Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
My Understanding: In this first chapter of the book of 1 Thessalonians, Paul offered many encouraging words to the church there. Among them, he said that they had become “a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” Not only that, but because of their testimony for Christ, “The Lord’s message” had rung out, not only in these two places, but their faith had “become known everywhere.” So, their lives and witness for Jesus Christ served, not only as a model to the church fellowships of their day, but to us, as well.
Paul began this letter to the church of the Thessalonians by thanking God for them. And, he had good reason to thank the Lord for them because of their life and witness for Jesus Christ, and for the gospel; for the role model they provided to all God’s church everywhere, and because of their love for Christ’s church, his body. He said that he and the other apostles continually remembered in prayer before God their work (labor) produced by faith and prompted by love, and their endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith, Hope and Love
Their “work” was produced (generated) by their “faith,” not by works of the flesh. We know that true faith involves turning from sin and turning to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ, allowing God’s Holy Spirit to do the work of spiritual transformation in our hearts as we appropriate to our lives what Jesus Christ did for us when he died on the cross for our sins. This kind of faith produces works of righteousness that are of the Spirit of God and that are in keeping with repentance - works that come from a heart of obedience to God’s will for our lives and what he desires of us, i.e. what he wants us to do, not from what we choose to do for God from our own minds and hearts, thinking that God will be pleased with us. In contrast to works done in the flesh, then, are these works of faith. These are the kinds of works to which James referred when he stated that our faith, absent of the kind of deeds that are done in the humility that comes from wisdom, is a dead faith and is a useless faith.
Their “labor” was prompted by “love,” i.e. by God’s love for them, and by his love that was alive within them, stimulating and prodding them to love others via acts of kindness, love and mercy. Human love can lead us to show kindness to others, as well, yet human love is based in us, i.e. in our human flesh, and thus it can fail and will fail, and is dependent upon how we feel. As well, human love can be greatly hindered by the actions of others toward us. Divine love is based in our God and in his love, which is perfect (pure) love. When we exercise this kind of divine love in our labors, first of all we will be led of the Spirit of God, we will have the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us in leading and guiding us, and this kind of love will not be dependent upon how we feel or upon how others treat us, because we will love others with God’s love, and we will trust the Holy Spirit within us to give us all that we need to do his work.
Their “endurance” was inspired by their “hope” in our Lord Jesus Christ. This kind of hope is not the kind that is merely wishful thinking. This hope is based in a solid belief in Jesus Christ and in all of God’s many promises to us. Based upon this hope, we are assured of eternal life in heaven with God for all who truly believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Based upon this hope, we have the promise of our Lord’s soon return to get us, his bride, to be with him forever. One day all our tears will be wiped from our eyes, for there will be no more pain and no more sorrow, for the old order of things will have passed away and everything will have become new. Based on this hope we also have the assurance of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ for our sins. This is true hope! This hope promises us deliverance from bondage to sin, and it promises us that we will not have to pay the ultimate penalty for our sins, though it does not promise that God will not discipline us. He disciplines those he loves. And, because of this hope we can endure whatever this life throws at us, because it is Christ in us, the hope of glory, who gives us the strength.
Evidence of Faith
Paul continued with his encouraging words to the church when he stated clearly and with confidence that the church of the Thessalonians were loved by God and that God had chosen them. The evidence of their relationship with Jesus Christ was that they had received the gospel message, not merely as simply words spoken by men, but as the words of God spoken through the power of the Holy Spirit working within their hearts to convict their hearts of sin. And, the fact that the power of the Holy Spirit had penetrated their hearts with deep conviction of sin and of their need of a Savior, namely Jesus Christ, was evidenced in the fact that they followed the example of the apostles and they became disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ in following his example and in obeying his commands. True faith involves repentance and obedience to Christ. We cannot have true faith in Christ apart from repentance and obedience. The word of God bears this out over and over again.
