1 Thessalonians 4:3

1 Thessalonians 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
• New International Version (NIV)It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;
• English Standard Version (ESV)For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
• New King James Version (NKJV)For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

Context of 1 Thessalonians 4:3

1Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more. 2For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; 4each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

1 Thessalonians 4:3 word by word

τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ ἁγιασμὸς ὑμῶν, ἀπέχεσθαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς πορνείας·Read the interlinear

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• it isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• God’sθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• willθέλημαthelēma · will/desireG2307
• thatοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• youσύsu · youG4771
• should be holyἁγιασμόςhagiasmos · holinessG38
• must abstainἀπέχωapechō · to have in fullG568
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• sexual immoralityπορνείαporneia · sexual sinG4202

Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 4:3

• 1 Thessalonians 5:18Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
• Psalms 40:8I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
• Psalms 143:10Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
• Matthew 7:21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
• Matthew 12:50For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
• Mark 3:35For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”
• John 4:34Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
• John 7:17If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.
• Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
• Ephesians 5:17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
• Ephesians 6:6And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
• Colossians 1:9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
• Colossians 4:12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in the full will of God.
• Hebrews 10:36You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
• Hebrews 13:21equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
• 1 Peter 4:2Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3This is the will of God, even your sanctification - God has called you to holiness; he requires that you should be holy; for without holiness none can see the Lord. This is the general calling, but in it many particulars are included. Some of these he proceeds to mention; and it is very likely that these had been points on which he gave them particular instructions while among them. That ye should abstain from fornication - The word , as we have seen in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification - It is the will or command of God that you should be holy. This does not refer to the purpose or decree of God, and does not mean that he intended to make them holy - but it means that it was his command that they should be holy. It was also true that it was agreeable to the divine will or purpose that they should be holy, and that he meant to use such an influence as to secure this; but this is not…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3it is God’s will that you should be holy: Christian ethics focus on doing God's will, not on philosophical ideas about virtue (Romans 12:1–2; Ephesians 6:6; Hebrews 10:36; 13:20–21). Holiness affects every part of a person's life (1 Thessalonians 4:4, 7; 5:23). Here, it means restraint from sexual sin (Greek porneia, meaning any sexual union or activity outside marriage).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. For--enforcing the assertion that his "commandments" were "by (the authority of) the Lord Jesus" (1Th 4:2). Since "this is the will of God," let it be your will also. fornication--not regarded as a sin at all among the heathen, and so needing the more to be denounced (Ac 15:20).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 4:3

• Adultery
• Chastity
• Commandments
• Holiness
• Sanctification
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• will of God
• Asleep
• Quiet
• Rise
• Sleep
• Trump
• Crime; Crimes
• Sanctification

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings