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New Testament Survey: Galatians thru 2Thessalonians

CCEA School of Discipleship

October 13, 2024

Introduction

If you were in person for the class, you’d be given a chance to share what you’ve picked up from the homework this week – our reading assignment in Halley’s Bible Handbook.

We are going to continue our overview of Paul’s various letters.

Galatians

Background

Who was the letter written to?

Instead of writing a letter to a specific church in a specific city, this letter is unusual in that it is written to the churches of a specific region.

The people were of the Gallic stock, from Gaul, the area around France and had marched from the Rhine to Greece, and there into Asia Minor (modern Turkey) about 277 BC. Their state became known as Galatia. They learned the Greek language, but retained in part their old tongue and the traits of their race. Caesar describes the Gauls as restless and changeable.

The last independent ruler, King Amyntas, gave the kingdom to the Romans with Galatia becoming a Roman province in 25 BC.

Paul visited “southern Galatia” on his first missionary journey when he visited Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13:1–14:28).

Paul would visit these churches again on his second and third missionary journeys.

He went through “northern Galatia” on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:6), and one more time on his third missionary journey (Acts 18:23).

Though there were a great number of Jews in Galatia (according to Josephus), the larger number of believers in the churches were Gentiles.

When was the letter written?

Some hold to the idea that Paul wrote this around AD 53-55 from Ephesus or Macedonia (around the last half of Acts 18).

I prefer the idea that it was written around AD 49 from Antioch, before the church council of Acts 15, when the issue of Gentile believers was debated.

The Purpose of the Letter

When the church was first born, A.D. 33, on the day of Pentecost, everyone in the church was Jewish.

It continued that way for some time, and the church was just considered a “sect” of Judaism.

This isn’t surprising, considering how the Jews felt about Gentiles. They absolutely hated Gentiles.

But things began to change.

Around A.D. 40 (Acts 10-11), Peter had an encounter with a Gentile centurion, named Cornelius.

Cornelius got saved, and he and his household were even baptized by the Holy Spirit.

At first, the fellows back in Jerusalem were mad at Peter for talking to Gentiles, but when they heard his story, they realized that God was doing an amazing new work.

But it also seems that they felt that Gentiles getting saved was more of a freak of nature, not something that was going to happen over and over again.

Later, when the church began to suffer persecution, many in the church were pushed out of Jerusalem into various areas, including Antioch in Syria.

A church of primarily Gentiles was born in Antioch around AD 41. This was the church that Paul and Barnabas are sent out as missionaries from.

Paul begins his travels around the Mediterranean, preaching everywhere, and the heart of his ministry is preaching to Gentiles.

But there was still a question in the church, “What do we do with these Gentile believers?”

Should these Gentiles become Jewish too? Should they become circumcised like Jews in order to be saved?

This is when the first cults began to pop up in the church, around AD 50

(Acts 15:1 NKJV) And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

This group, called the “Judaizers” felt that the only way for a Gentile to be saved, was to first to become a Jew through circumcision, and then they could believe in Jesus and be saved.

This is the issue behind Galatians. Paul had already been dealing with these issues since his first missionary journey.

This controversy would become so great in the church that the church would hold its first council (Acts 15) to try and figure out how to handle the Gentiles that were being saved.

Illustration

It reminds me of what was happening in the late sixties and early seventies. For the most part, Christians were the people who had short hair and wore a suit and tie to church on Sunday morning.

But with the hippie movement of the sixties, a whole generation of kids had stopped wearing suits and ties and had let their hair grow long.

When some of these hippie kids started getting saved, a lot of churches demanded that they cut their hair and put on a suit to go to church.

There was a middle aged preacher down in Costa Mesa who felt differently. He let the hippie kids come to church, just like they were.

Long hair, short hair, some coats and ties

People finally comin’ around

Lookin’ past the hair and straight into the eyes

People finally comin’ around

And it’s very plain to see

It’s not the way it used to be

This letter is all about the question, “Must a Gentile become a Jew, and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved?”

Are we saved by the Law or by Faith?

