Looking in the Wrong Direction? The Coming of Our Lord Jesus With All His Saints (1 Thess. 3:13)

     The prayer of Paul and his coworkers for the mid-first-century church of the Thessalonians was for God “to strengthen your hearts, blameless in holiness before our God and Father, in [en] the coming [parousía] of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1 Thess. 3:13).¹ To be “blameless” [ámemptos] means that no legitimate reason for criticism can be cited (cf. 2:10; Phil. 2:15; 3:6; Tit. 2:8). The noun hagiōsúnē (“holiness”) – cognate with the adjectival hágioi (“saints,” also used in this sentence, discussed below) and the singular form hágios (“holy,” “set apart”) – is employed here in the sense of moral purity (cf. 2 Cor. 7:1), further developed in the next section of the letter as per another cognate, hagiasmós (“sanctification”) (4:1-8).

Two Sides of the Parousia

     The noun parousía, meaning “presence” (cf. Phil. 2:12a),² is the opposite of apousía (“absence,” cf. Phil. 2:12b) and carries the sense of the arrival or presence of one “coming” (cf. Phil. 1:26). Its use in reference to the Lord’s return is mostly in the Thessalonian correspondence (1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8), and just one other time in Paul (1 Cor. 15:23).³ Other expressions include epipháneia (“appearing,” “manifestation”) in 2 Thess. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 1:10; 4:1, 8; Tit. 2:13; and apokálupsis (“revelation”) in 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13; 4:13; cf. Rom. 2:5.

     The adverb “before” [émprosthen = “in front,” “before the face of”] is used four times in 1 Thessalonians, once in reference to “our Lord Jesus” (2:19) and three times in reference to “our God” (1:3; 3:9, 13) – all in view of the parousía. Appearing “before [émprosthen] our Lord Jesus” (2:19) is parallel to appearing “before [émprosthen] our God and Father” on either side of the parousía. This helps to clarify what is meant by the prepositional phrase, “with all his saints.”

     If “before our Lord Jesus” is on the front end of the parousía (2:19), it stands to reason that “before our God and Father” is on the back end of the parousía (3:13). In other words, the Lord Jesus is to come for [eis] all his saints (4:16-18; cf. 2:19), then return to the Father with [metá] all his saints, who are then presented before the heavenly throne (3:13; 4:17b; cf. 2:12; John 14:3; 1 Cor. 15:23-24; 2 Cor. 4:14). Note further along in the text, “through Jesus God will bring with him those having fallen asleep …. we the living ones remaining will be carried off together with them …” (4:14, 17).

     Alternatively, pántōn tōn hagíōn autou is understood by some commentators as “all his holy [ones]” (NIV, Weymouth) in reference to the holy angels who are to accompany the Lord at his coming (cf. Matt. 13:39; Jude 14). In favor of this interpretation, Jesus foretold the coming of the Son of Man “with the holy [hagíōn] angels” (Mark 8:38); “and all the [holy] angels with him” [kaì pántes hoi hágioi ággeloi met’ aoutou] (Matt. 25:31, Byzantine Majority Text; although hágioi is absent from the NA/UBS texts). Nevertheless, in the Thessalonian correspondence these angels are described as angels of his “power” [dunámeōs], distinct from “his saints” [tois hagíois autou] in whom the Lord will be glorified (2 Thess. 1:7, 10). In fact, hágioi is one of Paul’s favorite designations for Christians,⁴ and in this very sentence the cognate hagiōsúnē (“holiness”) is thus applied.

Conclusion

     From our perspective on earth, the Lord Jesus is coming on the front end of the Parousia for his saints who will appear before him (1 Thess. 2:19; 4:17). From the heavenly perspective, the Lord Jesus is coming on the back end of the Parousia with his saints to appear before God our Father in heaven (1 Thess. 3:13).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Unless noted otherwise, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.

     ² Used to refer to the “presence” or “coming” of Stephanus (1 Cor. 16:17), Titus (2 Cor. 7:6, 7), Paul (2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 1:26; 2:12), and “the lawless one” (2 Thess. 2:9).

     ³ Elsewhere only in Matthew (24:3, 27, 37, 39) and in the writings of the three “pillars” (Jas. 5:7, 8; 2 Pet. 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28).

     ⁴ Four Pauline letters are addressed to hágioi (Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians). The term draws attention to having been consecrated to God (BAGD 9) and is almost always used in this sense by Paul in the plural (cf. Rom. 1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25, 26, 31; 16:2, 15; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:1, 2; 14:33; 16:1, 15; 2 Cor. 1:1; 8:4; 9:1, 12; 13:12; Eph. 1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18; Phil. 1:1; 4:21, 22; Col. 1:2, 4, 12, 26; 1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:10; 1 Tim. 5:10; Philem. 5, 7). This terminology appears to have been drawn from Israel’s description as a “holy people” (e.g. Ex. 19:6; Psa. 16:3; 34:9; 74:3; Isa. 4:3; Dan. 7:18, 21-22), perhaps indicating Paul’s belief in the continuity between the “saints” of Israel in the past and the Christian “saints” (cf. J. D. G. Dunn, Theology of Paul 44 n. 90, 330, 502, 708).

