Introduction

¹

When I was a college student, I was preparing to become a school teacher. That meant taking a number of education courses. The first day of class the professor handed out blank cards and asked each student to write out his reasons for taking the class and what they expected to gain from it. I wrote a wonderful, flowery piece and turned it in. But my conscience got the best of me, and so I went in to see the professor and fess up. My conversation went something like this:

“Dr. Smith,² I wasn’t entirely honest in what I wrote on my card. The only reason I’m taking this class is because I was told I had to in order to become a teacher. I don’t really expect to gain much of anything.”

I think one could safely say that my expectations for that class were extremely low, and my motivation for taking it was lacking as well. (For your information, the class barely met my expectations.)

Now it is time for me to make yet another confession regarding my expectations for the saints at Thessalonica. As I read the account of the birth of the church in Thessalonica in the Book of Acts, I find that my expectations for that church are really low. There were a number of Thessalonians who came to faith through Paul’s ministry in the synagogue – some (which I take to mean “a few”) Jews, a large number of God-fearing Gentiles, and a number of prominent women (Acts 17:4). But Paul’s ministry came to an abrupt halt, thanks to unbelieving Jews and Gentile thugs for hire (17:5-9). From that point on in Acts, little is said of Thessalonica, and so it would seem to the one reading Acts that this church just sort of falls out of sight and out of mind. How could one leave Acts with high hopes for the Thessalonians?

There is another reason why one’s expectations for the Thessalonian saints might be low, and that is because of the way Luke (the author of Acts) commends the saints at Berea, the city to which Paul retreated after being driven out of Thessalonica. Listen to how Luke speaks highly of the Bereans:

10 The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea at once, during the night. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 These Jews were more open-minded [noble-minded, NASB] than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men (Acts 17:10-12, emphasis mine).

Okay, be honest, which of these two places would you expect to produce a thriving church whose witness was so powerful that word of it reached far and wide? Would you not assume it would be Berea? How many times have you heard the Bereans commended (and rightly so) for their devotion to the Holy Scriptures and for their diligence in testing Paul’s synagogue teaching by the Word of God? And yet we do not find 1 and 2 Bereans in our New Testaments, though we do find 1 and 2 Thessalonians. One of the goals of this message will be to try to discern why the church at Thessalonica is so highly commended by Paul, when the New Testament is virtually silent regarding the church at Berea.³ What made the difference between these two groups of believers?

My Approach in This Message

My plan in this introductory message is to trace the history of the birth of the churches at Thessalonica and Berea as recorded in the Book of Acts. In this message, I intend to compare Luke’s account in Acts 17 with what Paul has to say in his writings to the Thessalonians. There are a number of details that Luke chose not to include in his account, and we will want to discern what they were and why they were omitted. What I want to do is compare what Luke tells us about the church in Thessalonica with what he says about the way the gospel was received in Berea. Then I want to seek some insight into why the church at Thessalonica did so well (according to Paul’s assessment in 1 and 2 Thessalonians), while the church at Berea simply drops out of sight in the New Testament. I am hoping that this will help us establish some expectations regarding our study of these two epistles. I am also hopeful that this lesson will motivate you – as it has me – to enthusiastically enter into this study of the Thessalonian epistles.

The Birth of the Church at Thessalonica
Acts 17:1-15

1 After they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” 4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. 5 But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly. 6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting against Caesar’s decrees, saying there is another king named Jesus!” 8 They caused confusion among the crowd and the city officials who heard these things. 9 After the city officials had received bail from Jason and the others, they released them.

10 The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea at once, during the night. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 These Jews were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God in Berea, they came there too, inciting and disturbing the crowds. 14 Then the brothers sent Paul away to the coast at once, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. 15 Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left (Acts 17:1-15).⁴

Paul’s First Missionary Journey ⁵

The story begins much earlier in Acts than chapter 17. In Acts 13, we read that the church at Antioch sent out Barnabas and Saul as missionaries, as directed by the Holy Spirit. In this first missionary journey, Barnabas and Saul commenced their journey at Syrian Antioch, then proclaimed Christ in Cyprus, and from there traveled to Perga (where John Mark abandoned them and returned to Jerusalem – Acts 13:35), and then to Pisidian Antioch, where Paul preached at the synagogue (see Acts 13:16-41). From there, Paul and Barnabas went on to Iconium where Paul again preached in the synagogue, with many believing in Jesus (Acts 14:1-5). When the opposition made it impossible to remain, they traveled to Lystra, where Paul healed the man lame from birth, resulting in the attempt of the people of the city to worship Paul and Barnabas as two of the gods they worshipped. With great difficulty, the crowds were persuaded to cease worshipping them, and then Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and succeeded in stirring up the crowds. Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city, and presumed to be dead, but when the disciples gathered around him, Paul arose⁶ and went into the city, and the next day moved on to Derbe (Acts 14:19-20). From Derbe, Paul and Barnabas turn back, virtually retracing their steps (with some exceptions) to Antioch, visiting the churches they had established on their return.

Upon their return, Paul and Barnabas were confronted by Judaisers who insisted that in order to be saved, Gentiles must not only trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ, but they must also be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. This precipitated a debate which was settled by the Jerusalem Council (see Acts 15:1-29). The decision was that Gentiles were not required to keep the law, something that the Jews had been unable to do. A letter was written to the church at Antioch and also to the churches which had been established by Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas would need to retrace their steps, visiting those churches that they had planted on their first missionary journey.

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (Part 1)

The rub came when Barnabas was insistent that they should take John Mark along on this visit. Paul strongly opposed doing so, and as a result, Paul and Barnabas went their separate ways. Barnabas took John Mark with him to Cyprus, where they would visit the churches established there. Paul chose Silas (known as Silvanus in 1 and 2 Thessalonians) to go with him, and he also added Timothy when they reached Lystra (the city where Paul had been stoned and left for dead). Timothy had already proven himself faithful in this dangerous place and was well spoken of by the believers there who knew him well.

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (Part 2)

Since Barnabas and John Mark were returning to Cyprus, Paul changed his route, going by land to Derbe, and then retracing his steps to Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. The question was, “Where should they go now?” Should they return to Antioch, breaking no new ground, or should they press on to new ground? They considered going southwest to Asia Minor, but the Holy Spirit in some way forbade them from doing so (Acts 16:6). They attempted to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them to do this (Acts 16:7). So they went northwest to Troas, a port city on the Aegean Sea. The big question was, “Where do we go from here?” The answer came in the night when Paul received his “Macedonian Vision” (Acts 16:9).

Paul, Silas, Timothy, and (it would seem) Luke travel by sea from Troas to the Macedonian port city of Neapolis, and from there they make their way ten miles or so to Philippi, located on the main thoroughfare linking Rome to Constantinople. At Philippi, there appears to have been no synagogue, but Paul and his companions did find a small group of women, among them was Lydia, a God-fearer who had gathered with other women for prayer. God opened her heart, and she and her household believed and were baptized (Acts 16:13-14). She persuaded Paul and his colleagues to stay at her home. When Paul cast a demon out of a young fortune-teller, her owners became furious. They falsely accused Paul and Silas, who were dragged before the authorities, summarily beaten, and then imprisoned, all contrary to the law, for Paul was a Roman citizen. A great earthquake resulted in the salvation of the jailer and his family. When the authorities sent word that Paul and Silas were to be released, Paul refused to go quietly. I believe he did so for the sake of the church he would leave behind, and so that he would be free to return to Philippi as he saw fit. When the authorities publicly demonstrated their error to Paul’s satisfaction, Paul visited with the believers and then set out to the west on the Egnatian Way.

Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, the capital of the province of Macedonia, some 100 miles from Philippi. Paul spoke at the synagogue there for three Sabbaths, proclaiming Jesus as the Promised Messiah. Luke tells us that some Jews were persuaded, and that a good many God-fearing Gentiles were converted as well, among whom were some very influential women. I suspect that it is this last seemingly off-hand comment that may have provoked the unbelieving Jews to react, convincing (bribing?) a number of “lewd men of the baser sort” (I love the way the King James Version translated this) to create a disturbance that would involve the civil authorities. The fabricated charge was that these Jews were revolutionaries, having come to town only to cause trouble. Providentially, none of the missionary team was there at the home of Jason when the mob converged on the place. Jason had to post bond, and Paul and Silas were sent off in the dark of night to Berea.⁷

Berea seems like a breath of fresh air. It was some 50 miles southwest of Thessalonica. Since it was not located along the Egnatian Way, it was more of an out-of-the-way, sleepy town, and seemingly just the kind of refuge that Paul and the others needed after the trauma they had experienced at Thessalonica. There was a significantly different reception to Paul’s preaching at the synagogue there in Berea. Luke tells us that these folks were more “noble-minded than those in Thessalonica.” They seemed eager to search the Scriptures and to test Paul’s teaching with the Word of God. Rather than the few (“some”) Jews who believed Paul’s message in Thessalonica, “many” of the Jews in Berea believed, along with a good number of prominent Greek men and women (Acts 17:12).

Things seemed to be going well for Paul and the others until the unbelieving Thessalonian Jews received word that Paul and his associates were well received in Berea. Once again, the crowds were stirred up, and it was pretty easy to see that this was destined to become a re-run of their experience in Thessalonica. Paul was quickly sent out of town, though Silas and Timothy remained behind. (Obviously, Paul was the “lightening rod” who attracted the strongest opposition.) Paul was escorted as far as Athens, where he waited for Silas and Timothy to join him. From the verses that follow in Acts 17, we know that while in Athens, Paul preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath and daily in the market place (Acts 17:17).

What Can We Learn From Luke’s Account in Acts 17?

First of all we can see why it was wise not to take John Mark along on this missionary journey. Some may have felt that Paul was unnecessarily harsh in refusing to allow John Mark to accompany them on their second missionary journey. Neither Paul nor Barnabas (nor anyone else) knew what lay ahead, but Paul was certainly right to expect that there would be opposition like that which they experienced on their first missionary journey. John Mark bailed out even before the worst of the persecution (Paul’s stoning) on the first missionary journey. The second journey was hardly any easier. Mark would need to demonstrate his endurance in the midst of persecution before Paul would give him a second chance to make a dangerous trip with him.

On the other hand, Barnabas was not wrong to desire to restore Mark to faithfulness and to fruitful ministry. We know from Paul’s words later on that Barnabas was used of God to restore Mark to faithfulness and fruitfulness.⁸ In the light of subsequent Scripture, we can see that the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas was divinely used to create two missionary teams, with each serving its proper role in God’s plan to spread the gospel.

Second, we can see why Paul would encourage some Christians to remain single. Being reminded of the difficulties of missionary life for Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy, it is fairly easy to understand why Paul would encourage some who are single to remain that way in order to serve God more effectively.⁹ Can you imagine what Paul’s ministry would have been like if he had attempted to take a wife and children with him on his missionary journeys? Staying single (as we assume Paul did¹⁰) allowed Paul to live dangerously, boldly proclaiming the gospel in hostile situations, knowing that only he (and not his family) would suffer the consequences. Those who contemplate “front-line” service in dangerous parts of the world (and perhaps others) need to take Paul’s words about remaining single into consideration. (I speak as a married man, and as one who would also maintain that being married also facilitates certain ministries that singleness does not.)

Third, we gain insight into God’s way of guiding His servants. I love the words of John Stott and others related to God’s guidance in Acts 16:

A. T. Pierson in his The Acts of the Holy Spirit drew attention to what he called ‘the double guidance of the apostle and his companions’, namely, ‘on the one hand prohibition and restraint, on the other permission and constraint.’ They are forbidden in one direction, invited in another; one way the Spirit says “go not”; the other he calls “Come.” Pierson went on to give some later examples from the history of missions of this same ‘double guidance’: Livingstone tried to go to China, but God sent him to Africa instead. Before him, Carey planned to go to Polynesia in the South Seas, but God guided him to India. Judson went to India first, but was driven on to Burma. We too in our day, Pierson concluded, ‘need to trust him for guidance and rejoice equally in his restraints and constraints.’¹¹

Fourth, from Luke we see the failure of Israel to turn to God as a nation, and thus the commencement of the “times of the Gentiles.” We come to understand Luke’s purpose in writing Acts, both in what he includes and also in what he excludes from his account. There are a number of important details omitted in Acts that Paul supplies for his readers in 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Luke’s purpose in writing Acts (and in ending when and where he did) was to show that Israel as a nation had not repented and trusted in Jesus as their Messiah, even though there was ample evidence to prove that He was who He claimed to be. The closing words of Acts in chapter 28 indicate that Israel has had its opportunity to repent and believe in Jesus; now the times of the Gentiles has come (see Luke 21:24; Romans 11:25).

Fifth, we see two of Paul’s methods of evangelizing the lost. Acts 17 (not unlike Acts 13) gives us a rather clear picture of what Paul’s ministry to the Jews looked like. He went to the synagogue “as was his custom” and demonstrated how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies pertaining to the coming of Messiah. But just a few verses later, we also are given insight into Paul’s method of evangelizing Gentiles.

I would find at least two areas of application here. The first is that one cannot use a single method to communicate the gospel to different kinds of people and to different cultures. We see this in the Gospels as well, for our Lord presented the gospel very differently to Nicodemus in John 3 than He did to the woman at the well in John 4.

One simplified approach to presenting Christ is not enough. But having said this, we should also observe that Paul did have certain approaches which he seemed to use again and again. Paul preached at the synagogues “as was his custom.” In other words, he had a fairly carefully defined gospel presentation to the Jews that he used over and over, from synagogue to synagogue. I would suspect (though we have less evidence to prove this) that Paul also had a fairly standard gospel presentation for Gentiles. Paul was prepared with several gospel presentations. I suspect that we are not as well prepared as Paul, and yet we should be:

But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess (1 Peter 3:15).

I believe that we would do better at giving to those in need if we had money and resources set aside for this purpose. Likewise, I believe that we would be better at evangelism if we had several presentations of the gospel prepared and “on tap” for use at any moment.

Sixth, we gain insight into the opposition of unbelievers. Notice how a pattern of resistance to the gospel is beginning to appear, whether it be by unbelieving Gentiles or by unbelieving Jews. The accusation was that the gospel messengers were somewhat typical Jews, who had revolution in their blood.

20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. They are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans” (Acts 16:20-21).

6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting against Caesar’s decrees, saying there is another king named Jesus!” (Acts 17:6-7)¹²

I love the way God silenced this argument (at least for a period of time) in Acts 18:

12 Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews attacked Paul together and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law!” 14 But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, I would have been justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews, 15 but since it concerns points of disagreement about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I will not be a judge of these things!” 16 Then he had them forced away from the judgment seat. 17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, and began to beat him in front of the judgment seat. Yet none of these things were of any concern to Gallio. 18 Paul, after staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because he had made a vow (Acts 18:12-18).

Gallio could see through this trumped up charge. The messengers of the gospel were considered Jews by Gallio and not as illegal revolutionaries. Thus, they had the right to proclaim their beliefs, under the protection of Rome.

I believe that the church in America will soon see a significant increase in opposition to our faith and to our freedom to practice and proclaim it. Just today, I heard that some Christians were arrested because they sought to share their faith with Muslims who were attending a Muslim conference, and who were willing to hear what they had to say. I believe that very soon (perhaps it has already begun) we will find that unbelievers in America will charge Christians with being anti-American and that the practice of our faith will be represented as a crime. What we see taking place at Thessalonica looks a lot like what we are beginning to see in America.

What Are the Unique Contributions of the Thessalonian Epistles?

I believe that every book of the Bible makes one or more unique contributions to the Word of God and that discerning what these contributions are will prove to be the key to understanding the message of that book. Let’s seek to identify some of the outstanding contributions of the Thessalonian epistles to the teaching of the Bible.

The Book of 1 Thessalonians begins with three chapters describing how they came to faith and how this changed their lives and affected others.¹³ Other epistles, like Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians, begin with a doctrinal foundation, which serve as the basis for the applications which follow in subsequent chapters. How do we explain Paul basing the application of 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 on the experiences of chapters 1-3? We will discuss this in the next lesson.

In 1 Thessalonians, we find Paul repeatedly referring to things which the Thessalonians already knew.¹⁴ More than ten times, we find some reference to recalling what they already knew. From this we are informed that even though Paul was in Thessalonica for a relatively short time, he must have taught them a good deal of truth (doctrine). Thus, we dare not assume from Luke’s brief account that everything that we need to know about Paul’s ministry at Thessalonica can be learned from Luke. Much, indeed most, of what we need to know about Thessalonica must be learned from Paul’s words in his epistles to the Thessalonians.

The Thessalonian epistles, perhaps more than any other Pauline epistles, reveal the depth of Paul’s love and affection for the saints – these saints in particular. If we would desire to know and to imitate the heart of Paul, we dare not neglect the study of the Thessalonian epistles.

The Thessalonian epistles focus on three major areas of application: sanctified sex (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8), no sponging (hard work – 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3), and the second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13—5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1 and 2). These topics are as relevant and necessary as they were in Paul’s day.

What Do I Expect From this Study in Thessalonians?

I expect to learn to better proclaim the gospel to the lost by studying Paul’s methods of evangelism (as described both in Acts 17 and in 1 and 2 Thessalonians). I see that Paul had developed a gospel presentation for Jews, knowledgeable in the Old Testament Scriptures, and another for raw pagans, who knew nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ. I need to better understand Paul’s gospel message and his methods of presenting it. I will gain much insight from a study of Paul’s Thessalonian epistles.

I expect to learn important lessons on what loving leadership looks like from this study. Paul was a great leader, and he was a great lover of people. Loving leadership is rare, even in Christian circles. It is found in abundance in these epistles. Paul’s leadership was both tough and tender. Too often we are either one or the other, but Paul’s leadership was both. Our study may challenge some of us to toughen up, while it may serve to tenderize others. Let it be so.

I believe that Paul’s teaching and example has much to teach us about missions. Many are those who seek to learn and to communicate Paul’s theology. Not so many are interested in imitating Paul with regard to his missionary methods. While Paul defends full-time service as biblical (1 Corinthians 9), Paul himself often set this right aside for the sake of the gospel. I believe that Paul’s ministry to the Thessalonians illustrates the value of “tentmaking” ministry. There is much to learn about effective missionary methods in Paul’s Thessalonian epistles.

A study of the Thessalonian epistles will teach us of the power of the gospel in the midst of persecution and opposition. The odds seem to be against the church in Thessalonica. These new Christians were deprived of Paul’s presence and preaching. They were being persecuted for their faith. And yet this church was thriving in the midst of their difficulties; indeed, they were rejoicing in the midst of persecution. A study of these Thessalonians epistles should encourage us by demonstrating the power of God in times of persecution.

And Now For the Question that Has Troubled Me

So, the question remains: “Why are there two epistles to the Thessalonians, and no epistle(s) to the Bereans?” Why is the church at Thessalonica – a church with so many hindrances and difficulties – so highly praised by Paul when we hear almost nothing of the church at Berea, even though they seemed to have all the advantages on their side?

One has to be careful here. Just because there are no epistles written to the Berean saints doesn’t mean that they were insignificant. But one still has to marvel when reading 1 and 2 Thessalonians because Luke’s account would seem to predispose the reader to expect great things from the Bereans, rather than the Thessalonians. No doubt we would like to be able to identify just what it was that Paul or the Thessalonians did right to bring about the success of this church. No doubt some would like to find the key in terms of the right demographics. Neither Luke nor Paul gives us any help in seeking the answer to our question through this approach.

Then it suddenly hit me as I was reading through chapter 1 of 1 Thessalonians: It isn’t about Paul or the Bereans, or the Thessalonians; it is about God. God took the most weak, vulnerable, and “unlikely to succeed” church and made it a thriving church which had an impact for the gospel far beyond its city limits. And God apparently chose not to do the same with the church at Berea, as commendable as some saints were.

The answer to my question can be found in 1 Corinthians 1:

26 Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. 27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 29 so that no one can boast in his presence. 30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

In 1 Thessalonians 1, Paul starts with divine election. The saints at Thessalonica (like everywhere else) were saved because they were chosen of God. And the sovereignty of God is the reason why Paul could be so confident about the future of this church. God finishes what He starts. Paul’s confidence regarding the church at Thessalonica is rooted in his confidence in God, from whom and through whom, and unto whom are all things (Romans 11:36). God chose the weak and unlikely saints at Thessalonica (when viewed from a human perspective) to become a healthy, vibrant church. He did this so that when they miraculously succeeded, it would be Him (God) who received the glory and not men (even Paul).

How encouraging this should be for us, because we, too, are not the wise, powerful, and well-born of this world. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in the God who chose us for salvation, and who will sanctify us and bring us into His kingdom. Reading about God’s miraculous work in the Thessalonians will encourage us regarding His work in us. That, my friend, is ample reason to study these marvelous epistles.

¹ Copyright © 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited manuscript of Lesson 1 in the series Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians, prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh on June 6, 2010. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.

² Honestly, I can’t remember the professor’s name.

³ This assumes that there actually was a church at Berea, an assumption that might be debated.

⁴ Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org

⁵ The map above is downloaded from the on-line ESV Bible, accessible to legitimate owners (like me) of the nicely done ESV Study Bible.

⁶ It seems that most translations prefer to render this “rose up” or something similar. My old 1973 NASB renders it “arose,” which certainly leaves room for Him rising from death. This is the verb used in the Gospels to speak of our Lord’s “rising” from the dead.

⁷ It would appear that Luke remained at Philippi, and nothing is said about Timothy leaving Thessalonica with Paul and Silas, although we are told that Timothy was with them in Berea because he remained in Berea when Paul and Silas left (Acts 17:14).

⁸ See 2 Timothy 4:11.

⁹ See 1 Corinthians 7:6-7, 25-35.

¹⁰ See 1 Corinthians 9:4-6.

¹¹ A. T. Pierson, pp. 120-122, as cited by John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1990), p. 261.

¹² The same charge would likely have been leveled against Paul, Silas, and Timothy at Berea, had they not left town before things got that far.

¹³ See Gordon D. Fee, The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009), p. 7.

¹⁴ Fee, p. 7.

1 From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you! 2 We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers, 3 because we recall in the presence of our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 in that our gospel did not come to you merely in words, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you). 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction. 7 As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For from you the message of the Lord has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, so that we do not need to say anything. 9 For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10).¹

Introduction

We know from Acts 16 and 17 that neither Paul’s entrance to Thessalonica nor his exit from it were ideal. He came to Thessalonica from Philippi, after having been illegally beaten and cast into prison,² and later he was forced to leave the city in the cover of darkness due to the false charges brought against him by some of the rabble of the city, as prompted by some of the unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica.³ Unbeknownst to the Thessalonian saints, Paul had made several attempts to return to Thessalonica, but he had been hindered from doing so by Satan.⁴ It is clear from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians that he is very concerned about this church and that he strongly desires to be with them once again.

Due to Paul’s absence, there may have been some concern on the part of the Thessalonian saints. They knew that Paul had been unjustly accused of wrong-doing and that he had been hastily run out of town. As time passed and there was no communication from Paul (until Timothy arrived), the Thessalonians must have begun to be concerned. Did Paul consider his ministry among them to be a failure? Would they ever see him again? How would they get along with their newly-found faith without him, or someone sent by him?

First Thessalonians is written to put the hearts and minds of the Thessalonian believers at rest. Paul was not only doing well, he had a great affection for them. He thought of them constantly and prayed persistently for them. He had made several efforts to return to them and was determined to return as soon as possible. More than this, Paul felt that his ministry among them was a great success. In the strongest of terms, he conveyed his confidence in their continued growth and ministry.

Filling in Some Gaps

There have been many times when someone has called to inform us that a new baby was just born. Unfortunately, some of those times I answered the phone. When I passed on the information to my wife Jeannette, I must confess that the details were sketchy at best. Generally, I know the gender of the newborn and from that point on, things tend to go downhill quickly. Jeannette invariably presses me for more details: “How big was the baby?” Oops, I either forgot to ask or I forgot this detail. The same goes for other important details.

Luke’s account in Acts of the birth and health of the church at Thessalonica is lacking a great deal of detail. This is because it was not Luke’s purpose to tell us all we want to know about this church. His purpose was to describe the failure of Judaism to embrace Jesus as the Promised Messiah, thus paving the way for the gospel to be preached to the Gentiles.⁵ If Luke’s description of Paul’s first visit to Thessalonica was terse, his account of Paul’s subsequent visit(s) is even more sketchy:

1 After the disturbance [at Ephesus] had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 After he had gone through those regions and spoken many words of encouragement to the believers there, he came to Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months. Because the Jews had made a plot against him as he was intending to sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These had gone on ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. 6 We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and within five days we came to the others in Troas, where we stayed for seven days (Acts 20:1-6).

This does not mean that we are left without any information regarding the church at Thessalonica. What it does mean is that we must get most of our information from Paul’s own words in his two epistles to the Thessalonians. When we compare Luke’s account of the birth of the church at Thessalonica with Paul’s words, we discover that we may have based too much of our thinking on inferences we draw from the short account in Acts 17, rather than from Paul’s words in his Thessalonian epistles. Let me outline several areas where our thinking about the church at Thessalonica may need to change.

First, we may need to revise our thinking regarding the amount of time Paul spent at Thessalonica on his first missionary journey. From Acts 17:2, we learn that Paul ministered at the synagogue in Thessalonica for three Sabbaths. This does not mean that Paul stayed at Thessalonica only three weeks and then had to leave suddenly. It simply means that Paul’s ministry at the synagogue was three weeks in length. Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 1:7-10 refer to the fact that word of the Thessalonians’ conversion had spread throughout Macedonia and Achaia and beyond. This could hardly take place if Paul’s stay in Thessalonica was only three weeks in length. Besides this, we read these words Paul wrote to the Philippian saints:

14 Nevertheless, you did well to share with me in my trouble. 15 And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone. 16 For even in Thessalonica on more than one occasion you sent something for my need (Philippians 4:14-16).

How could the Philippian saints send a contribution to Paul while he was in Thessalonica if he was there only three weeks? A longer stay seems required.

Second, we may need to revise our thinking in regard to the composition of the church. Luke told us something about those who embraced Paul’s preaching in the synagogue:

Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women (Acts 17:4).

This information alone would lead us to expect that the church at Thessalonica had a significant number of members who were familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures because they were either converted Jews or Gentile God-fearers. And yet we read this in 1 Thessalonians 1:9:

For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9, emphasis mine).

This causes me to realize that a significant number of believers in Jesus at Thessalonica were not Jews, nor were they converted God-fearers. They were simply raw pagans that God drew to Himself through those who had been sent out with the gospel.

Third, we may need to revise our thinking regarding the source of the opposition the Thessalonian saints endured. From Acts 17 alone, we would conclude that the opposition the church faced came primarily from unbelieving Jews:

But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly (Acts 17:5).

But when the Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God in Berea, they came there too, inciting and disturbing the crowds (Acts 17:13).

When we read Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 2, we get a very different impression:

14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews (1 Thessalonians 2:14, emphasis mine).

While unbelieving Jews resisted the preaching of the gospel to Gentiles, Gentile pagans also strongly opposed Paul and the preaching of the gospel. This was often due to economic factors.⁶ According to Paul, the persecution directed against the saints in Thessalonica came from “their own countrymen” (aka Gentiles), rather than from the Jews. Apart from divine election, the gospel is an offense to both Jews and Gentiles:

21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. 22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, 23 but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:21-24).

Fourth, we may need to change our thinking regarding our assessment of Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonians. On the basis of Luke’s account alone, we may be tempted to think of Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica as being more of a “pulpit ministry.”

2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ” (Acts 17:2-3).

Paul’s synagogue preaching appears to be ministry at “arm’s length,” rather than one that is “up close and personal.” But Luke’s words above are not intended to give us the whole picture. The “rest of the story” is found in Luke’s later description of Paul’s ministry in Athens and in Paul’s description of his ministry in 1 Thessalonians 2:

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was greatly upset because he saw the city was full of idols. 17 So he was addressing the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue, and in the marketplace every day those who happened to be there (Acts 17:16-17, emphasis mine).

7 although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ; instead we became little children among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children, 8 with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe. 11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12, emphasis mine).

Now we have a more complete picture of Paul’s ministry. It was both to Jews (in the synagogue) and to raw pagans (in the marketplace). Thus, on the Sabbath, Paul was at the synagogue (so long as he was allowed to be there), while on the weekdays Paul was in the marketplaces, proclaiming Christ to the Gentile heathen, who had little or no grasp of the Old Testament and of its prophecies regarding Messiah. Synagogue ministry did not seem to offer the same opportunities for intimate interaction as did Paul’s engagement with unbelievers in the marketplaces. Remember, too, that Paul labored day and night so as not to be a burden to them:

For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God (1 Thessalonians 2:9).

Paul lived and worked with those who came to faith in the Lord Jesus. He knew them well, just as they had come to know him. No wonder Paul speaks of his conduct among them as something they know well.⁷

Fifth, in spite all of the difficulties Paul and the Thessalonians experienced, Paul had great confidence in the survival and success of the church at Thessalonica. One might surely wonder how this church could survive with intense opposition from Jews and Gentiles, with such a short time of teaching and ministry by Paul and his associates, and with Paul’s prolonged absence from them. But these first chapters of 1 Thessalonians are filled with expressions of his love for these saints and of his confidence in what God was yet to do in their lives. How refreshing it is to study this epistle which contains little or no rebuke, a few words of caution and exhortation, and many words of love, affection, and confidence regarding the future.

Paul’s Greeting
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

1 From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you! 2 We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers, 3 because we recall in the presence of our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:1-3).

Much could be said about these verses, as the commentaries attest, but we shall be content to make a few observations and then press on to the heart of our text. First, let us observe that the greeting (and the epistle) comes from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Silvanus is consistently referred to as Silas in the Book of Acts. He is the prophet who, along with Judas (also known as Barsabbas⁸), was sent by the Jerusalem Council to accompany Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch, so that they could testify to the decision of the council regarding circumcision and salvation.

Here, as elsewhere, Paul ministered in the context of a team of godly men, each with their own gifts and contributions to make.⁹ Paul finds no need here to emphasize his apostleship or to indicate any superiority in rank to his colleagues.¹⁰ Apparently there is no need to assert his authority among these saints because there had not yet been any serious attempt to challenge his apostolic status.

It is not at all surprising to find Paul in prayer on account of the Thessalonian saints. It would seem that the primary focus of his prayers was thankfulness to God for the work He had begun in their lives. While Paul was absent from these beloved saints, he was constantly calling to mind the way these people had come to faith and all of the evidences of God’s work in their lives. These memories were converted to prayers of thanksgiving, and although it is not stated here, I would be virtually certain that there were also prayers of petition for their protection and growth.¹¹

There is something unique about the way in which Paul addresses the church at Thessalonica. Usually, Paul will address the saints and churches in terms of where they live:

1 From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, 2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours (1 Corinthians 1:1-2, emphasis mine).

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia (2 Corinthians 1:1, emphasis mine).

1 From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons. 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! (Philippians 1:1-2, emphasis mine)

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the saints, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you from God our Father! (Colossians 1:1-2, emphasis mine)

When we come to Paul’s Thessalonian epistles, they both begin in a rather unique way:

From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you! (1 Thessalonians 1:1, emphasis mine)

From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:1, emphasis mine).

Two things catch my eye as I read these greetings. First, Paul emphasizes the fact that this church (which happens to be in Thessalonica) is united with God. Second, this union with God is specifically said to be with both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The theological truth of these words should come as no surprise to us:

4 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing” (John 15:4-5).

20 “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, 21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one – 23 I in them and you in me – that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me” (John 17:20-23).

We are all familiar with the first chapter of Ephesians, where Paul spells out all of the blessings that we have “in Christ.” Is it any wonder that he tells the Thessalonian saints that they, as a church, are in God the Father and in the Son? I think not. But wait, there’s more to it than this. The Thessalonian saints seem to need a good deal of encouragement (for that is what this first epistle is all about). Suppose that this was the church at Sodom or Samaria? There is a certain stigma linked to the church because of the less-than-sterling reputation of these cities. Paul’s choice of words focuses their attention on their true identity “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is who they really are, and this is the basis for Paul’s confidence in what God has done and will yet do in this church.

There is something else that is unique about Paul’s greeting – it is long, very long – three chapters long! Paul’s other greetings are not nearly so long, as we can see, for example, in Paul’s greeting to the Corinthians:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! 4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. 5 For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge – 6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you – 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:3-9).¹²

When Paul’s greeting to the Thessalonians begins, I expect that it will soon end, just as it does in his other epistles, but this is hardly the case. The basis for his thanksgiving to God and for his confidence in the success and survival of this church goes on for three chapters. It is only when we get to chapter 4 that Paul begins to exhort the Thessalonians regarding sexual purity (4:3-8), self-sufficiency (4:9-12), and the Second Coming (4:13-18). We will explore the reasons for Paul’s extended greeting at the end of this message.

Before we leave Paul’s greeting, allow me to point out a couple more things. First of all, we should note that Paul looks at the spiritual health of the church at Thessalonica in a three-dimensional way. He looks at the fruit of their faith, love, and hope:

2 We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers, 3 because we recall in the presence of our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, emphasis mine).

Notice that when our Lord speaks to the church at Ephesus, He evaluates them by these same three fruits in the same order, yet without calling attention to the source (faith, love, hope) of these manifestations of life in Christ:

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who has a firm grasp on the seven stars in his right hand – the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 ‘I know your works as well as your labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have even put to the test those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false” (Revelation 2:1-2, emphasis mine).

I have to confess that I am somewhat puzzled by the fact that “work,” “labor,” and “endurance” are all singular in 1 Thessalonians. I would have expected Paul to say, “your works of faith and labors of love.” After giving this some thought, I came to this possible explanation for the use of the singular here. Paul is not talking about the individual achievements or deeds of these Thessalonian saints, but of their collective manifestation of their life in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 4,¹³ it is clear that Paul is speaking of the collective growth of the church as a whole, rather than individual growth.

I think this was important in the church at Thessalonica, as it is important in every church. Paul gave thanks to God for all of the saints, not just some of them. He speaks collectively of the fruits of their life in God, rather than of individual manifestations of life. This serves to emphasize the unity of the body of Christ and the equality of each and every member. Those who came to faith from Judaism are in no way superior to those who were God-fearers or raw pagans before faith. They are one body.

Paul’s Confidence Regarding the Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 1:4-10

4 We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 in that our gospel did not come to you merely in words, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you). 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction. 7 As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For from you the message of the Lord has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, so that we do not need to say anything. 9 For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:4-10).

We can easily sense Paul’s confidence regarding the success and survival of the church at Thessalonica, but it is vitally important that we grasp the basis for his confidence. He has already drawn attention to their “work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope” in verse 3. We are now about to learn the source of that faith, love, and hope – God Himself. The basis for Paul’s confidence in these saints is the sovereignty of God manifested in their election.

Let’s start with the word “election.”¹⁴ This refers to God’s choice in eternity past of those who He will irresistibly draw to faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ for eternal salvation. Fallen man is born an enemy of God, and he is thus unwilling and unable to come to Him on his own:¹⁵

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

So Jesus added, “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come” (John 6:65).

37 “Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me – that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up at the last day” (John 6:37-39).

In the final analysis, it is not we who (first) choose God, but God who first chooses us:

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (John 15:16).

When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed (Acts 13:48).

A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a God-fearing woman, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying (Acts 16:14).

First and foremost, salvation is God’s choice of us and God’s work in us.

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).

1 And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you formerly lived according to this world’s present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest… 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! – 6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:1-8).

This is not to say that we have no part at all in salvation, for we who are chosen of God must receive the gift of salvation by faith. And those who are chosen will do so.

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news” (Romans 10:8-15).

In the end, those who are chosen of God will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation, and those in whom God has begun His good work will persevere till the end:

27 “My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one” (John 10:27-30).

For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

This is the reason why Paul has such great confidence regarding the growth and perseverance of the Thessalonian saints. He knows that salvation and sanctification are God’s work, and thus Paul (and we) can be sure of the outcome of our faith.

Allow me to make a few more comments about election, based upon Paul’s words in verse 4. The first word to which I would call your attention is “know” (some translations like the NASB render it “knowing”). When Paul speaks of election here, he is not introducing something new to the Thessalonians. This is something he has already taught them. That would indicate that the sovereignty of God in salvation is something that should be taught sooner than later. Some are inclined to put this off indefinitely. Paul did not.

The second word that we need to note in verse 4 is “loved” (by God). Election is not contrary to love; it is the expression of love. I have often heard it said, “We believe in a God of love. . . .” What that implies is that a God of love would not be selective, but would show kindness and salvation to all. But love is selective. In Romans 12, Paul wrote,

Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good (Romans 12:9).

Love discriminates. When a man loves a woman and marries her, he sets her apart from all others. He treats her as more special than any and all other women. The “love” of this world, especially sexual “love,” seems not to discriminate, much to the detriment of our society. Election is not contrary to love; it is the expression of love. Note how God describes His (s)elective love for Israel:

37 Moreover, because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with his great power (Deuteronomy 4:37).

7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored [literally, “set His love on you”] and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples (Deuteronomy 7:7).

15 However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples – as is apparent today (Deuteronomy 10:15).

The third word, “chosen,” has already been discussed, but let me suggest one of the implications of being “chosen” for the Thessalonian saints. Being chosen means that you were chosen by God. Being chosen by God means that you are not a second-class citizen of heaven. My wife Jeannette and I had our children naturally. We love and are grateful for every one of them. But while we chose to have children, we did not choose the children we got. We took what God gave us at birth. But an adopted child has this special blessing: they became a child in their adoptive family because they were wanted, because they were chosen. The Thessalonian saints were in no way inferior to any other believers, whether they were Jewish or Gentile in origin.

The Evidences of God’s Elective Love

Paul’s confidence is rooted in the sovereign purposes of God for His elect. So how is it that Paul can be so sure that the Thessalonians are among the elect? In verses 4-10, he spells out some of the evidences of the Thessalonians’ election.

The first evidence of the Thessalonians’ election is God’s authentication and empowering of the gospel message.

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance (1 Thessalonians 1:5a, CSB).

The gospel Paul preached was not just words; it was certainly not words preached with human eloquence or with fleshly enticement.

1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. 2 For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling. 4 My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).¹⁶

When Paul preached the gospel, he depended upon the Holy Spirit to authenticate and empower his words because the natural man is incapable of grasping spiritual truth.

10 God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God. 13 And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. 14 The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).

Paul does not tell us what the manifestations of God’s power were. It could have been the internal, convicting power of the Holy Spirit, apart from supernatural phenomena. This is consistent with the example of John the Baptist, whose words were powerful, even though he never performed any miraculous sign:

39 Then they attempted again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches. 40 Jesus went back across the Jordan River again to the place where John had been baptizing at an earlier time, and he stayed there. 41 Many came to him and began to say, “John performed no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man was true!” 42 And many believed in Jesus there (John 10:39-42).

Our Lord promised His disciples that when the Holy Spirit came, He would empower their message so that men would believe and be saved:

8 “And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment – 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:8-11).

No one knew the authenticating and convincing power of the gospel better than the Thessalonians. After all, it caused them to turn to God from their heathen idols and to cling to the truths of the gospel even though this meant suffering persecution.

In addition to this internal work of convincing and convicting men, God may have underscored the truth of the gospel through supernatural signs such as healings, such as took place in Ephesus:

11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them (Acts 19:11-12).

The second evidence of divine election was the conduct of the messengers who brought the good news of the gospel to Thessalonica.

You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake (1 Thessalonians 1:5b, ESV).

It was not only the message of the gospel that the Holy Spirit empowered and authenticated; it was also the lifestyle of the messengers. To put it in today’s vernacular, Paul and his associates “practiced what they preached” – they lived out the gospel that they proclaimed to the Thessalonians. Their lives bore out the truth of the gospel. These were men of a different stripe from the usual religious hucksters of that day (or ours). Their lives set them apart as those who lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Verse 5 only scratches the surface of the lifestyle of Paul and his colleagues, but that is because much of chapter 2 is devoted to spelling this matter out in much greater detail.

The third evidence of divine election is the response of the Thessalonians who believed the message that was brought to them and empowered by the Spirit. That is the substance of verses 6-10.

