1 Thessalonians 4:2
in 1 Thessalonians 4For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
KJV
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
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This verse in 1 Thessalonians 4
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He seldom uses the term in writing subsequently, when his authority was established, to other churches. 11:17; and 1Ti 1:5 (1Th 4:18, where the subject accounts for the strong expression) are the exceptions. "The Lord" marks His paramount authority, requiring implicit obedience.
This site's exposition
we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus
on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2
Finally turns from Timothy's report to the walk ahead. The instructions come by the authority of the Lord Jesus, so even conduct rests on His authority. A church a few months old is treated as walking already, needing increase.
This site's exposition
the instructions we gave you
They had heard these instructions from Paul in person. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Lord marks the authority behind the rules, one that asks to be obeyed. Albert Barnes takes the rules of verses 3 to 12 as some of those same instructions, recalled.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye abound more and more. For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus Christ." When he has met what was pressing, and what was upon his hands, and is about henceforth to enter upon things that are perpetual, and which they ought continually to hear, he adds this expression, "finally," that is, always and forever. "We beseech and exhort you in the Lord." Strange! He does not even speak of himself as of sufficient credit to exhort. And yet who was so worthy of credit? But he takes Christ along with him. We exhort you, he says, by God. Which also he said to the Corinthians, "God entreats (exhorts) you through us." (2 Cor. v. 20) "That as ye received of us." This "received" is not of words only, but of actions also, viz. "how ye ought to walk," and he means thereby the whole conduct of life. "And to please God, that ye abound more and more." That is, that by more abounding ye do not stop at the limit of the commandments, but that you even go beyond them. For this it is, that "ye abound more and more." In what preceded he accepts the marvel of their firm faith, but here he regulates their life. For this is proficiency, even to go beyond the commandments and the statutes. For no longer from the constraint of a teacher, but from their own voluntary choice, is all this performed.
The Medieval Church2 voices
The reason for the warning is based on the benefit to be derived from heeding the warning; secondly, from the warning itself (4:2). Paul remarks: although you are good, nevertheless you shall grow markedly and improve through the repeated practice of the precepts and counsels. …
A commandment concerns such things which must be avoided, the commission of which entails punishment, while not committing them deserves no praise whatsoever. Meanwhile, there are certain matters that ought not to be commanded; that is, not imposed with a threat, but left to the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For ye know what commandments we gave you,....
Note, (1.) Those who most excel others fall short of perfection. The very best of us should forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before. (2.) It is not enough that we abide in the faith of the gospel, but we must abound in the work of faith.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Ye know what commandments we gave you - This refers to his instructions while he was among them; and to instructions on particular subjects, which he does not recapitulate, but only hints at.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For ye know what commandments - It was but a short time since Paul was with them, and they could not but recollect the rules of living which he had laid down. By the Lord Jesus - By the authority of the Lord Jesus. Some of those rules, or commandments, the apostle refers to, probably, in the following verses.
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οἴδατε | oidate | You know | ||
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| τίνας | tinas | what | G5101 → | 563 times |
| παραγγελίας | parangelias | instructions | G3852 → | |
| ἐδώκαμεν | edokamen | we gave | G1325 → | |
| ὑμῖν | humin | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| διὰ | dia | through | G1223 → | 664 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίου | kuriou | Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| Ἰησοῦ. | iesou | Jesus. | G2424 → | 908 times |
οἴδατεYou know
oidate
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
τίναςwhat
tinasG5101 →563 times
παραγγελίαςinstructions
parangeliasG3852 →
ἐδώκαμενwe gave
edokamenG1325 →
ὑμῖνyou
huminG4771 →2973 times
διὰthrough
diaG1223 →664 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
κυρίουLord
kuriouG2962 →711 times
Ἰησοῦ.Jesus.
iesouG2424 →908 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 28:20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Joshua 1:5
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Acts 18:9–10
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
- John 14:18–23
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
- Psalms 46:7
The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
2 Thessalonians 3:10For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
it leads to
- Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
- Proverbs 13:4
The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11
and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
- Genesis 3:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About 1 Thessalonians
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Thessalonians 5; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians.