In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Paul indicates that the coming Christ is the cause of our watchfulness. We have a wonderful hope, a hope that the Lord Jesus will come back and that we will be raptured to Him. Along with this hope, we need to be watchful and sober. We should not be asleep, and we should not be drunk or in some kind of stupor.
In verses 1 through 3 Paul indicates that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. Verse 1 says, “Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you.” Times and seasons here refer to the times and the seasons with regard to the Lord’s coming. This is confirmed by the expression the day of the Lord in verse 2.
In verse 2 Paul goes on to say, “For you yourselves know perfectly well that like a thief in the night, so the day of the Lord comes.” The coming of the Lord in chapter 4 is mainly for comfort and encouragement. The day of the Lord in chapter 5 is mainly for warning (vv. 3-6), since it is mentioned in the Word mostly in relation to the Lord’s judgment (1 Cor. 1:8; 3:13; 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; 2 Tim. 4:8).
The fact that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night indicates that its coming is kept secret and that it will come suddenly. It is not known beforehand by anyone (Matt. 24:42-43; Rev. 3:3; 16:15). This thought is strengthened by what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:3: “When they say, Peace and security, then sudden destruction comes upon them, just as birth pangs to a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape.” The coming destruction in this verse is related to the salvation mentioned in verses 8 and 9. Salvation in these verses is salvation from the coming destruction through the Lord’s coming back, not salvation from eternal perdition through the Lord’s death. Fallen man will perish for eternity—that is, eternal perdition. We who have believed in the Lord Jesus will be saved from eternal perdition. We have already obtained salvation in this respect. We have been saved from eternal perdition, and we will never perish.
Furthermore, in the light of Romans 8:21-25, we will also be saved from the slavery of corruption of the old creation. All created things today are subject to the slavery of corruption. The entire old creation is enslaved to corruption. Everything, including our physical body, is decaying. To grow old is to decay. We all are in the process of decaying (2 Cor. 4:16). The slavery of corruption in the old creation is controlling us, and we are subject to it. But when the Lord Jesus comes and we are raptured, we will be saved from the slavery of corruption of the old creation. Therefore, the Lord’s coming and our rapture will save us from two things: destruction and the slavery of corruption. This is the salvation mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9, with the primary emphasis being the salvation from the coming destruction.
What is this coming destruction? This destruction is related to the battle that is raging between God and Satan. Near the time of the Lord’s coming, destruction will take place suddenly. That destruction will come primarily from God, but a portion of it will be caused by Satan. God will judge this rebellious world, and Satan will fight back. The result of the intense battle raging between God and Satan will be sudden destruction. It will be when people say, “Peace and security,” that this destruction will come suddenly.
We need to be saved from this sudden destruction. The way to be saved from it is to be watchful and sober. As God is fighting, we must take sides with Him and fight for His interests. Since He is fighting, we should be fighting also.
Actually, to fight is to be watchful. Only those who are fighting are truly watchful. The more we are fighting, the more watchful we will be. As long as we are fighting, we need not try to be watchful, for we will be watchful automatically. The Christian life, a holy life for the church life, is a life of fighting. We are on the battlefield, and we need to be alert, watchful, and vigilant.
In verse 4 Paul reminds us that we are not in darkness that the day should overtake us as a thief, and in verse 5 he points out that we are sons of light and sons of the day and thus are not of the night nor of darkness. Then in verse 6 he exhorts us to watch and be sober: “So then let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober.” To sleep here is to be unwatchful. To watch is versus to sleep, and to be sober is versus to be drunk (v. 7). In view of the hope of the Lord’s coming, we need to consider ourselves and ask whether we are watchful or sleeping, whether we are sober or drunk.
In verse 7 Paul says, “For those who sleep, sleep during the night, and those who get drunk are drunk during the night.” Here to be drunk is to be in a stupor. To be watchful and to be sober are related to safeguarding the three basic structures of the holy life for the church life: faith, love, and hope. Verse 8 indicates this: “Since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and a helmet, the hope of salvation.” The breastplate and the helmet here point to spiritual warfare. The breastplate, which covers and protects our heart and spirit according to God’s righteousness (Eph. 6:14), is of faith and love; the helmet, which covers and protects our mentality, our mind, is the hope of salvation (v. 17). Faith, love, and hope are the three basic constructing elements of the genuine Christian life, as depicted in 1 Thessalonians 1:3. Faith is related to our will, a part of our heart (Rom. 10:9), and to our conscience, a part of our spirit (1 Tim. 1:19); love is related to our emotion, another part of our heart (Matt. 22:37); and hope is related to our understanding, the function of our mind. All these need to be protected so that a genuine Christian life can be maintained. Such a life is watchful and sober (1 Thes. 5:6-7). At the beginning of the Epistle, the apostle praised the believers’ work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope (1:3). Here, at the conclusion of the Epistle, he exhorted them to keep these spiritual virtues covered and protected by fighting for them.
The hope spoken of in 5:8 is the hope of our Lord’s coming back, which will be our salvation from both the coming destruction and from the slavery of corruption of the old creation (Rom. 8:21-25). According to 1 Thessalonians 5:8, we need armor to safeguard our faith, love, and hope. If we would protect these aspects of the basic structure of a holy life for the church life, we need to be watchful and sober. Therefore, being watchful and sober should be part of our living as we hope in the Lord’s coming back. We need a life of watchfulness and soberness in order to wait for the Lord’s coming. In other words, as we exercise our hope in the Lord’s coming back, we need a watchful life and a sober life.
Watchfulness here is related to a battle, a fight. Some versions use the word vigilant, a word related to warfare. Soldiers in a battle need to be watchful, vigilant. The fact that watchfulness is related to fighting is confirmed by Paul’s mention of the breastplate and helmet in verse 8. A breastplate and helmet are not ordinary items of dress. They are, of course, part of the armor used by soldiers in fighting. Paul’s concept of being watchful and sober, therefore, is related to fighting, to warfare. In these verses Paul is speaking in reference to battle.
It is important for us to see that watchfulness refers to a proper spirit in fighting a battle. To be watchful is to continue fighting. In these verses to be watchful is to remember that we are in a battle, that we are fighting and are surrounded by enemies. This is the reason that we need a helmet and also a breastplate.
To be sober is to be clear about everything related to the battle. It is to be clear about where the enemy is, what the enemy is doing, and how the enemy is attacking. It is also to be clear about how to protect ourselves and how to fight back. Those who are sober are fully clear about their situation. We need to be watchful and sober. This means that we need to keep on fighting. We also need to safeguard the structure of our Christian life by wearing the armor. Then when the Lord Jesus comes, we will be saved from the sudden destruction.
In verses 9 and 10 Paul says, “God did not appoint us to wrath but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us in order that whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with Him.” Since God did not appoint us to wrath, we should watch, be sober, and fight to cooperate with God that we may gain His salvation through the Lord Jesus. We are waiting for salvation from destruction and from the slavery of corruption. Then we will enjoy the freedom of the glory of the sons of God.
In verse 10 Paul speaks of living together with the Lord. The Lord died for us not only that we may be saved from eternal perdition but also that we may live together with Him, through His resurrection, a life that can save us from the coming destruction. We may live together with Him whether we watch or sleep, that is, whether we live or die. On the one hand, the Lord is away from us, and we are awaiting His coming back; on the other hand, He is with us (Matt. 28:20), and we can live together with Him (Rom. 6:8).