0:09
Tim asked me if we were going to do uh 10 minutes per book for the last uh couple of books I said we would get through in this session, but I'm not not planning the speedrun this morning. Um I do want to get us through the uh the
0:22
end of First Thessalonians because it will be a little while before I'm back up here. So, try not to leave our thread hanging on this one.
0:40
this is one of those uh places for me as as preparing to teach where I thought I would be here much earlier than I have and yet the things I had prepared for this uh section have changed basically
0:51
every time I thought I was going to get up here to speak on it. And I don't know what that says exactly. Um but we'll see what we can see what we can see together as we go this morning. I'm going to read
1:02
um pretty much what we read last week from verse 16 on down through uh verse 28 the end here. Um
1:13
and we'll take the conversation from Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Stop
1:26
quenching the spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances, but examine or test everything carefully. Hold fast to the good. Abstain from
1:36
every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the
1:46
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he who calls you and he also will bring it to pass. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the
1:57
brothers with a holy kiss. I adure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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There is obviously a significant section here at the end. This paragraph um is primarily a benediction, but I don't want to lose this phrase that we didn't get to last week before we tuck into the benediction here.
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benediction here. Depending on your um translation, you may have noticed that I've adjusted some wording here based on my understanding of the Greek. Um we talked a good bit last week about where
2:40
here where he says um stop quenching the spirit and do not despise prophetic utterances. We talked uh a fair amount about that and certainly we did not cover everything we
2:51
could do in terms of prophecy. I did want to state one thing that I had intended to say and and didn't say in that conversation last week, which was yes, it's disappointing that so many of
3:03
the commentators the commentators circumscribe that to only preaching and leave off all other forms of the way that the Lord speaks to us, including
3:15
the office of prophet. However, I do not exclude preaching from this statement. Okay? Okay. So, when he says, "Do not despise prophetic utterances," I would
3:25
agree with um what Matthew Henry had to say, which is in terms of preaching, "Let this be for you not to despise the preached word of God. Do not treat it as
3:36
a thing lightly. Nor in those times when it is not particularly moving to you, it is still the word of God. It is still being preached. Do not hold it. Do not
3:47
despise it. Do not revile it." It does that make sense to everyone why this is this I I we spoke quite a bit last week about the more uh shall we say mystical
3:58
aspects of prophecy and yet again I do not preclude preaching from this statement or the statement that follows it test or examine everything carefully.
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Okay. So take these things in the spirit that they are meant which is all of those forms the things we discussed last week and the preaching of the word. It
4:23
is not to be despised by the church and it is not to be taken lightly nor is it to be taken at face value. So the same seriousness that you
4:35
read that statement, examine everything carefully. If you're thinking about the more mystical prophetic prophetic utterances, have that same attitude when you are
4:45
listening to the word. Examine it. Obviously, the the reference that probably comes to most of our minds is the Bereans who carefully search the
4:56
scriptures to see if these things were so. I think that's what's in view here. both in terms of the preach word and those other forms that we talked about
5:06
last week. last week. Any questions on that before I move on to the next phrase? Okay, so the next one is probably where
5:17
you noticed me uh shifting the words slightly. Um slightly. Um most of the translations as far as I could see said hold fast to that which is good. In the Greek it is literally
5:29
just hold fast to the good and it is singular. So the idea the very concept of goodness in the singular. Interestingly though in the Greek also
5:43
I don't think the New American standard is off base here where it says every form of evil. Evil is evils here is plural. So good singular evil's plural. Now, if
5:56
you are among those who use the King James version, and I did check, it's not the New King James. You have to go, you have to go with the real handed down King James version says every appearance
6:08
of evil. of evil. Some of you may have heard even whole messages on this concept of every appearance of evil is not accurate to the phrase here form.
