A Guide for Living in Christ Jesus

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-22)

Every so often in scripture we come across a short but sweet collection of teachings. This is a perfect example, and in them we find a guide for living in Christ Jesus.

These scriptures I am looking at today are succinct, but say a lot. They speak to us as vividly today as they did when written some 2,000 years ago.

So let’s just spend a few minutes to open up these words and accept them as a guide for living in Christ Jesus.

A guide for living in Christ Jesus

Before going any further, let’s just look at what these verses say.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray constantly, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not despise prophesying, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22)

As I said, short but powerful words that do indeed provide a guide for living in Christ Jesus.

To understand this guide, let’s break it down to see what the words are telling us.

Rejoice Always

This is always a good place to start, and in a guide for living in Christ Jesus, rejoicing is a big part of this life.

We should rejoice always, no matter what is happening in our lives. In Christ Jesus we know that whether things are good or bad, He has our back. There is nothing that this world can do that can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus, and that is a great reason to rejoice.

Plus we know that in spite of the troubles of this world, we can seek God in prayer and know that He hears and answers our prayer. This is a reason for rejoicing because we are not alone in this world.

And finally when all is done, we have the reward of salvation and life eternal as the outcome of our faith. Remembering these things will go a long way to helping us to rejoice always.

Pray Constantly

Prayer is how we build our relationship with God. Just as we build a physical relationship with people through communication, so too when we communicate with God we are building a spiritual relationship.

Paul tells us to pray constantly. Why? Because prayer keeps the Lord always at the forefront of our minds and our thinking. And when we are thinking about Christ Jesus, we are not dwelling on the problems, passions, lusts, and desires that lead to all things evil.

Prayer is a key part of a guide for living in Christ Jesus. In fact without prayer we are NOT living a life in the Lord.

Give thanks in all circumstances

As Christians, is there any situation or circumstance in which we cannot or should not give thanks?

No, there is not. It doesn’t matter what is happening, whether good or bad in our lives. We can still give thanks to the Lord.

When things are going well, it is easy to give thanks. We must remember that whatever we receive that is good is a gift from God. It is not our doing, but His doing that gives us good gifts.

But when things are going bad we must also be able to give thanks. We thank the Lord because we know that in the tough times, He has our back. He has said He will not allow us to be tested beyond our strength but will provide the way of escape that we may be able to endure it. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13).

So we can give thanks to the Lord knowing that He is preventing whatever the current evil is from destroying us. And He is training us to be faithful, to trust, and to obey Him as we await the way of escape that will be revealed.

We give thanks because we have the Lord on our side in tough times, unlike the rest of the world who will also suffer tough times but without the Lord’s help and support.

Do not quench the Spirit and do not despise prophesying

This is a tough one for many churches because although they speak about the Holy Spirit, they do not understand the work of the Spirit.

Many Christians in many Churches do not receive the Holy Spirit as defined in the scriptures. Thus they do not receive the gifts of the Spirit that are given by God for up-building the church and the people in the church. They do not receive the gifts of prophesy because you cannot be a prophet of God unless you have the Spirit of God and the gift of prophesy.

If we want the fullness of what God offers His people, we need to accept His gifts according to what He said in the scriptures. If we reject the scriptures then we are not able to accept the fullness of the Lord.

Prophecy is important to the church. By it the Lord can teach, encourage, lift, and warn His people. He uses it to tell us about things that are to come so that we are not in the dark. And the Lord does not want His people in the dark.

So, in a guide for living in Christ Jesus, prophecy and all of the gifts of the Spirit given by God are essential and must never be despised. Seek them. Ask the Lord to show you the truth as these gifts, including prophecy, are given to the church for our benefit and they all are important and they all have benefit.

Test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil

This final part of a guide for living in Christ Jesus is critical.

We have to test EVERYTHING. Don’t just accept what anyone says without testing it. That is how people and Christians in particular are led astray.

There is much false doctrine in the church today that has been introduced over the last two thousand years. The devil has infiltrated the church to introduce lies and evil into the doctrine.

That is why we are to test EVERYTHING. Don’t just blindly accept what a pastor, minister, preacher, priest, or anyone else says. You have a responsibility to check what they are saying by prayer and studying the scriptures to find the truth.

When you do find the truth, then you must hold it fast. Find what is good and hold onto it and don’t let anyone take it away from you. And reject the evil when you find it too. There are evil practices that are based in pagan teachings that form some of the biggest teachings in the modern church. For example, Christmas and Easter are both built upon pagan worship of demons and there is no scripture in the Bible that supports these practices.

Reject and abstain from participating in those things. They are not of God and do not form part of the worship of God. They are forms of idolatry, and the Bible is VERY clear on what God thinks about idolatry.

So in a guide for living in Christ Jesus we need to recognise the evil for what it is and reject it. If you are worried what other people may think when you reject these forms of evil, stop for a moment and instead think about what the Lord Jesus and God the Father might think instead. That is how to get your priorities right.

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