The Strand Study Bible

Written From Corinth During Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

I THESSALONIANS

2011

Two of the five required offerings pointed to unity and oneness : *Burnt –The Feast of Pentecost, which depicted unity amongst believers ( Lev 23:2 and Acts 2:1 ), required a burnt offering (Lev 23:15-18). *Peace –The peace offering (or, Fellowship Offering) was a voluntary offering and the only offering in which both the priests and the people of God shared ( unity ). The peace offering symbolized fellowship ( oneness ) between believers. 4. Reverence for the Word , which points to protection of the Truth (Mt 11:25) One of the five required offerings pointed to reverence for the Word : *Trespass –The trespass offering ( Lev 5:16 ) differed from the sin offering in that it was to be preceded by a 20% (equal to a “double tithe”) penalty . Why? Because God was trying to teach His people that “unknown” sins ( violation of the truth ) hurt us more than we think (Gal 6:7). Thus the whole reason behind the giving of the five offerings (burnt, meal, peace, sin and trespass) was to remind the people of God of Jesus and what He was thankful for: * provision (the meeting of a need) * salvation (revealed sin, cleansing and forgiveness, and resurrection) * unity and oneness (which results in answered prayer) * reverence for the Word (protection of the Truth) 5:19 Whenever God’s people fail to remain on “fire” for God (Eph 5:18), they “ quench ” (suppress) the SPIRIT . 5:23a Man was designed by God to be of a triune nature: “ your whole spirit and soul and body .” However, only the spirit and the soul were made in the image and likeness of God. The body simply houses that image ( Gen 1:26 d ). Because God designed us, He knows us better than we know ourselves (Heb 4:12). We ought therefore to learn to trust the Designer, not the design. 5:23b This word ( preserved ) comes from the Greek word τ K ρ HZ ( tereo ) and means “ to keep or preserve. ” Because tereo is singular in number, as the threefold subject ( your whole spirit and soul and body ), and it is in the aorist tense (the ‘point’ tense), this word means “to regard the continuous preservation of the believer as a single, complete act, without reference to the time occupied in its accomplishment.” 5 Meaning: Once saved -always saved! READ NEXT - II Thessalonians 1-3

1 Jeremiah, David. Prayer, the Great Adventure , Portland, OR, Multnomah Pub., 1997. Print. 2 Vaughn, Ellen. Radical Gratitude , Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2005. Print. 3 Gills, James P. Exceeding Gratitude for the Creator’s Plan , Lake Mary, FLA, A Strang Co., 2007. Print. 4 Graham, Billy. Approaching Hoofbeats . Waco, TX,: Word Books, 1983. Print. 5 Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words . Vol . II. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1940.Print.