6:21
the what I've just read out of here, I could see how you might come up with every appearance of evil, but I think this abstain from every form, every every um it's like every thing that evil
6:33
can appear as. So, it's not don't even look like you're doing something evil. It's literally every form or every appearance that evil can take, abstain
7:07
form. Yeah, that would not that would not at all be an incorrect way to read that. It was noted by a couple of the commentators that the the Greek word here was also used in colloquial language at the time almost like if
7:19
you've ever seen the old pirate movies where they bite the coin to see if it's truly gold. It's that kind of idea that you can it's it's testing for counterfeit. Um it has that concept to it. Yes. So
7:30
that that thank you Abigail. That is a a correct way to address that. So again, I find it interesting or significant if you like that it is hold fast to the good singular what is good and reject or
7:44
abstain or um you know oppose every every form that evil can take. Any questions or thoughts on that?
8:02
Okay. All right. All right. What's the emphasis? Why is the emphasis on the singular? Why is that important? I think the significance of of good
8:12
being singular is the united concept of it. It goes all the way up to the idea that God himself is good. Singular that God is good. To the extent
8:25
that we are holding fast to that, it is to be more Christlike. It is to be more in line with him. it is to be more in that mold. Um, I I frankly think the way
8:36
that Paul's using it here, it's almost casual for him to say it this way because of how fundamental a concept it is to him that
8:47
good is singular, that it is not diverse in those parts. It is good is itself. It stands on its own. What's here?
9:30
Does that help answer the question? So, thank you Abio because I think that's that's right, which is to say and I think this is what I was trying to say. We have one example
9:42
of Christ of Christ to whom we are intended to be. We are we are we are called to be holy. We are called to be Christlike. There is one image to which we strive.
9:56
Evil can take many forms and appearances. Ariel, you had your hand up. I was just going to say that Christ said, "No man comes to the father but through me. We have a very narrow road and he may have been writing to those
10:09
who were used to absorbing whatever they thought was good from every religion or person that they encountered." Yeah.
10:31
I'll pray to that God. That that's an excellent point. Yeah. No, thank you. Because that that's an excellent point and and frankly the history of the church bears out syncratism in various forms has always
10:42
been an issue of going well there is some truth to that. I'll just go ahead and mix that in. Um, yeah, that can be a very dangerous
10:52
thing. So, holding fast to the good, what is what is accurate and true and has been handed down to you, um, I think is involved in this. I think that's
11:14
Um, again, I don't know it this is not intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable about their English translations. I just the Greek is singular for good. It is the good. Um
11:32
Um so we're going to cover then the the benediction that goes sort of 23 on down through the end. Um and I've gone back and forth a little bit here.
11:47
There is one sense in which um you know I don't want to I don't want to be overblown. I don't want to uh overemphasize any particular thing because on the one hand um I think most of us know what benediction is in some
11:59
sense. Do we not? I I've been uh somewhat quietly amused. I don't know actually who told him but uh Bearer knows that benediction means good word.
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And every Sunday when one of his grandfathers says, "Please rise for the benediction." He looks at me and says, "Please rise for the good word." Which is great, but I don't know where he
12:20
learned I I don't think I was the one who told him that. Anyways, so he's he is aware a benediction is a good word. Um there is there it's it's on the one hand
12:31
this is somewhat obvious. It is a good word from Paul and he is clearly closing the letter. Um so he is he is closing it. A number of the commentators take
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this to be a prayer and I I think that's not unreasonable to read this as a prayer. He says now may the God um he is invoking God's action to those people. Um so I
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don't have a problem reading it as a prayer of benediction. Um sanctify you entirely. May your spirit and soul and body be preserved
13:06
complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Um
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this I think is helpful to us in this sense which is we've gone uh 12 rounds I think through Thessalonians here talking about the balance between the things that Paul is entailing on us telling us
13:30
we need to be at work in and the fact that we recognize that it is God who is at work in us. He's capping it off here
13:46
mostly with this idea that that it is God's work. So he's saying may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So
13:57
there is a there's a a a way in which this sentence here ties up so many of the threads that we've been working on throughout first Thessalonians.
14:08
He is addressing the action of God himself in them. He is addressing he refers to him as the God of peace. I don't think that's on accident that he's picked that particular aspect or that
14:18
particular name of God to highlight. He's just a few verses ahead said be at peace among yourselves. He is at pains that this body should be at peace. Now
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may the God him of peace himself um sanctify you entirely. We've talked about sanctification throughout this um although we haven't always used that
14:40
word specifically. Paul actually through here has used much more the the concept of being holy or the word holy. Um but we've talked about how much that is connected to sanctification.
