1 Thessalonians 4
4
Live to Please God
1Finally, dear brothers and sisters,#4:1 Greek brothers; also in 4:10, 13. we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 2For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4Then each of you will control his own body#4:4 Or will know how to take a wife for himself; or will learn to live with his own wife; Greek reads will know how to possess his own vessel. and live in holiness and honor— 5not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 6Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife,#4:6 Greek Never harm or cheat a brother in this matter. for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other,#4:9 Greek about brotherly love. for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers#4:10 Greek the brothers. throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
11Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
The Hope of the Resurrection
13And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died#4:13 Greek those who have fallen asleep; also in 4:14. so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.#4:15 Greek those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died#4:16 Greek the dead in Christ. will rise from their graves. 17Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18So encourage each other with these words.
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1 Thessalonians 4
4
A Life Pleasing to God
1Finally, then, brothers,#4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 10, 13 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you #Phil. 4:9; Col. 2:6received from us #See Eph. 4:1how you ought to walk and #See Col. 1:10to please God, just as you are doing, that you #See ch. 3:12do so more and more. 2For #[1 Cor. 11:2]you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, #Rom. 6:19, 22; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:2your sanctification:#4:3 Or your holiness #See 1 Cor. 6:18that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own #1 Pet. 3:7; [2 Cor. 4:7] body#4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel in holiness and #[Rom. 1:24]honor, 5not in #See Rom. 1:26the passion of lust #Eph. 4:17like the Gentiles #Ps. 79:6; Jer. 9:3; 10:25; See Gal. 4:8who do not know God; 6that no one transgress and #1 Cor. 6:8wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is #Rom. 13:4; [Rom. 12:19; Heb. 13:4]an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7For #ver. 3; See 1 Pet. 1:15God has not called us for #ch. 2:3impurity, but in holiness. 8Therefore #[ch. 2:13]; See Luke 10:16whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, #1 John 3:24; 4:13who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9Now concerning #See Heb. 13:1brotherly love #ch. 5:1you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been #John 6:45; [1 John 2:27] taught by God #See John 13:34to love one another, 10for that indeed is what #ch. 1:7you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to #See ch. 3:12do this more and more, 11and to aspire #Prov. 17:14; 20:3; 25:8; 2 Thess. 3:12to live quietly, and #2 Thess. 3:11; 1 Pet. 4:15to mind your own affairs, and #[Acts 18:3]; See Eph. 4:28to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12so that you may #Rom. 13:13; [Col. 4:5] walk properly before #See Mark 4:11outsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, #[Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1; 2 Sam. 12:20-23; Mark 5:39] that you may not grieve as others do #Eph. 2:12who have no hope. 14For #1 Cor. 15:13; [2 Cor. 4:14; Rev. 1:18] since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him #1 Cor. 15:18those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you #See 1 Kgs. 13:17by a word from the Lord,#4:15 Or by the word of the Lord that #1 Cor. 15:51we who are alive, who are left until #See ch. 2:19the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For #See Matt. 16:27the Lord himself will descend #2 Thess. 1:7from heaven #[Joel 2:11] with a cry of command, with the voice of #Jude 9an archangel, and #Matt. 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52with the sound of the trumpet of God. And #1 Cor. 15:23; [2 Thess. 2:1; Rev. 14:13]the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be #See 2 Cor. 12:2caught up together with them #[Dan. 7:13; Acts 1:9; Rev. 11:12] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so #See John 12:26we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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