Published: November 30, 2025 | Speaker: Tim Freitag | Series: The Law of Liberty - Part 13 | Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22
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7:35
It's very early on. So, I I would reject the idea that there was not some kind of eldership here. I think the some of what's going on in this is that people uh don't see them specifically named or use the term used. It bothers people,
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but let's look at the actual words that he's using and see what he's examining. Check. You also need to remember
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Um, anyhow, um, I think it's important for us to look at this here because what does he say? U and and I'm going to make a little correction of some of the words at least as they're translated in mind. And I suspect some of you have other
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translations of these words in this section. Um section. Um some of the words used right here are not used commonly throughout the New Testament. Uh so so there are some
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question marks in terms of how they're translated. But without diving too far into the Greek, um he says, "We request of you." Request is not a bad translation there. It is a polite intreaty. We have seen a number of times
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in here where Paul has either used fairly polite or gentle terms or he's used incredibly strong terms. This is on the softer side. He's asking very politely. Please,
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politely. Please, please. Okay. Um when he says beseech or request, um mine says request, yours might have beseech or something similar. Um, the New American Standard says,
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"Appreciate those who diligently uh labor among you." That word could be a number of different things. Um, some of the older
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translations may have said to know. Um, does anybody else have another to know? Yeah. Respect. Respect. Jerry, you had your hand up.
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Yeah. So it it has a it has a certain con connotation in the Greek connected with the idea of seeing or perceiving. Um I don't know that acknowledge or appreciate is an un
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correct but it it really is more the the sense of of rightly esteem. um or view them correctly is kind of what he's
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getting at here is please acknowledge them as your leaders. Okay. See them um Morris's is his comment on it was to
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know the worth of if you had to know in your translation to to know them as they ought to be. Um to know or to appreciate to know the worth of to see them. Um,
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and it's not clear to us. Again, we know, of course, that Paul is writing a letter to the Thessalonians after a report from Timothy, having returned to him and uh telling him what was going on
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in the church. He doesn't call out a specific incident here the way he does in some of the other churches. But it seems to be that there is some amount of dispute among them. Um, because you look
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at the several terms he uses here. Not only is he asking them to look on those who diligently labor uh and have charge over you in the Lord, but he also says here um live at peace with one another.
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Um be patient with everyone. There seems to be a certain tension there that he's addressing as he is offering these thoughts here near the end of the book.
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the three sort of phrases we have here. And this is where I want to to highlight what he's talking about. Um, labor.
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I'm going to put have charge, but we'll talk about that.
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He uses three terms here. And in the Greek they have one common um article ahead of them. So it's almost like the ones who labor and have charge and admonish. So they go together. He's
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not holding three separate things there. He's saying the ones who are doing these things among you see them. Acknowledge them. Um I do think that he has in mind
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for these things primarily those who are in authority in the church. primarily the eldership of the church. But he doesn't confine it that way.
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So follow with me the actual words of Paul here because I don't think he's confining it explicitly to the elders. I think he wrote what he wrote on purpose because he's going to go on and speak to
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the the body as a whole and use these terms again uh in a way that he's going to he's going to ask them to be patient to admonish the unruly to
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encourage the faint-hearted. He's encouraging the whole body to be at work among itself in these things. So I do think he's starting near the top and he's going to work these ideas through
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the rest of the body. Does anybody object to that reading of the the word here? So the laboring among you where he says here who diligently labor among you
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that's the same word that we had in chapter one where he praises them for their diligent labor. Um it it is very much hard toil. It's almost like mining work of like swinging a pickaxe. It has
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the idea of heavy lifting, working hard, those who are at work among you who are working hard. Um, and then he says, uh, have charge over
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you in the Lord. Um, that's an odd one. It's not used in a lot of places in the New Testament. It's not the word
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It's used in a couple of other places um only by Paul as far as I can tell, but it is also used extra biblically in a number of places in contemporaneous writings. And it really means sort of like the
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guys in charge. It's a it's a fairly informal term and it is used extra biblically sometimes informally in reference to people who were administrators or rulers of cities and
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so on. So it's it's it is those in charge but it's not explicitly the term that we sometimes look for in our Greek word studies of overseer. I think having charge over you is a
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reasonable translation of that. Then he says and my my copy says um give you instruction you instruction And I don't know why because it says
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admonish. And it's exactly the same word he uses again here in 14 when he says admonish the unruly. It has the idea of corrective. It has the idea of
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addressing wrongdoing. addressing wrongdoing. I mean
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American standard perspective had no other instrumentish.
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Okay. But I don't think it's Not from the word. Not from
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Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. Um certainly the admonishment should be based in the word. So I I appreciate that thought. Um yeah, I I suppose I would have liked to have seen it a little more accurate, but um I guess that's what the ESV is for.
