Living in a Glass House
Clean living. Responsible living. A proper testimony to 'outsiders'.
I Thessalonians Chapter 4.
Before we take a close look at Chapter 4 let's take a moment to reflect on what Paul has covered so far in this first letter to the Thessalonian church.
Paul is rejoicing over the fact that this young church actually took root and has not 'died on the vine' as the expression goes. He has addressed the suffering that they were encountering … saying that he had warned them that it would happen … and that he is so glad that it did not turn them away from continuing in Christianity.
He has rejoiced that they have been involved in an 'outward' mission; a church whose gospel outreach was being effectively heard in many neighboring communities.
By reading what Paul mentioned about Timothy, we realize that the church planting scenario unfolded like this:
In this next chapter Paul is building on the good things that are already in their lives. God has placed this letter in our Bible for the simple reason that we should take these words, which were written to a specific church, as if these words are being written directly to us.
Paul 'urges' and 'exhorts' these people to 'abound more and more'. The word 'urge' means exactly that. It means to plead with them. When somebody pleads with you to do something, if you didn't already realize it, you start to get the impression that the thing is really important.
So why is it so important that these people 'abound more and more'? They are already spreading the gospel everywhere.
(1Th 1:8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.)
Could it be that Paul is thinking of the danger of becoming complacent. Of patting oneself on the back … and putting oneself in danger of falling.
Paul said on a different occasion, Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1Corinthians 10:12
I am sure he was thinking of the Proverb: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pr 16:18
And the apostle Peter said that there must be continual growth, because to stop growing, immediately causes us to regress 1downward to the point where it is even possible to forget you were ever saved.
Paul even cautioned himself about this: But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1Co 9:27
In 4:2 Paul teaches them by way of reminder. He says, I went over some of the 'Christian Life commandments' when I was there for that short time … about a year ago … remember?
“Commandments?”, we ask, “I thought we were not under 'the law'. I thought it was 'taken out of the way'2”
The commandments that were taken out of the way specifically refer to the old testament 10 commandments and the thousands of other commandments that God gave to the Israelites via Moses. But we need to recognize the two distinct reasons that the laws were given to begin with.
But the second use of the commandments does reveal the heart of God for his children's way of living. Paul obviously laid down some instructions related to what a Godly life should look like.
4:4,5
He says, This is the will of God … your sanctification.
Are you familiar with and comfortable with the word sanctified? What ideas does it generate in your mind when you use the word?
Do you think of holiness? That is certainly one of the main thoughts. But it also contains the idea of being set apart for a specific purpose and use. Like a 'consecrated' goblet, chalice or glass that is to be used for a religious ceremony only. If it gets used for something else can be considered 'defiled'.
We belong to God, body, soul and spirit. He bought us.3
So in verse 4 as Paul speaks of 'possessing his own vessel', he is talking about your body as being like a 'vessel' that is set apart for a specific purpose. He is saying that you need to take control of your 'vessel, that is your body, and make sure it remains a vessel that is dedicated to God. Our body as well as our minds are to be used for God. We are to dismiss the idea that we live normal human lives, and then add church to that life. As Christians we must not separate between the secular and the sacred. We do not live two distinct lives, one being holy and the other being everyday life in the world. We cannot please God that way at all. When we become new born again believers, the lives that we now live in this world must be lived by giving a godly sacred base to everything we do.
This, number one, pleases God. But, number two, it causes us to stand out as different from the world. Is that a good thing? Absolutely! God wants the world to see the contrast between His world and Satan's world. Verse 5 indicates that 'gentiles' (non-christians) live in 'passion of lust'. This is not speaking entirely of sexual attitude, but that is a big part. He is saying that the gentile person, the non-christian … basically lives for themselves. They are mostly concerned about themselves and their wants.
It is high time that we stop living like that. We should all know better. But to a great extent it is very hard to tell the difference between a believer and a non-christian in matters of our wants and desires.
4:6 – 8 It can be expected that people of the world in general, as they look out for number one, they end up hurting, cheating or depriving someone else. There is that attitude that Cain had … “Am I my brother's keeper?”, thing going on to a certain degree in the life and practice of many unbelievers. So Paul is acknowledging, unbelievers might do this, but don't ever do this in the church. “Do not take advantage of a brother” Paul says. By brother he means fellow Christian in the church. Does this mean that it is OK for you to take advantage of a 'non-brother'? No, but this he addresses separately later on.
