I Thess. 4:1
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.
The walk may have seemed exciting originally, but I get the idea from Paul that it is hard for the long haul. Perhaps the self-sacrifice and the persecution made these believers think twice about their choice, or maybe they were missing the things of their former life. Certainly the call of the flesh is strong! Whatever it was, Paul not only asked but he also urged them to walk in a way that would be pleasing to God. What they had learned and lived from Paul was now to be their way of life. In fact, they were to do so more and more!
Paul addressed the area of immorality with strong words: v. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; The will of God in this matter would always be abstinence from immorality. It could be nothing else! Abstinence meant controlling the body in holiness and honor. Immorality belongs to the Gentiles, and is a result of unchecked lust. Does the Lord really care about these issues? Yes, He is an avenger in all these things. For God has not called us for impurity but in holiness. Immorality and impurity mean disregarding God and not man, the same God who gave us His Holy Spirit.
Why would Paul mention the Holy Spirit now? The Holy Spirit is given to us at the moment of our salvation. He is God's guarantee to us that we are one with Him. The very thing that the Spirit produces in us is the one thing that we need to resist this temptation. And since we are one with the Lord through the Spirit, any immorality would be joining Christ to that grossly wicked sin. The Holy Spirit has made our bodies His temples. So in light of all of this, what is the believer's responsibility? Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. I Cor. 6:19-20
Father,
Open my eyes to see the truth about myself. Give me Your grace and strength to cling to You with all I have. Teach me how to glorify You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Why would Paul mention the Holy Spirit now? The Holy Spirit is given to us at the moment of our salvation. He is God's guarantee to us that we are one with Him. The very thing that the Spirit produces in us is the one thing that we need to resist this temptation. And since we are one with the Lord through the Spirit, any immorality would be joining Christ to that grossly wicked sin. The Holy Spirit has made our bodies His temples. So in light of all of this, what is the believer's responsibility? Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. I Cor. 6:19-20
Father,
Open my eyes to see the truth about myself. Give me Your grace and strength to cling to You with all I have. Teach me how to glorify You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
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