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So um instruction or admonishment uh admonishing where does he say here? Um
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he does it does it is directed at you though where it says give give mine says give you instruction it is those who admonish you. Yeah Marcia
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And I will say I appreciate that it's this is hardly the only place where we have um instruction from either Paul or the writer of Hebrews or or any of the other New Testament writers that the
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body ought to be at work encouraging and and stirring one another up. We just went past in verse 11. Encourage one another. Build up one another as you are doing. He's moving into this. Again, I
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don't think this is a broken thought. I have to start and stop the lesson
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Yeah. may not be dealing with.
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Yeah. Right. So, I I appreciate that. I had forgotten that that term newtic counseling. I think that's is Jay Adams the one who started that thought I think or somebody possibly in that.
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in that. Okay. Sure. Okay. Sure. Yep. Um so, you're right though. So it is it is that term that's being used here. So it is it is an idea of corrective. It is an idea of of based in
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the theology of the word right uh as a corrective idea. So it's it's here in that sense. Um so he's asking he says I ask of you or I
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request of you brethren that you uh appreciate or acknowledge or or rightly esteem those who are diligently laboring among you who are given charge over you in the Lord. It's not miss that that's
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here in the Lord and admonish you that you esteem them highly very highly in love because of their work. So what is
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he asking of them? I think very similar to what we saw in chapters one and two in terms of his own ministry. He does not lean on it.
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Be careful how I say this. There is an authority given to them. He even cites it here that they're doing these things in the Lord. Okay? So there is a higher authority behind all of
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this. But his own request in terms of how they related to him and how he related to them when he was among them. And his request for those in leadership here is based in the idea that it
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shouldn't have to be because of their authority. They ought to be honored because of the work they're doing. It ought to be a loving service because
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what they're doing is so important. Okay. And this is where I want to draw back in some of our conversation about the idea of the church as a military. We
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looked at a number of examples and I I if you care I still have some from last week that we didn't get to um because there's a lot of them that the New Testament often pictures the church as a
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military structure having a warfare in front of it having a an organization as a body towards this objective. It is incredibly difficult for the
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leadership of an army to conduct a war when its soldiers do not respect the leaders. Is that fair? Those who read
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every time he talks about relationship among the troops and the weapons
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right I read a lot of military history and I think we metaphor.
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Well, I appreciate the the caution and I guess I'll try to be careful here to do this, which is use the wording the way Paul is using the wording. And also, I do think we cited this last week and I
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think maybe even the week before that, the idea of the conquest of Canaan. Uh, Israel had a army sort of when they were going into Canaan
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that was also what? A family. they were related to each other. So that idea of a family unit organized into a military
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structure, the the the the analogy or the the the lesson, the schooling for us in the idea of Israel in its entry into Canaan in warfare as a family, I think
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is probably the pattern that we should be mostly looking at. Abe, you had your hand up.
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Um, I relate it pretty directly to the idea of of elders, those who are given an authority to admonish, to instruct, those who are given both right and
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responsibility to guide and direct. So those are those are two things. So the the overview is is this section
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here. Um, it's it's it's uh it's a word in the Greek that basically means in charge or or charged with and in the
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Lord is is pretty directly translated um
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there have been leaders in the church who think that they're not only over you in the church they're over you in your home over you in your marriage they're over you in your life choices they're over you in
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your office I'm not sure that's what he's saying he's saying but I Part of what we say is that an elder is over you
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must give an account over you matters of your marriage
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I don't know if that's what he means but I concluded that part of the elers authority is limited to the church.
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the church. I think that's probably right. Um I would also say I do think it's it's connected to some of what we've talked about here which is the idea that there
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is an authority. It does have its limits. Paul was very careful early on to indicate he didn't do these things in a in a lording over sense when he came among them. He came among them with
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humility. He came among them with meekness. He labored among them as a father. It's that kind of I think that's where he's getting at here when he says over you in the Lord is as it relates to
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the leadership of the church or the administration of the church, the instruction, the admonishing the things he's talking about here, respect them as as that kind of
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fathering, that kind of familiar aspect. Uh Jerry first and then Abio. It's
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over It's not necessarily authority
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Yeah. So again, other than this somewhat rare word, um, this is this is not necessarily the most complicated section in the Greek, but I I do appreciate your point there because again, I want to be careful. Paul doesn't specifically say
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the elders. I do think he's highlighting them here with the phrasing he's using, but he's going to go on as we read these next couple of phrases. He's talking to the whole body there as well. So, I would say that this idea of of having
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charge or or or administering perhaps if you like in the Lord would would also extend to things like the deacons or when there is a group together and someone is you know, we use the example
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of the older women teaching the younger women. those things that are for the good of the body, those things that are done in service of the Lord. When someone's in charge, acknowledge them in
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that way. Um, Abigail, you had your hand
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Yeah. So I think that's right. Um Abe and then Aaron.
