Additional Thoughts on 1 Thessalonians – Part One
1THESS 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1THESS 1:2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
1THESS 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
In the last chapter of Colossians we had Paul asking believers to pray for his ministry. In this chapter we have Paul praying for believers.
Paul made mention of them in his prayers and gave God thanks for them. Fellow believers like these are a gift from God and we are to pray and thank God for them.
We learn in verse 3 what type of believers they were. Paul says that they had the work of faith. They had a working faith. That means that they rolled up their sleeves and did something. An example would be that if you had faith that God would honor passing out tracts, then you would get tracts out. If you had faith that God would honor tithing, then you will tithe. They did not have a dead faith, they had a working faith.
Next we see that they had a labor of love. They had the right kind of heart behind their labor.
They also had patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Some people get so wrapped up in Jesus coming back that they lose sight of the work that He has left us to do. As Christians we have the sure 100% positive hope that Jesus is coming back. He is coming, but don’t be impatient about it.
Hope in Jesus should bring patience in all areas of our work for Him.
Verse 3 also says, “in the sight of God and our Father” They realized that everything they did God was watching and they labored accordingly.
How we all need to constantly keep in mind that God is watching everything we do. Just think how things would change if Christians realized the truths in just verse 3 and acted accordingly.
1THESS 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
1THESS 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
1THESS 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.
The gospel came to them not in word only, but also in power. Men had to go and tell them the great news of a Savior who died for their sins. But along with those words must be something else. Without which, nothing will happen for God. What must accompany the telling of the gospel? The power of the Holy Ghost. He must bear witness to the words you say. He opens the eyes; He brings the conviction, and without this souls will not get saved.
One of the big fallacies of the so called modern Christian groups is that they are looking the wrong place for help in getting people saved. They try new programs, and they try softening the message, they try using the same music that the lost use on Friday night to party. Our music was never intended to be used to win the lost. Our music is to be different than the worlds. It is for praising a Holy God.
What we need to do is simply listen to what the Bible clearly says. It is the preaching of the Word of God accompanied by the convicting power of the Holy Ghost that saves souls. What we need to do is humble ourselves and pray for God’s power to accompany the word of God as it goes forth.
1THESS 1:7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
1THESS 1:8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
The Thessalonians were idol worshippers who heard the Gospel and accepted it and became new creatures in Christ. They were saved, born again, adopted into God’s family. And what happened next to them is what is supposed to happen. They changed! They stopped what they did before and became followers of Jesus. They now had a work of faith and labor of love and they sounded out the word of the Lord in Macedonia and Achaia. In other words they got seriously involved in telling others.
And other Christians took notice and talked about the faith and work of the Thessalonians and thus the news of what they were doing in faith and in love for Jesus was spread to other Christians. They because a great example and no doubt an encouragement to other Christians to do likewise.
They understood how to properly wait for Jesus to return.
1THESS 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
You do not wait for Jesus to return by sitting on the couch! You properly wait for Jesus to come on your feet doing a work of faith and love to please Him.
1THESS 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
Salvation is based on belief and grace and not of works. The question then arises, what kind of belief saves. The answer is a repentant belief. You have to believe with a repentant heart. You have to be sorry for your sin and turn from it.
Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Repentance is a change of mind. A real change of mind that will result in a change of direction. It is a repentant belief that saves. We see an example of it here in verse 9.
how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
These people turned from their idols and turned to God. They stopped serving idols and started serving the true and living God. The serving God did not save them. The serving God is a natural result of their believing with a true repentant belief.
Someone who says that they are saved and yet has a Hindu god altar in their home that they also worship is not saved. You cannot add Jesus to your idols. When someone truly gets saved they will leave serving their idols.
1THESS 2:1 For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:
1THESS 2:2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.
1THESS 2:3 For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
1THESS 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
Paul says that they did not easily and immediately believe the Gospel and get saved. He says they were bold in our God to speak unto them the gospel of God with much contention.
That means that at first they argued against it. Contention means argument, conflict, and disagreement.
This is actually common. Sinners do not like to hear the gospel. They love darkness rather than light. And so many will use all kinds of strange beliefs to sooth their conscience which lets them keep their heads in a hole like an ostrich.
When someone comes along and challenges their wrong thinking and gives them the truth, the natural response for many is to fight against it.
And notice Paul gave the truth out the right way with no deceit or guile. The main thing was to do it to please God which knows and works in the hearts of men.
And God did work. They did get saved and Paul later wrote this letter to them.
1THESS 2:5 For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
1THESS 2:6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.
1THESS 2:7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
1THESS 2:8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
1THESS 2:9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.
Motive is important. The motivation for Paul was not to build status or an empire. Paul was not in it for money or free housing and insurance. (I have known preachers who are in it for those reasons).
Paul genuinely cared. He was primarily concerned with their souls, and pleasing God.