General information

Centuries after it’s writing, this letter played such a key role in the Reformation that it was called “the cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation.” This was because its emphasis on salvation by grace through faith alone was the major theme of the preaching of the Reformers. Luther was especially attached to Galatians and referred to it as his wife. He lectured on the book extensively and his Commentary on Galatians was widely read by the common people.

Book Outline

Keep in mind, these “outlines” I’m going to give for each book greatly oversimplify each book. The books are a bit more complicated than my “pericopes”.

Galatians 1 – The True Gospel

Paul starts right off pointing out that there is more than one “gospel”.

There is more than one theology that tells you how to have eternal life. Yet only one is right.

(Galatians 1:8 NKJV) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

Then Paul will start a section where he reminds the churches of his own backstory, how he came to Christ. There is history about Paul in this chapter that we will find nowhere else.

Galatians 2 – Gentile Tensions

As Paul continues his own story, he mentions an incident where he had to rebuke the apostle Peter to his face.

Peter had come to the city of Antioch and had been friendly with the Gentile believers there, but when some of these “Judaizers” showed up, Peter stopped hanging out with Gentiles.

Paul rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy.

Key Verse Alert!

This is worthy of being memorized…

(Galatians 2:20 NKJV) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

This is a great verse to remind yourself of every day.

This is similar to what we saw in Romans 6 – how we’ve been baptized into His death, but raised to serve God.

This all comes through faith – “… I live by faith in the Son of God”

Galatians 3-4 Bondage from the Law

Paul then begins to unpack his theology that the Law doesn’t bring salvation, but only brings bondage.

Yet the Law has value. It points us to our need for Christ.

(Galatians 3:24 NKJV) Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Galatians 5-6 Freedom with Christ

In contrast to living by the Law, we are to learn to live by the Spirit (like Romans 8).

(Galatians 5:16 NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Illustration

It is said that a certain guide lived in the deserts of Arabia who never lost his way. He carried with him a homing pigeon with a very fine cord attached to one of its legs. When in doubt as to which path to take, he threw the bird into the air. The pigeon quickly strained at the cord to fly in the direction of home, and thus led the guide accurately to his goal. Because of this unique practice he was known as “the dove man.” So, too, the Holy Spirit, the heavenly Dove, is willing and able to direct us in the narrow way that leads to the more abundant life if in humble self-denial we submit to His unerring supervision.

We have to be careful here – it’s not that we don’t have any more fleshly, sinful things tugging at us.

As we talked about in Romans 7, we still have a sin nature that likes to rise up and cause us trouble.

Illustration

The old Eskimo once said that it was like a pair of dogs were fighting inside of him.

The dog that he fed was the dog that usually won the fights.

When we live under the Spirit’s power, the Spirit produces fruit in us:

(Galatians 5:22–23 NKJV) —22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

In chapter six, when the Spirit is working in us, we don’t reject those who are struggling with sin, we help them:

(Galatians 6:1 NKJV) Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

After Galatians comes Ephesians, then Philippians, then Colossians (GEPC)

An old trick to learn which book follows which is … GEPC …

God eats peaches and cream

Or,

God eats pop-corn

Ephesians

Background

We probably know more about the church in Ephesus than just about any other New Testament church.

Ephesus was a city located on the western coast of what was known as “Asia Minor”, or modern day Turkey. The city was founded around 1,000 BC. It was a port city located at the mouth of a river and became an important trade center between Asia and the west. You can tell how important it was by how many people conquered it. It was ruled over by the Cimmerians, then the Lydians, Persians, Greeks, and finally the Romans in Paul’s day.

The city was eventually abandoned in the 14^th century when its harbor became filled with silt and was unusable. Since 1863, there have been many excavations at Ephesus, uncovering many ancient buildings including the Temple of Artemis, the amphitheater, and various sculptures.

In ancient times, the most famous thing about Ephesus was the Temple of Artemis (also known as Diana), built in the 6^th century BC. The legend was that Artemis had fallen from heaven at Ephesus, and that’s why the Temple was built. In its day, it was the largest structure in the world, and was the seventh of the seven wonders of the world.

Paul will pass through or stay three times in Ephesus through the book of Acts.

Paul will briefly visit Ephesus in Acts 18:19 with Priscilla and Aquila, but his main time in Ephesus takes place in Acts 19, when he spends three years there building and establishing the church.