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uh the idea that we are set apart, the idea that we are, as he says here, preserved by God um and and set um in
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that direction, in that path, in that orientation of holiness. Um there is some amount of ink spilled in the commentators about this phrase um
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spirit and soul and body. um many years ago. I think it was one of the first ones I did. We looked at the uh was it Thomas Boston's four-fold
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state of man. I don't know that I would use a benediction to build an entire uh concept of the parts of the human
15:36
necessarily, but Paul does highlight these three ideas. Your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete. I take this in the sense of of
15:49
all of you, your spiritual, your spiritual well-being, your mental well-being, your physical well-being. May these things be held complete, be preserved, be sanctified by God, and
16:00
brought into submission to his will. Yeah. What's the difference between spirit and soul? That's an excellent question. Um, what
16:11
is the difference between spirit and soul? It's going to depend on um who we're asking. So since you've asked me, I'll give you my opinion. The difference between spirit and soul here, I think,
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is the idea of your soul is your immortal soul. Your soul is your your internal animating spirit created
16:34
and and governed by God. Here where he says spirit, I would take that in large measure. My version has it in lowercase and I
16:46
would take it in lowercase. Your spirit, not the Holy Spirit. I take that more in the in the mental sense as we've talked about in the last couple of verses. The idea that our part of the effort that we
16:59
are called to by Paul is to bring our cognition, our thinking, our our moving through the world in line with what the Holy Spirit is doing in our souls. Okay?
17:10
So may your spirit and soul um I think there's a there is a connection but a difference between the two of them. So your spirit would be more your mental and emotional aspects
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whereas your soul connected to that is your immortal soul. Does anybody deeply disagree with me or want to throw out another comment? I remember in the man study years ago
17:40
that the soul being our our own God awareness I think was the way it sorry excuse me selfawareness rather okay the spirit component should be taken as
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our awareness ability to commune with God our soul our selfawareness and body seems obvious
18:36
the resurrection and what's coming after what happens to those who those who It's almost like all of you
18:56
Well, I think that is correct. Um I I don't know that I would put that at odds with what we've just said, but I think you're correct. um and and we were coming on to that which is I think he is effectively in this phrase summing up the majority of the book because he says
19:08
clearly um without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So he's clearly again touching on the second coming of the Lord um which has been an issue you're absolutely right has been
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an issue for the Thessalonians and will continue to be when we get to the second letter. So he is he's clearly got in mind here both I I think you're right both who are alive though he does not
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call it out I think the you here or your is including those that they they had counted among their number who have died. He is summing up the entirety of
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their body saying all of you be preserved for that coming of our Lord.
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Um, I wouldn't I wouldn't be so bold as to tell you this is an easy phrase to interpret. Um, be preserved blameless or without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Um, it's a reasonable question by all means. So he he is
20:29
definitely working on this. Yeah, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble. Um and certainly those who want
20:43
to maintain that you can lose your salvation will use passages like this to the idea that like you've got to be preserved until the end. Um Josiah, you had your hand up.
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I do think that's how I have have taken it in the whole which is He's even used a phrase similar to this um earlier.
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Um, it's further up than I think it is, isn't it? isn't it? Okay. Yeah. Sorry, I had to go much further back than I remembered. Um, the end of chapter 3, as we've talked about uh when we were
22:10
there partway through our study, what we called sort of this mini benediction, if you like. Uh, verse 11. Now, may our God and father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. May the Lord
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cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and all people just as we also do you so that he may establish your hearts without blame. Same exact wording in holiness.
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One might argue sanctification in holiness before our God and father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. So I think Josiah is correct in that it
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is it is sort of to the whole may he preserve you. May he sanctify you and also that in in specific that you be there blameless at this day. So
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I don't I don't take it in this sort of like you can lose your salvation or you can screw up God's sanctification in you. But I do think it is it is connected to
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the phrases we've looked at all the way through which is God is at work at you in you. Um and may you be found
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faithfully continuing in that at the end. Caleb, you had your hand up.
