As we reach 1 Thessalonians 4, we come to a distinct shift that is present in almost all of Paul’s letters. Usually, after focusing primarily on theology and doctrine in the first parts of his letters, Paul will turn his attention to practical instruction and exhortation, and we see this same pattern in 1 Thessalonians. As we have seen over the last few weeks, Paul is writing this letter to encourage the young Thessalonian believers that their faith is genuine and that his ministry is faithful and trustworthy. In the first three chapters, we have seen Paul offer thanks to God for their faith as well as their fruitful lives. We have seen him defend his own ministry as being focused on pleasing God instead of men, and we have seen him lay out his earnest desire to see them again. In general, there has been little practical exhortation to this point of the letter, but that changes drastically as we come to chapter 4. Having encouraged them in their faith and made clear his love for them, Paul now moves to some practical areas of exhortation and concern in the lives of the Thessalonians. No doubt having heard a report from Timothy of particular struggles the young church was having, Paul systematically addresses a number of specific realities.
Understanding that context for the last two chapters of the letter, we will look first at 4:1-12. In these verses, Paul begins with a general exhortation to his readers to live faithfully so as to please God. Then, in quick succession, he elaborates on the nature of faithful living with regard to three important areas of life: sex, brotherly love and work. We will look at each in its turn.
Before looking at the specific issues Paul addresses, we must not skip over Paul’s introduction because it lays the framework for understanding Paul’s practical exhortation. He begins by writing, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus” (4:1-2). The clear point of these two verses is that the lives of Christians matter. More specifically, there is a way that people who follow Christ ought to live.
The first thing we can see very clearly is that Paul’s ministry among the Thessalonians included practical instruction regarding how Christians should live. He makes clear that the Thessalonians received from him how they ought to live. This is important because it makes clear that Paul was not just concerned with imparting doctrinal truths (though those are vital and necessary) but also with laying out the way a person who believes those things should live. The implication is that people who follow Jesus Christ and seek to please God will live a certain way. Christianity is a way of life in which particular beliefs bring about particular actions. This is the unanimous testimony of Paul’s writings as well as the rest of Scripture. Paul urged the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1). He prayed for the Colossians to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10). James is very explicit in telling his readers to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” because one who is a hearer only deceives themselves (James 1:22). Jesus himself, in the text we read earlier in the service, says clearly, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
Paul also makes clear that the reason for this is because Christians ought to please God. This is the driving force of the Christian life: we should desire to please the Lord before anyone else, including ourselves, with our actions. It is true that God is pleased with us in Christ because Christ has taken our sin and Christ’s righteous life is counted for us, but it is also true that the Christian life should be lived in such a way that God is pleased with our actions. Paul made clear this was his goal when he told the Corinthians, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him” (2 Cor. 5:9). He also told the Ephesians to “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” As those who have been made redeemed and rescued from the just judgment that was due for our sin, Christians should be so enamored with their Lord and His glory and His kingdom, that their greatest desire in life is to please that Lord who has saved them.
Paul also exhorts the Thessalonians to “do so more and more” – referring to the living of a life that is pleasing to God. He makes clear to them that there is no place for complacency. The fervency and diligence in faithful living that was necessary yesterday is necessary today, regardless of whether your faith is one day, one week, or 50 years old. As Christians, we must be diligent in holiness and in faithful living. We must be ever watchful and careful because we have an enemy seeking to destroy us (1 Pet. 5:8). We must take heed, even when we feel strong, lest we fall (1 Cor. 10:12).
As we think about this reality, it is critically important for us because it reminds us that our faith is relevant to every area of life. Christianity is not a religion that comes out only on Wednesday and Sunday. Rather, it should radically affect the way you interact with coworkers, spouses, children and friends. It should not just affect a few of your specific actions such as reading the Bible and praying. Rather, it should affect everything you do including the way you speak to others, the way you do your taxes, the way you drive and every other action you carry out everyday. Christianity is comprehensive: it is an entire way of life involving the mind, the heart, the soul and the body.
After giving the Thessalonians this general exhortation to live lives pleasing to God, Paul turns his attention to some specific issues that, most likely, were troubling this young community of believers. The first issue addressed is sexual morality and Paul begins with a specific declaration to his readers: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality” (4:3). In light of the often rampant discussion regarding knowing God’s will, this verse is very clear: it is God’s explicit and revealed will for us to avoid sexual immorality. Paul does not go into great detail on this concept, but the rest of Scripture provides us with a good guide. Sex and sexual desire, as created by God, are to exist and flourish between a husband and a wife in a marriage relationship. Paul is very clear that any violation of this created order is perversion of God’s good gift and is to be avoided by Christians. Sex, and other inappropriate sexual behavior intended to precede sex, is off limits outside of marriage. Sex with someone other than your particular spouse is off limits. Homosexuality is off limits. These are all violations of the incredibly good sexual relationship that God created for a husband and his wife, and Paul is emphatically clear that the will of God is for us to abstain from such sexual immorality.
