1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-4
1Th 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; 4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
1Th 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus (Silas, who replaced Barnabas on the second missionary journey, Acts 15:22-18:5), and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ:
The absence of any reference to Paul’s apostleship in any of his inspired writings to the Macedonian churches, namely, those in Thessalonica and Philippi, is noteworthy. He mentioned his apostleship in all his other epistles and sometimes had to defend it vigorously (e.g., in 2 Corinthians). Evidently the Macedonian churches never questioned
· Paul is the author of this epistle, but he uses the word we many times to describe the joint efforts of these three brothers in the ministry at Thessalonica. Whenever you think of the leadership team here at Koinonia, you need to think with the word we, not just me.
· Leadership Ministry or oversight is a team effort of the combined callings and giftings of God as they operate in and through the various pastors, elders and deacons.
· Like wise, whenever you think of any area of ministry here, be it children’s church, Father’s Heart ministry, nursing home ministry, greeters ministry, music and praise ministry, meals ministry, greeters ministry, etc, they are the combined efforts of Spirit filled, Christ loving people under the oversight of various leaders.
· If you consider KF to be your home church and you can’t point a finger at yourself tonight and say that when I was speaking about ministry he is speaking about me, ask yourself the question why not?
· Just like you and I depend on every part of our physical bodies to do what God designed them to do, likewise, God designs His body to operate in and through people like you and me....are you available? Are you willing?
Geographically, this letter is written to people who are living in Thessalonica. Theologically, these people are in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ
· Every single Christian and every single congregation have 2 residences; a permanent one in heaven (Phil 3:20), and a temporary one wherever God in His sovereign providence plants us as ambas sadors (2 Cor 5:20).
· It is important to remember that the local church does not belong to a group of elders or any other kind of leaders. We belong to Jesus Christ and have been saved to know Him and serve Him.
· Jesus told Peter, feed My sheep. As a pastor, I love you guys, but I do not own you…you belong to Jesus.
o Ac 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
o 1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; {which...: or, as much as in you is} 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
o 2Co 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
§ Our non-doctrinal philosophy of ministry as the leadership here at KF is that by the grace of God you precious people are the best fed and best loved sheep possible.
The Greek word ekkelsia for the English word church means called out ones. A local church is a group of people who have been sovereignly called out by God from the mass of humanity to a life of separation unto Him and supreme devotion to Him.
· We have been 1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
· We have been “called out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
· The church is not a social club or an entertainment center. Neither is it a cold and frozen organization or a company; it is a spiritual organism that is called a body.
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This calling is purely of grace. The order of greeting is always grace first and then peace (or mercy), not the other way around. Grace is the Greek form of greeting and peace or shalom is the Hebrew form of greeting.
“Grace” was a common Greek salutation that meant “greeting” or “rejoice.” “Peace” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew shalom meaning “favor,” “well-being,” and “prosperity in the widest sense,” especially prosperity in spiritual matters.
Theologically, a person will never experience the peace of God in their lives until he or she has been regenerated by the grace of God, through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ. Both grace and peace come through Jesus Christ (John 1.14,17)
No church can give you saving grace, no pastor or priest can give you saving grace, only The Lord Jesus Christ can give you saving grace.
Paul begins and ends this letter with the cause of his salvation....the grace of God.
The word grace means “free and unmerited favor and blessing,” and the word peace describes the relation Christians have with God and should cultivate with other people.
Ro 5:1 ¶ Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
1 Thess 5.13 And be at peace among yourselves.
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Lord is His title; Kurios is the Septuagint representation of the Hebrew Yahweh of the Old Testament. Jesus, His name (Yeshua; Jehovah is salvation); Christ is the Greek translation of the “Messiah” of the Old Testament and means “Anointed One.”
1Th 1:2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
The ministry of prayer for the church is essential to pastoral ministry (Acts 6:4; Romans 1:9; 2 Timothy 1:3). When the church began to grow numerically, and there was an increase in the practical needs of the body, the apostles delegated the work to others in the body and said,
Ac 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
Ro 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day
When I read this passage, it challenges you and me to pray for our church, specifically. Not just a generic, “Lord, bless our church,” but specific expressions of gratitude for individuals in our church. The weekly bulletin and internet prayer chain are tremendous sources of people and things to pray about.
Specific areas of ministry….outreaches….upcoming events (VBS etc) Start with weekly studies, nursing home and Father’s Heart ministry….Sunday school class, or youth or college group. Cry out to God for individuals in your ministry. Paul had a prayer list. Do you? Use a prayer list, a prayer diary, a prayer card.
In the second chapter, Paul writes why he thanked God for these people. 1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
The proof or evidence that the Thessalonians or any other church for that matter had truly received the Word of God is mentioned in verse 3.
1Th 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
· Note the oft repeated trinity of Christian virtues, faith, hope and love. 1 Cor 13:13 “And now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” This threefold fruit of The Spirit is evidence of genuine salvation and a Spirit filled body.
Please note the words in the sight of God. Saints, what God saw in these saints is what God is looking for in you and me personally and this local fellowship.
