How we live each day should reflect the fact that we have been set apart by God for our relationship with him and for participation in his work.
For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness.
God has called us to be his special people. This calling touches every aspect of our lives, including our most intimate relationships. How we live each day should reflect the fact that we have been set apart by God for our relationship with him and for participation in his work. What we do – and what we don’t do – will be shaped by who we are as God’s special people.
We are set apart by God for a relationship with God and for His kingdom purposes. “God’s special people” seems to capture the sense of “saints” without the churchy overtones.
Because we are called to be God’s special people, we are to “lead a life worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called” (Ephesians 4:1). How we live each day in every situation should be shaped by our calling. Every situation includes intimate ones—such as how we express our sexuality. We see this in Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Thessalonica. Apparently, some of the new believers there were engaging in sexual relations outside of marriage, giving in to what Paul calls “lustful passion” (1 Thessalonians 4:5). Paul urges the Thessalonians to “abstain from fornication” (4:3). What reason does he give for this exhortation? “For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness” (4:7).
Once again, we see the Christian life isn’t primarily a matter of our choosing. Rather, it’s a response to the God who calls us. He does not call us “to impurity,” which is another way of speaking of sexual immorality. Rather, God calls us “in holiness.” The Greek word translated here as “holiness” is hagiasmos. It is related to the word hagios, which can mean “holy one” and is usually translated as “saint” (as in 1 Corinthians 1:2). When God calls us to be his holy, special people, there are implications for how we live each day. We will say “No” to the sinful ways of the world and “Yes” to the just and peaceful ways of God.
Notice that God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Why the shift from “to” to “in”? Certainly, Paul could have said that we are called to holiness, to holy living. This is implied in the phrase called “in holiness.” But the use of “in” suggests that holiness is not only the goal for our lives. It is also something in which we participate, something given to us. God calls us into a relationship with him as his special people so that we might live in a whole new way. The use of “in” underscores the relational nature of holiness even as it suggests that there are right, holy ways for us to live.
As we read this passage today, we might ask ourselves where we are tempted to follow the ways of the world rather than the ways of God. I expect that some of us are tempted, as some of the Thessalonians were, to engage in what Scripture identifies as sexual immorality. If this is your particular temptation, then the teaching of 1 Thessalonians 4 speaks directly to you. But even if you are not tempted by sexual sin, you can still consider ways in which you are not living “in holiness.” We all struggle at times to put off the ways of this world and put on the ways of God. We don’t always find it easy to live in a relationship with God and for His purposes.
So, whatever the particulars of your own struggle, remember that God has called you not just “to” holiness but “in holiness.” It’s not God’s only goal for your life. Rather, God has called you “in holiness,” that is, into a relationship with him that summons you to a whole new way of living each day.
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