1 Thessalonians 4
4
A Life That Pleases God
1Brothers and sisters, now I have some other things to tell you. We taught you how to live in a way that will please God. And you are living that way. Now we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way more and more. 2You know all that we told you to do by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3God wants you to be holy. He wants you to stay away from sexual sins. 4God wants each one of you to learn to control your own body. Use your body in a way that is holy and that gives honor to God.#4:4 Or “God wants each of you to learn to live with your wife in a way that is holy and that gives honor to God.” 5Don’t let your sexual desires control you like the people who don’t know God. 6Never wrong any of your fellow believers or cheat them in this way. The Lord will punish those who do that. We have already told you this and warned you about it. 7God chose us to be holy. He does not want us to live in sin. 8So anyone who refuses to obey this teaching is refusing to obey God, not us. And God is the one who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9We don’t need to write to you about having love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. God has already taught you to love each other. 10In fact, you love all the believers in Macedonia. We encourage you now, brothers and sisters, to show your love more and more.
11Do all you can to live a peaceful life. Mind your own business, and earn your own living, as we told you before. 12If you do these things, then those who are not believers will respect the way you live. And you will not have to depend on others for what you need.
The Lord’s Coming
13Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about those who have died. We don’t want you to be sad like other people—those who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died, but we also believe that he rose again. So we believe that God will raise to life through Jesus any who have died and bring them together with him when he comes.
15What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. Those of us who are still living when the Lord comes again will join him, but not before those who have already died. 16The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the people who have died and were in Christ will rise first. 17After that we who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with those who have died. We will be taken up in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. 18So encourage each other with these words.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Thessalonians 4
4
Living to Please God
1As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3It is Godʼs will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control your own body#4:4 Or learn to live with your own wife; or learn to acquire a wife in a way that is holy and honorable, 5not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.#4:6 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of Godʼs family. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do love all of Godʼs family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Believers Who Have Died
13Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lordʼs word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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