Deeper Commentary

CHAPTER 5

5:1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that something be written to you- It would seem that after the mention of the return of Timothy from his follow up visit to Thessalonica in 3:6, Paul spends the rest of the letter answering various questions they had given to Timothy, or issues which he had brought to Paul's attention. The question 'When will Christ return?' is absolutely typical of the questions asked by new converts, and adds some verisimilitude to the inspired record. They had asked Paul to write to them about this, and Paul says there is no need for him to write anything, because the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, unexpectedly (:2), and whether we die before His coming or not is immaterial because the Lord died and rose again for us, that we might be resurrected like Him (:10); and our focus should be on building each other up rather than trying to guess the date of the Lord's return (:11). These perspectives need attention in our days, with so much interest in "the times and the seasons".

5:2 For yourselves know perfectly well- See on :1. This assumption of prior knowledge suggests that this too was one of the things Paul had taught them whilst with them, lending weight to the impression that he focused upon the practical issues of the basic Gospel rather than any deeper theology such as the issues about resurrection discussed in the previous section; see on 4:13.

That the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night- The Lord comes as a thief to the unready (:4; Mt. 24:43; Lk. 12:39; Rev. 3:3). The argument is: You don't need to know the day nor the hour; just watch, be aware of the Lord and eager for His return at all times. This would explain why Paul writes as if the Lord's return was imminent when it wasn't in reality. We are to live, as part of the Christian faith, in expectation of His coming at any moment, regardless of any other indicators in prophetic fulfilment which might encourage us that His coming is near. We are to be watchful exactly because we do not and cannot know the exact date of the Lord's return: "Watch therefore; for you know not what hour your Lord does come" (Mt. 24:42).

The context is shot through with allusions to the parable of the virgins. The sleeping virgins represent the unworthy amongst the believers who will live just prior to the second coming. Paul's allusion to this fills out the details: the coming of Christ to this category of 'believers' will be like a thief in the sense that their privacy and spiritual house will be invaded by the reality of the second coming. This will be due to their attitude of 'peace and safety', which they will actively promulgate - 'Everything's great within the household, we're going from strength to strength spiritually, there's no need to fear failure in any form!'. That "they shall say, Peace and safety" (:3) suggests that this is an attitude which they publicly disseminate amongst the brotherhood. Bearing in mind the many prophecies and indications that there will be a massive spiritual collapse within the latter-day ecclesia, it is reasonable to assume that the faithful minority will speak out against this - to be met by a barrage of 'peace and safety' reasoning. Those who will stand ready for their Lord will be in the light, in the day, self-aware, spiritually sensitive and realistic, and therefore not saying "Peace and safety" (1 Thess. 5:3-8). Christ's coming as a thief to the unworthy is therefore in the sense of His coming being unexpected by them, rather than being as a thief to the world. 

5:3 When people are saying: Peace and safety, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no way escape- See on :2, where I suggest that the cry of 'peace and safety' is amongst the unprepared within the brotherhood. It could also refer to a brief respite in the troubles of the last days, perhaps offering a possible explanation of how the final invader comes down upon Israel that is living without bars and gates and at peace, "dwelling safely" (Ez. 38:11). Prophecy after prophecy describes a time of global cataclysm around the time of the second coming, even though this may be mixed with a fair degree of material prosperity. In no way will it be a time of "peace and safety" for the world; and their ever-increasing escapism shows that they don't exactly see it like that either. Biblically speaking, their hearts are failing them for fear, apprehensive concerning whatever is going to happen to their planet earth (Lk. 21:26, see modern versions). So I am inclined to see this as referring to a situation amongst the brotherhood.

