1 Thessalonians 4-5

What’s Happening?

The apostle Paul challenges the Thessalonians to grow in godliness and spiritual maturity in their relationships with sex, love, work, and death (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2). Paul begins by addressing their relationship with sex. The Thessalonians' culture valued immediate sexual gratification and turned a blind eye toward taking advantage of women, men of lower social status, and children (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6). But God created sex to be a demonstration and celebration of God’s generosity and creative power in marriage. So Paul warns that those who prize their sexual release over God's intentions are rebelling against their Creator (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8). Instead, all of their relationships should be marked by a growing similarity between their actions and their Creator’s intention. 

One area where the Thessalonians do not need to improve is their willingness to love others. They are well known throughout the region for their loving disposition to each other, so Paul tells them to keep doing what they are doing (1 Thessalonians 4:9).

Paul then tells the Thessalonians to be more mature in their working lives. Some in Thessalonica took advantage of more wealthy members of their church and relied too frequently on them to pay their bills. Paul tells them that all believers should have an ambition to work hard and be financially independent so that they can be generous to others and win the respect of outsiders to the church (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12).

Finally, Paul addresses the Thessalonians' relationship with death. Paul does not want them to grieve hopelessly when their friends die under persecution. He reminds them that Jesus died and rose again. Anyone who dies for Jesus will certainly be raised by Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15). And one day soon, Jesus will come again, and the faithful living and the faithful dead will together join Jesus in his victory parade. The dead are not gone forever, but waiting to join the living on the day Jesus establishes himself as King on earth forever (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). While their persecutors might now gloat over their victories, they will fall (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). The Thessalonians shouldn’t live in anxiety over the growing power of their enemies but in the hope that they will soon be defeated. Their vindication and salvation have been secured by Jesus when he rose from the dead (1 Thessalonians 5:4-9). And all of their loved ones who have died will soon rise, just like their Savior, and live with them and with God forever (1 Thessalonians 5:10-11).

Paul concludes with over a dozen encouragements and a prayer. But Paul doesn’t pray for the Thessalonians' grit or resolve to do all that he’s asked. Rather, he asks God to do the work. He asks God to mature the Thessalonians into people who are increasingly godly and can endure suffering in hope (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). 

Where is the Gospel?

In Paul’s short letter, he instructs us on how to spiritually mature in four of our most common human experiences: sex, love, work, and death. Paul also gives us several motivations to pursue that maturity, ranging from obeying our Creator to the hope of the resurrection.

It is difficult to become more godly in a cultural or political climate that would persecute us. We can often wonder if we are strong enough to hold up under the pressure. We wonder if we would remain faithful if the stakes were higher. We wonder if we would have what it takes to die for our beliefs. But Paul ends his letter by reminding us that our faithfulness, spiritual maturity, and godliness are not dependent on our grit but on God’s faithfulness. He is the one who will make us holy. He is the one who will empower us. And he is the one who will help us endure the unimaginable (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Jesus will always be more faithful to us than we are to him. So instead of anxiously wondering if we have what it takes, we can always ask him to mature and strengthen us—and he will do it. 

See For Yourself 

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who matures his people. And may you see Jesus as the one who has died and risen to mature and strengthen you.