1 Thessalonians Study: September 2015

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 (Be Holy!)

This section is difficult to teach, especially if children are in the study! But, a good Bible teacher cannot avoid such subjects as pornography, fornication, adultery, infidelity, homosexuality, LGBT, same-sex marriage, etc. especially in the present days with the moral collapse in this country and the rest of the "Christian" world. Paul wants the Thessalonians (and us) to live God-pleasing, pure, holy (sanctified) lives, free from sexual sin, in view of the second coming of Jesus Christ - the subject of the next section.

One of the problems these new Christians had was their previous involvement with pagan temple worship which included the practice of fornication with temple women and, probably, with men also. Having become Christians, they had to change their lives. In contrast to the Jews who had the Law, these Gentiles had come out of gross idolatry which had little restraint on their morality. It was extremely hard for these new believers to fight the temptations around them - as it is today, especially for young people who are so subject to peer pressure. Adults, especially Christian parents, need to be an example to their children. The fact that “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) doesn’t mean there is an immediate change - notice the word BEGUN in the verse. Sanctification is a growing process in which the Holy Spirit makes us aware of areas of our lives that are sinful and not surrendered to Him.

Leon Morris, in The Tyndale Commentary on this epistle, writes: “The environment of the Thessalonian Christians was one in which most men thought little of the sin involved in fornication. They accepted it simply as part of normal life, so much so that ritual fornication played a part in the worship of more than one deity, and men in general found it difficult to feel deeply on the subject.”

Barclay: "Long ago Demosthenes had written: 'We keep prostitutes for pleasure; we keep mistresses for the day to day needs of the body; we keep wives for the begetting of children and for the faithful guardianship of our homes.' So long as a man supported his wife and family there was no shame whatsoever in extra-marital relationships."

Today, we live in a sex obsessed society - movies, music, TV, internet, billboard signs, etc. all make a god of sex outside of marriage. According to the most recent research, 60 percent of all men who are online are involved with pornography. Pornographic sites abound. Sometimes you happen upon them when you are innocently “surfing.” Many look to it for fulfillment and meaning and eventually find it unfulfilling, instead of looking to God who is the only one who can give us peace. So, they give free rein to lust, with only the barest of restrictions, like "just don’t hurt others". But, Christians are held to a higher standard. As Barclay says, "The new morality is only the old morality brought up to date."

What does morality have to do with primary message of Christ's second coming in these letters to the Thessalonians? If we are not living our lives like we believe Jesus could come at any moment, we need to question where we are with in our relationship with Him or whether we are even really saved!

(1) Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.

Live in a way that pleases God:
- The believer should constantly in his daily life ask himself this question, "Am I living a life that pleases God?".
- Six Characteristics of a Worthy Walk (a study of Colossians 1:10-12 by Dr. Paul M. Elliott) (www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/web/articleid/71589/columnid/6432/default.asp):
- Romans 8:6-8: So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
- Ephesians 4:1: Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
- Colossians 1:9-10: So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
Taught you:

Ron Daniel: "For the three weeks Paul was there, he had covered quite a bit of area in his teaching. We can be sure that he started with the gospel. When Paul preached the gospel, this is what he presented: Christ's death, His burial, His resurrection, and the validation of the resurrection with witnesses. Not only had he covered the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we find from his letter that during that time, he also had taught them about repentance, serving God, the rapture of the church, the second coming, about suffering persecution, about eternal rewards, about predestination, and about how to walk this Christian walk. And this is what he's reminding them about: walking the walk, pleasing God."

Even more:

The Greek word for "even more" was used to describe a flower going from a bud to full bloom - very descriptive of a Christian's growth to full maturity which should be our goal.

(2) For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

By the authority of the Lord Jesus:

Since the instructions come from the Lord Jesus, rejecting these instructions is rejecting God himself (verse 8). Rejecting God's command invites judgment and punishment (verse 6). The implication of a knowing and persistent defiance is that the person is not a true child of God.

(3) God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

KJV: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication
God's will:
- Ron Daniel: "You want to know God's will? You don't have to wonder. Here it is: "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). There is no sense seeking God's will in other areas when you are choosing to live in sexual impurity in your mind or body. Then it goes on to explain, "Don't get drunk, always give thanks, wives should behave this way in a marriage, and men should behave this way, children obey your parents," and it continues on like that. So the fact is, you already know what God's will for your life is: excel in your Christian walk and live to be pleasing to God! The problems we have knowing God's will is when we're walking in the world's ways. We feel insecure about every decision, because, frankly, no matter what decision you make, you're out of the will of God! That's why Romans 12:2 says, 'And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.' If you want to know if the direction you're taking, whether it's a job change, a fiancé, a location move, etc., is in the will of God, don't keep praying, "Hey God, left or right? Up or down? This or that?" Pray, "Lord, is my life in your will? Am I giving thanks in every situation? Am I fulfilling my role in my marriage? Am I living in a way that is pleasing to you? Am I walking a straight walk?" If your life is in the will of God, your direction will also be in the will of God."
- Scripture tells us here and in these verses what His will for us is:
Be holy:

