1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a – Growing in a Life That Pleases God

As we approach the beginning of another year, it is somewhat customary to ponder what we want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Many people will make New Year’s resolutions, a list of things they want to accomplish in the upcoming year. There are the consistent standards: try a new hobby, start exercising, start a new diet, read more books, and the list can go on and on. It is fun and even beneficial to make resolutions. I often, though not every year, make them myself. If you have ever made New Year’s resolutions, have you ever considered your spiritual growth? Have you ever thought to yourself, “What is God’s will for my life in the upcoming year?”

It doesn’t have to be connected to the beginning of a new year; it can be anytime we are making a decision or making a change. Have you ever asked that question? I think most of us would answer yes. It is an important question, yet one that many believers struggle to answer. Granted, in most cases, we are looking for a specific answer to specific questions. Should I marry this person? Should I date this person? Should I take this job or that job? Should I move? Should I buy this house or that house? Should I rent? We are faced with so many questions like these, and we frequently want God to reveal his will to us with specific answers to those questions.

Do you know that God does provide an answer? Do you know that God does reveal his will to us? It may not be in the form of a specific answer to those questions but His answer does help us when we make any decision.

In today’s passage, Paul gives us a clear and concise answer to that question. Simply put, God’s will for our life is our sanctification. Sanctification is growth in holiness. Sanctification is growth in obedience to God’s Word. Or to state it another way, it is our growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and walking (aka living) in a manner that is pleasing to God. God’s will for us always and at all times, as those who have been saved by grace through faith, is our sanctification.

However, we struggle to pursue continual growth in holiness that truly pleases God. We often struggle to progress in sanctification. You see as Christians we can quietly assume that once we’ve come to faith, the Christian life is mainly about maintaining—holding onto what we already have. We become complacent. But Paul writes to believers who are already walking faithfully and still says, “Do so more and more.”

What we must understand is that God’s will to sanctify His people is fulfilled through their union with Christ, who not only commands a life that pleases God but provides the grace and power by His Spirit to grow in holiness, to progress in sanctification.

And because God has revealed His will for His redeemed people, believers are called to pursue continual growth in holiness that pleases Him. We are called to be sanctified.

But how? How can we pursue continued growth in holiness? Or to ask another way, how can we walk in the way we ought in a manner that pleases God? Here in 1 Thessalonians 4, I believe Paul teaches us three truths that can help us to pursue holiness and grow in a life that pleases God. You can see them there on page 6 of the WG. We grow in a life that pleases God when we understand: our obedience flows from our relationship with Christ, God has clearly revealed His will, and sanctification is God’s declared will for His people.

Sanctification is a lot like a young child learning to walk. When children are learning to walk for the first time, the parents don’t say after the first step, “That’s it, you’re done. You have mastered walking. You can stop.” No. They encourage the child to continue. And walking is only the beginning. You see growth means moving forward—still stumbling, still learning, but steadily advancing. In the same way, as Christians we are to be being sanctified.

So, let’s look together now at these truths so that we may be encouraged and renewed to grow in a life pleasing to God.

Look at verse 1. The Apostle introduces this section by asking and urging something of the Thessalonians. Paul praises the Thessalonians for their progress in learning how to please God, but he also challenges them to excel further. You see Paul recognized the constant need for growth and for straining forward (Phil 3:13-14 - But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus).

But look at what he connects his urging to. Paul asks and urges the Thessalonians “in the Lord Jesus” (4:1). This qualifying phrase makes it clear that Christ Himself is the grounding for what Paul is about to say, that He is involved at every point with Paul’s teaching. In other words, Paul is going to be appealing to the Thessalonians on the basis of the command of Christ. He is setting before them the desires of the Lord for His people.

But this is not bare moral instruction—it is relational exhortation. Paul wants the Thessalonians and us to see that obedience flows from union. Sanctification is not how we get into Christ; it’s how life in Christ grows outward. In other words, our growth in holiness and obedience does not earn our salvation. Growth in holiness and obedience are a product of our salvation. (faith + works equation?)

In John 15, Jesus uses the illustration of a vine and branches to teach this point. A branch doesn’t strain to produce fruit—it bears fruit because it is connected to the vine. Disconnect it, and effort is meaningless. It must first be connected.

One of the first things we must understand about our growth in holiness is that it can only happen if we are “in Christ”. Connected to the One who supplies the grace for continued sanctification. WSC 35, that we read earlier, reminds us that sanctification is the work of God’s free grace. It is a work, a progress, but it comes by way of God’s free grace. Progress in sanctification can only happen by grace. That grace only comes through Jesus.

This is what Paul teaches in Ephesians 2 when he writes that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for goods works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. We were created “in Christ Jesus.” For what? To do good works. To obey God’s commands. To pursue holiness. But we were first created in Christ Jesus, a.k.a. saved.

We must remember the person and work of Christ if are to grow in a life pleasing to God, if we are to grow in holiness. Are you in Christ? If not, I urge you today to turn to Christ in faith. If you are in Christ, I urge you to look to Him as your source and strength for sanctification.

But if growth flows from relationship, it also depends on clarity about what God desires…

Look at verse 2. Paul reminds them: “You know the instructions we gave you.” The Greek word translated “instructions” refers to orders received from a higher authority and passed along to subordinates.

