I THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 4
THE BELIEVER'S HOPE
I. INTRODUCTION
The key word is walk and Paul beseeches them to obey the Word. The Christian's behavior is compared to a walk for several reasons: (1) it demands life, for the dead sinner cannot walk; (2) it requires growth, for a little baby cannot walk; (3) it requires liberty, for someone who is bound cannot walk; (4) it demands light, for who wants to walk in the dark; (5) it cannot be hidden, but is witnessed by all; and (6) it suggests progress toward a goal. Paul describes the kind of walk the believer should have.
Eph. 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
II. WALK IN HOLINESS (4:1-8)
It may seem strange that Paul should go to such lengths to discuss sexual purity in a Christian congregation; but two things have to be remembered. First, the Thessalonians were come from a society in which chastity was an unknown virtue; they were still in the midst of such a society and the infection of it was playing upon them all the time. It would be exceedingly difficult for them to unlearn what they had for all their lives accepted as natural. Second, there never was an age in history when marriage vows were so disregarded and divorce so disastrously easy. W.B.
As Seneca said,"Women were married to be divorced and divorced to be married." It was said that fashionable ladies identified the years by the names of their husbands. Juvenal quotes an instance of a woman who had eight husbands in five years. Morality was dead. W.B.
In Greece, immorality had always been quite blatant. 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 faithful guardianship of the home." So long as a man supported his wife and family, there was no shame whatsoever in extra-marital relationships. W.B.
The moral climate in the Roman Empire was not healthy. Immorality was a way of life; and,thanks to slavery, people had leisure time to indulge in the latest pleasures. Paul gave four reasons why they should live a holy life and abstain from sensual lusts. W.W.
A. To please God (v. 1) Everybody lives to please somebody. Pleasing God ought to be
the major motive of the Christian life. "ye ought to walk and to please God"
B. To obey God (v. 2-3) "ye know what commandments we gave you"
Psalms 143:10
Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead
me into the land of uprightness. Teach me to do thy will; for
thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of
uprightness.
I Peter 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the
flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
The will of God? Sanctification. Abstain from fornication.
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
I Cor. 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without
the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own
body.
Heb 13:4 Marriage in the will of God is good. It was not
good for man to be alone.
C. To glorify God (v. 4-5)
"Possess his vessel" probably means "control his body" for our bodies are the vessels of God. But it can also mean, "learn to live with his own wife," for the wife is the weaker vessel (I Peter 3:7).
II Timothy 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
This proper order of marriage glorifies God.
"not in lust" --- Define Lust
3806 pathos Inordinate affection, An affliction of the mind, emotion, passion
I Peter 1:14 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
"of concupiscence" Defined
1939 epithumia—Desire, Craving, longing, desire for what
Is forbiden
Lust dishonors your "vessel" and robs God of glory.
D. To escape the judgment of God (v. 6-8) ----Walk in holiness.
Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Do not defraud.
The law of reaping and sowing works for the just and the
unjust. If you defraud, the
Lord will avenge.
Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
III. WALK IN LOVE (4:9-10)
A. The transition from holiness to love is not a difficult one. W.W.
B. Brotherly love is the "nature" of the true Christian.
C. Paul was encouraging them to get more of what they already possessed.
D. Differences allow us to exercise brotherly love which will build as a muscle builds with exercise. This explains why Christians who have had the most problems with each
other often end up loving one another deeply, much to the amazement of the world. W.W.
IV. WALK IN HONESTY (4:11-12)
A. Christians not only have the obligation to love one another but also to be a good testimonies to the people of the world.
B. Paul's concern: That the believers at Thessalonica earn their own wages and not become
free-loaders depending on support of unbelievers.
C. Be quiet --> emphasis is on quietness of heart and mind, the inner peace that enables
a man to be sufficient through faith in Christ.
D. Some of the believers misunderstood the doctrine of Christ's return and gave up their jobs in order to wait for His coming.
E. Implications of this misunderstanding
1. Support must come from others.
2. Could not pay bills --> they lost their testimony with
the unsaved merchants.
