1 Thessalonians - Chapter 4

1-2:

Paul now exhorts the members of the church at Thessalonica to excel still more. He had the positive report from Timothy about the strong and continuing faith of these believers but opens this portion of his letter by asking them to accomplish even more.

There is always a possibility of Christians thinking that there is no further need for progress after salvation and becoming settled into a good church. But we should always remember that on this side of eternity no believer has ever reached all of their potential spiritually.

Paul knew they could do better and he encouraged them to do so. He has taught that he was not satisfied with his own progress. In Philippians 3, Paul writes: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: … I press forward for the mark…”

Spiritual growth & the sanctification it brings are part of a process, not a single event, such as salvation. It is a continual walk in life here that is marked by obedience that is made possible only by the indwelling of the Spirit.

 3-8:

Paul provides a view of certain activities of life that should not be allowed to exist inside the life of a Christian. 

First he strongly warns against sexual immorality. Paul teaches in other writings that we should abstain not just from the physical act but also from the connected things that may lead us down that path.

Eph 5:3 teaches us to refrain from “any impurity”.

Col 3:3-5 teaches us that members of our earthly body are to be considered dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amount to idolatry.

1st Cor 6:15-20 teaches that our bodies are members of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

In this regard, Paul teaches that:

The body should not control the believer (verse 4:4) as you should know how to possess the vessel.

The believer should not act like the unbeliever (verse 4:5).

The believer should not take advantage of others, as in fraud (verse 4:6).

The believer should be moral because of:

God’s vengeance (verse 4:6)

God’s purpose (verse 4:7) – We are called unto holiness.

God’s Holy Spirit (verse 4:8) – Disobedience does not mean rejection of man but of the Holy Spirit of God for this standard is not established of man but by the Lord so that His people should not be unclean.

(Ezekiel 36:27 – “And I will put my spirit in you and cause you to walk in my statutes…”)

9-12:

Paul commends the church that it has already shown love for one another but while asking them to excel still more, he is very specific in his hopes as to how they will proceed. Their ambition should be for a quiet life, attend to their own business, work with their hands, behave properly toward outsiders, and not be in any need.

Might we describe this hope as everyday, practical, straightforward walking with the Lord? 

13-18:

The consideration of the end time events of the Christian faith has likely filled more volumes than any other subject. There may be few, if any, believers who do not want to learn as much as possible about this mysterious time promised by a number of our Holy Scriptures.

Probably Paul could have easily written a book that covered only this one subject and sent it to the church but he did not. 

Notice that Paul’s concern here in these verses appears to be far more the comforting words of a pastor than words of pure doctrine. The other verses of the NT that cover this event (John 14:1-3 & 1st Cor 15:51-58) also are presented as words of comfort and encouragement.

When Paul wrote this letter the members had only been in Christ a matter of months and he had covered the general topic in 2:19 & 3:13.

It seems clear that Paul had taught them about the Day of the Lord (verses 5:1-3), the time of judgment of the ungodly. But some issues of Christ gathering the believers were perhaps troubling these believers.

They may have been worried that the Rapture had come and gone and they missed it. We will see in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2 that Paul assures them that the day was still to come, even if others taught otherwise.

Here is a clue as to the Rapture surely being taught by Paul to precede the Tribulation for if he had taught that it was after the time of Jacob’s trouble, these believers would not have any concern that they had missed it.

There also seems to have been a strong concern about those who had died. Would they receive their resurrection body at the Rapture or must they await the future time to have it? If the Rapture had been missed would the dead be not full citizens in the afterlife? Were their deaths as a result of their sin in life? Paul reveals a clue in 1St Cor 11:30 concerning those whose death may be so connected. These concerns made Paul seek to reassure this strong church as to the events to come at the final day. 

We need to be sure we grasp that Paul always teaches that those who sleep (die) are sleeping (in death) only in the body. There is NO soul sleep.

Paul is very clear in 2nd Cor 5:8 that to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord.

Hope and comfort were the reasons Paul revealed a portion of the end times to this church. Paul actually provides a four part description for these strong but concerned believers:

Pillars of the Rapture are:

We believe that Jesus died.

We believe He rose again.

He has revealed His plan before in scripture (John 14:1-3)

Participants of the Rapture:

Two groups, those who have died in Christ and then those who are in Christ but are alive at his appearance.

Plan of the Rapture:

The Lord himself will come, not His angels. He will descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God will sound. The dead will rise to meet the Lord, and then those alive will then go to meet Him in the clouds. Thereafter, we shall always be with the Lord.

Profit of the Rapture:

All who are in Christ, no matter whether they are living or dead shall profit equally in the Rapture. There was no reason for the Thessalonians to carry any concerns for those who had gone onward or for themselves who may remain. The Rapture was to be profitable for all who are His.