As I have had opportunity to go on a few short-term mission trips over the years, one of the annoying things to me about those trips is the inability, in many cases, to maintain contact with those I have met. There have been at least a few (admittedly, less than there should have been but nonetheless…) times in which I have shared the gospel with an individual only to have to leave soon thereafter without seeing if that person persevered or endured or brought forth fruit. No doubt, many of you know this experience – it is a common one.
If you have had that experience, you can begin to understand Paul’s heart in writing this first letter to the Thessalonians, because this letter stemmed from a similar experience. We read in Acts 17 of Paul’s experience in Thessalonica: Paul and Silas, having just been miraculously released from prison in Philippi came to Thessalonica and began speaking the gospel. As they did this, God opened the ears of some as Luke declares: “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women” (Acts 17:4). This made the Jews jealous, and they formed a mob and sought for Paul and Silas. When they could not find them, they brought some of the believers before the city authorities, accusing them of treason. In the midst of this, Paul and Silas were discreetly hurried out of the city at night and taken to Berea where they spoke the gospel and saw more people converted (Acts 17:10-12). Shortly thereafter, however, the same Jews that caused trouble in Thessalonica came to Berea and stirred up trouble as well – forcing Paul and Silas to flee for Athens.
So, as the background for this letter, we need to understand that Paul had spoken the gospel in Thessalonica and seem fruitful response, but he was not able to stay and make sure that the church was established. In Paul’s own words, he says “we were torn away from you” (1 Thess. 2:17). So Paul, as a sound pastor and preacher, is worried about the perseverance of these professed converts. Because of his anxiety, he had sent Timothy to check on them (1 Thess. 3:1-2), and Timothy brought good news that the believers were standing firm and honoring the Lord (3:6). Having heard that good report, Paul sat down and sent them this letter – a letter that, as we will see, is full of thanksgiving and gratefulness to God for the faithfulness of the Thessalonian Christians.
Understanding this historical background, we will begin this morning by looking at Paul’s brief introduction and opening declaration of thanksgiving. The first verse gives us background information for the letter as it declares: “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace” (1:1). Silvanus and Timothy are listed alongside Paul as authors indicating that they may have been the actual scribes who wrote the letter as Paul dictated it – the rest of the letter makes clear that Paul is the primary author and that the central thoughts are his (3:18; 5:27). This letter is addressed to the Thessalonians, and Paul uses his traditional, and weighty, greeting to them of grace and peace – reminding them of their redemption – before launching into the body of the letter.
The first thing we should notice is the very first thing that Paul declares: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:2). Here we see the apostle Paul (along with Silvanus and Timothy) beginning this letter by making clear to their readers how genuinely grateful they are for the good report they have received about the faithfulness of the Thessalonian believers. There are several facets of Paul’s declaration that we should notice.
The first, and probably most obvious, thing we notice is that Paul is genuinely thankful. It is impossible to read Paul’s words here and fail to notice that Paul has a genuine affection for these people. He is sincerely grateful for what is happening in their lives. Such an attitude is instructive for us because it flows from a heart that genuinely desires the faithfulness of these people. True gratefulness flows from a genuine desire of the heart being fulfilled. Paul, by his overflowing thankfulness – both in these initial verses and throughout the letter – is making clear the deep and earnest desire of his heart is that these people walk in faithfulness. It is vital for us to see this reality and compare Paul’s heart to our own. Do we likewise earnestly desire the faithfulness of others? Do we earnestly long for their perseverance?
We should also notice that Paul gives thanks to God in prayer. This is likewise very instructive for us because it reveals to us a central reality of life – faithfulness is a work of God in the life of an individual. Paul, throughout his letters, consistently demonstrates a big view of God, and this verse is no exception. Paul makes clear that they give thanks “to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in [their] prayers.” Just like the last point about thankfulness, this is instructive to us because it demonstrates an example that we should be following. Paul has heard a good report that the Thessalonians are following the Lord, and one of his primary responses is to fall on his knees and thank God! I fear that, all too often, my failure to pray is a failure to fully comprehend the greatness of God. If we truly understand that it is God who causes people to both want to serve him and to actually serve him (Phil. 2:13), every time we see someone wanting to serve him and serving him, we will thank God.
