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That You May Excel Still More
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Every four years teams representing nations from around the earth gather
together in one place to compete in athletic events known as the Olympics.
Whether it be Mexico City, Barcelona, Moscow, Los Angeles, Munich or Atlanta,
you can be sure that the athletes' work does not begin with the opening
ceremonies. They have worked hard to be a part of a select few. They have
trained and competed in national forums, facing heavy competition to make the
team. It simply will not do to be good. One must be the best.
Coaches are an important part of this. They are the ones who have expected so
much from the athletes they are training. They had to, else the athlete would
not be prepared. Hours upon hours of training, much of it grueling, prepared the
athlete for competition. Correction, instruction, reprimand and counseling all
play a role. The best coaches demand the best from those they train. The best
athletes expect nothing less of a coach.
It would be the coach's voice shouting encouragement during those hours, knowing
when to demand a little bit more. During the competition itself, perhaps no
spectator is more interested and aware of what is going on than the coach. Every
coach is pulling for his athlete to win the gold. All those hours of effort
wherein he or she has encouraged the already excellent athlete to "excel still
more" are about to pay off.
The Text
"Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as
you have received from us instructions as to how you ought to walk and please
God (just as you actually do walk), that YOU MAY EXCEL STILL MORE. For you know
what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is
the will of God, your sanctification, that is, that you abstain from sexual
immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in
sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who know not
God; and that no man transgress or defraud his brother in the matter because the
Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and
solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity but
in sanctification. Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but
God who gives His Holy Spirit to you." (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).
How To Please Our Coach
"Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as
you have received from us instructions as to how you ought to walk and please
God (just as you actually do walk), that you may excel still more" (I
Thessalonians 4:1).
To run our spiritual race with success, we must rely on our Lord's instructions.
It will simply not do to take His counsel lightly, He has our best interests at
heart. He wants us to win. He knows what He is talking about. If we think we
know better than He, then we will lose the race.
To please the Lord, we must live our lives in obedience to His will. There
simply is no other way. We have no right to address Him as "Lord" if we are
unwilling to do what He says (Luke 6:46). How frustrating it must be for a coach
who knows how to bring an athlete to victory, but the athlete refuses to
cooperate by putting his faith in the coach. The coach watches his charge throw
it all away by not showing up for scheduled practices, or by insisting on
training his own way. How tragic
that so many insist today that obedience to Christ and endurance are not
necessary qualities for winning the race (Matthew 10:22; 24:13).
It occurs to me that this is exactly how some professed disciples treat Jesus.
How can we win the victory when we refuse to live by His instructions? How
foolish it is for us to think we can improve upon His instructions with our own
religious opinions, creeds and traditions. After all, hasn't He proven Himself
to us by now? Remember, He has already run the race set before us...and He won
it!
What Will Keep Us From Victory?
"...not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who know not God; and that no man
transgress or defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger
in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned
you...Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but God who gives
His Holy Spirit to you." (1 Thessalonians 4:5-6;8).
Lots of things can keep us from running the race to victory. One cannot reject
the Lord and win the victory, even if at one time he had accepted Him. It is up
to us to get rid of those things that would keep us from victory; "...let us
also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and
let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes upon Jesus,
the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God." (Hebrews 12:1,2).
Paul gives us what he calls a "solemn warning" in our text. We are solemnly
warned not to give ourselves to lustful passion like those who do not know God.
We are told that those who defraud their brethren will meet an avenging God in
judgment. In the context, this probably refers to committing adultery with a
brother's wife, but certainly would include other types of wrongdoing to a
brother. Suffice it to say that living this way will cause a Christian to lose
his soul, else the warning
would not have be given.
What Does the Coach Expect Out of Us?
"For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from
sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in
sanctification and honor," (1 Thessalonians 4:2-3).
The Lord expects us to obey Him, and this means that we will abstain from sin,
setting ourselves apart from that which is dishonorable and replacing it with
behavior that is honorable. The word "sanctification" refers to this process of
being holy unto God (1 Peter 1:13-16). We must purify ourselves from the things
contrary to God's will in order to be assured of victory by God's grace (1 John
3:3-6). Those who say success can be had apart from this are not speaking the
truth. But, on the other hand, we can be absolutely confident of victory in our
race if we will only listen to and obey our running coach. If we do this, we
cannot lose!
What is the Coach's Goal for Us?
"For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity but in sanctification."
(1 Thessalonians 4:7).
The ultimate goal is that of heaven. That is our true finish line. Whether we
reach that goal or not will be determined at the point we leave this world. Paul
said that the crown which was laid up for him in heaven by the grace of God was
his because he had "fought the good fight" and "finished the course" and "kept
the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7,8).
Later, Paul describes the goal this way: "The Lord will deliver me from every
evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory
forever. Amen." (2 Timothy 4:18). We can have that same assurance of victory at
the end of our race as well, but first we, like Paul, must fight the "good
fight" and finish "the course" and keep "the faith". Never doubt it; Jesus is a
coach that wants very much for His people to win, and He wants it enough to die
to make it happen.
By Jon W. Quinn
From Expository Files 3.8; August 1996