6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction. 7 As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For from you the message of the Lord has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, so that we do not need to say anything. 9 For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:6-10).

Notice from these words how the Thessalonian saints manifested divine election. They turned to God from the idols they had formerly worshipped (verse 9). This is far different from adding one more deity to their long list of “gods.” What is one more god among so many? But these Thessalonian saints forsook the gods they had long worshipped and turned to God alone. This kind of conversion is truly miraculous.

It also put the Thessalonians at odds with their peers so that they were now persecuted for their new faith. And yet they joyfully suffered for the sake of the gospel (verse 6). This reminds me of the response of the saints in Jerusalem some time earlier:

40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. 42 And every day both in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 5:40-42, emphasis mine; see also 4:18-31).

In their rejoicing, they became imitators of Paul and Silas, who likewise rejoiced in their suffering:

22 The crowd joined the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:22-25, emphasis mine).

8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ, 9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. 10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:8-11).

By responding to the gospel as they did, these Thessalonian saints became an example to all believers. The transformation of Thessalonians was so great that word went out concerning how they responded to Paul and his associates. It went throughout Macedonia and Achaia and even beyond (verses 6-9). Paul did not have to tell others about the Thessalonians; when Paul would arrive at some new city, the people would have already heard about the Thessalonians and their response to Paul’s preaching. You can imagine how this enhanced Paul’s preaching.

There was something else about the way the Thessalonians responded to the gospel. The gospel not only proclaimed Jesus as the promised Messiah, it also bore witness to His saving sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary and to His resurrection from the dead. And thus the gospel promised not only salvation from sin, but a glorious future for all eternity at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Thessalonians embraced the hope of heaven and of Christ’s glorious return, to condemn the wicked and to reward the righteous.

Conclusion

Many are the implications and applications of our text. Let me mention a few of them.

We have much to learn from Paul about prayer. Our prayers tend to be shallow and self-centered, more of a wish list than anything (I speak for myself here). Paul’s prayers were persistent, passionate, thankful, and focused on the spiritual well being of others. We see this not only in our text, but in other New Testament passages as well.¹⁷ We would do well to study Paul’s prayers and to seek to imitate them.

Faith, love, and hope were benchmarks for the spiritual growth and health of the Thessalonians, as they are elsewhere in Scripture. If we wish to consider our own growth and health (or that of others), we would do well to think in terms of faith, love, and hope.

Just as 1 Thessalonians was written to encourage the Thessalonian saints in difficult days of adversity and persecution, so this book can serve to encourage us as the dark clouds of persecution gather for Christians in America. If the power of God is demonstrated in a church that is enduring persecution, we can be assured that God will sustain us in persecution as well. God has chosen to glorify Himself by using the weak and foolish things of this world:

26 Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. 27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 29 so that no one can boast in his presence. 30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

He uses our weaknesses as much or more than He uses our strengths:

7 . . . Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me – so that I would not become arrogant. 8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7b-10).

God sustains us in times of persecution and tribulation for His glory. That is what He did for the Thessalonian saints and that is what He will do for us. Gone are the days when America could be called a Christian nation, and gone are the days when Christians were once respected for their faith. I suspect that it will not be long before the power of our government will be utilized in a futile effort to silence and suppress Christians. The joy of these saints in the midst of their tribulations is the same joy that we can experience and embrace on account of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us linger in these epistles, for they surely contain encouraging words for Christians.

I find as I read Paul’s expressions of love and affection that I want this same kind of love and affection for others. When I read a book like Paul’s epistle to the Romans, I say to myself, “Here is a man with a great mind.” When I read a book like Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians, I find myself saying, “Here is a man with a great heart.” Nowhere in Paul’s epistles do we find any stronger expressions of his love and affection for the saints than what we have here in 1 Thessalonians. I know that I speak for my fellow elders when I say this to you: This is the way that we feel toward you. This is the confidence that we have in God to carry out His purposes and promises through you. This is the kind of affection that every Christian should have for fellow believers (and of course we should also have great love for those who are lost).

We see in our text that Paul is confident regarding the survival and success of the Thessalonians saints because of the soul strengthening truth of the sovereignty of God in salvation. The spiritual health and well being of the Thessalonians, like all Christians, starts, is sustained, and ends with God:

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:36).

Paul joyfully acknowledges his delight over the faith, love, and hope of the Thessalonians, but he does not view this as the result of merely human striving. Paul understands that salvation and sanctification are God’s work, first and foremost. It all began in eternity past with God’s election, His choice of these individuals who would become His saints. And because salvation started with God, Paul is assured that God will finish what He commenced:

For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

Not only is the doctrine of salvation encouraging to those who are saved; it is an encouragement to us with regard to those who are lost in their sins. I remember years ago when a young woman who was new to the faith learned about the doctrine of election. She agonized because her husband was lost. I suggested to her that she look at this from a divine point of view. In whose hands would she prefer to leave her husband’s eternal destiny? Her husband was dead in his sins, not desiring or seeking God, but rather, he was God’s enemy. Left to himself, he would always choose to reject God’s offer of salvation in Jesus. But if her husband’s eternal destiny rests in God’s hands, then she should find comfort in knowing that He delights in saving lost sinners:

23 Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live? (Ezekiel 18:23)

11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 33:11)

1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, 2 even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, 4 since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

There are no better hands in which to leave the destiny of the lost than the hands of God. Knowing that He delights to save sinners, we should be encouraged to pray to Him, pleading for their salvation, knowing that He not only desires salvation, but that He delights in answering the prayers of His children. And if He is pleased to grant our request, then we know He will call, save, and sanctify His chosen.

28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? (Romans 8:28-32)

We can see that the sovereignty of God in salvation (as He is, of course, sovereign in every area of life) is one of the great sources of the Christian’s comfort, courage, and joy. I have to say that some fail to understand this as Paul did, and as we should. I have heard some Christians agonize over whether or not they are saved, reasoning something like this: “If it is God that chooses men and women for salvation, rather than men and women choosing God, how can I ever know for certain that I am saved – that I am one of the elect?” The truth is that we choose to receive God’s gift of salvation because He first chose us. We would not choose God unless He first chose us. Furthermore, Paul calls our attention to the fruits of faith, love, and hope, the power of the gospel, and the power of a life lived to His glory. He reminds us that these are evidences of God’s sovereign work in saving and sanctifying us. Paul does not call our attention to divine election to cause us to doubt our salvation (assuming that we have trusted in Him); He does so to give us confidence in Him as the God of our salvation, a confidence that will sustain us in the midst of adversity.

There are those who wrongly respond to the sovereignty of God by seeking to justify their passivity: “Whatever God wants done, He will do, with or without our help.” Paul’s view of divine sovereignty is that this is what motivates us to act with boldness and confidence, knowing that He purposes to use us to achieve His foreordained purposes.

There are those whose misguided fatalism inclines them to depression, as though they are mere pawns in the hands of God. Paul’s attitude is one of great joy and gratitude, and he makes every effort to instill that joy, courage, and activity in others. The sovereignty of God is one of the most comforting and energizing truths we find in the Bible.

Why does Paul point to our experience as the foundation for our actions and application in 1 Thessalonians, rather than doctrine, as we find in other epistles? Think about it for a moment. In Romans, Paul lays down 11 chapters of solid doctrine, and only then does he proceed to application in chapters 12-16. In Ephesians, Paul sets forth doctrine in the first 3 chapters, and only then does he move to application in chapters 4-6. The same could be said of Colossians and other epistles. To my knowledge, only 1 Thessalonians begins with the believers’ experience in chapters 1-3 as the foundation for their practice in chapters 4 and 5. How do we explain Paul’s unique approach in 1 Thessalonians?

The first thing I would say is that while Paul does emphasize the experience of these Thessalonian saints, the first three chapters are not devoid of doctrine. Over and over again, Paul uses the expression (or something similar), “you know.” They are not ignorant of sound doctrine because it is apparent that Paul taught them much doctrine while he was with them.

2 We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know (1 Thessalonians 3:2-4, emphasis mine).

1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, emphasis mine).

The basis for Paul’s confidence regarding the Thessalonians was the sovereignty of God in salvation – namely their election. The truth regarding divine election is doctrine, and it is no light matter. Paul expects these relatively new believers to understand what he is talking about, and the only way he could expect this is if he had already taught them this doctrine. Thus, when Paul emphasizes experience, it is not at the expense of sound doctrine. Put differently, doctrine is what we learn from God’s Word. Experience is God’s work in us through His Word. Paul is not advocating experience over God’s Word, but he is promoting experiencing God through His Word.

What I am saying is that both sound doctrine and personally experiencing God’s working in our lives are vital to a healthy Christian walk. In recent days, Henry Blackaby (with others) has authored a very excellent book entitled, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. It is an effort to help Christians experience biblical truth (doctrine). When Paul wants to impart confidence and encouragement to those saints who are facing challenging times, he does so by calling attention to his teaching (sound doctrine) and to their experiences with God. It is not experience versus truth that we should seek, but experiencing truth, as Paul encourages us to do. Experience apart from the truth of Scripture is dangerous; experiencing the truths of Scriptures is a source of great delight and of confidence in God.

As we continue our study, may God grant that we gain not only an understanding of God’s sovereignty in our salvation, but that we also experience the confidence and joy which this truth is meant to create in us.

Copyright © 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited manuscript of Lesson 2 in the series Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians, prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh on June 13, 2010. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.

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¹ Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version.  It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.  The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk).  Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study.  In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others.  It is available on the Internet at: www.netbible.org.

² See Acts 16:19-24; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2.

³ See Acts 17:5-10.

⁴ 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18.

⁵ See Acts 28:17-29.

⁶ See Acts 16:19-24; 19:23-41.

⁷ See 1 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 5, 9-11.

⁸ See Acts 15:22.

⁹ This is important because even when Paul was run out of town, the others might be able to remain on (see Acts 17:14).

¹⁰ As Paul does, for example, in 1 Corinthians 1:1-2.

¹¹ See 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13.

¹² Also see Philippians 1:3-11.

¹³ See Ephesians 4:14-16.

¹⁴ This is a subject that will need some time to explain. Let me suggest that the reader consult two of the sermons I have preached on this topic:

http://bible.org/seriespage/sovereignty-god-salvation-romans-91-24

http://bible.org/seriespage/sovereignty-god-salvation-romans-9

¹⁵ See also Romans 3:9-20.

¹⁶ See also 2 Corinthians 2:17; 4:1-2.

¹⁷ 2 Corinthians 13:7-11; Ephesians 1:15-23; Philippians 1:3-11; Colossians 1:3-14; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; 2 Timothy 1:3-4; Philemon 1:4-6.

1 For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, about our coming to you – it has not proven to be purposeless [in vain].³² 2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of much opposition.

3 For the appeal we make does not come from error or impurity or with deceit, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. 5 For we never appeared with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is our witness – 6 nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others, 7 although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ; instead we became little children among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children, 8 with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe. 11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory.

13 And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe. 14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely (1 Thessalonians 2:1-16).³³

Introduction

I’m sure you have already noted my choice of a title for this message. It is interesting (and providential) that we would come to this passage on this Father’s Day, a passage in which Paul likens his ministry to the Thessalonians as that of a father to his children – the perfect Father’s Day text. It is indeed an excellent text for this special day because it is all about godly, spiritual leadership. Such leadership is needed in the church and in the home. But my choice of titles comes not only from Paul’s comparison of his leadership to that of a father, but also because he likens his relationship to this church as that of a nursing mother to her child. Thus, there are both masculine and feminine qualities to be considered when seeking to imitate Paul’s leadership. Hopefully, you can now see why I chose the title that I did. My task in this lesson is to show how a godly leader (or father) needs to have some feminine qualities as well, assuming that I am reading this text as I should.

I must also warn you that the subject matter contained in our text is becoming a passion with me. I believe that Paul’s motives and methods are the key to having a gospel impact on our world, and particularly in that increasingly growing number of countries that are “closed” to missionaries. I’m simply trying to forewarn you that Paul’s methods need to be taken seriously, just as his motives and message should be. So let’s get right to it and see how Paul can speak of himself and his ministry³⁴ as he does.

My Approach in This Message

The first chapter of 1 Thessalonians is brimming with Paul’s thanksgiving and praise to God for the health and vitality of this new congregation of believers. Paul’s confidence is due to the fact that the sovereign God who chose these saints for salvation is the One who will complete His good work in them. The evidences of this are already apparent in their “work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

In his introduction to his epistle in chapter 1, Paul looked first at this work which God had initiated and which God was bringing to maturity. He then looked at the evidences of God’s sovereign work in the lives of these saints. What had happened to them was truly a miracle. They had turned to God from their idols. They had joyfully embraced the gospel even though it brought them suffering and persecution. Their example had been proclaimed abroad so that many others were impacted by what God was doing in their lives.

In chapter 1, Paul only briefly refers to the ways God’s power and the transforming nature of the gospel had been demonstrated in his life and in the lives of his two associates, Silvanus and Timothy:

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we were among you for your benefit (1 Thessalonians 1:5, CSB; emphasis mine).

Paul has withheld his much more extensive description of the power of the gospel through him and his colleagues until our text in chapter 2. He sets out to show that the gospel was not only empowered and authenticated in the lives of the Thessalonians, it was also empowered and authenticated in the lives of those who proclaimed it.

In verses 1 and 2 of chapter 2, Paul will call the Thessalonians’ attention to the way in which he and his associates suffered for proclaiming the gospel, not only in Thessalonica, but also in Philippi.³⁵ Then, in verses 3-12, Paul will remind these beloved saints of the godly motivation and conduct he and his associates demonstrated while living out the gospel before them. In verses 13-16, Paul will once again call attention to the fruit which their divinely empowered ministry produced among these Thessalonians.

As I have read and pondered Paul’s words in our text, it occurred to me that the godly attitudes and actions of these divinely empowered messengers are in stark contrast to the descriptions of the false prophets and teachers which we find throughout the Bible.³⁶ False teachers are everything that Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy (and all other true Christian leaders) are not. So my approach will be to look at each of the traits Paul sets forth and contrast them with the traits of false teachers that are revealed to us in the Bible. I will then seek to demonstrate how the godly characteristics of the apostles are mirrored in the Thessalonians. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are most definitely different from the false teachers, but those who come to faith in Jesus are very much like their teachers, and so the Thessalonians are described in ways that are similar to the motives and conduct of Paul and his friends. So, Paul and his friends are very much unlike the false teachers, but the Thessalonians are very much like their teachers in the faith.

As I conclude this message, I will seek to show how many implications and applications this text has for us. It certainly speaks to fathers about fathering and to Christian leaders about leadership. I believe it also speaks loudly regarding one of the most effective means of evangelizing and making disciples. With this said, let’s press on to contrast Paul and false teachers.

Paul and Religious Hucksters
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

The first characteristic to which Paul calls the Thessalonians’ attention is his willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel and the salvation of the lost:

1 For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, about our coming to you – it has not proven to be purposeless. 2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of much opposition (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

Paul’s arrival at Thessalonica must have been but a few days after he and Silvanus (Silas) were severely beaten and then imprisoned in Philippi.³⁷ Surely the evidence of this must have been apparent to all who saw Paul. And not only this, Paul had made it clear that what happened to him would likely happen to them if they trusted in Jesus.³⁸ Suffering was something Paul would gladly bear for the sake of God’s elect, just as our Lord was willing to suffer in order to achieve our salvation:

18 Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse. 19 For this finds God’s favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if you sin and are mistreated and endure it? But if you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God. 21 For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. 25 For you were going astray like sheep but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls (1 Peter 2:18-25).

17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you (Philippians 2:17).

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24).

How different is this Christ-like view of suffering from that of the false teachers, who avoid suffering at all costs:

10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, he runs away. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me – 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:10-15, emphasis mine).

And so Paul is able to distinguish himself from “counterfeit apostles” by testifying to his sufferings, which set him apart from those who are in it only for the perks of “missionarying” (that’s what Mark Twain called it in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn).³⁹

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times. 24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with a rod. Once I received a stoning. Three times I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I spent adrift in the open sea. 26 I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers, 27 in hard work and toil, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing. 28 Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with indignation? (2 Corinthians 11:22-29)

11 See what big letters I make as I write to you with my own hand! 12 Those who want to make a good showing in external matters are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ (Galatians 6:11-12, emphasis mine).

Hucksters are not willing to suffer for the sake of their message. And so Paul calls attention to the way in which he and his colleagues have identified themselves with the Suffering Savior, and thus testifies to the authenticity of their ministry.

Paul now focuses on his⁴⁰ motives and methods in ministry in verses 3-5:

3 For the appeal we make does not come from error or impurity or with deceit, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. 5 For we never appeared with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is our witness (1 Thessalonians 2:3-5).

The more I studied verses 1-12, the more I realized how God-centered Paul’s ministry was. Paul’s ministry was God-centered in the sense that his ministry originated from God. He speaks in verse 3 regarding where his ministry came from, where it originated. The gospel was entrusted to Paul by God, who approved him and appointed him as His ambassador.

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles – 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that by revelation the divine secret was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. 4 When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into this secret of Christ. 5 Now this secret was not disclosed to people in former generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, 6 namely, that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the exercise of his power. 8 To me – less than the least of all the saints – this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 9 and to enlighten everyone about God’s secret plan – a secret that has been hidden for ages in God who has created all things. 10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access to God because of Christ’s faithfulness. 13 For this reason I ask you not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, which is your glory (Ephesians 3:1-13).

This was a source of constant amazement and praise for Paul:

12 I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” – and I am the worst of them! 16 But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen (1 Timothy 1:12-17).

Paul was a steward of the gospel. Since the gospel was entrusted to him by God, Paul was responsible to God for the task God had given him:

1 One should think about us this way – as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Now what is sought in stewards is that one be found faithful. 3 So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not acquitted because of this. The one who judges me is the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:1-4).

What a difference this made in Paul’s motives, methods, and message. His motivation was to be faithful to God and to please Him. One cannot seek to please men and to please God at the same time:

Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ! (Galatians 1:10; see also Matthew 6:24)

And so Paul can declare that his ministry does not seek human applause or rewards. His message is the simple gospel, which is offensive to Jews and Gentiles, apart from divine intervention (see Romans 3:9-26; 1 Corinthians 1:21-25; 2:1-5, 11-16; Ephesians 2:1-10). Since Paul relied upon God to empower his words and to draw the elect to Himself, he did not employ deceitful or manipulative methods.

14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing – 16 to the latter an odor from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, but we are speaking in Christ before God as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God (2 Corinthians 2:14-17).

1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged. 2 But we have rejected shameful hidden deeds, not behaving with deceptiveness or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, 4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:1-6).

Religious hucksters get their message somewhere other than from God. Their message and their methods are designed to appeal to the flesh, rather than to rely upon the Spirit of God to convict and to convince. Their methods are manipulative, and they employ seduction, greed, and fleshly pleasures to win a following. Their reward is the satisfaction of their own fleshly desires, almost always including financial gain.

11 The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain. 12 Each one says, ‘Come on, I’ll get some wine! Let’s guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We’ll have everything we want!’ (Isaiah 56:11-12)

1 But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep . . . . 10 especially those who ndulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones, 11 yet even angels, who are much more powerful, do not bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these men, like irrational animals – creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed – do not understand whom they are insulting, and consequently in their destruction they will be destroyed, 13 suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, they are stains and blemishes, indulging in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you. 14 Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children! 15 By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 16 yet was rebuked for his own transgression (a dumb donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the prophet’s madness). 17 These men are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness have been reserved. 18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words they are able to entice, with fleshly desires and with debauchery, people who have just escaped from those who reside in error. 19 Although these false teachers promise such people freedom, they themselves are enslaved to immorality. For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved (2 Peter 2:1-3, 10-19).

7 So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire in a way similar to these angels, are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet these men, as a result of their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and insult the glorious ones (Jude 7-8).

16 These people are grumblers and fault-finders who go wherever their desires lead them, and they give bombastic speeches, enchanting folks for their own gain. 17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people are divisive, worldly, devoid of the Spirit (Jude 16-19).

6 For some of these insinuate themselves into households and captivate weak women who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. 7 Such women are always seeking instruction, yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:6-7).

In verses 6 through 8, Paul moves to the gospel messengers’ attitudes and actions with regard to spiritual authority:

6 nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others, 7 although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ; instead we became little children among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children, 8 with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us (1 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

For many hucksters, the primary temptation is that of money or sex.⁴¹ For others, it is power and the glory it brings – in other words, there is the temptation of feeding one’s ego. In reality, all of these temptations come with positions of prominence and power. Paul has already indicated that as a steward of the gospel,⁴² his desire is to please God, rather than men, to be faithful to the message, rather than to gain followers at any cost.

Paul believes that having authority is not the same as being authoritarian and dictatorial. Being in a position of power does not give one the right to demand that those under his (or her) authority serve them. Like our Lord, Paul and his colleagues did not abuse their authority by a heavy handed use of power. This is in accord with our Lord’s teaching:

25 But Jesus called them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 26 It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave – 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28).

How different it was with those “evil shepherds” who the Bible describes in the Old Testament and the New:

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them” (Ezekiel 34:1-4, emphasis mine).

So it was also with those false apostles who had slipped in and deceived some of the Corinthians. Notice how Paul distinguishes his ministry from theirs:

20 For you put up with it if someone makes slaves of you, if someone exploits you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone behaves arrogantly toward you, if someone strikes you in the face. 21 (To my disgrace I must say that we were too weak for that!) But whatever anyone else dares to boast about (I am speaking foolishly), I also dare to boast about the same thing (2 Corinthians 11:20-21).

Let us not fail to recognize just how much authority God had given to Paul as an apostle. His commands as recorded in the New Testament are to be regarded as the commands of Christ.⁴³ False prophets and apostles claim authority which they do not possess.⁴⁴ The point at issue is how Paul and his colleagues use the authority they legitimately possess. As Jesus indicated, secular authorities use their position and power to abuse and to take advantage of those under their authority. Paul used his position and its authority to serve others, rather than to use his authority as an excuse to be served.

This is the point at which Paul chooses to liken his heart and his ministry to that of a nursing mother:

7 although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ; instead we became little children among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children, 8 with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, emphasis mine).

I’ve watched my wife care for our children in this way, and my daughters have done the same with their children. There is something almost entirely selfless about the process of caring for a nursing baby. The baby is helpless to do anything to serve or care for its mother. Instead, the infant is constantly “taking” from its mother and giving little (other than perhaps a smile) in return. The baby will wake its mother to be fed or changed time after time, often in the middle of the night. (As one friend said, “You stuff it in one end and scrape it off the other.”) The early weeks (or months) of a baby’s life can be summarized in three words (at least as far as its mother is concerned): “give!, give!, give!” The mother’s “authority” gets little response from the child, but her selfless service sustains life and promotes the growth of that child.

Paul uses this imagery to describe a significant aspect of his ministry. This, I would submit to you, is Paul’s “feminine side,” if you are willing to describe it this way. We know that Paul can “get tough” if he needs to (look at the Book of Galatians, for example); but he also has a very tender, very gentle, side, and the Thessalonian saints have seen it for themselves. Religious hucksters are not interested in selfless, sacrificial service. They wish to be served, and they will use their (alleged) authority to force others to do so.

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them” (Ezekiel 34:1-4, emphasis mine).

“They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23:4).

20 For you put up with it if someone makes slaves of you, if someone exploits you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone behaves arrogantly toward you, if someone strikes you in the face. 21 (To my disgrace I must say that we were too weak for that!) But whatever anyone else dares to boast about (I am speaking foolishly), I also dare to boast about the same thing (2 Corinthians 11:20-21, emphasis mine).

Sadly, as Paul indicates above, some liked to be treated badly; some loved to be pushed around. In their minds, this is what real leaders do. More often than I wish it were true, I’ve heard young Christian women say that they wanted a “leader” for a husband, a leader all too much like those Paul exposed as frauds in 2 Corinthians. Somehow they cannot look upon men who are kind, gentle servants as leaders, and yet Paul commended Timothy as a leader for just these qualities:

19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. 20 For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. 21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. 23 So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, 24 though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon (Philippians 2:19-24, emphasis mine).

What is somewhat disturbing about Paul’s words is that here in Philippians he is not just seeking to contrast the selfless servanthood of Timothy with the self-serving, high-handed ministry of religious hucksters who are not believers. It seems fairly clear to me that Paul is saying that Timothy is a rare jewel in Christian circles because most Christians, too, were seeking their own interests ahead of the interests of others. How rare Paul and his companions were. No wonder their conduct set them apart and adorned the gospel they proclaimed.

First Thessalonians 2:8 serves as a kind of transition verse. It follows up on Paul’s analogy of a nursing mother by calling attention to his deep affection for the Thessalonian saints. It also states that Paul was not only motivated to share the gospel with those he loved, he went beyond this by sharing his life with them. Paul did not minister in some distant, detached, manner. He was intimately involved in the lives of those he served, and he opened his life up to them. (This is, of course, consistent with the imagery of a nursing mother, for this is surely how she cares for her beloved child.)

But verse 8 also serves as a bridge to what he is about to say in verses 9 and 10:

9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

Elsewhere, Paul has made it more than clear that an apostle of Jesus Christ has the right to be financially supported, to the extent that he could provide for his family.⁴⁵ But he also indicated that this was a right that he happily set aside in order to enhance the effectiveness of the gospel that he proclaimed.⁴⁶

While Paul sometimes did receive gifts from other churches which allowed him to devote himself fully to ministry, he very often supported himself and those he served by working with his own hands:

1 After this Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome. Paul approached them, 3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade). 4 He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them (Acts 18:1-4).⁴⁷

What a contrast Paul is with the charlatans and religious hucksters of bygone days, his day, and ours, who are merely in it for the money (or other perks) “ministry” provides:

11 The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain. 12 Each one says, ‘Come on, I’ll get some wine! Let’s guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We’ll have everything we want!’ (Isaiah 56:11-12, emphasis mine)

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! (Ezekiel 34:1-3, emphasis mine)

14 Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children! 15 By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Peter 2:14-15, emphasis mine).

16 These people are grumblers and fault-finders who go wherever their desires lead them, and they give bombastic speeches, enchanting folks for their own gain. 17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people are divisive, worldly, devoid of the Spirit (Jude 16-19, emphasis mine).

11 I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. 12 Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance by signs and wonders and powerful deeds. 13 For how were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this injustice! (2 Corinthians 12:11-13, emphasis mine)

Do we hear what Paul is saying to the Corinthians in this last verse? He is saying that he is lightly esteemed because he ministers to these saints free of charge. It would seem that the higher the charge for “service rendered” the higher the esteem of the Corinthians for this individual. I often hear Christians say something to this effect: “People don’t appreciate ministry if they don’t have to pay for it.” According to Paul, this is a wrong way of thinking.

I would suggest that such people think about this for a moment. How much are we required to pay (in money or deeds) for the salvation that was provided for us by the “hard labor” of our Lord Jesus Christ? We paid nothing because salvation was given to us as a gift of grace. Wouldn’t it have been inconsistent for Paul to have talked about the grace of God in salvation and yet demand that he be well paid for the ministry he performed? If people do not value what they do not pay for, that is something that needs to be addressed and corrected. It is not an excuse to minister on the same basis as the religious hucksters.⁴⁸

Now we come to the “masculine side” of Paul’s ministry. Here, in verses 11 and 12, he describes his ministry by using the analogy of a father and his children.

11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, emphasis mine).

Fathers and mothers have different roles to play in the family. Paul has already described the way a nursing mother cares for her child, selflessly nourishing and caring for her beloved offspring. There is a sense in which Paul’s ministry was like that. But as an infant grows into childhood and then beyond to adulthood, the father has a very important leadership role to play.⁴⁹ He exhorts, encourages, and expects certain things of his children. We can easily understand why so many Proverbs begin with, “My son. . . .” Much of Paul’s ministry consisted of teaching the Word of God to believers:

17 From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him. 18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews. 20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. . . 26 Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all. 27 For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God (Acts 20:17-21, 26-27, emphasis mine).

We can be assured that Paul also taught much to the Thessalonian believers.⁵⁰ No wonder Paul could speak of the election of the Thessalonians in chapter 1⁵¹ and yet not feel it was necessary for him to explain what he meant by that term. Just as Paul taught the Thessalonians, fathers are to teach their children. This was not just so at Thessalonica, but everywhere:

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

We should note that Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (“exhorting,” “encouraging,”⁵² “imploring”⁵³) are not words which describe the demands and threats of an autocrat; these are words which describe the efforts of a father or leader who, by teaching and exhortation, seeks to persuade the less mature to walk in the path of godliness. Again, note the mood as well as the content of Proverbs. This should not be a mystery to the fathers of Thessalonica because they had observed the way Paul had taught them like a father. They only needed to imitate Paul when they sought to train up their children in the ways of the Lord.

Speaking of Proverbs, this might be a good time to point out the deliberate contrast between “Dame Wisdom” (Proverbs 8) and “Madam Folly” (Proverbs 7). Dame Wisdom calls out to all, offering the instruction of wisdom to those who are simple. Madam Folly whispers seductively from the shadows, seeking to seduce the simple and thereby lead them into the path which leads to death. False teachers would not be characterized by exhortation, encouragement, and imploring. Indeed, such purveyors of trouble most often seek to turn the simple from the instruction of parents.

The Thessalonians’ Response to Paul’s Ministry:
Illumination and Imitation
1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

13 And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe. 14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16).

I have to confess that I initially agonized over whether or not to include verses 13-16 in this message. Sixteen verses seemed like a lot of ground to cover, and I was uncertain as to how closely verses 13-16 were linked with verses 1-12. I now see verses 13-16 as very closely related to the first 12 verses of chapter 2. Not only did God authenticate the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit (1:5), God authenticated the gospel message through His messengers: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. This is exactly how God intended it to work:

7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment – 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:7-11).

1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. 2 For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling. 4 My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3 revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:1-6).

The slick, smooth, manipulative rhetoric of the religious hucksters attracted men to them and to their persuasive powers. Paul rejected such verbal gimmickry and proclaimed the good news in simple and straightforward terms. When the Holy Spirit empowered and authenticated the gospel message, the Thessalonians received it as the Word of God, and not merely the words of men. Because of how Paul and his colleagues lived and preached, the Thessalonians recognized their words as God’s Word. Their motives and methods drew men’s attention to God and to His Word, rather than to them. That was the way it was supposed to be for they were stewards of the gospel, entrusted with it, and commissioned to declare it plainly to men.

But what I find most interesting about these last four verses of our text for this lesson is this: Because of the motives and methods of the messengers, the Thessalonians became imitators not only of Paul and his associates, but also of the churches of Judea. The message Paul preached was the same message that was proclaimed in Judea. And when people believed God’s Word and it worked powerfully in them, they responded in the same way. The Jewish believers in Judea embraced the gospel as the Word of God, and they were persecuted by their (unbelieving Jewish) brethren for doing so. Nevertheless, they joyfully suffered for their faith in Jesus (see Acts 5:41-42). Now, the Thessalonians hear the same gospel, and they likewise believe it as the Word of God. Like their Jewish brethren, they are persecuted by their (Gentile) countrymen for their faith, and they joyfully endure it.

The link that I came to see in our text is the relationship between verses 1 and 2 of chapter 2 and verses 14-16. The gospel messengers (Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy) willingly suffered for proclaiming the gospel, not just in Thessalonica, but also in Philippi (2:1-2). Now, because of the way they lived out the gospel that they proclaimed, the Thessalonians have not only trusted in Jesus for salvation, they have also become saints who joyfully suffer for living out their faith. The Thessalonians not only embraced the gospel message, they imitated those who brought it to them. I believe this is a profoundly important truth, which we must explore further in a moment.

Conclusion

Our text raises a very important question: Does persecution and opposition justify decreasing our openness, honesty, and integrity in proclaiming the gospel? When I was overseas, a friend asked me what I thought about lying. Unclear as to what he was asking, I asked him to explain. “You, know,” he said, “lying about the fact that you are where you are because you are a Christian and because you are seeking to convert people to faith in Jesus?” This issue of honesty and integrity in taking the message of the gospel to lost men and women is especially critical in the light of the growing number of “closed” countries to missionary activity.

I don’t mean to say that I have all the answers to some very difficult questions, but when Jesus said that He was “the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6) how could we ever communicate the truth to men in a way that is deceptive? Paul was very clear in stating that his message and methods of communicating it were honest and straightforward. Deceptive methods are inconsistent with the gospel message. That is what Paul is saying. He is saying even more than that. Paul is saying that it is deceitful to proclaim the truth and yet fail to live it. There must be a consistency of lifestyle, message, and methods.

Not only is this necessary because we are stewards of the gospel and because we must seek to please God and not men, it is necessary because those who come to faith in Jesus Christ through our witness will tend to imitate us in the way they live their lives and proclaim their faith. If we are sneaky Christian witnesses, they will be the same. Paul was bold in his witness, and he joyfully endured suffering for the sake of the gospel. The Thessalonian saints became imitators of Paul and of their Jewish brethren in Judea. John Piper once said (I wish I could remember exactly when and where, but he has likely said this on numerous occasions), “There is no closed country if you are willing to die for the sake of the gospel.” Paul would agree, and so should we.

Okay, it is probably time for me to explain further why I chose to look at Paul’s “feminine side” on Father’s Day. The answer is simple: Because it is right here in our text, and in other biblical texts as well!

It is not surprising that the secular (non-Christian) world thinks of leadership in “macho” (allegedly, manly) terms. That was a conversation Jesus had with His disciples more than once.⁵⁴ The disciples (like most Israelites) wanted a “macho Messiah,” who would cast off the yoke of Roman bondage. That helps us to understand why the crowds in Jerusalem could herald Jesus as the coming king at the beginning of the week, and then at the end cry out for the crucifixion of Jesus and the release of Barabbas at the end of the week.

Godly leadership requires both toughness and tenderness, not one of these to the exclusion of the other. Spiritual leaders must fearlessly contend for the faith, but they must also be gentle and kind:

2 The overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, 3 not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money. 4 He must manage his own household well and keep his children in control without losing his dignity (1 Timothy 3:2-4, emphasis mine).

24 And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, 25 correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth 26 and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26, emphasis mine).

The challenge for every leader is to determine when to be tough and when to be tender. In many instances, we must be both – at the same time. The perception that spiritual leadership is heavy on “toughness” and light on “tenderness” is wrong. Paul used one analogy of a nursing mother and another of a nurturing father to describe his leadership. We should strive to be like Paul, manifesting both dimensions of leadership.

Some may think of marriage as a blend of toughness and tenderness – the father is tough, while the mother is tender. I realize there is a measure of truth in this, but in some cases, mothers may need to toughen up, or fathers may need to lighten up. I would view the wife and mother’s tenderness a little differently than some might. I don’t think that the wife is just there to counterbalance her husband. I look at her tenderness as I do spiritual gifts. She is tender, not only to add this element into the parenting mix, but to help her husband to learn to become more tender. So too, the husband is there to help his wife to become tougher at times than she is naturally inclined to be.

I was thinking of David, Abigail, and Nabal (1 Samuel 25) in this regard. Nabal, the fool, would not listen to anyone (verse 17), and express the gentleness, kindness, and gratitude that was due to David and his men. When he foolishly refused David’s request, David lost his temper and set out to kill not only Nabal, but every male in his household (verses 13, 21-22). Abigail not only showed kindness toward David and his men, she appealed to David not to act in a macho manner, for this would not set a precedent for his rule over Israel (verses 23-31). Her gentleness was instructive to David, at a very critical time in his life. She did not merely “offset” David’s tough guy mentality; she helped to change it. I believe that God gives wives to husbands to help tenderize them when and where it is needed.

Let us remember that the leadership qualities for which we should strive are not just the qualities that we see in Paul; they are the qualities that we see in God the Father and in our Lord Jesus Christ – qualities that glorify God:

18 And Moses said, “Show me your glory.” 19 And the Lord said, “I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:18-19).

6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 7 keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7).

1 “Here is my servant whom I support,
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my spirit on him;
he will make just decrees for the nations.

2 He will not cry out or shout;
he will not publicize himself in the streets.

3 A crushed reed he will not break,
a dim wick he will not extinguish;
he will faithfully make just decrees.

4 He will not grow dim or be crushed
before establishing justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees” (Isaiah 42:1-4).

28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”Matthew 11:28-30

Nowhere is the tenderness of our God seen than in His offer of salvation through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in His tender care for His sheep:

Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations. Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea. Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them. He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.” (Jeremiah 31:10)

11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day. 13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. 14 In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord. 16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them – with judgment! (Ezekiel 34:1-16)

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. . . . 27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand” (John 10:11, 27-29).

As such, the Lord Jesus is the model for all Christian leaders:

1 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: 2 Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. 4 Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away (1 Peter 5:1-4).

In his first epistle, Peter reminds us of something that we see in our text in 1 Thessalonians 2 – a good leader not only exhorts and encourages; he sets an example for others to follow, an example that is consistent with what he teaches. On this Father’s Day, let us seek to be the kind of leaders that God has called us to be, the kind of leaders who will not only be followed, but imitated.

Since Paul’s stewardship, message, and methods are all about the gospel, this would be a good time to remind you of just what the gospel message is. The gospel message is that all men are sinners, displeasing to God and deserving of His eternal punishment (Romans 3:9-20). We are incapable of earning God’s favor by means of our best efforts. The Law of Moses was given to show us just how far short of God’s standard for righteousness that we fall. Jesus Christ was sent to this earth, not only to live a perfect life – one that fulfilled all the requirements of the law – but to die in the sinner’s place so that he or she could have eternal life. Salvation comes when undeserving sinners acknowledge their sin and renounce all efforts at seeking to earn God’s favor, choosing instead to trust in the work of Jesus Christ in our place (Romans 3:21-26). In other words, we are saved, not by our works, but by faith in the work of Jesus Christ (Romans 4; Ephesians 2:1-9).

My friend, the gospel is God’s invitation to experience the tenderness of God through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. But if you should choose to refuse this offer of God’s tenderness, be warned that God is tough on sin, and on sinners who reject His offer of salvation. As Paul put it,

16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God (John 3:16-18).

22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off (Romans 11:22).

3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater. 4 As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring. 5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed—and you did in fact believe our testimony (2 Thessalonians 1:3-10).

The gospel is the offer of God’s tenderness in salvation through Jesus Christ. It is also the warning to those who would reject this offer, for those who do so will eternally experience His toughness, the toughness of eternal torment. Does this sound harsh? Would you rather it be watered down or put in fine print? As stewards of the gospel, we must tell it like it is.

Finally, Paul’s words in our text call our attention to the subject of work. He reminds the Thessalonians that when he was among them, he labored hard, night and day, so as not to be a burden to any of them (1 Thessalonians 2:9). This is entirely consistent with what Paul says elsewhere:

33 “I have desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35 By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:33-35; see also 1 Corinthians 9:1-23).

I cannot help but observe that Paul’s practice underscores his preaching. The way he lived while in Thessalonica enabled him to exhort the Thessalonians as he did:

But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 12 In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need (1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12, emphasis mine).

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline among you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” 11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others. 12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing what is right. 14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15).

Being a hard worker should characterize every Christian;⁵⁵ it is also a quality that underscores one’s testimony:

The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need (Ephesians 4:28).

5 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, 6 not like those who do their work only when someone is watching – as people-pleasers – but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. 7 Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people, 8 because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord (Ephesians 6:5-8).

17 Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. 18 For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker deserves his pay” (1 Timothy 5:17-18).

We know that work is God’s appointed means for a man to provide for himself and for his family. But what Christians don’t seem to appreciate enough is that work is also one of the most effective ways of advancing the gospel. It is clear from Paul’s teaching and from his practice that he often chose to provide for his needs through secular employment rather than by paid ministry, even though this was a biblical right he could claim.⁵⁶ One reason for this is that it set Paul apart from the religious hucksters of his day, who were always motivated by money, and who ministered only for the status and the money it produced.

From what I read in Acts 17 and in 1 Thessalonians, I conclude that many of the saints at Thessalonica were Gentile pagans who came to faith, not as a result of Paul’s synagogue preaching, but as a result of his public ministry in the marketplace. In my mind’s eye, I can see Paul working at his trade in the marketplace, not unlike what I see when I visit the Farmer’s Market in Dallas. All the while his hands are busily engaged in making tents (or related products), Paul is free to talk with those who pass by, or with those who have made a point to come and learn from him. I am convinced that his work did not keep him from ministry, but put him in a place where he could minister.