We should also take note of Paul’s reason for giving thanks to God for the Thessalonians – it is because of their faithfulness to the Lord. He describes his giving thanks as “remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:3). Having understood the previous points, this final point is crucial: Paul is genuinely thankful to God for signs of grace in the lives of the Thessalonians. He is not thankful that they are nice people but that their faith in the Lord is being demonstrated in their faithful obedience. He is not thankful that they are powerful and influential people but that their love is actually moving them to labor and take action. He is not thankful that they think well of him but that they are persevering in their hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Just like the other points we have seen, this is instructive for us is because it makes clear that we should be on the look-out for faithfulness in the lives of others – not just so that we might encourage them but because that faithfulness is brought about by God.
Having seen these realities, we can easily compare ourselves to the example of the apostle Paul in these two brief verses. Paul, overjoyed at the faithfulness of the Thessalonian Christians, encourages them by telling them how thankful he is for them. He expresses this thankfulness by giving thanks to God, constantly remembering the Thessalonians in his prayers. Can we, like Paul, say that we are this emotionally engaged with the welfare of our fellow believers? Can we identify signs of grace in them? Do we identify them? Do we care? Are we genuinely thankful for those signs of grace? Do we routinely give thanks to God for our fellow believers and their faithful perseverance? Do we pray for them at all? These are questions that we must ask ourselves in light of these initial verses.
After his initial declaration of thanksgiving, Paul goes on to make clear why the faithfulness of the Thessalonians causes him to give thanks to God. In short, Paul declares that their faithfulness is evidence that their salvation is genuine. Paul writes, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” (1:4-7). These words of Paul are crucial for understanding the Christian life and we should think about them together.
It is astounding that Paul uses such certain and absolute language in speaking to the Thessalonians as he declares “For we know…that he has chosen you.” What can give Paul such certainty? He makes clear that this certainty comes from the fact that the gospel has come to the Thessalonians not only in word but in power and in the Holy Spirit. Paul’s point is that the speaking of the gospel and the actual working of the gospel – though intimately related – are not identical things. The former (the speaking) can take place without the latter (the working). Paul is rejoicing because both have happened in Thessalonica. He is thankful because he is seeing evidence that the Holy Spirit has empowered the Thessalonian Christians to follow the Lord. He highlights for them that he and his fellow workers had set an example for them of not only knowing the gospel but living in light of it, and he makes clear that they followed that example in living out the gospel. Moreover, Paul points out that the Thessalonians, by following his example before them, actually served as an example themselves “to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1:7).
Implicit in these words of Paul are some foundational realities that we must understand. First, as we have already seen, Paul is making clear that the work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope visible in the Thessalonians is ultimately the product of God’s grace in their lives. This is a humbling reality. Paul understands that the Thessalonians are behaving in this way because the Holy Spirit has been poured into their hearts, so he takes the opportunity of their faithfulness to magnify the God who has brought it about. We should never lose sight of the fact that every good thing comes from above (James 1:16). No good thing originates in us as human beings. Rather, those good things are the fruit of God’s work in and through us. All ultimate praise goes to God and not to human beings. Paul understood this with the Thessalonians.
But he also understood a second foundational reality – the work of God in a person’s life (in this text specifically, the work of God’s election) will inevitably result in fruit and faithfulness. Notice Paul’s logic: the way that he knows that God has worked in the lives of the Thessalonians is because they are evidencing fruit of such a work. The assumption implicit in this reality is that if God is working there will be fruit and, conversely, if there is no fruit, that is sure evidence that God has not worked. To use Paul’s logic, if the gospel had come in word only, there would nothing for which to be thankful in the lives of the Thessalonians.
The importance of this reality cannot be overstated. First, we must understand that a supposed “work of God” in someone’s life is meant to be judged by the fruit it produces. This is why Jesus declared “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Likewise, he declares, “Every healthy tree bears good fruit” (Matt. 7:17). The inevitable results of God’s work in a person’s life are the very sorts of things Paul praises in the Thessalonians: works of faith, labors of love, steadfastness of hope and perseverance in suffering. These are the sure signs of regeneration and conversion because they are signs of the Spirit’s power and work. This is vitally important for us because it also makes clear to us what is not a clear sign of God’s work: having walked an aisle, having prayed a prayer, having extremely elevated emotions at a particular point in time, experiencing certain feelings on a regular basis, etc. These can all be part of a genuine experience, but they are not the proof to which Scripture tells us to look. Paul looked at the fruit of his readers’ lives.
