Wanna See Something Really Spiritual? (1 Thessalonians 5v23-28)

Have you seen what you’re going to look like in 20 years?

There are some websites where you can upload a current photo and they process it to make you look decades older.

It’s pretty scary!

The apostle Paul didn’t have the technology we have, but he was nevertheless able, with 100% accuracy, to project what you would ‘look’ like at the coming of Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You will be “sanctified completely” and “preserved blameless.”  Sounds great – and it is.

“Now,” Paul said, as he began to wrap up his thoughts.  We might say, “for now,” this is what they needed to hear.

We need to trust that God the Holy Spirit knows exactly what we need to hear and then listen with humility for Him to speak to us through God’s Word.

The descriptor Paul chooses for God is “peace.”  It reminds us that God, through the blood of the Cross on which Jesus died, has made peace with mankind.  We are at peace with God the moment we repent and believe.

It’s also a nice reminder of the fact God’s work in our lives is ongoing.  He made peace with us in order to have a relationship with us.  Salvation is just the beginning of a lifetime of work.

The Bible calls that work “sanctification.”  Rather than give you a textbook definition, sanctification can be understood by the verse, “He that has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

We can dissect it into stages that make sense to us.  Usually we say there are three stages to our sanctification, but really, there are four.

There is a pre-sanctification stage when we are yet sinners.  For example we read in First Corinthians 7:14 that a nonbelieving husband is “sanctified” by his wife.  He’s clearly not saved but her influence puts him in a place where the Gospel of grace can affect his heart to free his will to believe.

When a person believes and is born again, he is positionally sanctified by virtue of his union with Christ.  This means that he is set apart to God from the world.  Hebrews 10:10 says, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Every day between being born-again and either our death or the rapture we experience progressive sanctification.  This is the process by which we become more Christlike.  This is the sanctification which Paul prays for the Thessalonians here.

There is a final, or perfect, sanctification.  When a believer goes to be with the Lord, he will be like the Lord, completely and finally set apart from sin.

Sanctification is God’s work in and upon us.  It is “God… Himself” Who accomplishes the work.  We cannot manufacture it on our own.

Nevertheless we must cooperate with God.

John MacArthur wrote, “I can’t tell you what percentage of the responsibility falls on you, or exactly how your disciplined life cooperates with God’s work in you… [but] each of us bears some responsibility for our own spiritual growth…”

Look at it this way.  Thus far in First Thessalonians we have encountered many exhortations that we ought to obey.  Paul is now reminding us that obeying them is part of God’s progressive sanctification in our lives; and that, since God Himself sanctifies us, we are more than able to obey.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely…

Scholar D. Edmond Hiebert says of this word “completely,” “it is a compound of holos, ‘whole,’ and telos, ‘end.’  Its basic [meaning] is ‘wholly attaining the end, reaching the intended goal,’ hence [it] has the force of no part being left unreached.”
Not only will God complete the work He has begun, every part of us will be perfected.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 … and may your whole spirit, soul, and body…

“Your whole spirit, soul, and body” are the parts that will be “completely” sanctified.

The immaterial part of us – the spirit and soul – will be completely sanctified, as will the material part – our bodies.

The commentaries launch into a long discussion about the differences between the soul and the spirit, and whether or not they are the same.  I’d say there are three parts of the human person – spirit, soul and body – but that it can be difficult to separate the spirit and the soul.  It’s so difficult, in fact, that only God’s Word can do it effectively.

Maybe this is the best way of understanding it:

The spirit is the highest and most unique part of man that enables him to communicate with God.
The soul is the part of man that makes him conscious of himself; it is the seat of his personality.
The body, of course, is the physical part through which the inner person expresses himself.

When we are born into the world we are physically alive and soulishly active but spiritually dead.  When we are born-again our spirit is alive and can dictate to the soul and body according to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit that indwells us.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 … may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless…

“Preserved” is from a word meaning to guard or to keep an eye upon.  It describes God as keeping His eye on you, to guard you to the end.

It doesn’t mean you can’t disobey God; you can.  It means He is always on hand to help you.

Commentators call this a prayer-wish of Paul’s.  His desire is that God’s sanctifying work would continue unhindered by them so that, at any point along the way and right up til the end, they could be described as “blameless.”

Notice they are not described as “perfect.”  We can never be perfect in this body of flesh.  But we can be described as “blameless” in the sense we are cooperating with God, making spiritual progress, experiencing spiritual growth.

We might say that his prayer was for them to not backslide in any area of their lives but to press forward in cooperation with God.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 … at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Every chapter in this letter highlights the “coming” of Jesus, and the “coming” Paul had in mind was His pretribulational, premillenial coming to resurrect the dead in Christ and to rapture the remaining, living believers.

When we are all in our glorified, resurrection bodies, then will our sanctification be completed.  We will be perfect as He is perfect.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

God the Father declared you holy and set you apart at the Cross; God the Holy Spirit preserves you in holiness day-by-day; God the Son will return to present you perfect in holiness in heaven.

Sanctification is the work of God.  It depends on His faithfulness, not yours.  He operates upon you by His indwelling Holy Spirit.  You ought to cooperate with Him to make progress; but He is going to perfect you with or without your cooperation.

Once you are saved, you are predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus.  It’s gonna happen.  Go with it; enjoy it.

1 Thessalonians 5:25 Brethren, pray for us.

The veteran missionary pastor, who had already experience so much in his serving The Lord, asked these baby believers to pray for him.

I’d like to ask each of you to pray for me and my family everyday.

Beyond that, realize that your prayers are precious to God regardless your felt lack of maturity or knowledge.

1 Thessalonians 5:26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

Before you get too excited… The reference is to men greeting men, and women greeting women, with “a holy kiss.”

Later, when men and women started kissing each other, it gave the Church a bad reputation and early Church documents called for it to cease.

The idea is that you are preserving bonds of affection through grace; there is nothing keeping you from sincerely greeting one another – but always in a culturally appropriate manner.

That means hugs and handshakes here.

1 Thessalonians 5:27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

Paul wanted the entire letter read aloud to the entire assembly. This letter, remember, might have been the very first letter Paul ever wrote to a church.  If so, he wanted to establish that it was public, not private.  It wasn’t just for leaders, for them to interpret secretly and then give their own ideas.  It was for everyone in the congregation.

We would also conclude that whatever else might be included as part of public worship, the reading of God’s entire Word should be a priority.

1 Thessalonians 5:28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

“Grace” is so often defined as “God’s unmerited favor,” or “getting what you don’t deserve,” that we forget it is something very, for lack of a better word, powerful.

Grace is God’s sufficient, sustaining strength in and for every circumstance of your life.
As far as I can tell, you can’t store it up, but it is always there, ready to be put into action when you are faced with life.

What do I mean, “you can’t store it up?”  Let’s say you hear about a believer who just found out they have terminal cancer.  You go visit them, to encourage them.  They end up encouraging you when you see the grace – God’s strength – by which they are standing firm in His promises.  You wonder if you have that same grace.

Well, you don’t – because you don’t need it yet!  But it will be there for you when you need it.

Ephesians 4:7 reads, “Unto each one of us is grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”  It is measured out proportionately to your need.

But you can be sure it’s always sufficient.

Paul was, simultaneously, certain that God would complete the work of sanctification He had begun, and he was concerned that the Thessalonians help and not hinder God’s work in and upon them.

God Himself will do it; yet this is not a work that is without our assistance.  Each Christian bears a direct and personal obligation to make a correct response to the call to sanctification.  Peter pens it in this manner:

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,” (1Peter 2:9).

Community (1 Thessalonians 5v12-22)

Did you know that communes are thriving all over the world?

The preferred name for them is “intentional communities.”  There are as many as 10,000 in the US.  Not all of them are religious; it’s trendy to do it for ecological reasons.

You are not called to start or settle in a commune, but you are to have a strong sense of community.  Christians are connected with one another and are expected to experience those connections in community with other Christians in a local church.

Our text brings out three aspects of living in community with other Christians.  Those three aspects can be captured by three words: government, grace, and gifts.

By government I mean that the Church community has leaders. We read about the community dynamic of leadership in verses twelve and thirteen.

1 Thessalonians 5:12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
1 Thessalonians 5:13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

The church was less than a year old.  By definition, everyone in it was still a young Christian.  Some among them were leaders.  It may be that there was a problem with submission to leadership as the members felt they were all more-or-less spiritual equals.

They may have been spiritual equals; but God still raised-up in their midst some to lead.  It was a matter of gifts not growth. Church leaders are supernaturally gifted to accomplish their work.

The local church has leadership.  Here at Calvary Chapel our leadership structure is a pastor-teacher supported by elders, who are supported by deacons.  There is also leadership over and within the various ministries God has raised-up.

A few of a leader’s responsibilities are listed:

They “labor among you.” The word “labor” means toil, strive, struggle. It describes hard work that causes the leader to grow weary.
Leaders are “over you in the Lord.” This means they exercise oversight in a way that is characteristic of Jesus.  Jesus’ example of being over you was to humble Himself to serve you.  He illustrated it most memorably by washing His disciple’s feet on the night before He was crucified.
Leaders “admonish you.” “Admonish” literally means to put in mind.  It is reminding others of spiritual truth, especially in the sense of appealing to the conscience and the will to encourage believers to obedience.