He explains that they know the instructions, the way of salvation and sanctification, that Paul and his companions gave to them. In other words, they have been clearly told God’s will, which was given through God’s Word to them. God’s will here is not hidden or mysterious. As we will look at more closely in the next verse, God’s revealed will was their sanctification.

But we must first understand that His will is revealed in His Word. The same Word we have contained in Scripture. WSC 2 states - What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. The Word of God gives us all we need to know to grow in a life that pleases (glorifies) God.

But Paul doesn’t only write that they know the instructions that they gave them, but they also know the origin. Look at the second part of verse 2. He says it came “through the Lord Jesus.” Paul stresses that the authority for his instructions is not his own and not of human origin, but from the risen Lord. He has received these instructions from the highest authority of all—God Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ—and he is handing them on to those who are called to obey that authority.

We can see Paul reiterating both of these truths in II Timothy 3:16, where he tells us - 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Here Paul reminds us that the Word, the instructions, are from God and that the Word is clear and profitable in its teaching.

Paul emphasizes that the instructions he shared with them, the Word of God, was not ambiguous or difficult to understand. It was clear what God required. We see this summarized well in WSC 3 which teaches us that the Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man.

This is the plain teaching of the Scriptures as a whole and it grounded in the person and work of Christ. Paul writes to the Corinthians these words, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Paul taught about salvation through Christ, as well as obedience through Christ. That was God’s clearly revealed will.

In most, if not all, team sports plays are an important part of the game. Coaches develop formations and movements that they believe will be successful and typically compile them in a playbook. But how successful would the team be if the coach never showed or told the players about the playbook?  A coach doesn’t keep the playbook secret. He tells them about the plays and explains them as clearly as possible. Then he requires the players to execute the plays.

God has clearly revealed the “plays.” In the same way as the illustration above, God has clearly revealed His will, what he requires, “the plays.”  

We have to simply be reminded of what God has said, His “instructions,” the “plays.” That is why we engage in the ordinary means of grace. That is why we engage in public worship, to be reminded of God’s will and to engage in those means that help us grow in holiness.

And Paul doesn’t leave sanctification vague or abstract…

In verse 3, Paul reminds us that we grow in a life pleasing to God when we understand sanctification is God’s declared will for His people.

What is God’s will for his people? Paul answers plainly: “Your sanctification.”

Chapter 13 of the Westminster Confession of Faith begins, “They, who are once effectually called, and regenerated, . . . are further sanctified, really and personally, . . . by his Word and Spirit.”

Sanctification is the process by which God's Holy Spirit transforms believers’ thoughts, motives, and behaviors to conform to the holiness of Christ himself. It means being set apart for God, to be increasingly shaped into Christlikeness. It means to die more and more to sin and live more and more to righteousness. Paul even uses that language back in verse 2. He says, “just as you are doing.” He affirms the Thessalonians’ progress before calling for more. And yet, he clearly says that growth is expected. Sanctification is growing—not instantly perfect but progressively changed.

Simply put, sanctification is not optional. Growth is expected, not exceptional, for the Christian, and God has laid out what he expects in the pages of Scripture – it is the sanctification of his people. So, his will in any given situation would be one that avoids those things that his Word has said to avoid and do those things that his Word has said to do. As long as our options fit those parameters, we are free to do what seems best to us, or what our heart desires, or what we enjoy.

We must also understand that the means that Christ uses to sanctify His people are His Word and Spirit. We need God’s truth to be godly. Godliness does not take place in a vacuum. In His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed for His disciples with these words: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” One cannot be sanctified apart from the work of the Holy Spirit applying the truth of the Scriptures to our hearts. Our sanctification flows out of salvation in Christ and is revealed to us in God’s Word.

A garden doesn’t become fruitful overnight. When seeds are planted, nothing seems to happen at first. The soil looks the same day after day. But beneath the surface, roots are forming. With sunlight, water, and time, growth begins—slow, steady, sometimes uneven, but growth none the less.

Sanctification works the same way. God plants new life in us through Christ, but holiness grows over time as we walk with Him. The Christian life isn’t about instant maturity—it’s about ongoing cultivation. God is not disappointed that you’re growing slowly—He is concerned only if you stop growing altogether.

Are you growing in a life that pleases God? Are you being conformed to the image of Christ as you give yourself to the use of the means of grace?

At this point, the danger is clear: If sanctification is God’s will, we might hear this as pressure rather than promise. And so, if obedience feels crushing, the problem is not the command—it’s disconnection from the gospel. But Paul grounds everything “through the Lord Jesus.”

Christ is not only the example of a life that pleased God, but He is the source of our sanctification. He lived in perfect obedience where we have failed. He fulfilled God’s will completely on our behalf. He bore our guilt so our growth would not be driven by fear. He pours out His Spirit so sanctification becomes possible. We do not pursue holiness to become accepted. We pursue holiness because we already are accepted in Christ. The same grace that justifies us also sanctifies us.

God’s will for your life is not hidden, complicated, or unattainable: as believers we are called to walk in Christ, to please God, and to grow more and more holiness.

Not by self-effort. Not by fear. But by grace-fueled obedience flowing from union with Christ. The more you pursue sanctified living by the power of the Spirit through the means of grace, the more you will delight in His goodness. And the more you delight in His goodness, the more you grow in a life pleasing to God. The One who calls you to grow is the One who supplies everything you need to grow. “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”

Let’s pray.