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

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. 6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (NET)

Now, here 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, Silvanus and Timothy communicated to them.

Thus, Paul, Silvanus 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, Silvanus 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.

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.”

One of the definitions that Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary gives for the adjective “holy” is, “entitled to worship or profound religious reverence because of divine character or origin or connection with God or divinity.”

One of the definitions for the noun “character” that Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary provides that applies to the context of our passage is the following: “the aggregate of features and traits that form the apparent individual nature of some person or thing.”

If we paraphrase these definitions, we would say that the 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. Thus, God’s holiness is related to all of His divine attributes.

Therefore, the term “holiness” refers to the absolute perfection of the character of God, expressing His purity of character or moral perfection and excellence, thus making God totally separate from sin and sinners.

He is totally separate from sin and sinners unless a way can be found to constitute them holy and that way has been provided based upon the merits of the impeccable Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The presence of evil, sin and injustice is totally absent in the character of God, thus God does not tolerate evil or sin because it is contrary to His character, i.e. His inherent moral qualities, ethical standards and principles.

Holiness is used often to describe the Person of God.

Leviticus 22:2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the LORD. (NASB95)

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

Psalm 30:4 Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name. (NASB95)

Psalm 97:12 Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name. (NASB95)

The title “His Holy Name” refers to the perfect character of the Person of God.

This absolute perfection of God’s character is celebrated throughout the Scriptures (cf. Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8).

The Lord Jesus Christ revealed the holiness or character of God during His 1st Advent (John 1:18).

Therefore, holiness pertains to the sum total of God’s invisible attributes, which compose the absolute perfection of His character.

In theology, God the Holy Spirit is identified as the third person of the Trinity.

The Scriptures teach that the Spirit is a person not a thing (John 15:26; 16:7; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2).

The Holy Spirit is the unseen power of God and He reveals the plan of God on earth and is the agent for executing the Christian way of life.

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).