Sing for Joy – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Most of the time, when preachers preach on singing, we deal with instrumental music; we deal with Ephesians 5:19 or Colossians 3:16. There is a time for that. But, I want us to consider the last few verses of 1 Thessalonians 5 in the context of why we ought to sing, indeed, why we ought to sing for joy!
There is no reference to singing in worship in 1 Thessalonians. But in 5:16, Paul tells the Christians to “rejoice always.” What more powerful form of rejoicing is there than to sing? So, I suggest that we examine verses 16-24 in the context of “rejoicing/singing” for joy for the number of blessings Paul lays before us in this paragraph.
SING FOR JOY BECAUSE YOU CAN PRAY – 5:17:
Sing for joy because you can pray! Jesus said in Matthew 6:7-8 that we should not pray like the unbelievers do because they think they have to use meaningless repetitions to get their gods’ attention. But, He said, we have a Father in heaven who “knows what we need before we ask Him.”
SING FOR JOY BECAUSE YOU ARE THANKFUL – 5:18:
God demands that we give thanks to Him. If we were not thankful to God, we would easily forget that we have everything from Him and we would quickly stop worshipping Him. So, being thankful to God is His will for us in Christ Jesus.
SING FOR JOY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SPIRIT – 5:19:
In this context, I suggest that this statement is referring to Christians who had the miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit – that is, they could perform miracles. But, there were also false teachers who were deceiving Christians (2 Thes. 2:9) with false miracles, so honest Christians may have been holding back their own abilities given them by the Holy Spirit.
In our non-miraculous age today, we simply say, “Don’t quench the gifts, the abilities, the talents that God has given you.”
SING FOR JOY BECAUSE WE HAVE PROPHETIC UTTERANCES – 5:20:
The fundamental definition of “prophet” is not to tell the future. A prophet was simply a preacher but who received his message directly from heaven rather than through pouring over books, doing word studies, and running down lists in concordances! Therefore, “prophecies” were, fundamentally, messages from God.
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SING FOR JOY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE “GOOD” – 5:21-22:
These two verses we’ll put together, although they actually go with verse 20.
Test everything. What does the world say about being good? Test it against what the Bible says about being good. What does the world say about being a good father / mother? Test it against what the Bible says about being a good parent. What does the world say about being a good child or citizen? Test it against what the Bible says about being a good child or citizen.
SING FOR JOY BECAUSE WE HAVE SANCTIFICATION IN CHRIST – 5:23:
We have sanctification in Christ and, observe the text, God will keep our “whole spirit, soul, and body blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.” As we read in 1 John, we need to walk in the light but if we are staying faithful to God, God will also cleanse us from our sins and keep us holy, sanctified, and blameless when Jesus comes again.
SING FOR JOY BECAUSE GOD IS FAITHFUL – 5:24:
Sing because God is faithful. He has promised that He’ll answer our prayers. God is faithful. God has promised that if we are faithful and thankful for the small blessings, He’ll bless us with greater blessings. God is faithful.
God has promised that He’ll equip us for everything good work He calls us to do. He is faithful. God has given us His message that will lead us through this life and into the next life. He is faithful. God has promised to give us all good things in Jesus Christ. He is faithful. Finally, ultimately, we can stand before God holy and blameless. God is faithful.
Sing for joy! Sing heartily as to the Lord, not to men.
–Paul Holland
