Quick Devotional from 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (Observation from the Greek)

This is from my daily Greek exercise of sight reading some few months ago, courtesy of Vincent S Artale Jr.

Our text is from the Greek translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:3.  Here is my translation:

“SUPPORT 3 ‹→ τοῦτο →› γάρ ἐστιν θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ ‹☉ ὁ ☉› ‹☉ ἁγιασμὸς ☉› ‹☉
For this is the will of God your sanctification

ὑμῶν ☉›

ELABORATION ‹☉ ἀπέχεσθαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς πορνείας”
you abstain from immorality

Here are some observations:

1. “For”- This is explanatory, to show what is going to be required in order to live out the general truths being given earlier in 1 Thessalonians 4:1 about living a life to please God.
2. “this is the will of God”
   1. Important to point out in the Greek here that there is no article for “the will” but just “will,” and thus in the grammar of Greek it is implying that it is not saying this the totality of God’s will is going to follow, but just one aspect of God’s will is that of our sanctification.
   2. Sanctification is the topic of this section, but there are other aspects of His will not spoken as well (Hiebert, 165).  Christians must conduct themselves according to God’s plan and here Paul supplies one aspect of it.
3. “your sanctification; What does this mean?
   1. Means being set apart for holy living (Mayhue, 108).
   2. Convey not so much the state of holiness as it is the process of becoming holy and more of what God wants us to be (Hiebert, 165).
   3. Notice the “your” here makes it personal.  Personal sanctification is important.
4. Knowing God’s will is for me to be holy, what is my responsibility after knowing this?  From the second half of verses 3 to 6, there are four infinitive that brings out the appositional idea, which gives specific examples of holiness or sanctification.
5. You need to abstain from sexual immorality: “you abstain from immorality” (v.3b)
   1. You need to remove yourself off from sexual immorality.
      1. “Abstain”
         1. Means “to hold oneself off of” (Mayhue, 109).
         2. How is the present tense functioning?  Here it is showing the continious action of abstaining.
         3. “From:” The Greek is απο, and is functioning to indicate separation.
   2. What is being abstained: Sexual immorality
      1. Most common temptation is probably going to be sexual in nature and Paul addresses this specifically by name.
      2. The Greek word is “Porneia”
         1. Where we get the modern word “pornography”
         2. According to Dr. Mayhue, it is a “broad, all-inclusive term for both the married and the single that has any connection with sexual impropriety, even one’s thought life” (Mayhue, 109).
   3. Roman world, sexual deviance occurred during certain public festivals, where sex acts and female nudity was prevalent.  Competitive games would occur in the nude.  You know what Christians said to these types of sexual immorality?  They say they won’t partake of it.  Eventually because of Christian resistance, these types of public showcase of sins ended.

Application:

• Do you see the importance of pursuing God’s Will?
• If you want God’s Will in your life, do you pursue holiness knowing it pleases God?
• How far will you go to abstain from all forms of sexual sins?
• What kinds of movies do you watch?  Or books you read?  Are you abstaining from sexual immorality in these items during your leisure?
• Are there secrets sins you need to confess to God to?  Remember 1 John 1:9 that God will not only forgive (which is amazing already) but He cleanses us when we confess to Him!  God does purify us when we genuinely confess to Him!
• Fighting sexual immorality is most effective by fighting at the level of temptation.  How do you avoid putting yourself in a situation that avoids unnecessary temptation?
• Do you not feel this command is relevant today because it’s more sinful now than in the past?  Remember, that in the Greek and Roman era, sexual sins were prevalent because the sexual deviance of the gods did not help with morality, and adultery was the subjects of many songs and poetry at this time.  Vow not to make excuses.
• In light of the contextual theme of 1 Thessalonians and the Second Coming of Christ consider meditating and studying the Second Coming of Christ to fuel your motivation to forsake sexual sins and flee temptation.
• Meditate also on Christ’s First Coming to save sinners; let the truth of God’s amazing grace moves you to want to lovingly obey God even the area of pursuing sanctification and saying no to sexual sins.
• Also meditate on Christ’s love.  His love is not selfish; let that move you to put on biblical love of others.  Remember sexual sins are selfish in nature; it is about how you can please yourself in using others.  But Christ’s love and Christ-like love is about others first; it is about others.  So often we buy the lie that lust is love but it is not.  True love even in physical intimacy in marriage is about serving others above self.  Let Christ love satisfy you.  Then love others!

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