God’s will: Our Sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12)
The sermon outline can be found in the ministry guide.
At the start of the year, I bought two pots of plants for my office room. I cared for both plants: I diligently watered, added organic fertilizers, and ensured that they had adequate sunlight. Each week, I eagerly looked for growth.
Over the last few months, one plant sprouted 4-5 new leaves and had grown about 30%. As for the other plant, I could see the buds, but I could not see any observable growth! I am disappointed that the second plant showed no signs of growth.
Growth is one characteristic of living organisms. Biologists separate living organisms from non-living things by the fact that living organisms demonstrate growth. Things that have life, grow.
God has shown us loving care — He has given Christians who trust in His son, Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit. The Christian has the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, granting spiritual life to dead sinners. Growth is proof that we are alive in Christ. Believers who have new lives in them grow. Christians will grow to become more like Jesus Christ, and in doing so, bring delight to God.
Beloved, are you growing in Christlike maturity? How do we grow? Or, more fundamentally, why grow?
Our passage in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 will address these questions.
Remember, Paul and Silas planted the church in Thessalonica. They were in the city briefly: at most, several weeks before Jewish troublemakers drove Paul and the missionary team out of the city (see Acts 17:1-10), and the same group continued to create trouble for the young church. Despite their trying circumstances, the Thessalonians were a church that had "turned from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thess 1:9) and from which the "word of God sounded forth" (1 Thess 1:8).
At the same time, the same Jewish opposition seeded doubt about Paul's intentions. This leads Paul to defend his apostolic credentials and motives in 1 Thessalonians 2 to reestablish the church's confidence in him. Paul told them that he had wanted to see the church in person but could not, so he sent Timothy in his place.
Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians 4 on the back of Timothy's return with a good report. In response, Paul prayed that God would establish the Thessalonians' hearts blameless in holiness at the coming of Jesus Christ. This renewed trust in the apostle not only encourages the Thessalonians amid their persecution but also ensures they would be encouraged to obey the ethical and moral instructions Paul gives them in the rest of the letter (1 Thess 4:1–5:22).
In writing these commands, Paul seeks to "supply what is lacking in [Thessalonian church's] faith" (1 Thess 3:10).
Look to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 as we follow Paul's exhortation to his beloved church.
We obey God's will by growing in sexual holiness and in loving one another.
The big idea for today's message is: We obey God's will by growing in sexual holiness and in loving one another.
The outline is as follows:
We obey God's will by continuing to grow in our sanctification (1 Thess 4:1-3a);
We grow in sexual holiness (1 Thess 4:3-8); and
We grow in loving one another (1 Thess 4:9-12).
Beloved, so why grow in Christlikeness?
We obey God's will by continuing to grow in our sanctification (1 Thess 4:1-3a)
Let us look at 1 Thessalonians 4:1-3. Paul begins with "Finally", moving to a new section of his letter. He opens with an appeal to the church to increase in conduct that pleases God. Paul addresses the church affectionately — "brothers", as he asks, pleads and encourages them with the following instructions.
Yet even here, he speaks authoritatively ("in the Lord Jesus") — he expects his appeal to be obeyed. Paul's instructions centre on how the believers "ought to walk" — "walk" here describes the whole Christian life. And these are not instructions new to the church at Thessalonica as they have already "received" these teachings from Paul and his missionary party.
Although the Thessalonians have made progress in living a God-pleasing Christian life "just as you are doing", Paul desires even further growth from them ("You do so more and more"), so they will continue to please and delight God with their lifestyle. As with all other things, the first goal of our walk is to give God pleasure and manifest His glory.
Paul grounds his encouragement to continue to walk in a God-pleasing manner on two reasons. Firstly, the church already "knows what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus" (1 Thess 4:2). The word translated into "instructions" was originally used for military commands or orders that civil magistrates give.
Paul expects his instructions "to walk to please God... more and more" to be obeyed. Moreover, Paul's command comes to us "through [the authority] of the Lord Jesus Christ. Obedience is expected and non-negotiable.
Secondly, Paul tells us, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess 4:3). Sanctification signifies the process of becoming holy. To be holy is to be set apart and consecrated to God. Sanctification is the process by which believers in Christ are made holy for God. In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul describes this process as a walk. Therefore, sanctification is synonymous with walking to please God (1 Thess 4:1).
God's holiness defines our method as well as our goal in sanctification.
God is holy because He is utterly different from, distinct and higher than any other being. God's holiness especially involves His moral purity. Because of His holiness, we take pleasure in pleasing God by being holy. God's holiness defines our method as well as our goal in sanctification. As God is separate from sin, we also separate ourselves from sin and sinfulness, having different values and desires from the nonbelieving world around us.
Paul later emphasizes: "Abstain from every form of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22).Sanctification has both a goal and, a method and an attitude. Our attitude in pursuing holiness is to oppose sin and evil and to pursue godliness, so that we grow to become more Christ-like.
Sanctification is both as a position and a process.
The Bible describes sanctification both as a position and a process. In 1 Thessalonians 3:13, Paul describes how the Lord Jesus will "establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."
Sanctification as a position means that when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we have already been set apart as holy, and this is our certain status when Jesus Christ comes back again when we are established "blameless in holiness before our God and Father". This is something that was already done for us when we trusted in the gospel.
Sanctification as a process is a progressive work by which our lifestyle becomes more and more pleasing to God: "that you do so more and more" (1 Thess 4:1). We make an effort to grow in holiness and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.
God's will for us is that we grow in sanctification.
Beloved, what does God's will for us to grow in sanctification mean for us? I speak to those who have been fruitful in their growth, just like the Thessalonian believers. Understand that your fruitfulness results from God working in you through His Word and His Spirit (1 Thess 4:8). So, resolve to be humble and give thanks to God.
I speak to those who pay little attention to growing in sanctification. You may think that "I've prayed the prayer, and I'm saved. Nothing else matters." You are not a plastic plant; as a living plant, you should grow. God's will for you is that you grow in sanctification — it is not negotiable. So, resolve to start growing in Christ-likeness.
I speak to those who have tried growing but have failed and given over to sin again. There is forgiveness and hope in the gospel. There is forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 gives us the promise: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." There is hope: When Jesus Christ comes back again, you will be established as "blameless in holiness". This is the certainty you look forward to. So, resolve to start striving for your sanctification once again.
I speak to those who are struggling against your sins in your sanctification. The struggle is God's gift. Those dead in their sins don't struggle, only those alive in Christ do. Also, God has given you a helper — God's Holy Spirit (1 Thess 4:8), who will empower you to change. So, resolve to keep on keeping on in your struggle.
Beloved, how can we help one another, as church members, to grow in our sanctification? You don't need me to give you new instructions; we already have our Member's Covenant. A covenant is a stunning blend of love and responsibility for each other. Our members' covenant summarises biblical truths that help us grow as a church to Christ-like maturity. We had already affirmed our Member's Covenant when we were received into membership, and we regularly read it corporately and commit afresh to it.
The seventh paragraph goes: "We will strive to pursue personal holiness in our lives and grow in Christ-likeness with the help of the Holy Spirit by resisting conformity to this world and submitting to the authority of Scripture (Ti 2:12; 1 Pet 1:14).
So, we strive to live out our members' covenant: by resisting conformity to this world and submitting to the authority of Scripture, and help others do the same.
As we grow in our sanctification, we please God and receive delight from God's pleasure.
In what areas can we grow in sanctification and walk to please God? Paul's instructions in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-12 address how we can grow in holiness in our relationships with one another. Specifically in the areas of holiness in sexual conduct in 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8 and love for others within and outside the church community in 1 Thessalonians 4:9–12.
Let us first look at how we can grow in sexual holiness.
We grow in sexual holiness (1 Thess 4:3-8)
Paul tells us: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality" (1 Thess 4:3).
The first area of sanctification Paul addresses is sexual holiness. The Greek term for sexual immorality, "porneia", is the root word from which we get pornography. Sexual immorality refers broadly to all kinds of sexual misconduct, including both premarital and extramarital sex, as well as homosexual activity. Paul forbids any sexual act that is done outside the bounds of heterosexual marriage (Eph 5:3).
The Bible makes it clear, however, that sexual sin includes more than physical acts of illicit sexual contact. Jesus taught that "everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:28).
I want to be clear here: God created everything, including sex and sexual relationships. When sex is expressed within the bounds of what God designed, it is a God-given beautiful thing, expressing the one-body union between a husband and wife. Lust, however, is a sinful desire for sexual relationships outside of the bounds of a marriage covenant. So when Jesus speaks of "looks at a woman with a lustful intent", He speaks of indulging in your sinful desire in your heart by dwelling on sexual fantasies. Sexual impurity, therefore, covers not only our behaviour but also our thoughts, both of which are to be pure.
This is why Paul urged the Ephesians that sexual impurity "must not even be named among you”. There should be "no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking" (Eph. 5:3–4), an emphasis that shows how alien all sexual immorality ought to be among Christ's followers.
There are two evident reasons for Paul's emphasis on sexual purity. The first reason is that sexual sins impact us more deeply and intimately than other sins. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:18: "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." All sins are equally wrong and bring guilt. Still, there is something uniquely damaging and harmful about sexual immorality to the person's own body. The apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:11 that sexual sin "wage[s] war against [the] soul" and thus strikes deeply against the holiness to which Christians are called.
The second reason for the biblical emphasis on sexual sins was their prevalence in the society in which the Thessalonian church found itself. Every kind of sexual indecency was rampant in that world, especially in major cities where cult prostitutes in the temples were common. In such a culture with unrestraint sexual sins, it was inevitable that the ideas about marriage and sexuality would be grossly unbiblical.
This was the culture that the Greek believers were saved out of, and Paul needed to give clear instructions for sexual holiness. Paul's instructions are also for us in our increasingly oversexed culture, where our lusts can be easily indulged online on pornographic websites, on smartphone apps like Tinder or on adult-only AI girlfriends/boyfriends apps.
Beloved, we need to pay heed to God's warning through Paul.
In contrast to their culture, the Thessalonian Christians ought to "know how to control [their] own bod[ies] in holiness and honour". There are two main possibilities to translate the Greek Word translated body here. I follow the ESV translation for the word to mean "body”. The apostle's main point in this verse is that believers (both men and women) need to develop self-control regarding their sexual desires and conduct and abstain from sexual immorality, not like "the Gentiles who do not know God."
Paul is urging Christians, therefore, to learn to exercise control over their sexual passions, just as with all other bodily cravings and desires. In a world that says, "If it feels good, do it”, Christians ought to realize that sensual pleasure is not the key to happiness. In a culture that prioritizes immediate gratification, Christians should recognize that good things are enjoyed and preserved only in their proper place and setting as God designed them.
In a world that urges us to define our own rights and wrongs, Christians follow a loving Lord who calls us to "holiness and honour" (1 Thess 4:4)
In a world that urges us to define our own rights and wrongs, Christians follow a loving Lord who calls us to "holiness and honour" (1 Thess 4:4). These two words mark out the Christian aim in sexual self-control: not to despise sex but to retain its holiness and to grant it the honour it merits, along with the honour that our bodies and the bodies of others deserve.
The late John Stott speaks of holiness as referring to the context of sex and honour as the style of sex. He writes: "There is a world of difference between lust and love, between dishonourable sexual practices which use the partner and true love-making which honours the partner, between the selfish desire to possess and the unselfish desire to love, cherish and respect."
The practice of sex in the holy context of marriage glorifies God. It takes the form of mutual honour and ministry within a covenant bond of love. Paul continues his instructions "that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter" (1 Thess 4:6). Sexual sin harms not only those who engage in it but also others. Example, adultery harms a spouse, premarital sex harms a future spouse or fellow believers who are negatively impacted by such sinful conduct.