Paul begins chapter 5 by saying that we do not need to know exact times and seasons (i.e. dates) of the second coming, because the most obvious sign is that it would come when some in the ecclesia were unaware- it would come upon them as a thief. Likewise Jesus said that a sign more important that famines etc. was the tribulation of the household. The unworthy saints of the last days who are not watching will find the second coming take them like a thief (Mt. 24:43). 1 Thess.5:3 says that those who think there is "peace and safety" within the ecclesia will also find the second coming to be thief-like. Thus a lack of spiritual watching is the equivalent of the "peace and safety" cry. The attitude that all within the house (the ecclesia) is well and there is no real danger of tribulation will result in a lack of watching. What sense can we make of Lk. 21:36 if we deny the possibility of a persecution period: "Watch ye therefore, and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass" ...? "Pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass...". Whilst it is possible that we will be saved out of the tribulation, to dogmatically say that we will not experience it, coupled with an attitude which refuses to admit the doctrinal and behavioural problems within the ecclesia, will result in us being lulled into a sense of peace and safety. This "peace and safety" atmosphere within the ecclesia matches that in Israel just prior to the Babylonian invasion: "Them that are at ease (A.V.mg. "secure" ) in Zion" (Am.6:1, cp. Lk.6:24) trusted in their riches and regular observance of a few religious rituals.  But surely we "are all the children of light", and therefore "are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief" (:5,4). "By peace (prosperity) he shall destroy many" (Dan. 8:25) is the language of 1 Thess.5:1-3 regarding peace, safety and materialism destroying the saints of the last days. If this connection is valid, it shows that the little horn of Daniel will exert its influence within the ecclesia.

Ezekiel (8:8-15; 9:8; 11:3), Jeremiah, Micah and perhaps even the Lord Jesus (Is. 59:16; Lk. 13:8) over-estimated the spirituality of God's people in the run up to the 'day' of Divine judgment in their time. The "peace and safety" cry within the latter day ecclesia is part of an extended set of allusions back to the parables of Mt. 24 and 25, concerning the apostate, drunken servant who thinks everything is fine being suddenly destroyed by his Lord's coming. This kind of believer had been foreseen by Moses in Dt. 29:19; the type who hears the curses for disobedience, but blesses (forgives) himself in his heart, "saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst". As natural Israel will be awoken from their drunkenness by the final Arab invasion (Joel 1:1,2), so spiritual Israel will be awakened by the holocaust to come. The false prophets who lived on the eve of the Babylonian and Assyrian invasions told Israel that everything was "peace and safety" within the ecclesia of their time (Jer. 5:12; 6:14; 14:13; Ez. 13:10; Mic. 3:5). It seems that the latter day ecclesia will likewise have a faithful remnant who clearly perceive the apostasy, although they are surprised at it, seeing in it the clearest sign of their Lord's return; and an apostate majority, backed up by the elders of the ecclesia, who will claim with some aggression that this is all utter nonsense, and there is peace and spiritual safety within the ecclesia.

The day of the Lord will result in the wicked being "in pain as of a woman that travails" (Is. 13:8; 1 Thess. 5:3). The Lord seems to have alluded to this when He spoke of how the faithful just before His coming would be like a woman in travail, with the subsequent joy on delivery matching the elation of acceptance at Christ's return (Jn. 16:21). So, it's travail- or travail, especially in the last days. If we choose the way of the flesh, it will be travail for nothing, bringing forth in vain (this is seen as a characteristic of all worldly life in Is. 65:23). We either cut off the flesh now (in spiritual circumcision), or God will cut us off. This point was made when the rite of circumcision was first given: "The uncircumcised [un-cut off] man... shall be cut off" (Gen. 17:14).

5:4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that this day should overtake you as a thief- it is therefore 'walking in the light' which means that we are not in darkness; we will not be caught off guard by the Lord's coming, as by a thief in the night, if our general walk is "in the light" (Eph. 5:8; 1 Jn. 1:7). If we live as if in the light of His presence, His actual presence will not surprise us as a thief.

5:5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness- "Sons of light" was the language of Judaism for the hyper righteous within Israel. Remember that the Gentile Thessalonians had been synagogue attendees whom Paul had persuaded. He was saying that they, in Christ, were the true "sons of light". "The day" surely refers to the Kingdom; we recall Rom. 13:12,13 (see note there): "The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light. Let us behave decently, as in the day". We are to live the Kingdom life now; in this sense, we "have eternal life", and that we are to live now as we shall eternally live. We are "the sons of the day" in that we are "the children of the Kingdom", another phrase understood by Judaism to refer to the righteous Jews- whom the Lord said would be cast out into the darkness of condemnation (Mt. 8:12). "Darkness" is so often associated with the condemnation of the last day; we are not to live the life of the condemned, but of those who shall eternally live the Kingdom life.

