Fathers

1 Thessalonians 4

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Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

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What the Fathers say

1 Thessalonians 4:12

Eastern Fathers

Theophylact of Ohrid

That is, so that you would not behave indecently by begging alms from unbelievers. The apostle did well to do this, so as not to grieve them. For, he says, if the faithful are scandalized when they see a healthy person begging for alms (which is why such people are even called Christ-sellers), then all the more are unbelievers scandalized.

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians ↗

Western Saints

Thomas Aquinas

Now, there are two reasons for this. The first one comes from the duty to set an example for others; so Paul says: so that you may command the respect of outsiders. For the unbelievers see your idle life and they detest you. "He must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:7). The second reason comes from the fact that you should not covet those things that belong to others, and so it is said, and be dependent on nobody. "The desire of the sluggard kills him" (Prov. 21:25). …

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians ↗

Bonaventure

First Thessalonians 4: That you desire nothing of anyone: the Gloss says: "That you desire nothing of anyone, much less ask for or take anything." If therefore it is more to ask or petition than to desire, and the first is prohibited as unlawful by the Apostle, namely to desire or covet what belongs to another: therefore much more so to petition. …

Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2 ↗

Hippolytus of Rome

Concerning the resurrection of the righteous, Paul also speaks thus in writing to the Thessalonians: "We would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive (and) remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. …

Treatise on Christ and Antichrist ↗