Why pursue sexual holiness? Paul gives three reasons and warns why believers must live a holy life concerning their sexual conduct. Firstly, the future coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to punish those who transgress in sexual sins: "because the Lord is an avenger in all these things" (1 Thess 4:6). There is a day when Jesus Christ returns when there will be an accounting for the sexual sins committed in the body.
Secondly, the past electing action of God "has not called us for impurity, but in holiness" (1 Thess 4:7). God has called and saved us, not that we will be enslaved in sexual immorality, but to live in holiness just as God is holy.
Thirdly, God "gives his Holy Spirit to you" (1 Thess 4:8). The Holy Spirit is at work in you right now. The Holy Spirit, whom "God gives", empowers believers to live holy lives (1 Thess 4:8). To give in to sexual immorality is to disregard the Holy Spirit, who indwells all believers. Paul solemnly warns that "therefore whoever disregards [his instructions to sexual holiness], disregards not man but God" (1 Thess 4:8).
Beloved, how can you apply God's instruction on growing in sexual holiness? We abstain, and we avoid. Firstly, we abstain. Sexual abstinence results from control over our bodies. Recognize that sexual immorality is a sin. Draw a line in the sand that accords with God's instructions on sexual holiness. Abstain from all kinds of sexual misconduct, including both premarital and extramarital sex, as well as homosexual activity. Say no to sexual sin. And pursue holiness and the pleasure of God instead. So we abstain from sexual sin but we get God in return.
Secondly, we avoid. We avoid by fleeing sexual temptation. The Old Testament believer Joseph set the example when he "fled" from Potiphar's wife "and got out of the house" (Gen 39:12). Likewise, Paul says Christians must flee "the passion of lust," which characterizes "the Gentiles who do not know God" (1 Thess 4:5).
Here is the Christian response to all sexual temptation involving both sexual union outside marriage and lustful sins such as pornography is to flee and avoid. Whereas the ungodly give themselves to such passions, the Christian resists and flees impure desires.
In what ways can you flee from sexual temptations? If you are tempted to view online pornography, then set up and use your laptop only in a public space in your home. If you are tempted because your work involves frequent wine and dining involving hostesses with clients, then find ways to avoid that. If you are tempted when you feel lonely (like I have), seek spiritual friendship and meet with others in the church. Or you can steward your body by exercising and getting fit and healthy to better serve God.
For the women (as I hear from some sisters), if you are tempted when you feel lonely to indulge in romantic fantasies that lead to lustful thoughts, then avoid romantic novels or Korean dramas.
Growing to sexual holiness by fleeing sexual temptation applies both to singles and to the married. A special word to the singles, I understand it can be challenging if you desire to be married and are still waiting God's word is for you to pursue spiritual friendships, as we see Paul encouraging us to brotherly love in 1 Thessalonians 4:9, and to ultimately find satisfaction in Jesus Christ.
Lastly, beloved, understand that growing in sanctification in sexual holiness is a community project: I urge you to find two to three trusted brothers or sisters to walk and fight for holiness with you. Covenant together that the group will be a safe but sanctifying space -form a group that accepts and supports you in your struggles and desires your sanctification. Have one another live out the applications of the gospel: constantly reminding each other of the forgiveness and sanctification found in Christ as they journey with you towards pleasing God in your sexual holiness.
Paul in turns from sexual holiness to loving one another in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12.
How can you apply God's instruction on growing in loving one another?
We grow in loving one another (1 Thess 4:9-12)
The late Eugene Peterson, in paraphrasing 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, writes: "You don't need me to tell you what to do regarding life together and getting along with each other. You're God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You're already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it."
Paul shifts his instructions to brotherly and sisterly love in 1 Thessalonians 4:9–12. Regarding loving one another, the Thessalonian church "have no need for anyone to write to [them]". Why? "For [they] have been taught by God to love one another."
Paul here alludes to the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah describes the age when the Messiah comes as a time when God will live so intimately among His people through His Spirit that they will no longer need human teachers but will be "taught by the Lord" (Isa 54:13; cf. Isa 2:3; Jer 31:33–34). In Christ's coming, God Himself teaches the Thessalonian church how to love one another. The Holy Spirit that indwells our hearts will change our hearts, and teach us to love one another.