Another evidence of their commitment to follow Jesus Christ was that they chose to follow the Lord Jesus in spite of severe suffering. In the USA, we the church, as a whole, have experienced this kind of decision-making to follow our Lord, with the full knowledge of what it will cost us, so little compared to those in the rest of the world. And, I believe that is why we, as the church, have become so lazy and apathetic about this kind of true commitment to Jesus. Many people over history in numerous countries and cultures throughout the world have known that when they chose to believe in Jesus Christ that it would mean being rejected by family members, being thrown out of families, in fact, being persecuted severely and even killed for their faith and their testimony for Jesus Christ.
When we come to Christ under those circumstances, we don’t have time to play games with God, or to be casual about our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is all or none. Who would risk being killed for their faith if they did not take God and their commitment to Jesus Christ seriously? So, even though they knew the cost, they welcomed the message with joy that was given to them by the Holy Spirit of God – the message of their salvation.
Yet another evidence of their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ was that they had turned to God from their idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for Jesus Christ to return for his bride. Their idols were probably actual false gods that they made with their hands and that they literally bowed to. So, they gave up those idols to follow Jesus. Today our idols come in different forms, but they are still idols. An idol for us is anything that robs our hearts of our pure devotion to Jesus Christ and our commitment to follow him wherever he leads us, and robs us of our commitment to obey him in all things. The Bible says that where our “treasure” is, there our hearts will be also. And, the Bible also says that what comes out of our mouths comes from what is in our hearts. Besides our normal obligations to our jobs, families, etc., what consumes most of our thinking and conversations with people? What takes up most of our time, energies and attention? What gets us up early and keeps us up late? What do we live for? Hope for? Get the most excited about?
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are to give up our “idols,” too, which can be sin habits, as well as people, jobs, recreation, education, friendships, status, reputation, etc. Jesus died so we would go free from sin, including freedom from our idols (idolatry is a sin). Jesus rescued us from the penalty of sin (eternal punishment in hell). And God the Father raised his Son from the dead so that through his resurrection in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin, we can be set free from the control and power of sin over our daily lives.
The church was also commended for waiting for their Lord’s return. This may not seem like a big deal, as it appears that we are all waiting. But, waiting involved so much more than merely the knowledge that one day we will go to heaven to be with our Lord. When I think of this kind of waiting, I think of my daughter-in-law who is married to my son who is in the army. He has been sent off to three deployments – one to Iraq and two to Afghanistan. When he was gone, his wife thought about him, she wrote him, they talked on the phone when they could, and they planned for their future together and for when he would get back. She told him how much she missed him, loved him, and how she longed for his return. And, when she knew the time of his return was near, she made preparations for his return. She watched the time and counted the days, and she anxiously awaited the moment when he would get off the plane and would be back in her arms. At least, that is my observation. So, this kind of waiting involves developing our intimate relationship with Jesus Christ while he is gone, in anticipation of his return, and it involves making the necessary spiritual preparations in our own lives, so that we are a bride made ready for her husband.
And, this is why Paul thanked God for them and why they had become a model to all believers, and this is also why the gospel message spread everywhere, because their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was the real thing, and it was proven genuine by how they lived.
Your Life / An Original Work / October 22, 2011
Based off of Colossians 3:1-17
Set your hearts and minds
On things up above
Where Christ sits with God;
Not on earthly things.
For you died and your life
Is now hidd’n with Christ.
When Christ, who is your life, is seen,
You will be with Him.
Your sins, put to death.
Don’t walk in these ways.
Don’t lie to yourselves
Or to others, too.
Since you have taken off
Your old sinful past;
Put on the new self in Jesus,
Get rid of such things.
Therefore, holy ones,
Put on gentleness;
Kindness; patience, too;
Be compassionate.
Bear with one another;
Forgive others, too.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
O’er all, put on love.
Let the peace of Christ
Rule in your hearts now.
You were called to peace.
Be ye so thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell
In you richly now
As you teach and instruct others;
Sing songs unto Christ.
Spoken: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17 NIV 1984).
Song lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/your-life
Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3rBIcdt7uI
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