Now there are cautions that must be stated. I’ve watched young seminary students “talk theology” with one another on the job, neglecting their job as they have done so. Our employer doesn’t pay us to evangelize others or to spend time on the phone or the Internet when we are “on the clock.” Paul was his own boss, so he had freedoms that we may not have. We should give our employers a full measure for what they are paying us, but we can also demonstrate our faith by working hard, practicing teamwork, encouraging others, and so on. We can always arrange to meet for coffee after work or on the weekend. Let us be careful not to rob our employers in the name of being witnesses.

With that said, let’s focus on some of the ways that business can be a powerful means of proclaiming the gospel. There is a new concept of missions that is rising in popularity. It is called “Business as Mission.” Actually, it is not a new concept at all. It is as old as men like Joseph and Daniel and is the practice the Apostle Paul speaks of several times in the New Testament, including our text. When missionaries went to foreign lands as doctors or nurses or agricultural experts, they were (and often still are) welcomed for the contribution they could make to a society. But those who go to evangelize and plant churches are not well received, especially in countries where Islam or Hinduism refuse to allow those who seek to convert people from their ranks.

Christian missions have responded to this dilemma in several ways. One way is to label that nation a “closed country” and cease missionary efforts (while hoping that some would smuggle in Bibles or make the gospel available through radio or the Internet or other such means. The other way is to enter the country “in disguise.” I have no problem with those who honestly represent themselves as Christians, but in a number of cases, these efforts cross the line of honesty and integrity. Also, the disguise is so badly carried out that everyone figures out that this is deception. If a storefront business is so badly run that it can never make a profit, it takes little time to realize that funds are flowing in from outside the country. Being a bad businessman or craftsman or scientist reflects badly on the gospel.

But there is another – better – way, and that is through the “business as mission” approach. Highly skilled entrepreneurs who are Christians committed to sharing their faith can offer a closed nation an opportunity to benefit from a well-run, technically advanced, business. The business makes a profit, creating jobs and improving living conditions for many. Because it is profitable and beneficial to the community and the country, the government may very well tolerate its existence, even though it understands that it intends to make the gospel known to their citizens.

This is frequently the case in the realm of education. When a high quality Christian school is established in a non-Christian community, parents of other faiths (even faiths strongly opposed to Christianity) eagerly seek the superior education offered by the Christian school. This happens not only on the elementary and high school levels, it also works at the college and university level. Highly skilled Christians offer their services to those in hostile or closed countries, and yet they are welcomed because of the contribution they make to society. And in this context, they not only live out their faith before these people groups, they also proclaim their faith in meaningful and appropriate ways.

There is yet another benefit to this approach, in addition to the fact that it is biblical and effective. It is economically good stewardship. Rather than having to raise funds to be supported as missionaries (something that needs to be done in some contexts), these “tentmaker” Christians find employment abroad. In many cases, they are well paid for their services, even better paid than if they remained in their homeland. I know of those who are seeking Christians to work overseas, and yet workers are often hard to find.

Here’s what I would like to see. I would like to see young people challenged to consider business as mission. I have recently attended two excellent conferences that were conducted on the campuses of Christian colleges, addressed to potential businessmen and businesswomen, challenging them to live out their faith in the realm of business. I’d like to see Christian colleges and universities preparing young people for national and international business careers, where they can have a significant impact for the gospel of Jesus Christ.⁵⁷ I’d like to encourage students to take foreign language courses before and during college. I’d like to see students major in highly desired fields, with skills that are in high demand overseas, and at the same time, be equipped to live out and share the gospel. In short, I’d love to see us encourage young people to follow Paul’s example and to become “tentmaker Christians,” who can take the gospel to any place in the world, including “closed countries.”

There is a Proverb that I have always loved. It goes like this:

Do you see a person skilled in his work?
He will take his position before kings;
he will not take his position before obscure people (Proverbs 22:29).

If you are highly skilled, diligent, and passionate about the gospel, I believe you have a great adventure ahead of you. Consider taking the road less traveled, the road which was often taken by Paul and which is being chosen more and more often today.

If you are a Christian in business, I challenge you to seek out ways to link up and network with those who are seeking more effective ways of proclaiming the gospel to lost people around the world. And if you are “merely” employed in a secular job, I would urge you not to accept the misconception that this is second class service, or that your only contribution is giving to those who go as “full-time” ministers. Your job is not “just a job;” it is the opportunity to live out and to proclaim the gospel.

Think about the critical needs of our day. There are famines and natural disasters, deep water oil wells spewing forth raw petroleum, widespread unemployment, and great issues related to health and sanitation. Where are the Joseph’s? Where are the Daniel’s? Where are those with wisdom so great that a heathen nation would promote them to positions of power and prominence if they could serve their nation? The needs and opportunities are great. “Tentmaking” or “Business as Mission” is a powerful, yet biblical, way to serve mankind, and yet to do so in the service of the King of Kings. That is something that we should learn from Paul. Let us not merely embrace his message; let us likewise embrace his methods, to the glory of God and to the good of mankind.

³² The point here is not whether or not the first mission to Thessalonica was purposeful; the issue is whether this mission was profitable or a failure. One can purpose to do great things and fail to achieve them. Thus, several translations render “in vain” (NASB, ESV, NKJV) or “a failure” (NIV, NLT). I think I would paraphrase Paul’s words this way: “Our coming to you was not a fruitless effort.” This was a successful mission, and he wants the Thessalonians to think no less of it.

³³ Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

³⁴ I realize, as you should also, that when Paul appears to speak of or for himself, he also speaks of and for his associates, Silvanus and Timothy.

³⁵ We know from Acts 13 and 14 (and also later in Acts) that they were often persecuted for the preaching of the gospel.

³⁶ The primary texts from which I have derived these negative characteristics are: Isaiah 56:11-12; Jeremiah 3:15; 23:1-4; 31:10; Ezekiel 34:1-16, 23-24; Matthew 23; John 10:10-15; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 4:1-2, 11:12-30; 12:11-13; Philippians 2:1-8, 17-24; 2 Timothy 3:6-7; 4:1-4; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 10-19; Jude 4, 7-8, 10-13, 16-19.

³⁷ See Acts 16:16-40.

³⁸ See 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4; also Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12.

³⁹ Twain, through Huck Finn, was referring to the religious hucksters who traveled up and down the Mississippi River collecting funds for the evangelization of the heathen – or so they claimed. In fact, they were money-grubbing frauds.

⁴⁰ Let the reader understand henceforth that though I speak of Paul in the singular, I am referring to Paul and to his two associates when I do so.

⁴¹ Let me be clear that these temptations are present for all leaders, whether hucksters or genuine Christians.

⁴² See 1 Corinthians 4:1-2.

⁴³ See 1 Corinthians 14:37; see Paul distinguish his own opinions and convictions from the Lord’s commands in 1 Corinthians 7:1-16.

⁴⁴ See Deuteronomy 13; 18:20-22; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.

⁴⁵ See 1 Corinthians 9:1-14.

⁴⁶ See 1 Corinthians 9:15-23; also see Acts 20:33-35; 2 Corinthians 11:7-12 (although here Paul states that e did accept gifts from others, so that he might minister to the Corinthians at no cost to them).

⁴⁷ Luke goes on in Acts 18:5 to tell us that when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia with a gift for Paul, he then devoted himself completely to proclaiming the Word of God.

⁴⁸ I am well aware of those texts which instruct the saints to take care of those who minister to them (1 Corinthians 9:4-14; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). I am one who has been generously cared for by those I serve. But let us highly regard those, like Paul, who have chosen to serve without remuneration, and let us beware of those who are overly concerned about getting paid what they think they are worth. There is too much professionalism in ministry these days. I would strongly recommend you consider buying John Piper’s book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.

http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-We-Are-Not-Professionals/dp/0805426205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277157371&sr=1-1

⁴⁹ I’m not suggesting here that a father has no role to play in raising an infant, but experience has taught me that at this early stage, mothers play a key role.

⁵⁰ See 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4; 5:1.

⁵¹ 1 Thessalonians 1:4.

⁵² It is noteworthy that the CSB, NIV, KJV, and NKJV all render this term with the sense of “comforting.”

⁵³ I much prefer “imploring” (NASB, CSB) or “urging” (NIV) to “insisting” (NET Bible). There is a sense in which both fathers and Paul must “hold the line” on certain truths, but when it comes to godliness, it doesn’t happen by demanding; it happens by teaching and exhorting, and a lot of prayer. This is why the apostles “devoted themselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). Even if one were to understand the term in the sense of “insisting” or “charging,” two of the three terms have a less than authoritarian tone.

⁵⁴ See Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 22:24-30.

⁵⁵ I realize that unbelievers can be hard workers as well, but not for the same reasons as the Christian. Both non-believers and Christians can also become workaholics, which is also a problem of priorities.

⁵⁶ See 1 Corinthians 9:1-23.

⁵⁷ I have attended conferences at Houston Baptist University, Dallas Baptist University, and most recently have talked with the president of Emmaus Bible College, where they have just started a school of business. What an exciting opportunity this is!

13 And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe. 14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely.

17 But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters, for a short time (in presence, not in affection) we became all the more fervent in our great desire to see you in person. 18 For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul, in fact tried again and again) but Satan thwarted us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy!

1 So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens alone. 2 We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know. 5 So when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.

6 But now Timothy has come to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection and long to see us just as we also long to see you! 7 So in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, through your faith. 8 For now we are alive again, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For how can we thank God enough for you, for all the joy we feel because of you before our God? 10 We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person and make up what may be lacking in your faith. 11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:13).¹

Introduction

Okay, I might as well begin by explaining why I chose the titles for this message (the last of which I decided upon just before preaching this message). It has been my observation that some Americans seem determined to identify some new malady (medical or psychological) in order to explain (rationalize?) bad conduct (sin). Sin and the depravity of man is never a sufficient explanation. These maladies come and go, and when a new disorder is identified, some seem obliged to join the ranks of the thus-afflicted. One such malady (that I don’t hear discussed as much lately – it probably has been replaced by some newer disorder) is that of codependency.

Surely there are some who may be genuinely codependent, but if this is a real disorder, then I am convinced that there must be a more biblical term for it.² I would suspect that at the height of its popularity (especially in Christian circles) some might even dare to conclude that Paul suffered from this mental ailment, based largely upon our text, and especially 1 Thessalonians 3:8:

For now we are alive again, if you stand firm in the Lord (1 Thessalonians 3:8).

Paul’s mental outlook (rejoicing or sorrow) seems to be completely dependent upon the frame of mind and spiritual state of those to whom he has ministered, especially those whose spiritual state is a great concern to him.³ And so the question is this: In our text, is Paul our example as to how we should respond to the spiritual health of others, or is this an example of unhealthy codependency, which we should seek to avoid? I say this because a number of years ago a popular Christian psychiatrist publicly advised that we must take care of ourselves first, before we care for others. I read this statement in a Christian magazine⁴ to mean: Our priority should be “me first, others second.”⁵

Now, for my second title: “Would Paul Twitter, Tweet, and Text?” Imagine living in Paul’s day when correspondence took days or weeks to reach a distant destination. Contrast that with my ability (and yours) to communicate with people around the world in a few seconds. I cannot only communicate by phone, but by means of recent technology (Skype, for example), I can even see the person to whom I am speaking. Just this week one of the families in our church communicated this way with a family that just moved to Denmark. How would Paul feel about our modern means of communication? Here is a man who communicated more with others in distant places than we can imagine, given the state of technology in his day. And he communicated well. What use would he make of our technology? Would he prefer one method to another? I believe that Paul’s words actually serve to give us some guiding principles in the matter of communication, as I will seek to demonstrate as this message develops.

Why Is Our Text Important?

Our text contains a couple of my very favorite verses:

19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)

I love these verses because they inform us, just as they did the Thessalonian saints of that day, of Paul’s great love and affection for these believers, people whom he has not known long, but with whom he has lived and worked and worshipped. I also love these words because they express the great affection that I and my fellow elders feel toward you whom we serve.

But having said this, some may feel that there is nothing very significant here because this text does not appear to teach any major doctrines. Paul’s words seem to emphasize his emotions, rather than expound some deep theological truth. Why, then, should we attempt to examine these verses carefully? This is a question I will attempt to answer in this message. I am hopeful that we shall soon see just how important this text really is.

Let me remind you that this passage is the conclusion of the foundation that Paul has been laying in chapters 1-3, paving the way for the application section of his epistle in chapters 4-5. If there is any place where an author should be clear in revealing the purpose of his writing thus far, it should be right here – at the conclusion of the first part of this epistle. I believe that our text is the key to discerning why Paul spends so much time expressing his emotions and reminiscing about his history with these saints. It will help us understand how Paul can appeal to experience (his and that of the Thessalonians) as the basis for application.

Our Approach in this Message

I will begin this lesson by taking a closer look at the context of our text. Next, I will examine the major segments of 1 Thessalonians 2:17—3:13. The major divisions of our text are:

2:17-20

3:1-5

3:6-13

After identifying the point of each of these paragraphs, we will seek to trace the flow of Paul’s argument. Having done so, I will endeavor to identify the purpose of Paul’s lengthy introduction, and then explore some implications and applications.

Our Text in Context

Chapter 1 is Paul’s enthusiastic and joyful expression of his confidence in the work which God initiated by choosing these saints for salvation. Their faith, love, and hope were evidences of God’s election, salvation, and sanctifying work in their lives. Paul had every reason to anticipate even greater things. In chapter 2, Paul expanded on something to which he had only alluded in chapter 1:

5 in that our gospel did not come to you merely in words, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you) (1 Thessalonians 1:5, emphasis mine).

In chapter 2, Paul expands on this statement significantly. In verses 1-12, Paul reminds the Thessalonians of the way he and his colleagues conducted themselves while they were among them. In 1 Thessalonians 2:17 through 3:13, Paul brings the Thessalonians up to date regarding his attitudes and conduct toward them since the time he was forced to leave them.

Of particular interest is the paragraph which immediately precedes our text:

13 And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe. 14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16).

The Thessalonians had become imitators of Paul (see 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2) when they joyfully accepted and endured persecution from their own countrymen for trusting in the Lord Jesus (1:6). But in 2:14-16, Paul speaks of the Thessalonians as imitators of their Jewish brethren in Judea, rather than as imitators of him. Why does Paul make a point of this? Why emphasize the similarity of the Thessalonians’ experience of suffering to that of their Jewish brethren in Judea?

I believe we must begin by considering the magnitude of the reaction these Thessalonian believers experienced for having “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1:9). It was no great thing for an idol worshipper to add one more “god” to his or her pantheon of gods. It was a very big thing for an idol worshipper to renounce all of his gods and to trust only in the One true God. This would almost certainly have alienated the new believer from his or her family. Faith in Christ would likewise have severed ties within the community. One only needs to read Acts 16:19-23 and 19:23-41 to see how quickly the Gentiles of Philippi and Ephesus become enraged when the success of the gospel adversely impacted their economy.

My point in all this is to show how important one’s church family is to the believer whose faith has alienated him from his family and society. No wonder Paul describes his relationship with the Thessalonians in “motherly” and “fatherly” (as well as “sisterly” and “brotherly”) terms (2:7-12); thus, the frequent family references in this and other New Testament epistles. I believe Paul has not only emphasized a very intimate relationship between the Thessalonians and himself (and his two companions, Silvanus and Timothy), but now he sets out to show the Thessalonian saints that their new family includes the Jewish believers in Judea.⁶ In doing so, he also highlights the fact that their oppressors are also “one in spirit.”

I never really considered any kind of kinship between the Jewish oppressors of Judea with the Gentile oppressors of Thessalonica, but it is quite clear here when you look at Paul’s carefully chosen words:

14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16a).

One can hardly question that those in Judea to whom Paul referred were Jews who had come to trust in Jesus as their Messiah. And given the fact that these Thessalonians are said to have “turned to God from idols” (1:9), we must conclude that they were Gentiles. The Jewish brethren in Judea would have suffered from unbelieving Jews (their own countrymen), while the Gentile brethren in Thessalonica were said to be suffering at the hands of their Gentile brethren. What these very different congregations (one Jewish, the other Gentile) have in common is that they are both being opposed by their own countrymen, who strongly oppose their turning to Christ for salvation.

As I read the account of Paul’s stoning at Lystra in Acts 14, I marvel at how those who had so recently tried to worship Barnabas and Paul as two of their own gods could so quickly turn against them and then stand by (and perhaps even participate) as they were being stoned by Jews. But then I remembered that something very similar occurred to our Lord after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover week. It was but a few days before the crowds would be crying out, “Crucify! Crucify!”⁷ The unity of the Jews at this point in time is amazing, given the way in which one group differed from the others.⁸ You might describe both incidents (at Jerusalem and at Lystra) as “the unity of unbelief.”

Let’s consider the opposition of unbelieving Jews to the preaching of the gospel to Gentiles. We must begin by remembering God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants:

Now the LORD said to Abram,

“Go forth from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father's house,

To the land which I will show you;

2 And I will make you a great nation,

And I will bless you,

And make your name great;

And so you shall be a blessing;

3 And I will bless those who bless you,

And the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3, NASB95).

God purposed and promised to bless Abraham, but not so that he and his offspring could enjoy God’s blessings while the rest of mankind is banished to hell. God promised that he would bless Abraham in order to bless men from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Israel was not to be a reservoir of God’s blessings, hoarding them all for themselves, but a river through which God’s blessings would flow to others. God’s blessings were not merely to flow to Abraham, but through him to many others. Jonah is but one example of Jewish resistance to God’s purpose for making this covenant with Abraham and his offspring. Thus, unbelieving Jews in Judea did not want the gospel to be proclaimed to the Gentiles, and so they did everything they could to resist Gentile evangelism.⁹ And if evangelism did take place, then their fallback position was to insist that Gentile Christians put themselves under the Law of Moses – in effect, to force Gentile converts to become (or at least act like) Jews.¹⁰

But how and why did unbelieving Gentiles come to oppose the evangelization of their fellow Gentiles? Gentile evangelism was as great a threat to the Gentile establishment as it was to the Jewish establishment. Think back to Acts 14, when Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra and Paul healed the man who was lame from birth. If Paul and Barnabas had allowed themselves to be worshipped as Hermes and Zeus, they would have furthered the heathen religion of Lystra, for this would have been interpreted as a confirmation of the existence of these gods and of their presence among men. But Paul and Barnabas refused to be worshipped as gods, insisting that such gods were no-gods, and that the only true God was the God of Israel. Paul and Barnabas were now a threat to the heathen religious system of Lystra because faith in Christ is exclusive, not inclusive (of other gods). The Gentile residents of Lystra would thus have welcomed the arrival of the unbelieving Jews of Antioch and Iconium, allowing them (and perhaps even helping them) to stone Paul and leave him for dead.

Likewise, we see the opposition of Gentiles to the presence and preaching of Paul (and those with him) at Philippi¹¹ and at Ephesus.¹² In both of these cities, the gospel adversely impacted certain elements of the economy. In Philippi, when Paul cast the demon from the fortune-teller, it put her owners out of business. In Ephesus, when saints turned to God from idols, it dealt a serious blow to the idol manufacturing business. And thus Gentiles opposed the evangelization of Gentiles.

Economics is but one of the implications of the gospel, but there are many more. Think of the way a religion (whichever one it might be) defines or impacts culture. When Christianity was taken to India, it undermined the caste system, and the implications of this are monumental. When Christianity comes to a Buddhist country, the family is impacted. Christianity really does turn the world upside-down, and when it does, those who want to maintain the status quo oppose it strongly. I believe this explains why the same thing happened in Thessalonica that occurred in Ephesus, Philippi, and Lystra.

What does this have to do with Paul and Silvanus and Timothy? These men had been forced to leave Thessalonica in the dead of night (Acts 17:10). They had not been able to return to Thessalonica or to maintain close communication with these saints. Paul’s absence could easily have been misunderstood and misapplied. It might have looked as if Paul did not care about the Thessalonian saints. You remember what happened at Mount Sinai when Moses was gone “too long” (in the people’s minds) and the Israelites began to wonder if he would ever return (Exodus 32:1ff.). Paul likewise found it necessary to explain his absence to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 1:15—2:13) and to those in Rome (Romans 1:8-15). Some may have been asking (or alleging), “How can Paul really care about us if he doesn’t come back and hasn’t corresponded with us?” Our text is Paul’s explanation of his absence. Rather than prove he doesn’t care about them, it demonstrates just the opposite, as we are about to see.

Absence Made Paul’s Heart Grow Fonder
1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

17 But when we were separated¹³ from you, brothers and sisters, for a short time (in presence, not in affection) we became all the more fervent in our great desire to see you in person. 18 For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul, in fact tried again and again) but Satan thwarted us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20)

The first word of verse 17 – “But” – indicates that Paul is setting out to contrast his response to the salvation of the Thessalonians with that of their unbelieving countrymen (as described in the preceding verses). Did their countrymen reject and persecute them, just as the Judean Jews opposed the conversion of their Jewish brethren? Paul, along with Silvanus and Timothy, responded in a very different way to their faith in Christ. They rejoiced greatly because these beloved brethren had placed their faith and hope in Jesus.

The word rendered “separated” in verse 17 (above) is not really strong enough to convey the intense love which Paul and his associates had for the Thessalonian believers. A better – and much more literal – translation of this word would be “orphaned.” Think of parents who have their child snatched from them, and who are subsequently forbidden contact with their beloved offspring. That is the way Paul felt about his premature (humanly speaking) separation from these saints. The passing of time had in no way diminished Paul’s sense of loss at being torn away from those he loved. He now feels the loss even more strongly than he did at first, and he is therefore more eager than ever to return to them. Notice that nothing – no letter, and no second-hand report – will do; it must be a face-to-face visit for Paul to be content.

How, then, does Paul explain his absence from them? What has kept him away all this time? His absence is not the result of a lack of desire on his part. Time after time¹⁴ he had attempted to come to them, and each time Satan had thwarted his efforts. It is not Paul who is to blame for his absence, but Satan. Now, we can be sure that Paul does not mean to describe a situation in which Satan is in control, for he is certain of the sovereignty of God in all things. But he knew, as we do, that God sometimes makes use of Satan’s efforts to accomplish His purposes. We see this in the affliction of Job¹⁵ and in David’s numbering of the Israelites.¹⁶ Paul also experienced this in his own life:

7 Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me – so that I would not become arrogant. 8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7b-10).

Thus, Satan – like the Thessalonian and Jewish unbelievers (see above) – opposes those who have turned to God by faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah.

So Paul’s expression of his affection grows more and more emphatic as his words in our text unfold. Yes, he was torn from them unwillingly, but always with a desire to be reunited with them face-to-face (verse 17). Paul repeatedly attempted to return to Thessalonica, but Satan was used to prevent this (verse 18). And now in verses 19 and 20, we come to the pinnacle of Paul’s expression of love for these saints:

19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)

Verse 19 looks forward to the time when Christ returns, when saints will be reunited in the presence of their Lord. Jesus had said it during His time on earth:

19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal homes” (Luke 16:9).

Paul took this matter seriously. Does he look forward to the time when God will grant him the blessing of seeing these saints face-to-face? He clearly does. But here he speaks of a far better reunion, a heavenly reunion when he will be reunited with these saints in heaven, in the presence of the Lord, to enjoy fellowship with Him and with His people for all eternity. No more painful parting there; no more separation then.

When we read Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-20 (and even in Luke 16:9), we tend to think in terms of money. But that is not where the emphasis lies. In both texts, Jesus challenges Christians not to be too attached to money, to acquiring and maintaining wealth. He speaks of money – our earthly treasure – as a means to bringing others to faith, who will joyfully greet us in heaven. The true treasure that we should lay up in heaven is the saints whom we have introduced to faith in Jesus. If we are to obey Jesus and be like Paul, then it is our brothers and sisters in Christ who should be our hope, our joy, and our crown. Do the Thessalonians’ countrymen reject and persecute them? Let them know that they will not be lacking friends in heaven.

Now, when we come to verse 20, the word “hope” disappears. Instead we simply read, “For you are our glory and joy!” I believe Paul changes his focus here from the future to the present. If the saints are our hope and joy and crown in heaven, then they should also be precious to us here on earth. That is what I believe Paul is saying here. Does he treasure these saints? He surely does, for they are a significant part of his heavenly hope. And because of this, they are also treasured by him now, here on earth. Let these beloved saints not think that his absence is an indication of a diminishing affection for them. One could hardly think of any words which convey his love and affection better than those employed in verses 19 and 20.

Paul “Cared Enough to Send the Very Best”
1 Thessalonians 3:1-5

1 So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens alone. 2 We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know. 5 So when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5).

Paul has already told the Thessalonians that he was not permitted to return to Thessalonica, but this in no way indicated any cooling of his affections for his brothers and sisters there. In the most emphatic way, he affirmed his love for them, as well as for his hope of being with them for all eternity. But now he describes in even greater detail the depth of his concern for them and commitment to them.

If Paul’s absence caused the Thessalonians to be concerned about him, it also caused Paul to be concerned about them. When Paul arrived in Thessalonica, he had recently suffered persecution in Philippi.¹⁷ Beyond this, he had made it very clear to the Thessalonians that they, too, would suffer for placing their faith in the Lord Jesus,¹⁸ something they had already experienced.¹⁹ No longer in Thessalonica and unable to return at the moment, Paul was concerned to know how these saints were holding up under persecution, knowing that Satan was seeking to take advantage of this situation. Had the “tempter” been able to gain a foothold in the church? Had he been successful in undoing what had been accomplished there?

Given these concerns, Paul was not willing to passively sit back and accept his separation from those whom he had served as a nursing mother and a caring father.²⁰ Since he could not personally go to Thessalonica, Paul sent his beloved associate Timothy to strengthen and encourage the saints there, as well as to assess their spiritual progress. (Because Paul indicated that doing this caused him to be “left alone,”²¹ it would appear that Silvanus must not have been with Paul at the time. The “we” would therefore be an editorial “we.”)

I doubt that we can fully appreciate the sacrifice it was for Paul to remain alone in order to send Timothy to Thessalonica. Just as the saints were facing trials and tribulations at Thessalonica, Paul was dealing with his own troubles:

7 So in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, through your faith (1 Thessalonians 3:7).

Timothy was like a son to Paul²² and was one of Paul’s most treasured companions:

19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. 20 For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. 21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel (Philippians 2:19-22).

Sending Timothy was a great sacrifice on Paul’s part and his finest gift to the Thessalonians. This was an indication of his love for these saints.

In addition to this, I am inclined to think that sending Timothy at this time was the beginning of good things to come from Timothy. Remember that this is Timothy’s first journey with Paul.²³ Later on, we know that Paul will send Timothy to Corinth,²⁴ Philippi,²⁵ and Ephesus.²⁶ Sending Timothy to Thessalonica was Timothy’s first mission as Paul’s representative, but it was surely not the last. What may have looked like Paul’s last resort in our text will later become his first choice. Paul’s anguish over his absence and over the fate of the Thessalonians paved the way for Timothy’s future ministry.

Paul’s Response to Timothy’s Report
1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

6 But now Timothy has come to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection and long to see us just as we also long to see you! 7 So in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, through your faith. 8 For now we are alive again, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For how can we thank God enough for you, for all the joy we feel because of you before our God? 10 We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person and make up what may be lacking in your faith. 11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:6-13).

Timothy has returned from his visit to Thessalonica, and his report greatly encouraged Paul. He told Paul the good news about the faith and love of the Thessalonians.²⁷ As mentioned above, in verse 7 Paul indicates that he was suffering great distress and affliction at the time he sent Timothy. It would seem that such suffering was often Paul’s experience:

4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in the midst of all our suffering. 5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our body had no rest at all, but we were troubled in every way – struggles from the outside, fears from within. 6 But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. 7 We were encouraged not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement you gave him, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your deep concern for me, so that I rejoiced more than ever (2 Corinthians 7:4-7).

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show my weakness (2 Corinthians 11:29-30).

Paul’s response to Timothy’s encouraging report regarding the Thessalonians is described in verses 9-13. His first response (it would seem) was to give thanks to God for these saints for the joy which God granted Paul through their salvation and spiritual growth. This is hardly surprising since Paul spent so much time praying for the saints in the churches he helped to establish, as well as others.²⁸ Paul was also prompted to pray earnestly and constantly that God might grant him the opportunity to return to Thessalonica and see these dear saints face-to-face. Such a visit would not merely be for fellowship (as important as this was for Paul), for Paul had much more that he wished to teach them, completing those things which were, as yet, still lacking in their faith. (By this, Paul makes it clear that even though these saints were doing well, there was always room for future growth.)

As pleased as Paul was with the Thessalonians’ faith, love, and hope (see 1:3), he was eager for them to continue to grow in these qualities.²⁹ Growth would not come by sheer effort – by the Thessalonians trying harder – but would come about through the Lord. It is He who will “make them increase in their love for one another and for all” (verse 12), just as it is He who will “establish their hearts blameless in holiness before God at the coming of Christ” (verse 13). Paul’s passion was to present these saints blameless and without blemish to God at the coming of our Lord. This is a desire that every Christian should have for others, because it is the desire of the Savior:

1 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:1-2).

25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, 27 so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27).

One cannot help but notice the “all” in the final verse (13) of our text:

so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:13, emphasis mine).

With this word “all,” Paul is setting up a transition to his next subject. It will become apparent that some at Thessalonica were not so sure about the fate of those who died before the Lord’s return. By using the word “all,” Paul is making it clear those who have died in Christ will participate at the coming of our Lord (as verses 13-18 in chapter 4 will state in the clearest of terms). So, Paul’s passion for the purity of these saints (3:13) will be unpacked in verses 1-12 in chapter 4, just as his assertion that “all” of the saints will participate in Christ’s appearance will be expanded upon in 4:13-18. Paul is now ready to move on to application.

Conclusion

At the beginning of this message, I raised the question as to whether the Apostle Paul would twitter, tweet, and text if the technology had been available to him at the time. I suspect that he would have done so if that were his only means of communicating with the Thessalonians. But from Paul’s words in our text, I am convinced that such communication would not have been sufficiently “up close and personal” for Paul. To put it in Paul’s own words, it would not have been the same as being with them “face-to-face.”³⁰

Our text underscores the importance of face-to-face interaction with one another. I know that many people text and twitter, and I don’t wish to give the impression that I have serious objections to this form of communication, as long as we recognize its limitations. Texting and twittering does not facilitate the kind of personal communication which promotes deeply spiritual interaction. This form of communication is abbreviated and relies heavily on code words and shortcuts. One cannot read body language or hear the tone of one’s voice by this means of communication.

I believe that Paul wrote a number of letters in addition to those we have preserved in our New Testament. The New Testament epistles he penned are surely inspired, and they convey not only important truths but Paul’s emotions as well. And yet, having written this epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul was not content with anything short of a personal visit. He recognized the value of face-to-face communication. I would guess that this would mean that Paul would prefer to communicate via Skype than to Twitter so long as there was a video connection as well as audio.

Just recently I was reviewing Dallas Theological Seminary’s guidelines for internship programs. As a supervisor of interns, I am required to regularly meet with a seminary intern. What I found most interesting is that the seminary does not allow this meeting to be by phone or e-mail. They require that the meeting be done face-to-face. The seminary gets it, just as Paul did. Some things have to be done in person, face-to-face, and not by e-mail, phone, texting, or twittering.

Spiritual ministry happens best face-to-face. I know that this is not always possible, but it is certainly preferable. Those who attend mega-churches will suffer spiritually if their gathering for teaching and worship occurs in only very large numbers, where you are lost in a crowd and are looking at the back of the neck of the person sitting ahead of you. This is why the best mega-churches have small groups as an integral part of their ministry. Here is where people get to know each other well, and where face-to-face ministry occurs.

In our church, we have purposed to encourage face-to-face ministry in several ways. First of all, we encourage everyone who is a part of our body to be actively involved in a ministry group, where shepherding occurs not only top-down,³¹ but also in a one-another context. Second, we have purposed not to grow too large. If necessary, we would prefer to start new churches, rather than to become too large. Third, we are strongly committed to a weekly open worship time around the Lord’s Table. It is during this weekly gathering that the men of our church lead us in our worship. Besides teaching, exhortation, and worship, we devote a portion of this meeting to sharing needs and prayer. It is my opinion that much of the ministry that takes place during the week is the result of what has taken place around the Lord’s Table. As testimonies are shared and prayer requests are expressed, we have the opportunity to learn of some of the needs of our brothers and sisters.

We did not design our current building. If we had designed it, we would most likely have designed a room in which all the members of our congregation would sit in a circle or a square, so that everyone can look the others in the eye. Just as Paul was committed to face-to-face ministry, so are we, and we promote it in every way that we can.

While Paul agonized over the fact that he could not be with the Thessalonians, and did everything he could to correct this situation, we should recognize that Paul’s absence was by divine design, and it achieved His good purposes. Granted, Satan had a hand in Paul’s absence (2:18), but this in no way hindered God from achieving His purposes. Timothy grew greatly because of Paul’s absence; he was sent to minister to the Thessalonians in Paul’s place. And because Paul could not be with the Thessalonians, he wrote two epistles to them, epistles that have been read and studied by saints and sinners since they were penned. In his absence, Paul spent much time in prayer for these saints, and those prayers were answered. The prayers which Paul recorded in his epistles are models for our prayers today. Note, too, that Paul’s absence caused the Thessalonians to cling more fervently to God because Paul was not there to help them. We can look back and say with conviction, “It was good that Paul was prevented from quickly returning to Thessalonica.”

Now, having come to the end of chapter 3, let us consider Paul’s primary message in chapters 1-3 and its relationship to chapters 4 and 5. As I have pointed out before, these chapters have much to say about experience – Paul’s experience before coming to Thessalonica, his experience while with these saints, and also his experience after being forced to leave them. In addition, Paul has given considerable attention to their experience, in responding to the gospel, in their growth in faith, love, and hope. But let it be stated very emphatically that Paul is not stressing experience at the expense of sound doctrine. Many times Paul refers to what they already know (“you know…”) because he has taught them a great deal. Paul does not speak of their experience apart from doctrine, but rather their experience of doctrine. The truth (sound doctrine) is not merely information to be stored in the mind; it is truth that is to be lived out in daily life. It is experiencing the truth that enables Christians to apprehend and apply further truth, such as that which Paul is about to deal with in chapters 4 and 5. As the writer to the Hebrews put it:

13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-15).

Having said this, I want to explore the relationship between chapters 1-3 and chapters 4-5 a bit more in depth. I think it would be incorrect to say that the essence of chapters 1-3 is “experience.” I believe that the essence of chapters 1-3 is “love.” What Paul has spent so much time describing in these first three chapters is his love for the Thessalonian saints and their love for him. I believe that the time Paul spent teaching these saints while he was with them in Thessalonica produced a great love. This is entirely consistent with what the Scriptures teach us about the relationship between doctrine (truth) and love:

But the aim of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).

14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. 15 But practicing the truth in love [literally, “truthing in love”], we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love (Ephesians 4:14-16, emphasis mine).

This really helps me to understand the relationship between chapters 1-3 and 4-6. Chapters 1-3 are intended to fan the flames of love – love for God, love for Paul, and love for one another. The reason for this is that love is the strongest motivation for obedience. It is not authority, or fear, but love which most strongly prompts us to obey God. We see this in both the Old Testament and the New:

6 And showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:6, emphasis mine).

15 “Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. 16 What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are about to possess. 17 However, if you turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods, 18 I declare to you this very day that you will certainly perish! You will not extend your time in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess (Deuteronomy 30:15-18, emphasis mine).

4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way: “O Lord, great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant with those who love him and keep his commandments (Daniel 9:4, emphasis mine).

36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40).

15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments (John 14:15).

21 The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him” (John 14:21).

Since love is so crucial to our Christian walk, it would be good for us to give some thought to how we can assess our love for God and for others. Here are a few of the indications of a love for God and for others:

1. My heavenly treasure will be people, not possessions (Luke 6:27-38; 16:1-13; 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20; James 2:1-8; 1 John 4:16-18).

2. My concern will be for the spiritual well being of others; I will be grieved by the spiritual failure of others (Romans 16:19; 1 Corinthians 12:6; 2 Corinthians 2:1-4; 7:5-16; 11:28-29; Colossians 2:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-10).

3. Love will be evident in my attitudes and actions toward those who are not present (Romans 1:8-15; 15:22—16:27³²; Philippians 1:3-11; 1 Thessalonians 2:17—3:13).³³ This may involve my desire to be with other saints so that I may be able to edify them (2 Corinthians 9:13-14; Hebrews 10:24-25), as well as a desire to be encouraged by them (Romans 15:30-33).

4. Love will be evident in my prayers for others (Romans 10:1; 12:12; 15:30; Ephesians 1:16ff.; Philippians 1:3-11; Colossians 1:3-12; 4:2-13; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 3:10; 5:17, 25).

5. Love is demonstrated by the subordination of my own interests in order to achieve what is in the best interest of others (Philippians 2:1-8ff.).

Paul has not only expressed his love for the Thessalonians in chapters 1-3, he has explained how he continued to love them in his absence from them. And having set forth this context of love, Paul can now move on to application, giving instructions which their love will prompt them to obey.

Earlier I raised the question as to whether or not Paul was co-dependent. Paul’s hope and joy was very closely tied to the spiritual well-being of the Thessalonians. This is not viewed as something unhealthy that needs to be corrected, but as an encouraging expression of Paul’s love for these saints. Paul is not co-dependent, nor does he advocate it for others. What Paul practices and promotes is inter-dependence. We are not to strive for rugged individualism and competition as much as we are to strive for unity, cooperation, and complimentary ministry.

The inter-dependence which we see in our text is a warning to us regarding the excessive emphasis of our culture on autonomy, independence, and privacy. Privacy has become a fetish in our culture. We put up tall fences between us and our neighbors. We hardly know or interact with our next-door neighbors. And we have allowed “privacy” to interfere with morality, godly living and spiritual health and vitality in the church.

It was the principle of privacy that the Supreme Court embraced as the justification for legalizing abortion in the landmark case of Roe v. Wade. They accepted the faulty claim that whatever a woman may choose to do with her body was a private matter, beyond the protection or interference of the laws of the land. Now, in the name of privacy, innocent life can be snuffed out in the very womb God designed to initiate and sustain life. So, too, sexual immorality and all sorts of evils are legitimized by the claim that they happen in private.

It is one thing for this to happen in our culture, but it is even more distressing to see how “privacy” has affected the church. Divorce is becoming rampant in the church, as is the use of pornography, sexual immorality, and other evils. Rather than to confront these things as sin, and to discipline those who claim to be Christians and who practice such things, the church has caved in to our culture’s demand for privacy, believing that such (“private”) matters are not the concern of others or of the church. Privacy is not what the church is about; community is. We are our brother’s keeper. We are responsible for one another. And face-to-face relationships are essential to facilitate this kind of community.

I have emphasized relationships here because I believe that they play a vital role in the life of the Christian and in the life of the church. But let me be very clear in saying that the most important relationship of all is your relationship to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to this earth to live a perfect life, to teach men about how they can enter into relationship with God. It was His death, burial, and resurrection in the sinner’s place that provided salvation for all who would receive it. It is by acknowledging our sin and trusting in the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf – bearing the penalty for our sins – that you can be saved and enter into an eternal, intimate relationship with God. If you have never responded to Christ’s offer of salvation through faith in Him, I urge you to do so this very hour.

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1 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at: www.netbible.org.

2 While time does not permit me to digress here, I have a real passion on this point. If a malady does not have a biblical term to describe it and biblical terms to define and deal with it, I’m not interested in spending a great deal of time on the matter, if it is a spiritual concern (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; 2 Peter 1:1-4).

3 This would include unbelievers as well as Christians (see Romans 9:1-5).

4 I made a reasonable effort to find this citation because I have referred to it in an earlier sermon, but was unable to locate it. Suffice it to say that it was a statement clearly made by a well-known Christian psychiatrist. No doubt this individual would argue with my interpretation of his words, at least I hope so.