Moreover, the Thessalonian church was already demonstrating their love for one another through their hospitality and practical and financial support to the other churches throughout Macedonia "for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia”. They already loved one another, but Paul "urges [them] to do this more and more" (1 Thess 4:10). They were encouraged to grow in loving one another even more.
Beloved, I've spoken to new members, who point to the warm welcome and hospitality they experienced from the community at Grace Baptist Church. We should be thankful for how God has grown our love for one another, but let's love one another more and more. Let us continue to extend hospitality to visitors and members. Let us love one another by being present as we assemble as a church every Lord's Day. Let us offer practical help if and when needed. And let us love one another by seeking to do spiritual good to one another.
In addition, Paul further instructed the Thessalonian church to "aspire to live quietly" (1 Thess 4:11). In contrast to the showy public debates and oratorical events common in Greek Culture, Paul means for Christians to have a great ambition to lead steady, sober, useful lives that call attention not to themselves but to the grace of God in Christ. They were also to "mind [their] own affairs".
Does "mind your affairs" mean mind your own business? What about caring for one another's growth in sanctification? Paul does not mean here neglecting the needs and spiritual growth of others — we are to care enough to get involved for the spiritual good of another. Instead, Paul talks about being a busybody, unnecessarily intervening in others' affairs when it is not needed.
Some helpful diagnostic questions to test our motives would be:
Am I doing spiritual good in the situation, or am I getting involved because I am nosy, being interested in what others say and do for my own sake?
Am I getting involved so that I can help, or am I more interested in gossip?
Paul also instructs the Thessalonian Christians "to work with your hands, as we instructed you” (1 Thes 4:11). They were to have a Christian work ethic of diligence, even in the ordinary things. Given Paul's emphasis in these letters on the return of Christ, some believers, perhaps, were so focused on waiting for the second coming that they stopped working and made themselves a burden to others. Yet Christ's teaching states that He wants to find His people busy when He returns!
In His parable of the talents, Jesus said He would ask us to show our work on His behalf. If we have worked hard and profitably at what the Lord has given us to do, He will respond, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much" (Matt 25:21, 23).
This work should include both spiritual and daily labour, which often work together to advance the cause of the gospel. Paul urged the Thessalonian Christians to work diligently, stewarding their work "so that [they] may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."
Some in the Thessalonian church were not working but were living off the generosity of fellow church members. Paul warned against such idle conduct. The idle were apparently busybodies, meddling in the affairs of others (c.f. 2 Thess 3:11). Paul urged them to quit being idle and work and not take advantage of the church.
Beloved, we want to be careful here. This means that those who can work — work, while those with real needs, we can and should help. By working while we can, we love one another by not being a burden unnecessarily and, therefore, freeing people to serve others with genuine needs. In obeying Paul's instructions to love one another, we will be a testimony "before outsiders", witnessing to the transforming power of the gospel.
The mark of the Christian before the watching world is our distinct holiness and the love that God has spread into our hearts, starting with our Christian brothers and sisters.
The mark of the Christian is not on the Christian tee shirts we wear or hung on chains around our necks. The mark of the Christian before the watching world is our distinct holiness and the love that God has spread into our hearts, starting with our Christian brothers and sisters.
We know that we can never be saved by our own loving works or our godliness, but are forgiven only by the love of Christ, who died for our sins on the cross, the righteous for the unrighteous. We remember that we, too, were once sexually immoral and selfish, not caring nor loving of others.
We can echo Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians 6:11 — "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been washed clean of our sins, sanctified and set apart, and declared righteous, and given new life by the Spirit.
This is the beautiful, good news of the gospel. What a motivation we have to take up Paul's exhortation concerning growth in sanctification: "We urge you, brothers, to do this more and more" (1 Thess. 4:10).
We grow in our sanctification because our growth toward sanctification reflects our new life in Christ and our thankfulness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
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