This Is the Will of God (1 Thessalonians 3:1-4:12)

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This Is the Will of God

1 Thessalonians 3:1-4:12

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This Is the Will of God

1 Thessalonians 3:1-4:12

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About this song

This song belongs to the 1 Thessalonians collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book: 1 Thessalonians
Collection: 1 Thessalonians
Musical styles: Hymns

[Verse 1] Timothy carried the strength we could send, To steady your faith when the pressures would bend. He came back with tidings of charity bright, And sorrow found comfort because you stood right. [Bridge - Prayer Refrain] Increase and abound in love toward all, Stand blameless in holiness when Christ shall call. This is the will of God, clear in the word: A life set apart for the name of the Lord. [Verse 2] Possess every vessel with honor and care, Do not take advantage of brethren laid bare. God called not to uncleanness hidden from sight, But gave his own Spirit to lead us in light. [Bridge] Love one another, then grow even more, Study to quiet the noise at the door. Work with your hands and walk honest outside, Needing no mask and no borrowed disguise. [Outro - Final Refrain] Increase and abound in love toward all, Stand blameless in holiness when Christ shall call. This is the will of God, faithful and sure: A heart made steadfast, a conduct made pure.

Named in this songTimothy

About the passage

1 Thessalonians 3: Good news travels back to the messengers

Uncertainty finally becomes harder to bear than separation. Chapter 3 begins with Paul willing to remain at Athens without Timothy so that Timothy can strengthen the Thessalonians and discover how their faith has endured. Affliction had been expected, but its arrival never guaranteed the congregation’s response, and Paul refuses to pretend that concern can be settled by optimistic guessing. The report that returns is genuinely good news: faith and love remain, affection is mutual, and the people sent help now become a source of comfort to the helpers. Paul’s language of relief is intense, “now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord,” yet gratitude does not make growth unnecessary. He still wants to supply what is lacking. The chapter closes by widening prayer from a hoped-for journey to increasing love “toward all men” and to holiness before God at the coming of Jesus.

Study 1 Thessalonians 3 in depth

1 Thessalonians 4: Honour in ordinary life, hope in bereavement

Chapter 4 moves holiness out of abstraction and into bodies, relationships, work, grief, and expectation. Paul begins from conduct the Thessalonians have already received and asks them to “abound more and more,” then names sanctification in terms that include sexual integrity and the possibility of wronging another person. Brotherly love is likewise praised before it is asked to grow. Even ambition gets redirected toward a quiet life, one’s own affairs, and work with one’s hands, showing that expectation of Christ does not make ordinary responsibility beneath notice. The chapter then turns to the dead. Sorrow is not forbidden, but it is given a different ground through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Those alive at the Lord’s coming will not precede the dead. The dead in Christ rise first, then living and raised believers are gathered “together with them.” The passage reaches its goal in reunion and permanent presence with the Lord, not in supplying every later end-time timetable.

Study 1 Thessalonians 4 in depth