Leaders are resources that the Holy Spirit uses to help you make spiritual progress.  You cooperate with God when you do two things in relation to your leaders: Recognize them and respect them.

“Recognize” means acknowledging that God has placed them over you by His sovereign gifts in their lives.
“Respect” is the meaning of the word “esteem” in verse thirteen.  It takes recognizing leaders one step further in that you recognize that they are over you for your good and you thus respect their influence in your life.

“Be at peace among yourselves” reminds us that leadership in the church, and authority in general, is very different than what we are used to in the world.  Leaders are not to lord over us; they are to be like the Lord and serve us.  And we – when being led – are to submit to biblical authority without causing strife and division.

Another aspect of living in community is grace. You see it in verses fourteen and fifteen.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

Some of the believers were putting a strain on community life:

The “unruly” were probably those believers who had quit their jobs to wait for Jesus to Rapture them. Their mooching was a strain on the rest of the community.
The “fainthearted” were probably those whose loved ones had fallen asleep in death. They were overcome with grief, focusing only on their loss.
The “weak” were probably those who were morally weak and struggling with sexual sin as discussed in the opening verses of chapter four.

Regardless the particular causes, however, all church communities will have believers who are unruly, fainthearted, and weak.  The rest of you are to be “patient” with them; and to express your patience by warning, comforting, and upholding them.

“Warn” is the word admonish, which we said meant put in mind. You are to remind them of spiritual truth.
“Comfort” is translated from words meaning to relate near.  The idea is that you try to relate to what they are going through, then come near to them with words to encourage.
“Upholding” means support. It’s a picture of coming to them in their spiritual distress and holding them up by holding them accountable.

You can’t list every possible stress that believers can experience when living in community with one another.  You can’t list every possible strategy for dealing with one another.  So Paul gave a principle to follow in verse fifteen:

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

In practical terms, you should desire the very best for every other member of the Christian community, and then treat them in a way that promotes what is best for them.  Christians living in community should therefore extend grace to one another.

The next three verses encourage practical ways grace works in a community of believers.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always,
1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing,
1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The last phrase, “this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” relates to each of the three things we read about.

It is God’s will for you that you “rejoice always.”  “Always” means always.  Remember that the Church at Thessalonica was suffering intense persecution.  Nevertheless, they could rejoice always.
It is God’s will for you that you “pray without ceasing.”  “Without ceasing” means a life permeated with prayer – mostly silent prayer in your heart, but not excluding public praying.  You might describe it as a spirit of prayer.
It is God’s will for you that “in everything [you] give thanks.” “Everything” means in every circumstance. This is possible when you accept the promise that God works all things out for good to those who love Him and are yielded to His will. You can then thank Him no matter what – knowing everything He allows is for your ultimate good and His glory.

You put grace into practice when you do these three things; and living in community with other believers gives you a context to practice them – to be encouraged in them by others who can remind you to rejoice, to pray, and to be thankful.

The third aspect of living in community is gifts. You see it in verses nineteen through twenty-two.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:20 Do not despise prophecies.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

In the church at Corinth the exercise of gifts was what we would call charismatic; if you read all of First Corinthians chapter fourteen you’d call them charismaniacs!  They needed to be corrected about the proper, orderly exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a corporate assembly.

The Thessalonians had the opposite problem.  They were quenching the exercise of the gifts and despising prophecies.

Both assemblies were told to “test” and then “hold fast what is good.”  They were to test the things spoken by the standard of the Word of God.  As long as what was being prophesied, for example, was lined-up with God’s Word, they could receive it as God’s encouragement.

Do we despise prophecies – seeing as we don’t allow people to get-up and share them on Sunday mornings?

Not at all!  We understand that the teaching of God’s Word is itself an exercise of the gift of prophecy.  Teaching can also include the gifts of the Word of Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge.

What we are doing on Sunday mornings is following the overriding biblical principle that all things be done decently and in order.

The final verse of this section at first seems out of place:

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.
As a stand-alone verse, this is great spiritual advice.  In context of the exercise of the gifts during public worship, it has to do with the false exercise of gifts, e.g., tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and (especially) prophecy.

Just because something ‘spiritual’ seems to occur, it doesn’t mean it is from The Lord.  We are commanded to test gifts to be certain they are from The Lord.

A lot of your growth as a Christian can only occur if you are in a community of believers:

If you are a loner, you will miss out on the growth provided by interaction with leadership.
It’s impossible to exercise the grace of patience unless you are among folks that test your patience.
You can’t exercise speaking gifts to the edification of the body unless you meet with the body.

Jesus leaves it up to us to determine just how involved we are going to be in our community.  He doesn’t force us to go to church.  He draws us, by His love.

Have a strong sense of community and let that guide your decisions about your involvement.

If you want my opinion – err on the side of more, rather than less, involvement.  It’s good for you and for those you get involved with.

Christians Are Light-Waits (1 Thessalonians 5v1-11)

I don’t know if the apostle Paul was a morning person or not… But in our text he argued that all Christians are morning people with regards to Bible prophecy:

1. “You,” he said (addressing Christians), “are all sons of light and sons of the day…”
2. “They,” he said (addressing non-Christians), “are of the night… [and] darkness.”

A “day” is coming, called “the Day of the Lord.”  It is coming “like a thief” with “sudden destruction.”  It is a day of “wrath.”  It will not “overtake” Christians who are living in the “light” because they have “obtained salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  It will “come upon” non-Christians living in the “night” and “they shall not escape.”

The Bible has several names for this Day of the Lord.  You know part of it by its most popular name, the Great Tribulation.  The Great Tribulation is that future seven-year period of time during which God pours-out His wrath upon the earth in one last effort to save men and women from eternal judgment, and to prepare the earth for the return of Jesus Christ.

The Thessalonians were confused.  They knew two things about the Lord’s coming:

They knew that the Lord was coming for them in the Rapture. And they knew the Lord was coming with them in His return to establish His kingdom on the earth

But there was also the Day of the Lord preceding the Lord’s coming.  Would they go through it?  Were they already in it?  The answer to both of those questions is an emphatic “No!”

1 Thessalonians 5:1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.

Everything will make more sense to you when you realize that “the times and the seasons” is an important prophetic phrase.  It only occurs two other times in the Bible:

It first occurs in the Old Testament Book of Daniel.  Daniel was a captive in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court in Babylon.  Nebucadnezzar had a dream that completely freaked him out!  He saw a great image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay.  In his dream a stone struck the image on its feet and broke them into pieces.  The stone then became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.  Daniel interpreted the image in the dream to represent the succession of human kingdoms on the earth until the return of Jesus Christ to crush them and establish the kingdom of God on the earth.  As he interpreted the dream, Daniel said, “God… changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings…”

The next use of this phrase is in the New Testament Book of Acts.  Jesus was about to ascend into heaven from the Mount of Olives.  His disciples were a little confused about the timing of End Times events.  They asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  What kingdom were they talking about?  They were talking about the kingdom prophesied by Daniel.  Jesus answered them and said, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.”

This phrase, “the times and the seasons,” is a technical phrase that looks forward to the return of Jesus to crush the kingdoms of men and establish the kingdom of God on the earth.

The Old Testament prophets and the Lord Jesus both said that His return to crush the kingdoms of men and establish the kingdom of God on the earth would be preceded by a time of unprecedented tribulation on the earth.

We call it the Great Tribulation, but in the Old Testament it was called “the Day of the Lord.”

Two of the characteristics of the Day of the Lord are given in verses two and three: It’s beginning is sudden and unexpected and it’s end is certain and unavoidable.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

The Day of the Lord begins suddenly and is unexpected.  It is like the coming of “a thief in the night.”

Jesus is not the thief in the night!  It is a bad metaphor to apply to the Lord.  Are you ever excited to have a thief rob you?  Does it bring joy to your heart?  Jesus is not the thief.

The Day of the Lord begins unexpectedly when people are saying “Peace and safety.”  The most detailed teaching on the Day of the Lord is in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, in chapters six through nineteen.

The Day of the Lord begins when a world leader signs and enforces a peace treaty in the Middle East.  We know this man as the antiChrist; but the world will herald him as a political and military genius who has finally resolved the age-long conflict in the Middle East, bringing “peace and safety.”

What the people on earth will actually experience is “sudden destruction… as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.”  Once the seven-year Tribulation begins it will follow a very definite course.  Like a woman in labor, it cannot be stopped; and the pain will come in ever-increasing cycles.  It will be awful; terrible.  Jesus said it would be trouble like the world had never known before, nor ever would again.  If He didn’t return at the end of it, all mankind would be destroyed.

We need to read the end of verse three with verse four:

1 Thessalonians 5:3 … And they shall not escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

“They shall not escape.  But you, brethren…”  The “you” are believers, Christians; “they” are nonbelievers, non-Christians.  This is a clear and unmistakable contrast.  Nonbelievers “shall not escape” this “Day”; it will “overtake” them.

But you will escape and it won’t overtake you.

