Nov 7, 2021. I Thessalonians 5:14-15

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CHURCH CARE.  I Thessalonians 5:14-15.  11/07/2021.  #15.

I Thessalonians 5:14-15 [New King James Version]

14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are [b]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.

  1. Ministry of oversight
    1. Church leaders are to actually guide and mentor the saints
      1.  Neither to left alone to their own devices nor to micromanage their lives
      1.  There is a watchfulness and instruction of the flock
    1. Paul lists 3 types of individuals that require 3 different approaches to minister to them
      1.  The unruly are to be warned
      1.  The fainthearted are to be comforted
      1.  The weak are to be supported
    1. It takes discernment to know what approach should be taken with each individual
      1.  Not all people are the same (different natures require different tactics)
      1.  The patient ministering to others so that each believer can reach his or her full calling in Christ is the calling of the church leader
  2. The unruly
    1. Paul lists the unruly first, for he is the most problematic
      1.  A disruptive person can do a lot of damage
      1.  Not only does the unruly shatter the peace of the body, but he also tarnishes the church’s testimony before the lost
    1. Paul exhorts (parakaleo, called alongside) the elders to do the job assigned to them
    1. Warn (lit., bring to mind) the unruly (disorderly)
      1.  Disorderly (unruly) is a military term, meaning not keeping rank (refusing to stay in formation)
      1.  The word implies insubordination and rebellion
    1. Disorderly people are either immature or full of pride
      1.  Paul dealt with many unruly people in Corinth
      1.  The rebellious cause problems in the body of Christ, causing the weak to stumble, discouraging the faithful, and driving away the seeker
    1. The elders were to remind the unruly of their calling and of their obligation before the Lord, other believers, and the lost
      1.  Disruption cannot continue in the assembly and the elders are responsible to deal with it (Ephesians 4:1-16)
      1.  The cause of unruliness is immaterial to stopping it (no matter what the excuse, the body must be protected from disturbances)
  3. The Fainthearted
    1. Comfort (paramuthos, lit., near the mouth) – to console, to come close to someone in order to encourage them
    1. Fainthearted (lit., small souled) – one who is discouraged or downtrodden (not, feeble-minded at in KJV)
      1.  Many of us get discouraged at times
      1.  Paul states that we need to encourage each other
    1. Unlike warning the unruly, the discouraged needs comfort and encouragement (church = a support system)
  4. The weak
    1. Uphold = to support (literally, to cling firmly to)
      1.  Some people need actual aid for awhile
      1.  Those who are unable to bear themselves up need help from the body of Christ to support them
    1. Weak (without strength) – this could be bodily, mental, or spiritual strength
      1.  I Corinthians 12:23 the weaker members deserve greater honor (shows Christ’s compassion through saints)
      1.  Those with deficiencies need greater care
    1. Leaders are to discern, admonish, comfort, support, and make sure they render goodness, nor returning evil

Key Verse: Ephesians 4:1-161 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”  9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.