At His Coming and In His Presence

A major theme which runs throughout 1 Thessalonians is “the coming of the Lord.” It is a theme which encapsulates the section covering 2:17-3:13. In speaking of his longing to see the Thessalonians, Paul asks, “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy” (2:19-20). Then, at the close of the section, he prays for the Thessalonians, that God “may establish [their] hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (3:13).

Many contemporary interpretations leave readers with little or no practical application for the Scriptures in question. This shortcoming is due to an over-reliance on a chronos (linear or horizontal) view of time. Biblical time, however, is not so easily charted. Quite often, Paul and other New Testament writers view time in terms of kairos (seasonal or vertical). Chronologically speaking, “the coming of the Lord” is the final consummation, the end, or outcome, of all of history, at which time all of history will be understood. Kairotically speaking, “the coming of the Lord” is always an imminent reality. For Paul, his Thessalonian congregation, and all believers who are in Christ, the final outcome of history is already known because the “end” of history has already taken place in the midst of history through the ultimate kairotic event of the life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. It is upon this “world-ending” event that we base our hope for a blessed future in a creation restored to its original perfection, with the personal, healing, redemptive presence of Jesus himself in our midst.

Yet, for the believer in Christ, that future has already begun. The Greek term usually translated “coming,” is parousia, meaning literally, “presence.” It is one thing to ponder and cast your thoughts afar toward “the coming of the Lord.” It is quite another to realize you are, at this very moment, in the presence of the Lord. Such a realization brings both comfort and concern. We can take comfort in knowing that our Lord has promised never to leave us nor forsake us, that in the power of his Holy Spirit, he is with us at this very moment and whenever two or three are gathered in his name, there he is in our midst. But we ought also to be concerned, lest his coming catch us unaware. Not knowing the day or the hour of his coming, but knowing every day, every hour, every moment we are in his presence, we ought to live our lives accordingly.