1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 (NKJV) And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Some of the over 1,000 rules of the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). Compare Ephesians 6:1-18 for some laws of Christ for the church.
V12 “And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you…” The Greek word for “recognize” is (G1492) εἴδω eídō, which means to see in many different applications. Here, it would be to recognize, acknowledge, take note of, etc. The idea is church leaders need support of prayer, assistance in the ministry, perhaps even financial assistance, etc. The labor is spiritual labor of evangelism, teaching, counseling, admonishing, exposing error, etc. The Lord Jesus has given them a gift for this ministry, so they should be recognized for their leadership roll. Being a leader does not allow for control or abuse (3 John 1:9-11).
V13 “…and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.”
Esteem doesn’t mean to accept and teach whatever these ministers say and do, but to listen closely to what they teach and do. Let them be mentors. Those who sin need to be exposed and disciplined (1 Thessalonians 5:10). Our attitude needs to be loving, not angry and argumentative. Pastoring is a spiritual work. Be at peace indicates how easy it is to criticize leaders. We are to live in peace if possible. Too many spend time criticizing their leaders. If a church leader or worker is evil, then leave.
V14 “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” Warning others are important. This also is an expression of love, for we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Since, this is so, we would want others to warn us about a spiritual danger. Paul probably had warned Demas about loving the world (2 Timothy 4:10). The Apostle John warned about Diotrephes (3 John 1:9-11). Paul rebuked Peter (Galatians 2:11-14).
V15 “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” We are not to take revenge. God does the chastening and punishment (Romans 12:19). We are to pursue what is good (God’s definition of good). The standard for being good is Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We don’t seek vengeance to believers or unbelievers. We are to do what is right in God’s eyes for everything we do. This is so serious it is described as pursue.
V17 “…pray without ceasing…” This doesn’t mean to pray 24/7/365 but to be ready to pray and to regularly pray.
V18 “…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It is difficult to be thankful when things are falling apart, afflictions, abuse, sorrows, etc. We are not thankful for those but to God who goes with us always and will not leave us. We thank Him for His promises, the things in the past, etc. We can pray for others who are going through similar experiences. See James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 4:7, and 1 Peter 1:7. We are a family and are to support and encourage others who are experiencing difficulties.
V19 “Do not quench the Spirit.” The Greek word for “quench” is (G4570) σβέννυμι sbénnumi, which means to extinguish, suppress, etc. especially God’s influence or blessings. Faith in God extinguishes satan’s darts (pains, afflictions, bad memories, torture, etc.) as in Ephesians 6:16, the fires of hell as in Mark 9:44, and suffering for being a Christian as in Hebrews 11:34.
V20 “Do not despise prophecies.” Though rare, God can still send prophecies if He wishes.
V21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” The standard of true and purity is the Scriptures which is what we use to test all things. We reject everything that isn’t in the Scriptures and accept what is. These could be practices, doctrines, rules, etc. The Scriptures must be interpreted in their plain, normal sense.
V22 “Abstain from every form of evil.” After testing and found lacking Scriptural proof, we abstain, avoid, and what is evil.