5 A variation of this was the claim that we must first love ourselves before we can love others.

⁶ This kinship worked both ways. Paul will encourage the Macedonian saints (including the Thessalonians) to share with their Judean brethren in their time of need (see Acts 11:27-30; Romans 15:25-27; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7).

7 See John 19:6.

⁸ The almost unanimous rejection of Jesus by the Jews at Jerusalem resulted when the Pharisees (who believed in the resurrection of the dead and in angels) and the Sadducees (who didn’t believe in the resurrection or the supernatural) and the Herodians (who had sold out to Rome) joined forces to be rid of Jesus. If these folks could agree on one thing, it was that they did not want Him as their Messiah. Put differently, they would rather have Barabbas as their leader than Jesus. No, it was Judas (a murderer and revolutionary) who was their kind of “messiah.”

9 A dramatic example of strong Jewish opposition to the evangelization of the Gentiles is found in Acts 22:21ff.

10 See Acts 15, Galatians.

11 See Acts 16:16ff.

12 See Acts 19:23ff.

¹³ “Taken away” (NASB95); “torn away” (ESV, NIV); “forced to leave.” The NET Bible rendering “separated” seems a little too weak and does not convey the more emphatic sense of being “orphaned” (which is how the Greek word would be transliterated). A. T. Robertson (Word Pictures in the New Testament) writes, “Paul changes the figure again (trophos or mother nurse in verse 7, nêpios or babe in verse 7, patêr or father in verse 11) to orphan (orphanos).”

14 As the notes in the NET Bible indicate, the expression “time and again” probably means more than “twice,” but rather “over and over.”

15 See Job 1 and 2.

16 See 1 Chronicles 21:1 and 2 Samuel 24:1.

17 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2.

18 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4.

19 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14.

20 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11.

21 1 Thessalonians 3:1.

22 See 2 Timothy 2:1.

²³ See Acts 16:1-3.

²⁴ 1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:8.

²⁵ Philippians 2:19.

²⁶ 1 Timothy 1:2-3.

27 It is interesting that when you compare 1 Thessalonians 3:6 with 1:3 that “hope” isn’t mentioned in our text. Is this why 4:13—5:11 is necessary?

28 See Romans 1:9-10; 2 Corinthians 13:7-9; Ephesians 1:15-22; 3:14-19; Philippians 1:3-5, 9-11; Colossians 1:3-4, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; Philemon 1:4-6.

29 With this, Peter was also in agreement. See 2 Peter 1:5-11.

30 See 1 Thessalonians 2:17.

31 We prefer to have co-leaders of ministry groups, and these men are to meet the biblical requirements of a deacon (see 1 Timothy 3:8-13).

32 We should recall that Paul had not yet been to Rome. He did not establish this church, and yet he cared deeply for the saints there and was eager to come so that he could minister to them. The final chapter of Romans reveals the degree to which he knew about those in this church, for he spoke of them by name, and he knew in whose homes the saints gathered.

33 I am thinking here of the way in which a number of folks in our church maintain contact with those who have moved to different locations; some have gone out as missionaries while others minister in their communities and places of employment.

1 Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. 6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now on the topic of brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 12 In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12).²

Introduction

As I was preparing to preach this message to a general audience which included children, I sensed a certain apprehension about what might be said. Should children be present to hear this message? Would this message contain “adult material” that would be inappropriate for children? And so in the introduction to this sermon, I encouraged the audience to relax, calling attention to the skillful manner in which Paul dealt with this very delicate subject. Paul chose to address this very sensitive subject in terms of principles, rather than in terms of nitty-gritty particulars. I will seek to do the same, so you can relax as we proceed with this lesson.

Let’s suppose that Paul had been privileged to lead a young man to faith in the Lord Jesus. This fellow is growing in his faith, but since he grew up as an idol-worshipper in Thessalonica, he is learning that faith in the Lord Jesus impacts every aspect of his life. He is drawn to a lovely young woman in the church who has also turned to God from idols. Now, as they approach marriage, they are wondering how their faith impacts their Christian walk, their home, and their sexual relationship. Perhaps the young woman was a religious prostitute (which was not uncommon in those days), and this young man may have encountered her initially in this context. Now that they are both Christians, how should their relationship change? What does Christian faith have to do with love, sex, and marriage? They know that sex is a gift from God and that He has designed them to enjoy its pleasures in the context of their marriage. But how does faith in Jesus change the rules, so to speak? What does sanctification have to do with sex? These are the issues that Paul is addressing in our text. Since Paul has chosen to address these issues first, we should assume that this was a very important matter for these Thessalonian saints.

Why Sex is the Centerpiece of 1 Thessalonians

John R. W. Stott explains why sex is a subject that Paul cannot avoid:

It is not surprising that the apostle begins with sex, not only because it is the most imperious of all our human urges, but also because of the sexual laxity – even promiscuity – of the Graeco-Roman world. Besides, he was writing from Corinth to Thessalonica, and both cities were famed for their immorality. In Corinth Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sex and beauty, whom the Romans identified with Venus, sent her servants out as prostitutes to roam the streets by night. Thessalonica, on the other hand, was particularly associated with the worship of deities called the Cabiri, in whose rites ‘gross immorality was promoted under the name of religion’. It may be doubted, however, whether Corinth and Thessalonica were any worse than other cities of that period in which it was widely accepted that men either could not or would not limit themselves to their wife as their only sexual partner.³

In his excellent commentary of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Stott goes on to cite William Lecky’s assessment of sexual morality in the Graeco-Roman world:

In his History of European Morals William Lecky paints a lurid picture of sexual license during the early period of the Roman Empire. The cities of Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt, he writes, ‘had become centres of the wildest corruption’, and innumerable slaves from these countries had spread their immorality to Rome. Indeed, ‘there has probably never been a period when vice was more extravagant or uncontrolled’ than it was under the Caesars.⁴

The church was not exempt from the temptations of sexual immorality. Churches in cities like Corinth, Thessalonica, Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyatira (not to exclude others) were warned and rebuked regarding immorality being practiced by their members. The church at Corinth was proud of its tolerance of a man who was living with his father’s wife, something which even shocked the unbelieving Corinthians.⁵

The roots of sexual immorality reach back far beyond New Testament times, all the way to the beginning of creation. When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, we are told that they were both naked, but they were not ashamed.⁶ We know that not only man, but all of creation, was negatively impacted by the fall of man in the garden.⁷ How this impacted the sexual relationship of Adam and Eve (and of all their offspring) is not clearly indicated, but it is safe to say that sex would never be the same.⁸ And so it is that from that moment on, sexual immorality became a dominant theme in the history of Israel and of mankind. In the Book of Genesis, we will soon read of the daughters of men cohabiting with the “sons of God,”⁹ of Noah’s nakedness,¹⁰ of Lot’s daughters having sex with their father to produce children,¹¹ and of Judah having sex with his daughter-in-law, thinking she was a Canaanite cult prostitute.¹² Then there is the sexual perversion of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 (and again in Judges 19). The rest of the Old Testament testifies to the devastating consequences of sexual sin. We know such sin contributed to the downfall of men like David¹³ and Solomon,¹⁴ as well as nations like Israel.¹⁵

Sexual immorality remains as a pressing concern for believers in Jesus Christ today. The “sexual revolution” has greatly impacted our culture, including Christian homes and the church. Where are the lines to be drawn in a culture that is so permissive and obsessed with sex? How should faith in Jesus govern our relationships with our spouse, with our fellow-believers, and with others? Where are the lines to be drawn? Is anything that goes on between a Christian husband and wife behind closed doors permitted in Scripture? Suppose that a husband and wife come to faith in Jesus after being married for some time as unbelievers. Should this Christian husband and wife assume that so long as they enjoy sex within marriage, their sexual relationship should continue just as it was before they were saved? Are there new lines to be drawn, and new guiding principles to be discerned and put into practice? In short, what does salvation and sanctification have to do with sex?

Before we get to our text in 1 Thessalonians 4, allow me to point you to a couple of other important New Testament texts which underscore the importance of our text in 1 Thessalonians:

22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, leaders among the brothers, to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. 23 They sent this letter with them: “From the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings! 24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused you, upsetting your minds by what they said, 25 we have unanimously decided to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas who will tell you these things themselves in person. 28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: 29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:22-29, emphasis mine).

While the Jerusalem Council liberated Gentile saints from being “under the law,” among the few restrictions placed on them was the command to avoid sexual immorality. In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul made it clear that coming to faith in Jesus Christ meant a radical change in one’s thinking and lifestyle. One aspect of this (among many others) is sexual purity:

17 So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn about Christ like this, 21 if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

1 Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children 2 and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. 4 Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting – all of which are out of character – but rather thanksgiving. 5 For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 4:17-24; 5:1-5, emphasis mine)

Nothing could be clearer than this: Faith in Christ is intended to bring about a complete “make-over” in one’s thinking and behavior. This “make-over” is the process known as sanctification. A vital part of our sanctification involves a transformation in our thinking and behavior in matters of sex. Faith in Jesus Christ should greatly impact a couple’s sexual relationship within marriage, just as it impacts our relationships with those outside of marriage. This is why Paul makes sanctification and sexuality a central element in his first epistle to the Thessalonians.

The Major Elements of Our Text

There are three main elements dealt with in our text:

1. Sanctification (verses 1-2)

2. Sanctification and Sexual Purity (verses 3-8)

3. Brotherly Love and Work (verses 9-12)

As we shall see, these three subjects are very much inter-related. Let us press on to the first topic, that of sanctification.

Sanctification
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

1 Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2).

I know all too well that there are preachers who say, “And in conclusion …” or “Finally …” when the end is still a long way off. (I may be guilty of preaching too long, but at least I try to be honest about how far off my conclusion is.) As Stott has observed,¹⁶ “Finally” here in verse 1 does not mean that Paul is about to close. It is more like Paul has finished laying the foundation for his words of exhortation, and now he is finally getting to them.

Paul is just now getting to exhortation related to sanctification in this epistle, but this is not the first time he has dealt with the need and nature of holiness in our daily lives. In verses 6 and 11 of 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul indicates that what he is saying is not new, but something which he has taught them before. Since Paul addressed this issue while he was still with them (and before he realized that he would be forced to leave the city), then he must have regarded it as a very important matter.

I think it is safe to say that sanctification is not only a familiar topic for the Thessalonians, but it is a dominant (if not predominant) topic in this epistle. Sanctification is not a peripheral, non-essential matter. Paul says here that sanctification is the purpose for which we were saved (verse 7). The importance of sanctification is also evident by other things Paul has indicated in this passage. He has said that God is the avenger in cases where His commands here are disregarded (verses 6, 8). He also reminds his readers that the Holy Spirit was given to us to bring about our sanctification (verse 8).

Let it be very clearly understood that our sanctification is the will of God, and that sexual purity is an important aspect of sanctification:

For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Over the years, I have been asked many times about the will of God. All too often Christians agonize about whether some specific action or decision is God’s will for them without realizing that God’s will has been made known to them in more general terms. In our text, for example, a Christian is told in the clearest of terms that sexual immorality is not the will of God, no matter who the other person(s) might be, or what some of the particulars might be. Elsewhere we are told that a Christian woman is free to remarry if her husband has died (see also Romans 7:1-3), with only the condition that he must be in the Lord – saved (1 Corinthians 7:39). If an unbeliever asks her to marry him, she does not need further guidance regarding God’s will than what she has. It is not God’s will for her to marry outside the faith.

There are some who have chosen to follow an unbiblical notion regarding the will of God. They think that God’s will is for them to be happy. Thus, if something makes them happy which God’s Word has specifically forbidden (like sexual immorality), then they are tempted to set aside obedience to God’s clear teaching for what they think makes them happy.

The goal of sanctification is not man’s happiness, but man’s holiness, to the glory of God. To be holy is to be set apart, unique, not common. So, when there is a question of God’s will, one can usually discern His will by asking whether the matter in question sets us apart from this world and apart to God. Does it draw us nearer to God and away from sin? Does it bring glory to God? In short, knowing what God is like, will it please God? Most of our questions regarding God’s will can be answered by acting in accordance with general truths like these:

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith you have, keep to yourself before God. Blessed is the one who does not judge himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not do so from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:21-23).

It should not be difficult to recognize that in our text, Paul speaks with authority regarding sanctification, and thus we should take his words very seriously. While Paul begins his teaching on sanctification with words that sound like a request, that isn’t the way Paul leaves it. Later in verse 1, Paul refers to his previous instruction, which dealt with how they must live and please God. In verse 2, Paul refers to this instruction as the giving of “commands.”¹⁷ It doesn’t stop here. Paul goes on to indicate that anyone who disobeys these commands is disregarding God,¹⁸ who is the avenger in such matters.¹⁹ Sanctification and sexual purity are not optional matters. Paul is not making a suggestion here, nor is he offering helpful hints to be implemented or set aside as one chooses.

Paul also makes it clear that sanctification is not something static, something that we achieve at a point in time and then merely maintain. Sanctification is progressive and ongoing. It is a process that is never completed in this life, but one in which we are to continue to grow, no matter how much we have already achieved. Twice in our text, Paul uses the expression “more and more.”

1 Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more… . 10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:1, 10, emphasis mine).

We should note that Paul deals with the topic of sanctification in the context of pleasure – not the self-seeking, fleshly pleasure of immoral sexual indulgence, but rather living our lives in such a way as to please God:

Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:1, emphasis mine).

While it is not Paul’s emphasis here, I believe it is theologically accurate to say that our ultimate pleasure should be pleasing God (first) and then pleasing others, rather than pleasing ourselves.²⁰

Sanctification and Sexual Purity
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality²¹, 4 that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. 6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).

Before we look at what Paul says about sanctification and sex in this text, let’s set the stage by noting the teaching of several biblical texts on sex.

The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25).

• 18 May your fountain be blessed,

  and may you rejoice in your young wife –

  19 a loving doe, a graceful deer;

  may her breasts satisfy you at all times,

  may you be captivated by her love always.

  20 But why should you be captivated, my son, by an adulteress,

  and embrace the bosom of a different woman?

  21 For the ways of a person are in front of the Lord’s eyes,

  and the Lord weighs all that person’s paths (Proverbs 5:18-21).

3 A husband should give to his wife her sexual rights, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4 It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife. 5 Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then resume your relationship, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).

Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers (Hebrews 13:4).

These texts indicate that sex is a divinely given gift, to be enjoyed (and not withheld) within the context of marriage. If I wanted to be more explicit in demonstrating the beauty and wonder of sex, I would turn to the pages of the Song of Solomon, but that is probably not necessary. It is probably worth noting that sex within marriage is for pleasure, and not just a necessity for the bearing of children. Suffice it to say that sex is not evil, though sin has corrupted this beautiful gift in a number of ways.

With this in mind, let’s summarize what Paul tells us in these verses regarding sanctification and sex.

Sanctification involves every area of our lives, including sex. Just as total depravity impacts every dimension of our life, so sanctification must not exclude any part of our life from the transformation that begins at conversion through faith in Jesus.²² Sexual immorality was rampant in New Testament times, as it has always been, and continues to be. Quite often sexual immorality was actually a part of heathen religious worship. No wonder Paul found it necessary to deal with sex as one aspect of sanctification.

For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Sanctification involves everything we do, including those things that we do in private, behind closed doors. The principle of privacy is at the heart of some of the worst legal decisions our government has ever made. This matter of privacy is also the basis for many bad decisions made by individuals. The landmark Supreme Court Decision reached in Roe v. Wade determined that abortion was permissible because it was a private matter (“an issue between a woman and her body,” or so they claimed). The same basis has also been used to defend homosexuality, pornography, drug or alcohol abuse, and a host of other evils.

I was reminded of the story of Elijah, the king of Israel, and the king of Syria:

8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade at such and such a place.” 9 But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, “Make sure you don’t pass through this place because Syria is invading there.” 10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. 11 This made the king of Syria upset. So he summoned his advisers and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.” 12 One of his advisers said, “No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom” (2 Kings 6:8-12, emphasis mine).

I realize that the context has nothing to do with sexual immorality practiced in private, but the thing that caught my attention here is that God knows exactly what we do in private. Nothing is kept from His eyes.²³ What goes on behind closed doors should be glorifying to God.

Sanctification requires that the Christian’s thinking, attitudes, and actions related to sex must differ radically with those of the unbelieving world.

3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, emphasis mine).

Sanctification means that our sexual activities are to be Spirit directed and empowered, just like every other dimension of our lives as Christians.

Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thessalonians 4:8).

Just how does the Holy Spirit govern and empower the Christian in matters of sex? The Holy Spirit would convict of sin in regard to one’s thoughts and actions. Likewise, the Holy Spirit would enlighten the minds of Christians as to what the Bible teaches about sex. A comparison of the fruits of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 shows why the Holy Spirit is necessary for sanctified sex:

19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:19-24).

Sanctified sex is about control, but it is not control over the other person; it is self-control.

3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. 6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother [or sister] or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6, emphasis mine).

Pagan immorality involves the casting aside of self-control. We can see this in the chaotic “worship” of the golden calf by the Israelites,²⁴ in the seduction of the Israelites by Moabite women in Numbers 25, as well as in Israel’s conduct in the wilderness (summarized in 1 Corinthians 10:1-12). I believe we see the same thing in the moral abomination described in Genesis 19 and Judges 19. It is my personal opinion that the moral abandonment and debauchery of heathen idol worship ceremonies greatly impacted the worship of the church at Corinth, and perhaps elsewhere.²⁵

Scholars differ as to how one should best translate verse 4. A number of translations (NASB, NET Bible, CSB, NKJV) render verse 4 in such a way as to speak of “possessing” one’s wife, the wife being the husband’s “vessel.” Some even understand this verse to refer to the acquiring of a wife. My inclination is to understand the Greek term ktaomai to mean “control.” Thus, Paul encourages every saint to control their own body as it pertains to sex (and other matters).²⁶ This is consistent with what Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

24 Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. 25 Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. 26 So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. 27 Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, emphasis mine).

Paul will go on in the next verses (1 Corinthians 10:1-10) to show how Israel’s self-indulgence (which included immorality) led to her downfall. The Christian is not to be dominated by the desires of the flesh, but to subject (or mortify/put to death) the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit.²⁷ It is the false teachers who indulge the flesh,²⁸ and who are dominated by it. In turn, they seek to gain a following by appealing to the fleshly lusts of others.

Sanctified sex observes and honors “boundaries.”

In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly (1 Thessalonians 4:6).

I find this translation of “brother” puzzling. A number of the modern translations seek to force what readers have understood as a matter of common sense, namely that “brother” often – though not always – speaks generically, referring to males and females. Thus, the NET Bible renders the term “brother” (singular) “brother or sister” twice in Romans 14:10 and once in 1 Corinthians 8:13. In James 4:11, the same term is twice rendered “fellow believer.” Other translations do much the same thing.

The plural form of this term (adelphoi) is rendered “brothers and sisters” 10 times in Romans and 20 times in 1 Corinthians. So, too, we find “brothers and sisters” 15 times in 1 Thessalonians.²⁹ Interestingly, the same term is consistently rendered “fellow Christian” (11 times) in 1 John. The point I am trying to make is this: why would the translators broaden the term “brother” to include both males and females so often elsewhere, and yet not do so in 1 Thessalonians 4:6? Most translations render it in a masculine-focused manner, except for the New Revised Standard Version:

that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you (1 Thessalonians 4:6, NRS; emphasis mine).

Gentile “lustful passion” seeks self-gratification as the primary goal, and thus the other party is “used.” One should easily see how this could be abusive. I do not believe that “lustful passion” should be limited to adultery, as some translations would seem to imply, and then speak of the husband of the woman involved in the liaison as the abused. Doesn’t this work both ways, and for both sexes? I think we need to look at sexual immorality as an offense against others, or an exploiting of others.

Let’s play this out for a moment. How might a Christian husband (for example) take advantage of his wife?³⁰ Several ways come to mind. First, a husband can take advantage of his wife by using his authority wrongly in sexual matters. As I understand 1 Corinthians 7:4, neither the husband nor the wife is to withhold sex from their spouse. Neither the husband nor the wife has authority over their own body, but each has an equal right (so to speak) to enjoy sex. The bedroom, then, is not the place for the husband to exercise his authority in sexual matters, for there is to be mutual agreement and satisfaction.

A second – and closely related – way that a husband could abuse his authority is by overruling his wife’s personal convictions. First Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14-15 both deal with personal convictions and liberties. Paul is very clear in stating that one Christian should not seek to force their convictions on another, or to cause a “weaker brother” to violate their convictions by influencing them to do what they believe to be wrong. Personal convictions apply to the area of sexual intimacy, as they do to other matters. The husband’s authority as the husband should not be used to compel his wife to do that which she views as outside the boundaries of her conscience.

Third, the husband can abuse his physical strength to take advantage of his wife. I believe that Peter’s words in 1 Peter 3 apply to a husband’s sexual relationship with his wife:

Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers (1 Peter 3:7).

This text indicates that in one or more ways the husband is “stronger” than his wife, who is referred to as the “weaker vessel” (note the word “vessel” here). Rather than abusing his “strength,” the husband should honor his wife as the weaker vessel. Surely this would apply to the sexual relationship, as well as to other areas.

Verses 4-6 thus address two sides of the coin. Sanctified sex can only occur within the confines of marriage (Hebrews 13:4). Sanctified sex is not giving in to one’s bodily impulses and desires, but controls them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctified sex not only involves having control over one’s body, or body parts (vessel), it also avoids taking advantage of others. In my opinion, this would begin with one’s spouse and would extend to any others who might be harmed by our sexual self-indulgence.

Brotherly Love and Work
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

9 Now on the topic of brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 12 In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12).

There is a mystery here that I have not figured out as yet. In verses 3-8, Paul has spoken of sanctification as it pertains to sex. It is interesting to me that “love” is not mentioned once in this whole conversation. And now that we come to sanctification as it relates to work, we find the word “love” – brotherly love, granted (philadelphia), but love none the less. When I think through the New Testament texts pertaining to marriage, the term “love” is seldom found. I am not denying the relationship between love and sex; what I am suggesting is that our culture has made these two terms almost synonymous, so that having sex is described as “making love.” It would appear to me that while love is closely related to sex, it is also not limited to it. I think that many women might agree with me here (including my wife), that they desire for their husbands to show them “love” in many other ways than just in the bedroom. Enough on this aside.

The Thessalonians have been doing well in the area of love, just as they have in “faith” and “hope” (see 1:2-3). Paul had obviously taught them about these things when he was with them, so this is not a new subject for them. Having said this, Paul is not content with the status quo, and thus he urges these saints to press on in their love for one another, doing so “more and more.”

While love was not mentioned in verses 3-8, it is the dominant motive in Paul’s exhortation in verses 9-12. Their brotherly love is to manifest itself as they “lead a quiet life, attend to your own business, and work with your hands.” Once again Paul is dealing with matters which require self-discipline. When this same subject is taken up in greater detail in 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul will refer to self-discipline three times:

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother³¹ who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline among you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” 11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others. 12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing what is right. 14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, emphasis mine).

This text in 2 Thessalonians 3 is supplemented by a couple of other texts written by the Apostle Paul:

11 But do not accept younger widows on the list, because their passions may lead them away from Christ and they will desire to marry, 12 and so incur judgment for breaking their former pledge. 13 And besides that, going around from house to house they learn to be lazy, and they are not only lazy, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not. 14 So I want younger women to marry, raise children, and manage a household, in order to give the adversary no opportunity to vilify us. 15 For some have already wandered away to follow Satan (1 Timothy 5:11-15).

3 Older women likewise are to exhibit behavior fitting for those who are holy, not slandering, not slaves to excessive drinking, but teaching what is good. 4 In this way they will train the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, fulfilling their duties at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message of God may not be discredited (Titus 2:3-5).

In these supplemental texts from 1 Timothy 5 and Titus 2, we can see that women (who did not work outside the home in the same way women do today) are particularly vulnerable to wasting time by going from house to house. This seems to keep them from their duties at home, and it tempts them to become gossips and busybodies. Now we can see why Paul encourages younger widows to remarry, and why he does not want too many women “put on the support rolls of the church.” Idleness may tempt them to become busybodies. That is also why Paul instructs godly older women to instruct younger women to be (literally) “workers at home” (Titus 2:5).

When we come to Paul’s instruction in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, he is not speaking only to women; indeed, one gets the impression that he was speaking to men, perhaps even more than to women. Paul tells the Thessalonians that their desire should be to “lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands” (verse 11). The outcome of doing this will be maintaining a good witness among unbelievers and not being in need (verse 12).

What does it mean to “lead a quiet life”? Ironically (and likely not accidentally) Paul uses a term which can mean “to cease working.” Such is the case in Luke 23:56 when the women rested, ceasing their labors (in preparing Jesus’ body for burial) on the Sabbath. But this same term is also used of becoming silent:

When they heard this, they ceased their objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance that leads to life even to the Gentiles” (Acts 11:18, emphasis mine).

Because he could not be persuaded, we said no more except, “The Lord’s will be done” (Acts 21:14, emphasis mine; see also 1 Peter 3:4).

Since Paul is telling some saints not to shirk, but to go to work, a “quiet life” here cannot mean the cessation of labor. I believe it refers to the cessation of excessive chatter and of gossip which results from idleness. When one is completely engaged in earning an income, there is little time for idle chatter. Those who are working hard to supply their own needs don’t have as much time to waste as those who avoid hard work and depend upon the labors and benevolence of their Christian brothers and sisters.

We can now understand why Paul would make it a point earlier in this epistle to call attention to his hard labor, day and night, so that he would not be a burden on these saints:

For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God (1 Thessalonians 2:9).

It is a lot easier for Paul to exhort others to go to work and support themselves when he had already demonstrated this in his own life. Brotherly love is not demonstrated by loafing and sponging off of others; it is demonstrated by working hard and by avoiding idle talk.

Let me be very clear about what our text is not saying. These are difficult times, economically and otherwise. There are a number of men who are either unemployed or under-employed. I don’t know of any in our church who need to be urged to stop their idle talk and go to work. The church joyfully helps those in need financially, and no one should feel guilty for accepting this help. Paul is not admonishing those who can’t find work; he is correcting those who could work, but who have chosen not to.

Conclusion

This happens to be the Fourth of July, Independence Day, and so I am sure that some will expect me to say something relevant to the occasion. The Fourth of July is an important date because this is the time when we celebrate our freedom from oppression. Paul’s words to the Thessalonians are about a different kind of freedom. First and foremost, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that men can be freed from the power and the penalty of sin. This does not happen by our striving, but by our believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He came to this earth, adding sinless humanity to His undiminished deity. He died on the cross of Calvary, bearing the penalty for sin that we deserve. He rose from the dead so that all who trust in Him would be empowered to live a new life. If you have never trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, I would urge you to embrace the freedom that only Jesus can give.

I do not doubt that there are many who are hearing or reading these words who are slaves to sexual sin. There is hardly any addiction or slavery stronger than sexual sin. Because Paul instructs these Thessalonians to embrace a whole new way of thinking and acting in regard to sex, we are assured that there is hope for those in bondage to sexual sin. How wonderful it is to hear our Lord Jesus say to the woman who had several men in her life, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). And what encouragement we receive from these words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Perhaps you have had the misconception that it is the non-Christians of this world who have all the fun and enjoy all the pleasures of this life, while Christians are denied such pleasures and must endure life with gritted teeth. This is far from the truth! I would contend that it is Christians who can truly enjoy life and the good things God has provided. Far from missing out on the pleasures of sex, it is sanctified sex that is most satisfying. One does not forsake true pleasure by trusting in Jesus; one enters into true pleasure through faith in the Savior:

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11, ESV).

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Once accepted, salvation is a finished work so far as the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life in the presence of God is concerned. But our text informs us that salvation is also the commencement of the life-long process of sanctification, the process brought about through the power of God’s Spirit by which sinners are transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ. The Christian never “arrives” in this life, and God requires us to grow more and more in faith, love, and hope. If you are coasting in your spiritual life, our text should be a wake-up call, prompting you to pursue godliness as that which God purposed when He called you to salvation.

Our text should underscore the fact that sanctification deals with every aspect of our lives. Just as depravity has defiled and corrupted every part of our being, sanctification is the process by which we are restored and conformed to Christ’s likeness. One very significant area of our lives where sanctification must take place is in our sexuality. I seriously doubt that many of us have seriously contemplated the ways that sanctification impacts our sex life. Likewise, I doubt that many of us have given much thought to how the Holy Spirit should guide us and empower us to enjoy sex in a way that is to God’s glory and our good. I challenge you to give this matter much further thought and prayer.

While my emphasis in this message has been mainly focused toward those who are married, I need to remind those who are single that the same standards and principles apply to you. In a society that has experienced the sexual revolution, you may think you are missing out on a great deal by limiting your sexual pleasure to marriage, but I assure you that you will never regret it. Not only will you please God by waiting until marriage, you will also experience the pleasure of pleasing God.

I would like to end this message by asking you a couple of questions regarding sanctification.

First, if Paul were writing to you about God’s work of sanctifying you, what area of your life first comes to your mind that needs attention? Where are the weak points in your life which have not undergone much sanctifying?

Second, I ask this simple question of you: What are you going to do about it?

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¹ Copyright © 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited manuscript of Lesson 5 in the series Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians, prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh on July 4, 2010. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.

2 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at: www.netbible.org.

3 John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians: The Gospel & the End of Time (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991), p. 81. If I were to recommend any commentary to purchase on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Stott’s excellent work would be first on my list.

4 John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians, p. 81, citing William Lecky, History of European Morals, from Augustus to Charlemagne; 2 volumes in one (Longmans, 1911), vol. 1, p. 263.

5 1 Corinthians 5.

6 Genesis 2:25.

7 See, for example, Romans 5:12-21; 8:18-25.

8 It is interesting to me that in heaven, things will be restored to their pre-fall state, or even better, as we see in Revelation 21 and 22 (especially 21:1-4, 22-27; 22:1-5). But the one thing which is apparently not “fixed” is sex, for Jesus seems to say that men and women will not live as husband and wife in heaven (see Matthew 22:23-33, especially verses 29-30).

9 See Genesis 6:1-4.

10 See Genesis 9:20-27.

11 See Genesis 19:30-38.

12 See Genesis 38:12-30.

13 See 2 Samuel 11-12.

14 See 1 Kings 11.

15 See Exodus 32; Numbers 25; 1 Corinthians 10:1-12.

16 Stott, p. 75.

17 As we see in 1 Corinthians 7 (see verses 6, 10, 12), Paul is very careful to distinguish between his personal opinion or conviction and the Lord’s command.

¹⁸ Verse 8.

¹⁹ Verse 6.

20 See Romans 15:1-2.

21 The word here is porneia. This is not the term that is generally rendered “adultery”; instead, it is the more general term for sexual immorality in various forms. I believe that it includes such things as pornography and various forms of perversion, as well as adultery.

22 See Ephesians 4:17ff.

23 See Hebrews 4:13.

24 Exodus 32:5-6, 17-29 (especially verse 25).

25 I believe that the disgusting self-indulgence which took place at the gathering of the church (as described in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34) was the result of Christians partaking of the Lord’s Table and the “table of demons” (see 1 Corinthians 10:14-22; 11:17-34). See also Revelation 2:14, 20.

26 Sanctified sex is not the casting aside of self control, but the practice of self-control. In so doing, each spouse seeks to bring pleasure to the other.

27 See Romans 8:12-13; 13:14; Galatians 5:13, 24; 1 Peter 4:1-2.

28 See 2 Peter 2:10.

29 Specifically, I am referring to the NET Bible, although the same could be said for several other translations. The translators of the NASB chose to stay with the more literal “brethren.”

30 I have no doubt that this also works in reverse. A Christian wife may exercise illicit control over her husband by using sex as a tool to gain control. By withholding sex, for example, a wife can subtly control her husband.

31 Notice once again that the word “brother” is left as a masculine term, rather than to include “sisters,” as we would find elsewhere. The sin Paul addresses in not merely a masculine sin; it has its feminine manifestations as we see from Titus 2 and 1 Timothy 5.

13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. 15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).¹

Introduction

When I think of the words, “Good Grief!” I think of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts comic strip. It is usually an expression of exasperation on the lips of Charlie Brown, most likely because of something Lucy had done to irritate him. The expression “Good grief” is sort of an oxymoron. Let’s face it; it is difficult to think of grief as good, perhaps because grief is most evident at the time of the death of one near and dear to us.

Nevertheless, there are times when the expression of grief can be beneficial, not only for the one expressing grief, but for others as well. For example, the grief of our Lord over the death of Lazarus is very briefly mentioned in the Gospel of John (“Jesus wept.”),² and yet it served to convey to those around that our Lord greatly loved Lazarus,³ something that was very important for those looking on (and for us) to know.⁴

Remember the treachery of Joab and his brother Abishai when they killed Abner in retaliation for the death (in battle) of their brother, Asahel.⁵ David had met with Abner and had negotiated terms for peace between Judah and the other Israelite tribes. He had guaranteed Abner’s safety, and yet Joab and Abishai deceitfully killed Abner. It could easily have appeared that Abner’s murder was carried out under David’s orders (though we know this not to be the case, because we have been told of the deceitful way that Abner was murdered). David’s grief made it clear to all that he had nothing to do with this shedding of blood.⁶

There are also times when grief is not so good. When this is the case, things not only go wrong for the one expressing grief, but others may also suffer the consequences. For example, think of the grief of Samuel over the failures of Saul and his removal from office:

15:35 Until the day he died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons” (1 Samuel 15:35-16:1).

Perhaps the most dramatic example of inappropriate grief is David’s mourning over the death of his son, Absalom:

31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, “May my lord the king now receive the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today and delivered you from the hand of all who have rebelled against you!” 32 The king asked the Cushite, “How is the young man Absalom?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who have plotted against you be like that young man!” 33 (19:1) The king then became very upset. He went up to the upper room over the gate and wept. As he went he said, “My son, Absalom! My son, my son, Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!”

1 (19:2) Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning over Absalom.” 2 So the victory of that day was turned to mourning as far as all the people were concerned. For the people heard on that day, “The king is grieved over his son.” 3 That day the people stole away to go to the city the way people who are embarrassed steal away in fleeing from battle. 4 The king covered his face and cried out loudly, “My son, Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”

5 So Joab visited the king at his home. He said, “Today you have embarrassed all your servants who have saved your life this day, as well as the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines. 6 You seem to love your enemies and hate your friends! For you have as much as declared today that leaders and servants don’t matter to you. I realize now that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, it would be all right with you. 7 So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!” 8 So the king got up and sat at the city gate. When all the people were informed that the king was sitting at the city gate, they all came before him. But the Israelite soldiers had all fled to their own homes (2 Samuel 18:31-19:8, emphasis mine).

Apparently some of the Thessalonians were grieving inappropriately over the death of fellow believers. Their grief, in Paul’s analysis, was no different than that of the unsaved Thessalonians. Paul’s words in our text set forth a very different perspective on the death of a Christian, which is intended to result in a dramatically different response to death, a response that I would call “Good Grief.” The reader will recognize that this passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 is one of the most frequently used texts at the funeral of a Christian. Let us listen well to these words, for they not only comfort us when we grieve over the death of a Christian loved one, they also comfort us as we anticipate our own death.

Context

After taking three chapters to review the salvation and spiritual growth of the Thessalonians, Paul moves to application in chapter 4. He has appealed to his readers to pursue their sanctification, specifically in the matters of sexual purity, brotherly love, and work. Paul then moves to the matter of the second coming of Christ and its implications for believers and unbelievers in 4:13—5:11. This is the context in which we must interpret and apply our text.

The unity of 4:13—5:11 can be seen as we observe the overall topic of our Lord’s coming in chapter 4⁷ and in chapter 5 (referred to there as the “Day of the Lord”).⁸ In both paragraphs, Paul begins by addressing the “brothers and sisters” (4:13; 5:1)⁹ at Thessalonica, and then ending with the exhortation to “encourage one another” with the truths that he has just set forth (4:18; 5:11). In both paragraphs, Paul uses the symbolism of “sleep.” Thus, we can see that the general subject of 4:13—5:11 is the coming of our Lord. The focus of 4:13-18 is the response of the saints to the death of a believer, while in 5:1-11 Paul deals with the conduct of believers in this life, knowing that the “Day of the Lord” is near. This he contrasts with the unbelievers’ attitudes and actions in the light of the coming Day of the Lord. Paul’s teaching in 4:13-18 presents new teaching, which Paul has not given the Thessalonians before, and which they now need to know. The instruction of 5:1-11 is not new to the Thessalonians, but its content is worthy of repetition and its application is important to emphasize.

The Problem Paul is Addressing
1 Thessalonians 4:13

Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Of all the doctrines Paul had taught these saints, teaching regarding the fate of those who die in Christ had apparently not been among them. Paul’s preaching and teaching undoubtedly included the promise of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life, but much emphasis was placed on sin and the judgment it deserved. No doubt Paul intended to teach these saints about the coming of the Lord and its implications for believers, but he was forced out of town before he could do so. Hearing that these saints were grieving in a way that was inappropriate prompted Paul to teach the Thessalonians about the hope they had in Christ, the hope of resurrection.

Paul wrote that these saints were grieving like their unsaved countrymen, rather than as Christians. Just what would this pagan grief look like, and why was it wrong? It would serve us well to note that Paul likely wrote this epistle from Corinth. The Corinthians also needed instruction (considerable as it was) regarding the resurrection (to which Paul devoted a lengthy chapter 15). It is in this chapter in 1 Corinthians that Paul discloses the mindset of the heathen regarding resurrection and its implications for life in this world:

30 Why too are we in danger every hour? 31 Every day I am in danger of death! This is as sure as my boasting in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If from a human point of view I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what did it benefit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34 Sober up as you should, and stop sinning! For some have no knowledge of God - I say this to your shame! (1 Corinthians 15:30-34).

Paul was confident of his resurrection when he died. This confidence of eternal life gave Paul great boldness, so that he could face danger (even that of death) without fear. If the dead were not raised, Paul would have been foolish to live as he did. Instead, he would live like the heathen: “Eat, drink, and live the heathen life” because death ends it all. Thus, I believe we can reason that the unsaved of Thessalonica had no confidence that there was any life after death, and thus no hope that they would ever see or enjoy fellowship with friends and loved ones once they died. The best one could do was mourn over what they once had in the past but would never have again. They might as well strive to indulge themselves with all of the earthly pleasures they could, for that was all the pleasure they expected in this life, assuming there was nothing to hope for beyond the grave.

There is one more thing that would contribute to a hopeless grief – no assurance of sins forgiven or deliverance from the fear of death:

14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

When we go to a funeral, we not only mourn the loss of further friendship and fellowship with the deceased in this life; we must also come to terms with our own mortality, and the certainty of our own death. As the writer to the Hebrews indicates, all men are held captive by the fear of death. The devil holds the power of death, but it has been destroyed by the Lord Jesus, who took on human flesh and by His death and resurrection, defeated Satan and nullified the fear of death he once held over us. But this deliverance from the fear of death is only experienced by those who have trusted in Jesus. Thus, all unbelievers are afflicted by a fear of death (whether they admit to it or not). When an unbeliever grieves the death of another, he cannot help but grieve over his own bondage to the fear of death. No believer should ever experience this kind of grief again after trusting in Jesus.

We are not given any specifics regarding the circumstances precipitating grief on the part of the Thessalonians, prompting Paul to write these words. It would seem safe to conclude that sufficient time had passed since Paul had been forced to flee Thessalonica for some believer there to have died. Perhaps more than one saint had died. This could have been a martyr’s death, due to the persecution this church faced,¹⁰ or it could have been death by natural causes. Then, too (as my friend and fellow-elder pointed out), it may be that someone in the church at Thessalonica was known to be dying. Their testimony in facing death could adversely impact the gospel, or it could serve to enhance the good news, depending on the form the grief of this saint may have taken.

Paul’s words in verse 13 indicate that the Thessalonians were grieving in a way that was inconsistent with the gospel (were they to understand its implications regarding death correctly). In verse 15, we are given a clue as to what one error might be:

For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:15, emphasis mine).

If you are standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, it would make you very unhappy to see someone “cut” in front of everyone and check out before any of them. Being first in line is assumed to be better than being last. Here, Paul seems to address a common perception that those who are alive at the coming of Christ will be “first in line,” while those who have died will be “last” (if they are thought to be in line at all).

