Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28
1 Thessalonians 5:4 Some injustice has been done to the Christian creed of immortality as an influence in determining men's conduct Paul preached the imminent advent of Christ and besought his disciples therefore to watch, and we ask ourselves what is the moral value to us of such an admonition. But surely if we are to have any reasons for being virtuous, this is as good as any other. It is just as respectable to believe that we ought to abstain from iniquity because Christ is at hand, and we... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
(11) Comfort.—Rightly translated. St. Paul is here catching up once more the thought of 1 Thessalonians 4:18. They are to comfort one another about their communion with the dead who live in Christ; but perhaps the word also involves the comfort to be imparted by the thought of predestination to earn salvation. The command to “Edify one another” certainly refers to the instruction given in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 :” Build one another up “in these settled purposes of holy living. This metaphor of... read more