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Caleb Brink

Dr. Brian Maxwell

EN122 Writing Across The Disciplines

9 March 2017

The Importance Of Knowing

In the 2012 film, Parental Guidance, a forward-thinking mother invites her traditionally-

minded grandparents to come babysit her children while she and her husband are out of town.

During the film, the audience witnesses the hugely different parenting styles collide until

Grandfather Artie Decker vocalizes his complaints about the ‘new normal” with a short

monologue; “I'm sorry! I can't take this anymore! This whole "teachable moments" of protecting

their self-esteem and nobody gets punished and every game ends in a tie! All I hear is "Use your

words. Use your words," but the word they never use with the kids is "No” (Parental Guidance).

It’s become a recent trend in mainstream media to shield children from any form of

opposition or failure. While its intentions are certainly noble, it only succeeds in giving children

a massive disadvantage when adulthood sneaks up on them and the same rules no longer apply.

This act completely undermines the virtue of failure as well as the importance of tests and trials.

Many a child has certainly asked “Why do we have to take tests?” In response, a wise teacher

would respond “To see what you know.” Knowing is important because knowledge changes

people. In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, Paul writes, encouraging the Thessalonian church to “know”

God’s instructions, “know” God’s will, and to realize how that knowledge changes people.

1 Thessalonians 4:2 contains the first mention of “knowing” and its importance. “For

you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.” This verse without any

context contains a strong message for the reader. It implies that the reader knows what is right,
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knows what commands they ought to follow, but they must not be obeying the commands that

they know to be right, as the rest of the passage carefully unpacks that statement. In The

Message, the verse starts out “You know the guidelines we laid out for you...” Regardless of the

translation, the interpretation is the same; Paul is reinforcing that the Thessalonian Church must

do what they know to be right. The ESV Study Bible contains a note for this verse that changes

the tone and nature from that of a loving father to a fearsome leader. “Instructions (in the Greek,

parangelia) was originally a military word that usually denotes authoritative commands” (ESV

Study Bible). This interpretation shows just how important Paul thought this was. The first

major lesson found in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 is that believers must “know” what God expects of

them and then commit to obey the commandments found throughout scripture.

The second thing Paul notes in the passage is that believers can “know” the will of God.

At least in American culture, immense value is placed on “knowing who you are” and “finding

out your purpose” and that obsession doesn’t end with the Church. Most Christians find

themselves asking those very same questions, albeit adding a spiritual twist. All too often, the

confused twenty-something will ask “What is God’s will for my life?” and this passage can clue

that young person into part of it. Part of God’s will for His followers is to obey His

commandments. In 4:3-5, Paul writes to the Thessalonian Church that they “know what

instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this the will of God, your sanctification:

that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body

in holiness and honor not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles…”

The application for such a verse goes so much further than mere sexuality though. The

NLT Life Application Study Bible writes in further detail regarding what that passage looks like

in everyday life. “The Bible teaches that holiness is not a state of being that you must
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manufacture on your own with hard work and good deeds and constant fear of failure. Instead,

being made holy occurs in the process of living the Christian life” (Life Application Study

Bible). Holiness doesn’t magically occur overnight, it’s an everyday choice that will almost

always be uncomfortable and unnatural, but that is exactly what the Gospel is; uncomfortable

and unnatural but ultimately beautiful. The second major lesson found in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

is that believers must “know” the will of God for them and live a life that reflects that new-found

purpose

The third and final point Paul makes in this passage is also found in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-

5. At the end of verse five, he makes a distinction. He begs the Thessalonian church to control

their lust differently than those “who do not know God.” The ESV Study Bible provides a look

at the context for this verse; “Paul is concerned that some of the Thessalonian Christians may fall

back into their former ways” (ESV Study Bible). It must be remembered the Thessalonian

Church was made up of mostly Gentiles, not Jewish converts, so Paul was concerned that they

would go back to their pagan roots. While this verse is certainly important to the Thessalonians,

it also carries a strong message for the Church in 21st century America. In today’s world,

Christians carry a reputation for being just-like-everyone-else, and that shouldn’t be the case.

The Church must be counter-cultural and live differently than those who do not know God

because they’re lives have been shaken and changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The third

major lesson found in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 is that believers must “know” how the Gospel

changes people.

For many years, the Church has seemed to promote blind faith over knowledge and

evidence, and while in some respects that’s healthy, in other ways, that’s completely idiotic.

Knowledge is crucial to the Christian experience and that’s a fact that Paul certainly seems to
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endorse in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. In closing, a user from community-based website, Quora,

Madhusudhansj Madhu helped to answer the age-old-question of why knowledge is important.

“I think knowledge is the only thing which you cannot lose or forget. It is not a part of you; it is

you. You are the projection of the knowledge you've gained so far. You are what you know, you

do what you know, you say what you know, you react based on what you know, your fears

originate from what you know. What you know is called knowledge isn't it” (Madhu). This

quote must remind the Church to be vigilant in knowing God’s instructions, knowing God’s will,

and knowing how that knowledge changes people.

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Works Cited

ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016.

Life Application Study Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016.

Madhu, Madhusudhansj. “What Is the Importance of Knowledge?” Quora, 19 Sept. 2017,

www.quora.com/What-is-the-importance-of-knowledge-1.

“Parental Guidance.” Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2013.