This may seem like a rather insignificant matter and the concern over it may appear petty, but let me remind you that Peter was greatly concerned about this very thing:

18 I tell you the solemn truth, when you were young, you tied your clothes around you and went wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will tie you up and bring you where you do not want to go.” 19 (Now Jesus said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter was going to glorify God.) After he said this, Jesus told Peter, “Follow me.” 20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. (This was the disciple who had leaned back against Jesus’ chest at the meal and asked, “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”) 21 So when Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to live until I come back, what concern is that of yours? You follow me!” 23 So the saying circulated among the brothers and sisters that this disciple was not going to die. But Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but rather, “If I want him to live until I come back, what concern is that of yours?” (John 21:18-23, emphasis mine)

Jesus informed Peter that he was going to die, and it wasn’t going to be in a manner that he would have chosen. Peter was concerned that he was “getting the short end of the stick,” and so he inquired about John. What about John? Would John die early as well, or would he “get off easy by being allowed to live until the coming of Christ”? Peter was grieving, so to speak, regarding his death, because he assumed that it was better to remain alive until the coming of Christ.

(The humor here is that Peter was wrong and that it would not be that long until he would realize it. I have to chuckle when I think of the Book of Revelation. John has now outlived Peter and James, his closest associates, as well as all of his fellow-apostles. He is imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos, and here he is given a vision of the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. I like to imagine that as he looked intently at the New Jerusalem, he observed someone standing in one of the windows of this marvelous city, waving to him. As John looked more closely, he realized that it was Peter. By his unpleasant and “untimely” death, Peter arrived in heaven before John. Where would Peter rather be now, in heaven or in an earthly prison with John? How Peter’s perspective must have changed!)

The Solution to the Problem
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. 15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17).

What would have been true for Peter was so because of what Paul is teaching the Thessalonians in our text. In these four verses, Paul summarizes the Thessalonians’ hope regarding life after death. I should point out that the “if” at the beginning of verse 14 is not “iffy” at all. The construction here indicates that it is assumed that we believe Jesus died and rose again, and thus some translations render the “if” with “since.”¹¹ Others merely begin by stating the assumption, “We believe. . . .”¹²

Notice the direct relationship between the believer’s resurrection from the dead with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our resurrection is based upon the resurrection of Jesus. It is apparent that the resurrection Paul speaks of is a literal, physical resurrection from the dead. You can therefore see the implications of denying the literal, bodily, resurrection of Jesus from the dead. If His resurrection was not both literal and physical, how could our resurrection be literal and physical? How could our resurrection be greater than His? No wonder Paul makes such an issue of the resurrection of Jesus elsewhere:

12 Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. 15 Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. 18 Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

One should easily recognize why the literal, physical (bodily) resurrection of the Lord Jesus is an essential element of the gospel that must be believed for salvation, and why it is therefore a fundamental of the faith.

29 “So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination. 30 Therefore, although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard about the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul left the Areopagus. 34 But some people joined him and believed. Among them were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them (Acts 17:29-34).

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:8-9).

1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received – that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).

When we come back to Paul’s teaching on the resurrection of the saints who have died in 1 Thessalonians, we find that he makes a point of the fact that this instruction is a revelation directly from God.¹³ To deny or to doubt this truth (regarding Christ’s resurrection and the resurrection of the saints¹⁴) is to deny or doubt the word of the Lord Jesus. The exact source of this revelation¹⁵ is not named. It appears that Paul is making a point of the fact that God revealed this truth directly to him, and not indirectly. Informing the readers as to just when and how this occurred is not Paul’s concern; his concern is only that his words are the words of Christ.¹⁶

Paul’s words in verses 14-16 clearly state that God will raise those saints who have died, but this is stated in general terms which leave out many details. I believe this ambiguity is deliberate because Paul wants to emphasize two main points: (1) both the living and the dead in Christ will ascend into heaven to be united forever with Christ and those believers who have died in faith; and (2) those who are alive at the time of Christ’s coming will not be given preferential treatment over those who have died before His return (indeed, the dead are “first in line” to be raised from the dead and joined with Christ).

Given Paul’s deliberate omission of details which are of great interest to us, many are tempted to read more into these verses than what is plainly stated. Some of this may be legitimate, based upon what we will learn later in these Thessalonians epistles or elsewhere in the Scriptures; some will simply be speculation, based upon or prompted by a particular school of thought. Paul’s omissions (and those of the other authors of Scripture) are just as purposeful about what they choose to include. Paul’s purpose for writing these words was to calm and to comfort the Thessalonians regarding the outcome for those who have died before the coming of the Lord, especially in relation to those saints who are alive at the time of His return. Paul has done this by telling them (and us) that dead believers will be literally and physically resurrected just as Jesus was, and that when this is accomplished at Christ’s return, all the saints (those who were raised from the dead and those living) will spend eternity in His presence. Details such as the transformation of those living at the time of His return are not given, though we read of this elsewhere.¹⁷ Neither is there any mention yet as to what those who have been joined with Christ will be doing on earth. Paul’s focus here is heavenly, rather than earthly.

A few other details have been supplied by Paul in our text. The coming of Christ as described here is not secretly accomplished; it is announced with a great deal of fanfare, so that no one can miss it:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God (verse 16:a).

This will catch unbelievers by surprise, but believers should not be caught unawares. Paul will take this up in the verses which follow in chapter 5.¹⁸ At this point, it is enough for Paul to have informed Christians (the Thessalonians and the readers of this epistle) that those who die in faith will spend eternity with Christ, just as those believers who are alive when He comes.

The Intended Outcome of This Revelation
1 Thessalonians 4:18

Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Paul’s instruction concerning those who have died in faith has been given to encourage the Thessalonian saints. But let us take careful note of what Paul has said, and what he has not said. He did not conclude his teaching in 4:13-18 by saying, “Therefore be encouraged by these words.” What he did say was, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” All too often our focus is self-centered and individualistic. We read Paul’s words so that we can be comforted or encouraged, or instructed. There is nothing wrong with this, other than that it does not go far enough. These words of Scripture are given to us so that we might be encouraged, and thus we can encourage others with the same truth. When God encourages us, He expects us to encourage others.¹⁹ We can see this in Paul’s words to the Corinthians:

3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-7, emphasis mine).

Think of it; we are stewards of the instruction, the gifts, the exhortation, and the comfort which God graciously gives to us. We are to share with others that which God has given to us. We are not to hoard these things any more than we are to hoard the material resources He entrusts to us. Those who are instructed by God should teach others, those who are encouraged should encourage others, and those who have received the good news of the gospel should share it with others.

Conclusion

The message Paul has for us in this passage is short and sweet. Christians are to be comforted concerning those believers who die before the Lord’s return. Departed saints will not miss the blessings Christ will bring when He returns, nor will they be second-class citizens in heaven. They will enjoy everlasting fellowship with Christ and with their fellow-believers when they are physically raised from the dead at His return.

I have a confession to make; when I completed my study of our text, I felt somehow short-changed. Was this all that this text was meant to convey? Was Paul’s purpose in this paragraph only to assure Christians that a resurrection from the dead awaits those who die before Christ’s return? Is the simplicity of this truth the reason why so many seem inclined to press this text to say more – something like squeezing an empty toothpaste tube for just a little more?

In thinking about this matter, I have come to several conclusions. First, at this point in time, this is all Paul wanted to tell the Thessalonians about those who die before Christ’s return. It is really all they needed to know. The mechanics of how God will bring this about and the precise timing and sequence of the events of the last days are not considered essential to the Thessalonians’ concerns or Paul’s purpose in writing here.

Second, there is more to come. (As those television commercials all seem to say, “But wait! There’s more!) Paul has more to say about the Lord’s return and its implications for believers and unbelievers, but this comes later (some as soon as in the next verses, starting with verse 1 of chapter 5). Indeed, these additional truths are built upon the foundation that Paul has established in our text. And then there are those additional truths that are revealed elsewhere in Scripture. Paul does not have to tell us everything that has already been conveyed elsewhere.

Third, to focus on the fine points of the Lord’s return might tend to obscure or draw attention away from the main point that Paul is seeking to make: when He comes, both the dead in Christ and those believers who are alive at the time will be united with Christ, enjoying the ultimate blessing of dwelling in His presence forever. Paul’s focus in our text is on Christ, just as ours should be. If we quickly try to move on to other aspects of His coming, we reveal that our focus is on something – or someone – other than on our Lord. It would be something like a child receiving a very costly gift from his parents for Christmas. After looking briefly at the gift, the child sets it aside and looks about for other gifts. What an affront that would be to the parents who have sacrificed greatly to give their child the finest gift possible. For Paul, whether his destiny was life or death, his focus was on Christ:

19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain (Philippians 1:19-21).

7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ, 9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. 10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, 14 with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:7-14; see also Romans 11:33-36; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31; Ephesians 1:3-14).

We must let nothing and no one come before our devotion to the Savior. Let us not become so curious about the fine points regarding the future that we miss the final goal of the future – spending all eternity in His presence.

What, then, should Paul’s teaching do for those who have trusted in Jesus for salvation? It should give them the same attitude toward life and death that Paul expressed in the passages cited above. If the Thessalonians had previously believed that those who died before Christ’s coming would somehow have an inferior status, then this error should no longer trouble them. The impact of Paul’s words should be obvious from his final exhortation in verse 18: “Therefore, encourage one another with these words.” What does it mean to “encourage” someone? It means to infuse them with courage. From Paul’s words in our text, the saints should realize that dying before Christ’s return is no disadvantage at all. From what Paul says in Philippians 1 and 2 Corinthians 5 (above), I believe we can conclude, as did Paul, that to die is actually to gain. Remaining on provides the opportunity to continue to serve God and others on this earth, but dying puts us in the presence of our Lord, where we will await the day of our bodily resurrection. This is the truth which Peter was to experience when he died (while John remained alive for some time).

Believing Paul’s words should cause the Christian to view death in a very different light. It is no enemy, to be dreaded and avoided at all cost; it is a friend that will take us to Jesus. Why, then, be hesitant to boldly proclaim the gospel, even if threatened by death? Why live in a tentative way, walking, as it were, on egg shells to avoid persecution? The worst men can do to us is the best thing that can happen to us. That truth should revolutionize the way we live.

The truth Paul has set forth applies to much more than the threat of death at the hand of the enemies of Christ and His gospel. Paul is saying what the writer to the Hebrews taught in Hebrews 2:14-15: the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ has once for all taken the fear of death away from those who have trusted in Him. As we grow old, death is nothing to fear. If the doctor tells us that we have a terminal illness (no matter what our age), we should rejoice in the truth of what Paul has taught us here. And that joyful expectation exhibited in the life of the dying saint should be a testimony to others who lack such hope. It is proof of the reality of the hope which we have in Jesus.

That leads me to my final point of application. The hope which Paul speaks of in our text is the hope of the gospel. Believers in Jesus should be confident of their literal, physical resurrection from the dead because the Lord Jesus has already been literally, physically raised from the dead. Our resurrection is as certain as His. Our resurrection is the fruit of faith in the Lord Jesus, the fruit of the gospel. Thus, when we proclaim the gospel to others, we offer them the same hope and confidence regarding eternal life after death.

I have this firmly in mind whenever I conduct the funeral service for one who has died, whether the deceased was a believer or not. There is no message other than the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives men and women the assurance of sins forgiven and of spending eternity in the presence of God. To fail to preach the gospel to those who grieve the loss of a friend or loved one is to fail to offer them hope, and freedom from the fear of death.

This leads me to the other side of the coin. While Paul does not emphasize this truth here, it would be good for me to remind you that death is not the end of it all for those who have rejected Christ’s offer of salvation. Just as the dead in Christ will surely be raised to eternal joy in the presence of the Savior, the lost will be raised to eternal torment, away from His presence. This is what Paul says in his second epistle to the Thessalonians:

6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).

My friend, if you have never acknowledged your sin and your need of salvation through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus on your behalf, I urge you to place your trust in Him this very moment. Your decision in this matter will have eternal consequences.

Copyright © 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited manuscript of Lesson 6 in the series Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh on July 11, 2010. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.

¹ Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

² John 11:35.

³ John 11:36.

⁴ Otherwise, one might question the motivation for our Lord’s delay in coming to be with Lazarus and his sisters (see John 11:5-7).

⁵ See 2 Samuel 2-3.

⁶ 2 Samuel 3:31-39.

⁷ 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16.

⁸ 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

⁹ The NASB and other translations render this term more literally (“brethren” or “brothers”); the NET Bible renders it “brothers and sisters,” thus making it clear that this term applies both to men and to women in the church. My preference is to render it more literally (“brethren”) and let the reader know that this term includes both sexes.

¹⁰ See 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14-16; 3:1-4.

¹¹ ESV, CSB.

¹² NIV, NJB.

¹³ See verse 15.

¹⁴ There is, of course, the resurrection of all unbelievers (as we see in Daniel 12:2, Revelation 20:12-15 and elsewhere), but this is not Paul’s emphasis in our current text since he is seeking to encourage Christians about the fate of fellow Christians who have died.

¹⁵ It could have been teaching our Lord gave to His apostles, but which was not included in any of the Gospels, or teaching revealed to Paul directly by means of a revelation.

¹⁶ Compare 1 Corinthians 7:6-12; 14:37-38.

¹⁷ See 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.

¹⁸ See 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5.

¹⁹ I am reminded of the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12:1-3, where God promised to bless Abraham and his seed so that they could be a blessing to the nations.

1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. 3 Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. 9 For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).²

Introduction

Somewhat like the old adage, we could probably say, “You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” As I approach the subject of the “Day of the Lord,” I have to wonder just how many people my exposition of our text in 1 Thessalonians 5 will please. The reason I say this is that I know there are many wonderful students of Scripture here and that our text has led them to different conclusions. This leads me to begin this message, which deals with the subject of biblical prophecy, with a few introductory comments.

What We Should Know About Prophecy

Not everything we feel strongly about is a fundamental of the faith. The strongly-held conclusions over which godly Christians differ in matters of prophecy are seldom fundamentals of the faith. Godly Christians don’t differ over the literal, bodily return of Jesus, the horrors of eternal damnation or the blessings of eternity in the glorious presence of God. Whether the rapture comes before, during, or after the Great Tribulation is not a fundamental of the faith.

Godly Christians differ greatly over matters of biblical prophecy. Godly Christians will differ greatly regarding the interpretation of our text. A number of serious students of Scripture listening to this message today in our church will differ in their understanding of our text. The great heroes of bygone days did not all agree on matters of prophecy.

A significant number of Christians (including preachers and other serious students of Scripture that I know) have changed their minds over time and after further study.

Our differences in our understanding of prophecy should not divide us. We may strongly disagree with another over matters of prophecy, while strongly agreeing in other (more fundamental) matters of doctrine.

Expect those individuals and institutions whose distinctives pertain to matters of biblical prophecy to hold more firmly to their views and to speak on these matters with greater certainty. Our identity tends to be linked to our distinctives, and for some, their prophetic views are their distinctive. We should expect them to hold their views with greater intensity. Obviously, intensity of belief or in communication of that belief doesn’t necessarily mean one is right.³

It is important to recognize the degree to which our preferences affect our interpretations. I would far rather believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, for example, than to believe that Christians (including me) could undergo incredible persecution. We need to remember that God’s ways are not our ways,⁴ and that much biblical truth is contrary to our preferences. The depravity of man, the doctrine of eternal punishment, and divine sovereignty don’t align themselves with human preferences. The issue is not, “What do I want to believe is true?” but rather, “What does God’s Word declare to be true?”

It is also important to note how much current world events and conditions impact the interpretation of biblical prophecy. After “the war to end all wars (WW I),” it was much easier to think of our world getting better and better, and thus to embrace prophecy which was optimistic about the future of this earth. Such thinking has long since passed, along with the popularity of the interpretations of prophecy which it spawned. It is especially important for Americans to recognize that our experience as Christians has been much more trouble-free than the experience of most Christians, past or present.

Prophecy involves a great deal of what is “unseen.” Biblical prophecy is not written to inform Christians regarding a complete, sequential, unfolding of the future, but is often the revelation of the future that will only be understood in the light of its fulfillment. Biblical prophecy has many “blank places,” to be filled in only as God brings things to His predetermined goals and purposes. It is faith which enables God’s people to “see” (to some degree) what God has promised in the future, to see the “end” without necessarily knowing all the “means.” Prophecy is given, in part, to stretch our faith.

Christians, like all humans, are curious and fascinated with mysteries and the unknown. We are tempted to “fill in the blanks” of biblical prophecy, rather than to live with the unknown. It should be noted that the cults and false teachers seem to gravitate toward those matters which are unclear,⁵ or about which the Bible is most tight-lipped. We need to be serious in studying that which God has revealed, while respecting the mysteries He has chosen not to reveal (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Biblical prophecy is almost always closely linked to application. The application is usually very clear and a matter of very little debate among evangelical Christians. We would do well to focus on application, rather than on speculation regarding matters that are unclear. We should note that Paul’s emphasis in 1 Thessalonians 4:13—5:11 is on application (see also 2 Peter 3:11-13).

We all seek to “connect the dots” of biblical revelation, so that things make sense to us. Theology is a very noble effort to systematize the teaching of the Bible so that we do not cling to one truth while ignoring (or denying) another. Almost every Christian has adopted some theology in regard to eschatology (prophecy). When we come to a passage like 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, we view it through the lens of whatever system we have embraced. Let us all be honest enough to admit that no matter what system we may hold, every prophetic system has its problems. There is no perfect (problem-free) prophetic system, while all the others are flawed (as some authors or preachers may imply). Every system has its flaws, and my guess is that once we get to heaven, we will all have to admit that our system (whichever one that might be) didn’t have it all right. That should humble us a bit about our system, and keep us from looking down on those who have chosen another system.

My Conviction and a Confession

I’ll confess to something here that is probably already obvious: The study of biblical prophecy with the expectation of coming to some confident conclusions (regarding which system of interpretation to embrace) is not my greatest passion in my life or ministry. This is not to say that biblical prophecy is unimportant. It is important. But far too much energy has been spent trying to lay out a neat scheme of events when I believe that this is not the purpose of prophecy. Fulfilled prophecy demonstrates God’s absolute control of human history – what God says, He does; what God promises He fulfills, precisely when and as He promised. Fulfilled prophecy gives us confidence in the Scriptures and assures us that prophecies pertaining to the future will be fulfilled. Prophecy also gives us hope and produces perseverance in difficult days. Prophecy motivates us to trust and obey, and to lay up treasure in heaven, rather than on earth. But this does not require a full-blown prophetic scheme, with all the details and the sequences spelled out. We should not expect to know the exact timing of our Lord’s return. And (in my opinion) we should not spend a great deal of energy trying to refute the prophetic positions of our fellow believers. I guess what I am saying is that a good deal of our personal views and beliefs regarding the future are really convictions rather than clearly revealed truth. And we should know that convictions are not something we debate about or seek to impose on others.⁶

I should further confess that at this moment I am re-thinking my position on biblical prophecy. As I mentioned earlier, a number of people I know and respect have changed their position after serious study and reflection. Years ago I was teaching in Revelation 3, and I said something like this in a sermon: “The reason why many of you hold to this [a certain prophetic point of view] is probably not because it is so clearly and emphatically taught in Scripture, but because it is the view which is most comfortable to hold.” I then explained my position on that particular teaching and warned that it was possible that in time I might change my mind (which I have).

This leads me to a conviction which guides me in my preaching. I want those who hear me preach to be able to distinguish between those things which I consider fundamental to the faith and those which are not. Some preachers seem to feel as though their every statement must come across as a “thus saith the Lord.” When we read the Bible, we find that there are these kinds of teachings. For example, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:

37 If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, he should acknowledge that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. 38 If someone does not recognize this, he is not recognized (1 Corinthians 14:37-38).

Earlier in this same epistle, however, Paul clearly distinguishes between his personal convictions and our Lord’s commands:

6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that everyone was as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one this way, another that. 8 To the unmarried and widows I say that it is best for them to remain as I am. 9 But if they do not have self-control, let them get married. For it is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire. 10 To the married I give this command – not I, but the Lord – a wife should not divorce a husband 11 (but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife. 12 To the rest I say – I, not the Lord – if a brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is happy to live with him, he should not divorce her (1 Corinthians 7:6-12, emphasis mine).

I believe that the preacher should not only distinguish between his own personal convictions and God’s commands, but that he (not he or she) should give some indication of the level of certainty and importance that a certain teaching should have. In the past, I have heard highly respected men teach some subjects (like the timing of the rapture) with great confidence, as though those who teach otherwise have really missed the obvious teaching of Scripture. The problem with teaching unclear and disputed matters with great confidence is that if someone later hears this same matter taught differently (but perhaps with the same certainty), they may begin to wonder if any scriptural teaching can be held with great certainty. So, this is my long way of saying that when I teach, I try to give some indication of the degree of certainty this matter is given in Scripture. That way, if I change my mind on that matter (which I hope would happen from time to time), people are not disheartened and confused. Okay, so much for confessions and convictions. Now, on to our text.

Progressive Revelation:
Preparation for Paul’s Teaching in our Text

Most everyone recognizes that the second coming of our Lord is referred to in every chapter of 1 Thessalonians. When we think back over chapters 1-4, we can see how Paul has been preparing us for what he has to say in our text in chapter 5:

9 For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, emphasis mine).

While these words contain few details about the outworking of the Second Coming, they do highlight the major elements of the second coming: coming wrath (on sinners), deliverance (of saints from God’s wrath), Jesus, Who is the means of our deliverance, resurrection (of Jesus, and thus of all men, to eternal bliss or eternal torment), our Lord’s appearance from heaven, and waiting for His return (since His coming will not be as soon as some expected it to be).

14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely. 17 But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters, for a short time (in presence, not in affection) we became all the more fervent in our great desire to see you in person. 18 For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul, in fact tried again and again) but Satan thwarted us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:14-20, emphasis mine)

In chapter 2, Paul refers to the wrath of God in relation to those at Thessalonica who oppose the saints and especially the proclamation of the gospel to Gentiles. Negatively, resisting the gospel and those who proclaim it stores up wrath for oneself on the day of our Lord’s return. Positively, the coming of our Lord will be a day of great joy and rejoicing for the saints. What joy there will be when we are rewarded with seeing the fruits of our ministry in this life. People, not possessions, are part of the prize that awaits the saints.

11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, emphasis mine).

Christian growth is an important goal because we will stand before our God when our Lord returns for His saints. Knowing this will happen should make holiness our desire, for ourselves and for others. We should want to stand faultless and holy before Him.⁷

13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. 15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, emphasis mine).

Now we see why Paul spoke of “waiting” and of our Lord’s resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 1:10. Apparently, enough time had passed for some saints to die. That raised questions regarding the fate of those who have died before the time of our Lord’s second coming. Based upon the resurrection of our Lord, those who have died will be raised to life, and they will have an equal share in the blessings enjoyed by those who are alive at the time of Christ’s return.

These verses in chapter 4 focus on the blessings and benefits for believers, living or dead at the time of the Lord’s second coming. The comparison in 4:13-18 is between those saints who are alive at Christ’s return and those saints who have died. The comparison in 5:1-11 is between those who are true believers and those who are lost with regard to their attitudes and actions concerning the coming “Day of the Lord.”

The “Day of the Lord” in the Old Testament

The expression, “the Day of the Lord”⁸ occurs fairly often in the Bible. Let me attempt to define this expression by focusing on its more important aspects as found in the Old Testament.

1. The “Day of the Lord” is the day of God’s judgment on Israel’s enemies, vindicating and delivering Israel from foreign domination:

1 This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: 2 On a bare hill raise a signal flag, shout to them, wave your hand, so they might enter the gates of the princes! 3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, my boasting, arrogant ones. 4 There is a loud noise on the mountains – it sounds like a large army! There is great commotion among the kingdoms – nations are being assembled! The Lord who commands armies is mustering forces for battle. 5 They come from a distant land, from the horizon. It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, coming to destroy the whole earth. 6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. 7 For this reason all hands hang limp, every human heart loses its courage. 8 They panic – cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red. 9 Look, the Lord’s day of judgment is coming; it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, destroying the earth and annihilating its sinners. 10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations no longer give out their light; the sun is darkened as soon as it rises, and the moon does not shine. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, and wicked people for their sin. I will put an end to the pride of the insolent, I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. 12 I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold, and people more scarce than gold from Ophir. 13 So I will shake the heavens, and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies, in the day he vents his raging anger (Isaiah 13:1-13, emphasis mine; see Ezekiel 30:1-5ff.).

2. The “Day of the Lord” is not just the day of God’s judgment on Israel’s enemies; it is the day of God’s judgment on all sinners, including disobedient Israel. There is special judgment pronounced against those false prophets in Israel who give false assurances of peace and safety, when the day of judgment was drawing near:

18 Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord! Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come? It will bring darkness, not light. 19 Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake. 20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light – gloomy blackness, not bright light? 21 “I absolutely despise your festivals! I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies! 22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. 23 Take away from me your noisy songs; I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. 24 Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up (Amos 5:18-24).

8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, I am against you, declares the sovereign Lord. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council of my people, nor be written in the registry of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord. 10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash. 11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones will fall and a violent wind will break out. 12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?” 13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. 14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 I will vent my rage against the wall, and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more – 16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord’” (Ezekiel 13:8-16).

3. The “Day of the Lord” is coming, but God promises that He will send “Elijah” before that great day comes with a message of repentance and reconciliation:

5 Look, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. 6 He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment” (Malachi 4:5-6).

4. The “Day of the Lord” will be a day of judgment, but Israel is warned it is coming and is urged to repent, with the assurance that those who do so will escape God’s judgment and enjoy God’s salvation:

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear, for the day of the Lord is about to come. Indeed, it is near! 2 It will be a day of dreadful darkness, a day of foreboding storm clouds, like blackness spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army – there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!... 12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart – with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your garments!” 13 Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love – often relenting from calamitous punishment. 14 Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, and leave blessing in his wake – a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! . . . 18 Then the Lord became zealous for his land; he had compassion on his people. . . . 28 (3:1) After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions. 29 Even on male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will produce portents both in the sky and on the earth – blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes – that great and terrible day! 32 It will so happen that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who survive, just as the Lord has promised; the remnant will be those whom the Lord will call (Joel 2:1-2, 12-14, 18, 28-32).

From all these Old Testament texts, we can see that the “Day of the Lord” is a day of judgment, and a day of deliverance and salvation, depending upon one’s relationship to God. Israelites should not presume that they are the righteous, and that the “Day of the Lord” is therefore a good day for them. Rather, they should see themselves as sinners, subject to God’s wrath at the coming of Messiah. There is hope, however. The hope is for those Israelites who see themselves as sinners, deserving of God’s coming wrath, and who repent and embrace the promise of salvation which God will bring about in the coming of Messiah. Thus, the Old Testament ends with both a warning of coming judgment and the promise of salvation.

The “Day of the Lord” in the New Testament

The “Day of the Lord” is a theme that is quickly taken up in the New Testament, although it is noteworthy that this exact expression is never found in the Gospels.

1. John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Promised Messiah, just as Jesus identified John as the “Elijah” who would come and prepare the way for Him as the Messiah:

26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize, 27 who is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal!” 28 These things happened in Bethany across the Jordan River where John was baptizing. 29 On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining – this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God” (John 1:26-34, emphasis mine).

9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the experts in the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things. 12 And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist (Matthew 17:9-13, emphasis mine).

2. The “Day of the Lord” was a day of God’s judgment on sinful (and often self-righteous) Israelites. John the Baptist clearly warned of the coming day of God’s judgment (on sinful Israelites, among others):

5 Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 6 and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, 9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 10 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am – I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire” (Matthew 3:5-12, emphasis mine).

Repentance (symbolized by baptism) and faith in Jesus was the way to avoid this coming day of wrath, and to experience salvation.

3. Like John the Baptist, Jesus spoke of the coming day of God’s wrath, a day many assumed would bring them honor and salvation:

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23, emphasis mine)

32 “Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven – except the Father alone. 37 For just like the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark” (Matthew 24:32-38, emphasis mine).

4. The exact timing of the “Day of the Lord” was an obsession with the disciples, both in the Gospels,⁹ and early in the Book of Acts:

6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth” (Acts 1:5-8, emphasis mine).

We would do well to note that, both in the Gospels (Matthew 24:36) and here in Acts 1, Jesus clearly indicates that the exact timing of this “day” would not be revealed to them, or to us. We may recognize the “season,” but we do not know the day. We know for certain that our Lord is coming; we don’t know when He is coming. We will see this shortly in our text as well.

5. At Pentecost,¹⁰ Peter warned of the coming judgment on the “Day of the Lord,” but also proclaimed the promise of salvation as spoken of by the prophet Joel. Israel’s sin was evident in the fact that Messiah had come to them as promised, and they rejected Him, in spite of all the divinely provided confirmations of His identity. The bad news was that the “Day of the Lord” was coming (just as Joel had foretold), and this would mean divine judgment for those who have rejected and crucified His Son. The good news, to which Joel also referred, is that in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, God provided for the forgiveness of one’s sins and the fulfillment of His promise of a New Covenant. Thus, in order to escape the outpouring of God’s wrath and to enter into the blessings of the New Covenant, Peter’s audience must repent of their sin and embrace Jesus Christ as God’s promised Messiah.

6. The expression, “the Day of the Lord” now begins to appear in the New Testament epistles. In 2 Thessalonians 1, it is described as a day of salvation and blessing for those who have trusted in Jesus, and a day of retribution for those who have rejected Jesus and persecuted His saints:

5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. 11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:5-12, emphasis mine).

7. The “Day of the Lord” is also a subject taken up by false teachers, who claim, among other things, that this day has already come. It was just such teaching that necessitated Paul’s instruction in 2 Thessalonians 2:

1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

This is just what Jesus had told His disciples to look out for, since there was certain to be false and misleading teaching regarding His second coming:

3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many (Matthew 24:3-5).

8. The “Day of the Lord” will be the day that God’s work of salvation will be completed in His saints:

7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:7-8, emphasis mine).

6 For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6, emphasis mine).

10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ (Philippians 1:10, emphasis mine).

What is especially interesting to me is that church discipline was exercised on a man who was living with his father’s wife, with the goal and expectation that even if his body was destroyed, his soul would be saved in the “Day of the Lord”:

4 When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:4-5, emphasis mine).

9. The coming “Day of the Lord” motivated Paul in his ministry to the saints, so that they would be a pure and presentable bride when our Lord returns:

1 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:1-2).

11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

10. The “Day of the Lord” is a time of boasting and rejoicing for the saints. It is the day when the Corinthians will boast in Paul and his associates, just as it is the day when Paul himself will boast and rejoice in the Thessalonians and the Philippians:

14 just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:14).

19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)

16 by holding on to the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain (Philippians 2:16).

Problems Associated With the “Day of the Lord”

Some have speculated as to why Paul found it necessary to address the coming “Day of the Lord” in our text. Some have suggested that Paul writes these words because the Thessalonians had asked him about the “Day of the Lord.” While the expression “Now concerning. . .” can introduce the answer to a question,¹¹ this need not be the case. Paul could easily be moving on to another subject which the Thessalonians need to know about. It seems to me that we have a fairly clear indication of Paul’s reason for writing these words of our text (5:1-11) when we consider the context, particularly 4:13-18.

The Thessalonians faced two problems that resulted from someone’s absence (or to the delay of someone’s coming). The first was the issue of Paul’s absence. Why had Paul not returned to Thessalonica? Did he not care for and about these saints? In the early chapters of this epistle, Paul reminded the Thessalonians of the strong bond he had with them, and they with him. He explained that his absence was the result of Satan’s opposition, rather than the result of his lack of love and concern for them. He sent Timothy – the finest gift he could give – to minister to them and to learn how they were doing and then report back to him.

Now, the second problem pertaining to someone’s absence arises. Just as Paul had not returned as soon as the Thessalonians had expected (and hoped), so also Jesus has not yet returned. What is the explanation for His absence, and how are the Thessalonians to deal with His delayed return? In 4:13-18, Paul explained that the death of some saints before Christ’s return was not a problem, for when the Lord returns, He will raise them from the dead, and then they will be joined by the saints who are alive at the time of His coming, to live together in the presence of the Lord forever.

If 4:13-18 deals with the Lord’s “delay” by focusing on the fate of believers (living and dead) at the time of His return, 5:1-11 deals with the delay itself. Paul compares and contrasts the believers’ attitudes and actions related to the Second Coming with the mindset and conduct of unbelievers, before His return.

When we consider the teaching of the Bible, we can see several problems men face in relation to the Lord’s apparent “delay” in coming to the earth a second time. I believe that Paul is seeking to deal with some of these problems when he deals with the “Day of the Lord” in 1 Thessalonians 4:13—5:11. Let me briefly mention some of these problems.

1. The unsaved are not ready, and thus judgment catches them off guard (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3; Luke 17:26-30).

2. Unbelievers are not ready for the “Day of the Lord” because they have rejected God’s only provision for salvation through the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Not only are unbelievers unaware that the “Day of the Lord” is at hand, this day will come at a time when they feel safe and secure in their unbelief (see 1 Thessalonians 5:3; 2 Peter 3:1-4ff).¹² In part, this is because false prophets will assure these unbelievers that they are safe and secure.

3. There is also the danger that some who are true believers may become caught up in the things of this world, and thus be caught doing other things than what our Lord has given us to do (see Luke 12:35-48).¹³

4. During the time of waiting for our Lord’s return – when saints suffer persecution from the enemies of our Lord – there will be many who fall victim to false teaching, or to declining love and unity (Matthew 24:4-5, 9-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:2).

5. There is the danger that some saints may be alarmed by the difficulties of the last days (Matthew 24:6).

6. As mentioned earlier, there will always be those who are obsessed with seeking to identify the precise timing of the Lord’s return, in spite of the fact that He has indicated that this cannot be known (see Matthew 24:3, 36; Acts 1:6-8).

The “Day of the Lord” in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Paul begins this text by saying that the Thessalonian saints “have no need for anything to be written to them” (5:1). We could understand Paul’s words in different ways. It could be that the Thessalonians did not need anything to be written because he had already taught them all they needed to know on this subject:

1 So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens alone. 2 We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know (1 Thessalonians 3:1-4, emphasis mine).

I don’t think this is why there was no need for Paul to write the Thessalonians about the “Day of the Lord,” however. From the ignorance Paul sought to correct in 4:13-18, it would not seem that prophecy had been Paul’s highest priority in what he had previously taught the Thessalonians while he was with them. But when we come to verse 2 of our text, Paul tells the Thessalonians why he did not need to write anything further: there was nothing further to write, so far as the timing of that day is concerned:

1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).

This is nearly the same thing that our Lord said to His disciples in Matthew 24 and Acts 1:

36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven – except the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36).

6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth” (Acts 1:6-8, emphasis mine).

All the Thessalonians needed to know about the timing of the Day of the Lord had already been revealed by our Lord, or by Paul. Paul does not seek to add anything to what our Lord has already taught regarding the timing of the “Day of the Lord.” What he does seek to do is to focus on the Christian’s perspective and practice during the time that they wait for His return. And he does this by contrasting the Christian’s response to the coming of our Lord with that of unbelievers.

Christians are certain that the “Day of the Lord” is coming, though they don’t know exactly when that will be. Non-Christians are certain that the “Day of the Lord” is not coming and that they have nothing to worry about. “Peace and security” is their slogan. Paul describes the Second Coming by the use of two different images. The first imagery is that of a thief in the night.

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2, emphasis mine).

The thief usually comes in the night, when he can work under cover of darkness, and when he is least likely to be discovered and caught. (One of our sister churches had to cancel its services a week ago because a thief broke into their building in the middle of the night. Other churches had been burglarized in the same way.) Jesus also spoke of His coming as a thief in the night.¹⁴ This imagery emphasizes the fact that the “Day of the Lord” is unexpected; it catches the unbeliever completely by surprise. In part, this is because they have been deceived into thinking that it would never come:

13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit. 14 They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’ But everything is not all right! (Jeremiah 6:13-14)

3 Above all, understand this: In the last days blatant scoffers will come, being propelled by their own evil urges 4 and saying, “Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

The second imagery employed is that of labor pains coming upon a pregnant woman.

Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:3, emphasis mine).

When Paul likens the “Day of the Lord” to labor pains coming upon a pregnant woman, he emphasizes another aspect of this day of judgment for unbelievers. A thief in the night emphasizes the fact that unbelievers don’t expect the “Day of the Lord” to come. Labor pains coming upon a pregnant woman come as no surprise to her. The moment she knows that she is pregnant, she knows that labor pains are coming. Granted, she does not know the exact time that they are coming, but she has a fairly good idea as the time of her baby’s birth draws near. What I think Paul is seeking to emphasize here is not that the Second Coming is unexpected, but that it is irreversible. Once labor sets in, there is nothing the woman can do to stop these pains. She is now irreversibly committed to the consequences of her pregnancy. As the father of six children and as the grandfather of ten (I confess, I’m bragging), I can testify to these things – but my wife and daughters can do so with even greater authority.

Sanctification and the Second Coming

In my message on the early part of 1 Thessalonians 4, I sought to underscore Paul’s emphasis on sexual purity and social responsibility (hard work) as a part of the Christian’s sanctification. I would now like to suggest that most of chapter 5 deals with sanctification as it relates to the Second Coming of our Lord.

I fear that there are some Christians who tend to equate their spirituality with how much they know about the timing of the Second Coming. Rather than accept Jesus’ clear statements that we are not to know the precise time of His return, and thus to respect the silence of Scripture on such matters, some seek to “find” more than others, and then, having done so, they feel rather smug about it. (Forgive me for being so blunt, but I feel that some have fallen into this version of Christian Gnosticism, of possessing “secret” information not known by the ignorant masses.¹⁵)

While I am speaking of a minority here, there are many who would seek to “see” more in our text than I believe Paul meant to say pertaining to the sequence of events surrounding the “Day of the Lord.” What I see in our text is Paul dramatically contrasting the response of the Christian to the “Day of the Lord” with that of the unbeliever. Notice the repeated contrasts in verses 3-11.

 

Unbelievers (“they”)	Christians (“you”)
Darkness	Light
Day	Night
Thief in the night	Expect His return
Feel secure, though judgement near	Are secure when salvation comes
Drunk	Sober
Asleep	Awake
Wrath	Salvation

I believe that these very deliberate, repeated, and emphatic contrasts play a significant role in Paul’s emphasis on sanctification. Salvation is a radical transformation from “hearts of stone” to “hearts of flesh,”¹⁶ from the “kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light,” and from “death to life.”¹⁷ Salvation makes us a whole new creation:

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Sanctification is likewise a dramatic transformation. It is not a spiritual “tune-up;” it is a major overhaul, from “bumper to bumper.” That is the message of Ephesians 4 and 5, as well as many other texts of Scripture.

The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light (Romans 13:12).

Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him (Colossians 3:1-4).

What Paul is doing in our text is pointing out the dramatic differences there are between Christians and unbelievers when it comes to the “Day of the Lord.” The outcome is the difference between eternal salvation and eternal judgment, between enjoying eternity in the presence of our Lord and fellow believers (4:13-18), and facing the wrath of God, away from His presence (see 2 Thessalonians 1:9). Unbelievers do not even believe that judgment is coming, so that it comes upon them unexpectedly and irreversibly. Believers know that their Lord is coming, and thus they wait, watch, and work for His return. Unbelievers are asleep or drunk, insensitive to what is coming; believers are awake and alert. To sum it all up, unbelievers are unprepared for what is coming, while believers are ready and waiting for the Lord to come for them.

Our text is not designed to map out the timing and sequence of coming things for us; it is written to assure us that it is coming and that the process of sanctification is our preparation for the return of the Lord. The application of what Paul is saying will be spelled out more specifically in verses 12-22, but first Paul has sought to motivate the Thessalonians and us with the truths of 4:13--5:11. That is why both parts of this passage on prophecy end with “Therefore encourage one another. . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11).

Application

Let me conclude this message with several points of application.

