1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 English Standard Version Final Instructions and Benediction 12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Paul's final instructions in this first letter have to do with how the church is to treat those who serve the Lord in ministry (likely talking about those who serve in full-time roles, though Paul doesn't say that specifically). Paul focuses less on titles and more on roles and duties--"Those who work among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you." That does not necessarily need to be someone called "pastor," "elder," "bishop" or even "deacon." The qualification here is that these people are serving among that local congregation in a leadership and are providing spiritual leadership and admonishment to that congregations. As we would say in Student Leadership at Liberty University, "It's about towels, not titles" as we studied what it meant to be a servant leader and the example that Jesus set by washing His disciples' feet at the Last Supper.
First and foremost, these people doing the work of the ministry of the church are to be esteemed in love. The next way in which you can help such leaders is to do everything you can to be at peace with one another. Make less conflict so they have less conflict resolution to take care of. We can also help encourage and admonish "spiritual couch potatoes" that there are no bench warmers on the Lord's team. Everyone has a course in the race that He has set before them, and each of us has a unique gifting to help build up the Church and to do the work of The Great Commission. Having a team of church members that is excited to serve one another and to share the gospel in all places at all times by various means and methods that the Lord has equipped them for really warms the heart of the leadership of a church. Too many churches try to put the task of evangelism solely on the shoulders of the pastor (and maybe the Sunday School teachers and a few select others). We are part of an army--some are enlisted, and some are officer, some serve in logistics, others in infantry, and still others in what we might call special forces. There is no one in the reserves though, and no one has to wait to be drafted. There's also no one who is retired from service. No one is too young, too old, or even too disabled. God equips those He calls to do the work of the ministry that He has specifically prepared for them to do. No one, not even the pastor, is equipped to do your work for you. We must be careful to not assume that everyone that is inactive is simply lazy. There are other reasons that people might not be actively engaged. Paul mentions that they may be worn out or burnt out (he calls these people fainthearted). They have been burning the candle at both ends and may need some time to take care of themselves and their families. We should respect that, and we should take care of such people before it gets to this point. There are those who are weak (spiritually immature or have physical limitations) that will need others to come alongside them and assist them. We should be willing to help enable people and encourage people. Even if we aren't called to do their work for them, we may be called to help them accomplish the work that God called them to do. You may not even get any credit for what you do, and that's okay. In all these things (even with the idle that I called "spiritual couch potatoes"), be patient with them. Also, I'll mention here that while we want to do what we can in these areas to encourage and admonish each other, recognize whether you are or are not in an official leadership position at the church. Those in leadership positions should want to allow others in the church to do these things Paul is talking about, but also those not in leadership positions should not hinder the ability of the designated leaders to lead by imagining themselves as some kind of puppet-masters--pulling the strings to control everyone while remaining invisible. That's not a way to love your leaders or to be in submission to their authority or to the Lord who put them in authority. Paul tells the church to do good to each other in all places, and in all cases, at all times. Don't be like the world and take your own vengeance for perceived wrongs against you. Leave vengeance in the hands of the Lord and be a peacemaker, especially among your brothers and sisters in Christ. Have an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude (rejoice in all things). This is a choice we make--it doesn't mean we are thankful for everything we experience, but we remain a thankful and generous person no matter what circumstances we are going through. It is part of our nature to be thankful and generous, not simply a result of temporary happiness, but of permanent joy. We are also to be in constant communication with God about everything. Whether we are in need and lift up a prayer of supplication that is as simple as, "Jesus, help me" or we see creation and it strikes us that we need to worship and adore the Lord like the psalmist did. Prayer should come naturally to us. Yes, we set aside times to pray, but it's also something that can't be scheduled. It's just going to happen, and we need to be okay with that. We should always remember to be thankful for what Jesus has done for us and in us and through us. This should always help us to be thankful in all places and times, even when bad things are happening. Paul also gives some negative commands--things to not do. "Do not quench the Spirit." The spirit is going to convict us of sin, but there are people that want to sear their conscience to the point where they no longer feel conviction or guilt about the sin that they willfully commit. It