Passage
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:2 (WEB)
Nearby Context
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brothers, we beg and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, that you abound more and more.
1 Thessalonians 4:2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality,
1 Thessalonians 4:4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and honor,
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "instructions", "gave", "through", "lord", and "jesus". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "instructions" 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 brothers we beg and exhort..." into verse 3's "For this is the will of God...", so "instructions" 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 "instructions" and "gave" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.