Agiasmos: 1st Thessalonians, Chapter 4

On walking to please God:

Just as the apostles have requested of them to abound and superabound in love, so finally, just as they received instruction on how to please God, they should abound in this as well, doing this even more.

The word is a Hebraism (from הלך, halach), in Greek, peripatein, and means literally to walk, but figuratively, to regulate and conduct one's life and self. This is how the disciples are to live. The Jews call the rabbinic teaching on the Law of Moses, which is binding law for a Jew; halacha.

By comparison, the Christian 'halacha', or way of walking, is through the commandments given by the apostles through the Lord Christ. The Thessalonians had been instructed in this previously .

What is the will of God for the Christian?

Christians often say, 'I am trying to discover God's will for my life.' This implies that God's will is, first, unclear, and second, that it completely varies concerning each individual; that His will for one may be different from another. 'His will for him may be holiness, but for me it is different! He has a gift, and the intensity of his faith is a special charisma from the Lord!' They then say, 'God has called me to this: ..."

But this is not the case. Apostle Paul says this, 'For this is the will of God, your agiasmos!' The will of God for the Thessalonians, for us all, is our purification; holiness of heart and life. Christians are to undergo agiasmosis; the gradual imbuing of the mind and Spirit of Christ into the believer. This is automatic from Christ once the person believes. But they further the process by obedience to His commandments. It is like the sun shining on a plant. If the plant is inside, it has yet to feel the nourishing heat of the sun. The plant must first be cultivated in a good position (being in the sun's presence or believing, having faith) but also in good soil (nutrient-rich foundation or the commandments of Christ) otherwise the plant will languish and die. This is agiasmos.

What then allows agiasmos to happen?

To put off, abstain and be distant from porneias, illicit sexual intercourse. This includes all things listed in Leviticus, chapter 18 and is summed up in the New Testament as adultery, intercourse with a divorced man or woman, and intercourse involving unnatural relations (a man with an animal, a woman with an animal, a man with a man, or a woman with another woman). Metaphorically, it means the worship of false gods or idols.

This in turn teaches us how to control our bodies in dignity and holiness, instead of living in lustful passion. Paul then says that the non-Jews have been doing this from the beginning, and that they do not have knowledge of God. This goes completely against what the modern world promotes as "faith-traditions", that the Divine was revealed in different ways, to different people, at different times throughout history. Paul says elsewhere: Israel was given the oracles and correct knowledge of God. Hence, this is why the Law of Moses was given to the nation of Israel. Not that they would simply be different and stand-out, but because they had to be a holy people.

Why was Israel commanded to be holy?

Because Messiah, the Prince, the Redeemer and Savior of the whole world, was to spring from them. Because He is sinless, He had to be born among a people who lived righteously, thereby expecting Him as their king, teacher and savior and also allowing Him to live in an environment where He could fulfill the commandments of His Father.

In the same way, Christ now, through the Holy Spirit, lives in us, therefore, we must make sure our temple, His temple, is holy and not 'turned into a marketplace' for sin.

The Lord, it is stated, is the ekdikos, the one who sends out justice, to exact penalty from one. The apostles have solemnly testified to this once before.

Just as God's will for us is agiasmos, sanctification, he now says that this is also our calling. There is no Purpose-Driven Life, this is as simple as it gets. We are not called to impurity, but purity. Any who reject this have made a decision to reject God, who imparts the Holy Spirit. These are not instructions of men, but attributes of the evangelion itself. These must not be rejected.

Now, concerning philadelphia, brotherly love, the Thessalonians were excelling. They have been taught by the living God how to love one another. They have been doing this towards one another and to all the brothers in Macedonia. But there is an exhortation: do this all the more and more. Again, Paul says that this too must superabound.

On how to live while we wait for the Lord from heaven:

Next, he relates three commands that they had given them before: to refrain from meddling in affairs, to practice habitually things pertaining to themselves, and to toil and work with their own hands. This should be done so that they may have no need of outside help or influence and that their walk, their halacha, their peripatein, may be honorable and proper towards those outside the Church.

On the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Now, in verse 13, things switch focus. Timothy must have brought news that many of the Thessalonians were afraid and soon to be grieving or had thought ahead concerning the death of brothers (whether by martyrdom, accidents, natural causes, or sin) and how would their falling asleep be resolved since Christ had not appeared a second time. Christ was to come again! But what of the brethren, who, in their steadfast waiting, though immortal in soul and spirit now, still tasted the sting of physical death? They would not be present when Christ was manifested from the heavens!

Paul turns to comfort them. They were not to be ill-informed. Christians are not to be ignorant on this matter! Contrary to the kosmos, which lives in a constant state of hopeless dread, and so must busy itself with tasks and systems, programs and networks, thereby some how trying to alleviate or block the sure penetrating and impregnable stare of old man death, the Christians must not grieve. The death that they face is simply temporary. This is why Apostle Paul calls it 'falling asleep'.

Why is death for the Christian temporary?

Because Christ Jesus died and rose again, and therefore when He comes, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in him. The word for 'bring', in Greek, means to lead or take hold of to bring to the point of destination, axei.

Paul declares next the word of the Lord, making known to the Thessalonians and all of us that this is the final authority and ultimate truth on the matter. Either Paul was given this revelation from the Lord directly, or it was a teaching passed on orally among the apostles and brothers. Here is the teaching:

At the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ, those who are alive physically, witnessing this awesome day will by no means (a double negative, meaning absolutely not) come before those who have died physically. The dead in Christ will get the first privilege; they will be resurrected first! The Lord Himself will descend thru the heavens, stopping some point in the atmosphere, manifesting His presence, and at His command, which will be accompanied by the voice of the archangel (which is Michael, the great prince of the host of Israel) and the trumpet call of the God of Israel, those who have died with faith in Christ--from Stephen, the first martyr, to the very last saint who is to die mintues or hours before on that Day--these will be resurrected in power. Just think what a throng, what a mighty and huge host of people this will be!! Thousands times thousands! Ten-thousands times ten-thousands!! 2000 years plus of lives lived in Jesus Christ!! These bodies will burst forth from the earth and be snatched up to the Lord. And we who are alive, who are witnessing this and who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus, we will be translated, becoming resurrected men, and then we will be caught up, arpagisometha, to the cloudiness, as it says, to meet our Lord and our resurrected brothers and sisters, the Church of the first-born, for the first time. And so this starts our eternal presence with our Shepherd, our Master, our Lord and our Savior.

What are we then to do with this great truth?

Apostle Paul says we are to constantly remind each other and encourage one another with these words. Amen! So be it! Be encouraged brothers and sisters, for the Day approaches.