1 Thessalonians 4:1,2

Text (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)

1 Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk,that ye abound more and more. 2 For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Translation and Paraphrase

1.

(Now) therefore, brethren, (changing the subject to some remaining matters.) we ask you and urge (you) by the (authority and goodness of the) Lord Jesus, that, just as you have received from us (teachings concerning) how you ought to walk (that is, how to live your lives each day) and (how) to please God,as indeed you are walking(we urge you not merely to continue doing as you are, but) that you will increase (and even exceed) more (and more in doing so.)

2.

For you know what (the) commandments (were, which) we gave to you through the (authority and commission of the) Lord Jesus.

Notes (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)

1.

In all of Paul's letters to Gentile churches, there is a closing exhortation to purity of life, a warning against such sins as the Gentiles commonly practiced. These exhortations to the Thessalonians begin with the fourth chapter, and continue through the fifth.

2.

It is hard for us to visualize the degeneration of pagan society and morals. In one of the rooms uncovered in Pompeii, the city that was buried by the volcano Veseuvius in 79 A.D., there is a frieze picturing immoral scenes. This was the atmosphere in which many of the Gentiles of Paul's time wanted to live.

3.

Paul's prayer that they might be unblameable in holiness is carried right over into this new chapter with very specific instructions as to what they should do to be holy. Paul was always careful in his instructions to his converts to dwell on the practical side of Christianity, for

Vice is a monster of such frightful mien,
That to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.

4.

Chapter s four and five of I Thessalonians make up Part Two of the epistle, which is entitled in the outline Exhortations and Teachings.

5.

The first part of chapter four (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12) deals with the Walk of the Christian. The word walk refers to the way we live, as if life were a journey through which we are walking. Paul uses the word walk in this manner nearly thirty times in his epistles.

6.

No one could ever say that Paul was shy about asserting his authority, and claiming divine approval. Paul declares that the Thessalonians had received of us how ye ought to walk, and that his commandments were by the Lord Jesus.

Although Paul may appear to have been rather forward, we are thankful that he was not shy about these things, because Paul told us the truth, and we must know the truth to be saved. Throughout this chapter Paul asserts his inspiration.
This leads us to repeat a necessary teaching: We must follow what the apostles said if we are going to be saved. The apostles spoke the words which Jesus gave to them. The Holy Spirit led them into all truth. John 16:13-14. No church council, pope, or modern day prophet has any thing new from God to add to what the apostles said. Therefore We must do what the apostles said, and abound more and more in the way they taught us to walk and to please God.

7.

The American Standard version inserts a phrase, even as ye do walk, after the words please God in 1 Thessalonians 4:1. This addition has much support in the oldest New Testament manuscripts. It indicates that the Thessalonians had made a great change in their way of living since they had received the gospel.