5:6 So then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober- The allusion would be to the foolish girls who slept (Mt. 25:5 s.w.). This would explain the otherwise strange phrase "as do the rest / the others". Those "others" would be the foolish girls, and Paul is writing as to the wise girls. The allusion is also to the Lord's command to the weak believers in Gethsemane to not sleep, but watch- which they failed to do (see on Mt. 26:41). This conforms that "the rest" refers not to the world generally but to the failed believers.

5:7- see on Mt. 3:7.

For they that sleep, sleep in the night- There are many links between 1 Thess. 4,5 and Mat. 24,25; see on 4:14. The wise virgins slumbered and were sleeping at the time of the Lord’s return. Paul matches this by saying that the unworthy will be slumbering and we ought to be awake and watching at the time of the Lord’s return. And yet, the parable teaches that those slumbering wise girls will be accepted. This is a glaring paradox within the Lord’s own teaching- for had He not taught that the faithful servants will be awake and watching when their Lord returns? Yet the paradox is there to flag a major message- that even though the last generation of believers may well not be ready and watching as they should be, their humble recognition of the very likelihood of their oil running out would be their saving grace. And within 1 Thess. 5:6-10 this same paradox is brought out: “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake [s.w. watch] or sleep, we should live together with him”. The same Greek words are italicized. The contrast is between those who watch and those who sleep. And yet Christ died to save both those who watch / are awake, and those who sleep, as the ‘wise’ virgins slept when they ought not to have done. Both those who watch and those who sleep [after the humble pattern of the wise virgins] will be saved due to the fact that Christ died to save sinners, to save the sleepy as well as the more lively- if they are truly and humbly in Him. Likewise the Lord’s parables generally include two types- the self-righteous rejected, and the accepted, who have something spiritually the matter with them. They either enter the Kingdom with splinters in their spiritual vision / perception, or are totally blinded by planks in their vision and will be rejected.

And they that are drunk, are drunk in the night- The allusion is to the parable of the believer who thinks the Lord delays His coming and starts drinking (Mt. 24:49; Lk. 12:45) rather than caring for his brethren. Lk. 21:34 uses the same word to say that believers must beware lest the Lord's coming is a shock for them (cp. "a thief in the night") due to their being drunk. This scenario could well arise if there is a brief respite in the traumas of the last days, all seems to be resolved politically, and there is an upsurge of global wealth.

5:8 But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation- "We are of the day" means that we are living the Kingdom life now- see on :5. This means that we shall be "sober", aware, perceptive and watching for the things of the Lord. Peter three times uses the word in appealing for us to be "sober" in the light of the Lord's imminent return (1 Pet. 1:13; 4:7; 5:8). The armour listed here is defensive- against the temptation to be unready for the Lord's return. The Thessalonian converts had once been synagogue attendees, and would have appreciated that it was only the High Priest who put on the breastplate. No ordinary Israelite would ever have had the ambition to dream of wearing it. But as often, Paul calls the believers to the heights of spiritual ambition. They were not mere spectators at a show, but participants, the priestly tribe, called to do even the work of the High Priest on earth. The helmet guards the head, the mind, the thinking, which Paul presents as the essence of Christianity. If really we are persuaded that we shall eternally live the spiritual life, we shall not give in to petty temptation now. But we must clothe ourselves with that as a helmet, just as we must of our own volition clothe ourselves with Christ in baptism. "Hope", elpis, doesn't mean 'hoping for the best', but rather a solid confidence that we shall be saved. This shall guard our thinking, and keep us ready and eager for the Lord's return.

5:9 For God has not destined us to suffer His wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ- As noted on :8, the certain hope of salvation will keep us eagerly watching for His return, far more so than any understanding of prophetic interpretation. Paul therefore underlines this point here in :9; we were in fact predestined to salvation, and not to condemnation. He wants us to be saved; hence we have the sure Hope, and believing that if the Lord were to return now, we shall surely be saved... will make us ever eagerly watchful for His coming.

