Viii. Conclusion (5:23-28)
12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; is give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
i9 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
There were evidently some problems in personal relationships among the Thessalonians, and in the concluding moments of his epistle Paul gives attention to them. There is some difference of opinion as to whether officebearers in particular are being addressed, and some have settled the point by reasoning that there were probably no officebearers at this early period in the church's history. Perhaps "officebearers" is the wrong term; for some of us it arouses associations of clearly defined official positions and a rigid division between those who hold office and those who do not. But it is hard to think of a better term, and it is very difficult to accept the view that there was nothing corresponding to "officebearers." Can any society function without some form of official leadership?
The first groups of Christians seem to have been organized on the model of the synagogue (an assembly of Christians is even called a synagogue in Jas. 2:2), and thus would have had a group of elders exercising oversight. This seems implied in the numerous references to elders from the earliest times. Thus Paul, as early as his first missionary journey, is pictured as appointing elders "in each church" (Acts 14:23). We have no reason for thinking that any local church continued for long without its elders. The functions of the leaders may not have been closely defined and perhaps were not the same in every place, but every group produces leaders of some sort. Granted that there were elders in the Thessalonian church, the likelihood is that they were not men of experience in any position of authority, for all our information seems to show that the church in this city was drawn predominantly from the lower strata of society. There is nothing improbable in the idea that inexperienced leaders exercised their authority in a rather tactless fashion. Some of the believers were misbehaving, refraining from working for their living and perhaps in other ways. The leaders of the church attempted to put things right, and their manner of doing so may well have aroused opposition. This was not serious, as in the case of the church at Corinth, which was rent by the disputes that took place. But Paul felt it wise to say a few words that might clear the matter up. These words have reference primarily, but not exclusively, to the leaders of the church. But since they have relevance to all, they are addressed to the church at large.
Some of the injunctions in this section of the letter are such as to be applicable to many churches, and it has been argued accordingly that Paul is giving the kind of teaching that would be used in most places. For this reason it is argued that we should not apply the words too closely to Thessalonica. There may be something to this, but at least we can say that Paul felt that what he was writing was needed at Thessalonica.
12 The occasion is one for appeal rather than authoritative commands, and Paul's address is gentle. There is nothing peremptory about his verb "ask"; it is often used of making request.43 In keeping is the affectionate "brothers," so common in these epistles. The apostle asks them to "know" (NIV, "respect"; so BAGD; cf. 1 Cor. 16:15) their leaders, where the verb has the idea of knowing fully, appreciating their true worth. It indicates that the brothers had not realized as they should have the rightful position and worth of the people in question, and they are called on to know them better.
Those who have not been receiving due respect are described as "those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you." The Greek construction here has three participles following a single article, which means that it is one group of people who discharge all three functions, and not three different groups. It is this as much as anything that inclines us to think that the elders of the church are being addressed. Who else would discharge this triple function? But it is perhaps significant that they are given no title here; their work was more important than a title. It may well be that the duties performed by the leaders were not the same in every place; we are in the early period when the new church was feeling its way. But there is every reason for thinking that it is the people who were in due course (if not yet) called "elders" who are in mind. The verb for "work hard" is cognate with the noun "labor" in 1:3 (where see note). It indicates that these people had toiled till they were weary in the service of the church 44 Though the term itself is not an ecclesiastical word,45 and could be used of wearisome labor in general, it is noteworthy how often it is used of the labor of Christian preachers. If not a technical term, at least it was well adapted to expressing what is involved in Christian ministry.
It is possible that the two following participles represent two different and coordinate activities, but it is perhaps more likely that they are to be understood as explanatory of the preceding one. The labor in question is that of exercising leadership and admonition, though this should not be understood as defining it exhaustively. The labor is of various kinds, but especially is it oversight and admonition.46 Those who "are over you in the Lord," coming as it does between "work hard among you" and "admonish you," is not an official description of a technical order of ministry. But it is difficult to understand who could be meant other than officebearers in the church. It is sometimes urged that we should see the meaning as "them that care for you." Now all the members should be caring for one another, but if a particular group of "carers" is picked out, who would they be other than the officebearers? The verb may be used of informal leadership, but it is also an official word, describing the function of those who are officers.47 The addition of "in the Lord" also seems to point us to officebearing in the church, while at the same time it adds the idea of the spiritual fitness of things. This is not a cold, external authority, but one exercised in the warmth of Christian bonds. Being "in the Lord," it is an authority to be exercised for the spiritual good of believers (2 Cor. 10:8), and not to give the officebearers opportunity for lording it over them (Luke 22:25-27).