We’ve seen that Paul wrote 1Corinthians during this time.

Paul will leave Ephesus when the riot breaks out among the disgruntled idol-makers over their lack of business.

After visiting Macedonia and Achaia, then on his way back to Jerusalem, Paul will briefly stop at Miletus and with the elders of Ephesus before continuing to Jerusalem where he will be arrested and then sent as a prisoner to Rome.

Paul will write this letter to the Ephesians from his imprisonment in Rome around AD 60.

One of the key words in Paul’s letter is “grace”. You will find this word 12x in this short epistle.

(Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV) —8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

But there is one word that Paul uses even more – “love”

The word “love” is found 20x in the letter.

(Ephesians 5:2 NKJV) And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

The apostle John will write his gospel and epistles from Ephesus after this around AD 85

Jesus will write a letter through John to Ephesus in the book of Revelation while John was on the island of Patmos around AD 95

It’s interesting that one of the things Jesus is concerned about in Ephesus is …

(Revelation 2:4 NKJV) Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Timothy will become the pastor at Ephesus and die there as a martyr (AD 97)

John will eventually make it back to Ephesus and will die at Ephesus (AD 100)

It is told that in his last years, John was confined to a cot, and whenever he would have visitors, his common phrase he would repeat over and over was: “My little children, love one another”. You see it in his last letters:

(1 John 4:7 NKJV) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

Book Outline

The classic way of looking at the book of Ephesians was made famous by the Chinese theologian Watchman Nee. He wrote a book called “Sit, Walk, Stand”

Ephesians 1-3 Sit

The emphasis in these chapters is on our relationship with Christ and what we gain when we learn to “sit” with Him in the heavenlies, learning about all the spiritual benefits we have in Christ.

(Ephesians 1:3 NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

But we are sinners, and even though we were “dead” in sin, God saved us.

(Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV) —8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

In writing to a Gentile church, the amazing thing was that God had all along planned on a “mystery”, that the Gentiles could be saved.

(Ephesians 3:6 NKJV) that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Ephesians 4-5 Walk

When we realize what we’ve been given in Christ, then it should affect the way we live our lives, the way we “walk”.

Again, this is Paul’s pattern of teaching doctrine first (that “Sit” part), and then teaching how this should affect our lives.

The word “walk” is found five times in chapters 4-5.

We believers form the “body of Christ”, and a body needs to grow. How do we grow?

Key Verse Alert!

There are plenty of gems in the letter to the Ephesians, but one of my favorites is…

(Ephesians 4:15 NKJV) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

It is so important that our relationship with Christ be characterized by truth and love.

Too many people deceive themselves, unwilling to look in the mirror and see the truth.

We help each other grow when we tell each other the truth, but to do it in love.

One of the keys to our walk is learning to lean on the Holy Spirit

(Ephesians 5:15–18 NKJV) —15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Being continually filled with the Spirit is God’s will for our lives.

We need to be refilled over and over again. Why? I think it’s because we “leak”.

Ephesians 6 Stand

When we have learned to “walk” with the Lord, we will be able to “stand”.

The last section is about spiritual warfare and taking our “stand”.

(Ephesians 6:11 NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Yet it all starts by learning to “sit”, to learn about what God has given us as Christians.

Illustration

There is a story about two people who wanted to immigrate to America. They scraped up all their money to buy two tickets on an ocean liner headed for New York. With their last bit of money, they were able to buy enough bread and cheese to live on for the two-week journey across the ocean. For the first couple of days, the bread and cheese were okay. But by the tenth day, the bread was getting pretty hard and the cheese was starting to mold.

Every day they would take walks out on the deck and wander by the dining room where they would watch the other passengers lining up and the huge buffet tables filled with all sorts of incredible foods.

Finally, they approached one of the cabin stewards and begged if there was any way they could perhaps work to earn enough to buy maybe one meal up in the dining room. But to their surprise, they found out that all their meals were paid for with the price of their tickets. If they had paid attention when they bought their tickets, they could have spent the entire trip in the dining room feasting on roast beef instead of cheese and crackers.