"Holy" or “sanctified” is the Greek hagiasmos, from hagiazo, “to set apart, consecrate, dedicate, sanctify.”
It is His command that you should be holy (sanctified, set apart). It means here purity of life, and particularly sexual purity.
In a world of sin, Christians are to be different. That’s what the word “sanctification” means. A sanctified person is a Christian whose life is “distinctively different” because it is set apart for God. Franky Schaeffer (son of Francis Schaeffer) put it this way: “In America today, the most radical thing a person can do is to be the husband of one wife or the wife of one husband.”
Adam Clark's Commentary observes: “God has called you to holiness; he requires that you should be holy; for without holiness none can see the Lord. This is the general calling, but in it many particulars are included. Some of these he proceeds to mention; and it is very likely that these had been points on which he gave them particular instructions while among them.”
1 Peter 1:13-16: So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Sexual sin: Greek - porneia from which is derived from pernaō, "to sell off") – properly, a selling off (surrendering) of sexual purity; promiscuity of any (every) type. We get our word pornography from porneia. Porneia is a broad word, referring to any sexual relationship outside of the marriage covenant. All sexual behavior outside of the marriage covenant is sin.
- My Jewish room-mate in college practiced fornication without understanding it was a sin. He felt that adultery was wrong but what he was doing was fine because he and the woman, a widow, were not married. So, what's the difference between fornication and adultery? The modern dictionary definition of fornication is voluntary sexual intercourse between persons not married to each other (which would include adultery) and adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse.
- Paul calls us to think and live differently - we should be different from the unbelievers, who have no relationship with God. Failing to be aware of God's unchanging standard and the Spirit's conviction, some have lost sensitivity to the gross immorality among them and around them.
- As Bruce has pointed out, in Greek religion, prostitution was considered a priestly prerogative, and extramarital sex was sometimes an act of worship. But to a Christian the will of God is clear: holiness and sexual immorality are mutually exclusive. No appeal to Christian liberty can justify fornication. Christians are to avoid and abstain from any and every form of sexual practice that lies outside the circle of God’s revealed will; Christians are to avoid adultery, premarital and extramarital intercourse, homosexuality and other perversions.
- Bruce writes "While porneia means primarily traffic with harlots (pornai), … it may denote any form of illicit sexual relationship. But “immorality” is too vague a rendering. In some New Testament passages porneia appears to have a more general sense. Christianity from the outset has sanctified sexual union within marriage (as in Judaism); outside marriage it was forbidden. This was a strange notion in the pagan society to which the gospel was first brought; there various forms of extramarital sexual union were tolerated and some were even encouraged. A man might have a mistress (hetaira) who could provide him also with intellectual companionship; the institution of slavery made it easy for him to have a concubine (pollake), while casual gratification was readily available from a harlot (porne). … There was no body of public opinion to discourage porneia, … Certain forms of public religion, indeed, involved ritual porneia. In Thessalonica it was sanctioned by the cult of Cabiri of Samothrace, …"
- Randy Alcorn (http://www.new-testament-christian.com/purity.html): "Sexual purity is not an option for an obedient Christian, it's a requirement. God's will is centered on our character and moral purity much more than on our circumstances, such as job, housing and schooling. Sex and marriage go together. Sexual union is intended as an expression of a commitment, a symbol of the spiritual union that exists only within the unconditional commitment of marriage. Apart from marriage, the lasting commitment is absent and the sex act becomes a false expression, a lie. Every act of sex outside of marriage cheapens both sex and marriage. Sex is a privilege inseparable from the responsibilities of marriage. To exercise the privilege apart from the responsibility perverts God's intention both for sex and for marriage. Sex is designed to be the joining of two persons, of two spirits, not just two bodies. Sex should be giving to someone to whom I'm 100% committed (as measured by the state of legal marriage), not taking from someone to whom I'm uncommitted or partially committed. "But we really love each other" has no bearing on the ethics of sexual intimacy - sex does not become permissible through subjective feelings, but through the objective lifelong commitment of marriage."

Job 31:1: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.
Proverbs 5:3-4,20-21: For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.
Proverbs 6:23-29: For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life. It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman. Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you. For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life. Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. ... Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? For the Lord sees clearly what a man does examining, every path he takes.
Proverbs 7:21-27: So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life. So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.
Matthew 5:28: But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 15:19: For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality [porneia], theft, lying, and slander.
John 8:41 King James Version (KJV): Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication [porneia]; we have one Father, even God.
Romans 1:25-28: They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

Romans 13:13-14: Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
Galatians 5:19: When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
1 Corinthians 5:1: I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you - something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.
1 Corinthians 5:9-11: When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10,13,18: Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people - none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. ... You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. ... Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
1 Corinthians 7:2: But because there is so much sexual immorality [porneia], each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
1 Corinthians 10:8: And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.
2 Corinthians 12:21: Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality [porneia], and eagerness for lustful pleasure.
Ephesians 4:19: With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
Ephesians 5:3: Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
Philippians 4:8: And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Colossians 3:5: So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality [porneia], impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
2 Timothy 2:22: Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
Hebrews 13:4: Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
1 Peter 4:3: You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy - their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.
Jude 7: And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.
Revelation 2:14-16: “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Revelation 2:20-23: “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman - that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet - to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality [porneia]. “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
Revelation 9:21: And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality [porneia] or their thefts.

