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 THESSALONIANS -
to warn you in advance that we would undergo a iction, just as has happened, as you know.c 5For this reason, when I too could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had put you to the test and our toil might come to nothing.
6But just now Timothy has returned to us from you, bringing us the good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us and long to see us as we long to see you. 7Because of this, we have been reassured about you, brothers, in our every distress and a iction, through your faith. 8For we now live, if you stand rm in the Lord.
Concluding Thanksgiving and Prayer. 9* What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you, for all the joy we feel on your account before our God? 10Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the de ciencies of your faith. 11Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, 12and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you,d 13so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. [Amen.]e
III. SPECIFIC EXHORTATIONS
things, as we told you before and solemnly a rmed. 7For God did not 8
callustoimpuritybuttoholiness. Therefore,whoeverdisregardsthis, disregards not a human being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you.b
General Exhortations.
that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves 4
to please God—and as you are conducting yourselves—you do so even more. 2For you know what instructions* we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
Holiness in Sexual Conduct.* 3This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, 4that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, 5not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God;a 6not to take advantage of or exploit a brother in this matter, for the Lord is an avenger in all these
1Finally, brothers, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus
3:1
Paul wants to return to Thessalonica, so he can continue to teach the Thessalonians—and rejoice with them—in person. His language glows with the intensity of his genuine love for them: he speaks of being “bereft,” “eager,” and able to “bear it no longer.”
4:3
Paul urges the Thessalonians to holiness in their married lives—loving their spouses but avoiding “immorality” and “lustful passion” (4:5).
It is not sexuality in itself that is immoral. Rather, within marriage, sexuality is part of our response to God’s call to holiness.
a. [3:1] Acts 17:14.
b. [3:2] Acts 16:1–2; 1 Cor 3:5–9.
c. [3:4] Acts 14:22; 2 Thes 2:5–7;
2 Tm 3:12.
d. [3:12] 4:9–10; 2 Thes 1:3.
e. [3:13] 5:23; 1 Cor 1:8.
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* [3:9–10] The tension between Paul’s optimism concerning the Thessalonians’ faith and his worries about their perseverance remains unresolved. Perhaps this is accounted for not only by the continuing harassment but also by the shortness of his own stay in Thessalonica (even if that were over twice as long as the conventional three weeks that Luke assigns to it, Acts 17:2).
* [4:2] Instructions: these include speci c guidelines on the basis of the Lord’s authority, not necessarily sayings Jesus actually uttered. More profoundly, as 1 Thes 4:8 implies, the instructions are practical principles that Paul worked out in accordance with his understanding of the role of the Spirit.
* [4:3–8] Many think that this passage deals with a variety of moral regulations (fornication, adultery, sharp business practices). It can be more speci cally interpreted as bringing general norms to bear on a speci c problem, namely, marriage within degrees of consanguinity (as between uncle and niece) forbidden in Jewish law but allowed according to a Greek heiress law, which would insure retention of an inheritance within the family and perhaps thereby occasion divorce. In that case, “immorality” (1 Thes 4:3) should be rendered as “unlawful marriage” and “this matter” (1 Thes 4:6) as “a lawsuit.” The phrase in 1 Thes 4:4, “acquire a wife for himself,” has often been interpreted to mean “control one’s body.”