Furthermore then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you must walk and please God—and you are walking in this way—that you would do so even more.
For you know what commands we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
For this is the will of God, that you are holy: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
that each one of you know how to control his own vessel in holiness and honor,
not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;
and that no one overstep proper boundaries and take advantage of his brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, just as we told you before and solemnly warned you.
For God did not call us to be impure, but to live in holiness.
Therefore, the one who rejects these commands does not reject a human being but God, who gives his holy spirit to you.
Now concerning affection for God’s family, you do not need anyone to write to you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.
For indeed, that is what you are doing for all the brothers and sisters in the whole region of Macedonia. And we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do so even more,
and to make it your aim to lead a peaceable life, and to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, just as we commanded you,
so that you walk properly toward outsiders, and so that you do not need anything.
The Coming of the Lord
Now, we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you do not grieve like the rest of humankind, who have no hope.
For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised, so also we believethat through Jesus, God will bring to life those who have fallen asleep so that they will be with him.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of a ruling angel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds, for a meeting with the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.