Epistles of Paul 08

Well, good evening, brethren, and thank you so much for participating tonight on our study on the epistles of Paul. And we are covering first Thessalonians, and today we hope to cover a number of verses in chapter 4, the first few verses, from verse 1 to verse 8, and give a little bit of an introduction to verse 9 and 10. So that is our goal today. When Paul started writing this epistle, his objective was initially to thank and praise the Thessalonians for the work they've done and for their faithfulness. And so he spends most of the first three chapters addressing that and encouraging them through their many trials.

Then in chapters 4 and 5, he gently addresses a few areas that need, let's call it, a certain adjustment, a little correction, a little improvement. And so today I intend to cover the first point of correction, which was addressed by Paul in chapter 4, verse 1 through 2, verse 8. We will then go and also briefly introduce the next subject area in verse 9 and 10. So he actually begins this instructive or corrective section with a prayer at the end of chapter 3.

This prayer at the end of chapter 3 in verses 11 through 13 of chapter 3 of 1 Thessalonians is like a bridge or like a link from the encouragement that he just completed to the correction or the points that he wants to address as corrective points in chapters 4 and 5. So for us to get the same bridge, let's read again verses 11 and 12 of chapter 3.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you. And may the Lord, that's Jesus Christ, make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all just as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts, blameless, in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with you. And then he says, May the Lord, may the Lord Christ, may the Lord be with you.

May you increase and abound in love to one another and to all. And so may Christ help you to grow in love. And he's going to address a few areas of this growth in love. As we'll see a little later, he says, well, you have already love, because we see that in verse 9 of chapter 4 concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I should write to you for yourselves ought my God to love one another. And indeed you do so. So he's actually going to address that in verse 9, 10 through 12, one area that needs a little improvement.

So that's an area of improvement or adjustment or correction. So he is saying that may God establish you in love one towards another. So that verse 13, so that the final outcome is that he may establish your hearts blameless in the holiness. So he may establish and he may confirm that he may make you stronger. And it is referring to Christ that he may establish that he establishes us.

But we as ministers are also servants of God in helping Christ establish the brethren. It was making you stronger. That we see in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 2, where he's addressing. Yeah, and he says that that he has sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the Gospel of Christ to establish you. So Timothy is to establish them, but he is saying that it's Christ that establishes and establish the brethren, obviously under God's instruction, because that's what God wants Christ to do.

And we as ministers are helpers in that process. So, and then it says to establish you blameless in holiness. It was in no wrong conduct, in a conduct which is like God's. Holiness is to be like God's. And then it says, before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

So when Christ returns, then we may be found blameless in holiness. So that prayer is an introduction of some areas of concern that Paul has, particularly for that we'll address in the section of chapter four and chapter five, which are namely the way we walk and please God. First, secondly, concerning brotherly love.

Third, concerning those that have fallen asleep. And fourthly, concerning times and seasons. So he is going to give a little bit of additional instruction. Let's put it this way. Gentle, loving correction. I beg your pardon. In those four areas. Again, the way we walk and please God. Two, concerning brotherly love. Three, concerning those that have fallen asleep.

So get a further, deeper understanding about that. And concerning times and seasons. So let's start then with this instruction here in chapter four with verse one. Finally, so in a sense, he's coming to the conclusion of his letter, but this concluding point is instructive or corrective. His instruction to correct him. Finally, then, then is considering that desire of love and holiness. Because in verse 12 and 13 of the previous chapter, we said that may Christ the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and establish your hearts blameless in holiness.

So he's basically focusing on two things. To grow in love and to be more holy. And so he is now, then, in chapter four verse one, he says finally then, then is referring to those points of love and holiness.

Brethren, we urge you and exhort in the Lord Jesus. So he's urging and exhorting. Urge means an earnest. Think of it. Urging is earnestly, persistently persuading you. And exhorting is an encouragement, an appeal. Egging you on is motivating you on, encouraging you on.

So as we read here, he says, Brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more. We exhort you to walk a way of life which is as holiness, which he says abound more and more just as you received from us. How you ought to walk and to please God. So he's pleading, he is urging earnestly, persuading them, exhorting them. And you see how his style of correction is not dictatorial. It's got this earnest, persistently trying to persuade, trying to urge, trying to exhort, trying to encourage, which has this positive approach towards a problem that he's in.

And he says, I urge you that you ought to walk and to please God, to walk and to please God. And that is abounding more and more. In other words, to walk more and more with God and to please more and more, to please God. Now, there were some people that did not please God. In one of the things for us to understand more about pleasing God, let's look at 1 Thessalonians 2, verses 14 and 15.

