GOD'S WILL FOR US (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever wondered about God’s will for your life? This morning Paul in very plain language tells us God’s will for every believer. Last Sunday we began by looking at the first two verses of 1st Thessalonians 4 where Paul and his companions, Silas and Timothy, requested and exhorted the Thessalonian believers to not be content where they were spiritually, but to instead strive for spiritual excellence. Paul was telling them to excel still more in their sanctification, that process where the Holy Spirit makes us more Christlike as we cooperate with Him by obeying God’s Word. In chapter 4 and onward through the rest of this book Paul is now exhorting his readers to continue to move forward in the area of spiritual growth and up through verse 12 of chapter four Paul gets very specific about two areas—sexual immorality and brotherly love. In verses 1-2 he taught that we should please God in everything. Then beginning in verse 3 Paul zeros in on the issue of sexual immorality, which we will look at this morning. This topic is as relevant to us as it was to the church in Thessalonica. This is not a topic that is easy to talk about, but we must because we live in a sexually obsessed culture. This is something that cannot be avoided unless we were to completely cut ourselves off from society and that is because we live in a culture that is obsessed with sex and sexuality and it is everywhere that we turn. But as discouraging as this may be to us, the world that we live in is not that different from the world in which Paul lived. Because of this it was important for Paul to address this topic. Remember that Thessalonica was a city that was filled with places dedicated to the worship of false gods from all over the world and many of those religions were centered around sex as a means of worship, not sex with your wife, but with a temple prostitute. The struggles with this issue that we face today are not so different from the struggles that these Christians faced. But as we get into this passage notice that Paul was not dealing with the evil in the culture, Paul’s concern was the conduct of the church. As people came to Christ and came out of a sexually immoral world, they had to understand how to walk in a manner that pleases God. That is what Paul deals with in this passage, helping them to excel still more in their faith. Let’s pray and then look at our passage of Scripture for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8, our passage for today. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8,
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–8, NASB95)[1]
GOD’S WILL IS YOUR SANCTIFICATION (1st Thessalonians 4:3)
Paul begins this passage by plainly telling us what God’s will is for us. He writes, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality…” (1st Thessalonians 4:3, NASB95)[2] By beginning this sentence with the conjunction “for” Paul links what he is saying in this verse and the verses following with his previous exhortation that his readers strive to excel still more in their spiritual growth. Paul knew, from the time that he had spent with the Thessalonian believers, that they desired to do God’s will, they wanted to please God, but to do that they needed to know more precisely what God’s will was for them.
Paul began by defining God’s will as their sanctification. This word has the idea of being set apart for a purpose, Paul uses it to describe the process of being separated from sin and set apart to God’s holiness. God’s will then is that He wants all who have put their faith in His Son for salvation to separate from all that is evil, fleshly, and impure. This process of sanctification is a result of salvation. Paul by referring to sanctification here points back to what he had prayed for the Thessalonians in his prayer in the end of chapter three where he requested that God would, “…establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father…” (1st Thessalonians 3:13b, NASB95)[3]
Having been in Thessalonica, Paul knew that sexual immorality and perversity were not only permitted but encouraged as acts of worship in many of the false religions catered to by the city. Because of this Paul considered abstaining from sexual immorality of highest importance for the Thessalonian believers as they devoted themselves to the process of sanctification. Paul’s concern for these new believers was that they could easily fall back into their old habits, the temptation within the city would be powerful, just as it is today no matter where we turn. Because of his concern Paul gave them the direct, clear, uncomplicated command to abstain from sexual immorality. To abstain means to completely stay away from any thought or behavior which violates the principles of God’s Word and results in any act of sexual sin. The term “sexual immorality” is translated from a Greek word that is used to describe any form of sexual behavior that goes against God’s design for sex which is one man and one woman who have entered into the covenant of marriage. Any sexual activity that deviates from the monogamous relationship between a husband and his wife is immoral by God’s standards.
