1 Thessalonians 4:1

4:1-8 To abide in the faith of the gospel is not enough, we must abound in the work of faith. The rule according to which all ought to walk and act, is the commandments given by the Lord Jesus Christ. Sanctification, in the renewal of their souls under the influences of the Holy Spirit, and attention to appointed duties, constituted the will of God respecting them. In aspiring after this renewal of the soul unto holiness, strict restraint must be put upon the appetites and senses of the body, and on the thoughts and inclinations of the will, which lead to wrong uses of them. The Lord calls none into his family to live unholy lives, but that they may be taught and enabled to walk before him in holiness. Some make light of the precepts of holiness, because they hear them from men; but they are God's commands, and to break them is to despise God.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 . Furthermore — Το λοιπον , as for what remains to be said, in subserviency to the important end of your being presented before God in the final judgment, perfected in holiness; we beseech you, by the Lord Jesus — By his authority, in his name, and for his sake; that as ye have received of us — While we were among you; how ye ought to walk — If you desire to adorn your Christian profession; so ye would abound more and more — Striving continually to make advances in every Christian grace and virtue. Here the apostle reminds the Thessalonian believers that from his first coming among them he had exhorted them to conduct themselves in a holy manner, if they wished to please and continue in the favour of the living and true God, in whom they had believed; and that he had explained to them the nature of that holiness which is acceptable to God. And the same method of exhortation and instruction he undoubtedly followed in all other cities and countries. For you know — You cannot but remember; what commandments we gave you — Commandments very different from those enjoined by the heathen priests, as pleasing to their pretended deities.

Furthermore {1} 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 {a} abound more and more. (1) Various exhortations, the foundation of which is this, to be mindful of those things which they have heard from the apostle. (a) That you labour to excel more and more, and daily surpass yourselves.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 . Resuming the thought of 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 as well as of 1 Thessalonians 3:10-13 . Cf. a pre-Christian letter in Oxyrh. Papyri, iv. 294 (13 ἐρωτῶ σε οὖν ἵνα μὴ , 6 f. ἐρωτῶ σε καὶ παρακαλῶ σε ). The ἵνα , repeated often for the sake of clearness, is sub-final (so II., 2 Thessalonians 3:12 ) = infinitive, cf. Moulton, i. 206 f. Paul meant to write οὕτως καὶ περιπατῆτε , but the parenthesis of praise ( κ . καὶ π .) leads him to assume that and to plead for fresh progress along the lines already laid down by himself.

Verse 1. - Furthermore ; literally, finally ; for the rest - introducing the closing or practical part of the Epistle. The apostle uses the same word elsewhere at the close of his Epistles (comp. 2 Corinthians 13:1 ; Ephesians 6:10 ; Philippians 4:8 ; 2 Thessalonians 3:1 ). Then ; or rather, therefore ; connecting this exhortation with the closing verses of the last chapter: In order that you may be established un-blamably in holiness at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, you must do your part, you must earnestly strive after holiness. We ; to be restricted to Paul. Beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus ; or rather, in the Lord Jesus ; that is, in fellowship with him - the sphere or element within which the apostle besought and exhorted the Thessalonians. He wrote as the organ or instrument of the Lord Jesus. That as ye have received of us. Paul here appeals to the exhortations which he gave them during his residence among them at Thessalonica. How ye ought to walk and to please God ; how you ought to conduct yourselves so as to please God. The walking was the means of pleasing. The R.V., after these words, on the authority of manuscripts, adds, "even as ye do walk." So ye would abound more and more. The apostle acknowledges their Christian walking; they had already entered upon the road; their conduct was sanctified; but he exhorts them to abound therein with still greater care and fidelity. 1 Thessalonians 4:1

