1 Thessalonians 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.

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,

(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.

2. by the Lord Jesus--by His authority and direction, not by our

own. He uses the strong term, "commandments," in writing to this Church

not long founded, knowing that they would take it in a right spirit, and

feeling it desirable that they should understand he spake with divine

authority. He seldom uses the term in writing subsequently, when his

authority was established, to other churches.

1Co 7:10; 11:17;

and 1Ti 1:5

(1Th 4:18,

where the subject accounts for the strong expression) are the

exceptions. "The Lord" marks His paramount authority, requiring

implicit obedience.

3. For--enforcing the assertion that his "commandments" were "by

(the authority of) the Lord Jesus"

(1Th 4:2).

Since "this is the will of God," let it be your will also.

fornication--not regarded as a sin at all among the heathen, and so

needing the more to be denounced

(Ac 15:20).

4. know--by moral self-control.

how to possess his vessel--rather as Greek, "how to acquire (get for himself) his own vessel," that is, that each should have

his own wife so as to avoid fornication

(1Th 4:3;

1Co 7:2).

The emphatical position of "his own" in the Greek, and the use

of "vessel" for wife, in

1Pe 3:7,

and in common Jewish phraseology, and the correct translation

"acquire," all justify this rendering.

in sanctification--

(Ro 6:19;

1Co 6:15, 18).

Thus, "his own" stands in opposition to dishonoring his brother by

lusting after his wife

(1Th 4:6).

honour--

(Heb 13:4)

contrasted with "dishonor their own bodies"

(Ro 1:24).

5. in the lust--Greek, "passion"; which implies that such a one

is unconsciously the passive slave of lust.

which know not God--and so know no better. Ignorance of true religion

is the parent of unchastity

(Eph 4:18, 19).

A people's morals are like the objects of their worship

(De 7:26;

Ps 115:8;

Ro 1:23, 24).

6. go beyond--transgress the bounds of rectitude in respect to his

"brother."

defraud--"overreach" [ALFORD]; "take advantage of"

[EDMUNDS].

in any matter--rather as Greek, "in the matter"; a

decorous expression for the matter now in question; the conjugal honor

of his neighbor as a husband,

1Th 4:4;

1Th 4:7

also confirms this view; the word "brother" enhances the enormity of

the crime. It is your brother whom you wrong (compare

Pr 6:27-33).

the Lord--the coming Judge

(2Th 1:7, 8).

avenger--the Righter.

of all such--Greek, "concerning all these things;" in all

such cases of wrongs against a neighbor's conjugal honor.

testified--Greek, "constantly testified

[ALFORD].

7. unto uncleanness--Greek, "for the purpose of."

unto--rather as Greek, "in"; marking that "holiness" is the

element in which our calling has place; in a sphere of holiness.

Saint is another name for Christian.

8. despiseth, &c.--Greek, "setteth at naught" such engagements

imposed on him in his calling,

1Th 4:7;

in relation to his "brother,"

1Th 4:6.

He who doth so, "sets at naught not man (as for instance his brother),

but God"

(Ps 51:4)

is used of despising or rejecting God's minister, it may

mean here, "He who despiseth" or "rejecteth" these our ministerial

precepts.

who hath also given unto us--So some oldest manuscripts read, but

most oldest manuscripts read, "Who (without 'also') giveth (present)

unto you" (not "us").

his Spirit--Greek, "His own Spirit, the Holy

(One)"; thus emphatically marking "holiness"

(1Th 4:7)

as the end for which the Holy (One) is being given. "Unto you," in the

Greek, implies that the Spirit is being given unto, into

(put "into" your hearts), and among you (compare

1Th 2:9;

Eph 4:30).

"Giveth" implies that sanctification is not merely a work once for all

accomplished in the past, but a present progressive work. So the

Church of England Catechism, "sanctifieth (present) all the

elect people of God." "His own" implies that as He gives you that which

is essentially identical with Himself, He expects you should become

like Himself

(1Pe 1:16;

2Pe 1:4).

9. brotherly love, &c.--referring here to acts of brotherly kindness

in relieving distressed brethren. Some oldest manuscripts support

English Version reading, "YE have"; others, and those the

weightiest, read, "WE have."

We need not write, as ye yourselves are taught, and that by God: namely, in the heart by the Holy Spirit

(Joh 6:45;

Heb 8:11;

1Jo 2:20, 27).

to love--Greek, "with a view to," or "to the end of your loving

one another." Divine teachings have their confluence in love

[BENGEL].