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are certain ones in the group who seem to
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Yeah. So I I think I know which which um discussion you were talking about where where we we we were careful to to indicate of course that the authority of the elders does not derive exactly from the consent of the body. Right? That we talked it's not a
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democracy in that way. But Paul is asking them here to say you have people who are leading. You have people who God has has gifted. And I think even though he doesn't spell it out here, the
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evidence is there that Paul and Timothy and and Silas were appointing elders. Acknowledge them in that way. I think that's right. That and and I also want to be careful to acknowledge here the
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way the phrasing he uses because Paul doesn't use his words carelessly. Appreciate those who diligent labor among you. Okay. So to to Chuck's point
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that this is not um you know it's not military structure in which you've got top brass over there in the in the session or whatever who get to make decisions that come all the way down to the soldiers here in the church. It's if
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you want to use the military terms it would be more like the sergeant who is with you. I think Paul um has in view in his own head I'm making an assumption here but I think he would have been
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thinking of the centurions the Roman army. Centurions were expected to be at the front. Okay? They didn't sit in the fort and say, "Go get them." They led
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their army into battle just like the kings of Israel were supposed to. So among you, those who are with you going in that leadership, Aaron, Oh, okay. I'm glad I read your mind,
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pastor at the time was actually asked by the congregation to step down. One of the first things
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in respect to an elder came back. The idea of bringing in the pastor is not only unbiblical is incredibly damaging. I think the
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biblical model is clearly recognize those who labor among us as
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Yeah. And that's the pattern that
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of the church. The integrity of this congregation or any congregation is dependent on the
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right? Yeah. Oh, go ahead.
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Yeah. Right. No, thank you for that. I appreciate both of those thoughts and and and I'll say, you know, I think we've we've touched on that a couple of times in, you know, for example, when we've done the discovery class, um sort
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of the history of our church and and it's come up in some other places, but this is one of those places, I think, where that doctrine comes out of because he's saying among you, uh
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there there is both biblical pattern and logic to this, right? the idea that that those who are among you will know you, right? That that those are who are among
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you will know your needs, will know the things and care for the body. And and again, I think that Paul's got that biblically mixed metaphor of family
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military, that we ought to know and care and love for one another as a family, and we ought to pull together towards one objective the way a military does. And so this is one of those places where
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um again, not to to overstress the metaphor, but I think that he's saying here, you all need to be properly uh loving and esteeming those in authority
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over you and and holding them in this regard in the Lord, but also because they come from among you, because the work they're doing is so important to
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the functioning of the body and to to achieving the objective. Um I want to move us forward just a little bit um in the next couple of minutes we have because I actually think this next
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section helps us relate to this and is important. So he says both at the heading where we picked up here in 12 and again here in 14 brethren
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um sorry before I leave that one um I did appreciate the one comment here. See if I can find the the where the wording was here. Okay. Um
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so so this phrasing here where it says uh hold them in love um or or esteem them in love or my translation says esteem them very highly in love. Um one
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commentator referred to this as a triple Pauline intensive which he translated as hyphenated um beyond exceeding abundantly. Um, so we just talked about Paul's more
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gentle terms. This is one of Paul's stronger terms. He almost can't find a strong enough word to say hold them in high esteem in love because of the work they're doing. We move on then into 14
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where he says, "We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly." Again, the word there translated now in my in mine admonish is the same word that we just read that my translation said
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instruction. Same. It's admonish. The unruly is interesting here. Um, it's also somewhat rare except that it's used quite a lot extra biblically to mean
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literally soldiers who are out of order. Soldiers who have left the formation or are out of rank. So the unruly there is is basically get back in in formation.
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Get them back in line. Get into the the pulling towards the objective. Jerry, I think
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Yeah. In some cases. Yeah. So, one of the one of the commentators said you you you could translate it almost as loafing. You know, those who who are sitting on their backside letting everybody else do their work. um the idea that uh and I I didn't
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write the quote down but one of the commentators said effectively there are uh it will not be tolerated in Paul's view of the church that someone is not at work towards this objective right
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that we are all doing the work of the ministry that we are all pulling towards glorifying God by the work of the church that's what he means here when he says
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admonish the unruly again I think it's a little unfortunate sometimes that when We read things in in the New Testament. We sometimes read them in Christianes. Oh yes. Admonish the unruly. He's
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saying, "Get up. Get to work. There's no sitting around loafing around here." Okay? We're working together as a body. We are organized towards the objective.
