Daily Verse 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Verse 16. Rejoice evermore.] Be always happy; the religion of Christ was intended to remove misery. He that has God for his portion may constantly exult. Four MSS. of good note add εν τῳ Κυριῳ, in the Lord: Rejoice in the Lord evermore.
Verse 17. Pray without ceasing.] Ye are dependent on God for every good; without him ye can do nothing; feel that dependence at all times, and ye will always be in the spirit of prayer; and those who feel this spirit will, as frequently as possible, be found in the exercise of prayer.
Verse 18. In every thing give thanks] For this reason, that all things work together for good to them that love God; therefore, every occurrence may be a subject of gratitude and thankfulness. While ye live to God, prosperity and adversity will be equally helpful to you.
For this is the will of God] That ye should be always happy; that ye should ever be in the spirit of prayer; and that ye should profit by every occurrence in life, and be continually grateful and obedient; for gratitude and obedience are inseparably connected.
Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes, New Edition., vol. 6 (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, 2014), 554–555.
Verse 17. Pray without ceasing.] Ye are dependent on God for every good; without him ye can do nothing; feel that dependence at all times, and ye will always be in the spirit of prayer; and those who feel this spirit will, as frequently as possible, be found in the exercise of prayer.
Verse 18. In every thing give thanks] For this reason, that all things work together for good to them that love God; therefore, every occurrence may be a subject of gratitude and thankfulness. While ye live to God, prosperity and adversity will be equally helpful to you.
For this is the will of God] That ye should be always happy; that ye should ever be in the spirit of prayer; and that ye should profit by every occurrence in life, and be continually grateful and obedient; for gratitude and obedience are inseparably connected.
Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes, New Edition., vol. 6 (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, 2014), 554–555.
5:16 Verses 16–22 deal with religious duties as opposed to interpersonal behavior. Rejoicing has its source in God. This verse is parallel to Gl 5:22; Php 4:4; Jms 1:2. “To rejoice always is to see the hand of God in whatever is happening and to remain certain of God’s future salvation. Without such conviction joy would not be possible in the face of affliction, suffering, and death” (Charles A. Wanamaker).
5:17 To pray constantly does not mean continuous, uninterrupted prayer but humble submission to God in the details of life.
James F. Davis, “1 Thessalonians,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1908.
5:17 To pray constantly does not mean continuous, uninterrupted prayer but humble submission to God in the details of life.
James F. Davis, “1 Thessalonians,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1908.
1. personal living (5:16–18)
These exhortations—dealing with attitudes—are addressed to believers as individuals concerning their personal lives before God.
5:16. God wants His people to be joyful and He gives them every reason to be. But Paul knew human nature well enough to sense the need for a reminder to rejoice at all times (cf. Phil. 3:1; 4:4). This is a command. A Christian’s joy does not spring from his circumstances, but from the blessings that are his because he is in Christ. “The Christian who remains in sadness and depression really breaks a commandment: in some direction or other he mistrusts God—His power, providence, forgiveness” (A.J. Mason, “The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians,” in Ellicott’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 8, p. 145). These two words (pantote chairete) constitute the shortest verse in the Greek New Testament.
5:17. Continual prayer is not prayer that prevails without any interruption, but prayer that continues whenever possible. The adverb for continually (adialeiptōs, also in 1:3) was used in Greek of a hacking cough. Paul was speaking of maintaining continuous fellowship with God as much as possible in the midst of daily living in which concentration is frequently broken.
5:18. The two previous commands deal with one’s time (“always” and “continually”); this one deals with his circumstances. Christians are to give thanks to God in every circumstance of life. The fact that God works everything together for good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28) is the basis for this entreaty.
These three exhortations in verses 16–18 are not just good advice; they are God’s will for every Christian. They are not the totality of God’s will, but they are a clear and important segment of it. God’s will means joy, prayer, and thanksgiving for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Thomas L. Constable, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 708–709.
These exhortations—dealing with attitudes—are addressed to believers as individuals concerning their personal lives before God.
5:16. God wants His people to be joyful and He gives them every reason to be. But Paul knew human nature well enough to sense the need for a reminder to rejoice at all times (cf. Phil. 3:1; 4:4). This is a command. A Christian’s joy does not spring from his circumstances, but from the blessings that are his because he is in Christ. “The Christian who remains in sadness and depression really breaks a commandment: in some direction or other he mistrusts God—His power, providence, forgiveness” (A.J. Mason, “The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians,” in Ellicott’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 8, p. 145). These two words (pantote chairete) constitute the shortest verse in the Greek New Testament.
5:17. Continual prayer is not prayer that prevails without any interruption, but prayer that continues whenever possible. The adverb for continually (adialeiptōs, also in 1:3) was used in Greek of a hacking cough. Paul was speaking of maintaining continuous fellowship with God as much as possible in the midst of daily living in which concentration is frequently broken.
5:18. The two previous commands deal with one’s time (“always” and “continually”); this one deals with his circumstances. Christians are to give thanks to God in every circumstance of life. The fact that God works everything together for good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28) is the basis for this entreaty.
These three exhortations in verses 16–18 are not just good advice; they are God’s will for every Christian. They are not the totality of God’s will, but they are a clear and important segment of it. God’s will means joy, prayer, and thanksgiving for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Thomas L. Constable, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 708–709.
Third, there are the equivalents of the little rules of grammar, the rhymes and memory-aids which nudge the mind in the right direction. Verses 16–22 may well be a list of these, designed for easy memorization, which Paul has put together so that his young churches will quickly learn the language of Christian behaviour. When we speak of ‘learning by heart’, we often mean ‘by mind’, with an effort of memory; but, once that effort has been made, the heart takes what is learnt into itself until it becomes second nature, like a mother tongue. That is what Paul intends with this list.