Beloved, as believers, there is so much that has been included in the price of our ticket. We ought to learn to “sit” in the heavenlies and learn all that comes with our “ticket”.

Philippians

Background

Just like the letter to Ephesus, Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one of those “prison epistles”, written by Paul in Rome while he was in prison around AD 60.

While in Rome, he was allowed to keep his own apartment, but he was also chained to a Roman guard twenty-four hours a day. These guards were known as the Praetorian Guards, part of a group of 10,000 soldiers whose job it was to protect Caesar.

Book Outline

I’m going to use Henry Halley’s outline of Philippians –

Philippians 1 – The Gospel in Rome

Paul and Silas were the ones who were singing praises to God at midnight in the jail at Philippi (Acts 16).

Now Paul is in prison in Rome and he and Timothy are writing to share how joyful they are in their imprisonment.

They are even writing to encourage the Philippians …

(Philippians 1:6 NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Paul is encouraged because his imprisonment has allowed the gospel to be shared in Rome – to the very guards that he is chained to.

(Philippians 1:12–13 NKJV) —12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;

Philippians 2 – The Humility of Christ

Paul tells the church that one of the keys to getting along with others is to learn humility.

(Philippians 2:3–5 NKJV) —3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

Then Paul talks about how Jesus, the King of heaven, emptied Himself and became a servant, even to death, for our sakes. Jesus is our example of humility.

Philippians 3 – The Heavenly Goal

We can have all sorts of things as our “goal” in life. Most of our goals only lead to frustration.

Paul wrote that his “goal” was heaven, the resurrection. He said,

(Philippians 3:13–14 NKJV) —13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4 – Joy

Paul uses the word “rejoice” 9 times in this letter and he ends with an exhortation not only to rejoice, but to also pray.

Key Verse Alert

(Philippians 4:6–7 NKJV) —6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I find that sometimes I talk much more about prayer than I actually do.

I might know that as a believer that a key to joy and peace is prayer, but I don’t always do it.

Sometimes we simply spend too much time worrying about things we shouldn’t worry about:

Illustration

A pill every day

This guy came home from the doctor looking very worried. His wife said, “What’s the problem?” He said, “The doctor told me I have to take a pill every day for the rest of my life.” She said, “So what? Lots of people have to take a pill every day their whole lives.” He said, “I know, but he only gave me four pills!”

Instead of worrying, we need to spend a little more time in prayer.

Make specific requests to God.

Put the matter into God’s hands – even if it’s for a minute or two.

Learn to say “thank you”.

Colossians

Background

The church at Colossae was established on Paul’s third missionary journey while he spent those three years in Ephesus.

Yet Paul wasn’t the one who started the church.

A fellow named Epaphras started the church.

A young fellow named Archippus also had a ministry there.

A wealthy fellow named Philemon lived in Colossae, as had his runaway slave Onesimus.

Play “Colossae map” video

The city of Colossae was located in the Lycus valley, known for its production of figs and olives.

The city had been a thriving center of trade, being located on a trade route between Ephesus and Persia.

The city of Laodicea was also in the valley and they and Colosse had developed a beautiful purple-dyed wool. The name “Colosse” comes from the Latin collossinus, meaning “purple wool”.

This brought in all kinds of people along with all sorts of religions.

They worshipped Artemis, Helios, Demeter, Isis, Serapis, Cybele, and the emperor (cue star wars music)

And finally Judaism.

This brought all sorts of heresies into the church.

One of the heresies that was on the way to springing up would be known as Gnosticism, some have suggested that Gnosticism may have gotten its start at Colosse.

The word comes from the Greek gnosis, meaning “to know” (an a-gnostic is someone who doesn’t know)

Gnostics were people “in the know”. They considered themselves the spiritual “know-it-alls” of the church. They taught that to reach the height of spiritual maturity you needed to “know” their secrets and special rituals.

Possibly because Paul wrote this letter so close to the time he wrote Ephesians, the letters are very much alike. You will see quite a few parallels between the two epistles.

Book Outline

Chapter 1: Jesus is Preeminent

Before you deal with any problem doctrines – you need to know who Jesus is and what He’s done.

