Fragments on 1 Thessalonians · §4 · Severianus of Gabala

The bride hears the bridegroom; Paul on living with Christ, testing prophecy, and blamelessness

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Severianus is closing his comments on 1 Thessalonians, first finishing the bride's words from Song of Songs, then explaining Paul's statements about salvation, death, the Spirit, prophecy, and the threefold blessing on believers.

So the bridegroom's voice did not escape her notice while she slept in this way. She heard him knocking at the door and said: "The voice of my beloved is knocking at the door" (Song of Songs 5:2).

"Because God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). For this reason Paul says: "Christ died for us, so that whether we are awake—that is, alive—or asleep—that is, whether we die, for here he takes sleeping in a different sense than above—we may live together with him" (1 Thessalonians 5:10). For those who have acquired the weapons that were spoken of will live together with Christ and reign together with Christ.

The spirit is quenched whenever the way of life is unworthy of the faith. "Do not despise prophecies. Test everything" (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Do not, Paul says, lie in wait for the hidden things of the spirit, nor accept every report without testing it either.

Nowhere has Paul placed the three—spirit, soul, body—upon an unbeliever, but only upon those who believe. Their soul and body belong to nature, but the spirit belongs to God's kindness—that is, the gift of those who believe. And he did not say "may they be kept blameless," so that you would not think he is praying for the gifts, but "blamelessly"—that is, with us conducting ourselves blamelessly and preserving them through godliness.

Greek

ταύτῃ τοι καὶ οὐ διέλαθεν αὐτὴν οὕτω καθεύδουσαν ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ νυμφίου· καὶ γὰρ τὴν θύραν κρούοντος ἤσθετο καὶ εἶπεν· φωνὴ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου κρούει ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν. 1 Thess 5,9 Ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τοῖς κατακρινομένοις, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς σωζομένοις. 1 Thess 5,10 ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν· ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανεν ὁ Χριστός, ἵνα εἴτε γρηγορῶμεν, τοῦτ' ἔστι ζῶμεν, εἴτε καθεύδωμεν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν εἴτε ἀποθάνωμεν–ἄλλως γὰρ ὧδε τὸ καθεύδειν καὶ οὐχ ὡς ἄνω ἐξέλαβεν–ἅμα σὺν αὐτῷ ζήσωμεν. οἱ γὰρ τὰ εἰρημένα ὅπλα κτησάμενοι συζήσουσι καὶ συμβασιλεύσουσι Χριστῷ. 1 Thess 5,19®21 Τότε σβέννυται τὸ πνεῦμα, ὅταν ἡ πολιτεία ἀναξία ᾖ τῆς πίστεως. Προφητείας μὴ ἐξουθενεῖτε. πάντα δοκιμάζετε. μήτε, φησίν, ἐνεδρεύητε τοῦ πνεύματος τὰς ἀποκρύψεις, μήτε πᾶσαν ἀπαγγελίαν ἀδοκιμάστως παραδέχεσθε. 1 Thess 5,23 Οὐδαμοῦ ἐπ' ἀπίστου τὰ τρία τέθεικε, πνεῦμα ψυχὴ σῶμα, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μόνων τῶν πιστευόντων, ὧν ψυχὴ μὲν καὶ σῶμα τῆς φύσεως, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα τῆς εὐεργεσίας, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ χάρισμα τῶν πιστευόντων. καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν «ἄμεμπτα» τηρηθείη, ἵνα μὴ νομίσῃς ὅτι ὑπὲρ τῶν χαρισμάτων εὔχεται, ἀλλ' ἀμέμπτως, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἡμῶν ἀμέμπτως διαγόντων καὶ διατηρούντων διὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας.

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About this text

A comforting commentary on faith, love, and hope for early Christians facing persecution and loss.

Severianus of Gabala (fl. c. 400) was bishop of Gabala in Syria and a well-known preacher in Constantinople. These fragments come from his explanations of Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians. They survive only in later quotation collections, not as an independent manuscript.

The work addresses Thessalonian Christians who were suffering persecution from their Greek neighbors and grieving the loss of relatives. Severianus explains that Paul wrote to comfort them. He quotes Paul's words that the gospel came not only in word but also in power and wonders, and that Paul's boldness in preaching was not diminished by his sufferings at Philippi.

A reader will meet Paul, whose words from 1 Thessalonians are quoted and explained, and Christ, whose sayings from the Gospels are cited. Severianus argues that some righteous people will still be alive at Christ's coming, but the dead in Christ will rise first and the righteous will meet the Lord. He interprets the day of the Lord as Christ's sudden, unexpected coming, like a thief in the night, and explains that the night setting shows how the day exposes evil deeds done at night. He also urges believers to remain watchful and to test prophetic utterances rather than despise or uncritically accept them. , and the threefold blessing of spirit, soul, and body comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

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Translated from PG 65 (Greek)

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