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Yeah, I I don't necessarily object to that. I think that's probably borrowing some of the phrasing from the end of chapter 3 that we just looked at. um where he does use that phrasing may be found blameless and complete at the second coming of our Lord Jesus. I we
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talked then uh about the idea of um and it took me a while to find the reference uh where Jesus talks about the the man who goes away on a journey and leaves
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his servants working in the house and they don't know when he's going to come back. He actually goes through all four watches and says he might come in the early morning. He might come in the
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middle of the day. He might come in the early evening. He might come at night. Um he goes through all of those things. So I think that it is it is that idea of walking faithfully in it that he will
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preserve you to be found in it because what does he immediately say after that? Faithful is he who calls you and he will bring it to pass. That idea of the faithful continuence I think is bound up
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in that. Um, and so again, it's not a it's not a place where I'm gonna try to to split the hairs anymore than scripture does between what is God doing
25:04
in us and what are we called to do. I think Paul is very clear with us and has been through First Thessalonians that we are all called to walk according to these things. He's just used what we've
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termed the sort of proverbs of Paul, these staccato phrases of encouragement to good behavior. May God be at work among you sanctifying you to these things that you may be
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found blamelessly continuing in them when he returns. Does that help?
25:54
until we are not going to fall short. Yeah, I I would actually almost reverse the
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phrasing that you've just used there. Um because I don't want to necessarily go down the systematic route on it here, but if you really wanted to do this, I think that
26:18
you could read this as may the God himself, God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete,
26:30
justified at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because that is how we are found blameless. If you want to go down the systematic route, justification versus
26:41
sanctification idea, the idea that you are you are receiving the imputed righteousness of Christ and yet we recognize we still wrestle with sin, that sanctification is for us a process.
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I think there's an element of those things here in this concept as he's closing. Does anyone object to that? Are you saying that the word translated
27:05
blameless here blameless here is is the same with with righteous or justified or I'm not sure. So I I'm suggesting that you could use
27:17
it synonymously, not out of the Greek, but just in terms of the discussion we're having here, reading that phrase blameless, you could read that in the same idea as being justified.
27:51
Well, I I do know what you're saying and I agree with you for sure. I think this is this is where we're trying to get to here is Paul is closing out the book and that this is this is in some sense some of the densest phrasing we've gone
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through because he's encapsulating everything that he's just done. If you go back a little bit in in chapter 5, we read this here um starting in verse 9,
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he says, "God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him.
28:24
Therefore, encourage one another." So, it's it's all in him. And and his phrasing here, he starts with, "May God do these things." Then verse 24,
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faithful is he who calls you and he also will bring it to pass. It's he is Paul is talking to them in full assurance that this is the work of God and God is at work doing it. Okay. So there's no
28:45
question mark. Um you're absolutely right and I appreciate that that um comment because it it helps us come back here I think to center on what what Paul
28:56
is saying there. Um did I miss a hand? Oh yes. What does he mean by preserved? What does he mean by preserved?
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So I think when he's saying be preserved complete, it is the idea that you are being um that God is is keeping you intact. He is he is maintaining what he
29:19
has promised to do. The the holiness that he is setting in our hearts. Does that make sense? Okay. other questions or thoughts before we
29:31
I miss anybody else's. Okay. So, yes. Uh again, just to to sort of tie up this here, I I do think that that
29:43
Paul is definitely this benediction is is a benediction that could apply in in the large, but I do think that it is phrased very
29:53
specifically the way it is because this caps off first Thessalonians. I I hope you can see how many of the elements we've talked about are present in just these couple of phrases. Um we were
30:06
we've been having a conversation at our household um about songs and music and how things are composed and um I I just recently played for the kids an episode of a of a podcast I'd listen to called
30:17
Song Exploder where they they will talk to a musician and have them walk through in fact they'll play parts of the tracks in isolation. So the vocals or the drums and they they sort of go through the
30:28
elements that they used to build up the song and then at the end of the episode they'll play the song in the entirety. So you've just heard them explain their thinking and how they sort of did this and then you hear the composition in the
30:38
whole and we were listening to one about a song that we have listened to dozens of times and afterwards you sort of have a more a greater appreciation for it because you've heard what the artist was doing. For me, I was thinking about
30:51
First Thessalonians now that we've been having that conversation. In some respects, in the same way, there's almost a sense in which Paul has gone through First Thessalonians here giving us his thoughts and his elements and this benediction is the finished
31:04
composition. It is the the the song or the thing in its entirety because he's saying here, may may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. May your spirit
31:15
and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he who calls you and he also will bring it to pass. So there's it's it's tying up. Again, I
31:27
I would not object to anybody using this as a benediction in the more general sense, but it is a benediction of First
31:41
Um, all right. Then the last couple of phrases here, um, and I do want to touch on these briefly this morning, unless there's another question or another thought. Don't let me paper over anybody if there was a Yeah, Jerry.
