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Commentary on "Church Life (1 Thess. 5:1228)"
Day 3: Monday, September 3, 2012 - Providing Ministry (1 Thess. 5:14, 15)
Again, we will start with the passage in question. Actually, I will back up to the last part of the previous verse because it seems to be a continuation.
"Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
The author of the lesson concluded that these are instructions to the church leaders on how they should treat the members. I'm not completely convinced. Perhaps we, as the body of the church, not just the leaders, are being encouraged to be at peace with each other, to admonish the idle, the encourage, to help and to be patient. Perhaps these aren't just the responsibilities of church leaders, but the calling for every member of the church.
How would that change the way a local church operated?
There is certainly nothing wrong with applying this to leaders. It would be consistent with the way many of Paul's writings contain instructions for both groups. Yet there may be reasons to see this as an even wider set of instructions.
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