Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome

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Understand the Context

Wherever he traveled, Paul left an indelible impression.

People either embraced him or rejected him.

Thessalonica had not been an exception.

After experiencing persecution in Philippi, he went to Thessalonica, where he faced more of the same (Acts 17:5-9).

In chapter 4, Paul began a transition toward more practical matters.

He challenged the Thessalonians to let their relationship with Christ define their lives (4:1-12).

He urged them to give Christ the freedom to impact their actions, attitudes, words, and relationships.

Wanting more information about the church’s well-being, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica.

The letter we are studying this quarter is in response to that report and God’s promptings in the hearts of those who first visited the city with the news of the gospel

Later in the letter, Paul would focus on the second coming of Christ (4:13-18).

But in the meantime, he instructed the Thessalonians to live out their faith in the present by growing where God had planted them.

[LifeWay Adults (2021).

Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide, Spring 2022]

Three prominent words at the close of chapter 3 were holiness, love, and coming.

These are three of the principal subjects of chapter 4: (1) Holiness (vv.

1–8), (2) Love (vv.

9, 10), and (3) Coming (vv.

13–18).

Explore the Text

The ESV translates the word as “finally”, but others use “furthermore” which for modern readers may seem more appropriate in the middle of the letter.

It denotes a change in the subject or train of thought, and we can see this being true as we now progress from the prayers and reports of the writers to their more practical teaching and encouragement toward living out the gospel message on a daily basis.

Both ask and urge are present active verbs meaning they are continuously being done in this case the writers toward the readers, which includes us as well as the original readers in Thessalonica.

Although the words have nearly the same meaning and both are appeals to one who is “equal” the “urge” is a little stronger but not commanding.

Both are also qualified by “in the Lord” so there is no personal gain by the requesters if the requests are granted.

The writers are “beseeching” the Thessalonians that they “do so more and more.”

What they are to do is the focus of the rest of the paragraph and the general subject of the rest of the letter.

Earlier in the letter in chapter 2 we read how the Thessalonians had “received the word of God.” Now Paul lets us know that this is their instructions for how that are to walk and please God.

In other letters he makes himself as the example to follow but here they have been “taught by God” (1Th 4:9) so he does not include himself as they are already following after the perfect example.

First they were to walk in a “manner worthy of God” (1Thess 2:12), now they are called to walk as “to please God”, then at the end of our passage they are to walk “properly before outsiders.”

All of these actions are possible only because they had accepted the message of the gospel from the writers and accepted it as God’s word, thereby being able to heed God’s word on how to please Him.

We cannot please or even appease those we are not willing to listen to.

As a commendation of their efforts Paul lets the new believers know that they are walking correctly because they “are doing” so and can do more.

Not that they not doing enough, but because of God’s limitlessness, all works done for His glory can continue to be “perfected” while on this side of glory.

The new church can also “do more” as that is what the writers were praying for them at the end of the last chapters that God would “increase and abound in love.”

Head knowledge is never a substitute for action in the Christian life, and pleasing God should always be our primary goal.

[ETB:ALG 2022]

Several other English versions render the word as “commands” instead of instruction.

Again, since these were done “through the Lord” the action taken will not benefit the writers directly.

Unlike the asking and urging earlier, these commands are given from someone in greater authority to one lesser.

Even though the apostle and his companions had the authority, they again defer it to Lord and His Word as the true reason to obey the instructions given for their daily walk.

MacArthur says that “Paul’s directives did not originate from some arbitrary human sanction or some remote ecclesiastical authority (cf.

Gl 1:1, 15–16; 2Pt 1:20–21).

Instead they come from the authority of the Lord Jesus, and obedience to them was mandatory (cf.

Mt. 7:21; Jn 15:14–17; 1 Jn 2:3–5)” (MacArthur, Thessalonians, 98)

For those wanting to know God’s will for their lives, it does not get more clearly stated than this.

The apostle also implied that God’s will is not as difficult to discern as we might think.