The third function of these people is that of admonishing. The verb is Pauline,48 and while its tone is brotherly, it is big-brotherly. There is often the notion of some tie between the admonisher and the admonished, and there is the thought of blame attaching to some wrongdoing that is being rebuked. "I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children" (1 Cor. 4:14) is a passage that brings out both thoughts: the tenderness that is unwilling to shame, and the blame for failure to do the right.
13 Paul adds the further request that the Thessalonians should hold their leaders in high regard 49 There is some discussion as to whether what he says should be understood with the primary emphasis on high esteem (with love added loosely), or on esteem in love (with "exceedingly highly" inserted to show that this should be done without stint). In general, it seems most probable that the former is to be preferred. What is beyond dispute is that Paul is urging his readers to both attitudes (cf. Moffatt, "hold them in special esteem and affection"). He wants the officials to be highly regarded, and not dismissed as of no account. His adverb "exceedingly highly" (NIV paraphrases) is a very expressive and emphatic compound, found in this precise form here only in the New Testament.50 Paul wants them to be loved (REB and JB have "affection," but Paul is speaking of more than this; he says love); they are not to be regarded simply as the cold voice of authority. Love is the characteristic Christian attitude to people, and this should be shown in the church. Especially is this so in relationships like those between the rulers and the ruled, which in other groups are apt to be formal and distant. Christian love, agape, is not a matter of personal liking (see on 1:3), and it is in keeping with this that Paul expressly says that they are to esteem their rulers in love "because of their work." It is not a matter of personalities. It is the good of the church that is the important thing. The church cannot be expected to do its work effectively if the leaders are not being loyally supported by their fellows. It is a matter of fact that to this day we are often slow to realize that effective leadership in the church of Christ demands effective following. If we are continually critical of those who are set over us in the Lord, small wonder that they are unable to perform the miracles that we demand of them. If we bear in mind "because of their work," we may be more inclined to esteem them very highly in love.
Some exegetes have felt that the exhortation to be at peace brings us to a different subject. It is true that the verb is quite general in its meaning and that injunctions to be at peace are to be found elsewhere where there is no disciplinary problem. Yet in this place it seems that Paul is continuing to deal with the situation in mind in the earlier part of the verse. Any failure of the rank and file to be on proper terms with their leaders is serious, so the apostle includes an injunction to set these things right (notice the change from "we ask you, brothers" to the imperative, "Live in peace"). The form of the imperative indicates that Paul himself is trying to keep the peace by not taking sides. He does not say "be at peace with them," which would savor of calling on the church members to subject themselves to their leaders, but "Live in peace with each other," which makes the injunction equally binding on leaders and followers. Both are to keep the peace (cf. Mark 9:50; Rom. 12:18; 2 Cor. 13:11).
14 The address "brothers" shows that these words are addressed to the whole of the membership and not simply to the leaders (as Chrysostom held: "Here he addresses those who have rule"). In verse 12 the "brothers" seem to be distinguished from "those ... who are over you in the Lord"; now we have a further exhortation to the "brothers," which surely is to be understood in the same way. Just as verse 12 was addressed to the whole church (not simply to the leaders), so is this verse. The content of this charge is to look to the needs of certain people in the church. While this would be in a special measure the responsibility of those holding office, it was also something that lay on the shoulders of all (perhaps it was something the leaders should lead others to do). It was (and is) characteristic of the Christian understanding of life that the entire brotherhood is charged with responsibility for all. For Christians care for others is not to be left to any special class of believers.
For "warn" see the note on verse 12 (where it is translated "admonish"). The word translated by "idle" is really a military word, and originally referred to the soldier who is out of step or out of rank, or to the army moving in disarray. Milligan's long note51 shows that the term was used in Hellenistic Greek for idleness. Frame adds that it is not idleness in the sense of legitimate leisure52 that is meant, but loafing. The use of this word makes it quite clear that some Thessalonians had ceased to work and were imposing on the generosity of others. Paul counsels them all to take steps to end this state of affairs; as Bruce reminds us, this was the concern of all. It brought discredit on the whole church, and it was church members who had to support the slackers who brought the discredit.
