1 Thessalonians 4.8-To Reject the Teaching of Paul, Silas and Timothy is to Reject God's Authority (Doctrine Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday September 29, 2024

First Thessalonians Series: 1 Thessalonians 4:8-To Reject the Teaching of Paul, Silas and Timothy is to Reject God’s Authority

Lesson # 57

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, brothers, 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. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. (NIV84)

In 1 Thessalonians 4:8, Paul asserts that the one who rejects his instructions which are recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 is by no means rejecting the authority of human beings but rather the authority of the one and only God who gave as a gift the Spirit who is holy for the benefit of each and every Christian.

This statement presents the result of the previous statements recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7.

Therefore, a comparison of the statement in verse 8 with the ones in verses 1-7 indicate that the Thessalonians would be rejecting God’s authority and not human authority as a result of disobeying the Lord Jesus’ commands which Paul, Silas and Timothy communicated to them.

Thus, Paul, Silas and Timothy are equating their teaching which they communicated to the Thessalonians as originating from God the Father as well as the Son and the Spirit.

The Father and the Spirit are mentioned explicitly in connection with their teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4:8.

However, the Son is mentioned in connection with this teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4:2.

Now, the apostle Paul mentions the Holy Spirit here in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 in connection with the doctrinal instruction that he, Silas and Timothy communicated to the Thessalonian Christian community because the Holy Spirit gave the Thessalonians the capacity to obey this instruction.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is rooted in the promises of the New Covenant which was given exclusively to the nation of Israel and not the church and this promise appears in Ezekiel 36:25-27.

Therefore, Jewish believers who are part of the remnant of Israel during the church age receive the promise of the Spirit at justification.

However, Gentile believers during the church age also receive the gift of the indwelling of the Spirit as well since they are united with Jewish believers at the moment of justification (Rom. 11:11-25).

In other words, even though the New Covenant was given to Israel and not the church, Gentile believers receive the benefits of this covenant because they are united with the remnant of Israel during the church (cf. Eph. 2:11-22).

1 Thessalonians 4:8 is the third time that Paul has mentioned the Holy Spirit in First Thessalonians since he mentions Him in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 and then in 1 Thessalonians 1:6.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:5 and 4:8, the Spirit is described as hagios, “holy” in order to remind the Thessalonians that the Spirit was responsible for their sanctification, which is designed to reproduce the holiness of Christ’s character in the life of the believer.

By obeying the gospel, the Thessalonians were obeying the Spirit who in turn reproduced the holy character of Christ in their lives.

The presence of this word “holy” is also a reminder to the Thessalonian Christian community that the Spirit’s role in conforming them into the image of Jesus Christ involves providing them the capacity to reflect the holiness of God.

The believer cannot experience fellowship with God unless they are as holy as God.

Since the Spirit permanently indwells every Christian without exception, they now have the capacity to experience holy living or a life that conforms to God’s perfect standards.

This word denotes the Spirit as being inherently holy, thus it refers to the holiness of the Spirit, which refers to the absolute perfection of the Spirit’s character.

This word “holy” is also a reminder to them that when they sin, they must confess these sins to the Father in order that they might be restored to fellowship with God since God is holy (cf. 1 John 1:5-9).

This fellowship is maintained by obedience to the Spirit’s teaching in the gospel.

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “holiness” as “the quality or state of being holy; sanctity” and they define “sanctity” as, “sacred or hallowed character.”

God’s holiness refers to “the aggregate (i.e. sum total) of perfect features and traits that form the divine nature of God.”

Thus, God’s holiness is related to all of His divine attributes or in other words, it is simply the harmony of all His perfections or attributes.

The holiness of God is the aggregate of perfect divine attributes that form the nature of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Holiness is used often to describe the Person of God.

1 Chronicles 16:10 “Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.” (NASB95)

The Titles of God the Holy Spirit: (1) “Spirit of holiness” (Romans 1:4) (2) “Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2) (3) “Spirit of knowledge” (Isa. 11:2) (4) “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17).

Titles related to God the Father: (1) “Spirit of God” (2) “Spirit of our God” (Gen. 1:2; Matthew 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11) (3) “Spirit of your Father” (Matthew 10:20).

Titles related to God the Son: (1) “Spirit of Christ” (2) “Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Romans 8:9; Phil. 1:19) (3) “Spirit of His Son” (Galatians 4:6) (4) “Spirit of the Lord” (Acts 5:9).

These titles do speak of an attribute because an attribute would not be designated by a personal pronoun such as “He,” “Him,” and “His.”

God the Holy Spirit is a separate and distinct Person in the Godhead and He is called “Lord” in 2 Corinthians 3:17 just as God the Father and God the Son are.

The Holy Spirit has the attributes of personality: (1) Intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Romans 8:27). (2) Emotion (Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 10:29; James 4:5). (3) Will (1 Corinthians 12:11; Acts 16:6-11). (4) He has a mind, and therefore He thinks, searches and teaches.

The Spirit performs the actions of personality: (1) Teaches (John 14:26; 16:13-15). (2) Testifies or bears witness (John 15:26). (3) Guides and Leads (R. 8:14). (4) Performs miracles (Acts 8:39). (5) Convinces (John 16:7-8). (6) Restrains (Gen. 6:3; 2 Th. 2:6-7). (7) Commands (Acts 8:29). (8) Intercedes in prayer (R. 8:26). (9) He receives ascriptions of personality. (10) He can be obeyed (Acts 16:6-7). (11) He can be lied to (Acts 5:3). (12) He can be resisted (Acts 7:51). (13) He can be blasphemed (Matthew 12:31). (14) He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). (15) He can be insulted (He. 10:29).

There are three sins by the believer against the Holy Spirit: (1) “Lying” to God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) (2) “Grieving” the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) (3) “Quenching” the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19).