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A Life That Pleases God

4 1Brothers [and sisters], now I have some other things to tell you. We taught you how to live in a way that will please God. And you are living that way. Now we ask you and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way more and more. 2You know the things we told you to do. We told you those things by the authority (power) of the Lord Jesus. 3God wants you to be holy.* He wants you to stay away from sexual sins. 4God wants each one of you to learn to control your own body. Use your body in a way that is holy and that gives honor to God.* 5Don't use your body for sexual sin. The people who don't know God use their bodies for that. 6None of you should do wrong to your brother [in Christ] or cheat him in this way. The Lord will punish people that do those things. We have already told you and warned you about that. 7God called us to be holy. He does not want us to live in sin. 8So the person who refuses to obey this teaching is refusing to obey God, not man. And God is the One who gives you his Holy Spirit.* 9We don't need to write to you about having love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. God has already taught you to love each other. 10And truly you do love the brothers [and sisters] in all of Macedonia. Brothers [and sisters], now we encourage you to love them more and more. 11Do all you can to live a peaceful life. Take care of your own business. Do your own work. We have already told you to do these things. 12If you do these things, then people who are not believers will respect the way you live. And you will not have to depend on other people for what you need.

The Lord's Coming

13Brothers [and sisters], we want you to know about those people who have died. We don't want you to be sad like other people--people who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died. But we believe that Jesus rose again. So, because of Jesus, God will bring together with Jesus those people who have died. 15What we tell you now is the Lord's own message. We who are living now might still be living when the Lord comes again. We who are living at that time will be with the Lord, but not before those people who have already died. 16The Lord himself will come down from heaven. There will be a loud command. That command will be given with the voice of the archangel* and with the trumpet call of God. And the people who have died and were in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we people who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with those people who have died. We will be taken up in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. 18So encourage each other with these words.

holy A holy person is pure and belongs only to God. God wants ... honor to God Or, God wants each of you to learn to live with your wife in a way that is holy and that gives honor to God. Spirit, Holy Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. Joined with God and Christ, he does God's work among people in the world. archangel The leader among God's angels.

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