A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 3:8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.

Paul’s life was conditioned on the standing fast of the Thessalonians.

Is that what he wants the Thessalonians to understand or is that only what a “literalist” would understand? As a former literalist, I tend to initially fall into extreme understandings of poetic expressions, and admittedly thought this ridiculous interpretation for a moment! For a discussion on the literal interpretation of the Word, consider a short 2 part series I published a few years back. A Literal Bible – Part 1 & A Literal Bible – Part 2

Obviously, Paul was expressing a quality of spiritual life he entered into upon the notification of the Thessalonians ongoing commitment to the Lord. He opened up to them of the joy he experienced, the spiritual energy and abundance he received upon knowing of their continued trust in the Messiah, of their faithfulness to God.

But Paul used the term “if”! What is Paul trying to say here Carl?

For some who follow this blog, they may recognize that Conditional Security is discussed in a series I have been developing since 2022. Each week, a passage is considered in relation to the conditional security of the believer, and 1 Thessalonians 3:8 definitely entered the litany of passages considered.

First off, let us not consider this verse to imply Paul was using this verse as a fulcrum to maintain, manipulate or influence the Thessalonians in continuing in their faith. I think he simply wanted the believers to know of the impact of their faithfulness on a man that had told them good news.

This is a recurring theme in these current verses. Paul is expressing his heart to a people that he loved. He wasn’t upbraiding them on some heresy, or correcting them on a moral failure or rebuking them on division within the group. Yes he would address their misunderstanding of the second coming of the Lord, but this was the bulk of his concerns theologically. He was baring his heart, and connecting with a small group of believers the best way he knew, given the circumstances.

If my reader is curious regarding the conditional term “if” used within the Word in relation to the believers responsibility before the Lord, I would refer you to the series noted above.

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