Stay away from all sexual sin:
- When a person comes to know God by faith in Jesus Christ, not only should his attitudes toward sex and marriage drastically change, as he gains a knowledge of the Word, but he also discovers that God gives him the ability to handle sexual temptation as he couldn’t before.
- For former pagans, the lure of sexual sins was strong. Paul feared they might fall back into their old pagan ways.
- Paul understands what an intense arena of battle this was then and is now. Our sanctification is constantly under attack in this particular area of our lives, and he wants these people to pay attention to it.
- Sexual temptation has been a great tool of the devil. Even King David experienced sexual temptation and yielded to this deadly sin:
  - 2 Samuel 11:2-5,14-17,26-27; 12:7-10,13-14: Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.” ... So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. ... When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done. ... Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own. ... Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.”
- In contrast, Joseph was victorious over sexual temptation (but it cost him at first):
  - Genesis 39:6-20: So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing - except what kind of food to eat! Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.

(4) Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor -

Control his own body:
- Randy Alcorn: "Your body will go where your mind allows it to. When it comes to your sexual purity, the ultimate battle is in your mind. Don't give your mind junk food. Be sure you're getting spiritual nutrition."
- Ray Stedman: "No believer can give the excuse that he could not do what God told him to do. If he offers that excuse, he is but kidding himself; or else, he is forgetting that he has been provided with an extra resource. He may need to exercise his will to "just say 'No,'" but then he must immediately cast himself upon the Spirit of God within him, the Lord Jesus made available by the Spirit. Then, resting upon that presence, he must turn and walk away. And he can do it. He has the power to do it. There are millions that can testify that what they could not do by their will they were able to do by relying on the power of God."
- 1 Corinthians 6:20: for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Honor:
- Immorality is the opposite of honor because it degrades and debases. Those who do not restrain their sexual desires act more like animals than humans, following every impulse without restraint.

(5) not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways

Lustful passion:
- Sex only becomes wrong when it controls one’s life and goes beyond the limits of the marriage relationship.
- Lust is the opposite of love. Lust says, “I want,” while love asks, “What can I do for you?”
The pagans:
- This plainly means that the sexual conduct of the Christian should be different than the prevailing permissiveness of the day. Hiebert: "The Gentiles knew gods who were the personification of their own ambitions and lusts but they did not know the true God, the God who is Himself holy and wills the sanctification of His followers."
- Ephesians 4:17-24: With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy.

(6) Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before.

Violating his wife:

Exodus 20:17: “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
Leviticus 18:20: “Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife.
Leviticus 20:10: “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death.
Deuteronomy 22:22-24: “If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil. “Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
John 8:4-11: “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
1 Corinthians 7:2: But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
Avenges all such sins:
- Ray Stedman: "God so loves this race of ours and so longs to see beautiful, whole people emerging from it that he will take drastic action when men and women violate his will. Silently, invisibly, his judgment falls. Believer and unbeliever alike cannot escape the painful results of sinful choices. That is the law of inevitable consequences. If we choose to sin, there will be evil results. We cannot avoid it. We can be forgiven, but that does not change the evil results. Forgiveness restores the broken relationship and gives us strength to walk on in freedom in the future, but it does not change or eliminate the hurt of the past." "God's standards cannot be violated. He has ways of bringing to pass his judgments and nobody can evade it."
- That is what has happened here in the United States, where one half of all children today live with single parents. Families have been broken and children parceled out to strangers. And, to make matters even worse, that same pattern so often repeats itself in the next generations, much to the delight of Satan.
- There is a future aspect of loss of rewards for those believers who ignore God’s truth and persist in sin even when warned.
- God takes these sexual issues very seriously. God sees everything you do and sexual sin will be judged by God:
- 2 Corinthians 5:9-10: So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

(7) God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.

Live holy lives:
- The noun used here is hagiasmos (“sanctification”), which occurs here for the fourth time in this epistle and the verb hagiazo [“to sanctify”] is used in 5:23.
Not impure lives:
- “Impure” is the Greek akatharsia, “uncleanness, filthiness, impurity.” It literally means “refuse” and was used of the contents of graves. From this, it came to be used of sexual sins. This gives us some idea of God’s attitude toward such sin.
- Walvoord and Zuck: “Sexual immorality frustrates the purpose of God’s call. Certain pagan cults promoted unclean ceremonies, but Christ’s plans for a Christian are to clean him up. A holy life demonstrates God’s supernatural power at work overcoming what is natural, and it glorifies God."

(8) Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Rejecting God:
- These are not “moral guidelines” but God’s command. It’s an issue of personal obedience. If you reject God's command to sexual purity, you reject God.
- To reject means to treat with utter contempt. This is what Nathan meant when he asked David, “Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed?” (2 Samuel 12:9) By committing adultery and then ordering Uriah murdered to cover it up, he had treated God’s holy commands with utter contempt. He knew it was wrong and yet he did it anyway. You can’t have it both ways. Either be pure … or stop calling yourself a Christian!
Gives his Holy Spirit to you:
- The word “gives” is present tense. In this case, it means that God gives and keeps on giving the Spirit to you. You have the Holy Spirit always within you. Therefore, when God commands you to abstain, He also gives you the power to obey. God has provided the Holy Spirit as our enabler.
- Walvoord and Zuck: "Lest anyone feel that God is asking more than is reasonable of weak mortals, Paul concluded this exhortation with a reminder that God has also given believers His indwelling Spirit. This Person of the Trinity is so characterized by holiness that He is called the Holy Spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit has power enough to enable any Christian to learn how to control his own body, even in a pagan, immoral climate. The exhortation is to avoid sexual immorality; the enablement comes from the Holy Spirit."