In most cases, living out God’s will simply involves embracing what honors Him—and rejecting what does not.

[ETB:ALG 2022]

The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that the will of “god” could only be discovered through divination .

But Paul teaches that God has made the mystery of His will known (Eph 1:9).

He also instructs believers about the will of God so they can know how to please Him.

[Faithlife Study Bible]

In other areas of the Bible and our passage today, this word is translated simply as holiness.

I like the AMP “separated and set apart for pure and holy living” which puts the distinction of God setting apart but has connotation of the personal responsibility for the lifestyle pursued in that judicial position.

Paul writes about this process and its implications in several of his other letters.

(Rom.

6:19, 22; 1 Cor.

1:30; 2 Thess.

2:13; 1 Tim.

2:15; Heb.

12:14; 1 Pet.

1:2).

The lessen material defines sanctification as “the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him.

“(See Gal.

2:20; Col. 3:12-14.)

I like the Bible Knowledge Commentary definition of this process the best of what I read, progressive sanctification is when we are “conformed to the image of Christ in daily experiences by proper responses to the Word and the Spirit of God.”

In one sense, all believers have been set apart from the world to the service of the Lord; this is known as positional sanctification, and it is perfect and complete (1 Cor.

1:2; Heb.

10:10).

However, in another sense, believers should sanctify themselves, that is, they should separate themselves from all forms of sin; this is known as practical or progressive sanctification.

It is a process that will continue until the believer’s death or the Lord’s return.

After the word sanctification in most English translations there is a colon.

This lets us know the thought was complete, but writer now, “introduces an element or series of elements that illustrates or amplifies the information that preceded the colon.”

[grammarly.com]

This is by no means an exhaustive list but merely a few examples that the writer knows the original readers will easily identify with and be able to understand the larger scope of the “sanctification” process.

In Paul’s day, the Greeks regarded sexual sins lightly; they did not consider them very great sins.

[The Applied New Testament Commentary] I think the modern culture has come back to that same mentality.

Sexual purity was a special challenge for believers in Greek cultures.

Promiscuity was generally accepted in the Roman Empire, including cities like Thessalonica.

Priests and priestesses often served as temple prostitutes, engaging in sex with “worshipers.”

Christians coming out of that religious context may have struggled to distinguish their new way of life from their old practices.

Thus, warnings against sexual sin were relevant if the Thessalonians were committed to holy living.

[ETB:ALG 2022]

The single Greek word rendered here as “sexual immorality” is the word porneias, whose root we still use with the same connotation in our modern word for pornography.

This includes any sexual activities outside of the marriage and between a husband and wife.

Jesus in his sermon on the mount took the implications even beyond the acts to just the mere thoughts as He tells us that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”(Mat

5:28) This helps us tie our sanctification not only to our actions, but our thoughts and heart intents as well.

God’s process of sanctification starts in the heart and spirit with salvation (justification) and proceeds outward into the rest of our lives.

Any impurity or unholiness in our lives brings dishonor upon our bodies and upon the Lord.

Let us remember that we belong to Christ; we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19) [ANTC]

One way in which a person can abstain from sexual immorality is by applying God’s knowledge to “control his own body.”

Other English translations have the more literal wording of “possess his own vessel.”

There is also the connotation of this body or vessel being gained or bought which fits with our theme of being “separate and set apart for holy living.”

The body we have been given by God, was created by Him, and therefore is capable of being used in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

We have been given a tool, how we use it is a personal responsibility.

The Greek word translated as body here in the ESV is used 23 times in the New Testament.

Only one of times is used symbolically as “wife.”

(1Pet 3:7) I have hard time justifying translating the word here in a similar fashion since most of the other 21 times it is a reference to a pot, goods, or other materials objects.

Except for verses like Acts 9:15; 2 Cor 4:7, 2 Tim 2:21 which use the words “vessels’ and “jars of clay” but these are still are references to the human body and not specific to a “wife.”

As a contrast to using the body in holiness and honour, Paul uses an opposite of sanctified living described as “passion of lust.”