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INTRODUCTION

In this next portion of this letter from Paul, we find a marvelous balance between our daily mundane concerns and our ultimate eschatological concerns. A taunt is sometimes leveled against certain Christians that they are “so heavenly-mined that they are no earthly good.” But this not how it works, actually.

C.S. Lewis sums the situation up nicely when he says this:

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next . . . It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither” (Mere Christianity)

THE TEXT

“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:9–18).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul begins the next section by saying that he does not need to teach them about brotherly love—for God Himself had taught them that (v. 9). And they were doing what they had been taught to do, loving all the brothers throughout Macedonia (v. 10). Paul’s plea was that they do what they already knew how to do more and more (v. 10). However, this active love is not a busybody love. It studies to be quiet (v. 11), to mind its own business (v. 11), work with its own hands (v. 11), as Paul had commanded. The reason for this ethic was so that they could walk honestly before outsiders, and not lack anything (v. 12).

He does not want them to be in the dark over what happens to fellow believers who “fall asleep in the Lord” (v. 13). They should not sorrow over them in the same way as those who have no hope (v. 13). For if Jesus died and rose (v. 14), even so those who have fallen asleep will be brought by God (v. 14). For Paul assures them by the word of the Lord that those who survive to the Lord’s appearing will have no advantage over those who died beforehand (v. 15). The Lord will descend from Heaven with a shout, an archangel’s voice, the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise (v. 16). Those alive at that time will follow after (v. 17). These are to be words of comfort (v. 18).

TEND TO YOUR OWN KNITTING

The great Pauline principle here is “mind thine own business.” You do this, not because you are telling the rest of the body to get lost, but rather because you need to acquire something before you can give it. You cannot give what you do not have, and you cannot have something to give unless you came by it honestly. Paul says something very close to this in Ephesians, when he tells the thief to work with his hands instead of pilfering with them. The reason is so that he might have something to give (Eph. 4:28). Loving more and more means gathering more and more, and it also means being generous with it. We give to get, in order that we might be enabled to give even more.

Notice how this works. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they were already loving all the brothers throughout all of Macedonia, and he urges them on. Do this more and more, he says. With this as the basic baseline charge, what is the action he then demands? Study to be quiet. Mind your own business. Work with your hands. Conduct your business honestly. Save your money.

And do all your work with the Second Coming on your mind. This is a juxtaposition that has radical implications for societal transformation.

COMFORT ONE ANOTHER

Paul moves seamlessly into his next topic, and we learn that Monday morning in the workplace and the end of the world are actually all part of the same subject.

In the short time that Paul and the Thessalonians had been acquainted, some of the saints in the Thessalonian church had already died. There was therefore some concern among the Thessalonians that these departed saints were somehow going to miss out if the Lord came. What is going to happen to them? Paul says that it goes the opposite way. When the Lord comes, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those who remained alive until that glorious day would be transfigured. That is when we will all be together with Lord, and we will be with Him together forever.

In an earlier message, we noted that not every Parousia in Scripture refers to the Second Coming. But this appearing unmistakably does refer to the end of the world. If you have any doubts, look at the events that surround it. There is a general resurrection of the dead. The living are caught up into the clouds. There is a great shout, probably that of the archangel. There is the last trumpet blast. The Lord descends from Heaven. This is not the demolition of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

HEAVEN AND EARTH KISS

So in the work of the saints, we should be able to see God’s declared purpose of bringing heaven and earth back together (Eph. 1:10). The Fall was the point where Heaven was “removed” to an almost infinite distance. But in Christ we are privileged to learn that Heaven is close, and by grace can be opened, and it is merely one short dove flight above the Jordan. When the Lord descends from Heaven, He will come down to your shop, your office, and your kitchen. He will come down to inspect His workmanship (Eph. 2:10), and He will look at your work as part of that (1 Tim. 6:18; Tit. 2:14; 3:8,14). This is because your work is part of His workmanship, and all of it is under a thick layer of grace.

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INTRODUCTION

We come now to the passage in Thessalonians that addresses the vast difference between the Christian sexual ethic and a pagan sexual ethic. We want to be careful here because there is a ditch on both sides of the road. Some Christians have confused being fastidious with being holy, and they are not the same thing at all. Other Christians have veered off the road on the opposite side, and are drinking all the ditch water that the porn industry can supply. So let us try to stay on the road, shall we?