(9) But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.

Loving each other:

In verses 9 and 10, Christian love is introduced in contrast to lust.
The Tyndale Commentary writes: “Outside the New Testament, the word philadelphia almost invariably denotes the love binding together the children of one father; in the New Testament it is without exception used for the love uniting Christians to one another.”

God himself has taught you:
- How does Paul know God, not just himself, has taught them? They are doing it. Verse 10: “you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia”
Love one another:
- Love here is agape - we are to love one another with God's love.
- John 13:34: So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
- Romans 5:5: And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
- 1 John 3:14: If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.

(10) Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.

Love them even more:
- Philippians 1:9: I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12: And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.

(11) Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.

Minding your own business:
- 1 Peter 4:15: If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.
Working with your hands:
- The Wycliffe Bible Commentary states that: “Greeks shunned manual labor, and Paul had taught the Thessalonians by word (the Lord was a carpenter) and by example (the apostle was a tent-maker) that the Christian doctrine of creation implies the Christian doctrine of vocation: God made everything good; therefore, man can perform the most menial tasks knowing that he is in touch with the Creator's handiwork; further, he can do them to God’s glory.” The Thessalonians may have resembled the Athenians of whom Luke wrote: “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” (Acts 17:21)
- Although the Greek generally looked down on manual labor as the work of slaves and others, the Jews did not have this attitude.
- Ephesians 4:28: If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9: Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.
- They don't seem to have paid attention to Paul's admonition, so he wrote again in his next letter: 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12: Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living
- 1 Timothy 5:13: And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t.

(12) Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.

Respect the way you live:
- Someone is watching you and asking, "Is he or she for real? Is he or she going to slip up and remove the religious mask and show who they really are? Does Christ really change lives?" The unbelieving world is watching and we should always be concerned about how our lives look to those outside the body of Christ. What they want to see is authenticity - lives that back up our profession with works and a walk consistent with our talk.
Not need to depend on others:
- The phrase “so that you will not depend on others” refers, of course, to financial independence. Our lifestyle is more convincing than our words. Paul and Jesus would not have supported our present welfare system that encourages people not to work and to pass that attitude on to succeeding generations. Government loves that system because it makes people dependent on the government. Of course, to implement that policy, the government must then take from those who are working and give it to those who won't work.
- One very good reason we are to behave in this way is simply this: The world needs to be shown Christians who are not seen as pious beggars, but as hard working, quiet citizens, ready to give in time of need.
- Their expectation of the immediate coming of Christ led some enthusiasts among them to neglect their daily work and be dependent on the largesse of others. This became worse as reproved in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12:
  - And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living.

NOTE: Chapter 4 verses 13-18 belong much better with chapter 5. Chapter breaks are man-made.

APPLICATION:

Remember who you are in Christ. You are a child of God, a totally new creation, you are saved, redeemed, justified, forgiven, regenerated, and seated with Christ in heavenly places. All the promises of God now belong to you. You bear the name of your Heavenly Father. You are called to live to His glory. You were made for better things! You were not made to live in sin.
How can you please God? What is his will for your life? Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder about answer to those questions God’s Word makes it clear. Abstain from sexual immorality. That is his will for your life. Do that and you will please him.
Jesus proclaims to every broken sinner. “Go and sin no more.” You can’t do a thing to change the past and it’s a waste of time to try. However, you can do something about the future. Thank the Lord for 1 John 1:9: But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

NEXT STUDY:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5: And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss. I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

NOTES:

Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://1thessaloniansstudy.blogspot.com/2015/08/1-thessalonians-references.html
Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

Thursday, September 3, 2015

1 Thessalonians 3

Above image from www.wednesdayintheword.com/ephesians-resources/
Key word in this chapter is FAITH: verses 2, 5, 6 and 10.
Ronald Ward: The chain of events which puts this chapter in focus was as follows:

Paul left Silas and Timothy at Berea, proceeding to Athens (Acts 17:14-15).
On arriving in Athens, he urgently summoned them to join him.
They did so at once, and Timothy was sent back to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:1-12).
Silas was sent to another part of Macedonia (Berea?) (Acts 18:5).
Paul left Athens and went to Corinth (Acts 18:1).
Both Silas and Timothy joined Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:6).
This epistle was written shortly after the reunion of the three in Corinth.

(1) Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens,

Athens:

Acts 17:15-17,22-34: Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there. ... So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs - for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” That ended Paul’s discussion with them, but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

(2) and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your FAITH,

We sent Timothy:

Paul had the highest confidence in Timothy, his young protégé, who was like a son to him:

Philippians 2:19-24: If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.

Strengthen ... encourage:

Paul sent Timothy to strengthen (sterizo) and encourage (parakaleo) them, to bolster their faith in the face of persecution. "Sterizo" was used of stabilizing an existing structure and came to be used of strengthening and stabilizing the believers.
A Christian never stands still - he is either growing in the Lord or he will be losing ground. There is a growth from reading/studying God's Words and also a growth that comes from facing problems and overcoming them with the Word of God.
After winning someone to Christ, we must not just abandon them. We should now be helping them to grow in their relationship with Christ. Much of Paul's ministry was given to strengthening and encouraging believers:

Acts 14:21-22: After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God."
Acts 15:32: Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets, spoke at length to the believers, encouraging and strengthening their faith.
Acts 15:41: Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.
Acts 18:23: After spending some time in Antioch, Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia, visiting and strengthening all the believers.