Why mention not taking advantage of a brother, specifically? Because Paul, (and God) want the world to see Christians a certain way. He wants them the world to automatically think, Christians never do that. He wants the world to think that about Christians, not because they have been told that by someone, but rather, they observed it first hand.
Behaving in a way that is less than Godly is called by Paul, dirty living. God called us to clean living. May the world and the community we live in, see us believers as clean living … in every way … in our choice of words, in the topics we choose to discuss, in the things of life that we affirm and believe in.
4:9, 10 Paul continues to talk about things that make Christians 'stand out'. He mentions 'brotherly love'. He observes that he really does not need to say anything about this, because the Holy Spirit has already taught them this concept. This sort of implies that God had not yet taught them the some of the things mentioned in the first part of the chapter.
I observe from this that God teaches us as we go along. Sometimes we learn behavioral things on our own as we read our Bible and pray. It changes us. But some things we don't get until we are going through His word together, or someone teaches it to you in sermon, or mentions it in a conversation. Either way, God loves His children, and if they have a desire to learn, they will get what God is ready for them to receive.
4:11,12 Paul describes the kind of life that should generally characterize us as believers living in a world and neighborhood of people who have no use for God in their lives. The world should see us as quiet people who mind their own business, work for our living and not be sponges or takers. He wants us to 'Walk properly toward 'outsiders'. Everyone who has not taken Jesus as their Saviour and Lord is an outsider.
In the following verse Paul points out that non-Christians, who do not spend time reading the Bible, have a different Christian Bible that they actually do read. Paul says that we Christians are a living Bible for the outsiders to read. 2Corinthians 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
So we ask ourselves … what kind of a Bible is your 'outsider' friend reading, when he reads you?
4:13-18 Paul takes a 'turn' in his letter to the Thessalonians. He has spent the last few paragraphs showing them the importance of living our lives before the world in a clean, honest, and quiet way. Living our lives in a way that makes the Christian life in our local church, as a really wonderful and safe place to be. Living our lives so that the world observes, 'Wow, it would be nice to be part of a loving community like that!'
But now he turns to a matter that needs a little correcting. It seems obvious to me that when he was with them, and when Timothy was with them, they learned that Jesus is coming back. We don't know exactly what was said to them about Jesus' return, but it must have had something to do with 'We need to be ready to meet Him. Wait for him4. He is coming to take us out of this world and into His heaven. His coming could be fairly soon.
But what seems apparent now, is that some believers have died in the past few months. And Jesus has not yet returned. The fear of the Thessalonians seems to be, “Oh no! Our loved ones died before Jesus could get back here … have they missed out on heaven!?”
Paul answers them with words that have comforted thousands of believers down through the years. He says, “Do not worry. When a Christian dies he or she goes directly to heaven. When Jesus comes back, your loved ones will come back with him”.
But when he brings them back with Him, Paul points out, even though they have been with Him in heaven, there is something they did not have in heaven. Apparently they had only spirit bodies. So Jesus brings these persons, in spirit form, with Him. And then a marvelous thing happens … their new bodies are supplied from here, on this earth. If their body had been in a grave, then up from the grave comes a new body … with no life in until the spirit person enters it. And this happens a split second before the living believer is transformed into a new body and rises up into the air.
He closes by saying that this will all be clearly announced; by a loud shout that all Christians will hear, and a trumpet blast. There will be a rising .. with Jesus … up into the clouds. From then on we will never be separated from Him. The bible clearly gives us much more detail than this. For example, Jesus does not stay in heaven forever. He will be coming to this earth to rule for a thousand years. But that detail is not given in this chapter or the next.
But some of the details or 'signs' that he wants us to know are given in the next chapter, and we look forward to that in the next session.
We live in a 'glass house'. God wants us to let people take a good look at our lives. We are the only Bible some people will ever read.
Mt 5:16 Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Php 2:14 ¶ Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
12Pe 1:9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
31Co 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
41Th 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Clean living. Responsible living. A proper testimony to 'outsiders'.
I Thessalonians Chapter 4.
Before we take a close look at Chapter 4 let's take a moment to reflect on what Paul has covered so far in this first letter to the Thessalonian church.
Paul is rejoicing over the fact that this young church actually took root and has not 'died on the vine' as the expression goes. He has addressed the suffering that they were encountering … saying that he had warned them that it would happen … and that he is so glad that it did not turn them away from continuing in Christianity.