Having expressed his constant attitude of thankfulness to God for the faithfulness of his readers as well as his reason for giving praise to God for that faithfulness, Paul closes this first section of the letter by describing for his readers the incredible effect their faithfulness has had on the surrounding area. After highlighting that the Thessalonians themselves have become an example to those around them, Paul writes, “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and 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 delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1:8-10).
Here Paul gives a striking account of the way the Thessalonians’ testimony has served to advance the gospel. The idea seems to be that the believers in Thessalonica were living out their faith in such a way that it was evident to all who encountered them that they had been radically changed by the power of the Lord. Their faithfulness is such that the word is spreading like wild-fire and the apostles, when they go to preach somewhere, are actually being told by the people themselves of the faith of the Thessalonians. This is not complicated but it is striking, and it should cause us to examine our own lives. Paul goes on to make clear that the message they were declaring included the message of how they had received Paul and the others who came to them – presumably listening to them, caring for them, and then helping them escape the angry mob. The message that was resounding forth from them also included the reality that they had turned from idols to serve God and wait for the return of the resurrected Christ who would save them from the wrath to come. It was this message that was resounding from Thessalonica to the whole surrounding area.
Here it is important for us to notice that it seems fairly obvious that their proclaiming of the word of God was not merely done with their lives – though their lives played a vital role in the spreading of that message. In order for the message of their turning to God and waiting for Jesus to return to get out, they also had to be openly speaking the gospel message. They were being speakers and doers on top of being hearers. And Paul is making clear that the result of their faithfulness was that the message of the gospel was being widely proclaimed.
As we consider the example of this Thessalonian church, we should examine again our own lives. Can it likewise be said of us that our lives cause the area in which we live to resound with the gospel? Is the word of the Lord sounding forth from us? More specifically, can it honestly be said of us that we have turned from idols to serve the living God? Can it be said that we are waiting with hope for the risen Lord to return and save us from the wrath to come? Do our lives validate the message we claim to believe? The answer to all of these questions was “yes” in the lives of the Thessalonians, and we should examine our lives in light of them as well and see if the outcome is as good.
The final part of this text is a resounding restatement of the gospel for all of us – especially those who have not bowed their knee to Jesus Christ and submitted to Him as Lord. We as human beings are by nature God-haters and God-dishonorers. We are sinful people, and – as a result – we are under the condemnation of the law and God’s future wrath awaits us. Knowing this to be the case, God sent Jesus Christ to live a perfectly obedient life that culminated in his dying on the cross to take the punishment that sinners deserved. After he died, God raised him from the dead three days later, and he ascended to heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand – from which he will one day return to judge the living and the dead. Everyone who believes that happened and submits to Jesus Christ as Lord has their sins forgiven and is saved. Moreover, everyone who believes that and submits is transformed by the infusion of the Holy Spirit in their life – just like the Thessalonians. If you have refused to believe that Jesus died and was raised and/or have refused to submit to him, I plead with you today to do so. Believe that Jesus did this and follow Him as a disciple and you will be saved. Your life will be transformed so that you become a radically fruitful part of the Kingdom of God. If you refuse to do this, you need to know that the wrath to come will fall squarely on your head. The culmination of that wrath will be an eternity spent in hell – a terrible place of torment (often described as a place full of fire) and weeping and gnashing of teeth. It will be awful and it will eternal. Turn from your sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and be delivered from that.
For those who are believers, the message of this text has been clear. If we have truly been chosen by God and redeemed, the gospel will rest on us not only in word but in power as the Holy Spirit fills us and equips us. We should examine our lives and walk in the fruit of that Spirit (Galatians 6). Moreover, we should notice the fruit in each other’s lives and thank the Lord constantly in our prayers for each other on account of it. We should encourage each other as Paul encouraged the Thessalonians. And we should glorify God continually as Paul did for His work in the lives of His people. Amen.