But Paul does not stop at the mere prohibition. He elaborates on this issue by making clear that God’s will is not only for us to abstain from sexual immorality but for us to cultivate self-control. He says it is God’s will “that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (4:4-5). Here Paul addresses the root of sexual immorality – it is actually a failure to control our own bodies. God has given sex and sexual desire as a wonderful gift, but that gift exists within certain boundaries. One of the defining characteristics of Christians should be the ability to control our bodies in holiness and honor. In fact, one of the central purposes of having the Holy Spirit in our lives is to enable us to exercise this self-control (Gal. 5:23). By the power of the Spirit, we can exercise the self-control needed to live lives of holiness. By the power of the Spirit, we can live in such a way that God is honored. And if we refuse to exercise this self-control, Paul makes clear that we are choosing to live like people who do not know God. This should be a sobering reality to us because the lives of Christians should be radically different from the lives of those who do not know God. If we find ourselves acting like non-believers, we should examine our lives and repent and seek to follow the Lord. It is God’s will.
Paul goes on to elaborate on this will of God once more in 4:6 as he tells them it is God’s will “that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.” Here is another element meant to motivate Paul’s readers to avoid sexual immorality: this is not just a sin against God but against other people. If the immorality involves a wife, you have sinned against that person’s husband. If it involves a husband, you have sinned against his wife. Paul’s point in bringing this up is that God will take up the cause of the wronged party. He makes clear that God will act as the avenger to fix the wrong that has been committed. This is a sobering declaration that the person who commits sexual immorality will have to deal with the judgment of God, an idea Paul uses to close this section as he writes, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (4:7-8). If we walk in sexual immorality, we are dishonoring God. He notices, and He will judge such a sin.
In short, Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians is clear. It is God’s will for them to abstain from sexual immorality. It is God’s will for them to control their own bodies instead of being controlled by their desires like people who do not know God. It is God’s will that they not sin against their brother (or sister) through sexual immorality because God will judge them for such a sin. It is God’s will for them to walk in holiness by the Spirit that lives within them.
After addressing the issue of sexual morality, Paul turns his attention to his second major topic: brotherly love. He writes, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more” (4:9-10). Interestingly, Paul does not actually say a lot about brotherly love. He spends much of these two verses commending the love they are already showing for each other as well as for other believers. He makes clear that God himself has taught them to love one another – more than likely referring to the Holy Spirit that lives within them and produces such love in their lives. He commends that love, no doubt encouraging the Thessalonians greatly, and acknowledges their faithfulness in demonstrating this love to the fellow believers throughout Macedonia.
Having commended the love they are already demonstrating, the only exhortation in this section is “to do this more and more.” Paul simply urges them to continue doing what they are doing on an even grander level. Just like with his initial general exhortation to faithful living, there is no room for complacency in brotherly love. If such love is being shown, it should be highlighted and commended, and it should also be encouraged to grow even more. This is Paul’s goal: to encourage the Thessalonians to love more people even more fervently in even greater ways.
As I contemplated this reality this week, I felt like I had a perfect understanding of Paul’s heart in these two verses with regard to the people of Cornerstone. Like Paul, I feel like I can say with confidence that you have no need for me to say anything else to you because you yourselves have been taught by God. In fact, you are loving other people earnestly and faithfully already. I cannot even begin to measure the incredible amount of love this church has shown to me and my family. As an elder, I cannot begin to measure the amazing love that this church demonstrates for its leadership. And even as an observer, I can clearly see your love for each other evidenced in taking meals, helping move, sending notes, providing financial help, encouraging and exhorting, confronting sin, and numerous other ways. Your love abounds, and I am incredibly thankful to the Lord for that.
And like Paul, I would merely urge you to “do this more and more.” Let your love increase and abound. Look for an individual who is being neglected or forgotten. Contact a person who have not seen or spoken to in awhile. Think about particular needs that people might have. Pray even more fervently. Look for practical ways to let your love increase and abound!
The last thing Paul addresses in this section of the letter is the issue of work – an issue that may seem out of place to us in this series of exhortations. However, by placing it here, Paul makes a critical point about the way Christians should engage their task and vocation, and he makes clear that this is a key part of Christian living.
