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;
• New King James Version (NKJV)For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
• New Living Translation (NLT)God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

Context of 1 Thessalonians 4:3

1Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5not in the passion of lust 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the willθέλημαthelēma · will/desireG2307
• of Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• sanctificationἁγιασμόςhagiasmos · holinessG38
• thatἀπέχωapechō · to have in fullG568
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• fornicationπορνείαporneia · sexual sinG4202

Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 4:3

• 1 Thessalonians 5:18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
• 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! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
• Matthew 7:21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is 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, he is my brother and sister and mother."
• John 4:34Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
• John 7:17If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
• Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
• Ephesians 5:17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
• Ephesians 6:6not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
• Colossians 1:9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
• Colossians 4:12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
• Hebrews 10:36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
• Hebrews 13:21equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
• 1 Peter 4:2so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer 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