aFinally then, bbrethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to 1 cwalk and dplease God (just as you actually do 1walk), that you eexcel still more.
2For you know what commandments we gave you 1by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you aabstain from 1sexual immorality;
4that aeach of you know how to 1possess his own 2 bvessel in sanctification and chonor,
5not in 1 alustful passion, like the Gentiles who bdo not know God;
6and that no man transgress and adefraud his brother bin the matter because cthe Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also dtold you before and solemnly warned you.
7For aGod has not called us for bthe purpose of impurity, but 1in sanctification.
8So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who agives His Holy Spirit to you.
9Now as to the alove of the brethren, you bhave no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are ctaught by God to love one another;
10for indeed ayou do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to bexcel still more,
11and to make it your ambition ato lead a quiet life and battend to your own business and cwork with your hands, just as we commanded you,
12so that you will 1 abehave properly toward boutsiders and 2 cnot be in any need.
But awe do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who bare asleep, so that you will not grieve as do cthe rest who have dno hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, aeven so God will bring with Him bthose who have fallen asleep 1in Jesus.
15For this we say to you aby the word of the Lord, that bwe who are alive 1and remain until cthe coming of the Lord, will not precede dthose who have fallen asleep.
16For the Lord aHimself bwill descend from heaven with a 1 cshout, with the voice of dthe archangel and with the etrumpet of God, and fthe dead in Christ will rise first.
17Then awe who are alive 1and remain will be bcaught up together with them cin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always dbe with the Lord.
18Therefore comfort one another with these words.