Word
of God
Man
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from
the mouth of God
Matthew
4:4
The
First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians 4:7-8
Study
notes by John Gill
Edited/Prefaced
by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades
7
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8 He
therefore that despiseth these things, despiseth not man, but God who
hath even given you his holy Spirit.
Brethren:
We
are meant to be a holy people (Read 1 Peter 2:9), selected by the
Creator to serve and worship Him. Henceforth, let us live that life
as such. Not in hypocrisy, but instead under the righteous hand of
our Good Shepherd. - Dr. R.V.Z
“This
is another reason to enforce the above exhortations, and to caution
them against the above unclean practices, taken from the end of the
effectual calling by the efficacious grace of God, which is no unto
uncleanness of any sort, as before specified. This they had lived in
before their calling, and were now called from it into communion with
Christ, who loves righteousness, and hates iniquity; and by the
Gospel, which teaches to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and to
forsake all impurity, both of flesh and spirit.
This
call is unto holiness of life and conversation in general, and to
chastity in thought, look, word, and actions in particular; for God
that calls is holy, and therefore those who are called ought to be
so; the calling with which they are called is an holy calling,
principles of grace and holiness are wrought in their souls, when
they are called; and the end of their calling is to live soberly,
righteously, and godly; and then, and then only, do they walk worthy
of that calling wherewith they are called, and of God who has, by his
grace, called them to his kingdom and glory.
These
exhortations now delivered, the commandments given by the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the will of God above declared; he that rejects these
things with contempt, takes no notice of them, and acts not according
to them.
Therefore
the Apostle cautions them to despiseth not man; not men only, the
apostles of Christ, and ministers of the Gospel; for, by despising
these exhortations, they themselves were despised, though not alone:
but God; Father, Son, and Spirit; God the Father, whose will was
their sanctification, even to abstain from fornication, and every act
of uncleanness, which, if not attended to, was a despising of him;
and the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom, and for whose sake they were
entreated and exhorted, and in whose name, and by whose authority the
apostle gave them these commandments; wherefore to slight them, was
to slight Jesus Christ himself; and, by the way, this is a proof of
the true and proper deity of Christ. Moreover, such despisers also,
in some sense, do despite unto the spirit of grace, by whom the
apostles spake, or who spoke in them these things.
For
God hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit; as he did to the
prophets of the Old Testament, and therefore what they said was
equally by divine inspiration of God; and hence despising them, was
despising the Spirit of God that spake by them. The Syriac and Arabic
versions read, "who hath given unto you his Holy Spirit";
and so all Stephens's copies; which furnishes out a fresh reason or
argument, dissuading from uncleanness, since God had given them his
"Spirit" to convince them of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment, so that they were not ignorant of the things warned
against; and he had given them his Spirit as an "holy"
Spirit, as a Spirit of sanctification, to begin and carry on that
work in them, to which uncleanness was very opposite; and he had
given his Spirit unto, or "into" them, to dwell in them, as
in his temple, and therefore should be careful not to defile it; and
to cause them to walk in his statutes, and to assist them to keep his
judgments, and do them, and as an earnest of their inheritance, and a
sealer of them up unto the day of redemption; wherefore it became
them not to grieve him by an impure life; and they were laid under
obligations to live in the Spirit, and to walk after him, and not
after the flesh.” - John Gill Theologian
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