First Thessalonians 4:1-18

I Thessalonians 4:1 and 2:

^4:1Therefore as-to-the-rest, brothers, we ask you and we encourage in (the) Lord Jesus, according as you received from us how it is necessary (for) you to walk and to please God, according as also you walk, in order that you may rather exceed, ^.2for you knew² what charges we gave to you by means of the Lord Jesus,

Following on from what has already been written in this letter, Paul again addresses the Thessalonian holy-people (sanctified-people, Christians, saints, children of God) as "brothers" reminding them that they have all received the same holy spirit from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ and so they, including Paul and every other holy-person, are all children of God and brothers of one another.

He writes: therefore, as far as the rest (the remaining-matters relative-to God and the things of God) are concerned, brothers, we (myself and Silvanus and Timothy) ask you with familiarity and we encourage (exhort, we call you beside us as a concerned father or mother would call their children close to them under their arms so as to help them to do that which is right) in the Lord Jesus (we ask and we encourage within the sphere of action of the Master Jesus - not within our intellectual or physical abilities, not within our philosophies or theories, not in something we heard on the television or radio, not in the newspaper or on the web - but in the Lord Jesus):

…according as you received from us (took from myself and those with me to beside or alongside yourselves) the manner in which it is necessary for you (how you ought, must, it is binding for you)…

to walk (literally: to move the feet around, go on foot; figuratively: to walk around during the everyday living of your lives, to behave or conduct yourselves) and
to please God (to be agreeable, acceptable and gratifying to God),
according as also you presently walk,
for the purpose and result that you would rather exceed (more-so, more and more, constantly-increasing, very much more abound, be over and above the number or measure already attained by you)….

Paul didn't say that they had reached the peak performance level and so they could "take it easy" or "quit"! The Thessalonian holy-people were already behaving and pleasing God, but they were encouraged to rather exceed in these things: …for you knew and still know (perceive, see) what charges (messages passed on from one to another) we gave to you by means of (through) the Lord Jesus.

It is interesting to note that in this short section, the "Lord Jesus" is written twice and therefore emphasis is being placed on the Lord Jesus so that all who read will really take notice that Jesus is their Lord/Master, not Paul nor anyone else.

[Reference: II Thessalonians 3:4. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]

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I Thessalonians Chapter 5