Gloriographs by Rick Reynolds

1 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. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

The mark of a great coach is to never be satisfied, to always push for excellence despite past wins. In Chapter 4 of I Thessalonians, Paul urges the Thessalonians twice to “excel still more,” in their sanctification and in their love for one another.

The Greek word for “excel” here is perisseuo, “to be abundantly furnished, to abound in a thing.”¹ One thinks of the soldier Paul describes in Ephesians 6, furnished head to toe with the armor of God, ready to do battle.

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God… 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5

What we are dealing with here is our strong will as opposed to God’s will for us in an area driven by hard-wired desires. In this passage we get the tools of the trade to stay pure in the evil world in which we live.

The culture in Thessalonica must have been similar to that of ours today, where sexuality is present on every “street corner.” It so permeates our society that you must always remain resilient and resolute. I am amazed at how low the ethical bar is set today. Investigations abound, but by whose standards are we judging? When you have to make your choices from among the letches and Cretans, you are inevitably stuck with the lesser of two evils.

Since sanctification pertains to purity, the pursuit of excellence can mean nothing else but total abstinence from sexual immortality. The Greek word is porneias, from which we obviously get our word for licentious material. Beyond that, Paul wants us to abound in abstinence if that is possible, as if excellence is not good enough. This is because we can never let our guard down in this realm, especially when the allurements of this world are so tantalizing and easily accessed. That is to say a mouse click away.

Abstinence in all its forms (to hold back; keep off; to be away; to be distant) requires the power of God to pull off, yet God has not left us without a proper outlet (i.e., marriage) in which we can experience all things lustful in the right way and “abundantly.” The clue in this verse is the Greek word for vessel, skeuos, which likely means wife. Men, and I guess now women, perhaps more time should be spent knowing how to “possess” or “procure for oneself gain” from your own vessel in the confines of your own bedroom!

Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18

Sometimes abstinence in the form of resistance is not enough. Like Joseph and Potiphar’s alluring wife, you simply must run away. There is something to be said for repositioning one’s self away from danger! There are some settings in which nothing good can happen, normally when those present are reduced to the number “two,” physically or magnetically.

11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. Genesis 39:11–12

Where there’s a will there’s a way. There’s a scene in the movie, The Patriot, when the young man must stay overnight in the home of a girl with whom he is hopelessly smitten. The mother put him in a garment that was stitched up, and he was made to drink what amounted to ink. Sure enough in the morning, the ink was conspicuously on both sets of teeth! This is why only God’s spirit is strong enough to keep the hounds at bay.

6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you. 1 Thessalonians 4:6–8

There’s a verse in Hebrews that says it is a “terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) This happens when you defraud your brother, perhaps by taking his wife, or someone’s future wife. And this egregious offense works both ways with “sisters” of course. Paul erected the “danger, keep out signs” in his initial time with the Thessalonians, and apparently there had been some trespassing reported. This was grievous to him, because these trespassers were exposing themselves to the vengeance of the Lord, the least of which would be the natural consequences of their sin. To slip into this realm is to grieve and reject the Spirit of God, who has been given to us to keep us pure.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

¹ Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2, p. 6). T. Nelson. Pertains to all Greek words discussed in this article.