Co-worker (Greek sunergos):

1 Corinthians 3:8-9: The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

(3) and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles.

Shaken:

Without a good understanding of the truth concerning the place of suffering in the life of the believer, we are in great danger of being shaken in our faith. That is the danger of "prosperity gospel" preachers who teach that it is God’s will for you to be prosperous (materially) and that wealth is a sign of God's grace and favor - as long as you send them money.

Troubles is the same Greek word as "afflictions" or "tribulations".
Destined for such troubles:

Tribulation and persecution are a normal part of the Christian life. Christians in America have grown soft without persecution, but that is now ending. Most who claim to be Christians will dump Christ like a rock as persecution grows in this country as we are called bigots who "cling to our guns and Bibles", as bakers must bake a cake for a gay wedding no matter their religious beliefs, as preachers preaching the Word are arrested for hate crime (as recently in Canada), as our children in schools are taught that Christianity is false and there is no God, as Christians are accused of not being "politically correct", as home schooling is outlawed (as in Germany), and as abortion / killing of the unborn is considered desirable. Christians are to keep their religion to themselves, keep their mouths shut and vote for the same old cronies as always.
John Hendershot - Pains in Persecution: "Christians in America have yet to suffer any really significant forms of persecution – but the telltale signs of its arrival can be determined. Already, Christianity is “politically incorrect.” How dare these Christians say that homosexuality, adultery, fornication – the list grows lengthy, folks – are in any sense wrong? Don’t they know that right and wrong are obsolete concepts? Soon the time will come when Christians find that getting a job is difficult – who would hire someone who would commit violence against another, homosexual, employee? (They’re all weirdos, right?). Persecution: it’s to be expected as a Christian, counted as joy when it comes – and a time where sharing love really counts. Satan will attack us in it; using the weapons of God (prayer and love) and the things of this world (practical help) we can provide the encouragement needed to overcome. All this is so that we might be filled to overflowing with love as we live here – and that we might be seen holy and blameless on the Day of the Lord."
Fay Voshel in the American Thinker: "President Obama summed up the Christian-hating left’s views of people of faith when in 2008, he categorized working-class voters in the following way: "[I]t's not surprising, then, that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” For Obama, as well as for nearly all the left, people of faith are the inhibitors of “progress,” and they deserve being caricatured as Bible-thumpers, and therefore ignorant, uneducated, backward hicks and rednecks. As Chris Matthews recently suggested, Christians, particularly conservative evangelical Christians, have no place in American politics. “If you’re a politician and believe in God first, that’s all good. Just don’t run for government office, run for church office,” he tweeted."
Franklin Graham: "I believe we're going to see persecution in this country. We've already seen many laws that have been passed that restrict our freedom as Christians. I believe it's going to get worse, and we see no question gaining influence in Washington by those that represent the Islamic faith. We do have a problem in this country and we are losing our religious freedom and we're losing it a little bit day by day." Franklin Graham warned that America's morality was crumbling because President Obama "defends Islam and chastises Christians, rebukes our allies and befriends our enemies, and fully supports gay marriage and abortion but denies the religious freedoms of those who don't agree," in a post on Facebook. He also said, "The only hope is that this country repents of its sins and turns once again to the God of our fathers and to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ - otherwise, there is no hope."
Ironside: "Christians should expect to suffer afflictions in this world. Yet when trouble and sorrow come, how often Christians wonder if they have made a mistake. They wonder whether God has actually forgiven their sins. They wonder if they are really born again. But hear the word of the apostle: “Verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know” (3:4). Our Lord Jesus said to His disciples before He went away, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Acts 14:22 records Paul’s teaching “that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” Do not be discouraged, dear suffering Christians. Do not question your Father’s love because you are passing through sorrows or facing disappointing circumstances. The apostle Peter said, “Ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7)."
Pliny the Elder: "It was in Thessalonica that the first Gentiles were killed in the Roman Empire."

Christians are destined to suffer tribulation for their faith. Apparently, the Thessalonian believers were surprised by the unrelenting persecution:

Matthew 5:10-12: God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Mark 10:30-31: will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property - along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.
John 15:20: Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.
Romans 5:3-5: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Romans 8:17-18: And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
1 Thessalonians 1:6: So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.
2 Timothy 3:12: Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
1 Peter 4:12-13: Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad - for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
James 1:2-4: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

(4) Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come - and they did, as you well know.

Troubles:

In Jesus' parable of the seed and soils in Matthew 13, He described the way that some fall away when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word. Jesus said when troubles arises, not if troubles comes. The Christian's faith will be tested. Paul knew this and warned the Thessalonians.

Matthew 13:20-21: The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

Notice they don't have deep roots. This was what Paul feared about the Thessalonian believers since he'd been with them such a short time and had not been able to teach them in depth. This is why Bible study is so important - to send down deep roots into the Word.

(5) That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your FAITH was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless.