1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
1 Thessalonians 5:5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

If you are a Christian, you are a “son of light and… of the day.”  If you are not a Christian, you are “of the night” and “darkness.”

The Bible describes the world as a kingdom of darkness.  Jesus came as a “light [shining] in the darkness” (John 1:5).

Jesus declared, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12).

When a person makes a decision to trust Jesus Christ to be their Savior from sin they are “rescued… from the domain of darkness, and transferred… to the kingdom of [God’s] Son” (Colossians 1:13).  Those who “were formerly darkness… now are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).  God has “called [you] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (First Peter 2:9).

In the Old Testament, the Day of the Lord is described as a day of darkness (Joel 2:2; Zephaniah 1:15).  It is a time of judgment specifically for people in the kingdom of darkness who have rejected the Light of the world.
It is for night people, not light people!  Believers therefore need never fear that the Day of the Lord will “overtake” them.

The resurrection and rapture of the church will occur prior to any part of the Day of the Lord.  The church is removed; then the Great Tribulation can begin upon the earth.  The Great Tribulation prepares the people on the earth for the Second Coming of Jesus.  He returns and establishes His kingdom on the earth for a thousand years.

The word “wrath” is a key.  Drop down to verses nine and ten for a moment:

1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Thessalonians 5:10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

The word “wrath” describes God’s judgment upon sinners.  The Day of the Lord is a day of God’s wrath.  As clearly as he could, Paul said, “God did not appoint us to wrath.”  Believers have no part in the Day of the Lord.

You “obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  He “died for us.”  That means He took your place.  He took your place when He died on the Cross.  The wrath of God against your sin was already poured-out upon Jesus as He hung on the Cross at Calvary.  You cannot ever experience God’s wrath if you are saved.

Paul added in verse ten that “whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with [Jesus].”  This looks back to his teaching on the rapture in chapter four.

Those who “sleep” are believers who have died prior to the rapture.  They are living together with Jesus right now in Heaven.  We who remain alive will be caught-up prior to the Day of the Lord and be living together with them and Jesus while the Tribulation is occurring on the earth.

The “night” people, the nonbelievers, have an appointment with God’s wrath.  It is avoidable… But inevitable if they go on rejecting the Lord’s gracious offer of salvation.

Prophecy ought to be practical.  Having contrasted “light” people and “night” people, Paul made some practical applications in verses six through eleven.  We are in the kingdom of light, but we are living on the earth among those groping in the realm of darkness.  We are waiting; hence, we are ‘light-waits.’

Two things should characterize our lives as believers in contrast to nonbelievers; you see them in verses six and seven,

1 Thessalonians 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

We should be sleepless and we should be sober.

Sleepless: In chapter four the word “sleep” described the physical death of believers.  The word here is a different word; it means moral indifference.

Here is the problem: The “night” that surrounds us as believers has a tendency to lull us into moral indifference.  If you are not careful, you begin to yawn and then you doze-off.
You cannot afford to yawn in the face of sin; you certainly can’t afford to fall asleep.

Sober: Neither can you afford to be “drunk.”  “Drunk” refers to the influence of intoxicants.  Certainly alcohol and drugs are included; but there are many other kinds of intoxicants in the world – power, pleasure, pride, possessions, and promotion to name a few.  You cannot afford to be under the influence of the world’s intoxicants; you must remain sober.

You should see yourself as sleepless and sober until the coming of the Lord.  Paul gave an illustration: You are like a soldier on sentry.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

The soldier on sentry cannot sleep; and he must be sober.  You are that spiritual soldier.  You are always “on-duty,” as long as you live in the kingdom of darkness.

Some of your armor is described.  “Putting on” is in a verb-tense that means put it on and leave it on.  There is no furlough, not even any rest for you as a soldier on sentry.

Your “breastplate” is “faith and love.”  It is a description of both sides of the breastplate.  On the inside, faith; on the outside, love.

Faith is the proper heart-attitude toward Jesus Christ.  Love is the proper heart-activity toward His saints and all men in general.

Your “helmet” is “the hope of salvation.”  Your hope on earth is that Jesus is coming any moment to take you home either through your death or in the rapture; but in either case you will be with Him and not be subject to the Day of Wrath.  Thus you are protected from the things of the world which seek to overcome you – knowing that the world is passing away.

Drop or scroll down to verse eleven:

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

“Comfort” means come alongside to strengthen.  “Edify” means build-up.  That’s what we should be all about when we gather together.

You Can Sleep When You’re Dead (1 Thessalonians 4v13-18)

The apostle Paul had taught the believers in Thessalonica about what is commonly called “the Rapture of the Church.”  The rapture of the church is the event in which Jesus will return to remove Christians from the earth.  Saints who are alive at this coming will be taken to Heaven without ever experiencing death.

The saints in Thessalonica lived in the daily anticipation of the rapture.  They believed it was imminent – and by “imminent” I mean that it could happen at any moment.

Then something happened they had not considered.  A fellow believer died.  Then another.  Then some others.

If Jesus was coming at any moment to take the church home, what would become of those believers who died prior to the rapture?

1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

The use of the word “ignorant” was not a rebuke.
If anything Paul was acknowledging that he had not fully instructed them regarding this issue but now wanted to bring them up to speed.

You notice he didn’t use the word “died.”  He said they had “fallen asleep.”  When you fall asleep at the end of the day your body lies temporarily still and resting from its labor until you awaken.

Likewise, when you die at the end of your life your body lies temporarily still and resting from its labor until it arises.

The “sorrow” in these verses is related to their ignorance of what had happened to their deceased loved ones.  They grieved for them, not just in the normal way we do when a loved one dies, but even more so since they thought these deceased believers were missing out on the Lord’s coming for His church.

One thing is certain in this letter: They believed that Jesus could return at any moment to take the church from the earth to Heaven.  Anyone who suggests to you that the rapture of the church is not an imminent, any-moment expectation, is just not reading the Bible correctly.

Paul did not want them to “sorrow as others who have no hope.”  The “others” would be nonbelievers.  It’s true that people who are not Christians have ideas about death and the afterlife.  But it cannot ever be said that they have “hope.”  The Bible alone speaks with authority about life, death, and life after death.  Everything else is a false hope, a fool’s hope.

OK, but when, in relation to the rapture, would they be resurrected?

1 Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

The word “if” does not suggest doubt.  It suggests a logical sequence.  “If” something is true, then other things follow from it.  It’s better to understand the word “if” by substituting the word “since.”

What is it that we believe is true?  “We believe that Jesus died and rose again.”  The death and resurrection of Jesus are the foundation of our certain hope.

In His resurrection Jesus is called the “firstfruits of those who are asleep” (First Corinthians 15:20).  “Firstfruits” were the first installment guaranteeing the rest of the future harvest.  The resurrection of Jesus from the dead guarantees the future resurrection from the dead of all those who are “asleep in Jesus.”

Those “who sleep in Jesus” are the deceased of the church age.  Notice that Jesus, referred to as “God,” “will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”

They must be with Him now, in Heaven, conscious, or He could not bring them.

When a believer dies he or she is immediately absent from their body but present in soul and spirit with The Lord in Heaven.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

“The word of the Lord” was a direct revelation to Paul.  When writing to the Church at Corinth, he would call the rapture a “mystery” (First Corinthians 15:51).  A “mystery” in the Bible is something that was previously hidden but is now being revealed.
There are types of the rapture in the Old Testament; but the teaching about the rapture is not revealed until the New Testament.

The word “we” is important, in “we who are alive and remain.”  Paul always included himself among those who could be alive when Jesus returned to rapture the church.

He would also speak of his impending death in certain passages; but this is no contradiction.  The Lord could and can return at any moment… But if He doesn’t, I might die – “fall asleep” – and not be “alive and remain until” His coming.

Those who are alive and remain do not “precede those who are asleep.”  It’s a word of timing.  The next verses give you the orderly sequence of the events that occur at the rapture of the church.  Four words capture the sequence: Return… Resurrection… Rapture… and Reunion.

Jesus returns:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God…

We know that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven forty days later.

He said He was going to Heaven “to prepare a place for you” and that He would “come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).  He was going to Heaven to build your mansion; He would return to bring you there.

This return to bring you to Heaven is not His Second Coming to earth to establish a kingdom on the earth.  That occurs later.  This return is the rapture.

When Jesus returns there are three sounds:

1. The “shout” is a word of command. These things occur by the power of His word.  Jesus needs only to speak in order to accomplish these things.
2. The “voice of an archangel” indicates an accompanying archangel.  The only archangel mentioned by name in the Bible is Michael, although there may be others.
3. “With the trumpet of God” may indicate that the archangel blows a trumpet; or that Jesus’ voice is as the sound of many trumpets.

The dead in Christ are resurrected:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

The “dead in Christ” are all the church age saints who have “fallen asleep” prior to this return of the Lord.  This resurrection does not include the saints of the Old Testament.  They have their own resurrection to look forward to, at a different time, described in other Bible passages.
The “dead in Christ” will be resurrected.  Their bodies have been “asleep.”  Whether they were properly buried or whether they were cremated or whether their bodies were dissolved or destroyed in some other manner… No problem.  The resurrection of those bodies is not a reconstruction of their original molecules.  Resurrection is described in the Bible by comparing your body to a seed that is planted in the ground.  The seed dies and dissolves; out of it arises a beautiful flower.  The flower is connected to the seed but is very different from it.

