1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

V1-8 – ¹Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. ²For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. ³It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴that each of you should learn to control his own body [or learn to live with his own wife, or learn to acquire a wife] in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; ⁶and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. ⁷For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you His Holy Spirit.

Paul begins his final instruction here, and it is to strive for sanctification continually. There is no room in the Christian life for spiritual complacency (Philippians 3:13), but holiness remains the goal. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he has already taught them how to live lives that “please God,” and he acknowledges that they are doing it well. But as long as we live, this must be the goal. There is no end to it, nor can it be attained perfectly until Christ’s return. But progress is asked for and urged in the Lord by the Lord from the Lord (v1-2).

In v3, Paul speaks of “God’s will.” We may understand that God’s will could be decretive (secret), as in Ephesians 1:11, whatsoever comes to pass; and we may also see God’s will as perceptive (revealed), as here and in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, our duty to progress in sanctification. Calvin says of our sanctification, “Renouncing the world, and clearing ourselves from the pollutions of the flesh, we offer ourselves to God as if in sacrifice, for nothing can with propriety be offered to Him, but what is pure and holy.” The primary thing that inhibits sanctification, according to Paul, is “sexual immorality” (v3). Calvin quotes, “Where the knowledge of God reigns, lusts must be subdued.” Pagan religions of Paul’s day encouraged sexual immorality, and most married men were adulterers by popular culture. Converting to Christianity awakened morality in the Thessalonians and revealed God’s righteous standards to them. Sexual sin – against God and man – affects all Christians, not just one’s spouse or one’s self (Romans 13:14). Thus, Paul elaborates on this teaching through v8.

Furthermore, Paul’s teaching on sexual sin is harsh; he doesn’t water it down in order to show compassion. Calvin says, “Now, the reason why he rouses himself so vehemently is, because there are always wanton persons who, while they fearlessly despise God, treat with ridicule all threatenings of His judgment, and at the same time hold in derision all injunctions as to a holy and pious life. Such persons must not be taught, but must be beaten with severe reproofs as with the stroke of a hammer.”

Paul doesn’t say, “It’s okay, try harder, or rely more on God next time.” No! Paul declares that “It is God’s will that…you should avoid sexual immorality…learn to control [your] own body…not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God… The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you… God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God.” Every time we commit sexual sin, we reject God and invite punishment from Him for such activity. We’ve been told and warned.

Finally, notice in v8 that Paul considers his teaching, his words, to carry divine authority. He has already stated that in v2, and it is clear that Paul is basing his teaching of Christian ethics on the metaphysical truth of God. It would not be a big deal to reject Paul’s ethical teaching if it was the opinion of mere man, or even if was deemed “good” for the majority of mankind; but to reject Paul’s ethical teaching as God’s instruction is to invite punishment on oneself (v6). In the end, Paul stresses both the Holy Spirit’s role in bringing the truth that his teachings are God’s teachings to individuals and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling as the source of power unto righteousness, maintaining temperance, in the Christian life.