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That's the idea that Paul is is driving here. But I want to point out again, I do think that first section is is referring primarily to elders, but also sometimes
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I think deacons or some of those other things would apply. But here in 14, I think his view is very much the congregation together, the body, brethren. He says, admonish the unruly,
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encourage the faint-hearted. um Again, maybe not our best translation, but it's it's really sort of um
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it is the idea of of of almost cowardice or of of I think of it in terms of Hebrews, those who would want to return to what came before. um the the idea that you're
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you're afraid to press on into the work of of being a Christian or the ministry there because it's uncomfortable or because it's um
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it it it makes people uneasy because of the way we're meant to operate. He's is um where he says faint-hearted here and then um help the weak be patient with
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everyone. Um everyone. Um I I he's encouraging the body here to do these things as part of that ministry to see to one another's needs that the the
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whole structure of the church ought to be organized and uh in order after this
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Yeah. Rank and file if you like. Yeah. Sure. Yeah.
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Yeah. also your job as a person. I think that's exactly right that it's that it does not it does not devolve entirely on the elders to do those things that the that the body itself ought to be so eager again not to
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overstress the point but in the same idea of a military if you're carrying somebody else's pack you you're aware of who's not carrying the load right you you have an idea you
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have a your relation to one another amongst the body ought to be such that you know who is working towards our goal and who needs to be reoriented in
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holiness to these things, right? And and and all of the caveats apply because I know that this gets us in trouble sometimes. Speaking the truth in love doesn't mean saying whatever comes into
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your head, right? Those kind of things. And the idea that the body should admonish one another has at times in the church, even this church, devolved into gossip or berating or things of that
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nature. Keep in mind where Paul is coming from here and the things that he's got in mind. And I again I think this stretches all the way back to the middle of 14. His thought here of that objective, that victory that he was just urging them on
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to to obtain that victory in salvation relates to this thought here of admonishing the unruly, holding together, encouraging, strengthening. It's it's
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It's it's again the military nature of almost like going through training. When somebody's faltering and not going to make it to the end, you you double back and help them push on, right? You don't just
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leave them there to fail out of the course. It's it's working together, pushing together. You had your hand up.
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The point at which I had I had to pick one satanic influence in the church that did the greatest damage
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clergy that is found church wherever
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that the rest of the body is not also called to do. They simply do itons
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almost the same words from the leadership to
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Yeah, I agree with you there for sure. Um, and it and it and it it goes to things that we've talked about all the way through First Thessalonians and and again, this is one of those places where the doctrine arises. It gives some of the commentators as I'm reading them
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fits because Paul's got a sort of a non- uklitian nested view here where he says those among you who are leading and then you it's like they're so closely linked
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that there's there is distinction but there's also not distinction. One is of the other if if I'm making any sense here because he says you know those those who are leading you to your point
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he moves seamlessly into almost a mirrored instruction for the body as a whole. Justin
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take everybody up, but they are there. People are not
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right. Yes. Yeah. No, I appreciate that. and and and um I had grand ambitions when I set out for this study and we may finish first Thessalonians by the time I'm out of sessions um that we were also going
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to talk about Titus which often gets held up as explicitly and only for elders. No. Okay. Titus is also for all of us. Okay. It's not just about the
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elders. there is eldership talked about there but those things and and to the point I appreciate that Justin very much because uh it is one of those that Paul is assuming he even says we've looked at
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two or three places now throughout first Thessalonians where he says even as you already are doing right so you guys are doing this work great keep going level up push on but you're not not already
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working in these things and I think you're right that there is sometimes and Having gone to seminary, it does sometimes get phrased in these sort of like, you know, you as the elder have to
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do that work and kindle that fire in your people like no that should be indwelling them in the Holy Spirit. We should already be oriented in holiness towards the glor glorifying of God. We
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should already be at work in these things. It shouldn't be on the elders to make it from scratch. what the elders are doing. are doing. Yes, he lists three of them here, but that diligent labor among you, I think,
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in includes or even is primarily the office of the elder of equipping the saints for the work of ministry that they are giving you the tools to do
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these things amongst yourselves. They are giving you the wisdom that is in scripture. They are instructing you, again, to Chuck's point, both explicitly out of the word and by example. What is
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it to admonish in love to um guide and direct to strengthen those who are weak? That's what we're after. Again, with the
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view as he says back here in five, a little bit up in five. Um for God has not destined us for wrath,
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but obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will all live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you also are doing.
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This idea that we are pressing on to obtain this secure this objective and to glorify God in our work. That's what Paul's got in mind all the way through here. We are out of time for this
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morning. So, we can close here um in a word of prayer. Our Father, we do ask that you would please help us to
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act in accordance with the wisdom that we read here in your word. That we would highly esteem those who are working to equip us, but that we would not be
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slackers loafing around. That we would be diligent in the work that you have assigned to us. That we would look and see where we can be of service, where we can strengthen or encourage or build up.
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that all of these things would be done in order that you might be glorified, that we would be a better reflection of your glory and your perfections as we work through the power of the Holy
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Spirit in order to glorify your name, to see you lifted high and praised and honored and glorified as God. We acknowledge you with thanksgiving. We
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offer you all praise and gratitude. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.