Paul begins by telling the Thessalonians “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you” (4:11). It seems that in Thessalonica, there were some – even some who professed to follow Christ – who were simply idle and would not work. Moreover, since they were not working, they would fill up their time by being busybodies and meddling in other people’s affairs. In 2 Thessalonians 3:11, Paul says, “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.” Paul’s point in highlighting such people, and making the exhortations found in 1 Thessalonians 4, is to demonstrate that this is wrong. Christians should not be needlessly meddling in the affairs of others. Rather, they should be concentrating on their own lives and their own needs. We should be clear that Paul is not saying that Christians have no business in the lives of other people. Later in this very letter Paul will say, “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thess. 5:14), and Jesus himself declared, “If you brothers sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone” (Matt. 18:15). Instead, Paul is making clear that the primary (not exclusive, but primary) focus of a Christian should be their business, their problems and their life. It will help us understand Paul’s meaning when we see that these concepts of idleness and being a busybody are paired with the sin of gossip in 1 Timothy 5:13. The person Paul has in mind is a person who is more concerned about the life, sins and struggles of others than in his own, and Paul makes clear that Christians should avoid this. They should aspire to live quietly and look first to their own affairs.
Paul also urges his readers to “work with your hands.” This is a crucial exhortation because it highlights the holiness of work in the Christian life. A Christian is not a person who avoids work or seeks to get out of work or is excused for laziness. Rather, a Christian is a person who should do everything as unto the Lord – including their work (be it housework, schoolwork, or work at a job). This is incredibly liberating news for believers: your work is a holy vocation! Do it as unto the Lord! Work is not bad, and it is not to be seen as a hindrance to doing “bigger, better Kingdom work.” Your work is part of your Kingdom work, and Paul sees the work of the Thessalonians as a central part of living as they ought to live and of pleasing God.
Paul does not stop there, but goes on to provide reasons why work is to be done in this way (that is, as something pleasing to the Lord): “so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (4:12). First, Paul urges them to work with their hands because it provides a witness to unbelievers. One way of living properly before those outside the church, in Paul’s mind, is to work diligently. Second, Paul urges them to work so that they will be dependent on no one. This is a crucial idea that our lazy culture could stand to hear. It should be the goal of every Christian family to be dependent on no one else for their livelihood. Particularly, it is the responsibility of every man, as the head of his house, to care for his own family (1 Tim. 5:8). It is not primarily the responsibility of the church or of the government to care for your family – it is yours as the head of the house. That said, things do happen: jobs are lost, illnesses arise, natural disasters occur, and many other things leave people – even Christian people – in need of help. At that point, it is the church’s role to help those in need – such as widows and orphans – because they cannot provide for themselves. But the expectation is that a Christian will work to provide for themselves and those under their care. This is why Paul told the Ephesians, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Eph. 4:28). The redeemed thief is to work to provide for himself as well as have something for those in need.
In short, Paul is urging the Thessalonians to stop meddling unnecessarily in the lives of others. It is not our job to serve as director and judge of other people’s walks and lives. We should seek to live quietly and be concerned with our own affairs. We should see work as a way to please the Lord – providing a good witness to the watching world as well as keeping us from being dependent on someone else. We are dependent on the Lord, and one central way that he cares for his people is through their work.
In this text, Paul is laying out some very concrete ways in which Christians should live in order to please God. His overall point is that the faith of a Christian should have a radical effect on that person’s life – there is a way that Christians, as a whole, “ought to live.” As we come to the table, we should examine our hearts to see if we are living as we ought. The joy of coming to the table is that we are reminded that there is forgiveness for sin and power for newness of life. If you are Christian and you have been convicted of sin, come to the table with repentance and rejoice that you are forgiven in Christ. If you are a Christian and you are committing to live faithfully, come to the table and rejoice that Christ has made a way for you to come into God’s presence and receive help in time of need. If you are a Christian, come to the table and rejoice that our sins and failures and shortcomings do not separate us from God because Christ has taken the wrath of God against our sins and given us His righteousness so that we might have eternal life.
If you are not a Christian, do not come to the table, because by coming to the table, we are saying that we follow Christ and He is our hope. If you are not a Christian, you cannot say that. I would make clear to you, though, that there is forgiveness for your sins. You are a sinner, and God’s wrath burns against your sin – that is the bad news. But the good news is that God sent His son, Jesus, to live a perfect life and die on the cross and be raised from the dead so that everyone who trusts in Him and follows Him will be saved. The one who trusts in Christ has his sins forgiven and receives the guarantee of eternal life by having the Holy Spirit placed inside of them. Repent and believe, and you will be saved from the wrath of God.
May we all seek to honor the Lord and live as we ought to live – pleasing to God. Amen.