He has rejoiced that they have been involved in an 'outward' mission; a church whose gospel outreach was being effectively heard in many neighboring communities.
By reading what Paul mentioned about Timothy, we realize that the church planting scenario unfolded like this:
- Paul and Silas and Timothy had to make a quick escape after less than a month of initial ground laying work for this new assembly to get its start.
- Timothy was sent a few months later, from Athens back up to Thessalonica to see how they were doing, and to stay awhile and 'establish' them.
- Timothy has completed his assignment and has come back with good news. When Timothy comes back, he now finds Paul in Corinth … a fair bit farther than Athens. How long did this work of establishing the church take? Probably at least a few months. So now the young church could be approaching a year old.
- Motivated by the good news from Timothy Paul writes this letter to the church, indicating his new focus for prayer regarding them … and that is that God open the door for him to come to them in person.
- Paul sends Timothy back up to Thessalonica with this letter.
In this next chapter Paul is building on the good things that are already in their lives. God has placed this letter in our Bible for the simple reason that we should take these words, which were written to a specific church, as if these words are being written directly to us.
Paul 'urges' and 'exhorts' these people to 'abound more and more'. The word 'urge' means exactly that. It means to plead with them. When somebody pleads with you to do something, if you didn't already realize it, you start to get the impression that the thing is really important.
So why is it so important that these people 'abound more and more'? They are already spreading the gospel everywhere.
(1Th 1:8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.)
Could it be that Paul is thinking of the danger of becoming complacent. Of patting oneself on the back … and putting oneself in danger of falling.
Paul said on a different occasion, Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1Corinthians 10:12
I am sure he was thinking of the Proverb: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pr 16:18
And the apostle Peter said that there must be continual growth, because to stop growing, immediately causes us to regress 1downward to the point where it is even possible to forget you were ever saved.
Paul even cautioned himself about this: But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1Co 9:27
In 4:2 Paul teaches them by way of reminder. He says, I went over some of the 'Christian Life commandments' when I was there for that short time … about a year ago … remember?
“Commandments?”, we ask, “I thought we were not under 'the law'. I thought it was 'taken out of the way'2”
The commandments that were taken out of the way specifically refer to the old testament 10 commandments and the thousands of other commandments that God gave to the Israelites via Moses. But we need to recognize the two distinct reasons that the laws were given to begin with.
- It was to show the kind of life that God desired His children to be living.
- It showed the impossibility of perfection.
But the second use of the commandments does reveal the heart of God for his children's way of living. Paul obviously laid down some instructions related to what a Godly life should look like.
4:4,5
He says, This is the will of God … your sanctification.
Are you familiar with and comfortable with the word sanctified? What ideas does it generate in your mind when you use the word?
Do you think of holiness? That is certainly one of the main thoughts. But it also contains the idea of being set apart for a specific purpose and use. Like a 'consecrated' goblet, chalice or glass that is to be used for a religious ceremony only. If it gets used for something else can be considered 'defiled'.
We belong to God, body, soul and spirit. He bought us.3
So in verse 4 as Paul speaks of 'possessing his own vessel', he is talking about your body as being like a 'vessel' that is set apart for a specific purpose. He is saying that you need to take control of your 'vessel, that is your body, and make sure it remains a vessel that is dedicated to God. Our body as well as our minds are to be used for God. We are to dismiss the idea that we live normal human lives, and then add church to that life. As Christians we must not separate between the secular and the sacred. We do not live two distinct lives, one being holy and the other being everyday life in the world. We cannot please God that way at all. When we become new born again believers, the lives that we now live in this world must be lived by giving a godly sacred base to everything we do.
This, number one, pleases God. But, number two, it causes us to stand out as different from the world. Is that a good thing? Absolutely! God wants the world to see the contrast between His world and Satan's world. Verse 5 indicates that 'gentiles' (non-christians) live in 'passion of lust'. This is not speaking entirely of sexual attitude, but that is a big part. He is saying that the gentile person, the non-christian … basically lives for themselves. They are mostly concerned about themselves and their wants.
It is high time that we stop living like that. We should all know better. But to a great extent it is very hard to tell the difference between a believer and a non-christian in matters of our wants and desires.