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He used it earlier in the book and then I think maybe one or two other places.
33:27
saying may God keep you not worthy of I I would agree with that but I would agree with it in this sense which is I don't know that I would separate those two things um so much. Uh I
33:38
this is this is I think there is a practical outworking of it. I think you're absolutely right because again if if you'll permit me to lean on what I've just said I think he is summing up all of First Thessalonians
33:49
in this and part of first Thessalonians he has talked he actually says the opening chapter he's already talking about how much they have a reputation among the other churches and actually in
33:59
the whole region for what is happening there. So he he has an outward appearance aspect that he has has had in mind and he says elsewhere he says I think it's at the end of chapter 4 where
34:10
he talks about you know working quietly with your hands living a quiet life that you might be blameless before the world. There is all of those things are tied up in there. So I appreciate that thought because again I I think he's really he's
34:23
got a a density of phrasing here that that holds all of that together in one go. Um, so yes, I appreciate that because I do think the blamelessness is not just before the Lord, although I
34:35
think it's it is part of that, but the way that it's phrased here, but without blame is is sort of to the very last or to the end. May your your reputation be
34:46
blameless. However, I'm going to say it this way. this way. Um, Abe, I think it was several weeks ago, you you pointed out, and I I want
34:56
to point it out again here, his treatment of the people here is corporate. He is talking to them as the
35:08
church at Thessalonica. And so this is not really so much any particular like I would be careful how much we individualize the phrasing here
35:19
because his phrasing is not particularly individualized. He is talking to them as the body. Be this way. Do these things. May God preserve you all. Preserve the
35:30
body in this way. Okay. that you as the members of this body are found complete, sanctified, blameless at the second
35:41
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So his his whole aspect, the way he's looking at at them as a whole, um he's going to go on
35:52
here and talk in a couple of places here about specific instructions to whoever it is that's receiving the letter to the body. So I I I do want to to encourage us to
36:05
think about these things in that way because as he's gone all the way through here, he uses frequently plural terms. He uses frequently brethren. He talks about them in the
36:32
The The whole does that mean like spirit and soul and body explaining is talking about your whole? Yes, I would I would take that that
36:44
spirit spirit and soul and body is making up the whole man. Yeah, the whole
37:10
Um, all right. So, I do want to touch on these two phrases here um before we close First Thessalonians. And we've got about 10 minutes. I think we can we can do this
37:20
here. He encourages them. Actually, it's not even an encouragement. This is another place where Paul's um terms are direct. Uh we've talked a few times
37:31
about how he's been some places he's been direct, some places he's been downright commanding and in some places it's a very polite intreaty. I think this is more in the middle when he says,
37:42
"Brethren, pray for us." Um it's not particularly softened with honorifics. It's not a particularly harsh phrase, at least as far as I'm understanding the reading of the Greek,
37:53
but it is it's it's direct. He says, "Pray for us." He desires that these people be in prayer for him. And when he says us, I do think he's got in mind
38:04
himself, Sylvanas, and Timothy, at at the very least those who were with him at the time that we understand this to have been written to pray for us. He he desires that they should pray for him.
