1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, Needed Exhortations to Holiness

This was a young church. Paul had not neglected to teach them, even in the short time he was with them. But there is a need to repeat instruction, as he has learned from Timothy’s visit. There had been infractions against the Lord’s commands. And there had been misunderstanding of critical teaching about the Lord Jesus’ return.

^4:1 So then, as to what remains, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to continue walking as is necessary in the way you received from us and be pleasing to God, so that you may flourish all the more. ² For you know the commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is the will of God, that you become holy, that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you know to acquire his own spouse in purity and honor, ⁵ not with lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God do; ⁶ not violating and exploiting your brother or sister in this way. Because the Lord is an avenger of all these things, even as we told you beforehand and warned you. ⁷ For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness. ⁸ Therefore, the one who nullifies this calling does not nullify a man but God who gave His Holy Spirit to us.

⁹ Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for me to write to you. For you yourselves are God-taught to love one another. ¹⁰ Because you also do this to all the brothers and sisters in all Macedonia. We encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do so all the more, ¹¹ and to make it your ambition to live quiet lives, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands as we charged you, ¹² in order that you might walk properly toward outsiders and have no need of anything.

Paul and his team had taught the believers at Thessalonica how to “walk” in the way of the Lord Jesus, and they had generally been doing that, pleasing God by doing so and flourishing. But he encouraged them to do so all the more and focused on one particular area of holiness that some had not been following…sexual holiness. Abstaining from sexual immorality (porneia, a Greek term for general sexual sin, like premarital sex, adultery, homosexual sin, and others) was something seldom done by Gentiles. There was little ethic of sexual purity among non-Jews.

The way of sexual holiness for Christians was to get a spouse and be faithful to that spouse, not giving in to lustful passion, (Paul does not choose here to discuss the possibility of remaining celibate as he does in 1 Corinthians 7, as this is not the norm) and certainly not violating the marriage of a fellow believer by an adulterous relationship. And Paul adds that there would be judgment on those who did not act purely. Does he mean in this life or in the life to come? If in the life to come, the judgment would not be a rejecting from heaven, but a reduction of reward. It is more likely that Paul is thinking of this-life judgment or discipline for impure behavior. He feels the need to emphasize that this is not human teaching but divine teaching.

Paul then moves to more general exhortation to holy living, focusing on Jesus’ new command, to love one another. The Thessalonians have exemplified this among all the believers of Macedonia (Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica), but Paul encourages them to do so, again, all the more. He uses an unusual word, theodidactos, taught by God or God-taught. God has certainly taught them through the teachings of the apostle and through Scripture, but it may be that Paul is thinking more here of the internal teaching God does in our lives.

Part of living a life of love is living a quiet life, minding one’s own business, and working hard. This is certainly not an injunction to be a hermit, but rather to pull your own weight and not be dependent on others to meet your needs. We know from Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians that there were some who felt the promise of Jesus’ return meant they did not need to work anymore but wait for Jesus, and they were having to depend on the kindness of fellow believers for sustenance (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). This was a bad testimony to unbelievers and a burden to believers.

We need reminders of the way of holiness, the way of Jesus. We want to be pleasing to God and the way to be that is to walk in love and purity. Purity is loving. Impurity is always selfish and ultimately unconcerned for others. We’ve been God-taught better than that.