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1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
We have seen that the assembly in Thessalonica received high praise from the apostle Paul. In this letter,
he has commended them for their faith and their endurance, even in the face of severe persecution from
their former pagan associates.
And the Thessalonian believers were not swayed by the campaign of slander against Paul and the other
missionaries, which the unbelieving Jews in the city had instigated. Nor were the believers taken in by the
crafty, persuasive words of those who tried to get them to renounce their faith.
These believers had stood fast in the Lord, keeping before their eyes their remembrance of the missionaries
their works and their words and they continued to imitate them in their faith, despite their lengthy
separation.
When Paul was finally free to send Timothy back to Thessalonica to visit the new assembly there, several
months would have elapsed. Timothy continued to establish and encourage the brethren there in the word
of God. Then after a time, Timothy rejoined Paul in Corinth, and reported on what was happening in
Thessalonica.
This letter is Pauls response to that report; and as we have seen, Pauls heart was overflowing with praise
and love for them. But though the faith of the Thessalonians was commendable, it was not perfect; and the
balance of Pauls letter provided encouragement, exhortation and instruction for the assembly in
Thessalonica, to perfect what was lacking in their faith.
Chapter 4 begins with a connecting word, translated finally then in the NKJV; furthermore in the KJV;
it literally means hence forward from this to that. This word is being used as a transition into the next
subject from Pauls prayer for the Thessalonian believers in chapter 3, verse 11-13.
Paul had prayed that the Lord make these believers increase and abound in love to one another and to all
so that the Lord may establish their hearts blameless in holiness before Him. Now Paul will go on to
show the believers in Thessalonica how that love is to be expressed in their lives.
4:1-2 When Paul, Silas and Timothy were in Thessalonica, they gave the new believers there foundational
teaching in the faith. The doctrine that they taught was the apostles doctrine (Acts 2:42); which was the
doctrine of the Lord Jesus (Mt 28:20). This would include the OT Scriptures, and the teachings and
commandments of Jesus (Lk 24:44-45).
Paul is citing here the divine authority of the teaching that the Thessalonian believers received: it was from
the Lord Jesus Himself. The teaching that the Thessalonians received showed them how they must walk so
as to please God. In Scripture, the walk speaks of the conduct. So these teachings informed the
Thessalonians on how to conduct themselves in accordance with Gods will.
Gods will is His good pleasure whats pleasing to Him. Paul was exhorting these new believers, as
fellow members with him in the Body of Christ in the Lord Jesus to be obedient to the commands of the
Lord Jesus that they had given them thats Gods will. They would be obedient, as they abounded more
and more. More and more in what? Look back at 3:12; what was Pauls prayer? That they abound in love.
As they abounded more and more in love, they would be more and more obedient.

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We see that love and obedience are linked together. It is love of God that motivates us to be obedient and
nothing less. Apart from loving God, we have no desire to keep His commandments. Jesus said, If you
love Me, keep My commandments (Jn 14:15); and, He who has My commandments and keeps them, it
is he who loves Me (Jn 14:21).
The term commandments here is often used of military orders, such as when a command is passed along
a line of soldiers. In this case, it is the Lord Jesus who is the Commander; and the missionaries have passed
along His commandments to the assembly in Thessalonica, who are to carry out His commandments. The
commandments of Jesus are for all the Body of Christ.
Now, Israel had been given commandments from God. What was the purpose of those commandments,
which we know as the Law? Was the purpose of the Law to justify them? No Paul will later write that by
the deeds of the Law, no flesh is justified in Gods sight (Rm 3:20a). The Law cannot justify a man,
because man cannot keep the Law. To break even one point of the Law makes a man guilty of breaking all
of it (James 2:10); and the penalty for breaking the Law is death (Lev 18:5).
By the Law is the knowledge of sin (Rm 3:20b). When a man transgressed the Law of God, he could see
that he was a sinner. The Law was also a tutor, to bring us to Christ (Gal 3:24). It was through the
ceremonial law, with the tabernacle and its priesthood and sacrifices, that a man could see the Savior whom
God would provide, to save him from his sin. That was the purpose of the Law the commandments of
God to Israel so that they would come to Him, for salvation.
In our passage today, we see that Paul had given the Thessalonians commandments. They were
commandments given by the Lord Jesus for His disciples; commandments that had been passed from Him
to the apostles, and then to other believers; and these commandments have become part of our Scriptures,
so that all believers would have them. Unlike the Law given to Israel, these commandments have been
given to those who have already been justified; who have salvation.
So what is the purpose of these commandments? We have just seen this in verse 1 the purpose of the
commandments is so that believers can walk so as to please God.
Paul will conclude his thoughts on the believers conduct in verse 12, where we see another purpose of the
commandments: that believers may walk properly toward them that are outside their walk is a witness to
unbelievers.
And in the passage between, Paul will speak of brotherly love for that is how believers should walk with
one another, as fellow members of the Body of Christ.
Therefore, we can say that the purpose of the commandments for believers is so that the glory of God may
be seen reflected back to Him, for His pleasure; reflected to one another, for our edification; reflected to
the outside world, that they may be drawn to the light. That is the purpose of the commandments of Jesus,
to the Body of Christ.
But heres a question: If men couldnt keep Gods commandments before, how can they keep them now?
Are the commandments of Jesus any easier to keep than the Law? No both are the expressed will of
God; both require more of a man than he is able to give, in his natural state.