10. And indeed--Greek, "For even."

11. study to be quiet--Greek, "make it your

ambition to be quiet, and to do your own business." In

direct contrast to the world's ambition, which is, "to make a

great stir," and "to be busybodies"

(2Th 3:11, 12).

work with your own hands--The Thessalonian converts were, it thus

seems, chiefly of the working classes. Their expectation of the

immediate coming of Christ led some enthusiasts among them to neglect

their daily work and be dependent on the bounty of others. See end of

1Th 4:12.

The expectation was right in so far as that the Church should be always

looking for Him; but they were wrong in making it a ground for

neglecting their daily work. The evil, as it subsequently became worse,

is more strongly reproved in

2Th 3:6-12.

12. honestly--in the Old English sense, "becomingly," as

becomes your Christian profession; not bringing discredit on it in the

eyes of the outer world, as if Christianity led to sloth and poverty

(Ro 13:13;

1Pe 2:12).

them . . . without--outside the Christian Church

(Mr 4:11).

have lack of nothing--not have to beg from others for the supply of

your wants (compare

Eph 4:28).

So far from needing to beg from others, we ought to work and get the

means of supplying the need of others. Freedom from pecuniary

embarrassment is to be desired by the Christian on account of the

liberty which it bestows.

13. The leading topic of Paul's preaching at Thessalonica having

been the coming kingdom

(Ac 17:7),

some perverted it into a cause for fear in respect to friends lately

deceased, as if these would be excluded from the glory which those

found alive alone should share. This error Paul here corrects (compare

1Th 5:10).

I would not--All the oldest manuscripts and versions have "we would not." My fellow labourers (Silas and Timothy) and myself desire

that ye should not be ignorant.

them which are asleep--The oldest manuscripts read present

tense, "them which are sleeping"; the same as "the dead in

Christ"

(1Th 4:16),

to whose bodies

(Da 12:2,

not their souls;

Ec 12:7;

2Co 5:8)

death is a calm and holy sleep, from which the resurrection shall waken

them to glory. The word "cemetery" means a sleeping-place.

Observe, the glory and chief hope of the Church are not to be realized

at death, but at the Lord's coming; one is not to anticipate the other,

but all are to be glorified together at Christ's coming

(Col 3:4;

Heb 11:40).

Death affects the mere individual; but the coming of Jesus the whole

Church; at death our souls are invisibly and individually with the

Lord; at Christ's coming the whole Church, with all its members, in

body and soul, shall be visibly and collectively with Him. As this is

offered as a consolation to mourning relatives, the mutual

recognition of the saints at Christ's coming is hereby implied.

that ye sorrow not, even as others--Greek, "the rest"; all the rest

of the world besides Christians. Not all natural mourning for dead

friends is forbidden: for the Lord Jesus and Paul sinlessly gave way to

it

(Joh 11:31, 33, 35;

Php 2:27);

but sorrow as though there were "no hope," which indeed the heathen had

not

(Eph 2:12):

the Christian hope here meant is that of the

resurrection.

Ps 16:9, 11; 17:15; 73:24;

Pr 14:32,

show that the Old Testament Church, though not having the hope so

bright

(Isa 38:18, 19),

yet had this hope. Contrast CATULLUS

[Carmina 5.4], "When once our brief day has set, we must sleep

one everlasting night." The sepulchral inscriptions of heathen

Thessalonica express the hopeless view taken as to those once dead: as

AESCHYLUS writes, "Of one once dead there is no

resurrection." Whatever glimpses some heathen philosophers, had of the

existence of the soul after death, they had none whatever of the body

(Ac 17:18, 20, 32).

14. For if--confirmation of his statement,

1Th 4:13,

that the removal of ignorance as to the sleeping believers would

remove undue grief respecting them. See

1Th 4:13,

"hope." Hence it appears our hope rests on our faith ("if

we believe"). "As surely as we all believe that Christ died and rose

again (the very doctrine specified as taught at Thessalonica,

Ac 17:3),

so also will God bring those laid to sleep by Jesus with

Him (Jesus)." (So the order and balance of the members of the

Greek sentence require us to translate). Believers are laid in

sleep by Jesus, and so will be brought back from sleep with Jesus in

His train when He comes. The disembodied souls are not here spoken of;

the reference is to the sleeping bodies. The facts of Christ's

experience are repeated in the believer's. He died and then rose: so

believers shall die and then rise with Him. But in His case

death is the term used,

1Co 15:3, 6,

&c.; in theirs, sleep; because His death has taken for them the

sting from death. The same Hand that shall raise them is that which

laid them to sleep. "Laid to sleep by Jesus," answers to "dead

in Christ"

(1Th 4:16).

15. by the word of the Lord--Greek, "in," that is, in

virtue of a direct revelation from the Lord to me. So

1Ki 20:35.

