Verses 1-2 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
The Greek word translated as “beseech” is “erotao” and it means to ask, to request, or to beg. The Greek word translated as “exhort” is “parakaleo” and it means to desire, intreat, to encourage and to strengthen, or to instruct or teach. The Apostle Paul is asking and desiring the believers to walk and to please God in the same manner that they saw the apostles walk and please God so that their love for both God and for others would “abound more and more”. And he reminds them of the commandments they were given, some of which are listed below.
Verses 3-5 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
The Greek word translated as “sanctification” is “hagiasmos” and it means consecration, purification, or the sanctification of heart and life. To sanctify means to be set apart or holy. So the commandments the believers received were for the purpose of sanctifying them or causing them to be set apart from the world and to be pure and free from sin, holy before a righteous God. The first commandment spoken of by the Apostle Paul was abstaining from fornication or sexual sins. Notice that it was by the will of each Christian believer that this was to be accomplished. There were to be no excuses. Each individual in the church at Thessalonica was responsible for their mind, their will, their emotions, and what they did with their bodies. The Greek word translated as “vessel” is “skeuos” and it was common for the Greeks to metaphorically use this word for the physical body as the Greeks believed that the souls of mankind lived temporarily in bodies or vessels. The Greek word translated as “concupiscence” which is defined in English as strong sexual desire or lust, is “epithumia” and it means desire, craving, longing, a desire for what is forbidden, and lust. The name, Gentile, is used in Scripture to denote a race, nation, people group, pagans, or those not worshiping the true God. Today it has incorrectly become synonymous with non-Jews so that people have been divided into Jews or Gentiles, incorrectly because non-Jewish people made up the majority of the Christian churches started by the Apostle Paul and his companions and were/are worshiping the true God where as the Jews of today are not worshiping the true God.
Verse 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
The Greek word translated as “go beyond” is “huperbaino” and it means to transgress, trespass, do wrong, or sin. The Greek word translated as “defraud” is “pleonekteo” and it means to gain or take advantage of another. The Greek word translated as “avenger” is “ekdikos” and it means exacting penalty from one, or a punisher. So the Christian believers were told before and are warned again that taking advantage of others will lead to God punishing them for their actions.
Verses 7-8 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
The individuals that disregarded, rejected, or refused to follow the commandments put forth by God through the apostles were rejecting the LORD and His Spirit that dwelt in them.
Verses 9-10 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;
Application: It is impossible to be a Christian believer and fail to love others. Christian love is not just an emotional feeling towards someone, although it can be, but it is primarily an action. It is possible to not really like someone and yet love them. For instance, a Christian believer may not like a co-worker because of the sin in his/her life and/or because of his/her actions and attitude. But if that co-worker needs help, the Christian believer should be the first one to offer assistance because that is demonstrating the love of Christ to that unbeliever. The Christian believer is able to assist and put aside any feelings of dislike because of the presence of the Holy Ghost/Spirit in their life. The Christian believer is able to sacrifice for the co-worker (time, money, etc.) because of the love of Jesus Christ.
Verses 11-12 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
The Christian believers were to lead quiet lives, mind their own business, and work to support themselves and their families so that they would have that which was necessary to life and so that non-believers would have nothing to complain about them.
Verses 13-14 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
To be asleep means to be dead physically. The church at Thessalonica was focused on the return of Jesus Christ and they were worried that their loved ones who were believers and who had already died were somehow not going to be received by the LORD Jesus Christ at His coming. The Apostle Paul clears up that concern by reminding them that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and therefore, believers that had died would already be in the presence of the LORD and simply return with Him to this Earth.
Verses 15-18 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4)
The Apostle Paul uses the authority of the Word of God to make the statements in the verses above, making it clear to all that what he is saying is from God and is the truth. So it did not matter if the Christian believer was physically alive or physically dead. The LORD Jesus Christ was going to return for His people. The Greek word translated as “prevent” is “phthano” and it means to come before, precede, anticipate, to reach or to attain. In other words, the physically alive Christian believers will not come before the physically dead Christian believers. The Apostle Paul goes on to say that the dead rise first, followed by the living and that they shall all be carried off by the Spirit of God into the air to meet Jesus. What a comforting thought.
Application: These verses are just a few of the many verses that disprove the Scofield doctrine of a “rapture” at the second coming of Jesus followed by 7 years of tribulation and then a third coming of Jesus to reign for 1000 years on this already polluted and destroyed Earth where Jesus stated Himself that His kingdom was not located, and then a final battle and then the white throne judgement and then separation into Heaven and Hell and the end. Read and digest what the Apostle Paul, the man who was caught up into the third Heaven and saw and heard things no other man has ever seen or heard, has stated “by the word of the Lord.” To adopt the Scofield end time doctrine is to make the Apostle Paul a liar and the Word of God false. Think about it.