38:15
Um, I don't want to rehash our entire conversation on prayer, but I do think this is another place where we can touch on a theology or a a
38:27
doctrine, I should use that word, a doctrine of prayer because sometimes there's a doctrine of prayer that says, I I I've seen this certainly more out of the reformed side
38:37
of things, a doctrine of prayer that goes, well, God has already determined everything. Everything is predestined. So there's no sense in which you can ever change God's mind about anything. So why bother praying anything other
38:48
than to remind yourself or put yourself in the right state of mind. That is only partly true. It is partly true in the sense that yes, God is at at work in everything. He is
38:59
will. He has predestined what he has predestined. But petition is part of prayer. It is demonstrated for us throughout the scriptures that petition is part of
39:11
prayer. Um, and we did talk uh when I went through uh Exodus and I think we talked maybe a little bit did we touch on it in Deuteronomy. Um, where the
39:23
phrasing in the Old Testament is used that God repented or that God changed his mind. Okay. So we we have touched on this idea before the idea that God does
39:34
not in fact those phrases are used for us in a way that helps us as humans understand what is happening in the
39:46
uh immense uh immense transcendent mind of God. And yet he desires for his people to communicate with him this way. He desires that his people encourage one
39:57
another. desires that his people uh pray for those things that they need, for those things that they desire, and for one another. Um, we have talked before
40:08
um we haven't done it as much in this study, and maybe we should be doing it more. It was goodness, I don't know how many years ago on on a Wednesday night, the dad did a whole one another's study.
40:18
Um, the scriptures are full of the one another, the New Testament in particular, full of do these things for one another. Um, this is Paul asking to be one anothered.
40:30
This is Paul asking that the brethren be in support of him, support him in prayer. Um, prayer. Um, that was a lot of words for a short
40:44
sentence. I don't know if anybody has any other thoughts or comments that they want to throw out there. Yeah.
41:21
I think that's a very reasonable uh way to think about that which is it is something that he has commanded. It is something that he has ordained. Um, I I have long uh seconded I think you've heard Chuck say it here before the the
41:32
phrase out of um it's out of the first uh Chronicles of Narnia book well the prequel Chronicles of Narnio book written by Lewis where um it's pledge
41:44
right who says uh you know he says well if he's if he's if he knows everything why do we have to ask he says well I think he's the sort who still wants to be asked right there's an idea there that that god wants wants us to be in
41:57
mind of these things. We talked about this when we talked about the phrase of praying continuously. He wants us to have his mind. He wants us to be thinking about the things that he has stated as his will. He wants us to be in
42:10
concert with the things that he has thought. Uh you know awtoer of course has that phrase about thinking God's thoughts after him. There's a there's a large measure in which that's part of what we're talking about. But
42:22
being in that mind and praying for one another, yes, it is a it is an immediate mean or a thing that he has ordained. Uh Jerry, you had your hand up.
42:52
answer some of his prayers. But there's other times when he clearly failed to ask for this.
43:10
Yeah. Yeah. No, you you that's that's a good um reminder. And certainly throughout the prophets, there are there are places there where the prophets um delivering the word of God mourn the fact that his
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people are not in communication with him or or asking of him. Um thank you. Um I'm going to go on to the last couple of phrases here. Um
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I had thought that I would do something slightly different here in this verse and I'm probably not going to do it. But I'm just going to go ahead and ask because this is a genuine question.
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Is there anyone that objects to the concept that scripture ever, ever, ever changes on the basis of culture?
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Well, what I mean by that is when Paul says, "Greet one another with a holy kiss." Are we all about to have a holy kiss? Okay. Or do we accept I I mean this as a genuine question. Are we
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accepting of the fact that we don't kiss one another in our culture? We're not French. We're not Middle Eastern. We don't do that.
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Most of the commentators that I surveyed were fine with the idea that a hug or a handshake would supplant that. That is in a culturation. by which I mean our culture, the place in which we live,
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that has a similar level of meaning to what was meant here. Is anyone uncomfortable with that?
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In my research, reading up on this, the only thing I could find, apparently some um and and Tim, maybe you can help me out here because you've certainly done more research in the history of the Anabaptists than I have. Best I can find out, there are still some churches that
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call themselves Anabaptist and they do this specifically like a holy kiss is part of their liturgy because it's commanded. By the way, this is not the only place. There are five that I could
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find. Um, one is actually later in first Peter, one's in Romans 16, uh, another one in 1 Corinthians. So there's there's five places that I could find that refer to greeting one another with a kiss.