He has an example of people doing things that were not pleasing God. In verse 14, he says, For you, brethren, become indicators of the churches of God which are in Judea and Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own country men. So, just as they did from the Judeans. So he's actually talking to the church saying, New Thessalonians are suffering things from your own country men, which obviously means from your own people. But it also, if you read at the context, the churches in Judea were persecuted.

And when you read in Galatians and others, it's talking about people in the church that were persecuting them. And he says, and he says, And they do not please God. So, some of the things that some people were causing some troubles in the church, from people in the church, did not please God. And are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved. And so you can see there were people in the church that say, well, you are going to only speak to the Jews, to people of Jewish nature. And they say, no, we've got to go beyond. But this is one example that we're doing things that do not please God.

So, there were people that did very things, even in the church, that did not please God. So when we read here in chapter 4, verse 1, it says, Just as you receive from us that you ought to walk more, to walk, obviously, with God, and to please God. This is something that we need to abound more and more. Now, more and more means there's no boundaries.

We never love God too much. We've got to do more and more. So how can we walk with God? How can we please God? And then there's many things we could point to about what does God require of us, like Micah 6, verse 6-8. I gave a sermon about that recently. But how can we walk to please God?

Look at Hebrews 11, verse 6, which is the 5th chapter. But Yah, in verse 6, brings another point that is critical to please God, because it says, Without faith, it is impossible to please God. We have to have absolute trust and confidence, faith in God. 4. Because he who comes to God must believe that God exists, and of course we believe that God exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently sit in.

Now, Yah, in Hebrews 11, Paul is talking about positive things, because it's a fake chapter, and he's talking about people that had faith, and therefore he is a rewarder of those that diligently sit in. But for one to be able to be a rewarder must be one that has the authority to make a judgmental decision that the individual deserves a reward.

Likewise, the one that makes that judgmental decision could also make a decision that one deserves a punishment. So, in this context of Hebrews 11, because he's talking about the fake chapter those that are faithful, he is looking at from a positive point of a rewarder. But the point that I want to extract from this section in Hebrews 11, verse 6, is that God exists and he is our judge, positively as a rewarder and negatively as a punishment, as a correction.

So, we need to understand that God is in control. So, how can we walk to please God? We're going to walk understanding that God is our rewarder. If we are faithful, God is our rewarder.

We're going to believe 100% that he's going to reward us. Likewise, we've got to believe 100% that he's our judge and that he is going to correct everyone, everyone, according to their works. So, some people may think today they can get away with it.

Well, God doesn't exist, whatever it is. Well, you're not pleasing God if you take that approach, particularly if you've known previously that God exists and you turn that approach now. You're not pleasing God, at least that. We know that. And he is the judge. He is going to reward everyone according to their works, positive or negative. If we, on the other side, are on the side of receiving bad treatment from others, we have to have the trust, the absolute trust and confidence in God that he will fix it up.

We have to have that absolute trust that he will fix it up. He exists and he's the judge and he will judge. So, going back to the context in Thessalonians about behaving and living and walking in a way that's pleasing God, in what direction is Paul the Art specifically to the Thessalonians highlighting what specific thing is there.

Paul is talking about walking and pleasing God. Well, let's continue reading in verse 2. So, you know what commandments we gave you. We have instructed you from the Bible. We have given you instructions, commandments. Right? Well, it says, we gave you through the Lord Jesus. It was by Jesus Christ's authority because everything comes through Christ because we read in Matthew 28. I think it's verse 18 that says, He has all authority. He says, all authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth. And you also read elsewhere that it says, all knees will bow down to him.

All knee will bow down to him. So, He's got all authority. It's been delegated to him by the Father. And therefore, you know what commandments I gave you through the Lord Jesus. It was by Jesus Christ's authority through him. We've given him commandments. Obviously, these are commandments from God the Father because we gave it to you through the Lord Jesus. So, it's commandments that proceed from God the Father, which is God's commandments, God's instructions, God's principles come from the Father that we need to walk in holiness and blameless.

And now read verse 18. For this is the will of God. This is God's will. This, these are God's commandments. It's his desire. This is God's will. Your sanctification. What is God's will? Your sanctification and my sanctification. What does sanctification mean? It means being separated, being set aside for a special purpose, to be holy, to be sanctified. Sanctified and being holy, in some languages, is the same word. In Portuguese, it's the same word. If you say holy or sanctified, it's the same word. It's saint. The holy name is the, in Portuguese, is like the saint name.