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The difference is Christ. In Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can keep the commandments
of God. What does it take? Moment by moment, it takes believing God; submitting to Him.
But what if you dont submit to Him in a matter, and you break one of the commandments He gave to His
church do you invoke the death penalty? No, because you are in Christ. In Christ, if we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9).
Do you lose your salvation? No, because you are in Christ. Jesus gave us everlasting life, and we shall
never perish; no one can snatch us out of His hand (Jn 10:28).
You do lose something, though, if you break His commandments. You lose your opportunity to reflect
Him; for no light can be seen through a sullied vessel. You also lose your fellowship with Him, until you
choose to be restored through confession and cleansing. These disincentives motivate us to keep His
commandments; we want love to abound, not sin!
Well, what about the commands in the Law? Those, too, are the commandments of God; they are His
expressed will. Do we keep them? These commands were, in particular, Gods expressed will for His
nation Israel; we are to keep that which the Lord shows us.
Are we to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our
strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves? Yes (Mk 12:30-31). Are we to not covet? Yes. Are we to
keep the Sabbath? No that was a picture to Israel, to enter into the rest that God has for them, in Christ.
Are we to observe dietary restrictions? No they were pictures for Israel, also. What defiles the man is
not what goes into him, but what he comes out of him (Mk 7:15)
In fact, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all
things edify (1 Cor 10:23). So how do I know what commands to keep? That takes living by the person of
Jesus.
If you live by principle, you will choose what commands to keep, and not keep, and how, and when; then
youll be a god unto yourself, but you wont be doing Gods will; and there will be no love and no power in
what you do.
But if you live by the person of Jesus depending upon Him to show you, by His Spirit, His
commandments, that you are to keep and when to keep them, and where, and how then you will walk
pleasing to God, for you will always be in His will. In living by the person of Christ, by obeying His Spirit
within us, we will keep His Word.
This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments by living by the person of Jesus. And dont
worry because His commandments are not burdensome (1 Jn 5:3).
Returning to Paul and the Thessalonians, we understand that they received commandments from Paul the
commandments of the Lord Jesus which, through love, they would be enabled to do, by which they would
walk so as to please God. Paul had in mind certain commandments which he wanted to reiterate to them.
v. 3 Paul begins with a fundamental statement about the will of God for the Thessalonian believers and
for every believer and that is their sanctification.