· Work of faith. That is, works which result from faith. - James 2:14-26, Hebrews 11:4-12,17-39. The faith of the believers at Thessalonica was the fruit of genuine repentance.
o When they turned to God, they turned away from idols with the evidence of good works. Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
· Labor of love. The word for labor here means wearying toil involving sweat to the point of exhaustion. Their self denying toil for others motivated by a love for Christ and for one another. 2 Cor 5:14, 1 Cor 13:1-8.
· Patience of hope. the word for patience here describes the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty. And what was the source of this patience? Their faith in Christ Jesus and hope of Our Lord’s return for His church. Titus 2:13.
o The Thessalonians expected the imminent return of Jesus Christ which is one of the reasons why Paul would have to tell them to not quit their jobs and just sit lazily at home awaiting for Him to come.....Occupy til Jesus comes is the duty of every Christian!
o Our faith is not a passive or lazy man’s faith.... Trust in Jesus and in His saving purposes compels us to work for Him. Love for Jesus and our fellow man prompts us to act in love for others. Hope in Christ’s promised return inspires us to continue working patiently until we meet Him in the air or see Him face to face. Irish Proverb...Hope is the physician of every misery. (put name of Jesus where the word hope is)
How did Paul know these people were saved, and as we will see in verse 4, the elect of God?
o By their works of faith, self-denying labors of love and a patient (but hopeful) waiting for the Lord Jesus to return for us.
o When we get to verses 9 and 10 if this chapter we will see once again these three evidences of salvation: the work of faith (they turned to God from idols); the labor of love (they served the living God); the patience of hope (they waited for Christ to return).
o All of this is because of the sovereign work of God’s grace. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith....He is the source and object of our love.....He is our hope!! Have you placed your complete faith in Him? Are you putting that faith on display by acts of love in His Name? Does your life reflect a true sense of anticipation of His return?
1Th 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God
· “Knowing”! Where Christians will spend eternity is a certainty (1 John 5:11-13). Your election of God: Weima suggests, “The fact that the apostle uses the term election without any accompanying explanation suggests that this subject must have been an integral part of his original preaching in the Thessalonian church.
· The mystery of God’s election and man’s decision will never be able to be fully explained this side of heaven. In the biblical doctrine of election, man’s finite mind meets head-on with the infinite mind of God. A man once asked Spurgeon. “How do you reconcile these two truths?” The preacher replied, “I never try to reconcile friends.”
§ A.W. Tozer writes, “We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. 'No man can come to me,' said our Lord, 'except the Father which hath sent me draw him,' and it is by this very prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for he act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand: 'Thy right hand upholdeth me.' In this divine 'upholding' and human 'following' there is no contradiction. All is of God, for as von Hugel teaches, God is always previous. We love Him because He first loved us. In practice, however, (that is, where God's previous working meets man's present response) man must pursue God. On our part there must be positive reciprocation if this secret drawing of God is to eventuate in identifiable experience of the Divine. In the warm language of personal feeling this is stated in the Forty-second Psalm: 'As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?' This is deep calling unto deep, and the longing heart will understand it. ”
· These twin truths of election and human responsibility are not contradictory; but biblical and complementary. Does the bible teach predestination? Absolutely:
§ Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
§ Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
§ All predestination and election are in Christ Jesus. Not a single soul is predestined or elected apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Predestination and election within the trinity:
· As far as God the Father is concerned, we were saved when He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).
· As far as the Spirit is concerned, we were saved when we responded to His call and received Christ.
· As far as the Son is concerned, we were saved when He died for us on the cross.
· Does God choose us or do we choose Him? Yes!!!
§ Yes, God chooses us: John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
· The hyper Calvinists need to remember that being chosen by Jesus is not always an assurance of being saved… John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
§ Yes, we are commanded to choose Christ:
· Ac 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
· John 7:37 ¶ In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
§ Does God choose for man to perish?
· 2Pe 3:9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
· Mt 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (not man)
§ How does a person discover if he or she is one of the elect of God? How did the Thessalonians discover that they were the elect of God? They received the gospel of Jesus Christ.
· 1Co 15:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
· Ro 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 ¶ For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
o There are no doubts, no ifs, no maybes, and no buts. We can know that we are elect, if we have believed in Christ.
o Election is based on the promise of God that whosoever believes on His Son Jesus Christ has eternal life.
o We learn in our study tonight that election and evangelism go together. The person who says, “God will save those He wants to save and He doesn’t need my help!” understands neither election nor evangelism. In the Bible, election always involves responsibility. God chose Israel and made them an elect nation so that they might witness to the Gentiles.
There are many Christians who would prefer that we “skip over” “controversial” doctrines like predestination or election, but as you probably discovered tonight, they are biblical words inspired a The Holy Ghost.
Let me close tonight by quoting from Baptist Pastor Adrian Rogers;
“it is better to speak the truth that hurts, and then heals, than falsehood that comforts, then kills. It is not love, and it is not friendship, if we fail do declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. It is impossible to find anyone in the Bible who was a power for God who did not have enemies and was not hated. It’s better to stand alone with the truth than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better ultimately to succeed with truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie.”