(Colossians 1:19 NKJV) For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,

Chapter 2: Dealing with Heresy

Paul will deal head on with the errors of his day (and our day as well)

(Colossians 2:8 NKJV) Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Chapters 3-4: Practical Living

Right doctrine leads to right living.

In Ephesians, right living flows from being filled with the Holy Spirit –

(Ephesians 5:18–19 NKJV) —18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Paul then goes on to talk about families, and work relationships that flow from this.

In Colossians, you see the same thing, but it’s the word of Christ that everything flows from –

(Colossians 3:16 NKJV) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Paul then talks about the same things as Ephesians (families, work, etc)

Key Verse Alert

I know this verse will sound pretty strange to you that I’m calling this a “key verse”. Actually the other verses we’ve peeked at are probably more “important”.

But this one has had a personal meaning for me for the last fifty years. Maybe because you can make out the letters of my name (“Rich”) in his name. Who knows.

(Colossians 4:17 NKJV) And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

We think Archippus was the young pastor over the church in Colossae. Paul asks the church to say something to him. They are to tell their pastor, “Keep going. Do what God has called you to do!”

I think every church should be saying something like this to their pastor.

1Thessalonians

Background

About Thessalonica

The city of Thessalonica was built by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, Cassander, in 315 BC. He built it near a natural hotsprings and named it after his wife, Thessalonica.

When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they eventually made Thessalonica the capital of all of Macedonia.

Under Octavian, Thessalonica became a “free city” and were allowed by Rome to rule themselves without Roman troops in the city. They ruled themselves under a group of five or six “politarchs”, a senate, and a public assembly.

Thessalonica was the chief seaport of Macedonia. It was also located on the Egnatian Way, the main road that connected Rome through Byzantium (Istanbul), on to the east. It was a great center for trade. And not to sound crass, but where there was great commerce, there would be a large Jewish population. The Jewish synagogue in Thessalonica was quite influential.

In Paul’s day, the population was somewhere around 200,000 people.

Today, the city is known as Salonica or Thessaloniki, and has a population of 300,000. It is the second largest city in Greece.

About the Church

On Paul’s second missionary journey, he had this vision of a man asking him to come to Macedonia.

Paul went to Philippi, and after being arrested and beaten, he and Silas moved on to Thessalonica (Acts 17).

They spent three weeks there preaching in the synagogue before a group of envious Jews formed a mob and ran Paul out of town (Acts 17:1-10)

Paul and Silas moved on to Berea, and that was okay … for a few days. But the Jews from Thessalonica followed Paul and started causing trouble, Paul moved on to Athens while Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea (Acts 17:13-15), and probably also visited Thessalonica and Philippi.

After spending a little bit of time in Athens, Paul moved on to Corinth (Acts 18:1), where he would spend the next 18 months.

When Silas and Timothy return from Macedonia (Berea, Thessalonica, Philippi – Acts 18:5) They have news about the churches, as well as some financial gifts for Paul. The gifts allowed Paul to go back into preaching full time, and during these early days in Corinth, Paul writes two letters back to the Thessalonians (Acts 18:11).

Except for possibly the letter to the Galatians, these letters are some of Paul’s earliest writings.

Listen to these same events mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians –

(1 Thessalonians 3:1–8 NKJV) —1 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4 For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain. 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you—7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.

Book Outline

1Thessalonians 1 – Their Reputation

Paul encourages the church and lets them know that lots of people are aware of how they had come to trust in Christ despite great persecution.

(1 Thessalonians 1:6 NKJV) And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

1Thessalonians 2 – How to pastor

The first 12 verses are ones every person should read who wants to be a pastor.

Paul talks about how he acted while he was in Thessalonica.

(1 Thessalonians 2:8 NKJV) So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

1Thessalonians 3 – Timothy’s report

This is where Paul talks about Timothy catching up with him in Corinth and the report he gave Paul about the churches of Macedonia, including Thessalonica.

1Thessalonians 4 – Immorality and the Rapture

The first half of the chapter deals with immorality

Key Verse Alert!

(1 Thessalonians 4:3 NKJV) For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

Pay attention, this next bit is your quiz…

Lesson

God’s Will: Sexual Purity

A lot of people want to know what God’s will is for their lives.