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We came across a related word last week in Pauls prayer (v. 3:13). There the Greek word was translated
holiness, as it referred to the completed state of sanctification. Here, and in verses 4 and 7 (holiness), it
refers generally to the process of being sanctified; but it is still a forward-looking word, pointing to the
resultant state.
Sanctification means separation unto God, for His purposes. When a man believes into Jesus as His Savior,
the Holy Spirit sanctifies him, setting him apart unto God for salvation (2 Th 2:13). This is done through
the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit to the mans spirit (Titus 3:5). The man is
now in Christ Jesus, who becomes for him wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and
redemption (1 Cor 1:30).
In Christ, the man has become a sanctified one he is no longer a sinner, but a saint. He has been set apart
to God; he now belongs to the Lord, and his purpose is to do Gods will; to serve the living and true God (1
Th 1:9).
The saint is no longer a sinner, but can he still sin? Yes. He can still choose to take in what this world
system has to offer, and to serve self with it; or he can choose to serve God, and so be separated from this
world system; he will be in the world, but not of it.
Therefore, there is an ongoing sanctification, as well in which the saint, of his own volition, chooses to be
separated from the world, and separated unto God that is the process of sanctification. It is also the work
of the Holy Spirit in the believer, but the believer does make a choice to be so set apart.
Although the word we have here for the process of sanctification is occasionally translated holiness, that is
usually reserved for the completed state of sanctification; when one is holy, as God is holy.
Now, Paul was not just talking about sanctification, in general. He had something very specific on his mind
concerning the Thessalonian believers and that was to abstain from sexual immorality.
The translation in the NKJV here is an unfortunate one. Paul was not speaking of morality, the standard of
which is relative to any given society, based on their mores their societal rules. Paul was talking about
retaining Gods absolute standard of sexual purity that is, to abstain from fornication, as in the KJV that
is, to keep completely away from every kind of illicit sexual act. This would describe any sexual relations
other than that between a married husband and wife.
Was fornication a problem in the assembly at Thessalonica? It probably was not. Paul does not mention
anything specific; the wording here suggests that Paul was warning them, not chastising them, unlike what
we see with the assembly in Corinth (1 Cor 5). And it is apparent that Paul and the other missionaries had
already taught this about fornication while they were still in Thessalonica, as we see from verse 2: they
know what commands Paul and the others gave them through the Lord Jesus.
If there was no specific incident, and if Paul already taught them about abstaining from fornication, why
would Paul be reiterating it? Because there may not have been fornication in the assembly; but there was
rampant fornication in Thessalonica.
Here is a quote that describes that culture:

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We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines [these were slaves] for our day-to-day bodily needs, but we
have wives to produce legitimate children and serve as trustworthy guardians of our homes (from
Demosthenes oration Against Neaera).
Premarital relations were also considered acceptable, particularly for men, as were homosexual acts. Not
only that, but there were also ritualized sexual practices through the pagan religions, where relations with
temple prostitutes were seen as a means of drawing closer to the gods. Both Greeks and Romans did not
view fornication as sin, but as part of normal life. These were no less than pornographic societies.
Remember that the assembly in Thessalonica was composed principally of former pagan Greeks, who had
been completely part of this degraded culture unlike the Jews, who tended to reserve sex for marriage, in
accordance with the Law of Moses (Gen 2:24, Deut 22:13-29). It is likely that many of the pagans who
became Christ Ones had at one time practiced such things; and they were surrounded by a culture by
friends and family members that still practiced the same.
Paul was at this time writing to them from Corinth, which was also renowned for its sexual perversity. You
can understand how this would have provoked Pauls spirit, as he was writing to the Thessalonians.
Paul knew that this would have been a particular temptation for the assembly in Thessalonica, because of
their history and culture; so he writes to them of it first, at the forefront of his warnings, as a means of
reminding them of what the Lord Jesus has commanded them: to abstain from fornication.
v. 4-6 In verse 3, Paul had stated the command in the negative; now he puts it in a positive light. They are
to possess their own vessels in sanctification and honor. Vessel here is a metaphor for the body, which
holds the life of the man within it. The idea, with the word possess, is for a man to keep his body in his
possession; that is, under his control.
Now, how were these Thessalonians to keep their bodies under control, when they have never had to
control them before? They would do so through the Holy Spirit; in yielding themselves to God, and their
members to Him as instruments of righteousness, they would not practice unrighteousness; they would
exhibit that fruit of the Spirit, self-control, in the area of sexual sin; they would keep themselves pure.
Paul said that they should know how to do this; they had an understanding, a full knowledge of it. How
would they know this? Because they have the Holy Spirit in them, who leads them into all truth (Jn 16:13).
The truth is that their body was a temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul would later write to the assembly at
Corinth about this. Turn to First Corinthians chapter 6.
[[1Corinthians 6:12-20]
v. 12 There is freedom in Christ, but not for that which is not profitable for the believer, nor for that by
which the believer would be enslaved.
v. 13 Foods are an example of the freedom that a Christ One has; he has no dietary restrictions. Yet if
eating a food would cause a weaker brother to stumble, he should curb his freedom for their sake because
it would not be profitable to the Body of Christ, then (Rm 14).
But fornication is another matter. This is plainly evil for it is a violation of the purity of the body, which
belongs to the Lord, and in which He lives, in the believer.

