Session 5 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
listen for how Paul positioned his request to the Thessalonians.
1 Additionally then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you
in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received instruction from us
on how you should live and please God —
as you are doing — do this even more.
2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
ask and encourage.
Point out that Paul did not ask the Thessalonian believers to do something
that he, Silas, and Timothy were not striving to live out daily as well.
the word Paul used here, commands,
means to have an intimate and personal knowledge of something that is being studied.
believers in Thessalonica were intimately acquainted with God’s commands
and had decided to live out these commands, no matter how difficult the circumstances might have been.
Like the Thessalonian believers, our knowledge of God’s commands needs to be at the heart level,
not just the head level, so that it becomes a natural part of who we are in our daily lives.
Ask:
As followers of Jesus,
we should want to know and follow God’s will for our lives.
God desires for us to grow in our relationship with Him.