In the first three chapters of 1 Thessalonians, we have heard of Paul’s gratefulness to God that those who came to faith in Jesus were continuing in that faith, even with times of persecution from Jews and others opposed to Christ. Paul continued to pray for the Thessalonian church and hoped to visit them in the future. He rejoiced in the good report about the church from Timothy, but wanted to strengthen the people’s faith and understanding on certain issues of concern that he had heard from Tim...
In the first three chapters of 1 Thessalonians, we have heard of Paul’s gratefulness to God that those who came to faith in Jesus were continuing in that faith, even with times of persecution from Jews and others opposed to Christ. Paul continued to pray for the Thessalonian church and hoped to visit them in the future. He rejoiced in the good report about the church from Timothy, but wanted to strengthen the people’s faith and understanding on certain issues of concern that he had heard from Timothy. Paul dealt first with sexual immorality.
This was a huge problem for most areas where Paul went, sharing the Word of God and the Good News of Jesus with people. The Greek and Roman cultures had very few standards about sexual activity, for a variety of reasons. This is very simplified, but:
- They did not know the one true Triune God and the moral standards God had set for the Jewish nation in the Old Testament and the very similar standards of the New Testament. (This could be another extensive Bible study, but in summary, God created the first marriage, bringing the first two people, one male and one female, together in a life-long commitment. Sexual activity was to be within the marriage, with the possibility of children being born, but in a stable atmosphere.) (See Genesis 1-2, and Jesus‘ affirmation of this in Mark 10:2-9.)
- Ancient philosophies often said that all that mattered was the soul or spirit of a person. What one did with the body did not really matter. For some, “hedonism”- the pursuit of pleasure and sensual self-indulgence - was the highest good. Most anything was permissible, if it felt good.
- Many ancient religions and temples had temple prostitutes. Having sex in this setting could help fertility of nature and crops and stir up the “gods” and “goddesses” to act in favorable ways.
- Some leaders were moral, but many were extremely immoral in their own sexual behaviors and the bad examples they set. As a result, immorality was rampant. Sailors in a seaport city like Thessalonica had the supposed “lovers in every port” where they went. And on and on.
- Women often had equally low standards, and male homosexuality and sex between men and boys (that even today many would call “child abuse”) was all too common. (If we think standards are low now, they were even worse in those days - and sadly, we seem to be moving back into pre-Christian times, where most anything was OK.)
Paul wrote, as I Thess. 4 begins, with God’s standards, “in” and “through the Lord Jesus.” He and Timothy and Silas had already taught these principles, but they needed to be reinforced: how believers “ought to walk” and “please God” and follow “the will of God.” Paul put it very simply - “abstain from sexual immorality.” The word he used is a general term for all kinds of sexual immorality - premarital sex, breaking the bond of marriage by adultery, prostitution, homosexual behavior, rape, incest, and on and on (1 Thess. 4:1-3).
Paul complimented the Thessalonian believers, as they were trying to follow God’s standard. This was a way to “please God,” in gratefulness for all that God had done in sending His Son to be the Savior. It was and is also right and best for people themselves and is not self-centered “passion or lust” and does not “transgress” against and “wrong” others in this matter, by taking advantage of them and upsetting families and children
Paul also spoke of the fact that our bodies are not our own to do with what we want, but can be “controlled” in “holiness and honor” and not in “impurity.” (See the words of Colossians 1:9-14, where we can be strengthened by God’s Word and remembering how much God has already done for us, in His great love for us, in Jesus. He will surely also tell us what is really best for us and others.)
See a much longer discussion of this same issue of sexual morality and immorality in 1 Corinthians 6:13-20. Note that as believers, we are a “walking temple,’ belonging to God, in which the Holy Spirit lives, purchased by the sacrifice of Christ for us. Our bodies are important, and we can glorify God by what we do with them, according to His will. This ties in with 1 Thess. 4:8, where Paul reminded the Thessalonian believers that “God gave His Holy Spirit” to them to bring them to faith and enable them to follow their Lord’s will “more,” as he encouraged them.
(See also the promises of God in the Old Testament in Ezekiel 36:25-28, where He predicted the gift of Holy Baptism, where the “stony heart” of our sinful nature would be taken away and we would receive a “new heart” and God would put “His Spirit within us” Who can “cause us to walk more in His statutes.” There is our power, in the Lord working in us.)
Paul “asked” the Thessalonian believers to go in this direction, but he also “urged“ them to do so and “gave them instructions” (the Greek word means almost like a manual for military service, with rules to be obeyed). Finally, he also gave them a “solemn warning” that the Lord could be an “avenger," bringing judgment, if people continually resisted God’s will. (Think of all the sexually transmitted diseases floating around, these days.) These people could eventually drift away from God himself and abandon their faith, too. This is not at all what God wants, though.
There are also a few alternative ways to understand a few of these verses. Some translate verse four to mean that God’s will is “that each of you should know how to take a wife for himself.” The Greek literally says something like “how to receive a vessel for himself, in holiness and honor.” (See the text notes in an ESV Bible, for example.) There is at least one other place in the New Testament where a wife is called a “vessel” - 1 Peter 3:7. This translation would emphasize the seriousness of making the choice about the person we marry and wanting to do so in a way that honors God and His Word. What a blessing when we do find the right person, too, and both seek to act in God’s love and forgiveness.
If you looked at a King James Bible, you would find that verse six is translated: “That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter” (in business dealings or in coveting what others have so much that we hurt or harm them or in other such ways). That translation would mean that God is also warning about dishonest dealings in business and acting in evil and covetous ways, too. This is possible, as Thessalonica was a commerce center between areas to the east and west, and advice about dealing honestly with others would be important, in this context. Some point out, too, that there are other Scriptures where Paul closely ties sexual immorality with greed and coveting. (See Ephesians 4:19-20 and 5:3, 5, and Colossians 3:5, for example.)
Finally, take seriously that “This is the will of God: your sanctification.” God really wants us to try to do the good things He teaches us. They honor God and are best for us and our marriages and families and are helpful for others around us, too, as we interact with them. We have also heard in this lesson that God gives us His Word to guide us, and the Holy Spirit is working through that Word within us, and Jesus promises that he will be with us always. We do have His strength to help us always.
At the same time, do not think that your salvation depends upon finally being holy enough and doing God’s wishes well enough. If that were true, none of us could be saved.
For example, we just had James 3:1-12 as a reading in worship, and we are called to have holy, sanctified tongues. In that same passage, though, James reminds us that “No human being can tame the tongue.” We try, but we do not always use our tongues in good and right ways. Finally, our hope and salvation are only in Jesus and His perfect life lived for us, and His sacrifice on the cross to pay for all our sins - past sins and failings, too. We are declared forgiven and holy only through trust in what He has already done for us.
Read again the words of Ezekiel 36:25 and the promises of 1 John 1:7-2:2, including “the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” There alone is our hope - not in ourselves, but in Jesus.