First, since the coming of the “Day of the Lord” is certain, and since we cannot know its precise timing, we must be ever watchful and waiting. We need to be aware that His “delay” is for at least two purposes. He is delaying out of grace, giving men further time to repent and believe (2 Peter 3:8-9). His delay also gives Christians more time to be purified (by sanctification) and thus to be prepared for His return (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; 2 Corinthians 11:1-2; Ephesians 5:25-27; 2 Peter 3:11-12).

Second, when we seek to interpret and apply our text, let us seek to identify Paul’s purpose in writing it, rather than to impose our desires and expectations on it. Personally, I think Paul is clear that his purpose is not to supply additional details regarding the timing of our Lord’s return, although he is intent on stressing the implications of his words. Since our Lord’s return has not come as quickly as we may have hoped, and since we cannot know the exact time of His return, we must wait and watch patiently. We must continue in the process of sanctification, as God purifies us and prepares us for the day of His return. Let us not seek to find what is not in our text; let us seek, rather, to see what is there, and what that means for us in terms of our attitudes and actions in the light of His sure return.

Specifically, even though we may have grown (like the Thessalonians) in our faith, love, and hope, we are not to be content with the progress we have made. We are to press on and grow even more in these areas. Paul has just given us one additional motivation for seeking to grow in faith, love, and hope – these three virtues are part of our spiritual armor that protect and keep us in the difficult times we experience while waiting for Him to return.

But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8).

Third, we should find our text to be a warning regarding worldliness. Paul has made it very clear in our text that unbelievers respond to the coming “Day of the Lord” in a way that is opposite to that of the Christian. Not only does Paul exhort us to be different and to behave as children of the day, Paul’s teaching here should serve as a warning to us. If we become too attached to this life and to this world, we will be inclined to think and to act as the world does regarding His return. Worldliness will desensitize us to the certain reality of the “Day of the Lord.” The things of this world will no longer be seen as the “passing pleasures of sin” (see Hebrews 11:24-26), and we will begin to pursue them, rather than to lay up treasure in heaven.

The flip side of this is that while we must guard against worldliness, we must also be diligent in maintaining our fellowship with fellow believers:

24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, 25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25).

The truths that Paul has set forth in 4:13—5:11 are those which provide us with the means to encourage our fellow believers. We are not only responsible to be personally alert, watchful, and waiting; we are responsible to encourage our brothers and sisters in the Lord to do likewise.

Finally, Paul’s words should prompt us to pray for the salvation of the lost and to strive to share the good news of the gospel with those who are headed for eternal judgment. We should pray because we see here how Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers regarding the certainty of eternal judgment and the blessed offer of eternal salvation through faith in Jesus.¹⁸ Unbelievers will be caught by surprise in the “Day of the Lord” because they feel safe and secure in their unbelief. The salvation of lost sinners is not something which we can accomplish, no matter how persuasive our words. God must open the hearts of sinners to see their sin, the certainty of divine judgment, and to embrace Jesus as their Savior:

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment – 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:7-11).

When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed (Acts 13:48).

A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a God-fearing woman, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying (Acts 16:14).

The only way that lost sinners will be saved is if someone takes the good news of the gospel to them (Romans 10:14-15), and if the Spirit of God opens their hearts to receive the gift of salvation (John 16:7-11). This time of waiting is not only a time to be watching, but also a time to be working, doing what God has given us to do. Many of those things will be listed in the verses which follow, but we must be intent on doing them. That is the thrust of our text as I understand it.

¹ I confess; I was tempted to change the title to “Watching our Wait.”

² Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

³ As we see in 1 Timothy 1:6-7.

⁴ See Isaiah 55:8-11.

⁵ See 2 Peter 3:14-16.

⁶ See Romans 14:1—15:4.

⁷ See 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27.

⁸ We should be aware of the fact that there are several variations of this expression in the Bible: “the day of the Lord Jesus” (see 1 Corinthians 1:7-8), the “day of Christ” (Philippians 1:6), and simply “the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:4); “that day” (Matthew 24:36; 2 Thessalonians 1:10).

⁹ See, for example, Matthew 24:3.

¹⁰ See Acts 2.

¹¹ Such is the case in 1 Corinthians 7:1.

¹² This is speculation on my part, so beware. I believe that the time is coming when Christians are considered more of a threat to the world than Al Qaeda. There will be a movement in which Satan and his followers seek to exterminate all Christians – and for a while, it will look as though they are prevailing (see Revelation 6:9-10; 11:1-10; 13:5-8). I suspect that it is at this point in time that they will be feeling most “safe and secure,” and yet their doom is imminent.

¹³ I am obliged to point out that in Matthew 24 and 25 those who are caught off guard are described as unbelievers, and their judgment is terrifying – the judgment of hell. It may be difficult to distinguish a true believer (like the fellow in 1 Corinthians 5:5) from an unbeliever who professes to be saved. The Scriptures do not seek to comfort those who fail to be watchful for our Lord’s return.

¹⁴ Matthew 24:43.

¹⁵ For an example of this arrogance on the part of unbelieving religious leaders, see John 7:45-53.

¹⁶ See Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; 2 Corinthians 3:3.

¹⁷ See, for example, Acts 26:18; Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:9.

¹⁸ See 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 11:1-4, 13-15.

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you [lead you] in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15).¹

Introduction

Some years ago I was speaking at an in-prison seminar in Indiana. The musicians were warming up as the next session was about to begin. A woman – one of the Prison Fellowship volunteers – was sitting close by. She could see me leaning forward, eager to get started. She tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You’re chomping at the bit, aren’t you?” I confessed that I was. I might as well go ahead and confess that I’m “chomping at the bit” now as well. This text is very informative regarding the way in which God has purposed for His church to function. The verses are few, but the implications are immense. So let’s press on to the subject of “Loving Leadership.”

Sanctification and the Second Coming:

The Wider Context of our Text

It has taken a while for me to see the bigger picture (the broader context) of our text, but it now seems clear in my mind. The overall thrust of 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 (the application portion of 1 Thessalonians) is sanctification. Look at the way Paul introduces the subject of sanctification in the final verses of chapter 3, and then sums up his instructions with a prayer for sanctification at the closing of chapter 5:

11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy [sanctify² you completely] and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

In verses 11-13 of chapter 3, the term “sanctify” is not found in any of the major English translations, but that is what Paul is talking about. At the conclusion of his emphasis on application, Paul sums it all up with a prayer for the sanctification of the Thessalonian saints, and now nearly every major translation employs the term “sanctify.” If the introduction and conclusion to a portion of Scripture focus on sanctification, then you can be sure that this must be the main thrust of that text.

Having seen the way the introduction to the larger text (3:11—5:24) emphasizes sanctification, let’s consider some of the subjects dealt with in the text and whether they focus on sanctification in their respective areas of emphasis.

As Paul begins chapter 4, it is clear that sanctification is his emphasis, as he indicates in verse 3:

For this is God’s will: that you become holy [literally, your sanctification³], that you keep away from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Paul’s main emphasis in verses 1-12 of chapter 4 is sanctification and sexual morality. I believe that the last verses of this section (4:9-12) deal with sanctification and social responsibility (love expressed toward others by working hard and not being a burden on them).

That brings us to Paul’s focus on the Second Coming of our Lord in 4:13—5:11. While the term “sanctification” is not found here, I believe that Paul is seeking to motivate Christians to pursue sanctification in the light of the Second Coming. In 4:13-18, Paul indicates that those who have died in Christ before the Second Coming will not miss out on any of the blessings of those believers who are alive at the time of His return. This means that boldly living the Christian life – even if that were to result in a martyr’s death – would not diminish one’s blessings. (Indeed, one might even go so far as to say that the dead in Christ “rise first,” putting them at the proverbial “head of the line.”)

If 4:13-18 compares Christians who have died before the Second Coming with those who remain alive at His return, 5:1-11 compares and contrasts the attitudes and conduct of Christians regarding the Second Coming to unbelievers. I believe that when the New Testament writers address the subject of sanctification, they emphasize (1) that every dimension of one’s life must be transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit, and (2) that the new, sanctified, life of the Christian is radically different than it once was before coming to faith in Jesus. That contrast could not be more clearly stated than what we find in 5:1-11.⁴

If the connection between the Second Coming and sanctification is not clear enough from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, one need only remember these words written by Peter, linking sanctification with the “Day of the Lord” (the Second Coming):

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare. 11 Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, 12 while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze! 13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides. 14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence (2 Peter 3:10-14, emphasis mine).

The connection between sanctification and our text may not be as obvious, but I believe it is there, as I will attempt to demonstrate in this message. Loving leadership is a vital part of the sanctification process. So let’s press on to see how that becomes clear in our text.

The Structure of our Text

Our text contains only four verses, and falls into two parts, as I understand it. Verses 12 and 13 are Paul’s exhortation to the church at Thessalonica to recognize or acknowledge those who have become evident as the leaders of that church. Verse 12 contains Paul’s primary instruction (acknowledge their leaders), while verse 13 follows up with some related exhortation (esteem them highly, and be at peace among yourselves).

Verses 14 and 15 contain Paul’s exhortation to the same people – the congregation – to strive to be better leaders themselves. In verse 14, Paul specifies the areas in which their leadership should develop, and in verse 15, he follows up with his exhortation to the whole church to stand against all expressions of retaliation and revenge, and instead, to pursue what is good for all.

Recognizing Church Leadership
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you [lead you] in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, emphasis mine).

The first question we must answer in our text is this: “When Paul refers to you and them in verses 12 and 13 to whom is he referring?” A bit of background information will help us answer this question with confidence.

1. Formal leadership had not yet been recognized in the church at Thessalonica. Nowhere in this epistle does Paul refer to any elders or deacons – not even in our text. We should remember that Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica earlier than he expected. So far as I can tell, there were no officially recognized leaders in the church at Thessalonica.

2. On the final leg of the First Missionary Journey, Paul and Barnabas sought to appoint elders in the newly planted churches as soon as possible:

When they had appointed elders for them in the various churches, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the protection of the Lord in whom they had believed (Acts 14:23).

3. Both Timothy and Titus were instructed to appoint elders at Ephesus (Timothy) and Cyprus (Titus) under Paul’s authority.

The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you (Titus 1:5; see verses 6-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-13).

It was clearly Paul’s intention for every church he (and others) planted to have designated leaders. In both 1 Timothy and Titus, we can see that one reason for Paul’s sense of urgency was that there were men who were not teaching sound doctrine, but who sought to assert themselves as teachers and leaders in the church.⁵

I believe it is apparent to nearly all that the “you” of verse 12 encompasses the entire congregation of the church at Thessalonica. The “them” (or “those”) of this verse refers to those in the congregation who have emerged as leaders in the church. Their spiritual gifts, maturity, and love for Christ and His body (the church) have prompted them to step forward and assume leadership functions, though not the official title. Difficulties – such as those experienced by the church – would only accelerate this rise to leadership functions.⁶ Paul makes a similar appeal to recognize godly leaders who have emerged within the congregation in 1 Corinthians:

15 Now, brothers and sisters, you know about the household of Stephanus, that as the first converts of Achaia, they devoted themselves to ministry for the saints. I urge you 16 also to submit to people like this, and to everyone who cooperates in the work and labors hard. 17 I was glad about the arrival of Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus because they have supplied the fellowship with you that I lacked. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. So then, recognize people like this (1 Corinthians 16:15-18).

Given what we are told in our text – and from what we learn elsewhere in the New Testament – I believe that we can characterize the leaders who have emerged at Thessalonica in the following ways:

1. The leadership of the church is to be “plural,” not singular.⁷ This is not the top-down leadership of one individual, but leadership by a plurality of those who elsewhere are called elders or overseers.

2. The leadership of the church is to be masculine. The participles which describe the leadership activities of these men are masculine. While this is somewhat inferential here, Paul is very specific on this matter of masculine leadership elsewhere.⁸

3. The leadership of the church is not by an individual known as “the pastor.” Indeed, nowhere in the Bible is this title used for an office in the church. There is the gift of pastor-teacher, and there is the shepherding function, but this function is given to the elders (plural):

28 Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son (Acts 20:28).

1 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: 2 Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:1-3).

4. The leaders of the church which are to be “acknowledged” are those who have already begun to carry out leadership ministries.⁹ It would be one thing to designate a few good men as leaders, and then hope that they functioned well in their new roles. It is quite another thing to identify men who are already leading in the congregation, and to formally recognize that leadership.

5. The leaders of the church at Thessalonica who should be formally recognized are those men who are presently doing three things:

Laboring hard among the saints

Leading (going before) them

Admonishing them

Laboring hard. This word is used for hard, strenuous, work. It is the same word that Paul employs in 1 Timothy 5:17-18:

17 Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. 18 For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker deserves his pay” (1 Timothy 5:17-18, emphasis by underscoring mine).

Paul had certainly been an example of working hard among the Thessalonians:

8 with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil¹⁰ and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God (1 Thessalonians 2:8-9).

Working hard would obey Paul’s instruction, and it would enhance one’s testimony in the church and among unbelievers. We know that false teachers or the spiritually undisciplined were often loafers and parasites:

11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 12 In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline among you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” 11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others. 12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat (2 Thessalonians 3:6-12).

A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12).

Leading. I find the translation of the NET Bible (“presiding over you”) to be too strong, and even contrary to the spirit of Paul’s words. I’m not really enthusiastic about the rendering “are over you”¹¹ or “have charge over you”¹² either. I prefer the rendering of the Holman Christian Standard Bible:

Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you (1 Thessalonians 5:12, CSB).

Paul has just said that a leader should be one who “labors hard among them,” not “over them.” Jesus had much to say about servant leadership,¹³ as did the apostles.¹⁴ The word here is compound and could be literally rendered “to stand before, or in front of.” I believe that this term describes leaders as those who lead others by going before or ahead of others, of setting the example, instilling a vision and the confidence to pursue it, and by being out front, encouraging others to follow behind them. That doesn’t sound like “presiding over” someone, or even “having charge over” someone. I am not denying that leaders have authority over those they lead, only that this is not the emphasis that I see here. I see leadership similarly to the way I view the exercise of spiritual gifts. Leaders lead (and gifted people minister) in a way that not only benefits others, but in a way that inspires others to imitate them.

Admonishing. It is interesting that most of the best known translations employ the same term “admonish.” Only the NASB differs here with the translation, “give you instruction.” This interests me because Paul twice links “instruction” with “admonition” in Colossians:

We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28, emphasis mine).

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting¹⁵ one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16, emphasis mine).

I believe that admonition may involve a measure of instruction, but the emphasis falls upon speech or actions that are either preventative or corrective. Admonition, then, is issuing a warning or a rebuke, with the goal of preventing further damage.

Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears (Acts 20:31, emphasis mine).

I am not writing these things to shame you, but to correct you as my dear children (1 Corinthians 4:14, emphasis mine).

Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:15, emphasis mine).

I believe the Book of Proverbs contains a great deal of admonition. Paul’s epistles are also filled with admonitions. In my opinion, admonition is a vital function in the body of Christ, and yet it is perhaps one of the most neglected areas of ministry. The church is not good at discipline (many churches fail or refuse to exercise church discipline), I believe the church is better at church discipline (dealing with the mess sin has caused) than it is at admonition (keeping the mess from happening). Leaders, Paul tells us, are those who admonish their brothers and sisters for their good, the good of the church, and the glory of God.

How Are Church Leaders “Acknowledged”?

It is fascinating to note all the ways that the rather simple verb “to know” (oida) is rendered in verse 12:

Acknowledge (NET Bible)

Appreciate (NASB)

Respect (ESV, NIV, NRSV)

Give recognition to (CSB)

Recognize (NKJV)

Honor (NLT)

Be considerate to (NJB)

Know (KJV)

I believe that the NET Bible (“acknowledge”), the New King James Version (“recognize”), and the CSB (“give recognition to”) handle the translation of this term best, though the simple “know” of the old King James Version isn’t so bad, either. The others tend to miss the point to one degree or another. Paul is certainly calling for more than mere appreciation and honor, though these are appropriate responses to the godly ministry of church leaders.

Paul is very simply calling for the members of the church at Thessalonica to formally identify and acknowledge that those godly men in the church who are already functioning as leaders be officially designated as such. Some might challenge my understanding of this text and insist that if this is what Paul meant, he should have spoken more clearly, something similar to what we read in Acts 14:23 or Titus 1:5. I think Paul chose the precise wording that we find in our text for good reason. In this instance, Timothy was not instructed to appoint the leaders of the church in Thessalonica. This was something that the Thessalonians themselves were to do. I think that the process may have worked more like what we find in Acts 6, where deacons were appointed. Here, the apostles set forth the qualifications, but the congregation chose the men, and then the apostles ordained or commissioned them:

1 Now in those days, when the disciples were growing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Hebraic Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables. 3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch. 6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them (Acts 6:1-6).

Paul’s wording is rather generic for a very good reason: we should strive to obey the New Testament by following the example of the apostles and the churches. Years ago, a played a small role in helping a startup church appoint its first elders. I taught three lessons on the role and qualifications of elders. During the process of selecting their leaders, one of the men involved said to me, “Doesn’t it bother you that Paul was not more specific about the process that we should use to appoint elders?” “No,” I said, “it doesn’t trouble me; it informs me.” We find that elders were recognized or appointed in several ways in the New Testament. They were appointed directly by men like Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:23); they were appointed by men like Timothy or Titus, who were commissioned by Paul to appoint elders (Titus 1:5); and, they were simply recognized or acknowledged by the church, within the guidelines and qualifications set down by the apostles (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Corinthians 16:15-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). Thus, we have clearly drawn guidelines in Scripture regarding the character qualifications of elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1), we have a description of what elders (and deacons) do, and we have a more general instruction regarding the process by which they are appointed. This means that we are granted a certain flexibility to respond somewhat differently to different conditions.

How Were The Elders of Community Bible Chapel Recognized?

When a group of men began to seriously consider planting another church in the Dallas metroplex, we sought the counsel and encouragement of the elders of the church we were attending. They were very gracious to encourage us, give us godly counsel, and to provide financial assistance until we (shortly) became independent. They even loaned us one of their elders as a transitional elder, and as a liaison with the parent church. A group of interested men met once a week to study the Scriptures regarding how a New Testament church should be organized, and how it should carry on its worship, meetings, and ministry. We knew that it was not only important to be doctrinally and biblically accurate in how we went about starting a new church, but that the church would need to have designated leaders from the outset. We also realized that elders would become evident as time passed, as needs arose, and as certain men rose to the occasion, demonstrating their spiritual gifts and leadership.

With some oversight from our parent church, we designated several men (myself included) as “Provisional Leaders.” These leaders would serve for a term of one year, at which time “Provisional Leaders” would no longer serve in that capacity, and the position would no longer exist. Toward the end of our first year, I began to teach what the Scriptures taught about elders.¹⁶ We then asked the members of our church to nominate those men whom they believed both functioned and qualified as elders. We then evaluated ourselves. Some men withdrew from the process (or declined it initially), and others were encouraged to step aside from consideration. In the end, several elders were “acknowledged” or “recognized” by means of this process.

Over the years, we have sought the number of elders we felt were necessary for a church our size. We believe that we have more men who qualify as elders than what we actually need, and so we do not appoint every individual who qualifies. We seek to have a group of elders who are diverse in age, experience, gift, socio-economic status, culture, and ethnicity, and yet who can and do work together in unity.

When we feel that we need to add an elder or more, we (the existing elders) look throughout our body for the man who best meets our needs. Of course, we look first at those who function as leaders, just as our text indicates and those whom God seems to be “raising up.” We also look at the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. (Often, there may be a deacon whose character, gifts, and servanthood have already been demonstrated in their ministry as a deacon.) We then ask the candidate and his wife to fill out an evaluation, and then ask both to come and discuss the man’s qualifications (including the character of his wife). If this goes well, we ask the candidate’s “ministry group”¹⁷ to evaluate this man as a potential elder. If this goes well, we encourage the entire congregation to fill out an elder evaluation form. Assuming that there are no unexpected problems which arise from these evaluations, we designate the individual as a “Provisional Elder.” Normally, we ask the individual to function with the elders and as an elder for at least six months, as the congregation observes him, at which time we ask the entire church to fill out one final evaluation. When this goes well (as it most often does), we recognize this man as an “elder.” We believe that this process is consistent with the teaching of Scripture regarding the elders of the church. A similar process is employed for deacons.

An Aside: The Relationship of Elders and Deacons at Community Bible Chapel

For those who are relatively new to our church, or who are curious as to the role deacons play in our leadership, let me say a few words about deacons in our church, and how they relate to the elders.

I will never forget how my friend “Dick” distinguished between the elders and the deacons of the church he attended years ago: “The elders do the spiritual work, while the deacons do the dirty work.” That’s what a lot of folks think. They may say it in more pious terms, but the elders are responsible for the spiritual health of the body, while the deacons take care of the “merely” physical dimensions of the church (maintaining the building and grounds, proposing improvements to the physical building, maintaining the church vehicles). That’s not the way we understand the Scriptures at all! We observe first of all that the qualifications for deacons are very similar to the qualifications for elders. One need only compare 1 Timothy 3:1-7 with 1 Timothy 3:8-13 to see this similarity. Why would the qualifications for elders and deacons be so similar if the work of deacons was merely physical?

When we read Acts 6:1-6, we see that the work of these “deacons”¹⁸ was very spiritual in nature, and very important. Thus, the qualifications the apostles set down were very high. We believe that the function of the deacons is to assist the elders in carrying out the task of shepherding the flock. The difference is not to be found in the nature of the ministry (spiritual vs. physical), but rather in the scope and administrative level of the ministry. A vice-president of a company is engaged in the same general work as the president, but he assists the president by carrying out those tasks which the president assigns to him. We believe that our deacons assist us in shepherding the flock, and thus we require that our ministry group co-leaders must meet the qualifications and serve as deacons. In our church, the deacons therefore assist the elders and answer directly to them.

We do not have any board other than the board of elders. We learned long ago not to have two boards: a board of elders and a board of deacons. (Some churches even have a third board – the board of deaconesses.) The reason is that if elders and deacons are engaged in the same basic task, then two boards will have overlapping board responsibilities and will sometimes reach different decisions, and thus be at odds with each other. We abolished the “board of deacons” long ago, and have no regrets. (I might add that I don’t think our deacons regret this, either.)

Now, back to our text, and to verse 13 in particular:
and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves (1 Thessalonians 5:13).

I’m going to stick my neck out here in a way that you might rightly consider speculative – so be warned! Paul chose his words very carefully here (as he always does). The Greek word rendered “esteem” in our text (above) is hegeomai. When you look in a Greek lexicon, this verb has two primary meanings: (1) to lead or guide; and, (2) to think, consider, or regard.¹⁹

Isn’t it interesting – and I am inclined to say significant – that Paul would choose a word that encompasses the idea of leading and of considering, so that we are to “consider our leaders” in a certain way. That really looks like a play on words to me. I think he may have sought to give the Thessalonians pause for some reflection here. I think it is safe to say that when we “consider” or “regard” someone in a certain way, we have ourselves exercised leadership. When we “evaluate” the worth and respectability of others, we do so in a leadership mode. Thus, to “condemn” others could be wrong on two counts: (1) We set ourselves above them when we judge them; and (2) We pass judgment which may be wrong, and which is really God’s business anyway.²⁰

Paul did not merely call for the Thessalonians to submit to their new leaders,²¹ or even to respect them; he instructed them to regard them in the highest possible manner. The NET Bible accurately reflects this with the rendering, “esteem them most highly in love.” Many of the translations simply render “very highly” (NASB, ESV, CSB, NKJV, NRS), but there is a difference, I feel, between “very highly” and “most highly.” Not only is this attitude toward their leaders to be of the greatest magnitude of respect, it is also to be the highest regard “in love.” There are various motivations for respect, one of which could be fear. The motivation for the respect Paul requires is love. This is the highest motivation for following one’s leaders. This applies beyond eldering. This would apply to a wife’s regard for her husband²² and for a child’s respect for its parents.²³

It interesting that here Paul does not instruct his readers to respect their leaders because of their position, but rather because of their work. It seems to me that both aspects are valid. There are those whom God has placed in authority over us that we should respect simply because of their position.²⁴ But we should remember that in the context, Paul has instructed the church to recognize their leaders on the basis of the work they have already been doing among them (verse 12). This is a noble work, a work for which those who engage in it should be honored most highly in love.

The instruction to “be at peace among yourselves” is interesting, and I must say unexpected (at least on my part). From what we have heard from Paul up to this point, things had been going well in the church at Thessalonica. These saints were growing in faith, love, and hope. Why the sudden exhortation to be at peace? I think it is safe to say that unity is something that the church has to work at to protect, preserve, and promote:

1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3, emphasis mine).

1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, 2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose (Philippians 2:1-2).

1 So then, my brothers and sisters, dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends! 2 I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I say also to you, true companion, help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life (Philippians 4:1-3).

The church in Thessalonica was a group of relatively new believers. There was much progress to be made in their spiritual growth and maturity. The church had both Jewish and Gentile believers, and leaders had not yet been formally recognized. In addition to this, the church was suffering persecution. From what we will find in 2 Thessalonians 2, false teaching had also come to the church. All these factors (and more) would open the door to division and disunity. Paul is seeking to preserve and promote the unity of the brethren at Thessalonica.

One other factor may be involved here. In the immediate context, Paul is calling for the church members to officially recognize leaders. One can easily see how this process could be a challenge to their unity as a body of believers. Certain people might be favored over others. Certain people may be more likeable than others. Not every candidate for leadership would be qualified, and some candidates may have desired leadership for the wrong reasons. This was the perfect opportunity for factions to arise. If Paul was writing this epistle from Corinth, he would be very sensitive to the dangers of factions (see 1 Corinthians 1:10-17).

Another Layer of Leadership
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

14 And we urge²⁵ you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15).

The big question here is this: “To whom was Paul referring as ‘you’?” There are those, A. T. Robertson²⁶ among them, who believe that these words are addressed primarily to the leaders referred to in verses 12 and 13 above. Here are the reasons why I believe they are wrong, and that Paul is speaking to the congregation at large.

First, the “you” in verse 14 should be understood to have the same antecedent as the “you” in verse 12. In other words, “you” in verse 14 refers to all the “brothers and sisters” in the church and not just to the leaders. Granted, “brothers and sisters” is an embellishment of the word “brethren,” adapted (rightly or wrongly) to our current culture.²⁷ But even if you render the text more literally (“you brethren”), it is exactly the same two words in verse 14 that we encountered in verse 12. Why would Paul change the antecedent of “you brethren” from the congregation as a whole to just the new leaders without any indication that he has done so? If Paul wanted to change the antecedent of “you (church members)” to “you (leaders),” would he not have made this change clear? A natural reading of the text would assume that Paul is speaking to the same people in verse 14 that he was in verse 12.

Second, the functions that Paul encourages are not just those of elders and deacons. These are functions that the entire congregation is obliged to carry out, to some degree or another:

But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct [admonish]²⁸ one another (Romans 15:14).

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting [admonishing] one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).

Third, the work of the ministry is the work of the body, not primarily the work of the few.

11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature (Ephesians 4:11-13, emphasis mine).

In this Ephesians text, Paul indicates that apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers²⁹ are something like coaches, training and equipping the saints to do the work of ministry. Thus, we should not be surprised to find Paul exhorting the church members in general (and not just the leaders) to assist the elders and deacons in shepherding the flock, under the authority of the elders.

Fourth, the New Testament teaches us that church discipline must be exercised in cases where professing believers refuse to accept admonition and correction, but nowhere is church discipline referred to as the responsibility of the elders. Whoever observes a fellow saint overtaken by a sin is responsible to seek to correct the wayward one.

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:15-20).

1 Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. 2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1-2).³⁰

Paul specifies three kinds of ministry in particular. First, he urges members of the church to “admonish the undisciplined.” The word (neutheteo) rendered “admonish” is the same word we saw in verse 12. The adjective rendered “undisciplined” (ataktos) in the NET Bible and NJB is translated “unruly” in the NASB, NKJV, and KJV. It is translated either “lazy” or “idle” in the ESV, NIV, and CSB. We have a pretty good idea who it is that Paul has in mind here because the adverbial form of this word is employed by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline³¹ among you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” 11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others. 12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing what is right. 14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, emphasis mine).

We can see that the one living an undisciplined life is not living as Paul did, because the apostle labored hard among them with his own hands.³² There were some “freeloaders” among the saints who were not working and who were living off the labor of others. Bluntly put, they were parasites. These were not people who were disabled or in some way not able to work; they were people who chose not to work and to take advantage of their Christian brethren. The “admonition” Paul calls for would first come in the form of a warning and an exhortation, but eventually this would lead to a form of church discipline, as we see in 2 Thessalonians 3.

I believe one should be able to see why both leadership and the church body should admonish those who were undisciplined in this way. The leaders can admonish and exhort the slothful saint, but when church discipline is required, the entire church must agree with and support the discipline process. Thus, the whole church should admonish the one who is headed for trouble.

Second, Paul instructs that we all should comfort or console the discouraged or fainthearted. Literally, the term discouraged means to be “small-souled.”³³ These are folks who have just lost heart, and they need to be comforted in such a way as to encourage and strengthen them. I see the individual in this situation not as a willful sinner, but as someone who needs a caring friend to come alongside (not like Job’s friends!) and comfort them in a time of need. I believe that there are far more of these kinds of people in the church than we would imagine. In many cases, we would not recognize the need unless we were very observant.

Third, Paul tells the Thessalonians to help (literally “cling to” or “take hold of”³⁴) the weak.³⁵ I take it that this could refer both to those who are physically infirmed and to those who are mentally or spiritually in a weakened condition. Such people need those who will uphold them.

Fourth, Paul gives a general command to “be patient toward all.” In Romans 12, when Paul speaks of certain spiritual gifts, he focuses on the attitude with which these gifts are exercised:

8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity;³⁶ if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness (Romans 12:8, emphasis mine).

Certain gifts have inherent temptations. Public gifts, like teaching (preaching) or leading have the inherent danger of pride or arrogance. Other gifts have their own inherent dangers. But a life of service to others has a common problem – impatience. It is easy to get tired of working with imperfect people (not to mention the fact that we, too, are flawed). Even Jesus found working with His disciples and others exasperating:

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, 15 and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to heal him.” 17 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him here to me” (Matthew 17:14-17).

Ministry to those in need is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. There are (or will be) times when you get exasperated with your fellow believers, sometimes because they know the right thing to do but are simply unwilling to do it. Patience is therefore something that is required of every saint who would seek to serve our Lord by serving others. We should not forget that patience is a fruit of the Spirit,³⁷ available to every Christian. Patience is a key to maintaining Christian unity:

1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3).

When we come to verse 15, Paul is still addressing the issue of Christian unity:

See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all (1 Thessalonians 5:15).

I am reminded here of Paul’s words to the saints at Philippi, where Paul exhorted the church to help two sisters live in peace with each other:

1 So then, my brothers and sisters, dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends! 2 I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I say also to you, true companion, help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! 5 Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near! (Philippians 4:1-5)

Then there are Paul’s instructions to the Romans:

16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head. 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:16-21).

Humility puts the interests of others above our own.³⁸ Pride seeks our own interests at the expense of others. Thus, in Romans, Paul plainly calls for humility, because this will lead one to “consider what is good before all people” (verse 18). In our text in 1 Thessalonians 5, I believe that the need for humility is implied (or assumed), but not stated. But the end result is the same: seeking the good of others, rather than seeking to make others pay for the harm we assume they have done to us.

I think we can safely say that our benevolent spirit toward others should flow from the love which we have for them:

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:8-10; see also 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

We might say that love seeks for the corporate good of the body of Christ at the expense of our own agendas. If one’s attitude is right in such matters, one’s actions will flow accordingly, to the benefit and blessing of others.

Conclusion

Our text describes a rather radical concept of leadership. It is not an autocratic, top-down model, but rather a leadership style that promotes the development of leaders at lower levels of authority. The elders of the church are the highest level of leadership. The model which I find here is one of a plurality of elders, but they are not collectively authoritarian or dictatorial. They are humble shepherds, whose leadership style serves as an example to all. They function in such a way as to encourage and facilitate others to assume leadership at lower levels. While our text by itself does not describe church leadership in such detail, I believe that the elders lead at the highest level, supported and assisted by the deacons, who lead at a somewhat lower level. And (here is the radical part) leadership does not stop here. All believers are encouraged to exercise leadership at lower levels of authority. That is why Paul encourages the general congregation to engage in ministries that require, in some measure, leadership.

As I was thinking about this multi-layered form of leadership, it occurred to me that (at least ideally) our country (the United States of America) was designed to function in a similar way. While we have a president, he does not have full and independent authority. Authority is shared between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. There is (if all is working as it should) rule by a plurality. But the federal government does not have complete authority. The states have their own realm of authority, and they are expected to carry out their leadership role as well as the federal government. But in addition to this, we believe in individual authority and responsibility. We should not expect the government (whether federal or state) to do for us what we can and should do for ourselves. If the government usurps or undermines individual authority, then it has ceased to function in its proper role.

I believe that this is the way the church should function. There should be a plurality of elders, ideally reflecting diversity in race, culture, age, spiritual gifts, and socio-economic status. No one (or more) elders should dictate or dominate the others, and as a group, they should not be overly authoritarian. As Peter says, they should humbly and sacrificially shepherd the flock of God as our Lord’s under-shepherds.³⁹ As we know from the Gospels, it took Peter a good while (and some hard knocks) to learn this lesson.

The more I have thought about this kind of leadership, the more convinced I have become that New Testament leadership best encourages the development of leaders. Think about it for a moment in secular terms. Do you think that a dictatorship encourages and facilitates the development of leaders? I can assure you it doesn’t, and for a very simple and obvious reason: dictators do not want to create leaders who could overturn and replace them.

Some churches have a dictatorial leader, who demands allegiance, control (especially of finances and people), and esteem from the congregation. He is accountable to no one, but everyone is accountable to him (or her). Some preachers are unwilling to share “their pulpit” with others. They may claim that it is to assure doctrinal purity (as only he gets it right), but it often has other elements that smack of self-interest. A promising young man may evidence an excellent teaching gift, but an authoritarian leader may perceive this man as a threat (to him personally), rather than as an asset and a blessing to the church (local and beyond).

As an elder at Community Bible Chapel, I would have to confess many personal failures in the leadership role I play, and I’m quite certain that my fellow-elders would say the same for their leadership. But with all of our failings, I believe that we are at least on the right track, leadership-wise. I believe that several biblical practices encourage the development of leaders in our church.

First, the fact that there is no one central leader (other than our Lord} means that no one has an “empire” that needs to be protected. Since I do not control how often I preach, or even who preaches, the pulpit is not my “turf” to promote or protect.⁴⁰

Second, we believe and teach what the Scriptures teach about spiritual gifts.⁴¹ We endeavor to discern spiritual gifts in our body and to maximize their use, both inside and outside our church. We are eager to see men and women grow in the use of their gifts and in ministry (while women may do so in different spheres).

Third, we believe that God has clearly instructed that the church is to be ruled by men, and that women are not to teach or lead men in the church.⁴² This means that the men in our church are not free to sit back and let the ladies do all the work, especially the leading. In the meeting of the church, the men understand that it is their privilege and responsibility to lead us in worship. If they don’t, the women will not rush to our rescue. The prohibition of female leadership over men is the promotion of the leadership of men.

Fourth, the open worship meeting of our church each week provides a setting in which men may learn to lead in spiritual things. Every week our church gathers for worship, instruction, Scripture reading, prayer, singing, and the observance of the Lord’s Table. We begin at 9:00 with some prepared songs, and then a man who has been designated opens the meeting with a greeting, a few introductory comments, perhaps a few words to prepare us for our worship, and from that time on, nothing is pre-planned or orchestrated (except for an offertory) until the time comes to end the meeting at 10:15. The same man who opened the meeting will close the meeting with prayer and by welcoming any visitors. It is not just designated leaders (elders or deacons) who pray and hand out the elements for communion; any man who feels led of the Lord may do so. Over the 34 years that we have met, many men have grown in their leadership through this open worship time.

Let me say just a few more words about the congregation’s responsibility to admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, and help the weak. It is absolutely crucial for the church to grow in its ability to discern where people are in their struggles. What we don’t want is for folks to admonish the weak or to comfort the undisciplined. In truth, sometimes a struggling Christian may be a combination of these needs, and thus may need a combined and concerted effort on the part of a plurality of people who will minister to him or her. I think that you can see how plurality leadership and plurality ministry best serves the needs of the church body. It shows why we cannot hire a few staff workers to meet the needs of our body. It takes the active participation of the whole body to minister to itself in love.

Finally, I want to say that assuming leadership⁴³ is important not only because of biblical ecclesiology (how the Bible says we should do church), but also because of the Second Coming. I have looked at this text in Luke numerous times, but I’ve never really understood it in the light of leadership until now:

41 Then Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” 42 The Lord replied, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work [so doing]⁴⁴ when he returns. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions” (Luke 12:41-44, emphasis mine).

Strangely, the New Jerusalem Bible does perhaps the best job at paraphrasing what the text literally (“doing thus”) says:

41 Peter said, “Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?” 42 The Lord replied, “Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the proper time their allowance of food? 43 Blessed [is] that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that. 44 I tell you truly, he will put him in charge of everything that he owns” (Luke 12:41-44, NJB).

So just what is “exactly that”? To see the answer, we would do well to recognize that Jesus stressed a very close relationship between what the saints do on earth and what they will do in heaven:

20 The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 His master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 The one with the two talents also came and said, ‘Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.’ 23 His master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:20-23, emphasis mine)

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal homes. 10 “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? 12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you your own? (Luke 16:9-12)

This is exactly what we see in our text in Luke 12. There is a correlation between what we do now and what we will do in heaven. What will be do in heaven? We will reign with Him:

6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6; see also 2 Timothy 2:12).

Remember, too, that when God created Adam and Eve and placed them on this earth it was to “rule over” it (Genesis 1:26). Though it is the Perfect Man who will rule over the earth (Psalm 8), those who are His saints will reign with Him.

And so what is it that we should be doing now, which prepares us to rule with Him then? It is to exercise leadership in this life, especially in living the Christian life and in serving others. And so our Lord teaches in Luke 12 that those whom He will “put in charge” (make leaders) in heaven are those who are “doing thus” (exercising leadership in serving others) now. Exercising leadership is not the task of the few (though it is the office of the few). It is the task of the many, and thus we do because we love God, and we love others. And thus we do because it is what we should be doing in the light of the Second Coming.

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

2 “Sanctify” is found in the NASB, ESV, CSB, NIV, NKJV.

3 So NASB, ESV, CSB, NKJV, KJV, NRS.

4 I think I should point out that sanctification is not merely (and not primarily) individual. The exhortation to encourage or comfort one another in 4:18 and 5:11 is addressed to the entire church. We are not merely to be sanctified individually (though this is certainly one aspect of sanctification); we are to grow in purity and holiness as a church. We see this not only in Ephesians 4:11-16, but also in 5:25-27 (also 2 Corinthians 11:1-2).

5 See 1 Timothy 1:3-11; 4:1-16; 6:3-21; 2 Timothy 1:13-15; 2:2, 14-26; 3:1-17; Titus 1:10-16; 3:8-11.

6 See 1 Corinthians 11:19. Others would seek to be regarded for far less noble reasons (se 2 Corinthians 11:12-15).

7 When Paul was at Miletus, he called for the elders (plural) of the church at Ephesus. When Paul greets the Philippian saints, he specifically mentions the overseers (plural) and the deacons (plural). In 1 Timothy 5:17-20, we again find Paul speaking of the elders as a body of leaders, and not merely one leader. (Those who would argue that Paul’s use of the singular in 1 Timothy 3:2 proves otherwise need to consider the specialized use of the singular in Greek more carefully. To say, “A statesman, then, must always treat others with respect,” does not indicate that there is but one statesman.)

8 See 1 Timothy 2:12; 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36.

9 In part, this is indicated by the fact that the three participles which characterize the leadership activities of these men are present participles. Paul uses the present participle to describe what they are currently doing, not what he hopes they will eventually do.

10 The Greek verb rendered “working” (ergazomai) in verse 10 is not the same word (kopiao) that is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:12, but the noun (kopos) here rendered “toil” is from the same root as the verb (kopiao) in our text. Regardless, whether the same word is used in both texts isn’t crucial. The point is the same. Anyone recognized as a leader in the church at Thessalonica should be a hard worker among them.