is like they want to throw water of the fire to quench the flame. We should have no desire to do this if we belong to Christ. Next, we are told to not despise prophecies. That's a hard one for me within the culture today because we only want to think of the word prophecy as meaning something that predicts the future, yet a prophet was one who was a spokesman for the LORD in the Old Testament (usually because His people weren't listening to Him). Often times in the Old Testament, the people's hearts were cold, and they did not listen to the words of encouragement, exhortation, and admonishment that the prophet brought to them, and it was only after that point that the words of condemnation came--even in this though there was almost always words to say that the LORD would not completely destroy His people and that His plan for redemption and salvation for the whole world would continue to move forward. We are to be careful and test the spirits of those who claim to have a word from the Lord because He will not give us a new and different word than is already established in the Word of God, but if a prophet among us stands up and tells a person or a church that they need to repent, and that message is consistent with the revelation of God, then we should not despise that message. In fact, we are to be grateful for it. Ideally, we'd want people to listen to the Holy Spirit in these issues first, but where people are not listening to the Holy Spirit, God is loving enough to send other messengers to warn people, but this needs to always be done with humility. Next, we are not to believe everything we hear from someone that calls themselves a pastor, teacher, or prophet. We are to be like the Bereans and test what we hear against the Scriptures to see if these things that are being said are true. We are only to cling to that which is true, and we are to abstain from all forms of evil. In his benediction, Paul prays for the church that the Lord would sanctify them completely (make them holy and set apart for Him and His plans and purposes in all things--not just some things). He prays that all of them--body, soul and spirt--would be complete and blameless before the Lord (without spot or blemish, missing nothing, and perfectly mature) at the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus. Essentially, this means that we will have nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about at His coming. We'll be fully ready to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven as the Spirit will have done His work to make us look like Jesus (don't worry, God is going to make this happen because none of us will be completely ready for it). He who has called us (that is the Father, Son, and Spirit) will surely complete that which they have started in transforming us into people who completely bear the image of God and are ready to be citizens of a New Heaven and a New Earth. Now for Paul's final thoughts. First, "Pray for us." I'm sure he wanted to say that so many other times in this letter, but he felt compelled to say it before the end. Next, "Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss." This sounds weird to us because we don't kiss each other to greet each other in our culture, but even our greetings to each other should be holy (different than the way the world greets one another). Let's bring this into today's culture. When you say "Hi, how are you doing?" to a brother or sister in Christ, do you really care how they are doing, and did you plan to take the time to stop and listen to their answer, maybe even stop and pray with them about the issues they are facing? If not, why did you ask? Don't say it was because it was expected of you--that's worldly. Now, on the flip side of that, be respectful of the other person's time and maybe ask, "When is a good time for us to talk about that?" if you really want to share something with them. If we would do this one simple thing when we greet each other as Christians and the world saw it, they would say, "See how they love each other?" I think that is the idea here. Then Paul makes them swear with an oath that they will read this letter out loud to all the brothers. I think that means that it was meant to be an open letter not just for their church, but for all the other Christians in all the other churches too. It was first and foremost written to them in that place and time, but it was written to all Christians everywhere. Paul's final words are a way in which he loved to open and sometimes close his letters, "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." We certainly need to hear that, and may we not forget to greet each other with these words to remind each other of the grace that we have freely received and should freely give to each other. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 English Standard Version The Day of the Lord 5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. Last time we talked about the Rapture and how Jesus was coming back for all of His people. It wouldn't be something that only a select few would experience and others would miss out on. While it will happen "in the twinkling of an eye," I would dare say that even the world should take notice of it with the shout and the trumpet call that will proceed it, and the fact that so many people will all disappear from this realm suddenly. Today, Paul discusses what is prophetically known as "The Day of the Lord" (or "The Day of the LORD" in the Old Testament. Since Greek had no word for YHWH, they instead used the word for Adonai in the Greek translation of the Old Testament and in the New Testament, though it is also the Day of the Lord, since Jesus will be the one to bless His people and judge His enemies.)