This is the "mystery," a truth once hidden, now revealed, which Paul

shows

(1Co 15:51, 52).

prevent--that is, "anticipate." So far were the early Christians

from regarding their departed brethren as anticipating them in

entering glory, that they needed to be assured that those who remain to

the coming of the Lord "will not anticipate them that are asleep." The

"we" means whichever of us are alive and remain unto the coming

of the Lord. The Spirit designed that believers in each successive age

should live in continued expectation of the Lord's coming, not knowing

but that they should be among those found alive at His coming

(Mt 24:42).

It is a sad fall from this blessed hope, that death is looked

for by most men, rather than the coming of our Lord. Each successive

generation in its time and place represents the generation which shall

actually survive till His coming

(Mt 25:13;

Ro 13:11;

1Co 15:51;

Jas 5:9;

1Pe 4:5, 6).

The Spirit subsequently revealed by Paul that which is not inconsistent

with the expectation here taught of the Lord's coming at any time;

namely, that His coming would not be until there should be a "falling

away first"

(2Th 2:2, 3);

but as symptoms of this soon appeared, none could say but that still

this precursory event might be realized, and so the Lord come in his

day. Each successive revelation fills in the details of the general

outline first given. So Paul subsequently, while still looking mainly

for the Lord's coming to clothe him with his body from heaven, looks

for going to be with Christ in the meanwhile

(2Co 5:1-10;

Php 1:6, 23; 3:20, 21; 4:5).

EDMUNDS well says, The "we" is an affectionate

identifying of ourselves with our fellows of all ages, as members of

the same body, under the same Head, Christ Jesus. So

Ho 12:4,

"God spake with us in Beth-el," that is, with Israel.

"We did rejoice," that is, Israel at the Red Sea

(Ps 66:6).

Though neither Hosea, nor David, was alive at the times referred to,

yet each identifies himself with those that were present.

16. himself--in all the Majesty of His presence in person, not by

deputy.

descend--even as He ascended

(Ac 1:11).

with--Greek, "in," implying one concomitant circumstance attending

His appearing.

shout--Greek, "signal shout," "war shout." Jesus is represented

as a victorious King, giving the word of command to the hosts of heaven

in His train for the last onslaught, at His final triumph over sin,

death, and Satan

(Re 19:11-21).

the voice of . . . archangel--distinct from the

"signal shout." Michael is perhaps meant

(Jude 9;

Re 12:7),

to whom especially is committed the guardianship of the people of God

(Da 10:13).

trump of God--the trumpet blast which usually accompanies God's

manifestation in glory

(Ex 19:16;

Ps 47:5);

here the last of the three accompaniments of His appearing: as the

trumpet was used to convene God's people to their solemn convocations

(Nu 10:2, 10; 31:6),

so here to summon God's elect together, preparatory to their

glorification with Christ

(Ps 50:1-5;

Mt 24:31;

1Co 15:52).

shall rise first--previously to the living being "caught up." The

"first" here has no reference to the first resurrection, as

contrasted with that of "the rest of the dead." That reference occurs

elsewhere

(Mt 13:41, 42, 50;

Joh 5:29;

1Co 15:23, 24;

Re 20:5, 6);

it simply stands in opposition to "then,"

1Th 4:17.

FIRST, "the dead in Christ" shall rise,

THEN the living shall be caught up. The

Lord's people alone are spoken of here.

17. we which are alive . . . shall be caught up--after

having been "changed in a moment"

(1Co 15:51, 52).

Again he says, "we," recommending thus the expression to Christians of

all ages, each generation bequeathing to the succeeding one a

continually increasing obligation to look for the coming of the Lord.

[EDMUNDS].

together with them--all together: the raised dead, and changed

living, forming one joint body.

in the clouds--Greek, "in clouds." The same honor is

conferred on them as on their Lord. As He was taken in a cloud at His

ascension

(Ac 1:9),

so at His return with clouds

(Re 1:7),

they shall be caught up in clouds. The clouds are His and their

triumphal chariot

(Ps 104:3;

Da 7:13).

ELLICOTT explains the Greek, "robed round

in the air--rather, "into the air"; caught up into

the region just above the earth, where the meeting (compare

Mt 25:1, 6)

shall take place between them ascending, and their Lord descending

towards the earth. Not that the air is to be the place of their

lasting abode with Him.

and so shall we ever be with the Lord--no more parting, and no more

going out

(Re 3:12).

His point being established, that the dead in Christ shall be on terms

of equal advantage with those found alive at Christ's coming, he leaves

undefined here the other events foretold elsewhere (as not being

necessary to his discussion), Christ's reign on earth with His saints

(1Co 6:2, 3),

the final judgment and glorification of His saints in the new heaven

and earth.

18. comfort one another--in your mourning for the dead

(1Th 4:13).