1 Thessalonians 5:4

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that day should overtake you as a thief:

Darkness is used here as antithetical to light, and very similarly to the writings of John; these passages refer not to literal darkness and light, but to the state of rebellion against God (darkness) and to the state of obedience (light). Wesley's paraphrase of this is:

But ye members of the church, living in the light, expecting the coming of your Lord (Matthew 25:10) cannot be surprised. Your knowledge and faith lead you to be always ready.[11]

The ASV in this place follows the rendition in KJV and this is good. As Morris said, "The KJV has better manuscript attestation ... the sense of KJV is better."[12]

As a thief ... The Lord himself used this figure; a thief gives no warning of his coming.

[11] John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), in loco.

[12] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentary, 1,2Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), p. 92.