1Thessalonians 1:3-5
Building A Sound Christian and A Sound Church
Last week, we began studying the book of 1Thessalonians. We did not get as far
into it as I had hoped, but we did make some inroads. We looked pretty thoroughly
at the background of the book (Acts 17). Then we looked at a few details in the
salutation.
I. \\#1Thess 1:1-2\\ Introduction
II. \\#1Thess 1:3-10\\ Paul’s Knowledge of the Thessalonians
A. \\#1:3\\ Paul knew the Thessalonians’ devotion.
B \\#1:4-5\\ Paul knew of the Thessalonians’ salvation.
C. \\#1:6-10\\ Paul knew of the Thessalonians’ character.
Introduction
You can see from the outline that Paul is going to write about what he knows about
the Thessalonians.
1. Of course, Paul met some of these people when he was there.
a. Even though the Jews in the city had been very hostile toward Paul,
others had been very courageous and helpful.
(1) \\#Acts 17:4\\ tells us a great multitude of "devout" Greeks
and "chief" were saved there.
(2) Jason had housed Paul.
(3) Some unknown believers must have sought Jason’s release and
helped get Paul out of town.
b. Paul acknowledges those there who labored for Christ.
2. Not only does this section recognize the believers’ devotion, it also
reveals what it takes to build a church for Christ.
a. Building a church that stands for Christ has never been an easy task.
b. The task of building a church in a hostile environment must really
complicate things.
c. These Thessalonians were building two great works at the same time.
a sound life and a sound church.
II. \\#1Thess 1:3-10\\ Paul’s Knowledge of the Thessalonians
A. \\#1:3\\ Paul knew the Thessalonians’ devotion. Paul acknowledges three
characteristics of the Thessalonians’ devotion and of what is necessary to
build a sound life and church.
1. Paul knew their "work of faith."
a. This is a tremendous phrase.
b. First, it recognizes that these people worked for Christ.
(1) That is seen again in the second phrase, "a LABOR of love."
(2) No WORK for God will ever be built without WORK.
(3) Work is the investment of energy and time to secure results.
(4) Whether it is praying, witnessing, teaching and preaching,
helping the sick, feeding the hungry or whatever, work
must be given to the task.
(5) All the work necessary to build a church is not spiritual
work.
(a) Thank God for those who will clean a window, take out
trash, paint a wall, work on a committee.
(b) Most work is mundane, but it still has to be done.
c. Second, it recognizes that one of the greatest works a believer
can engage in is having faith in God.
(1) The mark of a sound Christian and a sound church are the
same-have faith in God.
(2) Faith is "seeing what is on God’s mind."
(a) Anyone can build a large church by finding out what
is on the people’s mind and then building the church
in that direction.
(b) To build a sound church, we must find out what is on
God’s mind and build the church in THAT direction.
(3) What is on God’s mind? I don’t know all of the things on
God’s mind but the Bible makes some things clear.
(a) It is proclaiming the truth.
(b) It is winning the lost.
(c) It is helping those in need (oppressed, orphans,
sick, and the elderly).
(d) It is bringing glory to God.
2. Paul knew their "labor of love."
a. This is another great phrase.
b. The work the church must be done out of love.
c. It must be done out of love for God.
(1) There is no higher motivation than to love God.
(2) The Apostle Paul is a great example.
(3) No amount of wealth could have motivated him to give his whole
life, in deadly and tortured situations, for the cause of Christ.
(4) There was one motivation that moved him more than any
other—his love for his God.
d. But there is a second motivation that, although not as powerful
as the first, moved Paul.
(1) His love for others.
(2) If we could ever get a glimpse of the fact that people who
have never been properly introduced to Jesus go to hell,
we would certainly do more for Jesus.
3. Paul knew their "patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."
a. This phrase has not caught on in Christian circles like the
first two have.
b. It takes two thoughts and makes one out of them.
(1) "patience… in our Lord Jesus Christ."
(2) "hope… in our Lord Jesus Christ."
c. To build a sound life and a sound church requires patience in
our Lord.
(1) You see, you know when you are serving the Lord that you
are serving the Highest Power there is.
(2) That makes it is difficult when you are doing something
for Jesus, and you know that God could get into that
thing and make it accomplish much, but God doesn’t.
(3) Hence, the need for patience.
(a) We need some patience FROM the Lord Jesus Christ and
we need some patience IN the Lord Jesus Christ.
(b) Patience is "waiting without anxiety."
(c) It means that we continue and leave the results to
God—both in our life and in our ministry.
(4) Without having this kind of patience, God’s servants may
get discouraged, falsely thinking that what we are doing
doesn’t matter to God, and even quit.