If you fall asleep before the return of Jesus, your body is like a seed.  God will raise it and it will be a new, glorified body that is fit for eternity.  Your soul and spirit will have been with Jesus in Heaven from the moment of your physical death.  At the resurrection your soul and spirit will become housed in your glorified resurrection body.

We’ve already mentioned that Jesus is the “firstfruits” of the resurrection.  It guarantees believers will follow and be like Him in their resurrection.  Jesus died on the Cross and His physical body was put in the Garden Tomb.  His soul and spirit were conscious and alive and three days later His soul and spirit were housed in His resurrection body – a new, glorified physical body that was transformed from the body in the tomb.  What happened to Jesus will happen to all those who have fallen asleep in Him.

The rapture:

1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…

Jesus said “first” the dead in Christ would be raised.  “Then” He will rapture living believers.  It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; but it is orderly.

“Caught-up” is the Greek word harpazo.  In Latin it is rapere, from which we get the word rapture.

Some people try to confuse you by saying that the word “rapture” never occurs in the Bible; that we made it all up.  Well, it does occur in Latin translations.  But if it troubles you, then call it the harpazo!  The expression is not as important as the event.

The “dead will be raised” and we who are alive and remain “shall be changed” and gotten ready for “incorruption” and “immortality.”

Will your clothes be left behind?  What will happen to pregnant women?  Your mind boggles!  I would suggest to you that the rapture will be an unprecedented global disaster for nonbelievers to deal with.  Just think of the traffic accidents when millions of cars are suddenly without their drivers.

We will “meet the Lord in the air.”  The Lord does not return to the earth at the rapture; He is not coming yet to establish His rule over the earth.  Something has to happen before He establishes His kingdom – the seven year Great Tribulation.  In the rapture Jesus is coming to take His church home to Heaven before the Tribulation.

Paul believed the rapture was imminent; he always included himself as a possible participant.

The Thessalonians believed it was imminent; so much that some of them quit their jobs to wait for it.
It would have been the perfect opportunity to tell them it was not imminent, but Paul did not.  He maintained that the rapture could occur at any moment but exhorted them to work hard in order to maintain their witness.

The Doctrine of Imminence is very definitely taught in Scripture.  Every position other than the Pre-tribulation Rapture is incompatible with imminence.  The Tribulation has a very definite starting point, mid-point, and ending point.  If the rapture occurs anytime after the Tribulation starts it cannot be said to be imminent at all.

The reunion:

1 Thessalonians 4:17 … And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

“We” includes those who have “fallen asleep” and those who are “alive and remain” when the Lord returns in the rapture.  All the saints of the church age will be in their glorified bodies and taken to Heaven to “always” and forever “be with the Lord.”

“Comfort one another with these words” is just as applicable today as it was in the first century.  I almost always share this passage of Scripture at a funeral, especially graveside.  In it is the certain hope of reunion for Christians.  If those who die are Christians, they are fallen asleep in Jesus; and you – if you, too, are a Christian – will be reunited with them in eternity.

No other religion or philosophy can give anyone anything other than a false hope, a fools hope, of reunion.

Deadbeat Disciples (1 Thessalonians 4v9-12)

Paul had taught the church in Thessalonica about the imminent coming of Jesus to rapture the church from earth to Heaven.  By “imminent” we mean any-moment.

(We will see the Doctrine of the Imminent Rapture in verses thirteen through eighteen).

The church at Thessalonica had no doubts that Jesus could return for them at any moment.  So much so that some of them misunderstood the implications of His imminent coming.  They decided to quit their jobs and wait around for Jesus to rapture them.  Their idleness was becoming a burden to the other believers as they meddled in their affairs and mooched off of them.

By Second Thessalonians Paul would have to say, “if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (3:10).  In our passage he took a more gentle, general approach and exhorted the idlers to “brotherly love” and to “love one another.”

“Brotherly love” is the Greek word philadelphia.  It originally referred to the natural affection between blood relatives but came to be applied to the supernatural affection between Christians.  When you become a Christian every other believer becomes your spiritual brother or sister.

“Love one another” is the word agape.  It describes the kind of love God has for you – a willing love that never depends upon outward appearance or emotional attraction.

You experience a new, supernatural affection – philadelphia – for your brethren; and you express it willingly – agape.  We are calling this potent combination of loves Christian affection.

Your philadelphia and agape affection for your brothers and sisters means you never take advantage of them by meddling in their affairs and mooching off of them.

Most of the believers would get the point but, as we’ve seen, some would need a stronger exhortation in the second letter.

1 Thessalonians 4:9  But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

“Taught by God” is a unique phrase that is found only here and nowhere else in the Bible.  It does not refer or look back to any past teaching.  For sure, God’s Word in the Old Testament teaches you to love one another; and Jesus commanded you to love one another.  But this phrase signifies a present, on-going prompting in your heart by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

We could call it an instinct.  By definition, an instinct is independent of any outward instruction; it is something inward, inbred.  It is your first impulse, something involuntary.

If you are a believer then the Holy Spirit indwells you.  You already have this instinct.

Along with your new instinct you have your old fleshly impulses.  There is a struggle between your new instinct and your old impulses.

It is up to you to yield to your new instinct and super-abound in love for your brothers and sisters.

1 Thessalonians 4:10  and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia…

“Macedonia” was the Roman province of which Thessalonica was the capital.  Their geographical location and the political status of their city brought them many opportunities to minister to other believers.

Instinctive brotherly love is never selective.  It encompasses all believers everywhere.  To find expression, though, you must get involved with your brothers and sisters.

A lot of believers, who have spiritual life, remain independent rather than becoming involved.  I know lots of Christians who have blown-off Church.  They think they are fine on their own.

Well, it is just impossible to show affection unless you get involved… And that means meeting with other believers in a local Church Jesus has raised-up.

1 Thessalonians 4:10  … that you increase more and more;

There is always room for increase in your affection.  The abundant life Jesus promised is an overflowing that never exhausts its source.

There is a progression in these three thoughts:

First, you learn to recognize your new instincts.
Second, you regularly meet with believers and are presented with real-life situations and opportunities to instinctively show affection as you get involved.
Third, you go on increasing your sphere of affection as you take on more and more opportunities to minister.

The idleness of some of the Christians was a strain within the church.  It was also something else: It was hurting the witness of the church to the watching world.

Nonbelievers have a knack for finding-out and emphasizing what is wrong with Christians.  In Thessalonica they saw a few deadbeats mooching off of others and concluded that Christianity was flaky.  They didn’t want to quit their jobs and sit around all day waiting for Jesus to come back; nor did they want to “join” the church and have to support those who did.

Paul took up this aspect of the problem in verses ten and eleven.

1 Thessalonians 4:11  that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business…

We use this phrase in a mostly negative way… But it is a very positive biblical exhortation.  You’re to be mindful of your own affairs, especially with regard to how they will be viewed by nonbelievers.
Like it or not your life is a witness.  Nonbelievers are looking at you to see what difference it makes to be a Christian.  Does it make a difference at home?  In your marriage?

Does it make a difference at work?  In your work ethic?

Does it make a difference in your free time?  All of these and more are on display.

1 Thessalonians 4:11  that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,

Paul had “commanded” them to “work with their own hands.” They could not accuse Paul of being confusing – of confusing them with all his talk of the rapture.  They knew better than to become idlers.

“Work with your own hands” is a strong phrase, one that encourages hard work and industriousness.  My ambition changed at work once I was saved.  I began to actually work harder; I became a better employee, an honest employee.  By the grace of God I was super-abounding in ambition as I maintained my daily business.

Simply put, Christianity ought to make a difference and it ought to make you different.

This section is summed-up in verse twelve:

1 Thessalonians 4:12  that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

“You may lack nothing” means you are providing for yourself through honest, hard work.  Christianity energizes you to do more, not less.  Working hard, minding and maintaining your own business, is an important part of “walk[ing] properly toward those who are outside.”

“Properly” is translated honestly in the KJV.  It’s from a word that means becomingly or decorously.  You’ve heard of the word decorum; it means “suitable to the occasion or to your character.”

A Christian should have decorum, walking in all areas of life in a way that is suitable to your character and to the occasion.

Nonbelievers are outside looking in. They are watching you in all your business, and by “business” I mean at work, at home, and at play. They are window-shopping, wondering if Jesus Christ can deliver on His promise.  He can!

There’s a quote I like that puts the life of the Christian into perspective: “It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.”

The simple, “quiet” life of the Christian is cause for celebration.  Living out the principles of biblical Christianity day-by-day in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit is life as it was meant to be lived.

The Immoral Majority (1 Thessalonians 4v1-8)

Author and apologist Josh McDowell has launched a new website called Just1ClickAway.org, designed to show how aggressively online porn can attack a web user and to provide resources to increase awareness and offer help.  McDowell says the threat of online porn is dangerous enough to take down whole families in the church, eventually leading to the downfall of the church at large.