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v. 14 The body of the believer is to be transformed into a body of glory. It has a purpose to the Lord, and
is therefore be set apart to Him, as holy.
v. 15-18 Our bodies are members of Christ. His is a glorious, resurrection body and we are members of
it God seeing us as complete, already glorified with Him. How can a body of glory be one with the body
of a harlot? Holiness, one with sinfulness? It cannot be! We are, here and now, one with Christ; part of
that new creation in Him we are His. We can have no part in sexual vice, which is a sin against our own
bodies, and dishonors the Body of Christ, as well.
v. 19-20 the clause and in your spirit, which are Gods in verse 20 is not in the best manuscripts. The
verse ends with glorify God in your body.
You are not your own. You are the Lords, twice over by right of creation, and by right of redemption.
You were bought with the precious blood of Christ. You owe it to God to glorify Him in your body for it
belongs to Him.
The Thessalonian believers had received the Holy Spirit the moment they believed. Paul would have
taught them that their bodies were now vessels of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for
every good work (2 Tim 2:21) and that their bodies must not be dishonored, through fornication.
They would have known experientially by now of the love, the joy and the peace of the Holy Spirit. They
knew He did truly dwell in them; and they had already submitted to the process of sanctification that He
had begun in them (Phil 1:6). Pauls words would be a reminder of what they did indeed already know
but the reminder would undoubtedly be needful for some members of their assembly, in their particular
circumstances.
[Return to First Thessalonians]
In verse 5, Paul wrote of the passion of lust. In Pauls writings, passion does not ever denote something
good, but evil. It is not a strong or even violent feeling, as we would speak of passion; it is an
overmastering feeling, in which a man is borne along by evil as though the man were its passive
instrument. Lust speaks more to the active side of the vice; the urges of the body.
Paul is speaking about uncontrollable sexual desires. They are uncontrollable, in the heathen Paul is
speaking here of unbelieving Gentiles those who are willfully ignorant of God.
The heathen are ruled by their lusts. But the believer submits to the rule of God over his body; he is not
caught in the grip of such uncontrollable urges. Those who are Christs have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires (Gal 5:24); and as they walk in the Spirit they will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal
5:16). It is a choice, but in choosing to believe and obey God, they have the power over the sin in them.
As opposed to giving their bodies over to the passion of lust, believers are to keep their bodies in
sanctification and honor. Sanctification excludes impurity; impurity dishonors the body, which is to be an
instrument used in the service to God.
Sexual perversion is a sin against ones own body, and denies God what is rightfully His. But it is also a
sin against ones fellow man, as seen in verse 6. The term take advantage in the Greek means to step
over certain limits, or overreach. To defraud means to take what is not rightfully yours.

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God intended the body to be saved for the marriage relationship, between one man and one woman
husband and wife. The faithful love of a marriage, including the sexual union, is a reflection of our
relationship with the Lord.
Any form of sexual sin any sexual relations outside the marriage relationship is an act of injustice
against at least one other party. This obviously applies to adultery, but it also applies to premarital
relations; an injustice is done to a future marriage partner, when a sexual act is committed before marriage.
And if there is a conception as a result of sexual sin, the baby is born with the stigma of illegitimacy.
Paul makes it clear that the heathen, who do not know God, who practice such sexual perversions as a way
of life will not go unpunished. Paul describes the Lord as the avenger - the punisher of all such sinners.
This means that the Lord will execute justice against them; and it will be a just retribution, as a
consequence of their sins.
We can see in our world, which is not unlike the pagan climate in Thessalonica, that there are consequences
of sexual sins, even here and now. But Pauls statement really looks forward to the Day of Judgment. Turn
to Ephesians chapter 5. Paul was making a similar statement to the assembly in Ephesus.
[Ephesians 5:1-7]
v. 1-2 This is a reference to the burnt offering, a whole offering for the Lord.
v. 3-7 the wrath of God will be executed on sinners, which will end with the Lake of Fire. It will be a just
retribution.
[Return to First Thessalonians]
Now, this judgment would not come upon those in Thessalonica who have truly believed into the Lord, and
have passed from death to life everlasting. But there were undoubtedly some in the assembly who may
have thought that they believed, but had never really submitted themselves to God, and received His Life.
Sexual sin would be a litmus test for them, as fornication was so prevalent in Thessalonica. They were now
doubly warned by Paul of what awaited those who did not believe for he had already told them this when
he was with them.
v. 7-8 Those of the assembly in Thessalonica needed to be diligent to make their call and election sure (2
Pet 1:10). God had not called them to uncleanness; that is something that the ungodly chose for
themselves. God called them in holiness in sanctification that was the atmosphere into which He
called them a heavenly atmosphere.
They were to be vessels of honor, fit for the Masters use. If any member of the assembly rejected this call
to holiness, refusing to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, it was no less than a rejection of
God, a despising of Him that one was treating the Lord as if He were of no account.
In verse 8, Holy Spirit is translated more literally, His Spirit, the holy emphasizing His holiness.
The Lord gives those who believe in Him His Spirit, who is holy. How could it be that one would not keep
the vessel in which the Spirit dwelled holy? It must never be, in a Christ One! Paul was showing the
magnitude of this sin through this inconceivable illustration.
Paul now moved on to a different subject he wishes to address with the Thessalonians.

