1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 Overview

1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 Overview
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Monday, July 13, 2009

Thus far, in our survey of 1 Thessalonians, Paul has primarily spent the first three chapters reflecting upon his time with the Thessalonians and praising them for their faithfulness. It is not until the fourth chapter that Paul begins to delve into instructional teaching, which is what he dedicates the remainder of his epistle to. Today, our attention will be given to surveying this fourth chapter; so, if hearts and minds are ready, let's begin.

As we begin our survey of the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians, we can see, going back to our overall outline, that there are three primary divisions that we're going to want to take a look at. Those divisions are as follows: 1) sanctification and purity (vv. 1-, 2) disciplined living (vv. 9-12), and 3) rapture doctrine (vv. 13-18).

In many ways, the first two divisions can be grouped together into a single unit, as the primary focus that Paul is trying to drive home is continued diligence in their Christian walk, as well as striving to do better. The first area that Paul focuses on is their experiential salvation, better known as sanctification. He praises them for doing a great job up to this point in their Christian walk, but he warns against becoming complacent, admonishing them to excel still the more. The emphasis here is primarily on their purity, avoiding sexual immorality and the like. Given the pagan religious practices of the day that they had turned from, this was an important area where these new believers could very easily fall into temptation, so Paul wanted to warn against it. All in all, Paul's desire was for the believers at Thessalonica Bible Church to remain pure in all ways so that it could stand as a witness of their faith, and so that they would not hinder the work of the Holy Spirit within them.

Just as their purity was important, it was also imperative that Paul remind them to persist in excelling in their love towards one another. If you remember, their labor of love is something that they were praised for in the first chapter (1:3). So, on the one hand, they were already doing a great job at loving one another and making Christ known through their works; on the other hand, much like their purity, Paul didn't want them to be complacent, so he urged them to keep doing better and improving wherever they could. Not only did Paul say to love one another, which they were doing, but to also work hard and lead a quiet life that was pleasing to the Lord. If they did this, outsiders and unbelievers would have no cause against them, other than for being believers in Jesus Christ. So, stated plainly, Paul wanted them to do everything within their power to live a life that was acceptable and pleasing to the Lord so that they could continue to have a fruitful witness.

The final area that Paul chooses to address in this chapter is the comforting doctrine of the rapture. Apparently, Timothy had returned with their questions concerning those who had died and what would happen to them. Paul used this as an opportunity to answer their questions and to give them comfort and a positive outlook on their grief. Details on this will be reserved for our verse-by-verse study of the passage, but there are three things that are worth noting in this passage. First, this doctrine allows believers to grieve the loss of their loved ones, being encouraged in their soul by the living hope of Jesus Christ. Secondly, this doctrine gives believers the ability to encourage one another on a daily basis as they face spiritual warfare with the adversary. And, finally, it forces the believer to walk with diligence, knowing that the Lord Jesus could return at any moment to receive us into heaven with Him.

In all, the teaching that Paul offers in this chapter is challenging, yet comforting to the believer. It doesn't matter how mature we are or how long we've been a believer, this is teaching that checks our heart motivation and allows us to grow in a greater diligence towards living out the Christian life on a daily basis. Even if we think that we're doing well, these passages remind us that we can still do more to be pleasing to the Lord; if we think we're loving enough, we can love that much more. And then, with the rapture doctrine, it's a call to live a life pleasing to the Lord on a daily basis, knowing that He can return at any moment; so, why walk foolishly.

Chapter five continues with a few more emphases for spiritual growth, but we will take a look at those next time. Until then, keep striving to love one another and walk in purity, knowing that our Savior could return when we least expect Him to. God bless!

devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/devotions/1thess008