CHAPTER 4 1Th 4:1-18. Exhortations to Chastity; Brotherly Love; Quiet Industry; Abstinence from Undue Sorrow for Departed Friends, For at Christ's Coming All His Saints Shall Be Glorified. 1. Furthermore—Greek, "As to what remains." Generally used towards the close of his Epistles (Eph 6:10; Php 4:8). then—with a view to the love and holiness (1Th 3:12, 13) which we have just prayed for in your behalf, we now give you exhortation. beseech—"ask" as if it were a personal favor. by, &c.—rather as Greek, "IN the Lord Jesus"; in communion with the Lord Jesus, as Christian ministers dealing with Christian people [Edmunds]. as ye … received—when we were with you (1Th 2:13). how—Greek, the "how," that is, the manner. walk and … please God—that is, "and so please God," namely, by your walk; in contrast to the Jews who "please not God" (1Th 2:15). The oldest manuscripts add a clause here, "even as also ye do walk" (compare 1Th 4:10; 5:11). These words, which he was able to say of them with truth, conciliate a favorable hearing for the precepts which follow.

Also the expression, "abound more and more," implies that there had gone before a recognition of their already in some measure walking so.1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 Paul exhorteth the Thessalonians to proceed in theirendeavours to please God by a holy and just conversation.1 Thessalonians 4:9,10 He commendeth their love to one another, entreatingthem to abound in it,1 Thessalonians 4:11,12 and quietly to follow their respective callings.1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 And that they might not sorrow for the dead, as menwithout hope, he briefly deseribeth the resurrectionof the just, and Christ’s second coming. He descends to some particular duties about their walking, which he ushers in by a general exhortation in this first verse; wherein we may observe his style: he calls them brethren, and speaks to them with much condescension and earnestness, and in the name of Christ, &c. And the subject he insists on is their walking, the course of their life and conversation, which he describes by the rule of it, as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk; he refers them to the directions he had given them about it as the rule; for he did in his ministry not only open gospel mysteries, but explain moral duties. And not only to walk in them, but to abound more and more, to press forward to a greater exactness and excellency in their Christian conversation. And he here useth motives: 1.

IV. (1) We now approach the practical portion of the Epistle. The first point on which the Thessalonians need instruction is in the matter of social purity (1Thessalonians 4:1-8). Furthermore hardly expresses the original. St. Paul is not adding a further injunction, for he has as yet given none. It is literally, For the rest, then; and serves to introduce the conclusion of the letter. Beseech.—The marginal request is better, the word being one of calm and friendly asking, implying that the person so addressed will recognise the propriety of complying. Exhort is correct, though “encourage” suits the context a little better, as assuming that they are already so acting, but not with enough heart. By the Lord.—Better, in the Lord. It is not an adjuration, as in Romans 12:1, but states the authoritative ground of his request. “We encourage you, on the strength of our union in the Lord Jesus.” (Comp. 1Thessalonians 1:1.) How ye ought to walk.—Literally, the how. It indicates that part of the apostolic tradition was a systematic moral code, almost as if it were the title of a well-known book. “We gave you the ‘How ye ought to walk, so as to please God.’“ The best texts add immediately after, “even as also ye walk.” Abound more and more.—Or, still more. “You did receive of us the rules of a holy life; you are living by them, and that to a very large degree; but we beg you and encourage you, on the faith of Christians, to be still more lavish in your self-denial.”

Furthermore then - Τὸ λοιπὸν To loipon. "As to what remains." That is, all that remains is to offer these exhortations; see the 2 Corinthians 13:11 note; Galatians 6:17 note; Ephesians 6:10 note; Philippians 4:8 note. The phrase is a formula appropriate to the end of an argument or discourse. We beseech you - Margin, "request." The Greek is, "we ask you" - ἐρωτῶμεν erōtōmen. It is not as strong a word as that which follows. And exhort you - Marg, "beseech." This is the word which is commonly used to denote earnest exhortation. The use of these words here implies that Paul regarded the subject as of great importance. He might have commanded them - but kind exhortation usually accomplishes more than a command, By the Lord Jesus - In his name and by his authority. That as ye have received of us - As you were taught by us. Paul doubtless had given them repeated instructions as to their duty as Christians. How ye ought to walk - That is, how ye ought to live. Life is often represented as a journey; Romans 6:4; Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 6:16, Ephesians 4:1. So ye would abound more and more - "That is, follow the directions which they had received more and more fully." Abbott.