Bear it no longer:

Paul feared that the new faith of the Thessalonian believers might crumble one opposition began, so he sent Timothy to both check on them and to help them grow and mature in Christ.
Some will make a Christian profession without genuine repentance and implicit faith in Christ and not be truly saved. We have seen many go through our Bible studies and we known that some proclaimed their faith in Christ, but as time went on, their life styles and actions showed otherwise! We should follow Paul's advice to the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

The tempter:

Though the Jews were the immediate actors in those transactions, yet the apostle regarded them as being under the direction of Satan, and as accomplishing his purposes. He was, therefore, the real author of the persecutions which had been excited.
Satan tempted (tested) Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11) and tempts Christians (1 Corinthians 7:5) and tested Job. If Satan had succeeded in tempting the Thessalonians to abandon their newfound faith, Paul's missionary work would have been fruitless.
Above image from www.middletownbiblechurch.org
Matthew 4:3: During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Luke 22:31-32:“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”
Acts 13:10: Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?
2 Corinthians 2:11: so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.
Ephesians 4:26-27: And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
Ephesians 6:11: Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
2 Timothy 2:26: Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
Hebrews 2:14: Because God’s children are human beings - made of flesh and blood - the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

(6) But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your FAITH and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you.

Just returned:

Paul must have written this letter to the Thessalonian believers just as soon as he heard Timothy's report. He must have been greatly relieved.

FAITH and love:

Faith is not based on simply blindly hoping for something without any assurance of finding help. That is called "existentialism" termed a "leap into the dark." It is not a "leap into the dark!" Biblical faith is based on God's word and His absolute promises to us. God has told us what to do.
Now, what is it that pleases God? What one quality of life is essential to please God? Faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. A life of expectation that the God who lives in you will manifest his life through you is the kind of life that pleases God. It isn't a life of your efforts, struggling to live up to a standard that you've imposed upon yourself, or someone else has imposed upon you. It is a life in which you are constantly dependent upon the one who indwells you, to keep you able to do and to be what you ought to be.
Calvin on faith and love: "In these two words he states concisely the sum total of godliness. All who aim at this double mark are beyond the danger of error for the whole of their life."
Galatians 2:16: Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”

Galatians 5:6: For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
1 Corinthians 16:13: Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
Colossians 1:4: For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people,
2 Thessalonians 1:3: Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
1 Timothy 1:5: The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
Philemon 1:5: because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.
Hebrews 11:6: And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

(7) So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith.

Encouraged

Encouragement has a two-fold emphasis: to comfort or reassure and to challenge or admonish. Discouragement tears down; Encouragement builds up. The question is "Are you an encourager or a discourager?" Encouragers build up with their words. Discouragers criticize and tear down. An Encourager sets a godly example that brings others to Christ or helps others grow in their faith. Discouragers direct people away from Christ by the way they live (negative, unfruitful, unholy, selfish, critical, uncommitted lives).
Dean Haun, president Tennessee Baptist Convention: "Examine the words “encourage” and “discourage” and you will discover that both have Greek prefixes that precede the word “courage”. “En” means “to put into” and “dis” means “to take out of.” If you are “encouraged” it means that something or someone has put courage into you. If you are “discouraged” it means something or someone has taken courage out of you. Literally, discouragement is a loss of strength! Everyone is vulnerable to it. Some are overwhelmed by it."
Spurgeon: "Never is the servant of God so full of delight as when he sees that the Holy Spirit is visiting his hearers, making them to know the Lord, and confirming them in that heavenly knowledge. On the other hand, if God does not bless the word of his servants it is like death to them. To be preaching and to have no blessing makes them heavy of heart: the chariot-wheels are taken off, and they drag heavily along: they seem to have no power nor liberty."
Acts 20:1-2: When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,
Romans 15:4-6: Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 4:8: I have sent him to you for this very purpose - to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.
1 Thessalonians 5:11: So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Hebrews 3:13 NIV: But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
Hebrews 10:24-25: Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

(8) It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.

Albert Barnes: "This is equivalent to saying, ‘My life and comfort depend on your stability in the faith, and your correct Christian walk.'"
Standing firm (Greek steko):

Steko means "to stand firm...persevere...to hold one's ground" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon).
The word translated “standing firm” (steko) described a Roman military formation in which the soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder and back to back with their shields up and their spears outward. It was the strongest possible defensive position. The word was also used of a soldier who defended his position at all costs, even to the point of sacrificing his own life. To stand firm means to hold your ground regardless of the danger or the opposition. Figuratively, it means to hold fast to a belief, a conviction, or a principle without compromise, regardless of personal cost. (from "The Bottom Line (Philippians 1:27-30)" by Keith Krell: https://bible.org/seriespage/4-bottom-line-philippians-127-30
Paul is saying that firmness and stability in Christ is what life is all about. Paul refers to this truth in Philippians 1:21: For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. Paul saw his life in Christ as an investment in serving Him by ministering to others. His life was centered on Christ, even through persecution and affliction. This is what is meant when he says we really live, knowing that "you are standing firm in the Lord."
Romans 5:2: Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
Galatians 5:1 (KJV): Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free , and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Ephesians 6:11-14: Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
1 Corinthians 16:13: Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

Philippians 1:27: Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
Philippians 4:1 (NIV): Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord , my beloved.
2 Thessalonians 2:15: With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.

(9) How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.

