Day 186 – Wednesday, September 17, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

1 Thessalonians 4

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

Please For Purity

1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; ² for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, ⁵ not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. ⁷ For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. ⁸ Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. 

(1 Thessalonians 4:1–8, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Paul urged the Thessalonians to abound more and more in the way they follow God.
• He told them that the will of God was that they abstain from sexual immorality. He furthered told them that they must use their own bodies in holiness and honor, not in unbridled sexual passion.
• Paul even spoke of the ramifications of such action. He told them that sleeping with someone outside of marriage caused the perpetrators to defraud that someone’s future or current spouse. Defraud means to take something illegally from someone else. It is comparable to exploitation in the original Greek translation.
• Paul even told the Thessalonians that they were called by God to a holy life, not an unclean one.

A Brotherly and Orderly Life

⁹ But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; ¹⁰ and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; ¹¹ that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, ¹² that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing. 

(1 Thessalonians 4:9–12, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Paul instructed the readers to follow the teaching of God and have a life of love for one another.
• He described the traits of that life: leading a quiet life, minding one’s own business, working with your own hands, so that you could have a good reputation among those outside the church.

The Comfort of Christ’s Coming

¹³ But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words. 

(1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Paul took a quick turn here and began talking about the resurrection. He assures the readers that the dead in Christ will be part of the resurrection. They will actually rise before the living are caught up to be with Jesus in the air.
• He then describes the scene: a shout, the voice of an archangel, the trumpet of God, and then the dead will rise, and then the living saved will be caught up together with them in the clouds.
• Paul said that we should comfort one another with these words. Let’s be comforted by the fact that God is raising the dead and taking all of us who believe to heaven to be with Him. Praise God, there is more beyond this life!

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All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page. Another blog will be posted each weekday at 6:00 a.m.