S3E208 – 1 Thessalonians 4-5: How To Prepare

From Lifespring! One Year Bible Rewind · 24:01

Show by Steve Webb

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will read 1 Thessalonians 4-5. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “How To Prepare.” Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash Comments on 1 Thessalonians 4-5 Some Tools For Bible Study Today in my comments, I’m going to explain a bit of how I do my Bible studies, and how you can enrich your reading of the Bible, and I’ll do it in the context of today’s reading. Sound good? Most of us who are serious about Bible study know that reading from more that one translation is a good thing, especially if we’re going to be teaching or preaching. Today’s reading is an excellent example of why this is a good idea. Chapter 4 The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. Chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 in the GNT reads like this: “Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, 5not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.” As I read that, it seemed just a little “off” to me. Not that there’s anything wrong with living “with your wife in a holy and honorable way”, but tying this thought with “not with a lustful desire, like the heathen” just didn’t sit right with me, because sexual desire between a husband and wife is a gift from God. I decided that I should look at how other translations rendered this passage. Here are some examples of verse 4: The English Standard Version says: that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, The NIV says: that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, And for good measure, the KJV says: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; So the ESV and the NIV agree on the translation the “body”. But as you heard, the KJV said “possess his vessel”. None of the three referred to the “wife”. So I read this verse in several other translations: the NASB, Young’s Literal Translation, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, New Living Translation. All of them agreed on the “body”. The God’s Word translation, and Contemporary English Version used “wife” in one way or another. So what to do? How should this verse be properly translated? We need to go to the original language. Thankfully, we don’t need to take a complete course in Greek, which is the language used in the New Testament. The first thing I do is consult what is called an Interlinear New Testament. An interlinear NT has the complete text of the NT, with the Greek words appearing either directly above or below the English words, so you can see which exact Greek word is used. That’s the first step. The next step, if you don’t know Greek, is to use either a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance or Young’s Analytical Concordance. Today, I used Young’s. Both Young’s and Strong’s use the KJV, so I looked up the word “vessel”. I found that there are two Greek words used in the NT that are translated into the English word “vessel”. One of them is used only twice, in the book of Matthew. In this case, the word means “vessel, or utensil”. The other Greek word is used eighteen times and it means “vessel, utensil or instrument”, and this is the word in our reading today. In my opinion, the thought that Paul wanted to convey to us is this: our bodies are the vessel or instrument that contains our souls, and we should not allow our vessels to be controlled by lust, as do those who do not know God. There is no mention of husbands or wives in the original language, and I therefor do not think that it should be included in the text of the verse. Now, in the defense of the translations that do include it, the argument can be made that Paul implied the thought of husbands and or wives, because sexual desire is only proper in the context of marriage. Since he was teaching against what the KJV refers to as fornication, or what we would today call sexual immorality, he would be saying that sexual desire should only be for your husband or your wife. So now you know a bit of how I study the Bible. Having several translations of the Bible is a good thing, but as you read them, it is important to take into consideration that some are more faithful to the original language, and others are less concerned with word-for-word accuracy, and emphasize more of an idea-for-idea approach to Bible translation. When we compare different translations to each other, and then use tools like the Strong’s or Young’s concordances and an interlinear Bible, combined with prayer and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I believe we can reach a more complete understanding of the Scripture. The Rapture Verses 13-18 deal with the return of Jesus. These verses tell us that at His return, the believers who have died will be resurrected. And then those who are believers and are alive will be gathered up, or caught up along with the ones who have just been resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. This event is often…

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