5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him- As explained on :8 and :9, we will be eagerly watching for the Lord's return if we surely believe that it means salvation for us; and Paul yet further underlines this by saying that the Lord died so that we should be saved. As explained on :7, the "sleep" here can be interpreted in line with the rest of the chapter, where it refers to spiritual sleep rather than the sleep of death. The paradox of those who should not be asleep being saved is an allusion to the fact that even the wise girls of the parable also fell asleep, but were saved by grace. And yet the passage could just as well be saying that whether we are dead or alive at the Lord's return is no big issues; because we shall be resurrected and live with the Lord, and this was the whole purpose of His death for us. See on :1. In 4:14,17 the same language has been used for those who fall asleep in death before the Lord comes, and the issue of what shall happen to those who are alive at His coming is discussed there.

5:11- see on :1.

Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, even as you already do- As explained on :8 and :9, we should encourage each other with the fact that if the Lord returns right now, we really shall be saved. And we must ask how often we specifically state this to each other. As noted on 4:18, this ability to build each other up was a sign of maturity, rather than relying upon visits and letters to encourage them. The words for 'encourage' and 'build up' are also found in the record of how these things are done to believers by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31). But that Spirit power is partly mediated to the members of the body of Christ through the other members (Eph. 4:16); our efforts to build each other up are a channel for the Spirit, and will be blessed.

5:12 But brothers, we urge you to recognize those that labour among you, who are over you in the Lord and who encourage you- Although the work of encouragement was to be done by each member (:11), there were spiritual leaders in the group, who should be recognized and respected on the basis that they were labouring for the upbuilding of the community. This is the basis of respect and recognition; not the mere possession of office. It would seem from "But brothers..." that there was a tendency for them not to respect their elders.

5:13 Esteem these exceedingly high in love, for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves- As noted on :12, they should be respected for the sake of their work of upbuilding others, and not just because they demand respect or hold an office. "Be at peace among yourselves" suggests (as on :12) that the tendency not to respect elders leads to frictions amongst the group. And that is why those communities who do not have an eldership system are noted for the endless arguments amongst themselves.

5:14 And we exhort you, brothers, warn the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward all- Despite knowing there were such within the church, Paul wrote so highly of them and spoke so positively of them before God (1:2,3). He saw them as "in Christ" and shared the Lord's view of imputed righteousness towards them. They were all exhorted to do the work of warning, encouraging and supporting; unless "brothers" refers specifically to the eldership. But the context is of Paul addressing the entire church membership, and he uses "brothers" specifically about them rather than about the eldership (:12,13). Being a member of the body of Christ means we are to take responsibility for others, and not resign it all to the eldership. The 'warning' of the disorderly was presumably with the consequence of temporary exclusion from the local congregation; for that is the consequence advised by Paul for "the disorderly" in 2 Thess. 3. The fainthearted were presumably those who struggled to believe the great truths explained in :8 and :9, that we really can be sure that we shall be saved if the Lord returns right now. See on :11. The allusion is to Is. 35:3,4, where in the context of a vision of the Kingdom, the weak minded are urged to believe it as wonderfully true for them. Being "longsuffering" may allude to the parable of Mt. 18:26,29, where those indebted to us beg for "longsuffering", and we are to frankly forgive as the Lord has forgiven us. This idea is continued in :15.

5:15 See that no one repays anyone evil with evil, but always follow after that which is good one toward another and toward all- This follows on from the appeal at the end of :14 to be forgiving toward all. Forgiveness is "that which is good", and again they are told to practice this "toward all". To not forgive is therefore to repay evil with evil. The response to evil done is therefore to forgive, and there is no assumption here that we are to forgive only if repentance is shown. Paul uses the same words when commenting that Alexander had done him much evil, but the Lord would repay that evil (2 Tim. 4:14). The commands not to repay evil for evil are therefore because it is not for us to do this, but for the Lord (Rom. 12:17; 1 Pet. 3:9). Instead of repaying evil for evil, we are to bless or forgive (1 Pet. 3:9). But that is not to say that the person shall not have the evil repayed at the last day. But for us to do so in this life would be a form of playing God.

