Latest Article
There are hills and valleys, let us set out
2025-01-15 22:32
A year has passed, I hope you learn to forg
2025-01-15 22:29
The glorious inheritance of the ministers
2025-01-15 22:21
Ministries
- Community Support
- Environmental Conservation
- Prayer Spiritual Development
- Social Justice and Aid
- Children and Youth Ministries
- Music and Art Expression
- Mission and Aid Efforts
- Education and Learning
2025-01-15 20:59
By, Joseph McDonald
A person who is grateful will live in joy.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Earlier, we discussed that “giving thanks” is God’s will for Christians, and that Christians’ thanksgiving must be in Jesus Christ. Now let’s discuss the remaining verses:
1. The relationship between “giving thanks” and prayer and joy
In these verses, “rejoice always”, “pray without ceasing” and “give thanks in all circumstances” are put together, which clearly tells us that “giving thanks” is inseparable from prayer and joy: We can understand this from at least three aspects:
(1) As we have discussed before, one of the most important differences between Christians and the world is that we have changed from being ungrateful to the God who created and loved us to being grateful to God; so every “giving thanks” we give to God is a “prayer” sent to God.
(2) A grateful person must live in joy. This is true for the world, and even more so for Christians, because Christians are grateful for everything that happens, whether it is smooth or not, whether it is already there or new. And the more “giving thanks” one gives, the more “joy” one will have. Therefore, "always rejoicing" is a test indicator of whether a Christian "gives thanks in everything".
(3) Among "giving thanks", "praying" and "rejoicing", the key is "praying", because "praying" is the bridge for us to establish a relationship with God. The essence of prayer is not to change our situation, but to change ourselves through the environment. Here, "pray without ceasing" does not mean that we should pray without stopping, but can be seen as "praying in everything". Only those who "pray in everything" can "give thanks in everything". If we always put praise and gratitude to God first in every prayer, we will definitely get used to looking up and improve our spiritual character. If we are good at listening to the guidance, comfort, reminder and rebuke from the Holy Spirit, then we will establish a harmonious and unobstructed intimate relationship with God. Only then will we be able to "give thanks in everything" from the heart and have "always rejoicing".
2. What does "everything" in "giving thanks in everything" refer to?
The Greek word for "everything": pas is an adjective, meaning "each", "whatever", "every", and the specific meaning depends on the context. There are two English translations: "in allcircumstances" and "in everything"; if translated from English into Chinese, it means: "give thanks in any circumstances" and "in all things". Specifically, it includes: whether it is a big thing or a small thing; whether it is something you think is important or unimportant; whether it is in a smooth environment or a difficult environment; whether it is related to spiritual things or daily life; whether it is encountering miracles or things you see every day; give thanks.
3. Who does "you" refer to in the text?
If we look at the preceding verses of these verses: "We beseech you, brothers, that you respect those who work hard among you, who have charge over you in the Lord and who admonish you, and esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live at peace with one another. We urge you, brothers, to warn the idle, to encourage the discouraged, to help the weak, to be tolerant of all. See that you repay evil for evil to no one, but always seek to do good in your dealings with one another and with everyone." (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15)
Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 together, the "you" Paul refers to is the church; so the meaning of the entire verse is: In the church, you should respect those who work hard and admonish you with love, and live at peace with one another; be tolerant and kind to the idle, discouraged, and weak people in the church, and even those who have hurt you, and do not repay evil with evil. We should "pray without ceasing" for the church, "give thanks" for various situations that occur in the church, and "rejoice always" for the things that God allows the church to happen. These "musts" are God's commands for us to behave in the church.
May these verses become our motto in life: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything; we also offer our thanks for such a beautiful word given by God through Paul, and wish brothers and sisters a happy Thanksgiving!
Leave A Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