(a) Actually, what this is showing us is exactly the
opposite.
(b) What this shows us is that WE are the MOST IMPORTANT
thing to God.
(c) The fact that God directs us to do something and then
does not bless it like we would want means that the
God’s primary emphasis is on US more than on what we
do.
(d) Now, of course God is concerned about what we do.
i. That is why God gives us project to work on.
ii. Some of those projects are on us and some are on
others.
iii. However, God is more always more interested in US
than on WHAT WE ARE DOING.
iv. So sometimes, God lets what we are doing go so that
He can work on US.
aa. He might be working on our patience,
bb. our determination,
cc. our fortitude,
dd. and all of those other qualities that makes us
more like Christ.
(5) We must never confuse the results of what we do with the
concern of God for us.
(a) God tells us that our thoughts and ways do not correlate
with His.
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD.
(b) What we must do is to stay faithful to what God has
called us to do and leave the results to Him.
d. To build a sound life and church requires hope in the Lord.
(1) At the same time these Christians were patient with God, they
maintained their hope that God would bless them.
(2) Hope in the Bible speaks of desire and longing.
(3) Our desire in serving God must be that God would do a great
and supernatural work with us.
(a) It is not natural to combine a great patience with a great
longing.
(b) Typically, one of the other wins out.
(c) These Christians walked the line and maintained both.
B. \\#1:4-5\\ Paul knew of the Thessalonians’ salvation.
1. \\#4\\ Notice the word "KNOWING."
a. The word means "cannot tell" but then it has the absolute negative
added to it to mean "can tell."
b. Strong’s defines it as "to perceive with the eyes or by other
senses, to notice, discern, to see, to observe."
(1) Paul is saying, "I know you got saved because I saw it."
(2) Paul is judging their spiritual condition based on the change
he saw in their lives while he was there.
(3) This first hand, visible change becomes a building thought for
the next few verses.
(4) Some of what Paul says about the people in that church is
based on what he observed about them first hand.
c. Of course, you and I can not see what takes place in the heart,
and unless the Holy Spirit told Paul, he couldn’t either.
(1) But what you do on the outside is a good indicator of what is
happening on the inside.
(2) I believe that is why the Bible has so many verses that
condemn those committing outward sins.
1Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.
(3) Some say you can’t judge a book by its cover and that is true;
BUT, a book that is written for the clean and upright should
not have a XXX rating.
2. Paul calls them "brethren"; Paul calls them "beloved"; and Paul calls
them the elect.
a. He calls them brethren and the elect because of what he "knew" about
them.
(1) The word "election" here should not cause any concern.
(2) To elect means to to choose, and while that way that word may
be used in other texts might concern some, here Paul is
basing the expression on what he had SEEN himself not on what
some might believe God did or didn’t do.
b. He calls them beloved here because the command and challenge of
God’s people is to love one another.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another.
Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law.
3. \\#5\\ Paul credits part of the change in the life of the Thessalonians
to the power in the lives of those that delivered the gospel to them.
a. Here again is what is needed to build a church—saved, changed, and
spirit-filled Christians.
b. Just like Christians are entitled to make some calls about a person’s
spiritual condition based on their lifestyle so non-Christians are
entitled to make some calls about a Christian’s spiritual condition
based on their lifestyle.
c. Paul points out that the lives of those who delivered the gospel to
the Thessalonians were marked by three characteristics.
(1) Theirs were lives touched by a changing POWER.
(a) Again, this is what Paul "knew."
(b) He had seen it.
(c) In the next section, he will get into the fact that
this view he had was not just a snap shot of their
behavior while he was there, but what he had seen of
them and their new life since he had left.
(2) Theirs were lives filled with the HOLY GHOST. (Again, more in
the next section.)
(3) Theirs were lives of solid ASSURANCE in the things of God.
(a) Paul was sure of God and His promises.
(b) God always rewards such assurance.
(c) Such assurance always makes an impression on others.
C. \\#6-10\\ Paul knew of the Thessalonians’ character.
1. Paul is speaking now both of what he saw (knowing \\#4\\ while there
and what he has seen of that church since he left.
2. These are the marks of a sound Christian and a sound church.
a. \\#6\\ They became followers of their teachers and the Lord,
despite the affliction they had to endure.
b. \\#7\\ They because examples to other Christians of how to live
for Jesus.
c. \\#8\\ They became evangelistic locally and abroad.
d. \\#9\\ Their changed lives demonstrated a total abandonment of
false gods and a total commitment to Christ.
e. \\#10\\ They set their hope on the return of Jesus Christ.
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