The list itself is full of joy. The early Christians knew a lot about suffering; Paul wanted them to learn how to celebrate in the midst of it. Learning to thank God for whatever he gives is sometimes difficult, but it goes with celebrating the lordship of Jesus over the world in advance of its being made public and generally recognized. And then, the simplest but most profound of basic moral rules: when you find something good, hold it fast with both hands, but keep well clear from anything that even looks as though it might be evil. Learn these lessons—as relevant today as ever they were—and you have taken the first steps to mastering the grammar of Christian behaviour.
Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 132–133.
The list itself is full of joy. The early Christians knew a lot about suffering; Paul wanted them to learn how to celebrate in the midst of it. Learning to thank God for whatever he gives is sometimes difficult, but it goes with celebrating the lordship of Jesus over the world in advance of its being made public and generally recognized. And then, the simplest but most profound of basic moral rules: when you find something good, hold it fast with both hands, but keep well clear from anything that even looks as though it might be evil. Learn these lessons—as relevant today as ever they were—and you have taken the first steps to mastering the grammar of Christian behaviour.
Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 132–133.
16. The injunction Be joyful always is at first sight a little surprising coming from one who had had to suffer as much and as continually as Paul. But he learned that affliction and deep joy may go together (2 Cor. 6:10; 12:10), and he rejoiced in tribulations (Rom. 5:3; Col. 1:24; cf. Acts 5:41; 16:25). So he counsels perpetual rejoicing to a suffering church (cf. 1:6). The note of joy is often struck in his other letter to a Macedonian church, that to the Philippians (cf. Phil. 4:4). Indeed, few things about the New Testament church are more remarkable than this continual stress on joy. From an outward point of view there was little to make believers rejoice. But they were ‘in Christ’; they had learned the truth of his words, ‘no-one will take away your joy’ (John 16:22). Now joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22; cf. Rom. 14:17); it is not something Christians work up out of their own resources. The various derivatives of joy occur with startling frequency throughout the New Testament. The word for ‘grace’, for example, is from this root, as are one of the words for ‘to forgive’, one for ‘to give thanks’, and another for ‘gifts of the Spirit’. New Testament Christianity is permeated with the spirit of holy joy.
17. ‘It is not in the moving of the lips, but in the elevation of the heart to God, that the essence of prayer consists’ (Lightfoot), and it is this that enables us to put into practice the injunction pray continually (cf. Luke 18:1; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18). It is not possible for us to spend all our time with the words of prayer on our lips, but it is possible for us to be all our days in the spirit of prayer, realizing our dependence on God for all we have and are, being conscious of his presence with us wherever we may be, and yielding ourselves continually to him to do his will. Such an inward state will of course find expression from time to time in verbal prayer (notice the frequent ejaculatory prayers throughout Paul’s letters; prayer was so natural to Paul that it inevitably found its way into his correspondence).
18. Paul had learned that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him’ (Rom. 8:28). Even in our difficulties and trials God is teaching valuable lessons (Rom. 5:3–5), and they are to be welcomed and used accordingly. This conviction of the divine sovereignty and providence leads to the command, give thanks in all circumstances. It may not be easy to see the bright side of a particular trial, but if God is over all, then his hand is in that trial; his own cannot but recognize his goodness and make their thanksgiving. Perhaps we should notice that in all circumstances is not quite the same as ‘at every time’ (the two are differentiated in 2 Cor. 9:8).
For this is God’s will almost certainly refers to all three injunctions, even though this is singular. They form a unity and belong together. Will has no article; as in 4:3 it is not the totality of the divine will that is in mind. God would have us do other things, but this triad is certainly part of his will for us. The addition in Christ Jesus is characteristically Pauline. God’s will is made known in Christ, and it is in Christ that we are given the dynamic that enables us to carry out that divine will.
Leon Morris, 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 13, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 103–105.
17. ‘It is not in the moving of the lips, but in the elevation of the heart to God, that the essence of prayer consists’ (Lightfoot), and it is this that enables us to put into practice the injunction pray continually (cf. Luke 18:1; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18). It is not possible for us to spend all our time with the words of prayer on our lips, but it is possible for us to be all our days in the spirit of prayer, realizing our dependence on God for all we have and are, being conscious of his presence with us wherever we may be, and yielding ourselves continually to him to do his will. Such an inward state will of course find expression from time to time in verbal prayer (notice the frequent ejaculatory prayers throughout Paul’s letters; prayer was so natural to Paul that it inevitably found its way into his correspondence).
18. Paul had learned that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him’ (Rom. 8:28). Even in our difficulties and trials God is teaching valuable lessons (Rom. 5:3–5), and they are to be welcomed and used accordingly. This conviction of the divine sovereignty and providence leads to the command, give thanks in all circumstances. It may not be easy to see the bright side of a particular trial, but if God is over all, then his hand is in that trial; his own cannot but recognize his goodness and make their thanksgiving. Perhaps we should notice that in all circumstances is not quite the same as ‘at every time’ (the two are differentiated in 2 Cor. 9:8).
For this is God’s will almost certainly refers to all three injunctions, even though this is singular. They form a unity and belong together. Will has no article; as in 4:3 it is not the totality of the divine will that is in mind. God would have us do other things, but this triad is certainly part of his will for us. The addition in Christ Jesus is characteristically Pauline. God’s will is made known in Christ, and it is in Christ that we are given the dynamic that enables us to carry out that divine will.
Leon Morris, 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 13, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 103–105.
This is what one of my translations says:
1 Thessalonians 5
16 Always be happy. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 Always give thanks to God, no matter what happens. For that is what God wants from you now that you belong to Jesus Christ.
When I found out a year ago the watchdog society teaches Jesus is not our Mediator...texts like these give so much more meaning. Not just to my understanding, but the way I feel.