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1 Thessalonians – An Artful Way of Teaching Jesus’s Second Coming
An Artful Way of Promising Jesus’s 2nd Coming
When the Holy Spirit inspired the writers, He often chose ways that are artful and beautiful. First Thessalonians is filled with the hope of the 2nd Coming. This is fitting considering “endurance of hope” is a theme in every chapter (1 Thess.1:3). When considering Jesus’s return, the last chapter in 1st Thessalonians contains the last reference and promise concerning Jesus’s “2nd coming” or last coming within 1st Thessalonians.
Here is 1 Thessalonians 5:23:
(Word order is from the Greek)
A – Himself now the God
B – of Peace
C – may sanctify
D – you completely and entirely
D’ – your spirit and soul and body
C’ – blameless
B’ – at the coming of
A’ – the Lord of us Jesus Christ may be preserved.
I arranged it into a chiastic form although at first sight it doesn’t appear to be a chiasm. For our consideration, let’s give it a pass for the moment.
As many have noted, the man-made divisions within 1 Thessalonians result in each chapter ending a section with that promise and their endurance of hope.
When looking at the last section and last promise, it appears to be in an literary art form, a thematic chiasm echoing thoughts and words from each of the previous 4 promises.
In that sense the last reward for their enduring hope sums up the previous four promises in a way which is beautiful and artful.
Here again is 1 Thessalonians 5:23:
(Word order is from the Greek)
A – Himself now the God
B – of Peace
C – may sanctify
D – you completely and entirely
D’ – your spirit and soul and body
C’ – blameless
B’ – at the coming of
A’ – the Lord of us Jesus Christ may be preserved.
If this is indeed a chiastic structure, it is not linguistic. Instead it is thematic and a summation of all the previous assurances. We only see the connections when compared to the previous four sections dealing with the 2nd coming. This shows both beauty and complexity. If so, then what do we learn?
A,A’ – It begins with God and ends with our Lord. This matches 3:13 where our Lord and the Father are connected with the 2nd coming.
• “May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 3:13)
B,B’ – Peace at Jesus’s coming, instead of wrath (1:10), corresponds with the 2nd coming bringing hope (2;19; 4:13) and joy (2;19), comfort and encouragement (4:13,18).
• “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 1:10)
• “For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 2:19)
• “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 4:13)
• “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 4:18)
C,C’ – Being holy is a component of being blameless, cause and effect. This corresponds with the language in 3:13.
• “May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 3:13)
D,D’ – The center has the emphatic double force of completely and entirely; coupled with a full description of our tri-ifold nature. Our human self will be complete again when our spirit returns with Jesus to our body which brings back life, that is the soul. This is seen in 4::16.
• “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 4:16)
After the 5th foretelling of Jesus’s coming, it is fitting Paul adds with these words:
• “He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 5:24)
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
God’s faithfulness is shown in a final way through Jesus’s final return. That itself is beautiful, expressed via inspiration like a complex piece of art.
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