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Okay, so I do mean this as a genuine question. Is anyone put off by the idea that rather than following the explicit
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written letter of the word kiss, a handshake, a hug, other physical
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I'm not trying to be uh wound up about this other than I have encountered people who have said any acculturation is straight out. I don't know that that's a problem in here. That's why I'm asking. So it's a
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genuine question. Erin, I saw your hand first. Does it not also have a cont
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he's he's urging them specifically that that they um or rather urging specifically they bear in mind God's will that they be sanctified as to the use of their bodies
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with one another. Right? So by by contrast to the sexual immorality not only of outsiders but also their own proclivities being
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brought within the body I take it in contrast greet the brothers with a holy kiss. Is that not I do think appropriate way of reading that
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I do think that's appropriate and and the and much has been made of the the use of the word holy here. What is a holy kiss? What does that even mean? Um, he doesn't define it,
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right? He doesn't define it. And so, so you're right. The the context would help us here. Um, Lzette, you have a
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I do, frankly, think it means greeting in the larger sense. Now, let me say a couple of things here unless somebody wants to to interject or has a question since we're coming to the close here. I think there's two aspects of this. One
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of which is I don't personally Okay. There are a few that I read who said, "Well, this is just Paul closing the letter. In fact, you should read that Greek not as greet one another, but on
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my behalf, greet them all." Basically, love Paul Xoxo. I don't think so. I don't think it's that. Okay. that. Okay. But there are a few that I read who who
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took it that way. Rather, I think this is um is um I think this goes back to something we talked about a number of times throughout this study, which is Paul
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intends for them to view one another with affection, with love, as a family. Um I really appreciated one uh commentator who said that that Paul's
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aspect or his idea here is that they ought to to be so excited to see one another. In fact, he went back and he referred to Psalm 16:3. As for the saints in the land, they are the
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excellent ones in whom is all my delight. He asks basically, are we do we delight in one another? Are we excited? Are we a family? Do we have this kind of love for
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one another where that kind of and again, not to make it weird, I think Aaron is correct that there was probably some weirdness. He says earlier about being careful with their bodies, with
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one another. basically keep yourselves in order. But that kind of physical affection, whether it is a hug or a handshake or you're in a culture where a kiss is appropriate, yes, the holiness,
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I think, adds an element of chastness and it adds an element that it is a between believers. But I frankly think that Paul is adjuring them here of
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be friendly, be be loving with each other to the extent of physically greeting one another that he is he is this is frankly a
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command against uh coldness in the body. Does anyone object to that
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Absolutely. And that that's a that's a great point because of course there are other places in other letters and we talked about it early on in this book. The composition of this body was somewhat mixed as far as we can read. predominantly Greek, some Jewish, but
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probably some people from other places also because this was a a a town of commerce. So yes, that aspect of like don't hold each other in these kind of at arms length because oh, you're from
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over there and I'm from over here that that all are the same that all have this this love and this connection to one another. Rita, you had your hand up.
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I think that's correct. Greet one another. I think that's absolutely right that the emphasis here um frankly some people get bent out of shape I think over the idea of the kiss and that's why I I'm asking genuinely does anyone have any problem with the idea that other
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forms of greeting in our culture are more appropriate? more appropriate? One of the commentators went as far as to citing, you know, second century examples. Um, and I don't remember the
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exact phrasing. It was something about how resounding sounds of kissing came from the churches to the point that one of the bishops had to write a letter about like y'all are being weird about this. Um,
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this. Um, I don't think we've got that problem, frankly. But I do think that Paul is saying as a family here, greet one another, be another, be have that harmony, delight to see one
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another, be excited in that way. Um, finally, these last couple of phrases here, I adjure you to have this letter read to all of the brethren. I think that's clear to us that he is he he
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feels like this needs to be read among the body. And obviously, it was and it was circulated widely enough that it is preserved for us. Um, I don't know that there's a lot that needs to be said
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there other than that it's fairly obvious that he felt it important to say read this out loud. Have everyone be familiar with this, hear the message that's here. And finally, the grace of
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our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Um, yeah, Caleb, you had your
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I think you're right there. Um, and and I I don't want to leave here without saying this because I I I appreciate you reminding me. I I do think this is a hermeneutical principle as in it's pretty obvious to all of us when we read this phrase that it's not entailed on us
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that we have to go kiss one another. We are accepting of the fact that culture can shift that a little bit. There's something that underlies it to Rita's point. Greeting underlies that.