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v. 9-10 Paul is making a contrast, from illicit, impure forms of affection to brotherly love, which has the
purest of motives and conduct. Brotherly love philadelphia, in the Greek speaks of the love that one
has for a brother. In regular use, it is the love that binds the children of one father. In the NT, it is therefore
the love that unites Christ Ones to each other.
There is a special love that exists between siblings in the same family speaking of a family that functions
as it ought. You dont choose your siblings, do you? No the parents make that determination! But as
each one is born into that family, a special bond is formed with the other siblings; they are related,
connected.

They are trained up by the same parents, and they reflect their standards and their thinking; and this means
that the siblings share that thinking, too. The family has certain goals; they do things together; they are of
one household; they work together, each with their own special role and contribution, based on their
abilities. When one member of the family has a sorrow or a joy, the whole household feels it. And the
welfare of all is the concern of each one.
Some siblings get along better than others. You may like one sibling more than another. But all siblings in
a functional family nonetheless love each other and that love is the glue of the family; that love is what
makes it a family, and not just a bunch of people, living together.
These things are more or less true for brethren in the family of God; the household of Christ. We dont
have a choice about who are brethren are, do we? God makes that decision. But as sons of God, we are all
related; connected, by the Holy Spirit.
As we have our thinking transformed to Gods thinking, we become more and more like-minded; for we
have the mind of Christ. That like-mindedness is a characteristic of philadelphia, brotherly love a related
word is phileo, which means love based on similar interests; a like-minded love.
Were all individuals; we all have our different abilities, based upon what God has given us; but we all
bring those abilities together, working together of the good of the whole family. We care for one another,
and look out for each other; and its our love that holds us together, and makes us what we are: the family
of God. Thats brotherly love, charged through and through with the love of God, agape, that selflessly
meets the needs of others.
Paul said he had no need to write to the Thessalonians about this for they already manifested brotherly
love to one another, and did so, continually, toward all believers throughout Macedonia. Now, who had
taught them to do this? Paul wrote, they were taught by God. Jesus had told His disciples to love one
another as I have loved you (Jn 13:34). The Thessalonians would have learned to love as Jesus loved by
His Spirit, who dwelled in them.
Paul had no need to write them, but he did for he desired to encourage them to love even more. The
Greek word for increase is translated abound in 3:12 and 4:1; this is the theme of Pauls entire
exhortation to them; that they would abound more and more in love in agape, self-denying love toward
all people, and in philadelphia, love toward their brethren in Christ.

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Paul is thinking of a particular way that the Thessalonians should abound more in love an area where they
needed some improvement.
v. 11-12 Now, keep in mind that Paul is saying that this was a way for the Thessalonian believers to
abound more and more in brotherly love.
Paul exhorted the believers to aspire to make it their ambition to lead a quiet life. That sounds like
theyre to make it their ambition to have no ambition. Energetically seek to be still. Actually, the idea
was wholeheartedly seek to live a simple, tranquil life.
What kind of life does one live, out there in the world? A complicated, frenetic life, filled with everything
that can possibly be stuffed into a day. As many things, as many people, as many events as possible fill the
planner. No stillness; no down time; just go, go, go. In the name of learning, in the name of amusement, in
the name of business, these are things you just have to do; or do you?
This statement of Pauls was made 2000 years ago. It sounds like they had the same life out there in the
world that we do, minus the technology.
It takes an effort, it takes discipline, to lead a quiet life in this world; the pull is strong to get involved, to
get moving, to get busy.
Apparently, the Thessalonians felt that pull. Perhaps all the activity seemed good to them. We can see from
Pauls letters to them that they lived with the expectation that the Lord would be returning imminently;
perhaps they were zealously evangelizing their world, trying to save their families, their friends, their
neighbors.
Perhaps, in the name of the Lord, they were busy about the Lords work so they felt. But the Lords work
is that which He gives us; not that which we take on ourselves, without direction. And the Lords work,
which He gives us, will never cause us to lose our ability to be still, and know that He is God.
Busy-ness is a threat to our relationship with the Lord. Not that we could lose our relationship with Him;
but we can allow it to languish, through neglect. If we are always busy doing, we have no time to spend
with the Lord; no time to spend in His Word; no time to talk with Him, and seek His will. We lack
direction; we lack peace.
Perhaps the Thessalonians were so busy doing, that they were not taking the time they needed to seek the
Lord. That could be particularly dangerous in their situation, for they desperately needed His leading, with
all the persecution against them, in their city.
A quiet life would allow them to get their direction from the Lord. A quiet life would help to quell the fiery
opposition that it would seem they had at least partially caused in their own zeal. It would give them the
time to pray for the enemies of the gospel so that they had the Lords mind on things.
Turn to Pauls first letter to Timothy. Paul wrote concerning prayer, and leading a quiet life.
[1 Timothy 2:1-2] Now, was Paul saying to do nothing but pray? No, he said first of all. Submit the
matter to God first; then He will lead in what to do, so that it is His work that is done.
[Return to First Thessalonians]