11 NKJV, NIV, ESV.

12 NASB.

13 See, for example, Matthew 20:25-28.

14 See Philippians 2:1-11, 19-30; 1 Peter 5:1-3.

15 I have no idea why this is rendered “exhorting” rather than “admonishing” (as in virtually all the other major translations).

16 We may have dealt with both elders and deacons at this point in time, but we may have dealt first with elders, and then moved on to deacons. Frankly, after almost 35 years I can’t remember.

17 We have a number of small groups, called “ministry groups,” in our church. Here is where much teaching, sharing, prayer, and shepherding takes place. Ideally, our ministry groups are led by two co-leaders, both of whom are deacons.

18 The noun for “deacon” is not found in this text, but the verb is found in verse 1. Thus, even though these men are not formally identified as “deacons,” I believe that they functioned as deacons. Call them proto-deacons if you please.

19 Here is the way this term is translated in the KJV: chief (1), consider (3), considered (2), considering (1), count (4), counted (1), esteem (1), governor (1), leader (1), leaders (3), leading (1), led (1), regard (5), regarded (1), Ruler (1), thought (2). (From BibleWorks 7)

20 Texts to consider in this light would be Matthew 7:1-2; Romans 14:1-4, 10, 13; James 4:11-12.

21 See 1 Corinthians 16:16; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5.

²² Ephesians 5:33.

²³ Ephesians 6:1-2.

²⁴ See Romans 13:1ff.; 1 Peter 2:13-14.

25 The word “urge” here is the translation of a different Greek word than what is rendered “ask” in verse 12, but I see no substantial difference in meaning or emphasis.

26 I am using the electronic version of A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. At 1 Thessalonians 5:14, you will find his statement: “These disorderly elements try the patience of the leaders. Hold out with them. What a wonderful ideal Paul here holds up for church leaders!”

27 The NASB renders “brethren” literally. Since it is generally (but not always!) understood that “brethren” often refers to both men and women believers, some translations render it “brothers and sisters,” as does the NET Bible.

28 This is the same word (“admonish”) that we find in 1 Thessalonians 5:14.

29 Some see pastors and teachers as separate gifts; I (along with many others) am inclined to see this as one gift.

³⁰ See also 1 Corinthians 5:1-8.

³¹ Here we find the verb form of the same root.

32 1 Thessalonians 2:9.

³³ A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (in BibleWorks 7).

34 See Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13; Titus 1:9.

35 The term “weak” can refer to physical weakness (Mark 14:38; 1Peter 3:7) or to sickness (Luke 10:9; Acts 4:9; 1 Corinthians 11:30). It can also refer to one’s helplessness (Romans 5:6).

36 “Sincerity” is one of the meanings of this word, but another is “simplicity,” which would refer to giving without mixed motives (one of which might be personal gain, especially in the form of praise, or perhaps control).

37 Galatians 5:22.

38 Philippians 2:1-8.

39 1 Peter 5:1-4.

40 The elders as a group determine how often I should preach (usually in percentage terms – like 60% or 75% of the time), and they determine who will be asked to preach, for which I am grateful.

41 It might be good to note that I believe women can possess virtually all the gifts that men are given, although they may be exercised in different contexts.

42 1 Corinthians 11:1-16; 14:33-36; 1 Timothy 2:9-15.

43 I do not mean that all Christians should seek official leadership positions. What I mean is that all Christians need to exercise a measure of leadership in their own personal walk with God and in their ministry to others.

44 Unfortunately, the NET Bible, along with the CSB, NRS, and NLT got it wrong. They put the focus on being at work, when I believe that they are found at work, exercising leadership.

16 Always rejoice,
17 constantly pray,
18 in everything give thanks.
For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not extinguish the Spirit.
20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt.
21 But examine all things;
hold fast to what is good.
22 Stay away from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22).¹

Introduction

When I look at this text, it reminds me of the short list of points Sarah Palin wanted to remember for a television broadcast, and so she wrote them on her left hand. The instructions which Paul sets before us are something like that. They are also like the grocery list that my wife gives me when I go to the store.

One may wonder about the brevity of such a list. Was Paul running out of space on his parchment? Did he need to shorten his sentences to get it all in writing? It has been claimed – if not demonstrated – that the author of a manuscript actually shrinks the size of his writing as he reaches the limits imposed by his manuscript.² We all know how this works, however, for we can remember those birthday or Christmas cards on which we have written “a few additional words.” When we reach the bottom of the card, then we write up one side margin and then down the other. If there is room on the back of the card, we may use this space as well. The smaller the space left to us, the smaller our writing.

I’m not seeking to convince you that Paul was running short on parchment; I’m simply pointing out the nature of the verses that we will be studying today. As we begin this message, allow me to take a few moments to point out some other characteristics of the verses we will consider.

1. The list which Paul gives the Thessalonians contains both do’s and don’ts.

2. These “do’s” and “don’ts” are commands (imperatives), and thus they are not optional.

3. Paul does not seek to give us an explanation for each of these commands. He does not tell us precisely how we are to obey, and he provides only a minimal explanation as to why.

4. There is one short explanation given at the end of verse 18, which I believe applies to all three commands Paul sets forth in verses 16-18.

5. Paul’s commands are given to the church, and not just to individual Christians. Listen to what John R. W. Stott has to say about this:

“At first reading one might not think that this section relates to the nature and conduct of public worship. But there are clear indications that this is primarily what Paul has in mind. To begin with, all the verbs are plural, so that they seem to describe our collective and public, rather than individual and private, Christian duties. The prophesying of verse 20 is obviously public. The holy kiss of verse 26 presupposes a meeting (you cannot kiss people at a distance!). And verse 27 envisages the reading of the letter when ‘all the brothers’ are present. It is this context, then, which suggests that the rejoicing, the praying and the thanksgiving of verses 16-18 (like Eph. 5:19-20 and Col. 3:15-17) are also meant to be expressed when the congregation assembles. Dr. Ralph Martin goes further and considers that these short, sharp commands read like ‘the ‘headings’ of a Church service’.’”³

6. As suggested above, Paul’s commands to the church seem to apply especially to their gathering for instruction and worship. These commands relate to the church’s expressions of faith and worship (output) in verses 16-18, and to its reception of revelation (input) in verses 19-22.

Observations Pertaining to the Context

Our text comes at the end of this epistle, and thus it is a significant part of Paul’s conclusion to the epistle. Paul began this epistle by traveling with them “down memory lane.” He rejoiced over their reception of him, of his colleagues, and of the gospel they brought to Thessalonica, even though this was accompanied by persecution. Knowing that God had chosen these saints to be saved, Paul was confident that He would finish His good work in them. The conduct of the Thessalonian saints was also a great encouragement to Paul, for it demonstrated that God was at work in them.

Paul was also concerned about the impact his absence might have had on those whom he had come to love in Thessalonica. Paul was forced to abruptly leave them, and his repeated efforts to return had thus far been thwarted by Satan. Paul was concerned with how these beloved saints were doing, and so he sent Timothy to minister to them and to discover how they were doing so that he could report this back to Paul. When he returned with a glowing report, Paul and his companions were overjoyed.

Paul was aware that some were concerned about those who died as Christians, perhaps because these new believers had expected the Lord to return very soon, before any of them died. Paul comforted them by informing them that at the Second Coming, our Lord would raise to life those saints who had died, so that they would dwell in our Lord’s presence forever, reunited with their fellow-believers. He also emphasized the need for believers to be alert and active, so that they would not be caught off guard by the Lord’s return. This was especially important since the unbelievers among whom they lived were completely oblivious to the Second Coming and to what it meant for them.

For Paul, the Second Coming was closely tied to the need for sanctification:

9 For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:9-11).

11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. 9 For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing (1 Thessalonians 5:6-11).

Paul’s desire was for the Thessalonian saints to be sanctified, and thus be ready for the return of the Lord Jesus. Their sanctification was to be reflected by some radical changes in their attitudes and actions. Paul taught that sanctification should result in a moral transformation that produces sexual purity in a culture dominated by immorality. Likewise, it should result in a transformed work ethic.⁴ Sanctification should also be evident in their gathering together as a church and in their relationships with one another. They should formally recognize those who were already serving the body as leaders and regard them highly. The saints were instructed to live in peace with one another and to seek the good of others, rather than seeking revenge toward those who have committed some offense against them. This sets the stage for the commands Paul is now about to set forth in our text.

Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Always rejoice,
17 constantly pray,
18 in everything give thanks.
For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

I want to begin by calling your attention to the last sentence above, which provides motivation for obeying each of these three commands, as Gordon Fee points out in his excellent commentary:

“The ‘this’ in Paul’s concluding clause, ‘for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,’ is almost certainly intended to modify all three of the imperatives, not simply the giving of thanks in all circumstances. Paul, after all, did not write in numbered verses! The three imperatives are intentionally similar in structure, all three beginning with a synonymous term for urging ongoing activity on their part: ‘always, continually, at all times.’” ⁵

We can and should rejoice consistently, pray constantly, and give thanks without ceasing, even when things are not going as we might wish. This is because we know that God is sovereign and in complete control of every event, every circumstance, in our lives. We also know that God is good, and He seeks the good of His people. Thus, we can know with certainty that God is using all of our circumstances to bring glory to Himself and to accomplish His good purposes in our lives:

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

So from our text, we find two reasons why we should do these three things: (1) Because God commanded us to do them; and, (2) because God is in complete control of our lives, and our circumstances are His will for us. So now let us look at the three things Paul has commanded us to do.

Always rejoice. We can see that Paul and the Thessalonians have already shown us what rejoicing looks like.⁶ Rejoicing is not just feeling happy; it is expressing delight in God and in what He is doing in our lives and in the lives of others.

What are some of the things for which we can and should rejoice? We can rejoice in the saving work of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We can rejoice because of what God has already done for us, not only in saving us, but in keeping us. We can rejoice in what God is presently doing in our lives, and in what we are certain (because He has promised) He will do in the future. We can rejoice in God’s character. We can rejoice in our suffering. We can rejoice because our sins have been forgiven, our consciences have been cleansed, and our hope in heaven is secure. We can rejoice in the certainty and sufficiency of God’s Word, and in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

While this is not stated in our text, let me suggest some of the implications of rejoicing.

Rejoicing reflects well on God’s glory. John Piper has said it many times: “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.” Rejoicing is the measure of our satisfaction and pleasure in God. This brought to mind a text in the Book of Nehemiah:

1 Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought to me, I took the wine and gave it to the king. Previously I had not been depressed in the king’s presence. 2 So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful (Nehemiah 2:1-2).

Why was Nehemiah fearful for being sad in the king’s presence? Why was being sad in the king’s presence such a bad thing? Men did not dare to be sad in the king’s presence because it reflected badly on the king. If someone was sad in the presence of the king, then it appeared as though the king was somehow failing in some way. Joy in the king’s presence implied that being in the king’s presence was a privilege and a delight, and thus rejoicing in his presence honors him. Christians who rejoice in God’s presence glorify the King of Kings.

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11, ESV).

Rejoicing in all things is instructive to Satan. I am reminded of the discussion between Job and Satan:

8 So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Is it for nothing that Job fears God? 10 Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land. 11 But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!” 12 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, everything he has is in your power. Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord (Job 1:8-12).

Satan believes that the only reason men worship God is that God bribes them to do so by showering them with the good things of life. He believes that if suffering and adversity were to overtake the Christian, they would forsake God (as Job’s wife suggested to him).⁷ Job proved Satan wrong, and Christians do the same when they rejoice in God in the midst of their affliction. Not only does this instruct Satan, it glorifies God, for it reveals that God is worthy of men’s praise because of who He is, not merely because of the gifts He gives.

Rejoicing in all things is instructive to the lost, who do not know God. I am reminded of Paul and Silas in that Philippian prison, having just been unjustly condemned and beaten, contrary to Roman law:

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out loudly, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell down trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:25-30)

Why do you think the prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas? It was because they had never seen or heard anything like this before. These men had been unjustly beaten, and yet they sang hymns of praise to God. No wonder no one fled when the earthquake opened all the prison doors. I believe they wanted to hear what these men had to say. And no wonder the jailer asked what he must do to be saved. It is the Christian’s hope and joy in the Lord which attracts unbelievers to the good news of the gospel. Lost men and women are not looking for “fair weather faith,” but for a faith that stands in the darkest hours of life.

14 But in fact, if you happen to suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them or be shaken. 15 But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess (1 Peter 3:14-15).

Only the gospel of Jesus Christ offers this, and it is the Christian’s privilege and pleasure to demonstrate the worth of God and His salvation by praising Him in the midst of our trials and tribulations.

Pray without ceasing. When we hear the words, “Pray without ceasing,” we immediately begin to think in terms of how we can practice this privately and personally. Let me remind you that this is a collective command, a command to all the believers which is to be carried out publicly and corporately, especially in the church meeting. Unceasing prayer is not non-stop praying; it is, I believe, a constant awareness of God’s presence among us as we meet.⁸ In every part of the meeting of the church, prayer is not only appropriate; it is something that we should strive to do. Our prayers convey our worship, adoration, and praise. They convey the confessions of sin and our pleas for forgiveness. Our prayers communicate our desperate need for God’s help, and our awareness that no one will come to faith in Jesus apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in their life.

Prayer is a part of Paul’s ongoing conversation with God. We see this in Ephesians, where at one moment he is speaking to the Ephesians in his writing, and then suddenly his conversation turns Godward:

13 For this reason I ask you not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named. 16 I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, 18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:13-19).

The need for prayer is evident in the Thessalonian epistles, such as we are about to see in verses 23 and 24 of 1 Thessalonians 5. Since sanctification is ultimately the work of God (a work in which we must participate), Paul prays for God to do His work in the lives of the saints. And let us not fail to observe that Paul not only recognizes the need for him to pray for the church; he also is fully aware of his need for the prayers of the church (1 Thessalonians 5:25). The apostles appointed godly men to oversee the care and feeding of the widows because they saw that their priority was “prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). The most powerful preaching will nearly always⁹ be accompanied by prayer.

Give thanks in all things. Before you conclude that we are to “give thanks in all things,” but not “for all things,” let me remind you of Paul’s words to the Ephesian saints:

always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father (Ephesians 5:20, NASB, emphasis mine).

Once again we must see that we can give thanks for all things because of God’s character. He is not only good, He is sovereign (He is great). Therefore, all things have come to us from God, and He will cause them to work together for our good and for His glory (Romans 8:28). In the midst of uncertain times, the Christian can give thanks, knowing what He has promised us in the future, and knowing that He is with us in the present:

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:23-26, NASB).

We can give thanks in the midst of our suffering because it draws us closer to our Lord, enabling us to better identify with our Lord in His suffering:

10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11).

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God – given to me for you – in order to complete the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints (Colossians 1:24-26).

As we prepare to move beyond verses 16-18, allow me to call your attention to the God-centeredness of these verses. When we rejoice, ultimately we “rejoice in the Lord”:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

When we pray, it is to God. When we give thanks, it is to the Lord. These commands that Paul has given us are designed to keep the church “God-centered” in its gatherings. Of course, this applies to individual saints as well. How quickly we lose this focus.

About Prophecy
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

19 Do not extinguish the Spirit.
20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt.
21 But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.
22 Stay away from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22).

Whether or not we should expect and experience prophecy in the church today is a matter of debate among evangelical Christians. I do not wish to “weigh in” on this issue. So let me simply set forth my thinking very briefly, and then leave this matter alone.

1. Those evangelical Christians who believe that prophecy is for today are emphatic that any contemporary prophecy is subordinate to (and not equal with) the revealed Word of God which we hold in our hands – the Bible. I heartily agree that the Scriptures are supreme.

2. Personally, I believe that we dare not seek to define “prophecy” today in any way that differs from the definition of prophecy that we find in the Bible, Old Testament and New. This includes the foundational texts in Deuteronomy 13 and 18. I strongly disagree with those who say that the “prophecy” of today is different from that which we find in the Bible.

3. Whether or not we believe “prophecy” is for today, we should all be able to agree that it was for Paul’s day. This was relatively early in the history of the church. A number of New Testament books were yet to be written, and those that were written may not have been available to all. Thus, prophets played an important role in the early New Testament church.¹⁰ That is why Paul demonstrated the superiority of prophecy to tongues, unless the tongues-speaking was interpreted.¹¹

4. In Paul’s absence, God may have raised up one or more prophets to minister to the Thessalonians. Paul realizes that God could speak to the Thessalonians through others than just himself.

5. Paul also assumed that there would be false prophets and teachers, and thus all “prophecies” must be tested. It is clear that he expected some alleged prophecies to fail the test.¹²

6. Paul assumed that when the church gathered for worship, it would take place in an “open” format, where the men¹³ (led by the Spirit) would somewhat spontaneously lead the church in worship. This is assumed in 1 Corinthians 14, as we can see clearly in verses 26-40:

26 What should you do then, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If someone speaks in a tongue, it should be two, or at the most three, one after the other, and someone must interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, he should be silent in the church. Let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak and the others should evaluate what is said. 30 And if someone sitting down receives a revelation, the person who is speaking should conclude. 31 For you can all prophesy one after another, so all can learn and be encouraged. 32 Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 33 for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says. 35 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Did the word of God begin with you, or did it come to you alone? 37 If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, he should acknowledge that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. 38 If someone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So then, brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid anyone from speaking in tongues. 40 And do everything in a decent and orderly manner (1 Corinthians 14:26-40).

This open participation certainly contributes to the discovery of spiritual gifts and the development of leadership in the church, but it also provides the opportunity for someone to teach (or claim to reveal) something contrary to Scripture. I believe this is why Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 are so important. They facilitate and encourage open worship, and yet they encourage the church at large to be more discerning about what is shared. Thus, the church is protected by its elders, who are well versed in sound doctrine, and also the congregation, who is also tasked with discerning what is shared in the open meeting. Consider four simple guidelines which Paul sets forth in verses 19-22.

Don’t resist the Spirit’s ministry by despising prophetic revelations. I understand verses 19 and 20 to be saying the same thing. Verse 19 addresses the matter in general, focusing on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church meeting, while verse 20 is more specific when it speaks of despising prophetic utterances. The church should not suppress the ministry of the Holy Spirit when it gathers (verse 19). And now, more directly to the point, the church should not seek to suppress the Spirit’s ministry by despising prophecies (such as those Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 14). One does not forbid all teaching just because there are false teachers.

Paul’s words may have been a real “revelation” (pardon the pun) to some Thessalonian believers. They may have observed some alleged “prophecies” that really missed the mark, and they may have sought to prevent further instances by simply prohibiting any prophetic revelations from being shared in the church gathering. Paul may have shocked some by saying that doing this was to resist the Spirit’s ministry in the church.

Don’t believe everything that you hear. Paul rejects the suppression of the Spirit’s work in the church and instead instructs the church to develop biblical and doctrinal discernment. False teachers often speak with great confidence and dogmatism, sometimes claiming divine revelation, but that doesn’t make their teaching true to God’s Word.¹⁴ It is clear that one of the responsibilities of the elders of the church is to proclaim the truth and to correct false teaching,¹⁵ but this is no excuse for personal laziness and irresponsibility. Remember that in Acts, the Bereans were held out to us as an example for all to follow, not just the church leaders:

10 The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea at once, during the night. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 These Jews were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so (Acts 17:10-11).¹⁶

Discern the truth and cling to it. So, the Thessalonians are instructed to examine everything, and to “hold fast” or “cling to” what is true. On what basis would the Thessalonians “examine” or “test” that which is presented as divine revelation? The first test would be its conformity to what God has clearly revealed in His Word. For the Thessalonians, that would include the Old Testament Scriptures, Paul’s epistle(s), and whatever other New Testament writings or revelations they could consult, including the teaching of Jesus.¹⁷ For Christians today, the Scriptures would be the complete Bible. For example, there would be the two tests of Deuteronomy 13 and 18. If a prophet said that something was going to happen, but it did not, he (or she) was not a true prophet (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Also, if what a prophet foretells does come true, but this leads people away from serving God alone, then this person is also a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). Other tests would include a “high” view of the person and work of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:3; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7), and conformity to the gospel as defined and proclaimed by Paul and the apostles (Galatians 1:6-10). From Jesus’ words and those of Peter (2 Peter) and Jude, we would also know a false prophet by his fruits.¹⁸

Discern error and reject it. You may not immediately recognize this statement as the meaning of Paul’s words in verse 22:

Stay away from every form¹⁹ of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

On the surface, it may seem as though Paul has moved on to a new subject in verse 22, warning the Thessalonian saints about evil in any and all of its many forms. While this would certainly be a valid instruction, it does not appear to be Paul’s intent here in this context. He has instructed the Thessalonians not to resist the Holy Spirit by rejecting out of hand any and all forms of prophetic revelation. Then he follows up with a corresponding exhortation to examine every alleged prophetic revelation. Revelations which have proven to be genuine should be embraced, but what of those which have failed the test? That is what I believe Paul is dealing with in verse 22. His answer: “Reject any form of evil.”

One reason why I understand verse 22 to be the flip side of verse 21 is Paul’s careful choice of words. When Paul writes that the Thessalonians should “examine all things” and “hold fast to what is good,” the Greek word translated “hold fast” is katecho. In verse 22, when he writes that the Thessalonians are to “stay away from every form of evil,” the word he uses is apecho. Paul is using this play on words²⁰ to contrast the embracing of the good with the rejecting of what is evil.

Why does Paul refer to false prophecy as “evil”? I believe there are two reasons. First, because he is contrasting what is “good” in verse 21 with what is not good (“evil”) in verse 22. And second, because that is precisely what false prophecy is. False prophecy is not only untrue (false), it is also unhealthy and dangerous (“evil”). When we get to 2 Thessalonians 2, we shall see how false prophecy can be dangerous and detrimental to spiritual health. “Any form of” alerts us to the fact that error comes in various shapes and sizes. Some is blatant and thus more readily apparent. Other forms are more subtle. Anything that does not pass the stringent tests of truth should be cast aside.

Conclusion

Our text may not be lengthy, but it has much to say to Christians today. Let me suggest some areas of application as we conclude this lesson.

About Prophecy
(And Any Other Authoritative Claims)

1. Personally, I do not believe prophecies to be essential for the church today in the same way that they were in Paul’s day. God has spoken fully and finally in His Son.²¹ We have the complete Bible, including the entire New Testament; thus the Scriptures are not only inerrant, but sufficient for our every spiritual need. Saints in that day had much less. Both Paul and Peter seem to say that the Scriptures we now possess are absolutely sufficient. ²²

2. Having said this, I believe that we should not be too quick to set aside the command of Paul in our text regarding prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Paul’s instructions assume that prophecies will be made, and that some of them will be false. His solution is not to forbid prophecies, but to examine them, so as to approve what is good and to reject what is not.

3. If there were to be prophecy today or in the future, I would expect – no, I would insist – that it be defined and practiced as the Bible defines it and prescribes its practice. Here is where I depart from some highly respected evangelical scholars, who would have us believe that prophecy today is not the prophecy of Deuteronomy 13 and 18, or even the prophecy we find in the New Testament. Until God changes the definition of prophecy and the ground rules for dealing with it, I cannot set these biblical standards aside.

4. No statement or teaching that is claimed to be prophetic revelation should ever be considered on a par with Scripture or superior to it; at best, it will always be subordinate to it. No contemporary “prophecy” could ever set aside or modify the clear teaching of the Scriptures.²³ On this point, I believe there would be agreement among all conservative evangelical Christians.

5. What Paul says here applies beyond prophecy. It would apply, I believe, to any authoritative statements related to Christian doctrine or practice. There are those who twist the Scriptures in their attempt to teach false doctrine²⁴ and thus to gain a following.²⁵ There are also those who try to add weight to their own leanings by claiming that “the Lord told them” to do or to say a certain thing. Paul’s words about examining prophecy apply to any individual’s teaching of Scripture, to well-meaning advice, and to the guidance of others. Let me just say parenthetically here that some of the worst, most unbiblical, counsel I have ever heard comes from well-meaning friends, many of whom profess to know and serve our Lord. Some of the best counsel I have received about “counsel” comes from the Book of James:

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical. 18 And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace (James 3:13-18).

Insight as to How We Should Function as a Church

Paul’s instructions regarding prophecies assume a form of meeting and worshipping that is foreign to most congregations, and yet this is the kind of worship which the New Testament portrays as typical.²⁶

26 What should you do then, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If someone speaks in a tongue, it should be two, or at the most three, one after the other, and someone must interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, he should be silent in the church. Let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak and the others should evaluate what is said. 30 And if someone sitting down receives a revelation, the person who is speaking should conclude. 31 For you can all prophesy one after another, so all can learn and be encouraged. 32 Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 33 for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace (1 Corinthians 14:26-33a).

From what Paul says here (and there is no text that contradicts this one), there was a great deal of spontaneous participation in the church meeting. There were guiding principles, however. Among these would be the following:

No more than two or three prophets could speak (the same for tongues speakers – 1 Corinthians 14:27, 29)

Tongues must not be spoken publicly without interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:27-28)

What is done must be edifying to the church (rather than simply exalting the participant), and everything must be done in an orderly manner (1 Corinthians14:26, 30-33, 40).

Women are not allowed to lead (men) in the gathering of the church (1 Corinthians 14:33-38; 1 Timothy 2:9-15).

This form of worship was (and continues to be) a joyful time of teaching, worship, observing the Lord’s Table, fellowship, and prayer.²⁷ The Spirit of God spoke to the church through men in a variety of ways. There was a kind of spontaneity in the church meeting which was not scripted, but was Spirit led. What a contrast such a gathering is when compared to the highly structured, top-down gatherings which we see so frequently today. Gathering for open worship provided greater freedom and replaced rote repetition and boredom with a sense of expectation. It also encouraged the discovery and development of spiritual gifts, and the development of spiritual leadership among the men, young and old.

There was one possible downside. Such freedom opened the door for those who might (innocently or malevolently) introduce something not true to the Scriptures. A man might simply mis-speak, and another might intentionally seek to lead the church astray.²⁸ Paul’s solution to this was not to suppress the Holy Spirit by prohibiting spontaneous participation, but rather to bring all believers to maturity so that they would discern what is false.

11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. 14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. 15 But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love (Ephesians 4:11-16, emphasis mine).

It is vitally important to have godly leaders, whose responsibility it is to proclaim and defend sound doctrine.²⁹ But beyond this, every believer is to study God’s Word, know sound doctrine, and be able to recognize false teaching. This is vitally important because there are times when an elder may go astray, as we see toward the end of Acts 20. It is also important when the church is under persecution because the leaders may be arrested or killed, leaving the congregation to themselves.

I want to be very careful here not to give ground to Postmodernism. I am not saying that every member is to discern his or her own truth, as though there is not one truth. I am saying that there is but one truth – God’s truth – and it is found in the Word of God. Every believer should know God’s Word and should thus be able to discern between false teaching and that which is true.

Let me take just a moment to explain how the elders have determined to deal with error which is taught in the church meeting.³⁰ This is a time when we want to encourage fairly broad participation, and we especially want to encourage leadership in the younger men of our body (among other things, to perpetuate leadership in the future). If every blunder or misstatement were corrected, that would be the end of the participation of the easily intimidated. Because our body is knowledgeable in the Scriptures, we know that simple misstatements are recognized as such, and so we don’t feel compelled to make a big issue of such things. Often in the course of the meeting, one of the men (not necessarily an elder) will gently correct the misstatement and nothing more will be said. Some statements are followed up later with a phone call or a private conversation. As a rule, only serious error would be dealt with on the spot, and this would usually be by an elder. I should also say that we strongly discourage debating our differences in non-fundamental areas of doctrine (like eschatology, the doctrine of future things). Paul’s words in Romans 14:1—15:5 are clear on this point.

Frankly, this passage should be a bit disturbing to many of you, because it places a lot more responsibility on you. Many people find it easier and more comfortable to let others assume all the leadership and ministry, while they sit back, happy to pay the bill (by giving to the church). In Ephesians 4:12, Paul tells us that the work of ministry is the work of the body. Now, Paul adds to this that spiritual discernment is also a responsibility of the congregation as a whole (as well as its leaders). We dare not sit back and expect others to take up our responsibilities. When our Lord comes, let Him find us doing our job!

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

2 I recall this from seminary days – quite a while ago – but when I looked in preparation for this message, I could not find an example to share with you.

3 John R. W. Stott, The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991), p. 124.

4 For a dramatic example of this, see Ephesians 4:28.

⁵ Gordon D. Fee, The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), p. 215.

⁶ See 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:19; 3:9-10; also see Philippians 1:18; 2:17-18, 28; 3:1; 4:4, 10.

7 Job 2:9.

8 Although this is not the primary meaning of Matthew 18:20, I believe that it is true of God’s presence among His people when they gather in His name.

9 Jonah’s prayerless preaching being the only exception that comes to mind, and even he prayed while in the belly of the fish.

10 See, for example, Acts 11:27; 13:1; 15:32; 21:9-10; 1 Corinthians 11:4-5; 12:10, 28-29.

11 See 1 Corinthians 14:1-25.

12 See Acts 20:28-32; 1 Corinthians 14:29; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Timothy 3:1—4:5.

13 See 1 Timothy 2:9-15; 1 Corinthians 14:33-38.

14 See 1 Timothy 1:7; 2 Peter 2:10, 18-19; Colossians 2:18.

15 Acts 20:28-32; Titus 1:5-16; see also 2 Timothy 2-3.

16 The Lord’s words to some of the seven churches indicate that God holds the entire church responsible for holding to the truth, and for discerning and removing error (see Revelation 2:2, 14-16, 20, 24).

17 Matthew 28:20; 2 John 9.

18 See Matthew 7:15-23; 2 Peter; Jude.

19 Some of us will remember that the word used here in the KJV is “appearance.”

20 Repeating the root echo, but with different (opposite) prefixes.

21 Hebrews 1:1-3; 2:1-3.

22 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4, 16-21.

23 See Paul’s emphatic words in Galatians 1:8-9.

24 2 Peter 3:14-18.

25 Acts 20:28-32.

26 Since I am quoting from Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians, what I have said before bears repeating here and now. Anyone who tries to set Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians aside (claiming that Corinth is a special place with unique problems, and thus unique instruction from Paul) is simply not paying attention to what Paul clearly says in 1 Corinthians 4:16-17; 11:16; 14:33-38. Biblical truth is universally true, and thus what Paul teaches the Corinthians is for us, and not just for them.

²⁷ See also Acts 2:42.

28 See Jude 1:11-13.

29 See Titus 1:5-16.

30 By “church meeting,” I refer to the 1¼ hour long gathering of our church for music and singing, Scripture reading, teaching and exhortation, sharing prayer requests and testimonies, and (always, each week) observing the Lord’s Table. After a break (during which there is Sunday School and often an adult elective class), there is systematic exposition of the Word. I do this about 75% of the time, while other men in our body (and trustworthy men invited from without) preach the other 25% of the time.

23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.

25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us too.

26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.

27 I call on you solemnly in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (1 Thessalonians 5:23-28).

Introduction

One’s final words are often important. I decided to look on the Internet to see if I could find some interesting final words. Here are a few that I found on one interesting website:¹

Churchill:
English Statesman and co-conspirator of the selling out of Eastern Europe at Yalta to Russia & Communism, together with fellow Freemasons Roosevelt and Stalin, who wrote in his autobiography: “I could have prevented the war!” (W.W. II) He said at his death bed: “What a fool I have been!”

William Somerset Maugham:

British author, died in 1965: “Dying is a very dull and dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.”

James Rodges

Murderer, on being asked for a final request before a firing squad:

“Why, yes! A bulletproof vest. . . .”

Gen. John Sedgewick:

Union commander in the American Civil War, shot at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in 1864 while looking over a parapet at the enemy lines: “They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . .”

Paul’s words in our text are not his dying words, but they are the concluding words to his First Epistle to the Thessalonians. These words are significant because they make it clear to the reader just what 1 Thessalonians was all about. Many people will look at the final chapter of a book to decide whether it is one they really want to read. If the last chapter is not inviting, they will set the book down and replace it with another. Paul’s final words are both inviting and challenging, and they remind us of what it was that motivated him to write this epistle to the Thessalonian saints.

One might be tempted to think that Paul is sort of “winding down” in these last verses, but I believe that just the opposite is true. In verse 27 (the next to the last verse of this epistle), Paul issues a command by using the strongest possible language, stronger than any language he has used up to this point in this epistle. What he has to say to these saints (and to us) is obviously important to Paul, and so it should be important to us as well. Let us listen well, then, to what God is saying to us through Paul’s final words in 1 Thessalonians.

Sanctification
1 Thessalonians 5:23-25

23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this. 25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us too (1 Thessalonians 5:23-25, emphasis mine).

Is Paul a trichotomist? This is the subject of a rather substantial debate among some Christians. Some would say that Paul’s words provide us with the key to understanding the nature of man – that he has three essential parts: body, soul,² and spirit. I have some objections to this view, and the debate that still continues related to it.

First, this debate (no matter which side one takes) distracts our attention from the purpose of Paul’s words. Paul did not write these words with the primary goal of telling us the key to understanding the nature of man. He wrote them to express the importance of our sanctification, especially as it relates to the Second Coming of our Lord.

Second, Paul’s words here are not the words we would normally expect to find in the Scriptures. Here are some of the most frequent expressions found in the Bible related to man’s nature:

·         Heart, soul, might (Deuteronomy 6:5)

·         Heart and soul (Deuteronomy 10:12; 11:13, etc.)

·         Heart, soul, mind (Matthew 22:37)

·         Heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)

·         Soul and body (Psalm 31:9; Isaiah 10:18; Matthew 10:28)

·         Soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12; Job 7:11; Isaiah 26:9).

Suffice it to say that there is no standard way of referring to the nature of man. Frankly, there is no agreement as to the definitions of the terms “soul” and “spirit.” In Hebrews 4:12, the writer indicates that the distinction between “soul” and “spirit” is so difficult that only God’s Word can divide the two. I am therefore inclined to think of man in terms of his material and immaterial dimensions.

Third, I believe the key to understanding verse 23 is to be found elsewhere:

Now may the God of peace himself

make you completely holy

and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (emphasis mine).

Let’s begin by focusing on Paul’s reference to “the God of peace.” This is a fairly common expression, found elsewhere in Romans 15:33; 16:20; Philippians 4:9; and Hebrews 13:20. The Greek term for “peace” (eirene) is the word that would normally translate the Hebrew word shalom. The word shalom is most often translated “peace” but it conveys a kind of “wholeness” or “completeness.”³ Being at peace is thus being complete, lacking nothing.⁴ Paul prays to the “God of completeness” to sanctify the Thessalonian saints.

The sanctification for which Paul prays is further described in terms of completeness by the two parallel statements which follow in verse 23.

(That God will. . .)

Make you completely holy

and

May your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless. . . .”

As I understand Paul, the second (longer) parallel statement spells out or explains what being “completely holy” means in the previous statement. Being “completely holy” means being blameless in every aspect of one’s being. Paul thus employs three of the terms commonly employed (in one combination or another – usually another) for one’s being: body, soul, and spirit. This is consistent with the conclusion reached by Gordon Fee:

“To make this clear he expresses that ‘wholeness’ by referring to some ways of understanding the individual ‘parts’ that make up the human person: ‘spirit, soul, and body.’ Unfortunately, what Paul most likely intended simply as a way of throwing the net wide in terms of being human has generated an enormous amount of energy and literature, not to mention theological groupings. But this was most likely a somewhat off-handed moment in Paul. Indeed, it is highly doubtful whether he was trying to be precise, or even whether he himself could easily distinguish between ‘spirit’ and ‘soul.’ His concern is with the adjective-turned-adverb ‘in entirely’; and to make that point he includes the terms that he uses elsewhere to speak of the human person.”⁵

And so Paul is praying here, asking God to sanctify the Thessalonian saints completely. While these believers need to cooperate with God’s work in them, Paul makes it clear that in the final analysis sanctification, like salvation, is the work of God. This is consistent with what Paul writes elsewhere:

For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, 13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God (Philippians 2:12-13).

Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him (Colossians 2:6).

Knowing that sanctification is ultimately God’s work, and that He will complete this work, motivates the Christian to pursue sanctification, for it is God’s will and work.

Note finally from verse 23 that Paul links sanctification with the Second Coming. The goal of sanctification is to prepare a “bride” for the Lord Jesus who has been purified and prepared for His coming:

1 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:1-2).

25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, 27 so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27).

This is why Paul looks forward to the Second Coming of our Lord with great anticipation and joy. He will see these saints, purified and sanctified, prepared to meet their Lord:

18 For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul, in fact tried again and again) but Satan thwarted us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:18-20)

11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

He who calls⁶ you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Note first of all that, knowing sanctification is God’s work, Paul is certain (as the Thessalonians should be) that God will complete this work in them. Also note that Paul links salvation (one’s calling) to his sanctification. That is because one’s election, calling, and sanctification is God’s work, a work that He will complete. That is the force of Paul’s words in Romans 8:

28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

Salvation, sanctification, and glorification are God’s work from beginning to the end. As Paul puts it,

35 Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:35-37).

Brothers and sisters, pray for us too (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

Let me first call your attention to the word “too” in verse 25. You will find it in the NET Bible as well as in the CSB (“also”). The other major translations omit this word. This is because some Greek manuscripts include the word “also” (kai) and others do not. I am inclined to agree with the NET Bible here, not only because of the textual evidence, but also because of the context. I believe that the word “too” precisely conveys the point Paul is seeking to make here. Does Paul pray for the sanctification of the Thessalonian saints? Yes. We know that he does because we have just read his prayer in verses 23 and 24. The point Paul now makes is that he and his colleagues need the prayers of the Thessalonians just as much as they need his.

Note also that Paul does not narrow his request for prayer to a particular problem, challenge, or opportunity. He asks for prayer in general. Now in the context we would assume that this must certainly include prayer for their ongoing sanctification. But as we see elsewhere, Paul and his associates are weak human beings (“clay pots” – 2 Corinthians 4:7), who are just as dependent upon God as we are. God even gave Paul a special reminder of his weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Pucker Up? The Dilemma of the Holy Kiss
1 Thessalonians 5:26

Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss (1 Thessalonians 5:26).

We should begin by noting that this is a command, not a suggestion. More than that, it is a command that Paul repeats, and one with which Peter concurs:

All the brothers and sisters send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss (1 Corinthians 16:20).

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you (2 Corinthians 13:12).

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you (Romans 16:16).

Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ (1 Peter 5:14).

We should further note that the “kiss” to which Paul refers is not just any kiss – much less a “Hollywood kiss” – it is a “holy kiss.”⁷ Thus, it is not the kind of romantic kiss that a husband would give his wife. It is more like a grandmotherly kiss that grandma gives a 16 year-old grandson, or like a mother gives her 8 year-old son when she drops him off for school. In my travels abroad, I have observed what I call the “missed me” kiss. It is the kind of kiss that a woman in the church might give to a male believer that she knows and respects. It is more like a quick brushing against each cheek, with an “air kiss.” There’s no romance conveyed by such a kiss. Peter calls the “holy kiss” a “kiss of love” (1 Peter 5:14).

It is important for us to consider why Paul (and Peter) would make the “holy kiss” an obligation for all believers. I believe that Paul’s previous statements in this letter, as well as his choice of words here, give us some very significant clues to the answer. Several times Paul has mentioned the persecution he and his associates and these saints have endured on account of the gospel.⁸ This command to greet with a holy kiss is a command addressed to all believers, without exception. I am reminded of just who Paul includes in this “all” as I read these words in Galatians:

26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-28).

Paul has already pointed out that these (predominately Gentile⁹) believers at Thessalonica have found through the persecution they have suffered a kinship with their Jewish brethren in Judea.¹⁰ In dealing with the saints in Rome, Paul sought to promote unity and harmony among those brethren who strongly differed regarding their personal convictions. And here is what he said to them by way of application:

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God (Romans 15:7, NAU; emphasis mine).

Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God's glory (Romans 15:7, NET Bible; emphasis mine).

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:7, ESV; emphasis mine).

The way in which these Roman believers greeted one another was to be symbolic of their unity as believers in Jesus. I believe that the instruction to “greet all the brothers with a holy kiss” is significant in this same regard. There is to be no discrimination in the way believers greet. Keep this in mind as you read these words in James:

1 My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, 3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? 4 If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? (James 2:1-4)

Such greetings did not serve to unite the body of believers, but divided them.