“The greatest threat to the cause of Christ is pervasive sexuality and pornography,” McDowell said.  “Today we have, by and large, lost control of the controls because an intrusive immorality is just one click away from our children. With just one keystroke on a smartphone, iPad, or laptop, a child can open up some of the worst pornography and sexually graphic content you can imagine. There’s never been such access in history. ”

The solution is complex but it starts with old time religion!

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

A better translation of “finally” would be “and now.”  This begins a new section of the letter in which Paul deals with certain issues in the church.  One of them was immorality.

He began by “urging” and “exhorting” them to “abound more and more.”  “Abound” is an important word.  It means both to advance and abundantly supplied.  “More and more” qualifies it even further.  It was as if Paul was saying, “Go ahead advancing in your Christian life more and more through your abundant spiritual supply.”

It doesn’t sound limiting; it sounds liberating – and it is.  I think it is fundamental that we decide once-and-for-all that the Christian life is a higher, better, life.  We too often long for the lower-living we did in the world or that the world offers.  God has something better for you.

1 Thessalonians 4:2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

They had received something – “commandments.”  Paul said they were given to them “through the Lord Jesus.”  In other words, they were directly from Jesus to the believers through the agency of the apostle.

They were not suggestions the believers might want to adopt; they were not a new philosophy or religion.  They were authoritative commandments.  They were the very Word of God.

What were those commandments?  Probably things like, “Get rid of your mistresses,” “Quit sleeping with concubines,” and “Don’t visit the temple prostitutes.”  Or, to put it positively, I’m certain there were a lot of commandments about Christian marriage.
The word “ought” means must.  “Walk” means your conduct in all areas of life.  The Bible is not suggestive; it is authoritative, and it covers all areas of your life on earth.  Follow its commands and you will abound.

They also revered Someone; you see that at the end of verse one where Paul said, “to please God.”  The One you are living to please died for you on the Cross at Calvary.  He rose from the dead for you so you could live forever with Him.  He’s in Heaven right now working on your mansion.  In the mean time, while He’s away, He has provided you everything you need for life and godliness.  It should be a joy to live in a way that would please Him.

You are surrounded by immorality and subject to your own impulses.  You are struggling against society and self.  But you’re never alone! You have Spirit-checks from the Word that instruct you to abound in abstinence.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

People are always wondering about God’s will for their lives.  Your “sanctification” is His will for your life.  “Sanctification” means to be set apart for God.  It is a process that begins when you are saved and continues throughout your earthly life.  Everyday you are to be more-and-more set apart for God in your character and in your conduct.

In order to be set apart for God in your character and conduct you must “abstain from sexual immorality.”  “Abstain” does not mean to moderate or reduce in frequency or anything like that.  It means refrain; it means to desist, to quit.
You are to abstain from, to desist and quit, “sexual immorality.”  “Immorality” might be translated fornication in your Bible.  It is the Greek word pornea from which we get our English word, pornography.

There are all kinds of hair-splitting definitions of pornea and what is meant by sexual immorality.  The biblical definition it is based upon the sanctity of marriage.

God created marriage and gave it as a gift to mankind.  Marriage is a covenant of companionship between one man and one woman for life; it is monogamous and heterosexual.  Within marriage God gave sexual intimacy as a gift.  It is for both procreation and pleasure.

Christian marriage has gotten a bad rap.  It is generally understood to be prudish and Puritanical.  More people should read the Old Testament book, The Song of Solomon – especially the end of chapter four!

A correct understanding of marriage and of the pleasures of intimacy within marriage is foundational.  But what about the struggle against both our immoral society and the impulses of sin and self?

In the world you have Spirit-control to influence you to abound in abstinence.  I like to say “Spirit-control” rather than self-control because these are things you cannot accomplish apart from God’s help.

1 Thessalonians 4:4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

“Possess his own vessel” means gain mastery over your own physical body.  The word “know” means having the knowledge and skill necessary to accomplish a desired goal (MacArthur).  By the influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit you have the knowledge and skill to gain mastery over your physical body.

1 Thessalonians 4:5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

The Jews had a high outward standard of morality based on God’s Law.  Anyone not a Jew was considered a Gentile.

Gentiles had a very different standard; it was based on selfishness and satisfaction.  Their standard was and is “the passion of lust.”  “Passion” means overpowering urges; “lusts” refers to cravings and longings.  Passion is the disease and lusts are the symptoms.  The phrase indicates a surrender to your passions so that you become overwhelmed by them.  We could put it this way: If you give-in to your lusts you will become a slave to your passions.

The important word in verse five is “not.”  The Spirit-controlled life is preferable, “not” the life of slavery to your fleshly passions.

1 Thessalonians 4:6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.

Your Bible might use the word “transgress” instead of “take advantage of.”  The idea here is that you should never step over the biblical line into immorality because, when you do, your sin always takes advantage of someone else.

“Take advantage” is further explained by the word “defraud.”  “Defraud” means to selfishly and greedily take something for personal gain and personal pleasure at the expense of someone else.  Whenever you seek to satisfy your passion of lust or gain sexual pleasure outside of the sanctity of marriage you defraud someone else.  You rob them of their virginity; of their virtue… You destroy families… All for a moment’s physical pleasure.

“The Lord is the avenger of all such.”  Jesus considered this subject of taking advantage of others so seriously that He once warned that it would be better for you to have a one-hundred pound millstone tied around your neck to drown you in the depth of the sea than to stumble someone else.

The Holy Spirit influences you to be mindful of others – especially in the area of sexual immorality.  All permissive, promiscuous, pornographic sexual acts and images defraud others.  It doesn’t matter that the other people seem to be willing participants who have posed or who are prostituting themselves; you still defraud them.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

If you are a Christian, God first “call[ed]” you to salvation.  Radical and remarkable changes took place in your life as you received His Holy Spirit and were born-again.  “Uncleanness,” or impurity, was overcome by His power and you began to walk in “holiness.”  You were set-apart by God and for God.  Your life had purpose and direction for time and eternity.

Immorality defeats your witness and effectiveness on earth; it will cost you at the Reward Seat of Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is “given” as God’s gift to empower us to obey God’s Word.  No believer can say he or she couldn’t help themselves.

No, what they do is “reject” moral counsel as if it was an opinion rather than receive it for what it is – God’s will.  They are therefore rejecting God.

I don’t know how many professing believers have, over the years, reinterpreted biblical morality to fit with their lusts.  They claim to love The Lord.  But didn’t Jesus say, “If you love Me, keep My commandments?”

It is no love for Jesus that sins blatantly expecting grace in the end.

Back to Josh McDowell’s fight.  According to McDowell’s statistics, more than 1 billion pornographic websites are available on the Internet.  The average age of first-time viewers of pornography is 9 years old. The adult pornography industry reports that 20-30 percent of their traffic comes from children.  More shockingly, half of all Christian families report that pornography is a problem, and 30 percent of pastors have viewed pornography in the last 30 days.

If you are in those stats… You can Repent! right now.

We Are Fam-A-Lee (1 Thessalonians 3v6-13)

Aging, nearing the end of his earthly life, the apostle John said,

3Jn 1:4    I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

That’s quite a statement.  I would have guessed he’d say that Jesus gave him his greatest joy, e,g., spending time with The Lord in his devotions, or some other such thing.

Yet somehow, without diminishing the joy he found in Jesus or the joy of His salvation, John unashamedly said the thing that gave him the greatest joy was to hear a report that his spiritual children – those he had either led to faith in Jesus or had shepherded – were continuing to walk in the truth.

In our text, in First Thessalonians, the apostle Paul was anxiously awaiting a report from Timothy regarding the spiritual state of the church there Thessalonica.  Hearing a good report he said,

1Th 3:8    For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.
1Th 3:9    For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God,

Again I’d have to say that those words are surprising and stunning.  Paul’s life and joy were wrapped up in the fellowship of believers.

What is it about the fellowship of believers that allowed John and Paul to say such things?

Perhaps something Jesus once said can shed some light on their fervor.

Mat 12:46    While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
Mat 12:47    Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”
Mat 12:48    But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
Mat 12:49    And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
Mat 12:50    For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

It is true we can’t choose our family.  But the Lord did.  If you believe on Him whom the Father has sent, He embraces you as His family.  Hebrews says He is not ashamed to call us brethren (Hebrews 2:11).  He says, “Behold, My brothers, My sisters, My mother – those who hear My word, those who do the will of the Father, believing in Me – they are My family.”

I loved my dad; I love my mom; I love my brothers.  But there is a sense in which even an unknown believer is more my family than they are.

Here’s another thought.  Regarding your earthly family, which you love, isn’t your greatest concern that they each be saved?  That they become part of the eternal family?

I’ve heard it said that nothing can rob us of our joy.  Well, that’s partly true.  The joy we have in Jesus and the joy of our salvation – those cannot be robbed from us.  It would seem, however, that when Christians fall away that our joy can be affected.

Paul was genuinely anxious about the condition of the family he had birthed through preaching the Gospel but was forced to leave behind.

1Th 3:6    But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you –

Timothy met up with Paul in Corinth.  He was able to give him a good report about the church in Thessalonica.