If the first point has to do with pulling up the slackers, the second is concerned rather with exercising tenderness toward the discouraged. For "encourage" see on 2:12 (where NIV translates "comforting"). The word is well adapted to expressing a tender concern, quite in the spirit of "a bruised reed he will not break" (Isa. 42:3). There are those who are not naturally bold, or who are temporarily overwhelmed by the stress of life. Such should not be condemned by their more robust colleagues, but consoled and encouraged, so that they may be fitted for the battle once more. A similar sympathetic attitude is inculcated by the next words, "help the weak,"53 where the verb is one that is often used of holding on to someone (e.g., Luke 16:13). The thought is that it is good for weak souls to know that there are others who are with them, who will cleave to them in the difficult moment, who will not forsake them. In various places Paul has a good deal to say about the weak (notably in Rom. 14 and 1 Cor. 8). He leaves us in no doubt that there is a place for such in the church, and further that the strong have a particular duty toward them. So here the weak are not to be simply abandoned, but made to feel that they belong, and that they have strong comrades in Christ.
Paul rounds off the exhortation with "be patient with everyone."54 This should be taken as putting in general terms and with some amplification what he has just been saying in particular cases. Christians should not be putting their own interests first and taking a strong line with those who do not agree with them. Rather, they must be patient with all people, bearing their manners, and patiently seeking to lead them in the way of the Lord. It is more important for them to render service than that their ego should be satisfied. To this end they must bide their time, refusing to be affronted, walking in the steps of the Lord.
15 This leads naturally to the thought that Christians are not to be provoked into acts of retaliation (cf. Matt. 5:44-45; Rom. 12:17).55 Rather, their ruling attitude must be one of benevolence toward all, even those who act toward them in hostile fashion. Indeed, especially toward those who are hostile to them.56 It is easy enough to be well disposed toward those who treat us well, but it is of the essence of the Christian attitude that agape, self-giving love, be practiced toward all, even the unkind and vindictive. Our Master, for our salvation, endured patiently the insults and the injuries of wicked men. He, the Just, died for the unjust. In both these ways his example is important for his people. As the servant is not greater than his Lord, we must expect the same kind of treatment, and therefore we must expect to be called on to show the same kind of patience under provocation. And since he came to die for sinful people, we must expect that our meekness is to be by way of ministering to the needs of the sinful also.
Thus it is that the New Testament often calls on believers to forgive injuries. This is expressed in the Lord's Prayer, and Jesus insisted on the point more than once (Matt. 5:38-42; 18:21-35; Luke 6:35, and elsewhere). There are very close parallels to the present passage (Rom. 12:17; 1 Pet. 3:9), which indicates that it was something in the nature of a standard injunction in the early church. It may even go back to some saying of Jesus. That such a precept was so widely accepted in a body subject to such constant ill-treatment as the early church is remarkable enough. That it was put into practice to such a large extent is even more so. It may be that this was responsible in some measure for the impact the early Christians made on the people of their day. At any rate, it is worth reflecting when we are tempted to think of the clash of hostile forces today, and of how difficult it is for us to put such precepts into practice, that the Thessalonians to whom these words were addressed were themselves in no easy situation. Subject to constant harassment from both Jew and Gentile, they could easily have become embittered. But it was just in this situation that they were called on to render to no one evil for evil. The great precepts of the Christian faith have always been addressed not only to those who find them easy to keep but to all. And they can be kept, because with the command God provides the power.
The positive exhortation, "always pursue what is good toward one another" (which NIV renders "always try to be kind to each other") must, in this context, refer to acts of love in the face of hostility rather than to ethical goodness in general. At the same time it should be noted that the term is a broad one. Paul is not simply saying, "Do little deeds of love when you might be expected to retaliate." He is laying down goodness in the face of provocation to evil as a great general principle that must underlie the conduct of Christians at all times. It is one of their springs of action. The verb is in the continuous present, so that a habitual attitude is inculcated, and this is reinforced by the adverb "always." The verb is "pursue," which means follow with some eagerness.57 The line of conduct in question is to be exercised toward members of the brotherhood and outsiders alike. As we saw on 4:9, there is a brotherly love that Christians should practice among themselves, but this pursuit of goodness in the face of provocation is something that they should not restrict. No matter where nor how they are provoked, the obligation lies on them to follow the good unswervingly (cf. 3:12; 4:12).