5:16 Rejoice always- A life of joy cannot be experienced if we are unforgiving and bent on repaying evil (:15). The insistent stress by Paul on the need to live lives worthy of our beliefs is really powerful. He knew that this was the main drawing power for the community. It has often been pointed out that sections of his letters seem to have strong links between them. Consider:

 

The conclusion from this could be that there was in fact a common document to which Paul is referring- a kind of practical guide to true Christian living that was expected of converts. If this is the case, then the early community would have been committed to being joyful, prayerful, tolerant, peaceful, loving, humble, Bible based, as a fundamental principle. These were what accepting Christ in baptism would have required.

5:17- see on Jude 20.

Pray without ceasing- The allusion is to the unceasing sacrifices of the tabernacle, which could be understood as speaking of our prayers. When Paul wrote of praying "night and day”, it could be that he refers to his twice daily prayer times. For he was hardly praying 24/7. The idea is that we should live in an atmosphere of prayer, and not give up on an issue after a short time.

5:18 In everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you- God specifically wants us to be thankful, just as any parent seeks the virtue of gratitude in their children. Paul was again a word made flesh, for he has written earlier of his own constant thankfulness (1:2; 3:9,10). The Thessalonians were "appointed" to tribulation (3:3), but the will of God was just as much for their final salvation and for their gratitude, therefore, for all things in life; knowing that they are all somehow working towards that great salvation which is God's ultimate will.

5:19 Do not quench the Spirit- Verses 19-24 seem to mostly speak of the activity of the Spirit which was and is so central to the life of all believers and churches. All are given the gift of the Spirit on baptism, but this will not help us unless we allow it. Hence the Corinthians were given the gift but were "not spiritual" (1 Cor. 3:1). We can in this sense "quench the Spirit". I noted earlier that chapters 4 and 5 are full of connections back to Matthew 24 and 25, especially the parable of the foolish virgins. We may have another link here, in that "quench" is the same word used in "our lamps are gone out", 'quenched' (Mt. 25:8). They had no oil- the Spirit. They were "not spiritual". Eph. 4:30 [see note there] puts it another way in appealing for us not to grieve the Spirit, not to frustrate God's intention to transform us mentally now and physically at the Lord's return.

5:20 Do not despise prophecies- The gift of the Spirit is as real today as it was then, but in the first century there was the miraculous manifestation of the Spirit which was required for those times. The gift of prophecy was required in order to communicate God's word to the new community; for the New Testament was not then written or at least not in circulation in its current form. The Thessalonians had warmly accepted Paul's preaching, impressed by his personal example and the congruence of his life with his message; but when their elders gave them prophetic words from the Spirit, there was a tendency to despise them. We noted on :12 and :13 that they were not as respectful to their elders as they might have been, and this was particularly serious when those elders were speaking to them by direct Spirit inspiration.

5:21- see on Job 34:4,5.

Test all things. Hold fast to what is good- As noted on :20, there were gifts of prophecy available in order to teach the new, illiterate communities what was the Lord's word for them. But there were false prophets around, and so the various prophetic words had to be tested. There was apparently a Spirit gift specifically for this (1 Jn. 4:1; 1 Cor. 14:29 and see on Rom. 9:1). When a prophetic word was authenticated as legitimate, they were to "hold fast" to it and to generally "what is good". And by doing so, they would "abstain from evil" (:22).

5:22 Abstain from evil wherever it appears- See on :21. This abstaining from evil may specifically refer to rejecting false prophecies. But we can also read this on a more general level; we should abstain from every appearing of sin; wherever it comes up, we should abstain (this verse doesn't mean 'don't do things which look as if they're sinful'). Whenever we hear of sin we should seek to cover it, not to show it forth more widely, and especially seek for it to be forgiven. By doing so we will reflect our own experience of how God has dealt with His knowledge of our sins.  "A talebearer reveals secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit conceals (Heb. 'covers') the matter" (Prov. 11:13). And it is the Spirit which is the context here in :19-24.