We thank God for you:

Ironside: "Every real soul-winner knows something of the meaning of those words. When we have the privilege of bringing sinners to Christ, it cheers the heart, but what a joy it is to learn afterward that they are maintaining a bright, consistent testimony! Likewise Paul’s soul was refreshed and exuberant when he received the good news about the Thessalonian believers. Paul opened his heart to the Thessalonians. Preaching the gospel was not merely a profession. He did not go to a town, hold a series of meetings, and forget his converts when he moved on to another town. He carried his converts in his heart and always hoped to return to give them additional instruction in the faith and lead them farther along in the ways of Christ. He remembered them in prayer “night and day” (1 Thessalonians 3:10). He prayed that they might continue in the will of God and that as the truth was explained to them, they might learn to walk faithfully."

Enter God's presence:

Gary Ballard (Seek God Ministries) The Presence of God: "Salvation through Jesus Christ gives us the right to enter into God’s presence. Confession and repentance of our sins prepares us to enter into His presence. Thanksgiving unto God takes us in the gate and by praise we enter into His court. But it is love that unites us with Him. (1 John 4:16 NKJV) …God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. When we dwell in love we dwell in God and Him in us. That is the secret place of the Most High."
Ephesians 3:12: Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence.
Hebrews 4:16: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews 10:19-22: And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
James 4:8: Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

(10) Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your FAITH.

Night and day we pray:

This verse gives us insight into Paul's life as a man of prayer. Night and day, he prayed on behalf of the Thessalonians that he might be able to see them. This was not for his own selfish interest but rather that he might perfect that which was lacking in their faith.
You are where you are today because somebody prayed for you. Somebody prayed and you came to Christ. Somebody prayed and you were healed. Somebody prayed and you didn’t give up. Somebody prayed and you made the right decision. Somebody prayed and you experienced God’s power. No one knows how much sin and sorrow we’ve been saved from because somebody prayed for us.
S. D. Gordon: "The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is to pray. It is not the only thing, but it is the chief thing. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray - not those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor those who can explain about prayer; but those who take time to pray."

Earnestly:

Do you have anyone in your life that you are praying for "earnestly?" Is it any wonder that Paul's ministry was effective?

Gaps:

Since Paul had to leave hurriedly (Acts 17:10), he was not able to teach them everything they might need to survive the coming persecution. Unlike us, all they had was the Old Testament and what Paul had taught them. So, he was praying for them that he'd see them and perfect their faith. Paul knows they are not yet fully mature and are, therefore, vulnerable to doubt, attacks, misunderstandings and even false teaching. He knew that their having gaps in their understanding could lead to error and defeat in their walk. One particular lack in their instruction related to the second coming and the final resurrection (4:13-18) leading to confusion.
Kretzmann: "The Thessalonians were still in need of instruction of exhortation, of intercession; for no Christians attain to complete perfection in this life. The fundamental outlines of the truth were in their possession, but it was necessary to fill out these outlines, to supply the details, to make them perfectly fitted to every good word and work."
Bruce: "There were important areas in which they required further instruction. What some of those areas were may be gathered from the subject matter of 4:1-5:22. Since it was not likely that in the near future there would be an opportunity to give the Thessalonians the necessary instruction face to face, it was given in the next part of the letter."

See you again:

This prayer was answered about five years later: Acts 20:1-2: When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,

(11) May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon.

Bring:

Bengel: "It is a remarkable proof of the unity of the Father and Son, that in the Greek here, and in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, the verb is singular, implying that the subject, the Father and Son, are but one in essential Being, not in mere unity of will."

(12) And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.

Love ... and for all people:

We and they are to love not only other believers, but even those who are persecuting us as well. This is part of our witness to show the love of Christ to the world.
Matthew 5:46-48: If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
John 13:35: Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
1 Thessalonians 4:9-10: But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
1 John 4:20: If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

Grow ... overflow:

One of the major topics of 1 Thessalonians is to abound, grow, excel in love and walk.
2 Peter 1:5-11: In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

(13) May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.

Strong:

Nothing reveals our true condition like difficulty, setbacks, opposition, defeat, illness, sorrow, grief and hardship. Most of us can be strong while life is good, but when trouble comes, all the inner flaws are likely to be revealed. Nowhere will your heart be on clearer display than in the trials of life.

Blameless:

"Blameless" does not mean "sinless" and is not about being perfect. That is impossible. It means that no one can accuse the person of living in known sin and that his life is not offensive to others.
Paul’s praying that “they achieve everything that God wants them to achieve.” I hope and pray that is true of you and me too.
Some teach that Jesus just died for our sins past-tense, and the rest is up to us. No, Jesus died for ALL of your sins, even the ones you will commit in the future.

Holy:

Holiness is about living our lives for God. It is about living in obedience of what He commands us to. It becomes part of every aspect of our life." Holiness and blameless” go together. If we commit and dedicate ourselves to serve God, we become “blameless” as we focus our lives upon serving God and this all of our sins are taken away.
We are going to stand in the presence of Christ, at the Bema Seat, and our lives will be evaluated. This is when our ministry will be tested by God, and revealed for what it really was. Our holiness in Christ is not in question, but the outworking of that holiness is in question. This is Paul's concern for the Thessalonians. He wants the Thessalonians to live out their holiness so that they may be established "blameless" at the Bema Seat, in the presence of Christ.
Colossians 1:22: Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
1 Thessalonians 5:23: Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

Comes again (Greek parousia):

