"God desires and wills for us to grow in love and obedience that we may be found blameless in Holiness at the coming of Jesus Christ"

1 Thessalonians 4:[1-8]--"Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit."

In this passage Paul tells us that God has called us to a life of personal Holiness. He urges and exhorts the Thessalonians to walk and grow in holiness because it is pleasing to God. He's not teaching them a new command but one that they had already recieved from him. Paul urges and exhorts them through the authority of Jesus Christ, not his own authority. This was a command from on high given by Christ to the apostles and then to the Church.

Before Paul exhorts this church to live holy lives that please God he prays for them. He prays that they would abound in love so that their hearts would be blameless in holiness before God at the coming of Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 3:[11-13]--" Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."

I believe this prayer is the main point of this passage because every thing that Paul talks about in chapter 4 points back to his prayer. He expresses to them how they are to abound more and more in their walk with God and in pleasing Him with their lives. Only through growing in sanctification could they be blameless in holiness before God at the coming of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:1--"Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

The key words in this verse are:

Ought-- in the the greek is dei. Dei means, "necessary (as binding):-behoved, meet, must, need, ought, and should."--Greek Dictionary

Walk--in the greek is peripateo. Peripateo figuratively means "to live, deport oneself, follow:- go, be occupied with, walk (about)."--Greek Dictionary

Walk is a metaphor that Paul uses to teach the church at Thessalonica that their Christian lives should be ones of observable progression. This word "walk" carries with it the idea of movement and progression. Paul was teaching them that they should be moving toward Christlikeness through sanctification. Santification is a life long process. Santification starts at conversion; this found in 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Ephesians 5:26, then it continues through out our Christian life; this is found in Hebrews 2:11 and Hebrews 10:14, and is perfected and completed at the coming of Christ; this is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Paul wanted them to abound more and more in their love for one another, in their faith, and in holiness. Sanctification is the progression of holiness in our lives. It is the will of God that we are sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 4:3a--"It is God's will that you should be sanctified:"


Paul sends Timothy to this church in Thessalonica because he was concerned about their faith. Timothy returned to Paul with Good news about their faith and love for each other. Although Paul was comforted by their faith and love for each other there were still things that they were lacking in their faith. Paul states this in 1 Thessalonians 3:10--"night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?"


There are several things that these people were lacking in their faith. 1. Sexual Immortality. This is found in verse three, four, and five. 2. Work Ethics. This is found in verse Eleven. 3. Their view of Death and the Coming of Christ. This is found in verse thirteen through eighteen.

Paul tells them several things that they needed to do to grow in holiness. 1. Abstain from sexual immortality 2. Control your own bodies in sanctification and honor. Paul also tells them several things they were not to do if they were going to grow in holiness. 1. Don't do what the gentiles do; which was committing adultry and other immoral sexual acts. 2. Don't defraud your Brother in the manner of sexual immorality. 3. Don't to be ignorant of the death of your loved ones that have trusted Christ and of the coming of Christ.

Paul wanted them to remember that as children of God they were to be "set apart" from unbelievers; the gentiles. If they acted in this manner they could not grow in holiness or be set apart from unbelievers. This applies to our lives today. If we belong to God we need to act like we belong to Him. God has set us apart for Himself therefore we must be set apart in our actions as well. How we act reflects God's Holy Character. Holiness is pure distinctive Godly living that is set apart in thought, word, and deed.

"Sanctification is the work of God's free grace whereby we are renewed in the wholeman after the image of God and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness."--Westminster Catechism

God desires and commands us to be holy. 1 Peter 1:[15-16]--"But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

We can only please God and live lives worthy of God by saying yes to God and no to sin. We must obey this command to grow in love and obedience so that we are found blameless in holiness when Christ returns. We must remain in Christ so that we can grow in righteousness. Apart from Christ and the holy Spirit we cannot obey this command. God created us and has equipped us through the Holy Spirit to grow in holiness and Christlikeness. 1 Thessalonians 4:7--"For God did not call us to uncleanness, but holiness."

We must live a life of personal sacrifice and service to our Savior in order that we may be sanctified. The greatest tribute we can give to God is a godly life. Our sanctification is our highest calling as a Christian, one in which brings great pleasure to God. If we are going to be blameless at the coming of Jesus Christ we must walk in holiness now. We can walk in holiness now by abounding more and more in service to God and by abstaining from sexual immortality by possessing our own bodies in sanctification and honor. Through God's grace we can live a holy life that pleases God. Our lives should be a consistant progression of Christ's likeness. May we consistently exhort one another to walk in holiness.

Questions for meditation:


If Christ came back this very minute would God find you blameless in holiness? Are you abounding more and more towards holiness? Do you live your life in a way that reflects God's Holy Character? How have you responded to God's call to holiness in your life? In how you conduct yourself, do people see Christ's righteousness? Are your thoughts pure? Are your words pure? Are your deeds pure?


Serving Our Lord Together,
Michelle Harrison