1 Thessalonians 4:4

Text (1 Thessalonians 4:4)

4 that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

Translation and Paraphrase

4.

(And) that each (one) of you should know (and act like you knew) how to (get hold of yourself and) get possession of your own vessel (your body, so as to live) in sanctification and honor.

Notes (1 Thessalonians 4:4)

1.

It is no honor to commit fornication. It is an honor to be modest, pure, and (for the unmarried) virgin.

2.

What do you think Paul means by telling us to possess our vessel in sanctification and honor? What is the vessel he refers to? The natural thought that comes to our minds is that the vessel is our body, and that we are to keep control of it, and not permit ourselves to look upon a woman to lust after her, nor to commit fornication. We believe that this is the correct meaning of the verse.

3.

However, many scholarly interpreters say that the vessel is a wife, and that Paul in this verse is telling the men to procure for themselves wives as vessels for the satisfaction of their passions, rather than for them to commit fornication. Now it is a fact that the word vessel is used in 1 Peter 3:7 to describe a woman. And it is interesting to note that the Revised Standard Version of the Bible and the versions of Moffatt and Goodspeed all boldly insert the word wife into their versions, This is more of an interpretation than it is a translation.

4.

Here are our reasons for thinking that the vessel to which Paul refers is our body and not a wife:

(1)

There is nothing particularly spiritual in knowing how to take a wife. In fact the wicked are often the most proficient in doing it.

(2)

In 1 Corinthians 7:8; 1 Corinthians 7:27; 1 Corinthians 7:32-33; 1 Corinthians 7:38, Paul rather discourages marriage for many people. It therefore seems unlikely that he would here recommend marriage as a universal panacea for fornication.

(3)

The verses both immediately before and after this one caution us about fornication and lust. This leads us to think that this verse must refer to controlling our bodies and not to marrying a wife.

5.

It is beyond question that in the Scriptures our bodies are often called vessels. Note 1 Samuel 21:1-15; 1 Samuel 5:1-12: Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy. Also 2 Corinthians 4:7: We have this treasure (the gospel) in earthen vessels (referring to the fact that our bodies are made of dust). See also 2 Timothy 2:21; Acts 9:15; Romans 9:21-23.

6.

We mentioned that some versions of the Bible boldly interpret the word vessel as wife. But others just as openly interpret it as body. So Phillips, New English Bible, and Amplified New Testament.

7.

This verse is similar to Romans 6:19: As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members to righteousness unto holiness (or sanctification).