August 28, 2012
SANCTIFICATION AND LOVE
1 Thessalonians 4
Britton Church
Central Truth
After accepting Christ as our Savior, God's will for us is sanctification. Simply explained, sanctification is becoming more and more and more like Christ. It is not that we would accept salvation and then be the same, but that we would become new creatures and daily move toward Christ-likeness.
Key Verse | 1 Thessalonians 4:1–3
Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-3)
1 Thessalonians 4
A Life Pleasing to God
1 Finally, then, brothers, 1 4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 10, 13 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: 2 4:3 Or your holiness that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body 3 4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, 4 4:15 Or by the word of the Lord that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Dive Deeper | 1 Thessalonians 4
According to verse 3, God's will for our life is sanctification. His will is that we would become more like Christ and as we take steps toward this unreachable goal, that we would never grow complacent, but excel still more.
My wife and I have lost five children through miscarriage and during these hard times I remember asking the "why's." Why would a loving God let this happen? Why me? Why . . . ? I memorized Ecclesiastes 7:14, "In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider -- God has made the one as well as the other." I realized God allowed miscarriages to be our story because it was His will. I now see that as only half of the picture. God allows these situations, but He also wants our response to be informed and shaped by our relationship with Christ.
It is not only the refining tough times that God uses to sanctify us. During blessing and prosperity God's will is still our sanctification. He does not want us to become self-sufficient, complacent, comfortable Christians. He wants us to use our blessings to become more like Jesus. It is quite possible that it is harder for us to be more like Christ in good times than in difficult times.
Sanctification does not happen by osmosis. To react in a way that conforms to God's will, we must know God's commandments. We know God's commandments by reading and meditating on His Word and by writing His Word on our hearts through memorization. We apply this by surrounding ourselves with other believers who encourage us to excel still more, admonish us when we are unruly, and consistently point us to Christ.
The fulfillment of this sanctification process is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (emphasis added), "Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord." At this point our sanctification will be complete. We'll receive our sin-free, glorified bodies and FOREVER be with our God!!
Discussion Questions
1. Is there an area in your life, blessing or trial, God wants to use to make you more like Christ? Are you resisting?
2. In which areas of your walk with Christ can you "excel still more"? Five areas to consider as it relates to God's Word -- hearing the Word, reading the Word, studying the Word, memorizing the Word, and meditating on the Word.
3. Are you daily responding to situations in a way that is informed and shaped by your relationship with Christ?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
August 27-31 (1 Thessalonians 3- 2 Thessalonians 2)
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18.
• Verse 12 talks about those who are leaders over you, guiding you in God's truth. Who are these people in your life? How do they guide you in God's truth?
• Who are the different people listed in verse 14 and how are you to care for each of them differently?
• Verse 16 calls you to "[r]ejoice always." Does this mean to always be happy? How can you be joyful even in hard situations?
• What does verse 17 call you to do? How do you keep praying even in the middle of your day while you are working or at school?
• And how can you be thankful always? Is it easy for you to be thankful even when things are really hard? What are some of the things going on in your life that are hard to be thankful for?
Activity: Have each person choose some of the leaders from your answer to the first question. Take time to pray for each of them. Then write them a thank-you note and include some encouraging verses.