1 Thessalonians 4:12

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12 That [hina] ye may walk [peripateo] honestly [euschemonos] toward [pros] them that are without, [exo] and [kai] that ye may have [echo] lack [chreia] of nothing. [medeis] KJV-Interlinear

12 so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. NASB

This verse is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied verses in the Bible. As we have been studying, you are to behave in an honorable and trustworthy manner toward people, in your day to day life.

And when we get to this verse, it appears on the surface that if you are an honest and good and decent person, then you will lack for nothing in life.

However, that is not what is being presented here.We need to consider a couple of other verses.

Rom. 13:14

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. NASB

Col. 4:5

5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. NASB

Both of these verses teach us that our walk in life in not from the source of our own efforts, but from the knowledge and wisdom derived from the Word of God.

Spiritual growth is your first and only objective in life. Everything else is merely an application of the knowledge that you learn and master from doctrine.

Next consider the instruction which Paul is teaching here and where he is going with all of this.

Your responsibility in life is to prepare yourself for your one and only important evaluation before Christ.

In order to grow up in your spiritual life, you have to want to learn, then study on a regular basis, learn the doctrines, principles, mandates, etc., being taught, believe them, adopt them into your daily life (application of doctrine), and to do this all over again and again, day after day, for your entire life.

This is the circle of wisdom, as I have called it in past studies. I tweaked a phrase years ago from a movie, circle of life, which implies the application of evolution, but here we use it correctly in the transformation of your soul, from an immature (useless) person to a spiritually mature (most valuable) person.

Paul is driving to the best known phrase in the Bible regarding the Rapture, which is just a few verses away.I presume that you have read ahead.

And of course you read ahead because you have a deep desire to know what is ahead of us in our study, presuming that you already know, but in fact you don t know. Of course you don t read ahead because you are bored with the current study of daily habits and manners and such mundane things.

If you lacked nothing in life, just by being a nice person, then what good would there be of doctrine?Any person, even unbelievers can be nice and personable, but their lack in life is not from the things of this world, but from the things of the spirit.

And that is your mandate here.Review our study in James. Your work in life is your spiritual production, not your temporal activities or attitude.

Your life is driving in one direction and one direction only, and that is the date (already appointed) when you will stand before Christ, and He will look right into your eyes and show you your true life, and then judge you based on truth, not based on your opinions of yourself.

Learning doctrine is one thing, but applying it on a daily basis is quite another. Most folks think that all they need do is believe in Christ and nothing more.Most folks think that all they need do is live a good and honest life and nothing more.And of course their idea of a good and honest life is always flawed when compared with truth.

People tend to think too highly of themselves and of their own opinions, when they disregard doctrine in their life.

Once doctrine is genuinely learned and legitimately adopted into ones life, then production, spiritual production enters into their spiritual picture. We have learned that faith alone is not enough.Faith without works is empty.And works in the scriptures in the spiritual sense is a reference to your spiritual production, or your activities in life which you accomplish while inside the fellowship sphere.

Inside of your soul, God is constructing a spiritual palace, a temple, a fortress, with the doctrine you learn.That is the framework of the structure.But no palace is a real home until you actually move inside of it. And no one lives in a home that is not furnished.Your furniture is your spiritual production.That is what gives your soul, your home, its value.

Therefore, when you stand before Christ in that day of judgment, your day of judgment, then you will not be lacking in your soul. A loaded soul is one with gold, silver, and precious stones of production.A loaded soul is a valuable soul and productive soul, and it is richly rewarded.

An empty soul is one that lacks production or possesses production of the wrong kind, wood, hay and stubble.That production Christ will burn away, then we will all see what is left. An empty soul is a lacking soul.

The words, chreia, and medeis, mean requirement and no man respectively. They can mean to lack for nothing, but they also mean to furnish that which is required.

As most of ones life is spent in dealing with people in one fashion of another, and since your attitude, respect, and dealings with people are fashioned after the thoughts and attitudes in your mind, and since your final action in life is to be prepared for your last evaluation before Christ, then it stands to reason that you must operate within the sphere of fellowship and therefore build up a reservoir of wealth, spiritual wealth.

And that comes to a large extent by being a nice and honorable person.

But your behavior must come from doctrine, and not from self-righteousness, from the energy of Christ in you, and not from the energy of the sin nature. In all other things in life, you will still experience trials and hardships and difficulties and such things that will put your spiritual muscle to the test in order to prove the genuineness of your spiritual status, or the lack of it.

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