1 Thessalonians 4:3

Bible in Basic English (1941)

For the purpose of God for you is this: that you may be holy, and may keep yourselves from the desires of the flesh;

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ ἁγιασμὸς ὑμῶν, ἀπέχεσθαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς πορνείας:

Transliteration

This for estin thelēma of the Theou, the hagiasmos of you, to apechesthai you from the porneias:

Grammar Details

• *estin*: present, indicative, active, 3rd person, singular - is
• *thelēma*: nominative, neuter, singular - will/desire
• *Theou*: genitive, masculine, singular - God's (possessive)
• *hagiasmos*: nominative, masculine, singular - sanctification/holiness
• *apechesthai*: present, infinitive, middle - to abstain/keep away from
• *porneias*: genitive, feminine, singular - sexual immorality/fornication

Word Meanings

• *thelēma*: will/desire/purpose/intention
• *hagiasmos*: sanctification/holiness/consecration/purification
• *apechesthai*: abstain/keep away/refrain
• *porneias*: sexual immorality/fornication/prostitution/unchastity

Referenced Verses

• 1 Pet 4:2 : 2 So that you may give the rest of your lives in the flesh, not to the desires of men, but to the purpose of God.
• 1 Thess 5:23 : 23 And may the God of peace himself make you holy in every way; and may your spirit and soul and body be free from all sin at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Eph 5:17 : 17 For this reason, then, do not be foolish, but be conscious of the Lord's pleasure.
• Col 3:5 : 5 Then put to death your bodies which are of the earth; wrong use of the flesh, unclean things, passion, evil desires and envy, which is the worship of strange gods;
• Eph 6:6 : 6 Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart;
• 1 Thess 4:4 : 4 So that every one of you may keep his body holy and in honour;
• Rom 12:2 : 2 And let not your behaviour be like that of this world, but be changed and made new in mind, so that by experience you may have knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God.
• Ps 40:8 : 8 My delight is to do your pleasure, O my God; truly, your law is in my heart.
• 2 Thess 2:13 : 13 But it is right for us to give praise to God at all times for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because it was the purpose of God from the first that you might have salvation, being made holy by the Spirit and by faith in what is true:
• Eph 5:3-5 : 3 But evil acts of the flesh and all unclean things, or desire for others' property, let it not even be named among you, as is right for saints; 4 And let there be no low behaviour, or foolish talk, or words said in sport, which are not right, but in place of them the giving of praise. 5 Being certain of this, that no man who gives way to the passions of the flesh, no unclean person, or one who has desire for the property of others, or who gives worship to images, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and God.
• 1 Pet 1:2 : 2 Who, through the purpose of God, have been made holy by the Spirit, disciples of Jesus, made clean by his blood: May you have grace and peace in full measure.
• Heb 13:4 : 4 Let married life be honoured among all of you and not made unclean; for men untrue in married life will be judged by God.
• Eph 5:26-27 : 26 So that he might make it holy, having made it clean with the washing of water by the word, 27 And might take it for himself, a church full of glory, not having one mark or fold or any such thing; but that it might be holy and complete.
• Rom 6:22 : 22 But now, being free from sin, and having been made servants to God, you have your fruit in that which is holy, and the end is eternal life.
• Gal 5:19 : 19 Now the works of the flesh are clear, which are these: evil desire, unclean things, wrong use of the senses,
• Matt 7:21 : 21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will go into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven.
• John 17:17-19 : 17 Make them holy by the true word: your word is the true word. 18 Even as you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for them I make myself holy, so that they may be made truly holy.
• Acts 15:20 : 20 But that we give them orders to keep themselves from things offered to false gods, and from the evil desires of the body, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from blood.
• Acts 15:29 : 29 To keep from things offered to false gods, and from blood, and from things put to death in ways which are against the law, and from the evil desires of the body; if you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. May you be happy.
• Acts 20:32 : 32 And now, I give you into the care of God and the word of his grace, which is able to make you strong and to give you your heritage among all the saints.
• Acts 26:18 : 18 To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.
• Matt 12:50 : 50 For whoever does the pleasure of my Father in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
• Matt 15:19 : 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, the taking of life, broken faith between the married, unclean desires of the flesh, taking of property, false witness, bitter words:
• Mark 3:35 : 35 Whoever does God's pleasure, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
• John 4:34 : 34 Jesus said, My food is to do the pleasure of him who sent me and to make his work complete.
• Ps 143:10 : 10 Give me teaching so that I may do your pleasure; for you are my God: let your good Spirit be my guide into the land of righteousness.
• 1 Cor 1:30 : 30 But God has given you a place in Christ Jesus, through whom God has given us wisdom and righteousness and salvation, and made us holy:
• 1 Cor 6:9-9 : 9 Have you not knowledge that evil-doers will have no part in the kingdom of God? Have no false ideas about this: no one who goes after the desires of the flesh, or gives worship to images, or is untrue when married, or is less than a man, or makes a wrong use of men, 10 Or is a thief, or the worse for drink, or makes use of strong language, or takes by force what is not his, will have any part in the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you; but you have been washed, you have been made holy, you have been given righteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
• 1 Cor 6:13-18 : 13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will put an end to them together. But the body is not for the desires of the flesh, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body: 14 And God who made the Lord Jesus come back from the dead will do the same for us by his power. 15 Do you not see that your bodies are part of the body of Christ? how then may I take what is a part of the body of Christ and make it a part of the body of a loose woman? such a thing may not be. 16 Or do you not see that he who is joined to a loose woman is one body with her? for God has said, The two of them will become one flesh. 17 But he who is united to the Lord is one spirit. 18 Keep away from the desires of the flesh. Every sin which a man does is outside of the body; but he who goes after the desires of the flesh does evil to his body.
• 1 Cor 7:2 : 2 But because of the desires of the flesh, let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband.
• 2 Cor 12:21 : 21 And that when I come again, my God may put me to shame among you, and I may have grief for those who have done wrong before and have had no regret for their unclean ways, and for the evil desires of the flesh to which they have given way.
• Col 1:9 : 9 For this reason, we, from the day when we had word of it, keep on in prayer for you, that you may be full of the knowledge of his purpose, with all wisdom and experience of the Spirit,
• Heb 10:36 : 36 For, having done what was right in God's eyes, you have need of waiting before his word has effect for you.
• 1 John 2:17 : 17 And the world and its desires is coming to an end: but he who does God's pleasure is living for ever.
• Rev 21:8 : 8 But those who are full of fear and without faith, the unclean and takers of life, those who do the sins of the flesh, and those who make use of evil powers or who give worship to images, and all those who are false, will have their part in the sea of ever-burning fire which is the second death.
• Rev 22:15 : 15 Outside are the dogs, and those who make use of evil powers, those who make themselves unclean, and the takers of life, and those who give worship to images, and everyone whose delight is in what is false.
• Heb 12:16 : 16 And that there may not be any evil liver, or any man without respect for God, like Esau, who let his birthright go for a plate of food.
• Heb 13:21 : 21 Make you full of every good work and ready to do all his desires, working in us whatever is pleasing in his eyes through Jesus Christ; and may the glory be given to him for ever and ever. So be it.
• Titus 2:14 : 14 Who gave himself for us, so that he might make us free from all wrongdoing, and make for himself a people clean in heart and on fire with good works.
• 1 Thess 5:18 : 18 In everything give praise: for this is the purpose of God in Christ Jesus for you.
• Col 4:12 : 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his love, ever taking thought for you in his prayers, that you may be complete and fully certain of all the purpose of God.
• 1 Cor 5:9-9 : 9 In my letter I said to you that you were not to keep company with those who go after the desires of the flesh; 10 But I had not in mind the sinners who are outside the church, or those who have a desire for and take the property of others, or those who give worship to images; for it is not possible to keep away from such people without going out of the world completely: 11 But the sense of my letter was that if a brother had the name of being one who went after the desires of the flesh, or had the desire for other people's property, or was in the way of using violent language, or being the worse for drink, or took by force what was not his, you might not keep company with such a one, or take food with him.
• John 7:17 : 17 If any man is ready to do God's pleasure he will have knowledge of the teaching and of where it comes from--from God or from myself.
• Rom 1:29 : 29 Being full of all wrongdoing, evil, desire for the goods of others, hate, envy, putting to death, fighting, deceit, cruel ways, evil talk, and false statements about others;