9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9–11 (ESV)
Of all the attributes God possesses, one which generates significant debate, along with His sovereignty, is His wrath. Many religious individuals, including some true believers in Christ, emphasize the love of God while ignoring, or dismissing, the wrath of God. This is not wise for the Scriptures explicitly teach the God of the Bible is a wrathful God who punishes sin. Consider the following passages.
- Psalm 89:46 – “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?”
- Exodus 32:8–10 – “8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
- Isaiah 13:9–13 – “9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. 12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.”
- Mark 3:4–5 – “4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”
- Romans 1:18–21 – “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
“For God has not destined us for wrath.” Within the context of the Apostle’s Paul instruction on the coming (Parousia) of Jesus Christ, his reference to “wrath” may cause some readers of Scripture to presume the apostle referred to a temporal wrath on earth. Rather, Paul spoke of the Lord’s eternal wrath. Wrath (ὀργὴν; orgen) refers to fierce anger. The wrath of God is His holy and divine reaction against sin. Using anthropomorphic language, Paul called God’s wrath anger.
Paul stated God did not destine believers in Christ, including himself, Silas and Timothy, to His holy wrath. The word “destined” (ἔθετο; etheto) means to place, fix or arrange. It also means duty and destination. The believer’s destination is not the Lord’s eternal wrath against sin when Jesus Christ returns (I Thess. 1:10; 2 Thess. 1:8-10).
“…but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Rather, believers in Christ have obtained (περιποίησιν; peripoiesen) or acquired the possession Paul referred to as salvation (σωτηρίας; soterias) or divine deliverance. The believer’s eternal destination is divine deliverance by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
“Jesus is coming back to consummate His kingdom, and although we do not know exactly when that will happen, we do know that it could be at any moment. Paul reminds us of these great truths in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:3, and in 5:4–8 he unfolds what that means for Christians here and now. We are not to be like drunkards or children of the night who stumble about, unable to see what is coming and engaging in sinful behavior. Instead, we are to live as children of the light, men and women who understand that Jesus’ return is on the horizon and who put on the armor of God, growing in faith, hope, and love as we become more and more like Christ,” comments Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“It is fitting that we live in holiness in light of our eternal destiny. Paul emphasizes this in today’s passage when he says that we have been destined not for wrath but for salvation (1 Thess. 5:9). In one sense, we have already been saved, for we have been justified—declared righteous—in Christ, and that guarantees that all the benefits of the saving work of Jesus will be ours (Rom. 8:29–30). Yet, there is a sense in which we are waiting for the fullness of salvation, for we have not yet been glorified and we still war against sin in our bodies and spirits (Rom. 7). In Jesus, we are destined for salvation—for the full reception of redemption’s blessings—and since we will certainly enjoy these things if we are in Christ, we are to start preparing for that day now by striving for “the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14).”
“We are destined not for wrath—eternal punishment—but for salvation because Christ has died for His people. And because Christ died and rose again, we will live with Him—be conscious of His blessing—whether we walk the earth or our bodies are in the grave. There is no truth more encouraging (1 Thess. 5:9–11),” concludes Dr. Sproul.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 