1 Thessalonians 4:2 (ASV)

Passage

For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Nearby Context

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk, --that ye abound more and more.

1 Thessalonians 4:2 For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, [even] your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication;

1 Thessalonians 4:4 that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "charge", "gave", "through", "lord", and "jesus". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "charge" and "gave", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Finally then brethren we beseech and exhort..." into verse 3's "For this is the will of God...", so "charge" and "gave" belong inside that flow. In 1 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "charge" and "gave" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.