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“The saints will judge the world …. we are to judge angels”

     What does Paul mean when he writes, “the saints will judge the world …. we are to judge angels” (1 Cor. 6:2-3)? The Corinthians were inconsistent in the extreme. In the case of the immoral brother, they should have judged but took no action at all (1 Cor. 5:1-2). In cases of petty disputes, they should have judged among themselves but they took too much action and went to secular courts (6:1-9). In both cases, they neglected their God-given responsibility to make their own judgments and settle matters among themselves (cf. 5:12; 10:15; 11:13). Paul reminds his readers that the saints [‘sanctified ones’] will judge the world¹ and angels,²  but how? Like “the men of Nineveh” who “will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented …” (Matt. 12:41); like Noah, who “prepared an ark … by which he condemned the world …” (Heb. 11:7). The saints will judge the world and [fallen] angels indirectly by their lives and teaching in compliance with the divine will.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Cf. Rev. 3:21; 20:4; Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30.

     ² Cf. 1 Pet. 3:22; 2 Pet. 2:4.

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What is meant by Christ coming “with all his saints”?

     We read in 1 Thess. 3:13, “so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (NKJV). Then Jude 14 states, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints.’”

     Since the Lord is to come for his saints, not with his saints (1 Thess. 4:16-18), this apparent discrepancy needs further clarification. The Greek word hagioi, rendered “saints” in some translations, actually means “holy ones.” Who are the “holy ones” who will accompany the Lord at his second coming? The Bible gives a clear answer: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy [hagioi] angels with Him …” (Matt. 25:31). The “holy ones” who will accompany Jesus at his return are holy angels (cf. Matt. 13:39; 2 Thess. 1:7), not the living and resurrected faithful who will meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

--Kevin L. Moore

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What About the Calvinistic Doctrine of “Perseverance of the Saints”?

The Doctrine Concisely Stated:¹

“You cannot lose your salvation. Because the Father has elected, the Son has redeemed, and the Holy Spirit has applied salvation, those thus saved are eternally secure. They are eternally secure in Christ. Some of the verses for this position are John 10:27-28 where Jesus said His sheep will never perish; John 6:47 where salvation is described as everlasting life; Romans 8:1 where it is said we have passed out of judgment; 1 Cor. 10:13 where God promises to never let us be tempted beyond what we can handle; and Phil. 1:6 where God is the one being faithful to perfect us until the day of Jesus' return” (Matt Slick, “What is Calvinism?,” The Calvinist Corner [2012], <https://carm.org/calvinism>).

A Biblical Response:

     Jesus’ “sheep” are those who listen to him and follow him (John 10:3, 4, 16, 27) = obedience. As long as this condition is met, “they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (v. 28; cf. 8:12, 31, 51).² However, sheep can and do go astray (Matt. 18:12; 26:31; 1 Pet. 2:25), and when sheep stop listening to and following the Shepherd, they are vulnerable and lost (John 6:66, 70-71). See also 1 Thess. 3:5; Jas. 5:19-20. While the Lord provides adequate assistance (1 Cor. 10:13; Phil. 1:6; 4:19; Heb. 4:16; et al.), maintaining salvation also requires endurance and continued faithfulness (Matt. 24:13, 42, 44-51; cf. 1 Cor. 9:27; Heb. 3:14; 4:11; 6:11; 10:23, 36; 12:1-7).

     Paul pleads with the Romans, “Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died” (Rom. 14:15b). Contrary to the Calvinistic doctrines of limited atonement and perseverance of the saints, it is apparently possible for one "for whom Christ died" to suffer spiritual ruin (cf. 2:4-12).

     Among those “sanctified in Christ Jesus” at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2) was a wayward Christian needing to be disciplined by the church, “that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (5:1-5, 11). Paul’s admonitions were to be heeded lest “the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died” (1 Cor. 8:11; cf. 2 Cor. 2:15). These Christians were saved by the gospel conditionally: “if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2; cf. 2 Cor. 6:1).

     The addressees of Paul’s letter to the Galatians are reminded: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27). Nevertheless, having been influenced by false teachers regarded as anathema [accursed of God], these “sons of God” were in the process of “turning away … from Him who called you in the grace of Christ” (1:6-9). In fact, the situation was so dire that if they continued on their current path, Paul contends: “you have become estranged [severed] from Christ … you have fallen from grace” (5:4). See also 1 Tim. 1:19; 4:1.

     Peter’s epistles are addressed to the “elect” of God (1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Pet. 3:1), wherein warnings are issued of “destructive heresies” leading to “destruction” (2 Pet. 2:1-3), involving those who “have forsaken the right way and gone astray” (v. 15). False teachers “allure … the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error” (v. 18). “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (vv. 20-21).

     Perhaps more than any other writing in the New Testament, Hebrews affirms and warns against the possibility of apostasy (2:1-3; 3:12-13; 4:1; 6:4-8; 10:26-38; 12:15, 25). These warnings are directed to those in the process of drifting away from Christ and heading toward complete separation from God. Conversely, for those sincerely striving to live in accordance with the Lord’s directives, perhaps more than any other New Testament document Hebrews offers great reassurance (3:6, 14; 4:16; 6:11, 17-20; 7:19; 10:19-22, 39; 11:1; 12:1-3; 13:5-6).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ True Calvinists prefer the descriptive expression “perseverance of the saints” rather than commonly misappropriated terminology like “eternal security” or “once saved always saved.” See Dewayne Bryant, “The Perseverance of the Saints,” in Gospel Advocate 151:6 (June 2009): 24-25. Wayne Grudem states the Calvinist perspective as follows: “all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and … only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again” (Systematic Theology 788).

     ² Scripture quotations are from the NKJV.

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