The sanctification is sanctification in Portuguese and holy is the same saint. So, in some languages, it's the same word. So, sanctification means set aside for a specific purpose. When you and I, we're called, we're chosen, we set aside, we separate it. Remember, even it talks about, you know, even if it's just one in the faith, the children are sanctified, are set aside.

What does that mean? The children are being called and have the capability to know God's truth. And sometimes it takes a while, but there's a lot of things they understand, and they are sanctified, they are set apart. What? To understand the truth. The world is not, today, sanctified. You and I, as Christians, are sanctified. So, we are baptized, we have hands laid on us to receive God's Holy Spirit. We are set aside to receive God's Holy Spirit, to be begotten of the Holy See.

When you and I are sick, and we ask for anointed cloth, or we are anointed, and hands are laid on, you are set aside for the special intervention from God. Granted, it's according to God's will. In some cases, we may think God is not intervening, but God will in his time. God always does. God does not lie.

When a member of the church is ordained to be a deacon, or to be an elder, hands are laid on him again, and he's set aside, he's sanctified for the special purpose. We, as God's members of God's church, are sanctified, are set aside apart for the special purpose, to be the first resurrection, to be the first fruits, to be the behind of Christ.

That's very special. That is a unique, a unique, very special group of people. Are we better? No. We're not better than others. But for some reason or other, God knows better why. He decided to call you an eye. But for his grace and his mercy, we are young. We are sanctified. So, continue. For this is the will of God, your sanctification. Oh yes, we are sanctified, but sanctification is still a process.

Yes, we separated, but we are in the process of becoming more and more holy. It's like we are in the process of character development. We are in the process of growing in the knowledge or in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It's a process of growth, in grace, of character development, of developing God's holy righteous character, which is basically growing in grace, which is basically a sanctification process through the grace of God. The power of God's holy Spirit, because it's God's holy Spirit that pricks your conscience, that pricks mine, because it says it's the sanctification of the Spirit.

So, God's holy Spirit works really fast. It's like God's special, spiritual, chemical thing that works with us to trigger this change that we got to change and that has taken some time. So, this is the will of God, your sanctification and my sanctification. Are we perfect? No. Are we trying to get better? Yes. And we need to continue trying to get better.

But now look at it. Now it narrows down which area of sanctification is actually talking about. It says that you should abstain from sexual immorality. Why? Why this specific area? Because the Thessalonians, in the cosmopolitan area, very much impacted by Greek and pagan ideas, had a lot of sexual immorality in their society.

And brethren, it's the same today in our society. Therefore, it says abstain, avoid, prevent, refrain sexual immorality. Some Bibles may translate that as fornication, which technically means sexual immorality before marriage. But the Greek word is porneia, which is better translated to any illicit sexual activity. Married or not married? Any illicit sexual activity. And so that was a problem in their society.

And it's a problem in ours. And we just mentioned a couple of letters. LGBTQ+, etc. It's a problem in our society. It's illicit sexual activity. It's porneia is a sin. If so, all is ever seen, it is the will of God, your sanctification, specifically focusing in this area that is prevalent in the society of sexual immorality.

Any immoral sexual conduct is wrong. It's not saying that sex is bad. Sex is good, but only within marriage. Hebrews 13, verse 4.

Marriage is honourable among all and the bad and the foul. In other words, sex in marriage is honourable, but fornicators and adulterers. In other words, any sexual activity which is illicit outside of marriage, God will judge. So, remember what I mentioned in Hebrews 11, where I believe that God exists and is our judge, who is the ever-mercier. People that are committing sexual immorality, it is as if they think that God is not going to judge them. So, we have to be aware and focus on that. That's why he said that each of you should know. So, as an outcome of that, as a result of that, that each of you should know how to possess your own vessel in sanctification and honour.

Now, what is your own vessel? Well, there are a number of ways you could look at a vessel. Your own body. Your own body. How we control our body, instead of allowing it to be affected by lust. Two, could be our spouse's body, because it's our vessel.

Or, three, your future spouse's body, because it's your potential future vessel. I'll explain a little bit more about that in a moment. Or all of them.