At a time other than the Rapture, Jesus is going to come "like a thief in the night" (not announcing when He is coming), and not coming to bring peace and salvation to His people. No, this time He is coming to bring destruction on the world that has rejected Him and lived in rebellion against Him (all those who took the mark of the beast upon themselves and worshiped his image). Paul says that it will come on suddenly like birth pangs--when it starts, there is no stopping it. The baby is coming at that point. In the same way, there will be no chance for anyone to say, "Now I will repent and believe now that I see that the Lord's wrath is upon us." There will be no "deathbed confessions" here. Jesus is coming for one reason and one reason alone at this time, and that is to bear the sword against all those who oppose Him. Those who are no longer citizens of the kingdom of darkness but are now citizens of the kingdom of His marvelous light, have nothing to worry about here. This judgment, wrath, condemnation, and destruction are not for them. We should have eyes to see and ears to hear and minds to understand how prophecy is being fulfilled and things are coming closer and closer to the end that the Bible talks about. The fact that Jesus is coming back for the Church sometime soon, and that there is a limited amount of time for all men to make the decision of which kingdom they will be a citizen of (no one can be "Switzerland" and be a "fence-sitter"--you will be on one side or the other side of this issue. You will worship God alone, or you will worship something else, even if that "something else" is yourself). We need to see the spiritual battle that is for the hearts and minds of the people all around us. We need to get up every day ready to battle. We march forward advancing the gospel and taking both land and people away from the kingdom of darkness while we still can. Though our battle is not against flesh and blood (we don't actually go and make war with the nations in the name of the gospel) we must go forth into the nations in every way possible to evangelize and disciple people of every tribe, tongue and ethnicity that that Lord has as a part of His remnant. We have the assurance of our salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, and we know that we are not destined for wrath, but for salvation. We have a sure hope that changes our perspective on everything. Jesus took God's wrath that we deserved so that both in life and in death, we can be with Him. Now He is with us spiritually through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but one day He is coming for us to rescue us from the enemy that is all around and take us to the home that He has prepared for us, and we will physically be with Him forevermore (though the laws of that reality will be different as there will be no more sin, death, disease or corruption to affect us or our bodies. A day will be as 1,000 years and 1,000 years as a single day because we will no longer even notice the passage of time since it will be insignificant to us. We will no longer need to keep track of age as we will not age and we will not have a slow march closer and closer to death). 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 English Standard Version The Coming of the Lord 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. Many of the questions that the Thessalonians had for Paul centered around the big theological term "The Second Coming of Christ." That phrase actually talks about two different events which are the next two topics that Paul addresses in his letter. The first is what we call The Rapture of the Church where Jesus returns in the skies (not setting His feet on the ground) and the dead in Christ will be raised first to meet him in the air and in the "twinkling of an eye" those who are alive in Christ will be transformed to receive a body prepared for the New Heaven and the New Earth like Jesus's resurrected body. They will be raised to live with Him forevermore.
Paul points to the certainty of this resurrection of the saints because of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, because Jesus is the Firstfruits of a greater and better resurrection that is to come. We can point to what God did for Jesus to say that's what God is going to do for those of us who are in Christ. There will be an announcement made to all the earth with the shout of an archangel and the sound of the trumpet of God. Like the trumpets in the Old Testament, the trumpet sound could signal a holy convocation where all of God's people were to gather together at the Tabernacle/Temple or a call to battle/war. I think this is somewhat both as all the saints will be gathered together in the heavenly Temple, but the LORD is going to start to pour out His wrath on the unbelievers who are left during the time that we call The Great Tribulation. There is some question about if the Church will go through any of the Tribulation, but that is not covered in today's passage (though we may get a partial answer to that in tomorrow's passage, and I've already given my thoughts on this as we studied the book of Revelation recently). Paul encourages the believers in Thessalonica to know that no matter what they are going through, God is faithful to keep His promise to them. They can hang onto this hope to help them get through any hard times that they are going through. He tells them to encourage each other with these words. It is clear from additional teachings on this topic later that the people were concerned about some other questions we will address later: 1) Did we miss the Second Coming? 2) How soon will it happen? 3) Since it is happening "soon," should they still be engaged in day-to-day tasks like their jobs? 4) How should they live in light of this truth and expectation? 5) What is going to happen to their friends and family members who are not ready for the Rapture to come? Some of these questions will be addressed in chapter 5, but others will have to wait until Paul writes them a second letter called 2 Thessalonians or they will have to share letters written to other churches to get the full teaching of Paul and the other apostles on these issues. Though these letters were written to specific congregations with specific questions and issues, these letters were also open letters to all the churches and the Church as a whole. We even see instructions for these letters to be shared with other churches sometimes. Thankfully, all these letters have been preserved for us today in the Bible and we have them all in one place and can compare the epistles of the various apostles to the various churches and see how one Spirit game them one message that was not the message of man, but the message of God Himself. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 English Standard Version A Life Pleasing to God 4 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. After three chapters, Paul is "finally" done with his introductory remarks and is ready to get to the meat and potatoes of the letter. We may think with the word "finally" here that he's on his last paragraph, but he's not, but only chapters 4 and 5 are left. He starts the body of the letter by urging the Church that they should walk in a way similar to what they had seen from Paul and his companions (follow the example set for them), and in any area where Paul and his companions had failed or left an incomplete example to follow, the Church is to walk in such a way as to be pleasing to God. Paul tells them that he knows they are already doing this, but they need to keep on doing it, because they will have to work at and fight for the good instructions (the gospel) that they were given by Paul and his companions. Many will come along and ask them to compromise, and it will be easy to do so if the Church is trying to please men instead of seeking to please God.
Paul tells them that God wants them to be sanctified (to be made holy--set apart for His use and purposes), and to abstain from sexual immorality and all kind of behavior that uses their bodies as instruments of sin. Instead, their bodies are to be seen as temples of the Holy Spirit and treated as holy and with great honor. We do not desecrate the temple of the Holy Spirit by letting our passions and lusts (for food, alcohol, sexual pleasure, etc.) reign over our mortal bodies. We also don't let our emotions control us and have fits of rage, outbursts of anger, or times where we let jealousy, greed, envy, erotic love, or other feelings lead us to sin--especially watch out that these emotions don't cause us to sin against another brother or sister in Christ. The world may be fickle and controlled by their emotions, but we should be sober-minded and self-controlled (really Spirit-controlled). God has not called us to live the lives of impurity that we were living while we were walking in darkness and part of the kingdom of this world when we were controlled by the flesh and servants of the world and the devil. No, God has called us to be holy and set apart as ambassadors of Him and His Kingdom. We are now new creations that have received the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ whose resurrection power is alive and at work within us to make all things new. We are now children of God by Adoption and no longer children of the devil. We are citizens of the Kingdom of His marvelous light, so we are no longer to walk in the way of darkness. We are to be on the narrow (and hard) road that leads to life and no longer be on the broad (and easy) way that leads to destruction. God has not simply called us to have a salvation experience where we said a prayer and got our "fire insurance," but to be transformed and go through a metamorphosis that is a permanent change like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly or coal that becomes a diamond. We are not saved so that we have license to keep on sinning, but we are saved to break the power and curse of sin over us so that we might be freed from that slavery and captivity which we were born into in order that we may willingly become slaves of righteousness. We desire to serve the Lord with gladness and to live in a way that pleases Him and glorifies Him. With that in mind, Paul also has some instructions for how they are to treat their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They already had a brotherly love and affection for one another that drove them to love sacrificially and put the interest of others above their own interests. Paul said they were already acting this way towards all of their brothers and sisters in Christ in Macedonia and the surrounding area, and that all he wanted to tell them on this matter was a word of encouragement to keep up the good work. He warned them not to be busybodies that were always in each other's business, but to live quiet lives tending to their own lives and affairs (don't try to be the Holy Spirit in someone else's life to tell them what you think they should be doing, how they should be raising their children, and so on. You take care of yourself and your home and let God tell them how to take care of their lives and homes, except in the case where there are clear issues of sin where you are attempting to help a brother or sister see a blind spot and help restore them.) In this way, everyone will be subject to the Lord and the elders that He has put over them, but God has given each man responsibility for the affairs of his life, including the works of his hands and the issues related to family. We are to be salt and light wherever God puts us, but that is going to look different for each one of us based off of the equipping that the Lord has given to us. In this way, our conduct will be part of a living testimony to others about our faith because our words and our works will speak together in harmony. We will not say one thing and do another, and we will live in such a way where we will hopefully not be indebted to anyone and therefore enslaved to the one who is the lender. We should make wise use of the talents and resources that have been given to us to take care of ourselves and our families and to enable us to do the work of the ministry that the Lord has called us to do. Of course, we support those who are working in full-time ministry (pastors, full-time missionaries and so on), but we encourage fiscal responsibility across the board, even for those in ministry. We'll be told in other places in Scripture that if a man does not provide for himself and his family, he will be seen as being worse than the Gentiles of the world that are pagan and godless--even they know how to care for their own. If we live in such a way, the world will not want to listen to our message because it will appear that they already have something better, though we know Christ is of immeasurable value. 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13 English Standard Version Timothy's Encouraging Report 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you-- 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Lat time we talked about how Paul was concerned for his spiritual children that he had left them in a vulnerable state and that one of the many spiritual predators out there would try to devour them. He was so concerned for them that he sent Timothy to check on them, lead them, and encourage them, even though Timothy was helping to take care of Paul at this point. It was a huge sacrifice for Paul to give up the person that was taking care of him to take care of this church that needed some face-to-face encouragement.