16 Paul proceeds to three activities that should characterize the Christian (and which he links elsewhere, Phil. 1:3-4). Perhaps the first of these, "Be joyful always," is especially suitable after what he has been saying. The refusal to nurse grudges and to retaliate when provoked is not something that is to be attempted in a spirit of suffering resignation. It is possible ostensibly to forgive, but to make quite clear that the forgiver is deserving of great credit for his restraint, and that he is very conscious of the magnitude of the wrong that has been done to him. Jesus did not give that impression, and Paul is saying that his followers should not do so either. Forgiveness ought to be a joyous affair, with genuine Christian zest for life bubbling through. Christians are people who have been born all over again (John 3:3, 7); they have been created anew (2 Cor. 5:17). They do not see things as the earthling sees them, but, as children of the heavenly Father, they go rejoicing through their Father's world. The New Testament does not give us a picture of believers as people who are always screwing themselves up to the point of doing unpleasant things in the service of their God but rather of those who are glad to live out the implications of their faith. There is a serious purpose to life, and that is not overlooked. Sometimes it will lead to stem and serious action. But the emphasis is on the truth that by and large the way of Christians is a happy way. Their spiritual resources are so great that earthly things cannot disturb their composure, and they go on their way with a song in their hearts (Col. 3:16). Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22; cf. Rom. 14:17), and Paul has made it clear that the Thessalonians knew this joy (1:6). He is not writing about a joy that Christians produce by their own efforts. It is natural for people to be happy when things go well with them. But it is not this natural joy, dependent on circumstances, that is the special characteristic of Christians. It is the joy that comes from being "in Christ." Thus it is that the New Testament contains so many exhortations to joyful living-startlingly many, if we fix our attention on the outward circumstances of the early Christian communities. Persecution was always threatening and often actual. Believers were usually in straitened circumstances and compelled to work hard for their living. Their lot can rarely have been other than hard. But if we fasten our attention on these things, we put our emphasis in the wrong place. They thought more of their Lord than of their difficulties, more of their spiritual riches in Christ than of their poverty on earth, more of the glorious future when their Lord should come again than of their unhappy past. So the note of joy rings through the New Testament, and so Paul, who himself knew what it was to rejoice in difficult circumstances (Acts 16:25; Rom. 5:3; Col. 1:24), can say, "Be joyful always" (cf. Phil. 4:4),58 and speak of the Christian as "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor. 6:10).
17 The injunction to continual prayer (cf. Luke 18:1; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18) springs out of the same great idea as that to continual rejoicing. Christianity is a religion that turns people's thoughts away from themselves and their puny deeds to the great God who has wrought a stupendous salvation for them in Christ. It is of the very essence of the faith that it insists on the inability of sinners to bring about their salvation, either in the sense of the initial act whereby they enter a state of salvation, or in the sense of the day-by-day living out of the Christian life. For the putting away of their sins the atonement wrought by the Son of God is necessary. For the living of the dedicated life the power of the indwelling Spirit alone suffices. All along the way they experience their own insufficiency. Paul's exhortation to continual prayer fits into this picture. The Thessalonian believers (like all others) were dependent on God for everything. Continuing prayer is the continuing expression of this dependence.
But believers who live in this way, conscious continually of their dependence on God, conscious of his presence with them always, find that their general spirit of prayerfulness in the most natural way overflows into uttered prayer. Again and again in Paul's letters (and especially in these two letters to the Thessalonians) the apostle interjects little prayers into his argument. Prayer was as natural to Paul as breathing. At any time he was likely to break off his argument or to sum it up by a prayer. In the same way he looks for the Thessalonians to live lives with such an attitude of dependence on God that they will easily and naturally move into the words of prayer on all sorts of occasions, great and small, grave and festive. Prayer is to be constant. This does not, of course, mean that they are to spend all their time in uttering words of prayer; throughout these letters there are too many exhortations to be active in daily affairs for that to be accepted. Paul is arguing for lives lived constantly in a prayerful spirit.
