In the fourth chapter of his epistle to the believers at Thessalonica, Paul addressed several issues, which he saw was lacking in the new believers’ understanding of their heritage in Christ. The chapter can be divided into two main parts, the first being an exhortation in moral behavior in Christ, and the second addressing their confusion over the fate of loved ones who have died. Paul began the chapter by addressing the value of receiving one another as equals (1Thessalonians 4:1-2), the value of walking the separate life (1Thessalonians 4:3-8), the value of expressing brotherly love (1Thessalonians 4:9-10), and finally by addressing the value of respecting the human rights of all men, but especially the brethren (1Thessalonians 4:11-12). Paul finishes the chapter by comforting those who have been bereaved of loved ones, helping them to understand the value of being in Christ whether in life or in death (1Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Paul reminded the believers at Thessalonica that he and those with him lived out a pattern, which all believers ought to copy (1Thessalonians 4:1), as they, themselves, served the Lord, Jesus. Paul wasn’t saying the believers hadn’t been living, as Paul and company lived, when they were at Thessalonica (cp. 1Thessalonians 1:6-10), but he did want the new believers to practice those things that they may continue to grow in Christ (1Thessalonians 4:2).
It seems that after Paul and company were forced to leave Thessalonica (cp. Acts 17:6-10), the believers there began to preach the Gospel to others, perhaps in the market place, perhaps as they traveled to do business in other cities, or perhaps to business travelers, themselves, as they traveled from city to city. No matter how it was done, news, concerning what Paul and Silas had done when they were in Thessalonica came to Paul, while he was in Athens (1Thessalonians 1:6-9). Therefore, it seemed clear to him that the Gospel was still being preached there, and the Thessalonian believers were following Paul’s example (1Thessalonians 4:1-2). Nevertheless, Paul was trying to help them see there were certain things about the Gospel, which were very important, and he wanted them to understand and abound more and more in those things.
In 1Thessalonians 4:3 Paul used the Greek word, hagiasmos (G38), a noun that is translated: sanctification / holiness in most Bibles. The verb is hagion (G39), which means to set apart (for God). So, when Paul said: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification, for you to abstain from fornication,” he is saying that this is what sets you apart from all others. This is what sets you apart to God. The problem is, if we take Paul’s words literally, they aren’t true, because Judaism also condemned fornication (G4202, porneia). So, was Paul preaching the Law of Moses or is there a distinction made in the Gospel that defines fornication differently or expands upon the definition to include a spiritual meaning?
Since Paul claimed that the believers at Thessalonica became followers (imitators) of Paul and company (1Thessalonians 1:6), we need to understand what Paul did when he came to Thessalonica. Luke tells us in Acts 17:1-3 that Paul reasoned out of the Scriptures, showing Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). What seemed to disturb the local Jewish authorities was that so many of the gentile God-fearers[1] believed Paul’s Gospel (Acts 17:4-5), and this is a key point made in the Gospel. All believers, Jew or gentile, male or female, free or slave etc. have an equal inheritance in Christ (Galatians 3:28). There is no distinction for any one group. Therefore, the believing gentiles who worshiped in the synagogues rejoiced in Paul’s Gospel, because they were given equal rights with Jews, not so under the Law of Moses. It was this understanding and practice that separated believers in Jesus from the rest of the world, especially from Judaism, where segregation was emphasized through the practice of circumcision. In other words, spiritual fornication (G4202, pornea) is speaking against the truth that God receives all men equally. There is no distinction between male and female, Jew or gentile, free or slave (Galatians 3:28), but more about this in my next study.
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[1] A God-fearer was a gentile who worshiped the true God with the Jews, but remained uncircumcised. They didn’t practice all the ceremonial laws that the Jews did, but they did worship the same God as the Jews.
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