Verse:
1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness (sanctify / hagiasmos).
Commentary by Adam Clarke
Verse 7. God hath not called us unto uncleanness Source
He is the creator of male and female, and the institutor of marriage, and he has called men and women to this state; but the end of this and all the other callings of God to man is holiness, not uncleanness. And they who use the marriage state as he directs, will find it conducive to their holiness and perfection.
Commentary by Barnes
Verse 7. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness. "unto holiness" Leviticus 11:44; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:14-16
When he called us to be his followers, it was not that we should lead lives of impurity, but of holiness. We should, therefore, fulfil the purposes for which we were called into his kingdom. The word uncleanness, (~akayarsia~) means, properly, impurity, filth; and then, in a moral sense, pollution, lewdness, as opposed to chastity, Romans 1:24; Romans 6:19; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 4:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5.
Romans 1:24 Romans 6:19
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 2 Corinthians 12:21
19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. Galatians 5:19
21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. Ephesians 4:19
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; Ephesians 5:3
19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. Colossians 3:5
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Source
Leviticus 11:44 Hebrews 12:14
44 I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. 1 Peter 1:14-16
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Commentary by Coffman
Verses 7, 8
For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. Therefore he that rejecteth, rejecteth not man, but God, who giveth his Holy Spirit unto you.Source
"He that rejecteth, rejecteth not man, but God ... Moffatt also believed that "Holy Spirit" in this place does not refer to the Third Person of the Godhead, so much as it does to "the motive and power of the new life."
See comment by James Moffatt under 1 Thess. 4:2, above; also compare Luke 10:16.
Commentary by David Guzik
3. (7-8) Reasons for the command.
For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.Source
a. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness: We must be sexually pure because of our call. That call is not to uncleanness, but to holiness; sexual immorality is simply inconsistent with who we are in Jesus Christ. b. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God: To reject God's call to sexual purity is not rejecting man, but God Himself, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. Despite the petty ways we rationalize sexual immorality, we still reject God when we sin in this way.
i. Paul develops this same line of thought in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, concluding with the idea that we should glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 1 Corinthians 6:15-20
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."
17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
c. Paul's strong command here does not seem to come because the Thessalonians were deep in sin. No specific sin is mentioned; it seems that this was meant to prevent sin rather than to rebuke sin, in light of the prevailing low standards in their society, and because of the seductive strength of sexual immorality.
Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown
unto uncleanness unto
--Greek, "for the purpose of." Source
rather as Greek, "in"; marking that "holiness" is the element in which our calling has place; in a sphere of holiness. Saint is another name for Christian.
Commentary by John Gill
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness
The Syriac version reads "you". 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 not but
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: unto holiness
this call is Source
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.
Commentary by Matthew Henry
For God hath called us not unto uncleanness, but unto holiness, 1 Thessalonians 4:7. The law of God forbids all impurity, and the gospel requires the greatest purity; it calls us from uncleanness unto holiness.
(6.) The contempt therefore of God's law and gospel is the contempt of God himself: He that despises despises God, not man only. Some might possibly make light of the precepts of purity and holiness, because they heard them from men like themselves; but the apostle lets them know that they were God's commands, and to violate them was no less than to despise God. He adds, God hath given Christians his Spirit, intimating that all sorts of uncleanness do in an especial manner grieve the Holy Spirit, and will provoke him to withdraw from us; and also the Holy Spirit is given unto us to arm us against these sins, and to help us to mortify these deeds of the body, that we may live, Romans 8:13.Source
Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
Commentary by Peoples New Testament
7. Unto holiness. Source
The Christian calling demands purity of life.
Commentary by Robertsons
Not for uncleanness, but in sanctification (epi akatarsiai all' en agiasmwi). Source
Sharp contrast made still sharper by the two prepositions epi (on the basis of) and en (in the sphere of). God has "called" us all for a decent sex life consonant with his aims and purposes. It was necessary for Paul to place this lofty ideal before the Thessalonian Christians living in a pagan world. It is equally important now.
About Commentary Authors
Prepared by William C. Barman for George Young Memorial United Methodist Church -- Palm Harbor, FL on 10/3/03; 5:44:47 PM