Paul used the words “good news” to describe the report, which in the Greek is evangelize.  It’s the only place in the New Testament it is used of anything other than preaching the Gospel.  Their favorable spiritual condition was like a Gospel to Paul; it was Good News about the Good News.

They were a people of “faith” toward God which incited “love” towards mankind.  It’s shorthand for saying they were doing great.

1Th 3:7    therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith

Just knowing that the Thessalonians were walking with The Lord comforted Paul in his sufferings.  They didn’t need to do anything, or send anything.  Their steadfastness was all the comfort he needed.

It challenges my thoughts about comfort and about comforting others.  I always think something needs to be done in order for comfort to be accomplished.  Maybe comfort is far more supernatural than we have become accustomed to.  I can be comforted by another believer’s faithfulness; they don’t have to do anything for me.

And I can be a comfort to other believers by simply standing fast in The Lord.

1Th 3:8    For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord

What an incredibly bold statement.  Paul was indicating that he felt dead until he received the good news about them standing fast in The Lord.

Some of the commentators too quickly say that, at least for the minister, seeing converts continue in The Lord is an affirmation of their work.  While there may be some truth to that, there are just too many ministers – even in the Bible – who had little outward success.

Jesus was one!  After three and one half years of ministry, He was left with eleven disciples after the twelfth betrayed Him. Ten of them abandoned Him at the Cross.  On the Day of Pentecost there were a mere one hundred twenty people gathered.

Would Paul have thrown in the missionary towel if the report had been bad about them?  Would it have nullified the truth of the Gospel?  No and no.

I know that in my trials, in our trials, we look to believers who are standing fast and will encourage us to do the same.  They really can’t do anything to help us; the comfort comes from knowing they serve the same Jesus and are standing on the same ground as us.

1Th 3:9    For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God,

The Contemporary English Version says, “How can we possibly thank God enough for all the happiness you have brought us?”

There ought to be people in the body of Christ that you can turn to in your suffering, who just by being who they are in Christ comfort you so that you give thanks to God for them.

Or, how about this.  Are you the person who by standing fast in Christ is at least available to be that comfort to others in their suffering?

1Th 3:10    night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?

The situation in Thessalonica was somewhat unique in that Paul was run out of town after being with them for only three Sabbaths.  He had certainly taught them a lot; but there was so much more he wished to impart.

There’s an insight here into spiritual warfare.  Earlier in this letter Paul indicated that the devil was somehow hindering him from returning to Thessalonica.  He met the opposition by “night and day praying exceedingly.”  We should do the same.

1Th 3:11    Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.

Paul prayed as if it were up to him to affect God’s heart.  But he believed The Lord would direct his path.  It’s a great model to follow.  Pray as if everything depended upon you; believed that everything depends upon God.

1Th 3:12    And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you,

In a church filled with love there was room to “increase and abound in love.”

Where can you – where can we – “increase and abound in love,” first to each other but then to “all” in our community?

“Just as we do to you” meant Paul was increasing and abounding in love in just the ways he was recommending to them.  There’s no retiring, no kicking back, and letting others do the increasing.

Here’s a devotional question: When was you last increase in love?

1Th 3:13    so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Wait.  I thought Jesus was coming for His saints.  The “saints” accompanying Christ at His coming are probably the souls of the saints who have departed this life and gone to be with Christ, whose bodies will be resurrected when He comes in the clouds for His church.  The language is totally consistent with our understanding of the imminent rapture.

Every chapter mentions the return of Jesus for His church in the rapture.  Right up until that very moment we should be growing in The Lord.

A good summary of our daily activities would be “establishing our hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father.”  If something I’m doing isn’t contributing to that, I should at least question it, if not eliminate it.

You know, the world has its groups, its clubs, even its gangs, but none of them can hold a candle to the fellowship of believers.

That is, the fellowship of believers who would agree with Jesus and Paul and John about true family.

High Anxiety (1 Thessalonians 3v1-5)

The apostle Paul, who tells us to be anxious for nothing, had a moment of high anxiety over the situation in Thessalonica.

Let me refresh your memory.  Paul and his companions had come to Thessalonica and preached the Gospel.  It seems they were only there for three weeks, maybe even less than that, before they were literally run out of town by hostile Jews.  Those same Jews followed Paul to his next stop and hassled him there.

If these opponents of the Gospel were so committed to their cause that they followed Paul, what must they be doing back in Thessalonica to the brand-new, baby believers Paul had left behind?

It was this anxiety that caused Paul to say – not once but twice – “when I could no longer endure it” (v1&5).  A few other Bible translations use the phrase, “I couldn’t stand it any longer.”

What was Paul so anxious about, exactly?  Look at verse five: “lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.”

In the Parable of the Sower Jesus said,
Mat 13:19    When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
Mat 13:20    But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
Mat 13:21    yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
Mat 13:22    Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Mat 13:23    But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Apparently there is a fierce struggle that occurs right at the time a person receives the Gospel.  It’s a critical time during which the devil goes all-out to keep you from becoming established in the Word.

Having been run out of Thessalonica, Paul wondered if there were “stony” Thessalonicans… Or stumbled Thessalonicans… Or selfish ones whose lusts were choking out the Word of God.

In the second half of the chapter we’ll hear the good report from Timothy regarding the Thessalonian believers.  They were hanging in there despite the devil’s best efforts against them.

To counter the devil, Paul sent Timothy to “establish” and to “encourage.”
1Th 3:1    Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone

“Therefore” picks up where Paul left off in chapter two where he had explained he wanted to return to them but was being hindered by the devil.

We don’t know what was hindering him; whether it was some illness or injury or something else.  For whatever reason, he could not return to them and it was causing him anxiety.

Would you feel comfortable, as a Christian, saying to the church, “I just couldn’t take it anymore!”  Probably not; you’d think it somewhat immature.  If someone said it to you, you’d probably feel obligated to correct them.

For all his steely cold logic, Paul comes across as extremely emotional.  He definitely wore his heart on his sleeve.

Paul was anxious for a good cause.  He knew that the baby believers were coming under heavy fire and that their spiritual lives were hanging in the balance.

Paul couldn’t go back to Thessalonica, but apparently Timothy could.  It would mean leaving Paul alone in Athens.

That’s a bigger deal than you might think:

It could expose Paul to danger from criminal elements.  A lone, older man was much easier to assault than if he had a younger companion.
It certainly exposed Paul to danger from spiritual enemies.  He would have much less accountability alone than with Timothy around.
It could hinder the progress of the Gospel in Athens – only having one man to do all the work.

Paul weighed the risks and opted to sacrifice for the sake of the believers he’d left behind.  It was a real, severe sacrifice.

1Th 3:2    and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,

Silas was probably with Paul and Timothy in Athens but he would be sent on his own mission, back to Macedonia.

Timothy was “sent” speaks volumes about this young man’s understanding that his life was no longer his but belonged to The Lord.  He was ready to stay; he was ready to be sent.  Wherever God could use him, he was ready.

Note the progression in Timothy’s description: “brother… minister of God… our fellow laborer in the Gospel of Christ.”

We could say Timothy was an ordinary Christian – a “brother” – who had found his gifting – “the minister of God” – and was in the specific assignment God had for him at that time – “fellow laborer”: with Paul in spreading “the Gospel of Christ.”

If you are a Christian, you should gain some understanding of how God has gifted you and be seeking Him for your specific assignments.

How do you discover gifting?  In the Word and in the church.

In the Word you see how God gifts men and women to serve Him.
In the church you serve others and see how God uses you.

Timothy had two priorities: (1) to establish them concerning their faith, and (2) to encourage them concerning their faith.

“Establish” means to support, to strengthen, to make firm.  We need to read verse three to understand what kind of establishing they needed.

1Th 3:3    that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.

The “tempter” (verse 5) was attempting to shake them through “afflictions.”  The Word had been sown and the devil was trying to stumble the young believers so that they would not endure.

One way Timothy was to “establish” them was to remind them of what they already knew – that Christians are “appointed to” afflictions.

Shaking reminds me of earthquakes.  More so than here in Central California, growing up in Southern California you were always thinking about ” the big one,” the big earthquake that was coming.  It was never a matter of if but when it would shake things up.  We were taught to stand in a doorway as this was supposed to be the strongest place, the most reinforced, in the house.

Timothy was sent to the Thessalonians while they were being all shook up in a devilish earthquake to remind them to stand in the Doorway and they’d be safe!

Timothy was to “encourage” them.  Your Bible might translate it “comfort,” and that’s correct, but not the way we understand it.  “Comfort” is not a sissy word; it isn’t coddling, giving a blanket, making someone feel all warm and fuzzy.

It’s a strong word that means to suck it up and hold your position.  Timothy encouraged them by reminding them what we read in verse four:

1Th 3:4    For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know.

This is a spiritual version of “I told you so!”  Paul had not minced words when he shared the Gospel in Thessalonica.  Before arriving there he had been falsely arrested, beaten, and incarcerated.  He let them know that in the world they would have much tribulation – more than the average Joe or Jane because they would become targets of the devil and his demons.

My idea of real spiritual, Scriptural comforting is to remind you of what you already know, or should know, so you will be strengthened to endure tribulation rather than seek to escape it.