Paul gives us a clue right here.

God’s will is for our sanctification … that process of us becoming more like Jesus.

The subject of sanctification is a broad one and covers a multitude of areas in our lives.

Paul’s specific area he wants to address with the Thessalonians is the area of sexual purity. We are to abstain from:

abstain – apechomai – to hold one’s self off, refrain, abstain

sexual immorality – porneia – illicit sexual intercourse; adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.

Porneia is a broad word that simply put is “sex outside the bounds of marriage”.

Illustration

Hugh Hefner passed away in 2017 at the age of 91. Hefner was the man who started Playboy magazine.

His parents were strict Methodists, and as he grew up he made it his goal challenge his puritan roots.

In an article on the Fox News website…

Asked by the New York Times in 1992 of what he was proudest, Hefner responded: “That I changed attitudes toward sex. That nice people can live together now. That I decontaminated the notion of premarital sex. That gives me great satisfaction.”

One of his famous quotes,

“Life is too short to be living somebody else’s dreams.”

In other words, don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life, you better get all the pleasure out of life as you can before you die.

Paul wrote that that kind of philosophy comes from someone who lacks the understanding that there is indeed life after death, and that there is a God we will face one day. The world says,

(1 Corinthians 15:32 NKJV) …If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

I’m afraid that Mr. Hefner’s philosophy is a bit short sighted.

God was gracious and gave him 91 years to turn around.

But that time is now over for him. He’s had all the pleasure he’s ever going to get, and now he faces an eternity of judgment.

Do you want to know God’s will for your life?

One of the things we already know is that God’s will is that we cultivate purity.

If you are struggling with accepting this truth, your struggle isn’t with me. It isn’t with the Bible. It’s with the Holy Spirit that you as a believer have inside of you.

The Holy Spirit comes to make us “holy”, or “sanctified”

(1 Thessalonians 4:8 NKJV) Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

The second half of the chapter is that famous passage about the Rapture

(1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 NKJV) —16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

1Thessalonians 5 – Living for Christ’s Return

There’s a lot of practical stuff here, but it’s all in the light of the Lord’s return

(1 Thessalonians 5:9 NKJV) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

This is a great verse that gives us a hint that we will be raptured before the Great Tribulation period, which is known as the time of God’s wrath (Rev. 6:16-17)

(Revelation 6:16–17 NKJV) —16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

2Thessalonians

Background

This letter was written perhaps a year after the first letter, from Corinth.

Paul has two concerns in this letter, which may be related to each other.

1) False teaching had entered the church regarding the Lord’s return.

Some false teachers were beginning to lead the people into thinking that they might have missed the Lord’s coming.

2) Paul was also concerned about a growing group of people who had quit their jobs and weren’t working.

Some suggest that it might have been because they thought Jesus was coming back, and they no longer needed to worry about going to work.

Book Outline

2Thessalonians 1 – Their Perseverance

Paul again commends the church in how they had persevered under great persecution.

(2 Thessalonians 1:4 NKJV) so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure,

2Thessalonians 2 – Antichrist

Some in the church had felt that perhaps they had missed out on the Lord’s coming. Maybe He already came?

Paul responds that there will first be an “antichrist” coming.

The antichrist will be a person coming in the future who will deceive the world.

Key Verse Alert!

(2 Thessalonians 2:10 NKJV) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

You might wonder why people would fall for the monstrous lies of such an evil person, yet it all comes down to how they handle truth now.

If you reject truth now, you are more likely to fall for the lies of the antichrist.

2Thessalonians 3 – Get to work

One of the problems in the Thessalonian church was how they handled the truth about the Lord’s coming. Some felt that if Jesus is going to return soon, why not quit work and go wait for Him to return?

These people were expecting the rest of the church to feed them and pay their bills. But Paul’s rule had always been:

(2 Thessalonians 3:10 NKJV) For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

Quiz

Fill in the blank:

God’s will is for our _____ purity

Homework

Assignment: Read in HBH “How We Got Our Bible” (it’s in the back under “Supplemental Materials”) sections 3-5.

Be thinking about what verse you are going to memorize for your final.