我们从信耶稣的那一天开始，已经从神领受了一个圣洁的地位，接下来就是要在每一天的生活中「活出圣洁」。能够熟练地活出圣洁，是基督徒属灵生命长大成熟的记号。保罗为了帮助信徒灵命长大成熟，特别提醒他们要过一个符合圣洁地位的生活，因为圣洁「上帝的旨意就是要你们成为圣洁」（4:3）。

保罗知道帖撒罗尼迦教会有两方面的挣扎，一是身体的情欲，二是日常的工作。希腊人对于两性关系采取緃容和杂交的态度，这与他们所敬拜的神很像，就是妻子可以常常换，情妇也司空见惯。保罗对帖撒罗尼迦教会的「弟兄们」说：不可再去找妓女和情妇，要弃绝杂交的社会风俗；要保持床的纯洁以示尊重婚姻，不可像对妓女或情妇那样对待妻子。

在工作方面，什么样的工作才是「神圣的」呢？希腊人崇尚生活安逸，他们认为工作（尤其是劳力的工作）是丢人的，所以都尽量雇奴隶去做。而犹太人的想法则是本于旧约，视工作为敬拜的一部份，因此工作也是神圣的。工作不分贵贱，在上帝眼中，所有工作都值得敬重，也都应该用来讨上帝喜悦。

有些帖撒罗尼迦信徒放弃固定的工作，说是等候主再来，其实是游手好闲。所以保罗劝这些人要「亲手作工」养活自己，不要依赖别人。 （4:10）因此基督徒应该要努力养家活口，并且帮助那些真的不能工作的人。

那么，我们要如何在工作中活出圣洁呢？首先，我们工作的动机必须是出于荣耀上帝，我们也要把爱神爱人的心表现在工作上，如同保罗的提醒：「你们无论做什么，都要从心里做，像是为主做的，不是为人做。」（歌罗西书3:23）

我们要知道，基督徒不是只有在参加聚会或是读经祷告的时候才是在事奉上帝。我们若不把日常工作也视为是在事奉上帝，那么上帝眼中，我们是浪费了生命中一大半的时间。

如何让灵命成长更有「效率」呢？除了聚会、读经、祷告之外，把你的工作也加入追求灵命成长的清单吧！

简体圣经 | https://www.bible.com/bible/140/1TH.4.RCUVSS

繁體聖經 | https://www.bible.com/bible/139/1TH.4.RCUV

From the day we believe in Jesus, we have received a holy status from God. The next step is to "live out holiness" in our daily life. Being able to live a holy life proficiently is a sign of spiritual growth and maturity for a Christian. In order to help believers mature spiritually, Paul specifically reminds them to live a life that matches their holy status, because "God's will is for you to be holy" (4:3, NLT).

Paul knew that the Thessalonian church struggled in two areas: sexual desires and daily work. The Greeks had a permissive attitude towards sexual relationships, accepting promiscuity and adultery, which was similar to their worship of gods who had wives and mistresses. Paul tells the "brothers" of the Thessalonian church not to seek prostitutes and mistresses, to reject the social customs of promiscuity, and to maintain purity in their beds to respect their marriages, not treating their wives as they would treat a prostitute or mistress.

Regarding work, what kind of work is "holy"? The Greeks valued a comfortable life and considered work, especially manual labour, to be shameful, so they hired slaves to do the work whenever possible. On the other hand, Jewish thinking based on the Old Testament viewed work as a part of worship, and therefore, work was holy. All work is respectable and should be used to please God.

Some Thessalonian believers gave up their regular work, claiming to wait for the Lord to return, but they were really idle. Paul advises these people "to work with your hands" (4:11) to support themselves, not to depend on others. Therefore, Christians should strive to support themselves and help those who cannot work.

So, how can we live out holiness in our work? First, our motivation for work must be to glorify God, and we must express a love for God and people in our work, as Paul reminds us: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)

We need to understand that Christians are not just serving God when attending worship meetings, reading the Bible and praying. If we do not see our daily work as serving God, then in God's eyes, we have wasted a significant portion of our lives.

How can we make our spiritual growth more efficient? In addition to worshipping God, reading the Bible, and praying, add your work to the list of pursuits for spiritual growth!

Reading the Bible | https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1TH.4.ESV