Apparently, Timothy's mission was a success, and he has returned to Paul with good news from the church in Thessalonica. They had not forgotten Paul or his team, and they have been praying for them. This makes Paul and his team want to visit them even more. Although Paul sent Timothy to the church to comfort and encourage them, it is the church that has been able to comfort and encourage Paul. Paul is certain that they are standing fast in the Lord, and for this he gives thanks that their faith has not been lost, has not wavered and has not been shaken. All they can do to thank God for this gift they have received is to continue to pray earnestly for the members of this local assembly. Night and day, they pray "most earnestly" for them that they may see them face-to-face and be able to help supply anything that is lacking in their faith (have a chance to really disciple them and help them grow to spiritual maturity). Paul then prays for them in that moment that God would direct their paths to cross again, and that the Holy Spirit would make their love for each other increase so that it is as strong as the love that Paul has for each one of them. Then Paul asks the Lord to establish their hearts so that they would be blameless in holiness (that they would be perfectly set apart as chosen instruments for the Lord's service, not to be used in any "common" or "profane" way) at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, with His heavenly angels, for His saints. That's a powerful prayer request, and something that was should be prepared to pray for each other as well--both individually and corporately. 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 English Standard Version Paul's Longing to See Them Again 2:17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 3 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. We spoke last time about how Paul felt that the Thessalonian believers were his spiritual children. As a spiritual father to them, he longed to see them again, because he was torn away from them before he was ready to leave. Writing letters back and forth is good but doesn't take the place of seeing them face-to-face. Paul says that over and over again he has tried to come and visit them, but Satan has hindered them every time. Paul says the only thing he will have to be proud of (to boast of) at the coming of the Lord Jesus would be the people that he led to the Lord and discipled--no wonder Satan has opposed Paul, because he doesn't want to see more people come to the kingdom of God from the kingdom of darkness. For this reason, Paul calls his spiritual children his glory and joy (I'm sure many parents feel the same way about their physical children).