THE TEXT

“Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 4:1–8)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We have seen how dear the Thessalonians were to Paul, as expressed in the previous chapter, and these exhortations are built on that foundation (v. 1). Paul says that just as they had received Paul’s teaching on how to please God, he now begs them, exhorting them, to do this more and more (v. 1). For “you know,” he says, reminding, what commandments we gave you (v. 2) “by the Lord Jesus.” Sanctification is God’s will for them, especially sexual sanctification (v. 3). Every one should know how to “possess his vessel” in sanctification and honor (v. 4). This is contrasted with the “lust of concupiscence,” which is characteristic of Gentiles who do not know God (v. 5). Sexual immorality is not “victimless,” as Paul says here that it is a matter of defrauding your brother—and God is the avenger for the defrauded one (v. 6). God’s calling for us is not to uncleanness, but rather to holiness (v. 7). If a man despises this commandment, he is not primarily despising man, but rather God (v. 8)—the same God who has given us His Holy Spirit.

THE POSSIBILITY OF PLEASING GOD

First, we must set the stage. Far too many Christians, particularly in our own Reformed camp, think of their Christian lives as having the ultimate goal of “not displeasing” God. Like the servant in the parable, they think their master is a hard master, and so their objective is simply to stay out of trouble. And that’s actually how they get into trouble.

Notice that Paul had taught them how to walk in a way that pleased God, and now he wanted them to do this more and more. Holiness is not the absence of sin, although cleansing from sin is a precondition. Holiness is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). It is the presence of something, and it is crowned with the pleasure of God. Not only so, but there is always room for advancement.

CAN GOD’S WILL BE THWARTED?

This is a good place for us to note that the phrase “the will of God” has to be understood in two senses. The decretive will of God cannot be thwarted by anyone at any time. Even Nebuchadnezzar knew this (Dan. 4:35). If God has determined that something will happen, then that something is going to happen.

God’s preceptive will has to do with what He has commanded us to do. This will can be thwarted, which is why we are instructed in v. 3 here not to disobey that will. We are told not to disobey that will because we could.

And remember there are times when the two kinds of wills intersect. When Jesus died on the cross, it was the will of God (Luke 22:42; Acts 4:26-28) even though it was accomplished by wicked hands (Acts 2:23). The violation of God’s preceptive will by Judas, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Sanhedrin, etc. was the instrument God used to accomplish His decretive will.

POSSESSING YOUR VESSEL

There is an ambiguity here. When Paul says that each one should know how to “possess his vessel,” is he talking about the person’s own body, or is he talking about that person’s wife? It is true either way, and it amounts to the same kind of behavior either way, but I am taking it in the latter sense.

When it comes to sexual behavior, it is not a contrast between the Gentiles possessing and the Christians not possessing. Both possess “their vessels.” But one does so with these descriptors—dishonor, uncleanness, passionate lust, fraudulence, and contempt. Don’t possess anything that way, Paul says.

By way of contrast, he requires sexual behavior from Christians (not sexless behavior) that is sanctified, honorable, honest, clean, and holy. When Paul says in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, he is talking about avoiding sexual impurity (1 Cor. 6:18). He is not talking about avoiding refined sugar or transfats. (Something is transfat, for example, when a baby carrot identifies as grease on the inside.)

Some of you may be thinking, “Great. Now I have to talk with my kids about all this on the way home.” To which an appropriate response might be “and about time.” The Thessalonians had learned from Paul how they were supposed to behave in this area (vv. 1-2). He taught on it. To leave the subject untouched (for the sake of remaining prissy and fastidious, as mentioned earlier) will not leave your children in some neutral zone. The world does not hesitate to catechize everyone in their sexual mores—through sex ed, through pop entertainment, and through porn. But in our revolt against this, we want to be joyful in holiness, not grim in our moralism.

JUSTIFICATION AND THE PLEASURE OF GOD

We are called to live in such a way as to please God. But this is not possible without the baseline of justification—the legal and forensic declaration of not guilty in the court chambers of Heaven. Our free and complete justification sets us free to pursue our sanctification without timidity.

Because of that great declaration of not guilty, we have no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). On the foundation of that great declaration, we are set free to be spiritually minded, which is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). To fall short of this, to be carnally minded, results in what? It means that those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8).

And this is why we declare Christ as your righteousness, as your complete justification. Because of that, and only because of that, His Spirit is at work in your for your sanctification, which includes your sexual life—whether in thought, words, or deeds.

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