So, for instance, at this moment, we might be opportunity to look at 1 Peter 3, verse 7. 1 Peter 3, verse 7. He says, Husbands likewise dwell with them, the wives with understanding, giving honour to the wife as the weaker vessel, and being his together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. So, husbands, we have to understand that our wives are a weaker vessel. So, it's talking about the body. But in the context, a vessel is a base. In Greek, it's 4-6-32, scores. And a weaker vessel is the most fragile part. Now, if you own, for instance, various teacups, you may have some teacups which are kind of sturdy. Like for instance, you have some coffee mugs that are quite strong, so you may have some teacups that are quite sturdy, quite strong, but you may have others that are very fragile. Like top-class China, you're going to deal with it when they're very careful because they're fragile. But they're not lower in quality, they're not lower in value, in fact, of higher quality and higher value, but they're very fragile. And you look after them very carefully, so the weaker vessel is more fragile. And so, it is a lesson to us as men to respect our wives and treat them being more fragile, not lower or inferior. So, going back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and when it's talking about how to possess your own vessel, by avoiding fornication or any illicit sexual activity, you're learning how to possess your own vessel in sanctification and honour. And this, remember, we're reading verse 3, verses God's will, your sanctification, specifically on this theme. So, whether you're a man or whether you're a woman, that sanctification is applicable. In honour, both being, quote-unquote, virgins or being in a conduct that is a virgin type, pure conduct. So, let's now continue reading now, in verse 5, not in passion of lust. So, you see, it's talking about this topic very specifically about sanctification, not to possess your spouse in uncontrolled lust, like the Gentiles. Like those that don't know the truth about God.

But we are to possess the spouse, our vessel, our own vessel. So, it's not just our body in this case, but it's our spouse's body in love, in care. Because it's a delicate, fragile, China, teacup, quote-unquote, as an analogy. So, that is the point of being a weaker vessel. It's not inferior, but it's just more valuable, but fragile. So, when we therefore consider this in a marriage context, marriage is consummated in love, not in lust. And so, a man, even a husband, cannot violate a spouse or the aggressor in a sexual activity.

And then he says here, like the Gentiles who do not know God. So, if we know God, we are going to be very careful that we treat others with love and particularly our spouse's.

Now, what do you mean to know God?

What does it mean to not know God? You know the Scriptures? In 1 John, just turn to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2.

1 John chapter 2. He's talking about, there are my children, and these things are right to you that you may not sin. We have Christ as an advocate in it. He says, verse 3, Now, by this we know that we know God, that we know Him, that we know Christ. Because in the context here, I was talking about Christ, we have an advocate of the Father, Jesus Christ, and He Himself is the propobociation of our sins. And by this we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. Obviously, they're God's commandments, but they're Christ's commandments too. It's the same commandments. He will say, I know Him, or people say, I know Christ, I know Christ. And do not keep Christ's instructions. Come on. Say, what a Christ's instruction. Come on. If you want to enter into life, keep the Father's commandments. Christ does not say anything different than the same that has always been, that we got to keep God's commandments. God the Father's commandments. And those are Christ's commandments. God's Christ's instructions. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. And by this we know that we are in Him. Again, repeating verse 4, but He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, He's a liar. And the truth is not in Him.

So what is the commandments? Darshan, or Komet, or Daltry, for instance? So, going back to 1 Thessalonians, and reading in chapter 4, where He says in verse 1, We are to walk and to please God. And then He narrows it down in this holiness towards sexual conduct. We are to please God in the proper sexual conduct, in action, and in thought. And then we go on to verse 6. That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this manner. So that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this manner. What is defraud? Defraud is taking something from the other person, like fraudulent transaction. There is taking more or false weights or something like that. It's doing wrong or taking advantage of an other, or cheating in a game. When you have a game and you cheat, you cheat, you just do it wrong. That's fraud, defraud.

And again, it's referring back to verse 4, when it says how to possess your own vessel.

So, yeah, you could defraud your vessel by doing these things because you're taking away future happiness from you, from your own body, by defrauding you, but also you're defrauding your spouse.

Or someone else's spouse by committing adultery, for instance, or having a sexual immorality with a woman that belongs to somebody else. So, this is the point here. Deflording, as it says, you know how to possess your own vessel. Now, here is another point. And remember, I mentioned that it could be your body, or your spouse, or your future spouse. Because if you do something immoral that could defraud your future spouse from a better relationship. And so that's why it's going to be your future vessel. So that's why I mentioned it could be your future spouse. Or it might not even be your future spouse, but might be your future brother's spouse. In other words, you have an illicit sexual relationship with another person. That person is now no more virgin for somebody else. So you're defrauding somebody else, your brother.

