1 Thessalonians 4 in the early church
331 passages quote, allude to, or echo 1 Thessalonians 4, grouped by verse; passages on the same verse are in date order. Verse text from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). References use the Protestant English Bible's numbering, with a writer's own numbering in brackets where it differs.
Verses: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18
1 Thessalonians 4:1
Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:1 | Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:1 · Ambrosiaster | quotation, high confidence | ca. 366–384 |
1 Thessalonians 4:2
For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:2–6 | Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:2–6 · Ambrosiaster | quotation, high confidence | ca. 366–384 |
1 Thessalonians 4:3
For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;
1 Thessalonians 4:4
each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
1 Thessalonians 4:5
not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;
1 Thessalonians 4:6
and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:6 | Miscellanies 4.12.87 · Clement of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 198–203 |
| 1 Thess 4:6 | Homilies on Leviticus 4.4 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
| 1 Thess 4:6 | To Quirinus 3.88 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | ca. 248–250 (book 3 perhaps later) |
| 1 Thess 4:6 | Preparation for the Gospel 11.13.7 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, medium confidence | ca. 313–324 |
| 1 Thess 4:6 | Liber Orsiesii 53 · Orsiesius | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 380-390 |
| 1 Thess 4:6 | On the Duties of the Clergy 3.12 · Ambrose | allusion, high confidence | ca. 386–390 |
1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:7 | Miscellanies 4.12.87 · Clement of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 198–203 |
| 1 Thess 4:7 | On the Holy Spirit 49 · Didymus the Blind | quotation, high confidence | Greek ca. 360-390; Latin 387-391 |
| 1 Thess 4:7–10 | Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:7–8 · Ambrosiaster | quotation, high confidence | ca. 366–384 |
| 1 Thess 4:7 | Against Jovinianus 1.16 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | 393 |
| 1 Thess 4:7 | 1 Corinthians 7:5 · Pelagius | quotation, high confidence | ca. 405–410 |
| 1 Thess 4:7 | The Institutes 6.15 · John Cassian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 419–426 |
1 Thessalonians 4:8
Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:8 | Miscellanies 4.12.87 · Clement of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 198–203 |
| 1 Thess 4:8 | Letters to Serapion 1.6 · Athanasius of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 357–360 |
| 1 Thess 4:8 | Moral Rules (Moralia) 72 · Basil of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | ca. 360-370 |
| 1 Thess 4:8 | On the Holy Spirit 50 · Didymus the Blind | quotation, high confidence | Greek ca. 360-390; Latin 387-391 |
| 1 Thess 4:8 | On 1 Cor 7:2, section 4 · John Chrysostom | quotation, high confidence | ca. 390 |
| 1 Thess 4:8 | The Institutes 6.15 · John Cassian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 419–426 |
1 Thessalonians 4:9
Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
1 Thessalonians 4:10
And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:10–12 | Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:11 · Ambrosiaster | quotation, high confidence | ca. 366–384 |
| 1 Thess 4:10 | The Institutes 10.7 · John Cassian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 419–426 |
1 Thessalonians 4:11
and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:11 | On Idolatry 5 · Tertullian | allusion, high confidence | ca. 196–211 |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | On Rebaptism 1 · Anonymous | echo, low confidence | ca. 250–258 (disputed) |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | Letter to Zenas and Serenus 17 · Anonymous | allusion, medium confidence | 4th century (disputed) |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | Letter 226 · Basil of Caesarea | echo, medium confidence | ca. 357–378 |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | Letter 259 · Basil of Caesarea | echo, low confidence | ca. 357–378 |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | Canons on the Letters of Paul 56 · Priscillian | allusion, high confidence | ca. 380–400 |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | Letter 157.38 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 386–430 |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | The Institutes 2.3 · John Cassian | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 419–426 |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | The Institutes 10.7 · John Cassian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 419–426 |
| 1 Thess 4:11 | The Institutes 10.21 · John Cassian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 419–426 |
1 Thessalonians 4:12
Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:12 | On the Singleness of Clerics 17 · Anonymous | quotation, medium confidence | 3rd cent. (disputed) |
| 1 Thess 4:12 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.56 · Augustine of Hippo | echo, medium confidence | ca. 398–400 |
| 1 Thess 4:12 | The Institutes 10.7 · John Cassian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 419–426 |
1 Thessalonians 4:13
Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:14
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
1 Thessalonians 4:15
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:18
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Thess 4:18 | Letter 186.41 · Augustine of Hippo | echo, medium confidence | ca. 386–430 |
| 1 Thess 4:18 | Letters 1.10 · Paulinus of Nola | echo, medium confidence | ca. 394–413 |