3. II Thes 3:11 busybodies
V. WALK IN HOPE (4:13-18)
The pagan world in Paul's day had no hope of life after death.
A typical inscription on a grave
demonstrates this fact:
I was not
I became
I am not
I care not
A. Revelation: We Have God's Truth (4:13, 15a)
1. "This we say unto you by the Word of the Lord"
2. The authority of God's Word gives us the assurance and
comfort we need.
3. Sorrow not for loved ones who have died.
B. Return: Christ is Coming Again (4:14-15)
Acts 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven
1. Sleeping in Jesus?
a. The body is dead.
James 2:26 "For as the body without the spirit is dead."
b. The soul-spirit goes to be with the Lord, or else how could He bring them with Him when he returns.
c. The Greek word is koimao (2837) or koimaomai in
the middle or passive voice. In the N.T. this
always refers to the body that is asleep and not to the soul. S.Z.
2. To be "absent".
a. II Cor 5:1- 8 Read Scripture and Exposition by
Spiros Zodhiates
b. Phil 1:20 - 24 Read
3. Comfort to us in bereavement.
I Cor 15:51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
4. Comfort to us in service, persecution, etc.
II Cor 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
5. When?
a. W.W. Nobody knows, and it is wrong to set dates.
b. The Doctrine of the Imminent Return of Christ
Paul used "we". This suggests that he expected
to be alive when the Lord returned.
I Thes 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
c. In the twinkling of an eye. I Cor 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Defiine Moment 823 atomos -moment
C. Resurrection: The Christian Dead Will Rise (4:15-16)
1. Sequence I Cor 15:23 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
a. The Lord descends
-->The Lord with a Shout --> Issuing the "shout
of command"
John 11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
-->The Lord with the voice of an archangel.
Define Archangel
743 Archaggelos; from arche (746), first in time or rank, and aggelos (32), angel or messenger. Denotes the first or highest angel, archangel, leader of the angels. Denotes a definite rank by virtue of which one is qualified for special work and service. It always expresses a distinction of rank and not only of the special work and service for which one is sent. The archangel, head or ruler of the angels, sometimes denotes
Christ being the God-man (I Thess 4:16; John 5:25-27; Jude 9 ;
Zech. 3:2). S.Z.
-->The Lord with the trump.
*Gabriel is not mentioned to blow the trumpet. This shows how
unscriptural our songs and testimonies can be.
*Jewish people were familiar with trumpets, because trumpets were used to declare war, announce special times and seasons, and
to gather the people for a journey (Numbers 10). In the Roman Empire, trumpets were used to announce the arrival of a great person. When God gave the Law to Israel, the event was
preceded by a trumpet blast (Ex. 19:18-20).
Ps 47:5 Ex 19:16 Ex 20:18
A Voice as a Trumpet Rev 1:10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
& 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
b. The dead in Christ rise first.
-->Those "in the graves shall hear His voice".
John 5:28 --Living Christians will not "prevent" them which are asleep.
The word that is translated "prevent" is the Greek verb phthano (5348)
meaning "to anticipate, to be before, or to precede."
-->Resurrected dead have "new" bodies.
This does not mean that He will put
the elements of the body together
again, for resurrection is not "reconstruction". W.W.
It is a "spiritual" body. I Cor 15:44
*God "giveth it a body". I Cor 15:38
Refer to I Cor 15: 35 -
The dead body is the "seed" that is planted in
the ground; the resurrection body is the "Flower" that comes from the seed. W.W.
c. Then, living Christians are caught up.
Define caught up harpzo —catch up, take by force
We shall be changed" I Cor 15:52 (Again Paul includes)
d. The bodies of the dead and alive in Christ are the
same.
e. Comparison of earthly to heavenly bodies.
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
I Cor 15:39 --All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
f. We all meet the Lord in the air.
g. It was all a "mystery" before Paul.
Define Mystery – hidden things
D. Rapture: Living Believers Caught Up (4:17)
1. "To catch away speedily."
2. "To seize by force."
3. "To claim for one's self."
4. "To move to a new place."
5. "To rescue from danger."
E. Reunion: Christians forever with the Lord (4:17-18)