Even with all the attacks that Satan threw at them, they knew that someone had to get back to the Thessalonian church, even if Paul wasn't the one that could make it. So, Paul and likely Silas were left alone in Athens and Timothy was sent back to the Thessalonians, so that he could help to establish that congregation and exhort them so that their faith would be built up. They were sure the people had heard of the afflictions they were suffering, and some may have questioned if they should believe the gospel that Paul preached if he was afflicted like this (some may have seen it as a sign that God was punishing him, others that they were going to experience the same thing and they weren't sure they wanted that). Paul tells them that he's known from the beginning that he was destined to suffer for the sake of Christ and the gospel, and that they should not be dissuaded or discouraged by the things happening to Paul and his team because they knew to expect all these types of things, and they were ready and willing to go through them for the sake of the gospel. Paul doesn't directly link himself to the prophets of the Old Testament here, but in other places he does. The apostles didn't expect to be treated any different by the Jews or the Gentiles as the prophets--people don't usually like when someone comes into town with a message that they are sinners in need of repentance, even if it is accompanied with a message of how God has made a way of salvation. Paul could not bear to see them continue to suffer, so he sent those that were responsible for helping to take care of him to help take care of his spiritual children. He would rather they be taken care of then he be taken care of, even in this time of affliction for him where he probably needed more help. Paul's concern was that somehow Satan had gotten to these young, immature believers and tempted them in some way to give up the true faith for something that was not the real gospel--something that couldn't save them. What concern Paul had for these people that he was willing to sacrifice his own physical wellbeing to make sure that their spiritual wellbeing was intact! 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16 English Standard Version Paul's Ministry to the Thessalonians 2 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last! Paul goes back and gives a slight recap of what his time ministry was like there in Thessalonica. He had been persecuted in Philippi before he arrived, and the people saw that he was fully committed to the message he was preaching because of the trouble and hardship he was willing to endure. Paul reminds them also that this is what the Lord appointed him for when he was chosen as an apostle, and the fact that he was chosen by God was validated by God with many miraculous signs and wonders. Therefore, Paul's works was done to please God who had already declared him to be approved by the Father, Son and Spirit, but we need to live in our lives in a way that shows that we are approved by God and that we are workmen who need not be ashamed.
Unlike the false teachers that the Thessalonians are familiar with, Paul did not seek glory for himself. Even with the signs and wonders that were performed, all glory was given to God. They were merely ambassadors there to proclaim a message from their king, and it was the king, not the ambassador who was great. Paul took care of the Thessalonians and a gentle way, like a mother that takes care of an infant that is still nursing. Paul feels like these church members are his own spiritual children, so he has an affectionate care for them, and a desire to see them and be with them (as we'll see next time). That being said, Paul was not effeminate, and he took on the masculine role of a father to them being their teacher and protector for as long as he was able to be with them. He worked to provide for the expenses of his ministry so that he did not burden them with these expenses (even though it was his right as an apostle to expect them to pay his way). He lived his life in such a way that his walk was described as both holy, righteous and blameless (this is something all of us should hope to have said about us and our conduct before God and men). As mentioned earlier, Paul also acted as a father to these young believers encouraging and exhorting them (and I think the Idea of disciplining them as necessary is wrapped up in there, as that is a main biblical responsibility of a father, and we see Paul talk about that responsibility with other churches. like the church in Corinth). They charged these church members (make them know it was their solemn duty) to live lives that were worthy of God, His kingdom, and His glory. As my friend Phil would say, "That is a high calling." The Thessalonians heard all this and received it joyfully as the word of God, and not merely the word of men. And, since it was the Word of God, they accepted it as being able to accomplish in them everything that they were commanded to do, for God would not command us to do something that He was not able to do in and through us. That's part of the gospel--that it is God's will to change us so that He lives in us and works in and through us to make us more into the image of Christ. In fact, that is Paul's next thing he talks about--we are to be imitators of God, but they had an example to follow as they tried to imitate the churches in Judea that were led by the Apostles. Though these Christians were Gentiles, they suffered the same kinds of things that their Jewish brothers suffered (and the Romans didn't treat them any better just because they were Gentiles). The same people that killed the Messiah and the prophets that foretold His coming would be happy to kill His apostles and disciples, no matter what their ethnicity. Satan is opposed to God and all of His people--Jewish and Gentile believers alike. We know Satan especially hates the Jews because of the covenants that God made with them, and that through them, the Messiah was born, and that they still have an important role in taking the gospel to the whole world and proclaiming the name of Jesus as their Messiah before He returns. Satan wants to do everything within his power to try to keep God from fulfilling His promises. Now Satan is acting through men to try to prevent the gospel from going forth to the Gentile nations that have historically been part of the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of darkness, but God has opened the Door (that is Jesus) so that all men can become citizens of the kingdom of His marvelous light. This was always God's plan (we can see it the book of Isaiah the prophet). Because such men have allied themselves with the devil and his kingdom, and they have rejected the Lord and His kingdom, those that die in this state of rebellion or are in this state of rebellion at the end of days will have the wrath of God poured out on them. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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