Walk and Please God

When reading 1 Thessalonians 4 the chapter breaks at verse 8, so today we'll do verses 1-8. It is a fair chunk, and I don't want to make this post too long, so we'll see how it goes. :)

1Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

We'll start with verse one:

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

Paul is giving a final exhortation to his Christian family in Thessalonica. He asks them to, in communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, to remember what they have been taught about how to walk and please God, and to live it out in their lives. And as they live it out, to do it more and more and more.

I live my life as a Christian best...well...actually only if I do it through him. I can't really do any of it on my own. All that I do is infected by the sin in my life. So only through God, through communion with Christ, and through the working of the Holy Spirit in my life, can I live a life that pleases God.

I need to learn the words of God, the will of God, by knowing what he says...that means studying the bible and trying to live by it. This is how I walk and please God. :)

What verse one entreats me to do is walk and please God, just as I am doing and as I have learned, but also to continue to do so, and to strive to do so more and more.

I really like how Clarke (as found in e-sword) explains the more and more in this verse.

God sets no bounds to the communications of his grace and Spirit to them that are faithful. And as there are no bounds to the graces, so there should be none to the exercise of those graces. No man can ever feel that he loves God too much, or that he loves man too much for God’s sake.

There are no bounds to how much I can love God. There is never too much. Just like God's grace is extended to me in ways that I can't even imagine...and so therefore can be seen as endless, so my love can be endless too. :) I like that. :)

I have to admit, I do like the word "abound" that the KJV uses. It seems to me to signify more depth. And if I look up the word abound I find it means "be abundant or plentiful; exist in large quantities". So not only do we as believers have this call to please God more and more, we are called to do it a way that is plentiful. See...more depth to it.

And I'll need to finish up soon as I have a wakey-wakey boy asking me if I'm done my "botions". :) Makes me smile that boy child. Well...I have to go, my boy child is wanting to colour, and one can't effectively study God's word while colouring "franks". :)