May 17, 2022
God's Plan: What Drake Doesn't Want You to Know
1 Thessalonians 4
Grant Wilkie
Central Truth
Our faith in Jesus empowers us to grow in holiness, walk in love, and maintain hope in all circumstances.
Key Verse | 1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
1 Thessalonians 4
A Life Pleasing to God
1 Finally, then, brothers, 1 4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 10, 13 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: 2 4:3 Or your holiness that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body 3 4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, 4 4:15 Or by the word of the Lord that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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Listen NowDive Deeper | 1 Thessalonians 4
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul addresses a church attempting to remain faithful to its convictions despite persecution from its paganistic, hyper-sexualized, anti-Christian city.
Sound familiar?
How does a church maintain hope amid a broken world? Paul's words encouraged and instructed the Thessalonians. Listen closely; they can do the same for us today.
1 Thessalonians 4 has two primary themes: sanctification (the process of growing in holiness) and sleep (how Christians should think about death).
Paul minces no words: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification . . . ." (1 Thessalonians 4:3) Here, he exhorts the church to abstain from sexual immorality and remain faithful to God, for sin has dire consequences. Paul reminds the Thessalonians of their high calling: "For God has not called us to impurity, but in holiness." (1 Thessalonians 4:7)
Sanctification takes sacrifice. We cannot seriously hope to represent God as individuals or as a church if we live like sinners and unlike saints. God takes sin seriously; so should we.
Sometimes, sacrificing for your faith leads to persecution, suffering, or death. The Thessalonians experienced this firsthand. Understandably, the church wondered how to reconcile Christ's promises of eternal life, victory over death, and His victorious return while watching their loved ones perish.
Paul reminds the Thessalonians of God's faithfulness to His promises. He confidently writes: "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep." (1 Thessalonians 4:14)
For this reason—certainty in God's promises—Christians have no need to fear death. We can endure persecution with hope, because this world is not our home.
As chapter 4 ends, we are left convicted of sin and convinced of God's sovereignty. The modern American church could do with a healthy dose of both. Let these forces inform your life.
As the world increasingly turns away from God, as temptation attacks, as persecution beats you down, as our commitment to our Christian convictions is tested, fear not. God is faithfully with us.
"Therefore encourage one another with these words."
Discussion Questions
1. Oftentimes, we stop at "good" before we make it to "great." We settle for a good marriage, good friendship, good community group—we settle for complacency and don't strive for excellence. In what areas of your life could you follow Paul's encouragement to "do so more and more"?
2. This chapter makes it really clear that God is opposed to sexual sin. Our culture, on the other hand, makes it really clear that sexual freedom/deviance/expression is good and moral. How are you doing at maintaining your sexual integrity by "abstaining from sexual immorality"?
3. God has called us away from impurity and toward holiness. Oftentimes, we focus more on moving away from impure things than we do on moving toward pure things. When we care more about not doing impure things than we do about walking toward true holiness, we stand on the dangerous precipice of legalism. How should Christians rightly think about sanctification and holiness?
4. If you can trust that God is faithful to His promises in life and in death, how should that change the way you live today?