Paul’s teaching on the subject of sexual morality in his later letters to the Ephesians and Colossians does not deviate from what he demands of the Thessalonians and it goes beyond abstaining from the physical acts of sexual immorality. For example, he writes in Ephesians 5:3, “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;” (Ephesians 5:3, NASB95)[4] and in Colossians 3:3-5, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” (Colossians 3:3–5, NASB95)[5] In Ephesians and Colossians the word “impurity” is the same Greek word whose meaning extends beyond acts of sexual sin to include unclean thoughts and intentions. Paul writings are in complete agreement with the teaching of Jesus on the subject of sexual sin, Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28, ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28, NASB95)[6] Abstaining from sexual immorality and impurity is of upmost importance for all believers. Why is this so important, Paul explains in 1st Corinthians 6:15-20, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, ‘The two shall become one flesh.’ But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:15–20, NASB95)[7] Paul gives us three ways in which we can abstain from sexual immorality.
CONTROL YOUR OWN BODY (1st Thessalonians 4:4)
The first way in which Paul says we can abstain from sexual immorality is by knowing how to possess our own vessel in sanctification and honor. Paul is saying that the believer must maintain control over the desires of his flesh. In other words, we must know how to control our bodies; we must understand our weaknesses and our own evil tendencies and avoid them, resist them, and flee from those things which play to our weaknesses and evil desires. The word “possess” means to “gain mastery over” and the vessel that Paul speaks of that we are to gain mastery over is our unredeemed human flesh, that is still waiting to be redeemed at the coming of the Lord when our earthly body will be changed for a heavenly body and we will be removed from the presence of sin. As new creations in Christ our unredeemed flesh is the only place where sin and immorality can attack us. This is why Paul urges us in Romans 12:1-2, “… to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1b–2, NASB95)[8] We must offer up our bodies as living sacrifices to God so that the Holy Spirit can renew our minds so that we are not controlled by the desires and appetites of our bodies for immorality. Paul throughout his writings made it clear that in order for a Christian to control his body he must rely on the Holy Spirit. I could give you many examples, but for the sake of time let me give you just one from Galatians 5:16, Paul writes, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16, NASB95)[9] How do we walk by the Spirit? By knowing God and by knowing God’s Word and obeying it. Paul writes that we are to control or possess our bodies for the purpose of sanctification and honor. As I already stated sanctification means to be set apart to God for the purpose of living a pure and holy life. Honor is the result of separating ourselves from sin, from resisting it, not allowing our bodies to control us, but controlling our bodies. When we do this we show respect for our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit and the use of its parts as instruments of service for God. The goal is positive, we are to pursue separation and purity with all our heart in the power of the Holy Spirit, as we strive to be completely separate from immorality then we can honor our bodies as belonging to God and use them to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church.
DO NOT ACT LIKE UNBELIEVERS (1st Thessalonians 4:5)
The second way that we are to abstain from sexual immorality is by not behaving as those who do not know God. Those who do not know God are controlled by their sinful desires. They have not been transformed by the work of God in salvation. The key here is that these Gentiles that Paul speaks of do not know God, we, however, know God and have been transformed, because of this we should no longer pursue the lustful passions of the unsaved person. The word translated “passion” means “uncontrolled desires, overpowering urges” that control us and the word “lustful” refers to out-of-control craving usually for sin’s pleasure. As Christians we can no longer live this kind of life, God has delivered us from such habitual sinning. But we need instruction to remind us that we do not need to live this way, but that we can walk in holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to cultivate our relationship with God and be in His Word rather than subjecting ourselves to all that the world has to offer that is fleeting and destructive. We must seek to know God better and understand the price that was paid through Christ that we might be freed from sin’s grip on our life. We already looked at Paul’s words to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 6 but I think it is worth repeating verses 18-20, “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18–20, NASB95)[10]
DO NOT SIN AGAINST YOUR BROTHER (1st Thessalonians 4:6)
The third way that Paul tells us to abstain from sexual immorality is to never take sexual advantage of another believer. Paul writes that we are not to transgress or defraud our brother in this matter of sexual immorality. To transgress against means “to sin against” or “to take advantage of.” To defraud means “to selfishly and greedily take something for personal gain or pleasure at someone else’s expense.” When a believer seeks to satisfy their physical desires and gain sexual pleasure at the expense of another believer, they have violated this command. We can expect the world to tempt believers and sometimes lead them into sin, but believers should never be a stumbling block for fellow believers. Each Christian must pay attention to their own holiness, and never use other believers to achieve sinful gratification. I have heard too many stories of this happening, of Christian men and women putting themselves in situations when they are alone with the opposite sex and their sinful desires took over and they took advantage of another believer. Guard yourselves, be careful of the situations that you put yourself in.