1THESS 2:10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
Paul believed in holy and just living. Living in a manner that was pleasing to the Lord. Paul and those with him lived in such a way that they would have a good testimony. They said no to themselves to anything that might bring reproach. It says they lived unblameably. That is quite a statement.
1THESS 2:11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
1THESS 2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
Paul and the workers with him not only believed that they should live holy, just, and blameless lives, but they also expected all Christians to. They exhorted believers to live as they lived; to walk as they walked. Christians are to walk worthy of God. That my friend is a tall order. Many people will claim to get saved, and then they will still live like the lost do. You do not see much holy living among most who claim Christianity. They still drink booze, listen to awful worldly music, watch sex and violence on TV, use foul language, and so on. I have sometimes been shocked over the years to see many people one minute give some lip service to loving Jesus or belief in the Bible and then the next minute they are praising some rock band, alcohol, cussing, or a variety of other things that cannot be defended as walking worthy of God. This is the sad state of professing Christianity as a whole.
Mention it and they will call you names. Never mind that living Holy, just and unblameable is the Biblical way for a Christian to live. Living Holy is only reasonable. Not to get saved, but because you are already saved. The Bible exhorts and charges every Christian to live this way. All of us need to walk worthy of God.
1THESS 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
All true preachers of the Word of God are thankful for the same thing. Paul was thankful it says without ceasing because they received the word of God as it is and that is as the word of God. It is not the words of men. They did not receive it as just the vague thoughts of God. They did not receive only part of it. They did not play games and decide which parts were the word of God and which parts were not. There was no “higher” criticism here. They did not fall for what we call modern scholarship. They did not change a word here and a verse there. They did not leave out words or entire verses like many do today.
They just simply accepted the word of God as the very words of God. And instead of messing with what God said they realized who said it and treated it accordingly. We should have a great respect for the word of God. We should read and hear it preached as it is the word of God. We should receive it and then apply it. There is a benefit to this attitude. “which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” The word of God when received appropriately will be effective in doing a work in our lives. The word of God is powerful to change us. We need to receive it for what it is, the very words of God, and let it do its work in our lives.
1THESS 2:14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
1THESS 2:15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
1THESS 2:16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
1THESS 2:17 But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
1THESS 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
The Thessalonians that Paul is writing to had the same thing happen to them as did the Christian churches in Judaea. They were both attacked by and suffered because their own countrymen persecuted them.
And Paul tells them that this is nothing new. The Jews killed the Lord, and their own prophets, and were persecuting Paul and those who labored with him.
Some will say that the Jews did not kill Jesus but the Romans did. God’s Word clearly says the Jews killed the Lord Jesus. God holds them responsible. They are the ones who cried Crucify. They are the one who refused to have Pilate release Jesus.
And as a group of people they had a long history of actually working against the will of God and they killed their own prophets. And they were still fighting against God’s will. Forbidding Paul to give the gospel to the Gentiles so that they might be saved.
They would rather see them go to hell than get saved. They had been filling up their sins for a long time and Paul says that wrath is coming upon them and not in a small amount.
They have filled their cup up to the uttermost. They had pushed God too far. And in 70 A.D. we see this fulfilled. The Romans marched into Jerusalem and destroyed the temple and the Jews scattered never to have a homeland again until after World War 2.
It took a lot to push God to the point that He allowed that. God still enabled them to remain a people group during those almost 2,000 years. God still blessed those that blessed them and He still cursed those that cursed them. But at the same time God allowed punishment to come upon them for fighting against His men and against Gentiles getting saved.
1THESS 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1THESS 2:20 For ye are our glory and joy.
This is often referred to as the Soul Winners Crown.
The verse says what is our crown of rejoicing? And then it answers the question with ye are. Who are the ye? They are the people that they won to the Lord. This is the Soul winner’s crown. So people who win souls get one and those who do not win souls don’t get one.
This is only one of five crowns of reward that are mentioned in the Bible. The Bible does indeed teach a reward system in heaven.
How you live your life after salvation is going to make a difference in heaven. What you do or do not do after salvation will NOT change your destination. You cannot lose your salvation. But how you live will determine your rewards.
1THESS 3:1 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
1THESS 3:2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:
1THESS 3:3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
There are things that happen to Christians that our frail human understanding cannot grasp the reasons why. Hard things do indeed happen to good people. Some false TV preachers will tell you otherwise. They give the idea that Christianity is to be an easy path of blessings. There is one big problem with their teaching, and that is the Bible. Over and over again the Bible teaches that those who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Paul says in verse 3 that his afflictions were appointed. God ordained them. God had a purpose for them. Paul was concerned how these afflictions would affect the faith of these new believers. So he sent Timotheus to minister to them. To make sure that they were not going to be moved by mere circumstances.
Our place is not to understand the reasons why hard things happen to good people. Our job is not to second guess God. It is enough to know that He is perfect and that He has a reason. We are to simply have faith and stand for Jesus in spite of circumstances.
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