Comfort equips you for the battle.  It sends you back to the front lines rather than issuing you a furlough.

Timothy was to “establish” and “encourage” them “concerning their faith” (v2).  Faith in Jesus Christ had put them in harms way.  Until they heard about Jesus, they were no threat to the devil.  They were taken captive by him to do his will.

By professing faith in Jesus, they had become enemy combatants.  No faith; no worries.  Faith in Jesus – warfare.

Paul believed their salvation hung in the balance:

1Th 3:5    For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.

He wanted to “know [their] faith.”  It means he wanted confirmation they were standing strong in their faith in Jesus Christ.  In terms of the Parable of the Sower, he wondered if the seed had fallen on stony ground and not taken root in them.

Paul chose to call the devil “the tempter.”  The only other place the devil is called “the tempter” is in Matthew’s Gospel when he is tempting Jesus.  The devil opposed Christ and he will oppose Christians.

Paul was thereby reminding the Thessalonians that they could and should expect satanic opposition and assault for being believers.

Knowing the fierceness of our enemy, and the fickleness of human nature, Paul’s anxiety was reasonable.  Some seed falls on stony ground and the devil’s attacks reveal its shallowness.  When folks are made to suffer for the Gospel, they can stumble and forsake it.

Hadn’t Paul called them God’s elect?  Sure – but that was after Timothy returned with his report that they were, indeed, standing fast.

If you’ve been saved a while, the devil still utilizes tribulations against you.  It’s not to steal the seed as if you were never saved but it can cause you to withdraw, to take yourself out of the battle.

In Second Corinthians 4:1 & 16 you read,

2Co 4:1    Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.
2Co 4:16    Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

Inbetween Paul talks about being “hard pressed… perplexed… persecuted… struck down” and “being delivered to death.”  Those tribulations contribute to make you “lose heart,” which is to grow discouraged to the point of withdrawing from the fight.

Hang in there!  It’s a war whose outcome is decided and you are on the winning side.

If you’ve been listening the past little while you might have noticed we’ve been talking about the devil and spiritual warfare quite a lot.  Well, so has the apostle Paul.  Satan has been a major character in both opening chapters.

He’s a major character throughout the Bible – from the Garden of Eden all the way until he is thrown into the Lake of Fire in the Revelation.

I just read an interesting article, Where is the Devil in Contemporary Christianity?  The author claims,

Most conservative Protestants will not openly or blatantly deny the non-symbolic existence of Satan or demons and, if pressed, will claim to believe in them as non-symbolic realities of some kind.  But, in my experience, anyway, most such pastors and theologians do not really want to deal with them.  They are left aside and rarely mentioned in sermons, Sunday School lessons, and Bible studies.

Paul considered the devil a very real and terrible opponent of the Gospel; so should we.

Don’t allow him to stumble you, to make you lose heart.  As Paul said in Second Corinthians 4:14, “He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.”

Your Next Stop: The Tribulation Zone (1 Thess 2v13-20)

The Twilight Zone used to freak me out.  Not the show itself, but my feeling that, at any moment, I could without warning enter the Twilight Zone – “Another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind, a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead: Your next stop: The Twilight Zone.”

I hate to admit it… But I sometimes get a similar feeling as a Christian.  It’s not the Twilight Zone I’m concerned about; it’s the Tribulation Zone!  It’s that strange dimension you enter without warning in which your world turns upside down with difficulties and dilemmas, troubles and tragedies, problems and pain.  That’s the signpost up ahead – and it says “suffering.”

Our text would be a great monologue to describe the Tribulation Zone.  Paul used several words to describe what you can expect as a Christian in this world:

1. In verse fourteen of chapter two, “suffered” is the same word the writers of the Gospels use to describe the sufferings of Jesus.
2. In verse fifteen, “persecuted” is a word that means driven out and rejected. “Contrary” is used to describe winds that blow against a ship to hinder its progress.
3. In verse eighteen, “hindered” describes a road broken up before you, rendering it impassable.
4. In verse three of chapter three, “afflictions” is pressure from circumstances.

You’re going to enter this zone a lot.  One of the first things the apostle Paul explained to new believers was that “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

We should follow his example and let people know that “in the world you will have tribulation.”

Now understand we are talking about tribulation in general, not the Great Tribulation that is coming upon the entire planet at the end of the age.

You receive aid in your tribulations – spiritual aid from at least three sources: the empowering of the Scriptures, the example of the saints, and the expectation of the Savior.

You have the empowering of the Scriptures as an aid:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

The Thessalonians both “received” and “welcomed” God’s Word.

“Received” means that they heard it preached.
“Welcomed” means that they accepted it into their hearts.
There was a transfer from the hearing to the heart.

Have you done that?  Have you transferred God’s Word from hearing to heart?  You’re told how in the last word of the verse: “believe.”

If you believe then God’s Word will “effectively work” in you.  God’s Word has within it the power to accomplish what it commands.

Jesus once commanded a crippled man to stretch out his hand – the very thing the man could not do.  He believed the Word of God and was empowered to do it and was made whole (Mark 3:1-5).

The Word of God has within it the empowering you need to remain steady rather than be shaken.

You have the example of the saints as an aid:

1 Thessalonians 2:14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans,
1 Thessalonians 2:15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,
1 Thessalonians 2:16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

The “Judean” “countrymen” Paul referred to were the Jews.  Most of the “persecution” that dogged Paul’s missionary journeys came either directly or indirectly from the Jews.

Sadly, the Jews had a long history of religious persecution: They had for centuries “killed… their own prophets” and had recently “killed… the Lord Jesus.”

Paul is not being anti-Semitic; he was not bigoted or prejudiced.  This was a simple statement of the facts.  When he said the Jews “killed… the Lord Jesus,” it is not to exclude the Romans who put Him to death… Nor is it to exclude the entire human race who put Him to death and for whom He died on the Cross.

Paul said the Jews were filling up “the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.”  There is a lot of end-times prophecy in that statement!  Having rejected Jesus as their promised Messiah, God temporarily set-aside the nation of Israel for discipline.  Their discipline included the destruction of their Temple and Jerusalem in 70AD; it continues today; it will culminate in the future seven-year Tribulation on the earth.

When Jesus returns to earth at the end of the Tribulation, “all Israel will be saved” as they “look upon Him Whom they pierced” and accept Jesus as their Messiah.

In the mean time: Jews who became Christians were persecuted by “their own countrymen,” their fellow Jews.

Most of the believers in Thessalonica were Gentiles and they were being persecuted by their own countrymen, fellow Gentiles.

The point of all this is that the Thessalonians were “imitators” of the example of saints before them – the example of suffering persecution for the sake of the Gospel.

It may sound weird but believers are to rejoice when persecuted because they are being treated just like the saints that preceded them and just like their Lord, Jesus Christ.  At one point in the Book of Acts, after having been beaten and warned never to speak again about Jesus, the disciples are described as “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41).

Your afflictions – especially persecutions because you are a believer – put you in the best company, among the greatest people the world has ever seen.  They are described in the Book of Hebrews by saying “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38).

Kirk Douglas starred as Spartacus, the gladiator who led other gladiators in a revolt against Rome, in the movie of the same name.  You might remember the film’s ending.  All the gladiators are captured and are being put to death.  The Romans will stop if Spartacus simply identifies himself, so they can kill him.  As he is about to reveal himself, all the gladiators, one-by-one, stand and shout, “I’m Spartacus!”  They gladly identify with him as their suffering leader.

In a sense, we do that when we suffer affliction like the saints who have preceded us; and like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You have the expectation of the Savior as an aid:

1 Thessalonians 2:17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.
1 Thessalonians 2:18 Therefore we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us.

“Hindered” means to break up or to cut-in.  You hinder the progress of an army by breaking-up the road ahead of them; you hinder the pace of a runner by cutting-in front of him.  Paul had a sense that some of his afflictions were satanic interference.

Satan is called “the god of this world.”  He is “the prince of the power of the air” who goes about “as a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour.”  Nonbelievers are said to be taken captive by him to do his will.  He is a liar; a thief; a murderer.

He’s not alone in his nefarious work.  One-third of a vast number of angels joined him in rebelling against God and are now organized in hierarchies of principalities and powers to spread chaos on the earth.  They are the rulers of the darkness of this age.  They are the hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The Gospels describe many of the afflictions and sufferings people faced as directly connected to the devil or his demons.  Jesus spent a great deal of time exorcizing demons from people or healing them of demonically caused diseases.

There is most definitely a war going on.  It’s ultimate end is the elimination of Satan and his demons.

First, at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, the devil and his demons will be cast into the Abyss, incarcerated for one thousand years.
Then, after the one thousand years, the devil (and presumably his demons) will be released, lead a failed rebellion and be cast alive in the Lake of Fire created especially for their punishment.

In the mean time God allows Satan a limited influence to “hinder” us.  In our minds, God’s limits and permission are too liberal.  I freely admit the suffering in our world bothers me.

Why does God permit some things but prohibit other things?  I usually frame it as the James & Peter problem.  James was arrested and beheaded.  Immediately afterwards, Peter was arrested and miraculously freed from prison by an angel before he could be beheaded.