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I think you're right though that that we need to keep that in mind as we read which is to say liberal branches of Christianity will go well everything is acculturated right all of scripture must
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be malleable to the culture in which we live on the other hand the very most fundamental branches will say nothing can be acculturated and I think wisdom
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is reading and understanding what is it that underlies and can or can it not be uh acculturated uh acculturated Does anyone disagree with that idea? So
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I would say I was actually looking as I was reading this trying to find other examples in scripture where I would say I think this is a thing. I do think feet washing is one of those things. I don't know that we are served by by by doing
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foot washing rituals. It's pretty obvious that what underlies that is the idea of serving one another, being humble and and meeting one another's needs. So thank you because I I do want
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to highlight that there is a principle here in how we read the scripture that we read it in a intellectually honest way and we look
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how it applies to us. Uh potentially. I mean, that's how you fill out your commentary, right? You spend too much time on the No, but I I do think that there is a principle here that that that does have to be dealt with. I appreciate the the caution that
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it is in a context, but I I do think that it has to be dealt with in terms of um how do we treat phrases like this?
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because the the the the I will say this, most of the folks that I read didn't have any particular issue with it and were fairly short in their terms about it. But the overall spectrum
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of things runs from just completely throwing this verse in the garbage to like we don't have it has nothing to do with us to we are supposed to greet one another with a holy kiss in order to be visibly weird before the nations the way
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Israel was. Okay. And so as a hermeneutical principle of how do we treat this verse? My question frankly was does this body have an issue with the idea that this could be somewhat
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culturally uh ablated uh ablated as in we have other ways that we do this where you are still fulfilling the the the fundamental principle that is in in view here. So I don't see any oh sorry
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very clearly present ourselves as brothers and sisters and sisters and so I I don't disagree there that we are to present one another as family and we are we are to to deal with each other as
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a family there is of course the caution that that families are different um some families are are quite cold among family members but um yeah so we are we are
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meant to to treat each other with love and affection I think is the the fundamental principle You're you're not wrong there. Um Chuck and then we probably need to close because I think we're letting
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I've never been an advocate of abandoning simply because it's been coed by people but we don't have a board here don't We're not a corporation.
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Our use of the word corporate is in no way intended to indicate some type of right? That's actually a modern corruption of
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that word. Right. Yeah. And and I appreciate your your comment there because I do want to be careful that we all understand the way
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in which we're using words, right? So um uh not to to temper the concept that we are a body, we are a family, we are meant to show affection to each other
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that way in the use of the word corporate. If anything, it goes to your point of um you know pushing back against those things that we we ought to view corporate as as a
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delight of the body. Family is not a falling metaphor. Body is a metaphor. every member
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every member even the the most honorable the least honorable so I don't think we should get away from the idea that body is the primary metaphor we are the body of
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Christ he is our head there's really no mention for example Jesus has call no man father right so the sense in which Mark and I are
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somehow fathers it's not biblical we simply members of the body with function that God has given us through the Holy Spirit.
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No, I I agree with you there and I appreciate that that thought. Well, we're going to go ahead and close um here. We are a little bit over time, but I appreciate the the the conversation and the thoughts there. So, let's let's
1:00:11
close in prayer. Our father, we do thank you for this day. We thank you for this time, and we thank you for your word. We ask that we would be uh known by our
1:00:21
love for one another. That we would fulfill these things that you have commanded us to in that way. That our love and our care for one another would be uh glorifying to you and and edifying
1:00:33
to the body. As we go before you now in song and in prayer and in hearing the word preached, we ask that you would be among us. Stir us up to love and good works that your name might be high and
