"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
1 Thessalonians 4:1
“Furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren.”
As Paul writes to the Thessalonians, he has a request for them (we beseech you). He is speaking to them as if this is “a personal favor”[1], although this is not for Paul’s own well-being, but for their good. This word “beseech” is not as strong a word as the next one Paul uses.
“And exhort you by the Lord Jesus.”
“Beseech and exhort.” This is an earnest appeal. Paul could have commanded them to obey, but often a kind request gets more done than a harsh command. He is coming along beside them like a concerned Master Sergeant preparing his soldiers for the next big battle. The wise soldier will pay attention and heed the word. What he is telling them is concerning their relationship with Jesus Christ. He is writing to them under the authority of Jesus.
“That as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God.”
The Thessalonians seemed to listen to Paul well and to do what he taught. “How ye ought to walk” is Paul’s way of saying “how you live.” Our life is a walk, begun when we were born, continuing through all our days, and ending when we die. He is showing them here that their walk needs to have one goal, “to please God.”
When God saves us, our walk is no longer for ourselves but now for Him.
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1).
“So ye would abound more and more.”
It’s a sad fact, some believers reach a point in the Christian life when they no longer keep on growing. What many do not understand is that to stop forward progress only ends in backsliding. The Christian life was never meant to be static but a vibrant growing, obedient life. We continue our obedient walk in Christ until the day he takes us home.
There is a relationship between “walking” and “growing.” Paul’s implication is that if we are not growing, it could be because we are not living (walking) daily to please the Lord. Which makes sense, if we are living for ourselves, we cannot be growing in the Lord.
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8).
And if we are not faithful—the people of faith, we will not please Him.
“But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Believers, regardless of our age, our health, and our current situations, we must keep on walking and growing in the Lord! Never stop until you cross the finish line!
[1] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.”