By Diane Barstow
“Paul and Sylvanus and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor, of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”
1 Thessalonians 1, New American Standard Bible
Last week I gave you a homework assignment. It was to read chapter 1 and look for these three topics - prayer, reputation, and regeneration.
Verses 1-5
“Paul and Sylvanus and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor, of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”
Grace (favor) was a common polite Greek greeting and peace (shalom - both the peace of God and peace with God) was a Hebrew greeting. Thus, by saying both, Paul blessed both legs of the church of Jesus Christ. And as he paired them together, side-by-side, he indicated equality for the Jewish and gentile believers.
Immediately I noticed that he called this little band of new believers a
church. The word church means ‘called out ones;’ and they certainly were
called out of dead religion and idol worship. More on this coming up. Also
noteworthy is Paul’s placement of this church securely IN God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. They were not his disciples, but the
blood-bought bride of Jesus, hidden with Christ in God, in which they live
and move and have their being.
In these 5 verses we find our first application - prayer. Not just personal
prayer, but prayer described in three ways. Always praying or constantly
(w/o intermission, incessantly, w/o ceasing, uninterruptedly, w/o omission)
making mention of you, and bearing in mind. These three facets of prayer
are important to include in our prayer ministries.
First, Paul never stopped bringing them before the Lord, with a grateful heart - think Philippians 4, verse 6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We know that Paul was anxious for this church and took these thoughts captive and surrendered them to the Lord in prayer. 2nd, the words made mention seem to be very mild and passive, but the actual meaning is one of recollection, or recital as often as I remember you. Not casually, or without value. 3rdly, bearing in mind, indicates a careful consideration of their circumstances and praying accordingly.
Also, we see that Paul says that WE give thanks to God always, WE make mention of you in our prayers, WE constantly bear in mind your good fruit - work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope (in Jesus Christ)! All of these things they recount in the presence of our God and Father. What stands out to me is that Paul and Silas and Timothy are united together as a prayer team for the churches. Which brings me to my first challenge to you ladies - do you have a regular prayer time with a group or a partner? The Castons lead an open prayer time every Monday at 11:30am in The Lounge, that’s another opportunity to enter into regular group prayer. Even the tiniest, weakest bit of faith is enlarged and edified as you agree in prayer with your brothers and sisters. Remember teamwork makes the dream work!
Overarching all of Paul’s complements to the Church for is the knowledge
that they were suffering severe persecution at the time.
Work of faith - The works required and approved by God, wrought by faith, the course of conduct which springs from faith. The Greek word is ergon, think ergonomics!
Labor of love - of agape (unconquerable benevolence) the unconditional love of God and empowered by God - This is labor (Greek word kopas) to which love prompts, and which voluntarily assumes and endures trouble and pains for the salvation of others.
Faith produces, love motivates! “Now, someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ But I say, ‘How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.’” James 2:18 NLT version
Steadfastness of hope - not empty wishing but is characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. The quality of hope relies on the object or person one hopes upon or in. He commends them for these graces they are displaying.
“In Luke chapter 8, Jesus tells the parable of the Sower. He speaks about
the person who sows the seed, the seed itself, and the types of soil, and
how the condition of the soil affects the yield of what was sown. I wonder
If Paul wasn't thinking of this very parable when he was writing to this
church. He was very encouraged by the excellent yield of fruit from the
seed, the Word of God, which he had sown in the hearts of the
Thessalonians.
Paul adds a word of confirmation of their calling as beloved by God, His children by saying that these graces, this good fruit is evidence of God’s choice of them. “BTW ‘beloved by God’ was a phrase which the Jews applied only to supremely great men like Moses and Solomon, and to the nation of Israel itself. Now the greatest privilege of the greatest men of God's chosen people has been extended, extended to the humblest of Gentiles.” Barclay’s commentary. He also confirmed their choice by God by highlighting 4 signs. 1) The Word of God came with power - dynamis, inherent power in a thing by virtue of its nature. 2) Their reception of the Gospel was with confidence or conviction - plerophoria, most certain confidence only possible by the inner confirmation of the Holy Spirit. 3) Their inflamed desire to be Christlike (to be conformed to the image of His Son, (Romans 8:29) and to follow Paul’s (et al) example. 4) And finally, the existence of joy that the Gospel had brought (Romans 15:13).
“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in
the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of
men we proved to be among you for your sake.” This is exactly the opposite
of Matthew 13:58 where Jesus was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth. “And
He did not many miracles there because of their unbelief.” We don’t take
this to mean that the supernatural acts of God persuaded them, but rather
that the supernatural acts of God confirmed the word that Paul was speaking
and that they were believing. Also, Paul and company lived their walk
without hypocrisy as examples of godliness before them.
“You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word
in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an
example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of
the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but
also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have
no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of
reception we had with you…” “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The
skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard, yet their message has gone out throughout the
earth, and their words to all the world.” Psalm 19:1-4 New Living
Translation
As these new believers coalesced into a loving, healthy church they followed
the missionaries’ examples of godliness. In fact, the reputation of their
faith, and of the Missionaries themselves, sounded forth like thunder or a
trumpet! So much so that as they traveled around, they were met with reports
about the Thessalonian church and their own ministry! What kind of
reputation does our church have? What about you? What kind of reputation do
you have? We as ‘consistent congregants’ are living books (epistles) that
people read (2 Corinthians 3:2). Our growth, our reputation reflects on our
pastor and ultimately our God!
“And how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to
wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus,
who rescues us from the wrath to come.”
Finally, we come to my favorite verse in this chapter! Paul sums up their regeneration in 4 points:
They turned to God
They turned from idols
They serve the living and true God
And they eagerly await Jesus, the Son of God - their Rescuer.
The Seed (from Luke 8) could have withered under the glaring persecution which they endured if their roots had been shallow. It's important to note that growth of a plant takes place both downward and upward. We develop deep roots which provide stability and a beautiful green plant that reaches for the sun!