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10

So even for the faithful Thessalonians, there was the tendency to be consumed by busy-ness, even if it
seemed to be the Lords business. They were being robbed of their time with the Lord.
Time is what it takes to have a vibrant relationship with the Lord; but time is what the worlds busy-ness
seeks to devour. The answer is to make it your ambition to spend time with the Lord, and not out there in
the world, being busy; to do only those things that please Him; that have been approved by Him. His work
will never cause us to be consumed by busy-ness.
And if one is about the Lords business, he will not be minding the business of others. When Paul exhorts
here to mind your own business, he is speaking of those in the assembly who are meddling in the affairs
of others.

It would seem that there were individuals who felt that they knew what the Lord wanted, not just for
themselves, but for everyone else. They knew what other believers should be doing; they knew what in their
lives needed correction, and how to correct it. A common affliction, even today.
Where were their eyes? On their fellow believers. Where should their eyes have been? On the Lord. Paul
would later write, Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us before us looking to Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:1-2). If you are not looking to Jesus, I assure you, you will get
tripped up in your own race. And that is the best thing that we can encourage a fellow believer in to look
to Jesus so that they dont get tripped up, either.
Finally, Paul urged the Thessalonian believers to work with their own hands; to do the ordinary work which
He had put into their lives. Paul is speaking of earning their living. This implies that the majority of
Thessalonian believers were from the working class tradespeople, artisans, manual laborers as opposed
to the aristocrats, who did not have to work.
Why was Paul encouraging them in this? Well, apparently, some of them were inclined to give up working.
It is known that the Greeks despised manual work as degrading to free men; they saw it as fit only for
slaves. Apparently, after some of the Thessalonians became believers, they began to live in idleness, and to
depend on the charity of their fellows (2 Th 3:6-13).
Now, why would they have done this? It may tie in again to their earnest expectation that Jesus was
coming back for them soon. Perhaps they reasoned that it would be good for them to spend all of their time
preparing people for it; of course, this reasoning conveniently fit in with their lack of motivation to work.
Paul wanted those in the assembly who had fallen idle to know that this was not the Lords mind on things.
The Lord expects us to do the ordinary work that He has put into our lives. Why? Surely it would be better
to preach, or teach, or evangelize all the time! But ordinary work has a purpose in our lives; it fits us for
the kingdom of God.
How can that be? We learn humility; we learn to stay under the load; we learn to have a servants heart.
And that will fit us for ruling and reigning, with Christ.

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The Thessalonians had the living example for this right from those who had evangelized them; Paul and his
companions. They had earned their keep while in the city. And the ultimate example is the Lord Himself;
He had worked for years as a carpenter; and spent His entire life as Servant of all.
Paul wanted the Thessalonians to know that depending on the charity of other believers, when they were
able-bodied, was a poor witness to the outside world. What would the world see? Idleness; laziness;
busybodies. What did the world need to see? The love of God, manifested in love of the brethren.
In love, they were to lead quiet, unobtrusive lives, seeking to Lord in all they do. In love, they were to keep
their eyes on their own race, and look to Jesus. In love, they were to earn their own keep, and provide for
those who could not do so. The Thessalonians were to abound more and more in love, in their labor of
love and that would be the greatest witness of all.
Next week: rest of chapter 4. Read 1 Corinthians 15