Living to Please God
1Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control his own body[1] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.
11Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
The Coming of the Lord
13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
The fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians is 18 verses in length. Let’s take a look:
1) V1-8 – 1Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control his own body [or learn to live with his own wife, or learn to acquire a wife] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you His Holy Spirit.
Paul begins his final instruction here, and it is to strive for sanctification continually. There is no room in the Christian life for spiritual complacency (Philippians 3:13), but holiness remains the goal. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he has already taught them how to live lives that “please God,” and he acknowledges that they are doing it well. But as long as we live, this must be the goal. There is no end to it, nor can it be attained perfectly until Christ’s return. But progress is asked for and urged in the Lord by the Lord from the Lord (v1-2).
In v3, Paul speaks of “God’s will.” We may understand that God’s will could be decretive (secret), as in Ephesians 1:11, whatsoever comes to pass; and we may also see God’s will as perceptive (revealed), as here and in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, our duty to progress in sanctification. Calvin says of our sanctification, “Renouncing the world, and clearing ourselves from the pollutions of the flesh, we offer ourselves to God as if in sacrifice, for nothing can with propriety be offered to Him, but what is pure and holy.” The primary thing that inhibits sanctification, according to Paul, is “sexual immorality” (v3). Calvin quotes, “Where the knowledge of God reigns, lusts must be subdued.” Pagan religions of Paul’s day encouraged sexual immorality, and most married men were adulterers by popular culture. Converting to Christianity awakened morality in the Thessalonians and revealed God’s righteous standards to them. Sexual sin – against God and man – affects all Christians, not just one’s spouse or one’s self (Romans 13:14). Thus, Paul elaborates on this teaching through v8.
Furthermore, Paul’s teaching on sexual sin is harsh; he doesn’t water it down in order to show compassion. Calvin says, “Now, the reason why he rouses himself so vehemently is, because there are always wanton persons who, while they fearlessly despise God, treat with ridicule all threatenings of His judgment, and at the same time hold in derision all injunctions as to a holy and pious life. Such persons must not be taught, but must be beaten with severe reproofs as with the stroke of a hammer.”
Paul doesn’t say, “It’s okay, try harder, or rely more on God next time.” No! Paul declares that “It is God’s will that…you should avoid sexual immorality…learn to control [your] own body…not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God… The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you… God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God.” Every time we commit sexual sin, we reject God and invite punishment from Him for such activity. We’ve been told and warned.
Finally, notice in v8 that Paul considers his teaching, his words, to carry divine authority. He has already stated that in v2, and it is clear that Paul is basing his teaching of Christian ethics on the metaphysical truth of God. It would not be a big deal to reject Paul’s ethical teaching if it was the opinion of mere man, or even if was deemed “good” for the majority of mankind; but to reject Paul’s ethical teaching as God’s instruction is to invite punishment on oneself (v6). In the end, Paul stresses both the Holy Spirit’s role in bringing the truth that his teachings are God’s teachings to individuals and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling as the source of power unto righteousness, maintaining temperance, in the Christian life.
2) V9-12 –9Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. 11Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Paul encourages brotherly love to those who are already good at exhibiting brotherly love. They are already doing it well, loving “all the brothers throughout Macedonia,” because they “have been taught by God” (v9). Calvin says, “The Holy Spirit inwardly dictates efficaciously what is to be done, so that there is no need to give injunctions in writing.” And Paul wants them, strongly urges them, “to do so more and more.” It’s appreciation, commendation, encouragement, and exhortation, all in one. Elsewhere, Paul urges Timothy in a similar way, acknowledging that God will help him (and us) understand Paul’s words – since they are in fact God’s words – and put them into practice: “Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this” (2 Timothy 2:7).
In v11-12, Paul says, “Make it your ambition…” This Greek word for “aspire” was culturally used for the wealthy to gain honor through generosity. The footnote of my Reformation Study Bible says, “Paul’s use of the term turns it on its head: the Thessalonians should be zealous for the honor that comes not through self-assertion or an ostentatious show of personal greatness, but through humble, industrious, and unimpeachable behavior. This exhortation…had a particular urgency in Thessalonica where the Christians had already been falsely accused of sedition (Acts 17:6-9). By living lives that were respectable and unpretentious, the Christians were to allay any lingering suspicions.” In fact, we might understand Paul to be saying, “Strive not to strive,” or “Be ambitious to be unambitious.” And this command is given in preparation for the coming teaching on eschatological matters. This command is for those who have taken to idleness, or laziness, out of grief for lost loved ones and/or the expectation of Christ’s imminent return. Maybe they’ve started meddling in other peoples’ business. But as Paul addresses that in the next section, he pre-warns them here that leading a quiet life, minding your own business, and working with your hands (there is no doubt that one’s manual labor earns respect from those who once thought him or her lazy) will “win the respect of outsiders.” On the other hand, idleness and being a busybody will not (2 Thessalonians 3:11; 1 Timothy 5:13).