As he has already done in another connection (see 4:3), the apostle proceeds to give what he has said the highest possible authority by rooting it in the will of God. "This" is singular, but it is very probable that it applies to all three of the preceding injunctions. As we have seen, they all proceed from one root and may fittingly be regarded as a unity. They do not represent three different attitudes to life, but three aspects of one attitude.
As he has already done in 4:3 (where see note), Paul uses the word "will" without the article. The significance of this is that he is making no attempt to deal with the whole will of God. That will includes many things, and many things of importance to the Thessalonians. But among them is this of which he now speaks. On this occasion there is the interesting addition "in Christ Jesus." The centrality of Christ to Christianity cannot be emphasized too strongly. We do not know God of our own selves, but only as he has pleased to reveal himself to us. Preeminently he has revealed himself in Christ, and preeminently he has revealed his will in Christ. The use of the compound name "Christ Jesus" reminds us of both the deity and the humanity of our Lord, and in this way heightens the solemnity of the injunction. Not only is it in Christ that the will of God is revealed, but it is in him that the power is given to us to enable us to live according to that will6' (see on 3:11 for the close connection between the Father and the Son).
19 Another unit, this time with five exhortations, begins with a reference to the Spirit. It is unusual to find such an exhortation as "Do not put out the Spirit's fire" (though we do read, "do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God," Eph. 4:30). "Put out" properly applies to the extinguishing of a flame of some sort, such as that of a fire (Mark 9:48) or a lamp (Matt. 25:8). This is the only place in the New Testament where it is used in a metaphorical sense, though we do find such a sense in the Septuagint. It is used there of quenching love (Song 8:7), anger (Jer. 4:4; 21:12),62 a hot mind (Sir. 23:16), and passions (4 Mace. 16:4). It has particular relevance when used of the Spirit, for his presence is aptly symbolized by fire (Acts 2:3). The positive injunction, "fan into flame the gift of God" (2 Tim. 1:6), is another way of expressing the truth Paul is concerned with here.
Exactly how the Thessalonians were trying to put out the Spirit's fire is not clear. But many passages in the New Testament indicate that the manifestations of the Spirit occupied a large place in the life of the early church. Where we may think of the Spirit in terms of that power within the believer which enables him to overcome evil and to produce the "fruit of the Spirit," many early Christians just as naturally thought of him as the producer of ecstatic manifestations of various kinds, speaking with tongues, prophesying, and the like. Both the ethical and the ecstatic are attested in the New Testament, and it is a question which of the two is meant here. The majority of commentators favor a reference to the ecstatic. They feel that the situation in Thessalonica was the opposite of that at Corinth. There Paul had to restrain those who were going to excess. Here, it is said, those who delighted in the ecstatic manifestations had come under the censure of the more stolid, and there was a very real danger of their being discouraged.63 This may be so, but it seems to be reading a lot into the words of this verse. There is no other evidence that can be cited. In view of the very general character of the expression it may be well to understand the term more generally. In the second century Hennas maintained that both "the doubtful mind and the angry temper" grieve the Spirit, for he was given as a "cheerful" Spirit 64 The same kind of thing may well be said here. Loafing, immorality, and other sins about which Paul has had occasion to warn his friends will quench the Spirit in anyone's life and result in the loss of spiritual power and joy.65
20 Those who see in the injunction not to quench the Spirit a reference to ecstatic manifestations usually understand the words about prophecy in a similar fashion. Some of the Thessalonians, they tell us, were like the Corinthians. They had been so carried away by the ecstatic gifts like speaking in tongues that they were despising more important things like prophecy. Paul would then be trying to restore a proper sense of values by insisting on the place of prophecy. This may be so, but, like the previous conjecture, this one seems to be reading a good deal into a rather simple expression. All that we can say for certain is that apparently some members of the church at Thessalonica had come to think of prophecy more poorly than they ought. Paul accordingly urges that prophecy be not despised.66 If we are to conjecture, it seems more in accordance with what we know of conditions in this church to associate the despising of prophecy with second advent speculations. We know that there was much interest in the Parousia among the Thessalonians, and we know that throughout the history of the church such interest has commonly gone hand in hand with prophetic outbursts. One result that has usually followed has been that the more staid have rejected with decision both the advent speculations and the prophecy that has gone with them. It may be that something of the sort had happened at Thessalonica, and that Paul was reminding the church of the very real value of prophecy (cf. 1 Cor. 14:1).
