But we beg you, brethren, to know those who labour among you, and take the lead among you in [the] Lord, and admonish you,
Paul ends his letter to a very young church by asking them to notice certain people. They are the ones already caring for souls, and the question is how you recognise them.
The verse names three things these people do. One writer traces each word back to its root meaning:
In this verse we find three more duties of the overseer. First, he laboured. The word originally meant to grow weary. It tells of the toil that wearies a person. How well Paul understood this. Such is the toil and labour of the true overseer. "Are over you" is literally "set over". So it means to preside, or rule, or govern. But it also has the meaning, "To be a protector, or guardian, to give aid, to care for." How well that describes the work of a good shepherd. To "admonish" is to "put in mind", and so, to "exhort."
Some read the first word here as a formal act — a church election or public appointment. One writer checks the Greek word behind it and finds something warmer and simpler:
The word translated "recognise" (1 Thess. 5:12) is not recognise in the formal sense at all, but know. It means only to acknowledge by affection and respect, and in no way by a public act — "a regular vote of the church."
Paul has to ask them to know these people, and that tells you something about who they were. If they had held a formal position, he would not have needed to ask:
Doesn't the call "to know" those who labour and rule and preside suggest that this was not a class appointed to office? An office would have been obvious. Then there would be no need to urge people to recognise such labourers. The esteem and love was for their work's sake. An official place is not referred to.
The timing supports this. These believers had come to faith only recently, and another writer applies that fact to our own day:
Who were these people? I judge they were not elders, for spiritually they were only a year old. Are there none such now? I rejoice to know that there are many over me in the Lord. I rejoice to know that the Lord has given these men spiritual power, not ordination. And you know that water soon finds its level.
Being corrected is rarely pleasant, and the verse asks believers to value the very people who do it. One writer explains why this belongs in a list of things to appreciate:
Like the word of God itself, admonition must have a large place in what they say. They lead us in a path quite unlike anything the natural man craves and follows. In that path the weakness and folly that still cling to us become painfully clear. So admonition is in a special way a service of love — all the more because, when it truly is love, it must carry pain.
So what makes such a person worth knowing? Not a position, but the work itself:
It is not office which is in question here (if such existed), but the work which attracted and attached the heart. They ought to be known: spirituality acknowledged this working of God. Love, devotedness, meeting the need of souls, patience in dealing with them on God's part — all this commended itself to the believer's heart. And the heart blessed God for the care He gave to His children. God acted in the labourer and in the hearts of the faithful. Blessed be God, it is an ever-existing principle, and one that never grows weaker!
- Labour — the word means toil that wears a person out; the first mark of a leader is tiring work done for others.
- Lead — "set over" means to preside, and also to protect, guard and care, like a shepherd. They lead in the Lord, so their authority comes from Him.
- Admonish — to put someone in mind. Correction is a service of love, and the pain it costs is part of that love.
- Know — not a vote or a public ceremony, but affection and respect. If a title had made these people obvious, Paul would not have needed to ask.
- Today — the principle never grows weaker. God works in the labourer, and He works in the hearts of the faithful to recognise it.
and to regard them exceedingly in love on account of their work. Be in peace among yourselves.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.