That no one, verse 6, therefore, should take advantage of and defraud his brother. So because in this matter, because the Lord is the Avenger of all such, God is a judge. And the Father has delegated all judgment to Christ. And so the Lord is the Avenger of all such. Christ will act as we have for one day, and testify. We have warned you about this. So there must have been a problem in that society affecting the Church, and He is pretty strong, although very gentle.

This is, as we warned you and testify.

I might just mention the situation in brackets here about 1 Corinthians 7, verse 1 through 6. Now we have, in a sense, a similar situation in which you are to render the spouse due affection, and one does not have authority over the other in the cohabitation due to the marriage contract. And so, and it also says in verse 5, do not deprive one another except to consent. In other words, do not defraud one another. It says that in the King James Version. And there he is. Don't deny one another the due cohabitation that is due in a marriage contract. So continue now with Thessalonians, in chapter 4. God is telling us through Paul that one who commits sexual immorality, you know, I'll start very clearly in verse 3, is defrauding or cheating or taking from a brother or could even be a future brother. And so, continue in verse 7. For God did not call us to uncleanliness but to holiness. God did not call us to uncleanliness but to sanctification, to holiness. Like we read in verse 3, for this is the will of God, your sanctification. And we read in verse 4, possess your vessel in sanctification and honor. And therefore, yeah, in verse 7 says, for God do not call us to uncleanliness but in holiness. In other words, God wants us to be sanctified, holiness. So that's part of our calling, to be separate, to be different. And this is the correction that is our light in YHWH, which is at the end of verse 3, summarized as that you should abstain from sexual immorality. Now let's continue, because this is very prevalent in today's society. Let's continue there in verse 8. And then it says, Therefore, he who rejects this, if we don't listen to this and we reject this, we're not rejecting man, we're rejecting God, who has given us his Holy Spirit. You see, so do not reject, do not disregard, do not despise, do not do away, do not nullify this very important instruction. So don't say, oh well, this is bondage of this world, of the church, the world and LGBT and whatever it is, it's much whatever, we are under grace. This is a problem that's happening today in society. They're using grace as an excuse for what? For breaking God's law. This is what we read in Jude. Turn with me to Jude chapter 1. Okay, go on to there's only one chapter. So Jude, and we're going to read verses 3 and 4.

I wanted to write you about something else, but I was compelled, I was motivated to say, hey, we gotta stick to the trunk of the tree, to what we have been received, what has been delivered once for all by Christ through the apostles. Because, verse 4, certain men have crept unnoticed, like in stealth, you know, like a stealth aircraft that comes in, you don't pick it up on the radar, they crept into an unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation. And of course, anybody that comes in with that is marked for that condemnation long ago. These are ungodly men who turn the grace of God into luteness, into lawlessness, and therefore deny the honor of Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. So, this is what's happening in the world, a false grace. A false grace. And look in verse 8. Likewise, also these dreamers, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries, or people in authority. So, these people usually are causing trouble, they are disrespectful, they reject authority, they just want liberty, they want people that say, oh well, you can do whatever you want. And that's the way society is going. That is the way society is going.

They are rejecting God, they are disrespecting God, and that's the way the country, and many countries, are going. So, Paul, continue back to 1 Corinthians chapter 4.

In verse 8, Paul is saying, in a summary way, he's saying, listen carefully to this instruction and correction, and otherwise, you're rejecting the very God who has given you his Holy Spirit, and therefore, remember, we're rejecting God when we don't maintain sexual purity. And remember, God gave us his Holy Spirit, the helper. For what purpose? To help us overcome. So, we must develop self-control, and if you look at the fruit of God's Holy Spirit, those nine attributes in Galatians 5, 22, 23, the last one is self-control. God's Holy Spirit helps us with self-control. And so, this is one area that Paul really focuses in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 as an area of correction that the society needed it badly, and that's why he addresses it first.

Then, he moves on to another area, and that's why he says, but concerning. So, the first one was concerning how you ought to walk and to please God. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 1. So, the first one was how you and I ought to walk and to please God, and he narrows down specifically to this point of abstaining sexual immorality. Then, in verse 9, he says, but concerning another point.

It was brotherly love. You don't need me to talk much about it, but the problem is that some, some have become busybodies. They don't work. And so now, he addresses another problem. There are some people just don't want to work. Oh yeah, they have an excuse, but they're not working. They're not rolling up their sleeves and having the motivation to do things. And so, he addresses another subject or another area of correction that does require a little bit of correction, but that will be a subject of our next study. So, that's how we end tonight, Brethren, and thank you so much for your participation.