In his exhortation, Paul first challenged the Thessalonians to lead holy lives, especially as it concerned sexual purity. Then he reminded them that Christian holiness is never a cold formalism but is always joined to the virtue of Christian love. To chastity, he wrote, they must add charity. Regarding the teaching on Christian love, Paul wrote: “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love on another” (v. 9).

Seeing the priority that Paul places on love should prompt us to consider our own hearts. Have our hearts been “framed for love” by God? Have we felt God’s love poured into us as we believed the gospel? If not, we might still be seeking to approach God by our own works instead of relying on the finished work of Jesus Christ, God’s chief gift of love. If we think little of the cross of Christ, we are likely to feel little love from God and have little love for Him and others. But if we stand before the atoning sacrifice of God’s perfect Son, seeing how Jesus gave Himself in love so that we might be saved, it is simply impossible that we would be inmoved and unchanged by love. This is why Paul does not need to say that God taught Christians “concerning” love but has taught us “to love one another” (v. 9).

Paul is comforted to know not only that his readers have been taught to love by God, but also that they have a strong track record of brotherly love: “for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia” (v. 10). Since theirs was the leading city of a highly populated region, the Thessalonian Christians had frequent contact with merchants, farmers, and traders. They had taken advantage of opportunities to spread the gospel and had prayed for friends and acquaintances. As the gospel advanced, they had shown hospitality to fellow believers and helped to provide for their needs as they became known. In this way, God had used their fervor for Jesus Christ to set an example for other new converts and to cause the gospel message to sound forth throughout their region.

When studying Paul’s letters, we are frequently reminded that they were written to actual people with real problems. Therefore, while Paul’s teaching is grounded on universal truths about God and salvation, the letters apply the gospel in particular ways that fit the local needs of Paul’s readers. His exhortations in 1 and 2 Thessalonians are prime examples of this principle. In the final chapter of 2 Thessalonians, Paul highlights a concern about some who were “walking in idleness.” Either such persons had entered into the church community or else some members of the church had fallen into this vice. It is possible that this happened as a self-serving response to the generosity of Christians who possessed means, so that the very love that Paul commended was being taken advantage of.

Anticipating this problem, Paul amplifies his teaching on Christian love by urging his readers “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs” (1 Thess. 4:11). Paul sees Christian love as a quiet love that avoids meddling in and disturbing the lives of others. Christians should have a great ambition to lead steady, sober, useful lives that call attention not to themselves but to the grace of God in Christ. To be sure, there is an important place for ambition in the Christian life! We are to have “ambition to preach the gospel” (Rom. 15:20) and be “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). We should be eager in service (Phil. 2:28) and in spiritual attainments (1 Cor. 14:12). Yet we can do all this within a quiet life that avoids making difficulties for others.

In calling Christians to brotherly love, Paul envisions a quiet love that is also a busy love. In addition to living quietly and minding their own affairs, the Thessalonians should “work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (vv. 11-12). This verse has played an important role in developing a Christian view of work. Most Greeks thought that manual labor was unworthy of a cultivated person. Physical work was what slaves were for! In contrast, the Bible endorses the nobility of honest work of all kinds. Paul’s example as a tentmaker underscores this point, since the hands that held the apostolic pen were calloused with the daily hard work by which Paul met his own needs.

Paul cites two reasons why it is important for Christians to work hard. The first is “so that you may walk properly before outsiders” (v. 12). For Christians to be lazy or wrongly depend on others only disgraces the gospel that we proclaim to the world. This is why Christians who run businesses should make a special point of providing high-quality goods and services and treating customers with honesty and care. By contrast, able-bodied men who are not working hard to provide for themselves and their families are a disgrace to God’s people.

Paul’s second reason for Christians to work hard is so that they can “be dependent on no one” (v. 12). Believers should provide for themselves so as not to burden other believers. This exhortation does not apply to those who are unable to work because of illness, injury, or honest unemployment. The New Testament makes it plain that Christians are to provide for fellow Christians in legitimate need. But because there will often be many such needs, Christians should do their best not to burden the church and to contribute to the assistance of others. Love does not take advantage of Christian generosity but works hard so as to contribute to those with true needs.

It is obvious that Paul considered the love of God at work in His people to be an important witness to the world. We may therefore conclude that the apostle urged the Christians to increase in a love that not only was quiet and busy but also bore witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our love is thus to be a revealing love. According to church history, this is precisely what happened. Not only did the early Christians display love for one another, but as they were sprinkled throughout society in their various workplaces, they also spread the same love to the world. Our witness to Christ in the world requires a verbal testimony to His gospel and obedience to His command: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

The mark of the Christian is not worn on our lapels or hung on chains around our necks. The mark of the Christian before the world is the love that God has spread into our hearts, starting with our Christian brothers and sisters. We know that we can never be saved by our own loving works, but are forgiven only by the love of Christ, who died for our sins on the cross. But as we tell the world about God’s love for sinners in Christ, remembering the important testimony of Christ’s love working in and through us, what an incentive we have to take up Paul’s exhortation concerning brotherly love: “we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more” (v. 10).

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 Study Questions:

How does Paul say love or charitable concern is to be expressed within the church and outside of it?

How does Paul hold together love, which is expressed through financial giving, and responsibility within the family of the Thessalonians in verses 9-12?

Think about your Christian community. What are the outsiders seeing as they witness the lives of your community?

In what concrete and practical ways can you show your love through financial giving personally and corporately?