3) V13-18 – 13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. 15According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Paul had already taught the Thessalonian Christians about the second coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13), but he apparently did not have time to complete that teaching due to the death threats coming his way. So here he adds to what he had taught them in person, beginning with teaching about the dead, and he’ll apply that teaching for them in the final chapter of this letter. Then, as we’ll see, he addresses specific concerns about this eschatological instruction in 2 Thessalonians. In the meantime, Paul calls the dead “those who fall asleep,” which was a standard multi-cultural and multi-religious metaphor for describing the dead more tenderly. (It does not speak of “soul-sleep,” but of the body’s stationary, unresponsive position.) Paul wants Christians to grieve over the dead in Christ in a different way than the world grieves. Christian grief is done with hope; unbelievers lack hope, or at least their hope is false and unfounded. But our hope comes from the resurrection of Christ (v14). Because “we believe that Jesus died and rose again,” it logically follows that “we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have [died] in Him.” Calvin concludes, “Those that are by faith ingrafted into Christ, have death in common with Him, that they may be partakers with Him of life.” This is an encouraging, pastoral teaching, and Paul elaborates on additional questions in his other epistles. For example, Paul explains the resurrection body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-37.
Vincent Cheung says of the second coming of Christ, “It is cited [here] to produce motivation in sanctification, anchor in temptation, comfort in bereavement, and strength in persecution. It is even used to identify those who belong to Christ – those who believe in Him look forward to His glorious return (1 Corinthians 1:7-8, 16:22-24; Philippians 3:20-21; Titus 2:12-15; 2 Timothy 4:1, 8; Hebrews 9:27-28; 2 Peter 3:11-12; 1 John 2:28). The doctrine does not only provide hope for us as believers, but it imposes a moral obligation on us to look forward to the Lord’s return and to order our lives in a manner that is consistent with this expectation. And it is to be a natural part of our preaching and conversation.”
In v15, Paul teaches “according to the Lord’s own word,” that the living will not precede the dead to heaven. Some people may have thought (2 Esdras 13:14-24 – a Jewish apocalyptic text) that those living at the second coming of Christ were more blessed, that they alone would receive eternal life. Apparently, many Jews (and Gentiles), such as the Sadducees, did not believe in a resurrection at all; still others hoped in vain for some type of resurrection, but nothing like the one Christ provides. So Paul implies in this teaching that all in Christ – whether dead or alive at His coming – are equally blessed with His resurrection power unto eternal life in heaven. He doesn’t speak here concerning unbelievers and in fact only mentions the resurrection of unbelievers unto judgment in Acts 24:15; see also Acts 17:31; Romans 2:5-16. Calvin says, “He says nothing as to the reprobate, because this did not tend to the consolation of the pious, of which he is now treating.”
Calvin begins his commentary on v16 by saying, “The Apostle unquestionably had nothing farther in view here than to give some taste of the magnificence and venerable appearance of the Judge, until we shall behold it fully. With this taste it becomes us in the mean time to rest satisfied.” Keeping that in mind, we see that Paul speaks of the resurrection of believers. He mentions “a loud command,” or cry from Jesus, “the voice of the archangel,” and “the trumpet call of God,” declaring a most-certainly public rapture (“caught up” from v17). When Paul teaches on the rapture, it’s not meant to be a full lesson on the doctrine of eschatological events – that will come in 2 Thessalonians – but it is meant to be pastoral teaching for the grieving to assure them (“encourage each other” from v18) of reunion with loved ones. So we conclude this chapter with the key doctrinal take-away – that Jesus Christ will come again, and when He comes, He will receive His people to be with Him forever (v17).
Footnotes
- 4:4 Or learn to live with his own wife; or learn to acquire a wife
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.