For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
- KJV For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
- NKJV for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
- NASB For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
- NLT For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They already know the instructions Paul gave them through the Lord Jesus. His teaching carried the Lord's own authority.
Overview
Paul reminds them that his earlier instructions came "through the Lord Jesus," not as personal preference but with the Lord's authority. This grounds the moral commands that follow in the will of Christ. Obedience to apostolic instruction is therefore obedience to the Lord himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Matt 28:20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Ezek 3:17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
- 1 Cor 9:21To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.
- 2 Th 3:10For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
- 2 Th 3:6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.
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Christ at the center
The believer waits for God's Son from heaven, Jesus who delivers from the wrath to come and who will return to gather his people to himself.
How 1 Thessalonians 4:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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