1 Thessalonians 4:2
“For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Paul reminds them of the commands he had already given them on the authority of the Lord Jesus.
What Does 1 Thessalonians 4:2 Mean?
Paul anchors what follows in instruction they already possess. He had given them 'commandments,' and not on his own authority but 'by the Lord Jesus.' The teaching he is about to repeat is not his private opinion; it carries the weight of the Lord Himself, who stands behind every word.
This brief verse reminds us that the gospel comes with a way of life attached. Paul had not merely told them what to believe but how to live, and he did so as one delivering the Lord's own charge. There is comfort and seriousness here together: comfort, because the path is already marked out and known; seriousness, because these are commandments, given in Christ's name. To follow them is to obey the Lord, not a man. Paul builds his coming exhortations on this foundation, so that the Thessalonians will hear in them the familiar, trusted voice of the One who saved them.