5:23- see on Phil. 1:10.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ- The context in :19-24 is of the work of the Spirit; and it is the Spirit which sanctifies or makes us holy (1 Cor. 6:11). The Holy Spirit is literally 'the spirit of holiness / sanctification'; "sanctify" here is a form of the word for "holy". It is by the Spirit that we are made holy or sanctified. That work of sanctification affects every part of our lives and being- it operates upon us "completely". However the Greek translated "completely" is a unique word in the New Testament, and literally means 'complete to the end'. The Spirit works in our minds now to progressively transform us, and it is that same Spirit which shall transform our bodies physically at the last day into immortality (Rom. 8:11). Paul has spoken earlier of the possibility of being alive at the Lord's return, and this was his great wish as it is ours. And it seems he has that in view here, in wishing that their whole spirit, person ["soul"] and even their body would be "preserved blameless" at the Lord's coming. We are or course sinful, but we are counted as "blameless"; as explained in Romans 8, the work of the Spirit is to make us in reality how we are counted by the grace of imputed righteousness. That grace has its outflow in the grace or gift of the Spirit in transforming us into that which we are counted as by status.

Paul at times quotes from or alludes to popular Jewish ideas with which he may not have necessarily agreed. The lack of quotation marks in New Testament Greek means that it’s hard for us at this distance to discern when he does this – but it seems to me that it’s going on a lot in his writings. Thus he uses the phrase “your whole spirit, soul and body”, a popular Jewish expression for ‘the whole person’ – but it’s clear from the rest of Paul’s writings that he didn’t see the body and soul as so separate.

5:24 Faithful is He that calls you, who will also do it- We are called to salvation. To get us there, as it were, the Spirit is being used to transform us and then to finally change us at the Lord's return from mortal to immortal; see on :23. Paul here simply states that we have been called to this, and He really will do it. This repeats the argument in Romans 8- that we were called to be saved, and so the Spirit will work to transform the called into a position whereby they will actually be saved.

5:25 Brothers, pray for us- Paul's authority was strengthened by his openness and exposure of his vulnerability. He needed their prayers.

5:26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss- “A holy kiss” seems to have been the way of concluding a first century Christian meeting, in the same way as Paul ends some of his letters with this (1 Thess. 5:26; Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Pet. 5:14). It's hard to translate into our terms the huge meaning of this in the first century world. It would've been unthinkable for a slave to take such initiative to kiss their master, or indeed any free person. This practice of all kissing everyone else in the congregation would've been arresting and startling. Sociologically, it stood no chance of ever being done. And yet these social and inter-personal miracles were what made Christianity stand out so noticeably- and in essence, our overcoming of social and inter-personal barriers ought to do the same for our community in the present world. But does it? Are we so markedly different from others... ? Is our love and unity of such an evidently deep and different quality? The implication is that all these various slaves from different households did meet each other for fellowship. We can imagine the issues they faced with shifts, getting free time off, permission to leave the household etc. And the same effort is required by us to achieve face to face fellowship in Christ.

5:27 I solemnly implore you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the brothers- Revelation, Thessalonians and Colossians contain specific statements that the material was to be read out loud to the [illiterate] church members (Rev. 1:3; 1 Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16); but the contents of those books require quite detailed analysis, which we tend to wrongly assume can only be given by reading the text. The processes of occasional listening to a text [employed by most first century believers] and reading a text [employed by many twenty first century believers] are quite different. We can go back to a text, re-read it, re-access it at will. Someone who occasionally hears a passage read, and who maybe only heard parts of the New and Old Testaments read once or twice in their lives, simply relates to the text differently. Further, the nature of the reading of the text, the delivery of the speaker, would've played an important part in the interpretation of it by the illiterate hearer- hence the greater responsibility of teachers in the first century than today. For the illiterate audience, the message was tied up with the messenger to a huge degree. Hence Timothy is told to pay attention to his [public?] reading, preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 4:13).

5:28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you- "Grace" often refers to the gift of the Spirit, the power of new life within the heart of the believer which is given by the Lord Jesus. "Be with you" can as well be translated "be within you", for this is where the Spirit most essentially operates. And such spiritual mindedness was Paul's greatest wish for all believers.