It is often thought today that prophecy in the early church was more or less like preaching today. There is something to be said for this, but the essence of prophecy as the early church understood it appears to have been that the Spirit of the Lord spoke to and through people. Prophecy was one of the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:10); a prophet spoke because "a revelation" (1 Cor. 14:30) had been made to him. From the human standpoint this was completely unpredictable, so that the revelation might be made to some other person "sitting down" (1 Cor. 14:30) and apparently not expected to prophesy. Since God spoke through people in this way, no limits could be placed on what might be said. Modern discussions generally insist that a prophet's function was rather to "forthtell" than to "foretell." While there is truth in this, it should not be forgotten that on occasion the prophet would foretell the future (cf. Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11). While this does not seem to have been his characteristic function, it should not be overlooked. Prophets were held in high honor, and we find them mentioned along with apostles several times (e.g., 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 2:20; 3:5). It does not seem likely that the Thessalonians would be despising such exalted personages. But prophesying might be carried out occasionally by people who were not regular prophets (e.g., Acts 19:6), and the term here is broad enough to cover such phenomena. Wherever the Spirit might convey the revelation, the apostle counsels his friends to be receptive.
21-22 Although in this last section of the epistle Paul introduces very varied topics and treats them but briefly, it is interesting to observe how they link up with one another. So as he turns from the thought of prophecy, it is to that of testing all things;67 the sequence is the same as that in which prophecy is followed by "the ability to distinguish between spirits" (I Cor. 12:10). Paul may mean that, although prophets should be held in high regard, everything they say is not necessarily to be accepted; those who hear them must apply tests to see whether a given saying comes from God. It is not only prophecy that is to be tested, but "everything." And testing in turn leads naturally enough to the retention of the good and the rejection of the evil. What Paul has said in the previous verse might be misconstrued as an injunction to accept without further ado any utterance by a person who claimed to be a prophet and speaking by the Spirit. This would open the door to boundless credulity and all kinds of evil, and it was far from the apostle's mind. So he makes it clear that he expects his readers to use their common sense in such matters and to apply the necessary tests. At the same time the words he uses are quite general, and they must be held to apply to all kinds of things and not simply to claimants to spiritual gifts. It is part of the process of living out the Christian life that constantly the servant of the Lord is called on to discriminate between the base and the true, and fashion his or her conduct accordingly.
From the earliest times there has been a tendency to interpret this passage in the light of a saying attributed to Jesus: "Be approved bankers" (or "money changers," i.e., people who test coins).68 There is more indication of a connection in the Greek than in our English translations, though the absence of the word "money changers" makes it doubtful whether Paul has the saying in mind. The verb "test" is often connected with the testing of metals, and it is not unlikely that this is the basic meaning of the verb. It may be applied to gold ("gold, which perishes even though refined by fire," 1 Pet. 1:7), and this usage is common outside the Scriptures. The verb is used both of applying the test and of approving as a result of the test. Though the word "good" is not as closely connected with metals as is the verb, yet it is the right term to designate the true coin over against the spurious.69 It means that which is good or beautiful in itself. It is very close in meaning to the other word rendered "good" in verse 15.70 But where the two have their distinctive meanings, our present word seems to denote, as we have said, that which is inherently good, that which is good by nature, whereas the other concentrates rather on that which is good in its results. A little thought will show how appropriate the two are in their respective places in the present passage.
The verb "avoid" is likewise a strong one. It is the verb Paul has used in 4:3 of keeping clear of fornication (see note), and here, as there, it is reinforced by a preposition that emphasizes the separation. If a thing is evil, then the believer must have no truck with it whatever.
There is some difference of opinion as to the meaning of the word rendered "kind." It signifies basically "that which meets the eye," "the external appearance." But from this it develops the secondary meaning of "kind" or "species." Thus it is possible to understand the present verse either as "avoid every visible form of evil," or "avoid every kind of evil." On the whole it seems likely that the latter meaning is to be preferred 72 Yet if the former be accepted, it must be borne in mind that where this word is used of outward form (as it generally is in the New Testament, e.g., Luke 3:22; 9:29; John 5:37) there is no suspicion that the outward form does not correspond to something real. The meaning will be "evil which can be seen," and not "that which appears to be evil."