REASONS FOR ABSTAINING (1st Thessalonians 4:7-8)
Paul then tells us why we need to abstain from sexual immorality and seek to be set apart to God and His holiness. First, he writes that it is because the Lord is the avenger in all these things. All sin is ultimately against the Lord and He alone has the right to hand out vengeance for the sins people commit. The Lord judges and disciplines those He loves and if we give in to our lusts, then we will experience the Lord’s discipline in our lives. The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12:11, NASB95)[11] This concept of God’s judgment against sexual immorality was not new to the Thessalonians, as Paul reminds them here that he had taught this to them when he was with them and had solemnly warned them. This was part of the solid foundation that Paul, Silas, and Timothy had been building for the Thessalonians before they were forced to leave. Paul was just carrying out the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to teach them to obey all that Christ had commanded them.
Paul gives a second reason to abstain from sexual immorality and it had to do with the purpose of God. Paul wrote that God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. His second reason takes us back to God’s will for us, our sanctification. By using this word again Paul was showing the Thessalonian believers that when God called them to salvation, He also called them to a life of holiness. God’s purpose in saving us is to produce holy people who walk worthy of His call into His kingdom and glory.
Paul gives one final reason that we should abstain from sexual immorality and that reason is that if we do not then we are disobeying this command. Paul says that when we do this we are not rejecting Paul’s words or opinions, or the commands of some other person, Paul says we are rejecting God who gives the Holy Spirit. In other words, the standard of sexual morality is God’s, and He gave the Holy Spirit to believers to enable us to keep His standard. He gives us His Holy Spirit so that we might live pure and holy lives. God’s Spirit indwells us at the moment of salvation and because He is holy, it should be unthinkable to enter into sexual sin and thereby reject the Lord who gave the Spirit and defile our bodies which are the Holy Spirit’s temple.
CONCLUSION:
Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church shortly after Timothy had returned from visiting them and building them up in the faith and encouraging them. In this chapter Paul expresses his desire that they continue to grow spiritually, that they do not become content where they are spiritually but that they pursue spiritual excellence. Paul in this chapter is reminding and teaching the Thessalonian believers how we are to walk and please God in our daily lives. We are to conduct ourselves before God in the holiness which is ours in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul reminds them and us that God’s will for us is our sanctification—to be separated from sin and set apart to God in His holiness. Our faith in Christ makes us positionally righteous or sanctified, this is how we are seen by God at the moment we are saved, this is why we are called saints. There is, however, an aspect of sanctification that is a process and is progressive and that is what Paul is speaking of in this chapter. This process of sanctification is a lifelong process where the Holy Spirit progressively matches our character and behavior to the righteousness that we have in the Lord Jesus. Paul in this passage shows us our responsibility of cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He works out this holiness in us. Paul described it this way to the Philippian believers in Philippians 2:12-13, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13, NASB95)[12] In these verses Paul tells the Philippian believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, in other words, this is serious business that is not to be taken lightly, but then he tells them that it is God who is at work in their lives both to fulfill His will of their sanctification and to work in sanctifying them for His good pleasure. As the Spirit does His sanctifying work, we cooperate with Him and as Paul explained in our passage today, one way in which we do that is by abstaining from sexual immorality. The will of God for you is your sanctification.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.