1 Thessalonians 4 - Introduction

Outline:

I. General admonition to please God: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

II. Specific admonition concerning fornication: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

III. Exhortation for increased brotherly love: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10

IV. Admonition to the lazy: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

V. Comfort to those sorrowing over the state of deceased Christians: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

“In the first main part of the letter Paul has explained the circumstances which prevented him from returning to the church at Thessalonica in order that he might encourage and instruct the members. Now in the second main part he proceeds to write the kind of instructions that he would have liked to pass on to them orally” (Marshall p. 103). “Christianity is eminently practical, there is an inseparable connection between doctrine and duty, between faith and life” (Erdman p. 52). The above comment should remind us of. valuable truth. The New Testament letters contain the information concerning what Jesus would say to. congregation, if He were still upon the earth (1 Corinthians 14:37). God would not have told the Thessalonians something different, even if He had spoken it directly and audibly from heaven. There is no difference between the quality or content of an audible message from God verses. written communication which He has inspired. man to write. Stott has the following observations concerning this section of Scripture:

“One of the great weaknesses of contemporary evangelical Christianity is our comparative neglect of Christian ethics, in both our teaching and our practice. In consequence, we have become known rather as people who preach the gospel than as those who live and adorn it. We are not always conspicuous in the community, as we should be, our personal honesty and integrity or for the stability of our homes in which unfaithfulness and divorce are practically unknown and children grow up in the secure love of parents. God's commandments include such mundane matters as our daily work (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12) and penetrate even into the personal privacies of sex and marriage (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6); that God judges those who are sexually selfish (1 Thessalonians 4:6). There is an urgent need for us, as pluralism (tolerate everything but the truth) and relativism spread worldwide, to follow Paul's example and give people plain, practical, ethical teaching. And right from the beginning converts must be told that the new life in Christ is. holy life,. life bent on pleasing God by obeying his commandments” (pp. 76,77).

This section probably reveals what might have been either troubling some Christians in Thessalonica, or what could very easily trouble them if they were not careful. Some writers suggest that this section may also be. response to questions (either oral or written) from the congregation in Thessalonica (compare 1 Thessalonians 4:1 with 1 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Corinthians 7:25; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1).

Chapter 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Morris notes, “The Thessalonians had welcomed the teaching they had received (concerning the Second Coming). But with the passage of time and the march of events questions arose in their minds. The one which occupies our attention at this point is, ‘What becomes of believers who die before the Second Coming?' This question must have arisen quite early in the history of the church. We get the impression that the Thessalonians had understood Paul to mean that the Parousia (Second Coming) would take place within their lifetime. They had become perplexed when some of their number died. Did this mean that they had lost their share in the events associated with that great day?” (p. 136). Now Paul did not teach that the Second Coming would definitely happen in their lifetime (2 Thessalonians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:1). Yet it is reasonable that certain individuals had misunderstood him, for he was misunderstood on other topics (1 Corinthians 5:9; Romans 3:8; Romans 6:1), and is still misunderstood by many people in the denominational world to this day.