4:6 – 8 It can be expected that people of the world in general, as they look out for number one, they end up hurting, cheating or depriving someone else. There is that attitude that Cain had … “Am I my brother's keeper?”, thing going on to a certain degree in the life and practice of many unbelievers. So Paul is acknowledging, unbelievers might do this, but don't ever do this in the church. “Do not take advantage of a brother” Paul says. By brother he means fellow Christian in the church. Does this mean that it is OK for you to take advantage of a 'non-brother'? No, but this he addresses separately later on.
Why mention not taking advantage of a brother, specifically? Because Paul, (and God) want the world to see Christians a certain way. He wants them the world to automatically think, Christians never do that. He wants the world to think that about Christians, not because they have been told that by someone, but rather, they observed it first hand.
Behaving in a way that is less than Godly is called by Paul, dirty living. God called us to clean living. May the world and the community we live in, see us believers as clean living … in every way … in our choice of words, in the topics we choose to discuss, in the things of life that we affirm and believe in.
4:9, 10 Paul continues to talk about things that make Christians 'stand out'. He mentions 'brotherly love'. He observes that he really does not need to say anything about this, because the Holy Spirit has already taught them this concept. This sort of implies that God had not yet taught them the some of the things mentioned in the first part of the chapter.
I observe from this that God teaches us as we go along. Sometimes we learn behavioral things on our own as we read our Bible and pray. It changes us. But some things we don't get until we are going through His word together, or someone teaches it to you in sermon, or mentions it in a conversation. Either way, God loves His children, and if they have a desire to learn, they will get what God is ready for them to receive.
4:11,12 Paul describes the kind of life that should generally characterize us as believers living in a world and neighborhood of people who have no use for God in their lives. The world should see us as quiet people who mind their own business, work for our living and not be sponges or takers. He wants us to 'Walk properly toward 'outsiders'. Everyone who has not taken Jesus as their Saviour and Lord is an outsider.
In the following verse Paul points out that non-Christians, who do not spend time reading the Bible, have a different Christian Bible that they actually do read. Paul says that we Christians are a living Bible for the outsiders to read. 2Corinthians 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
So we ask ourselves … what kind of a Bible is your 'outsider' friend reading, when he reads you?
4:13-18 Paul takes a 'turn' in his letter to the Thessalonians. He has spent the last few paragraphs showing them the importance of living our lives before the world in a clean, honest, and quiet way. Living our lives in a way that makes the Christian life in our local church, as a really wonderful and safe place to be. Living our lives so that the world observes, 'Wow, it would be nice to be part of a loving community like that!'
But now he turns to a matter that needs a little correcting. It seems obvious to me that when he was with them, and when Timothy was with them, they learned that Jesus is coming back. We don't know exactly what was said to them about Jesus' return, but it must have had something to do with 'We need to be ready to meet Him. Wait for him4. He is coming to take us out of this world and into His heaven. His coming could be fairly soon.
But what seems apparent now, is that some believers have died in the past few months. And Jesus has not yet returned. The fear of the Thessalonians seems to be, “Oh no! Our loved ones died before Jesus could get back here … have they missed out on heaven!?”
Paul answers them with words that have comforted thousands of believers down through the years. He says, “Do not worry. When a Christian dies he or she goes directly to heaven. When Jesus comes back, your loved ones will come back with him”.
But when he brings them back with Him, Paul points out, even though they have been with Him in heaven, there is something they did not have in heaven. Apparently they had only spirit bodies. So Jesus brings these persons, in spirit form, with Him. And then a marvelous thing happens … their new bodies are supplied from here, on this earth. If their body had been in a grave, then up from the grave comes a new body … with no life in until the spirit person enters it. And this happens a split second before the living believer is transformed into a new body and rises up into the air.
He closes by saying that this will all be clearly announced; by a loud shout that all Christians will hear, and a trumpet blast. There will be a rising .. with Jesus … up into the clouds. From then on we will never be separated from Him. The bible clearly gives us much more detail than this. For example, Jesus does not stay in heaven forever. He will be coming to this earth to rule for a thousand years. But that detail is not given in this chapter or the next.
But some of the details or 'signs' that he wants us to know are given in the next chapter, and we look forward to that in the next session.
We live in a 'glass house'. God wants us to let people take a good look at our lives. We are the only Bible some people will ever read.
Mt 5:16 Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Php 2:14 ¶ Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
12Pe 1:9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
31Co 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
41Th 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.