadic structure throughout and the way each of the three sections has its own internal structure, six times in the passage, derivatives of pan (“every”) appear. This last feature of the passage is used to stress the universal applicability of the admonitions to all in the congregation at all times.