Parousia - means "presence" or "arrival" of persons or things. It designated the royal visit of an emperor, king, a governor, ruler or famous person.
John F. Walvoord: "Many Bible teachers teach, as does the writer, that the Lord is coming for His church at any time. We believe in the imminent return of Christ, that 1 Thessalonians 4 is going to be fulfilled, that the dead in Christ are going to arise, and that living Christians will be translated without dying into the presence of God. We further believe that after this event there will take place a great time of trouble in the world, predicted by Daniel and Christ Himself, culminating in the great tribulation. We believe that at the end of the great tribulation Christ is coming back in power and glory from heaven with the saints and with the holy angels and that He will establish His righteous government on the earth as predicted many times in the Bible, which will last, according to Revelation 20, for one thousand years and ultimately will be followed by the eternal state after the judgment of the great white throne."
John F. Walvoord: "There are at least three great words in the New Testament used to express the truth about the coming of the Lord: epiphaneia, apokalupsis, and parousia. Epiphaneia simply speaks of His appearing, that is, that we are going to see Him. We are told also that when Christ comes to set up His kingdom on the earth every eye will see Him.

There is another word (apokalupsis) translated revelation. It is the word used for the name of the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation of Jesus Christ in the sense of the revelation of His glory. When Christ came the first time He came in humiliation. His glory was veiled except on the Mount of Transfiguration and perhaps in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the latter place, when those who came to take Him asked if He was Jesus and He said “I am,” they all fell before Him to the ground, apparently struck down by a momentary flash of the glory and authority of Christ. For the most part, however, His glory was veiled even after His resurrection. When He comes the second time we will see Him in His glory and this will be a revelation.
The word that is found here in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 is the third word, the Greek word parousia, which means presence, but is usually translated coming. This word is derived from two words: a preposition (para) meaning along, and ousia which is a form of the verb to be; hence the word means, to be along side of, or to be present. While commonly translated in the Bible by the word coming, the word itself does not strictly mean coming and is used with other meanings. It means presence and is so translated in 2 Corinthians 10:10 and Philippians 2:12.
What does this word coming or presence mean here in Thessalonians? When someone is coming, we also speak of his presence. For instance, a visiting preacher might be welcomed with the words,” We are happy for the coming of the Reverend John Doe.” What would be meant by that? How he came would not be important; the point would be that he is here. What is meant is that we are glad for his presence. His coming was just the means to the end. Even in English we use the term coming in the sense of presence. That is precisely the thought here. But when are we going to be in the presence of the Father?
According to Scripture, Christians are going to meet Christ in the air. We are going to be present with Him at that moment. After we meet Him in the air, He will take us home to glory to be in the presence of the Father and the holy angels. After that we are coming back to the earth with Christ. This word coming here may not refer specifically to the coming of Christ with His saints to the earth, but rather the coming to heaven when they will be in the presence of the Father. That is the same thought considered in 2:19, “in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming,” literally,” before our Lord Jesus Christ in his presence.” In 3:13, the verse, translated literally, reads, “before God, even our Father in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” There is a coming to the earth, but there is also the coming to heaven. What an event that arrival in heaven is going to be! All the holy angels will be in attendance on that day. When the dead in Christ and living Christians are caught up to be with the Lord and arrive in heaven as the trophies of grace, the marvels of God’s resurrection power, they will be presented as a spotless bride, as a holy people, as those who are the workmanship of Christ. At the coming of Christ with all His saints to heaven, we will be “unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father.” In that day we will not be “unblameable” because of any works on our part. It will rather reflect our entering in God’s marvelous grace - unblameable because every sin is washed away, every unholy thing once and forever removed."
Here Paul's concern was that the Thessalonians would be ready to give a good account of themselves to the Lord, not just that they would be ready for His arrival.

Parousia is a primary them of 1 & 2 Thessalonians:

1 Corinthians 15:23: But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
2 Corinthians 1:14: even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.
Philippians 2:16: Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.
1 Thessalonians 2:19: After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!
1 Thessalonians 4:15: We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
1 Thessalonians 5:23: Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
2 Thessalonians 2:1: Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him
2 Thessalonians 2:8: Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10: And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people - praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.
1 John 2:28: And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.

Holy people (Greek - hagios):

Morris: "It is best to understand the 'holy ones' as all those bright beings who will make up His train be they angels or the saints who have gone before."
Steve Lewis of High Peaks Bible Fellowship: "In the context of this epistle, the coming of the Lord Jesus would be His coming in the clouds at the Rapture of the Church. "With all His saints" (NASB) is literally "holy ones." In the New Testament, this phrase is never used to refer to angels unless it is accompanied by the word "angels" (angeloi), so the translators of the NASB have correctly rendered it "saints," referring to the souls of the believing dead who will precede those who are left alive at Christ's coming for the Church. When "we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:15) finally arrive in the clouds to meet the Lord, He will have with Him all His saints -- "God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 4:14)."
Zechariah 14:5: You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.

APPLICATION:

The trials that come our way can work to mature us and are a test of our faith or to defeat us. The way we handle the trials in our life shows where we are in our relationship with the Lord and in our faith. Folks often doubt their salvation and wonder where they stand with the Lord. They can easily know this is by their actions. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

NEXT STUDY: 1 Thessalonians 4: Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor - not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout

Macedonia

. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others. And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.
NOTES:

Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://1thessaloniansstudy.blogspot.com/2015/08/1-thessalonians-references.html
Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/