1 Thessalonians 4:3 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you distance yourself from sexual immorality;
The first part of the verse gives a timeless truth that is often quoted out of its context and without consideration of the last part of the verse. The call to holiness guides the thought of verses 3-8. When Scripture speaks of God’s will, it often gives a timeless principle that can be applied in many situations. In this case, God’s will of our sanctification gets to the heart of God’s purposes for us in this world. Therefore, it requires careful consideration. It can be said that God’s will for us has two foci: the call to holiness and the call to love. These are both essential qualities of God’s own character and are referred to throughout the Bible. They cannot be separated nor are they contradictory of one another. These two qualities stand behind much of Paul’s own writing.
Sanctification (hagiasmos) shares the same root as “holiness.” The -asmos ending of a word in Greek emphasizes the action or process of accomplishing the root noun. In this case, sanctification is how a person is made holy. Paul will write later in 5:23 that God is the one who sanctifies and keeps us holy until Jesus comes again. The ethical imperatives and statements in 4:3-8 assume that there is a human component and required response to God’s work of grace in us. Why does God want us to be holy? The principle is simple: to be in relationship with the Holy God, we must also be holy. Only that which is holy can be in God’s presence. God wants us to be in his presence because God loves. Therefore, love is the driving force behind the call to holiness. Yet, God will not violate the needed response of our love to him. This love must be the response of faith. Faith is, therefore, the open door to the sanctified life.
One way to understand this need of faith can be expressed in the word “consecration.” The Old Testament gives helpful background on the idea of dedicating something to God’s use. God’s will is for us to give ourselves completely to him in worship, dedication, and commitment. The New Testament expresses this call in many ways. One of the simplest is to recognize Jesus as Lord supreme of our lives. This requires crucifying the old life, nailing it to the cross of commitment, and experiencing God’s new life for us through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. This is essentially what the gospel is all about. This is God’s will for all people, not just a few select “saints” (“holy ones”). Every human being has been created to be a saint in order to be in God’s holy presence. Unfortunately, sin gets in the way. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to point out the dangers they faced so that they could dedicate themselves totally to Christ’s supremacy.
For the Thessalonians believers and other early Christians across the Mediterranean region, there was a genuine struggle with the cultural acceptance of sexual immorality (porneias). Cities such as Corinth glamorized immorality. Paul wrote to that church to “flee sexual immorality” (the same word porneian; 1 Corinthians 6:18). Sexual immorality is one of many manifestations of the deeper heart issue of self. The person is driven by a broken and rebellious heart (a “demeanor” or way of thinking) to satisfy selfish, deceived desires. Paul used the term “acts of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-21 to describe this problem. His letter to the Romans, particularly chapters 6-8, deals with this issue. Paul essentially urges the Thessalonians to live a pure life and not compromise with the cultural norms around them.
The message of this short verse is powerful and appropriate for our own time. Sexual immorality is glamorized and publicized in the media. For most people, participating in sexual immorality has become a “safe” sin that can be done on a computer or phone screen. One does not need to go to a brothel to participate. The outcome is a numbing of one’s conscience to the point of accepting and ignoring the constant bombardment of fleshly living. The issue is much deeper than this, however. This problem is really a heart issue that shows up in many other areas, which Paul provides in various vice lists in his letters. The answer is God’s grace made available to us through Christ and experienced through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.
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