Why?  There’s no way to answer that question this side of eternity.

In a sense it doesn’t matter why.  Paul would later explain that it was better to die, to be absent from the body and to be present with The Lord.  But if you didn’t die, then you were to be dedicated to serving The Lord as His soldier.

A few weeks ago I used the illustration of the Normandy Invasion of World War Two.  Everyone understands it was an absolutely brilliant strategy and that it was necessary in order for the Allied Forces to win the war.

But the commanders knew going in that there would be heavy casualties – both military and civilian.  They proceeded from the position of acceptable losses.

Since we are in a very real spiritual warfare, we can expect losses.  But in our case all losses are gains because we are always more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.

Remember, too, that the weapons and strategies of our warfare are not fleshly but are spiritual.  We ‘win’ by exhibiting things like meekness, gentleness, kindness, forgiveness and the like.  We ‘win’ the way Jesus won – by being crucified daily, by bearing His Cross and following Him.

Do we not consider martyrdom a great victory?  We do.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
1 Thessalonians 2:20 For you are our glory and joy.

The Thessalonians were aided in their afflictions by the expectation of seeing Jesus.  The “presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming” is a reference to the resurrection and rapture of the Church.  The believers of the Church Age will be caught-up to heaven – resurrected if dead, raptured if still alive; then rewarded by Jesus and reunited with their believing loved ones.  It will be a scene of incredible rejoicing.

Sometimes your afflictions are so severe that the expectation of seeing your Savior is all you have left.  It is enough!

Stephen epitomizes this for us.  The first martyr of the Christian era, as his body was being stoned to death he saw Jesus.  He had the face of an angel.

It was enough.

Hello Mother, Hello Father (1 Thessalonians 2v7-12)

The ‘traditional family’ is already (statistically, at least) a thing of the past.

Listen to these observations derived from the 2010 census:

Married couples represented just 48 percent of American households in 2010, far below the 78 percent of households occupied by married couples in 1950.
Just a fifth of households were traditional families – married couples with children – down from about a quarter a decade ago, and from 43 percent in 1950, as the iconic image of the American family continues to break apart.
In all, 41 states showed declines in traditional households of married couples with children.
The biggest change for the decade was the jump in households headed by women without husbands – up by 18 percent in the decade.
The next largest rise was in households whose occupants were not a family – up by about 16 percent.

How important is a ‘traditional family?’  Let’s look just at a few facts about fatherless homes.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children in America – one out of three – live in biological father-absent homes.

63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) – 5 times the average.
90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average.
85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average.  (Center for Disease Control).
71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average.  (National Principals Association Report).

The ‘traditional family’ is important to our text in First Thessalonians.  Paul assumes that his readers – both then and throughout history – will value the traditional family enough for him to describe his care for them like that of a mother and a father working together to raise their kids.

When Paul uses the illustration of the parent – whether the mother or the father – it is not to command authority over them or demand respect from them.  It is the qualities of being a mother or a father that he applies to his ministry among believers.

You see the qualities of a mother in verses seven and eight:

1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.
1 Thessalonians 2:8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

“Gentle” is not a word we normally associate with leadership but it is a mark of spiritual strength.

Jesus described Himself as gentle (Matthew 11:29).
Gentleness is listed among the qualities of Christian maturity in the pastoral epistles.

It means mild and kind and indicates that there is nothing harsh or heavy-handed in your dealings.

I’m always stunned by how frightened some folks are to come talk to me.  Then I find out that they had a terrible experience with a previous pastor.

I had an experience like that myself a few years ago.  Two families were in a dispute and a pretty well-known Christian leader was asked to mediate.  I was asked to accompany the family from our fellowship.  The meeting was a nightmare.  It was worse than anything I’d ever experienced in the business world.  I wasn’t allowed to comment at all; there was no mediation, only accusation with threats.  It was heavy- handed and manipulative. It made me sick.  It was anything but “gentle.”

You are to be as gentle among believers as a “nursing mother” is to “her own children.”  She “cherishes” them.  Here’s a question for all of us.  Do we treat annoying people the way we treat our infant children when they wake us up every few hours wanting to be fed?

A nursing mom has “an affectionate longing” for her baby.  She not only has a duty to feed her baby, she desires to do so.  She’s not working for wages.  Her baby is “dear” to her and she sacrifices her own life for it.
The particular application of this illustration is captured by the word “impart.”  The mother literally imparts her own life to her baby as she takes-in food, transforms food, and transfers food.

Gentleness and affection among believers begins, then, with taking in food.  Your food is, of course, God’s Word – the Bible.  But it’s not enough to simply take in good food; you also need to avoid bad food.  When you are nursing you are careful what you eat… What medicines you take… What you drink…

You and I fail in our responsibilities as nursing moms if we take in things that could be harmful to other believers.  We should be just as careful as we would if we were nursing a baby.

Gentleness and affection among believers is furthered as you transform food.  You take in food, then your body digests it so it can be used to further your life.  God’s Word is food that needs to be digested to further your spiritual life.  The result is a constant spiritual transformation of your thinking that affects your living.

Gentleness and affection among believers is furthered as you transfer food.  Food produces energy to accomplish work.  God’s Word gives you energy to accomplish His spiritual work.  Get busy for God!  You don’t want to have spiritual indigestion.

In verses nine, ten, and eleven the illustration changes to that of the other parent – the father.  Again I want to remind you that Paul is not using this illustration to command authority or to demand respect.  It is the qualities of being a father he wants to apply to your life among believers.  Those qualities can be seen in the father’s work, walk, and words.

The work of a father:
1 Thessalonians 2:9 For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

“Laboring day and night” refer to Paul and his companions working to support themselves so as not to be a burden to the new believers.  He wanted them to know that the Gospel was a gift to them and that, though costly, it was free.

“Laboring day and night” also describes the father who works hard to maintain his household.

A mother protects; a father provides.  We have coined the term “deadbeat dad” to describe a father who refuses to support his children.  We don’t want to be deadbeat spiritual fathers by expecting other believers to do the work of the ministry.

When we use the phrase, “the work of the ministry,” we mean the church but not just the church.

As to the church, we have been called-out by God to meet together.  Meeting together dictates certain work that needs to be done to facilitate the worship of God and the teaching of His Word.  All of us have some part to play in that work.

The work of the ministry is also everywhere God has scattered us in the world.  People tell me all the time that God needs Christians in their particular field of employment, and that’s true.  But He needs them to be Christians – to bring Christ to their workplace somehow.

And by ‘somehow’ I mean you should push right up against the limits, if there are any.
The walk of a father:

1 Thessalonians 2:10 You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe;

“Devoutly” describes your motives.  You’re doing it all for The Lord; everything as unto The Lord.

“Justly” describes your public duties toward others, to treat them honestly, fairly, and without favoritism.

“Blamelessly” means no charge against you can stick.  It is the result of being devout and just.

Fathers ought to live so that they are good examples to their children.  Your kids may not always follow your good example; but you should not give them a bad example to follow.  The same holds in the spiritual realm.  We saw in our last study the importance and power of personal example.  A bad spiritual example can cause harm.

The words of a father:

1 Thessalonians 2:11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,

“Exhorted” means to come alongside to encourage.  It has to do with focusing on the proper behavior.  You are to encourage believers to do the right thing – just as a father would encourage his son or daughter to do the right thing.

“Comforted” is similar to exhorted except it has the further meaning of inspiring your children.  It’s not enough to tell your kids what’s right and wrong.  You need to inspire them that what is right is also good for them and will result in blessing.  You are to comfort other believers by inspiring them to continue what is good, to look forward to the blessings to come at the end of their life’s course.

“Charged” means to witness or testify from your own experiences.  We joke about telling kids what went on “back in my days…”  But that’s the idea.

You can only exhort and comfort to the extent that the things you share are real to you; that they ‘work’ for you.  Christianity cannot be theoretical.

1Thessalonians 2:12    that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

“Walk” means walking around and refers to your everyday conduct.  “Worthy” means weight, as in a measurement of value, like the carat weight of a precious gemstone.

You are to walk around everyday with a weight that is appropriate to your value as a child of God.  You might even ask yourself of your desires and decisions, “Is it worthy?”

“Calls you into His own kingdom and glory” looks forward to the Second Coming of Jesus.  He will return to this earth and establish upon it a real kingdom that He will rule from Jerusalem for one thousand years.

If you’re someone who reads Bible commentaries, and you get one on First Thessalonians, you’ll see that the scholars get sidetracked in this section in verse seven, over the particular word translated “gentle.”  Some manuscripts read “gentle” while others read “babies.”  It’s because the word for “gentle” is ēpioi while the word for “babies” is nēpioi – one letter being the difference.  Most prefer “gentle” due to the context.  So do I… But let’s consider if Paul meant “babies.”

If it’s “babies” we could say that Paul considered he and his companions “babies” and “mothers” and “fathers.”  It sounds like a strange mixed metaphor but I kind of like what he was getting at.

At any moment I might need to treat a person like the mother described in these verses.  Or like the father described in these verses.

At another moment, I might need them to treat me like the “baby.”

All the time we are to be the family of God – we might say the traditional church family – in caring for one another.