The “holy kiss” is (according to Peter) a “kiss of love.” The “holy kiss” is a symbol of the love and unity that every believer has with all who believe in Jesus. Thus, in a day when Christians were targeted for persecution by unbelievers, they should greet one another in a way that symbolized their unity and solidarity as believers. This way of understanding Paul’s words implies that his instruction is not to be restricted to the way Christians greet one another when they come to church. Christians are also to show their unity with all other believers publicly, when they meet on the street or in the market place. If unbelievers are to know we are Christians “by our love,”¹¹ then this makes all kinds of sense.

The “kiss of love” not only served to unify the church and to express that unity to others; it also served to set the church apart from the world. The “holy kiss” was a public act which conveyed that they “stood together” with all their brothers and sisters in Christ, and that the church “stood apart” from the world. That may not sound very significant to those of us who live in a country where we still have religious freedom, but it makes a lot of sense to those who may be arrested or persecuted for associating with Christians. After all, why do you think Peter denied knowing Jesus at the time He was standing trial for His life? The “holy kiss” is not to be taken lightly by the saints, and it won’t be taken lightly by those who hate our Lord and His church. I might parenthetically add that understanding the significance of a holy kiss also helps us grasp the wickedness of that most “unholy” kiss that Judas gave our Lord, identifying Him as the one the soldiers should arrest.¹²

So, does this mean that we should all “pucker up” and start kissing one another? I know of a number of places in the world where this is a common practice among Christians. (In some places, it is a sort of “missed me” kiss, or an “air kiss” where actual contact with the lips does not occur. It is sort of a brushing of cheeks, with a kiss that doesn’t connect.) In many places where a greeting involves some form of a kiss, it is often done only between members of the same sex. In our church, there are several men who greet with a holy kiss, and after the initial shock (years ago), I have come to greatly appreciate it.

I believe that this command is to be obeyed, like all of the commands of our Lord.¹³ For those who find this awkward or uncomfortable, I would make a few suggestions. First, let it be done between believers of the same sex. This is certainly a good starting point, and for some, it might end here. Second, let it be the kind of kiss which has no sexual connotations when exchanged with one of the opposite sex. Thirdly, if you find that any kind of kiss is too difficult to deal with, then find some other symbolic way of greeting folks which conveys both love and unity in Christ. Personally, I’m not sure a “holy handshake” is sufficient, because this is done casually between folks who are not closely bound together in a common faith in Jesus. It is, however, better than nothing.

Paul’s Strongest Words
1 Thessalonians 5:27

I call on you solemnly in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters (1 Thessalonians 5:27).

This is hardly the place to be looking for Paul’s strongest words, but here they are. They are translated differently as you can see for yourself:

“I adjure you by the Lord” (NASB, emphasis mine).

“I call on you solemnly in the Lord” (NET Bible, emphasis mine).

“I put you under oath before the Lord” (ESV, emphasis mine).

“I charge you by the Lord” (CSB, emphasis mine).

We also gain a sense of the intensity of the Greek word (enorkizo) variously rendered above by looking at how it is used in these New Testament texts:

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him. 7 Then he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God – do not torment me!” (Mark 5:6-7, emphasis mine)

11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches” (Acts 19:11-13, emphasis mine).

62 So the high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 63 But Jesus was silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:62-63, emphasis mine).

I know of no stronger way of stating Paul’s command to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters than the words Paul has chosen here in verse 27. The question must be asked, “Why is this so important to Paul that he would speak with such strong language?” I believe that we are expected to understand several things that help to explain the intensity of Paul’s command.

First, we need to bear in mind that there were no printing presses in Paul’s day. I have a good many Bibles within my reach here in my study. I have the Bible in leather bound, hardback, and electronic forms, and in a variety of translations. In Paul’s day, they did not have computers, electronic devices, or even printing presses. Manuscripts were hand copied. If you wanted to read God’s Word, you either had to be rich enough to purchase your own manuscript,¹⁴ or you needed to go to the synagogue or church and listen to God’s Word being read aloud.¹⁵ If Paul’s letter was not read to the entire church, how would the saints have known its contents?

Second, we need to understand the implications of illiteracy. Let’s suppose that a disturbingly large percentage of the world’s population is illiterate. If they are to hear God’s Word, that is exactly what must happen – they must hear it read to them. I am confident that there would have been some in the church at Thessalonica who were illiterate. Reading this letter to the church when it gathered would enable the illiterate to hear what God was saying to His people through this epistle.

Third, Paul’s strong words underscore the fact that He understood (and communicated) how important God’s Word is for His people. This cannot only be seen from this text, but from other Scriptures as well:

Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching (1 Timothy 4:13).

16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account (Hebrews 4:12-13).

1 So get rid of all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 And yearn like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation (1 Peter 2:1-2).

2 May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord! 3 I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. 4 Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire (2 Peter 1:2-4).

16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return of our Lord Jesus Christ; no, we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted.” 18 When this voice was conveyed from heaven, we ourselves heard it, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 Moreover, we possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. You do well if you pay attention to this as you would to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, 21 for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:16-21).

Paul’s words in our text reveal the importance of God’s Word in the lives of His children. Paul’s command was to assure that the Word of God (as contained in this epistle) was made available to all the Thessalonians. The availability of God’s Word is a problem for a large number of people alive today. Some do not have the Bible in a language they know. Others live where possessing a copy of the Bible may be illegal or where Bibles are kept away from those who wish to read God’s Word.

The availability of God’s Word is not a problem in North America, Europe, and many other places in this world. The problem is getting people to read the Bible that is sitting on the shelf in front of them or on the table beside their bed. If this one epistle was so important that Paul needed to speak as strongly as he did to assure that every saint in Thessalonica heard it, what do you think Paul would say to us about reading the Bible that we have in our hands? We need to value God’s Word as much as Paul did, and then faithfully study it and live it.

Grace to You
1 Thessalonians 5:28

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

It would be easy for us to pass by this final verse (not unlike the way we ignore the greeting of this and other epistles) without giving it much notice. Those familiar with the letters circulated in Paul’s day tell us that Paul (and the other apostles) follow a pretty normal pattern of introducing and concluding their epistles. But we dare not allow this knowledge to dampen our appreciation for the way Paul begins and ends his epistles, particularly this one.

A friend and I were recently discussing a particular ministry that we both support. We were trying to characterize that ministry in as few words as possible. It occurred to me that there was one word that really captured the essence of the ministry. That word was grace. I was reminded of our Lord’s instructions to His disciples when He sent them out to minister in His name:

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

Because the word rendered “freely” here means “without cost,” some of the translations have made that very clear in their rendering of this verse:

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay” (Matthew 10:8, ESV).

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, drive out demons. You have received free of charge; give free of charge” (Matthew 10:8).

Our Lord is saying that because our salvation is by grace – God’s free gift of salvation apart from our works – then our ministry should be characterized by this same grace.¹⁶

Some of us may fail to appreciate the freedom and liberty of grace. Those who have come out of a works-based religion best grasp the glorious nature of grace. Virtually every religion apart from biblical Christianity is based upon man’s performance – his works or contribution to his salvation. These Thessalonians must have felt goose bumps on their skin with the mere mention of the word grace – something they had never known until they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel message is a message of grace, as opposed to works:

9:30 What shall we say then? – that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 31 but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, “Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble and a rock that will make them fall, yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. 2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth. 3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Romans 9:30-10:11).

8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

4 But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).¹⁷

I remember preaching in another church years ago. An older woman came up to me after the message, beaming with joy. She said something like this, “I love it; it’s all of grace.” And so it is. Salvation and sanctification are the result of God’s marvelous grace, showered upon us bountifully in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and in the provision of the Holy Spirit. No wonder Jesus could offer those legalists who were (in the words of a country music song) “workin’ like the devil, servin’ the Lord.”

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Conclusion

As we leave the Book of 1 Thessalonians, let us pause for a moment to reflect on some of the major areas of emphasis that we have seen.

Salvation is the result of divine election and is ultimately the work of God (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5). Here is the basis for our security.

Sanctification is the goal of our salvation. We were saved to become holy, and thus prepared for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sanctification is a life-long process that involves the purification of every part of our humanity (see 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; 4:1-12).

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the “finish line” for people of faith in Jesus. It is also a shocking surprise for those who are lost.¹⁸ Christians should eagerly anticipate and watch for the Second Coming. It is then that the dead in Christ will be resurrected, to be eternally united with Christ and with fellow believers. The wicked do not see the end coming, and continue to live in a sort of “drunken” state of self-indulgence, feeling secure in their sin, because they believe that judgment is not coming.¹⁹

Suffering for the sake of Christ is part of the normal Christian life. Paul and his associates suffered in bringing the gospel to Thessalonica.²⁰ They taught the Thessalonians that trusting in Jesus would bring persecution.²¹ Thus, the Thessalonian saints became kindred spirits with the Jewish brethren in Judea, because they both suffered persecution at the hands of their kinsmen.²²

God has designed the church and designated its functions in a way that best equips it to withstand persecution and opposition in this life and also to prepare Christians for the glory of God’s presence for all eternity. Multiple levels of (plural) church leadership and the decentralization of ministry (one-another ministry) best promotes sanctification and perseverance in the midst of opposition and persecution.

The Scriptures are essential for the spiritual health and growth of the church.²³

Grace is the great common denominator of the Christian life. Our salvation and sanctification are, in the end, God’s work. It is a work in which we participate; it is not a work in which we predominate. Our works are the result of His work.

I trust that you have become a part of the community of believers (the church) through faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done on your behalf. Put in Pauline terms, I pray that you have turned to God from those things (idols) in which you have trusted for eternal life. Jesus Christ bore our sins and the punishment we deserve, and He offers His righteousness to all who will trust in Him.

Copyright © 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited manuscript of Lesson 10 in the series Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh on August 29, 2010. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.

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¹ http://users.belgacom.net/gc674645/grave/lastword.htm

² A friend of mine reminded me that this trichotomist (man has three parts) view provides the occasion for some psychologists and psychiatrists to find a dimension of man which fits into their model of counseling.

³ Strong’s definition of peace: “<07965> shalom (1022d) Meaning: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace,” (BibleWorks 7.0).

⁴ See James 1:4.

⁵ Gordon D. Fee, The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), pp. 227-228.

⁶ I should call attention to the fact that “the one who calls” is a present tense participle. Paul is not merely pointing to God’s calling as a work in the past, but is speaking of it in an ongoing way.

⁷ We would do well to keep Paul’s words in 4:3-8 in mind here. In no way would Paul be suggesting the kind of kiss which would incline one toward sexual immorality.

⁸ See 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:2, 14-16; 3:3-4, 7. The matter will arise again in 2 Thessalonians 1.

⁹ 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10.

¹⁰ 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16.

¹¹ John 13:35.

¹² See Luke 22:47-48.

¹³ See Matthew 28:20.

¹⁴ See Acts 8:26-28.

¹⁵ See Luke 4:16-21.

¹⁶ This is not the time to explore the depths of Matthew 10:8, but let me caution those who are looking for a “free ride” at the expense of others. In this same text, Jesus tells His disciples not to take extra provisions because those who have been the recipients of grace should respond graciously as well, caring for the instruments of God’s grace to them. Something similar is being taught in 2 Thessalonians 3.

¹⁷ I should point out that Ephesians 2:10 and Titus 3:8 go on to emphasize the importance of good works, not as our part in obtaining salvation, but as an outgrowth of the salvation we have received by grace alone.

¹⁸ See 1 Thessalonians 4:13—5:11.

¹⁹ See 2 Thessalonians 5:2-4; also 2 Peter 3:3-4ff.

²⁰ 1 Thessalonians 2:2.

²¹ 1 Thessalonians 3:4.

²² 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16.

²³ 1 Thessalonians 5:27.

The manuscript version of this article is unavailable. This is a lightly edited transcript of Bob Deffinbaugh’s preached message (available in the related media). Appreciation for the transcription work goes to Marilyn Fine.

II Thessalonians 1:1-4

Good morning. This is lesson 11 in our study. It is the first lesson that we are endeavoring to deal with II Thessalonians. I already have a confession to you. As you know, I am known to change not only titles but lengths of passages. People have encouraged me to slow down and I have. So, we will be dealing with verses 1-4 rather than verses 1-12 this morning.

If you see on your screen a couple of pictures taken a few years ago, as you will in just a second, we made a trip to Alaska with Bill and Marilyn McRae. That was one of our happy stops and I am sure some of you have done the same. Then, there is a shot there, I think, of the mountains that everybody who has been on cruise has seen. It is a wonderful thing. It is for us probably the trip of a lifetime and, undoubtedly, we will probably never do it again. I will tell you one thing it is not reality. A cruise ship is not reality, folks. If you have not gotten that down, then you better come to terms with it.

One year later, we went on our vacation and went to Washington State and it was within days that my father had a major stroke. Then, I spent more than a week sitting at his side in the hospital. I have to tell you that is closer to reality than a cruise ship. I know it is wonderful to have all those people around who pick up after you. You do not have to take your trays anywhere. They would almost feed you if you let them. But, that is not real. I want to tell you something else. It is not even a picture of heaven. It is not really what heaven will be like. We will not be sitting down with everybody serving us. As I understand heaven, heaven is a place where we will be delightfully serving God. So, all I am saying is, join us. Take your cruise. Just do not let it warp your life, folks. Accept it for what it is in terms of the exception to what life is like.

I think many Christians in America view the Christian life as a cruise. I think that we, because of our circumstances, because of our affluence, because of the ease of life that we have had, have been on a cruise. I have to tell you that it takes a book like I or II Thessalonians to wake me up to the reality of what real Christian living is like.

Now, I do not begrudge the fact that we have not been living under persecution, but I am simply telling you it is not the norm. Many people around the world, when they would read I and II Thessalonians and when they would read of the adversity and the persecution and the suffering, they would nod their heads because they know what it means. They have experienced it in their life. We read this like we are reading a book about a foreign land. It just really does not resonate the way it would to certain people. So, when we come to the book of II Thessalonians, I really want to press that button. We need a reality check and Thessalonians does it for us. It tells us what the real world is like and it probably tells us what our future is like— perhaps in the near term.

So, let us look at some of the things. I might as well tell you right now about this message. I cut it in half this morning. That was for starters. I took my Power Point and stopped it at halfway through the Power Point presentation. The reason is I had a choice to make.

Now, if I were in India, people would be rebuking me for stopping when I will this morning. In fact, I have been rebuked for preaching too short a message. Brothers would say to me, “Listen, these people drove for two hours to get here. They did not come for a 40-minute message.” People here, you know, hit 40 minutes and they are looking at their watch and thinking about the roast in the oven and they are just all itchy. A good sermon takes two hours. I am convinced, and I have never been convinced otherwise. So the difficulty that I have is how do you get away with that? In America, it is very, very difficult to pull it off. My way of preaching is to try to connect dots. Other people in their preaching may do their work and come to their conclusions. Then they basically just give you the conclusions and do not show you the process. That does not seem right to me. It seems to me that preaching ought to tell people how to study God’s Word and not just give all the results. Everybody ought to become a better student.

If you listen to preaching long enough, hopefully if you listen to mine long enough, you will say “you know that guy is not so good” –Well, you knew that early on, but— “he is not so good. If I studied that long and studied that way, I would come up with the same stuff.” That is exactly the way it ought to be.

My dilemma is that when you take a message like this it takes a certain amount of time to deal with the details, to show the particular dots, and then to follow those dots in terms of “here is the argument of the author.” Then say, “this is the message that Paul has.” Then look at other texts and illustrate it or exemplify it and then say “here is where that takes us. Here is the kind of application that ought to flow from that.” You cannot do it in 40 minutes. So, you have a dilemma to face.

The way I have faced this text was that I was ready early this morning. I was ready to say, “all right, I am going to connect the dots this week and next week I will get to the point of saying what is the impact when Paul has us walk away from this text. Besides just connecting the dots and having some intellectual things take place, how does he want this message to hit us between the eyes? How does he want us to emotionally connect with this message? How does he want us to think differently and act differently because of this message?” Usually what I do is I hustle my way through the text and then I am short on time. Then I crunch up the application. That is not probably ideal. Thus, this morning I have not found the solution other than this: I decided it would be better to take a short text of scripture and to deal more with the impact of that text than it would be to take a longer portion of scripture and somehow stretch out the application. So bear with me. I confess to you, folks, that is my way of resolving the preacher’s problem. You will have to tell me whether it worked or not.

Now let us look at the question. Is II Thessalonians a rerun? Did you ever notice some of those TV programs? it seems like they have 10 programs and they replay them about four times a piece all through the year. So, one of the things you want to do is look and say “is this the first time I have seen this or is this fourth time…and I am not going to look at it again.” When you start with II Thessalonians 1, you almost feel like you are reading I Thessalonians 1 all over again. Don’t you? You say to yourself “whoa, is this a rerun?” I would like to suggest to you that it is not. Let us just review for a moment where we have come from in I Thessalonians and also Acts 17 (which is the account of the birth of the church at Thessalonica).

You remember that this was the second missionary journey. Paul and Timothy and Silvanus were there traveling. Remember also the dilemma in Acts 16 of the Philippian jail and the persecution and suffering Paul bore there. Then, the jailer came to faith. Paul left and eventually ended up in Thessalonica preaching in the synagogue. A number of people came to faith and a number did not— and hardened against the gospel. That led to persecution and Paul had to be suddenly escorted out of town, leaving the church and not yet being able to return to it.

The Thessalonians, as he describes in I Thessalonians 1, received the message from Paul and his associates with great joy. He told them they would suffer. They did suffer, but in the midst of that affliction they, nevertheless, rejoiced because of the salvation they had in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul reminds them of his conduct amongst them.

One manner of conduct was that he labored hard in their midst— which will play a lot in terms of II Thessalonians 3 when he talks to the freeloaders that are there in the church. Paul worked hard. He was, he said, like a father to them in instruction. He was like a mother, as well, in the gentleness with which he dealt with them.

He also says in Chapter 2 that these Gentile believers have a new bond. It is a bond with their Judean Jewish brothers and sisters who have faced persecution from those who do not want the gospel preached to Gentiles. So, here are Gentiles who are now in kinship with believing Jews because of this persecution they both had in receiving persecution from their own brethren.

Paul wanted to return to Thessalonica. He wanted to discern how they were doing. He wanted to teach things that he had not yet taught them. But, that was not possible and Paul tells us the reason is that Satan had thwarted those efforts to return up to that point in time. Because of his concern, because of his awareness of the tribulation and persecution that the Thessalonians had endured, Paul decided that he would send Timothy. He would have Timothy go up and see how the church was doing and bring the report back. You remember that in I Thessalonians, Paul joyfully responds with his associates to the news that the church is doing well. The work, the effort, the sacrifice have not been for naught. It has been successful and they are thriving and continuing to grow in their walk with the Lord Jesus. Paul prays that they would continue to do that.

In Chapter 4, Paul moves into his section on sanctification and he says that they ought to be living (and we, too) very different lives. So, he talks about sanctification in this very immoral city, in the area of sexual morality. That is what sanctification will look like in this dimension of their life. It is a new kind of sexual morality.

Then, he also talks about the social ethic, if you would. Those who have been sanctified are those who begin to contribute to, as it were, their environment, their society— not take from it. This is a bit of a variation of the theme from Ephesians 4:28,

“The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.”

There is a sense in which a lazy person is stealing money from others— if he lives off their effort and has the ability to provide for himself. So, he deals with that issue and then he moves to the whole matter of the second coming in 1 Thessalonians 4:13. In 4:13-18, he is dealing with the second coming as it relates to dead Christians. Some have already died, apparently, in Thessalonica. They expected the return of the Lord to come soon. So, when people began to die and the Lord had not come, the issue was “what becomes of those people?” “Are they somehow second class citizens?” “Are they left out of the blessings that will come when our Lord returns?” His answer is no. Actually, they are first in line. When our Lord returns, He will raise those who are dead in Him to new life and they will be rejoined— they will be joined I should say— with our Lord Jesus Christ and they will be rejoined with their fellow believers. Then they will live forever in the presence of our Lord.

When you come to 1 Thessaloninas 5:1-11, now you are talking about the second coming as it relates to those saints who are alive at the time or may be alive at the time of our Lord’s return. At least they are alive now. They are not those who have died, but those who are living. He says those saints ought to be watchful. They ought not to be like unbelievers who are drunken, who are living in darkness, who have a false sense of security that all is going well and the judgment will not befall them. Christians ought to be watchful and waiting for the time of our Lord’s return and eagerly anticipating it so that it does not catch them off guard. Then, the rest of Chapter 5 has to do with his final instructions of appointing leadership— as I understand it, formally acknowledging leadership, stepping up to the plate and being leaders in their own right as individuals. Then there are the concluding instructions that are given to the church--rejoice, pray without ceasing, and so on. So, that is I Thessalonians.

What is new when we come to II Thessalonians? Why the need for a second epistle? I think you can assume that everything was not going blissfully well. It would be like I Corinthians as it relates to II Corinthians, would it not? Paul wrote I Corinthians. He said there were certain problems, divisions. “I am of Paul.” “I am of Apollos.” There was immorality and Christians taking each other to court. That first letter had some effect, but it did not totally deal with all the problems. So, II Corinthians comes along and you have to say there is a little more teeth in II Corinthians than I Corinthians. Paul calls some of those who have been gathering a following after themselves, “false apostles,” “messengers of Satan” and so on. Now it is clear that there are people there within the church who are unbelievers and leading saints astray.

What has changed in II Thessalonians? We really do not know how much time has passed, but, obviously, enough time for Paul to have a feel for things. It seems to me that Timothy made several trips. I am not quite sure, but I think he was kind of huffing and puffing in the sense that he had to make the trip in Chapter 1, where he went to find out about the saints, and he came back with a report. That is trip one. I take it that he is probably the one who takes I Thessalonians to them and returns again. So, you have Timothy going back and forth and Paul getting information and intelligence about that. One of the things that I think we see is the whole area of persecution. It seems to me, and this is somewhat inferential, we would say at least for certain it has not ceased and it certainly does not appear to have diminished. My sense is that persecution against the church and believers has intensified over time, not lessened. Now, that raises some questions. If you were listening to certain television preachers today and you were suffering in the way these Thessalonians saints were suffering, or if you had Job’s friends sitting at your side, they would be saying to you that something must be wrong. God wants His people to be happy and prosperous and everything to be going well. What is wrong with your spiritual life? If these Thessalonian saints are enduring this persecution, they may begin to ask themselves “is there something wrong with me? Is there something wrong with this picture? Why does this continue? This does not look like heaven!” And, of course, it does not.

II Thessalonians 1, I believe, is Paul’s addressing this in a way that he has not yet done. Frankly, it is what he deals with in the most core verses that we are saving for next week. In verses 5-10, what he is going to say is you need to understand your present persecution in the light of the second coming because your persecution is directly related to the second coming of Christ and its results.

I am going to cheat and tell you a little bit to think about before next week. In the first place, your persecution at the hand of other people is the evidence that judgment is going to come. Judgment needs to come and judgment is just upon those who are persecuting saints. Their present persecution shows that unbelievers are not just neutrally passive. They will actually begin to be abusive to Christians and, for that, our Lord is going to come and deal with them and repay to them what they have done.

Now, we live in an era of political correctness and all the politeness and “niceyness” and whatever. I have got to tell you, folks, when push comes to shove and real difficulty comes, you will find that there will be a bonding of true believers together. Some falling off at that point will occur as Jesus says in Matthew 24, but a bonding of true believers will happen. There will be a stepping aside of unbelievers. I want to tell you that unbelievers at that point in time will not be your friends. They will be your enemies and they will be actively and aggressively bringing about persecution. So, I see unbelief and persecution being persecutors as being closely tied together in II Thessalonians 1.

There is good news for the believer in that God is not only going to give them relief from their suffering, He is going to bring justice to them (Revelation 16). Remember it talks about how the judgment of God is poured out upon the earth and they praised God and they say they deserve it. There is a sense in which the Christian is relieved and, in a sense, it feels right that justice has finally been done.

Listen, if there was not a hell, there are a lot of wrongs in this world that would never have been made right. What Paul is talking about is when Christ comes again, things will be made right. That ought to be good news to the Christian. The other side of it is that when our Lord comes, He is going to come to be with His saints and to be glorified in and among His saints. That is good news, as well. So, the second coming is brought to bear on a suffering, persecuted church. That is why you have Chapter 1 devoted, I believe, to the whole issue of persecution as it relates to the second coming.

Secondly, because Paul has already spoken a great deal about the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (Would you not agree in Chapter 1? I think eight times it is referred to there.) something has changed. What has changed is that people, certain ones, have come along and they have come along with a modification of his teaching. Now, it is interesting, (remember he talked about not despising prophetic utterances) when Paul comes to describe what he does about the second coming, it may be that somebody says they have a revelation from God— that the day of the Lord has already come. It may be that somebody claims “I received an epistle from Paul and he said the day of the Lord has come.” Or somebody else just has Paul’s words about that in I Thessalonians and says “I know how that is supposed to be interpreted.” The end game is there were people saying the day of the Lord had come. So, Chapter 2 is addressing that area of false teaching pertaining to the day of the Lord and what has been done with it and how Paul will show that it, indeed, is false.

Thirdly, Paul has made it clear in I Thessalonians that he has worked hard in their midst. He has made it clear to them in Chapter 4 that they also ought to be working hard and, in a sense, being self-sustaining. He is not rebuking people who are unable to care for themselves, unable to work, he is talking to those who are able to work but unwilling to work. In that sense they were going along, hitching themselves to the support of other believers, in a way that really is not right. Apparently, his words did not go far enough because now in II Thessalonians 3, he has to come back to that issue. He has to say, in effect, the church needs to take a form of discipline in dealing with those people. They need to feel the bite of Paul’s rebuke and understand that what they are doing is wrong. So, things have changed between I Thessalonians and II Thessalonians. As I understand it then, we need to look at those subjects in the light of what he has already said and what has transpired in the interim between I and II Thessalonians.

So, let us look at verses 1-4 in Paul’s greeting, thanksgiving, and boasting. Notice some changes. Even though the words are similar to what we find in I Thessalonians 1 and following, notice the changes in his words in his greeting. In I Thessalonians, Paul was clear to give thanks for their salvation, for their perseverance and endurance in the midst of persecution, but he is also very clear to exhort them to grow even more. He does that in Chapter 4 and he prays for the Thessalonians that God would bring about growth and progress. In particular we could say he wants them to grow in the areas of faith, love and hope that they would continue to abound in these ways.

What is interesting is when you come to II Thessalonians 1, he is now praising God and giving thanks for the fact that they have progressed and they have grown. If you can put it on short terms, Paul is giving evidence to the fact that his prayers have been answered, at least in part. God has already been working in the Thessalonians and the reports that he has received affirm the fact that these believers, in the midst of all their difficulties, are continuing to grow. That is, indeed, good news.

You also see that in I Thessalonians, he praises God, but when you look at the same basic subject in II Thessalonians, he adds an element. We ought, we are obligated, he says, to praise God and this is rightly so— our text says. So, now there is this element of the need or necessity to do so. Why would that be? Well, we have already seen that they have grown. We know that their growth is the work of God working in the lives of the Thessalonians and so it is only right to acknowledge and to praise God for what He has done in the lives of these people. So, there is the necessity, I think, of knowing the lives of people, seeing that God is moving them along, and I think when we read what Paul says, we tend to put Paul in this separate capacity and say, well, he is an apostle. He is responsible for that. Now, we need to bear in mind that when Paul is talking here about how the Thessalonians have progressed, this is his secondary missionary journey. There are a number of other churches where Paul has been; some that he has started. So, what Paul is saying and doing here is not just true of the Thessalonica church, it is true of churches where he has been, it is true of churches where he has not yet been, like the church in Rome. Paul is one who feels an obligation to know how the saints are doing in various churches in various parts of the world. I would suggest to you we as Christians are isolationists. I understand the political kind of isolationism that says we cannot be the world’s policemen and blah, blah, blah, and we could go down that trail for a long way. Set that one aside. The question is, are Christians to be isolationists which regard to fellow believers in their own church and to fellow believers around the world? Do we have an obligation to know about the persecuted church? Do we have an obligation to know that our brothers and sisters are facing certain difficulties? Do we have an obligation like Paul did to pray for them and their spiritual growth? Do we have an obligation to know how it is going in their lives and to praise God for those who are standing fast? I contend we do. I contend we do and we are not doing very well at it. We are not doing very well at knowing how brothers and sisters are doing in their faith. I will come back to that in a little bit because it has something to do with the way in which we do church or ecclesiology.

Fourthly, in I Thessalonians, do you remember he says that these Thessalonians have embraced the gospel and are in the midst of their tribulation. Tet their faith is thriving and they are rejoicing. Paul says “where we go, the places that I go, I hear reports about you. They tell me about you so that I do not have to tell them about you, they already know.” He says, therefore, there was no need (I Thessalonians), no need for me to tell them about you.

In II Thessalonians, he says it is only right I ought not only to know, I ought to share what is going on in your church, your Thessalonican church. I ought to share that with others. So, why the change? Why the change between I do not need to then share it and I ought to share it? I would suggest it is this. How Christians do in their spiritual walk impacts other believers. How Christians are doing in their spiritual walk, in particular when they are living under duress, has a great deal to do with how others will respond to it.

Two examples: first of all, Psalm 73. Remember Asaph is psalmist is looking around and he is moaning and groaning about how the bad guys are living so well and how he is doing so poorly. Then he says, in effect, you know, that I really began to wonder whether I should just chuck it all. He says my feet were near to slipping. Then he makes this statement, “if I” (and I think the essence of it--this is a paraphrase) I think the essence of what he says is “if I had gone public with the thoughts and temptations in my mind; that is, to just give up. If I had done that, I would have betrayed this generation of your children.” He says to God, “If I would have failed in the midst of what I considered my adversity, my failure would have impacted other believers and that would have been a terrible sin, would it not?”

So, there is this whole matter and I think that is why when you look at Paul in Philippians 2 where he has already talked about the humility of our Lord Jesus Christ and then he basically says it is my privilege, as it were, to be...he talks about the sort of libation, the drink offering that is poured over the sacrifice, and maybe that makes sense to us or not...but, let us just say Paul is saying, “I get to be the icing on your cake.” The icing on Paul’s cake, so to speak, is to be able to sacrifice himself for their growth so that others will be benefitted.

Now, go with me to Philippians 1 in your mind. Paul is in prison. His outcome is uncertain. The word of his imprisonment has drifted out amongst the believers. Some believers have sought to capitalize on Paul’s persecution and say, in effect, “see, God must not be pleased with Paul. He is not being blessed. He is being punished.” Paul said, “I don’t care. They are still preaching Christ. I’ll take the heat.” Then, he goes on to say, “other people because of my experience and my endurance in the gospel have been greatly encouraged and emboldened in their faith.” So, it seems to me that Paul finds it necessary to boast because it praises God and, secondly, because it encourages the saints who are facing similar circumstances. Or, if you will, it encourages them to maintain their steadfastness in terms of their walk with God.

So, how should Paul’s words affect us? I think I may rearrange my order here and I am going to deal with persecution first. The reality is life is not a cruise. We know this is true when we read I and II Thessalonians, when we read Paul in Acts 14:22 “through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God,” or II Timothy 3:2, “All who would live Godly lives will suffer persecution.”

Friend, the norm of Christian living is to take the heat for being a Christian and you and I have not even begun to experience what that means. But, there are people today who literally are meeting in places in the darkness and whatever because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They will be meeting in places and in ways we cannot conceive of. A few years ago, there was a family from Romania that was in our body and somebody had come from Romania that was a visitor. I happened to be standing with them when they got together and they had not seen each other for years since they had been together in Romania. They said to each other, “Do you remember the last time we were in church? Do you remember the secret police were standing out in front and they were taking our names.” Have we ever, ever seen anything like that?

We need to understand the reality is that persecution is the norm. I believe, and I think most of you sense, it is coming our way, folks. It is coming our way because unbelief in Jesus is just a kissing cousin to persecuting those who do believe. It is just going to come and it is going to come more strongly, I fear, I sense, than we have ever known. Yet, that persecution is a blessing. It is part of God’s work in our lives to sanctify us. It is part of God’s work to show that certain people are worthy of condemnation and other people are worthy of the kingdom, not in the sense that their works have done that, but that God’s work through them has shown them to have the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Eschatology. That is a fancy five-dollar seminary word for prophecy and things to come. I have a confession to make and it is Thessalonians that has really put me to the wall on this. I really have kind of a negative fetish about prophecy. I will tell you for several reasons: (1) I am sick and tired of seeing evangelicals throw rocks at each other and deal with each other like they were heretics because they do not have the same exact view of how the end is going to come. I am tired of that and I really do not want to get onboard that whole train. But, having said that, when I come to Thessalonians, do you notice that virtually everything Paul is talking about is related to the second coming? He relates persecution to the second coming. He relates sanctification to the second coming. What that says is...in fact, when I started reading again in Paul’s other epistles, it is all pointing forward. Even that word, “calling,” and I am going to get to that later because it is not here, but calling, if I see it correctly, has its past tense, “we have been called.” There is a sense in which the present tense verbiage use, “he calls,” and I think then in Philippians he talks about the “upward call.” I think that everything in the calling of our Lord is pointing us forward so that, in a sense, the finish line is the second coming. Whenever you are reading in Hebrews about the race (whatever it is), the finish line is the second coming. The goal is that we would be found faithful. Is that not true? So, in that sense you may not need to be rebuked. I do. That is, the second coming and prophecy is vitally important to our spiritual lives. Not all the nitpicky little details and arguments, but the grand picture is there. It is put before us over and over again. We better get, in that sense, we better get a prophetic mindset that everything we are doing now we ought to see in the light of what God is doing in the future.

Prayer. Wow, you know, I read Paul’s epistles and he is praying all the time. He is praying for their growth. He is praising God for how they are doing. He is really informed. Now, you look, he does not have Twitter or Tweet. Whatever he has, he does not have any of the stuff. It takes months for letters to get from one place to another. He knows far more about the believers in any one city than we know about the believer sitting next to us. That ought to say something to us, should it not? Paul is saying to me, at least, I need to be sensitive to my brother and sister in this body and outside of this body— how they are doing and whether they are growing. If they are growing, I need to be praising God. If they are under duress, I need to be praying and petitioning that God would be working. Here is another thing. Paul not only prays for people, he tells them he is praying for them. How many times, I must ask myself, how many times have I come up to one of you and said, “You know what? I have been praying for you and here is what it is. Boy, that can get spooky sometimes, I might add. Sometimes people are praying for the wrong things and, thank goodness, God does not have to hear it. But, most of us ought to be saying things like, you know, I am praising God for the way in which you have responded to this adversity in your life. I know that these are difficult times. I am praying that God would give you faith and courage and boldness in that situation. I want you to know I am praying for you. As Paul says, I am praying for you all the time, not once a month he gets to them on the list. Constantly praying for them.

Well, I saved the best part for last. Ecclesiology. How we do church. I believe that the way in which we do church is vital. I would say that in many churches, not all, in many churches their ecclesiology is built on the cruise ship model. You have a shopping mall in a cruise ship (at least ours did). You have 15 jillion different places to eat. You have all of these wonderful choices and it is just sort of a warm and fuzzy kind of thing. Everybody is taking care of you— cruise ship mentality. I was thinking about during the hurricane as Earl was beginning to barrel down on the East Coast and I noticed in the news an article, a note, that said that they have redirected 15 cruise ships, or whatever it was, some number and I suspect there is a batch of them out there, but they are all heading from the storm. Suppose that we are not a cruise ship but a Coast Guard ship. See, you have to build that ship a little differently, would you not? Would the model for a Coast Guard ship not be different, I suspect, you would not have a swimming pool on the deck and, you know, all 15,000 restaurants and whatever. You are probably going to build that ship to handle rough seas. I must confess it is getting away from the rescue ship. I am thinking is the church a cruise ship or a battleship. Is the church a cruise ship or a battleship? I fear that the way in which we are tempted to go is the cruise ship mentality and that our cruise ship offers more restaurants and shopping malls than yours does. I just have to say to you I do not think it works that way.

I will say this. The way the New Testament Church was to operate is the only way I know of that works everywhere in the world in every culture in any period of time. Only the New Testament model will do that. Others come and go, depending on where you are and how rich you are and a few other things. The New Testament church is the best model and the New Testament church is by far the superior model for the persecuted church. When you go to China or you go somewhere else where the church is outlawed, you will find a church that is very much like the church Paul describes, or the New Testament describes, the church that is in our house. Now, do not misunderstand me, in Acts 2:46, the Christians met in the temple, big meeting, and from house to house, right? When it comes to times of persecution, do not plan on meeting at the temple. It is not going to happen. You are going to find yourself meeting in house to house.

I would also say this. When you are being responsible to know what is going on in the life of your fellow believer, that will not be done in a huge auditorium looking at the back of somebody else’s neck. Now, teaching can happen that way and I am not saying there is no occasion where that will take place. I am saying even the mega churches understand that real ministry takes place in small groups. So, I am going to beat the drum for just a moment about ministry groups, what we do here. Even though we are not a huge church and even though our meeting as we gather together is an opportunity— and most of us know at least something about one another— it is not good enough. If you want to be able to do the things that Paul says Christians ought to do, then there is no other way to do that than to do it in a context of a small group of people who knows each other intimately, who prays and exhorts and does all of the things that the scriptures say we ought to do. Yes, you know, I am hot on New Testament church order, but I am hot on it because it is right and I am hot on it because it is the only system that works.

I think I already mentioned this but just think about, for example, the persecuted church in some portion of the world. if you had a mega church with one dynamic leader in North Korea, how long would it take them to put that church under? One bullet. One bullet. It is done. When you have a church with multiple leaders and multiple gifted people ministering to one another, you are going to have a hard time putting the church down, folks, because the church is all of us. In politics everybody has been talking about we the people. Folks, we are the body. We are the body. The church is us. Thessalonians is addressed to us to start thinking differently about persecution, about prayer, about the way we do church and about the future. May God grant us the grace to do it.

Father, thank you for these epistles. May we take them to heart. May You challenge us. Help us not to be a cruise ship. Help us to be a battleship, a hospital ship, ones who are serving you. Help us all to do our part. Give us grace. Give us perseverance as difficult days come upon us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The manuscript version of this article is unavailable. This is a lightly edited transcript of Bob Deffinbaugh’s preached message (available in the related media). Appreciation for the transcription work goes to Marilyn Fine.

II Thessalonians 1:5-12

Good morning. This is lesson 12 in our study. I forgot to prompt Hampton as to what I am going to do, but as soon as that thing fires up I have a couple of pictures for you that are not in your notes. [See Related Media—“Powerpoint Document” to view these pictures] We were talking about cruise ships last week and I thought you ought to know that not all cruises go as well as you might think. There is one example. Here is another one— I suspect that you would be hanging close to your seat on that. The third one is that scene that went on YouTube this week. You remember where they had the video of all the tables sliding back and forth across the room? Apparently, the cruise industry was not too excited about the video because it probably dampened some people’s enthusiasm.

To show you, in the next slide, that not all of life is a smooth cruise, I went out to the website for the Voice of the Martyrs. You will find that is just a snapshot in one screen of the kinds of things that are going on. We might call those rough seas, if you like, in terms of living the Christian life. I think we are very insulated from what is going on in other parts of the world and the degree to which other believers are suffering because of their faith in the Lord Jesus.

Jesus was always clear in His presentation of the gospel. He was always clear that following him was going to have a high price. Remember he said in Luke 9:23 if you are going to follow him, you must take up your cross daily and follow Him. Then, later in Luke 9 (remember there are these people who come and say I am going to follow you, but they all had kind of excuses) Jesus began by saying that birds have their nests and whatever. The Son of Man does not have anywhere to lay His head. If you are going to follow me, Jesus said, then it is going to be tough.

You know that many bailed out, so to speak, to use John’s analogy this morning. They bailed out before it even started. Would you look at the gospel of Mark 4 and particularly focus on that second soil. The soil that is rocky has no depth. You notice that our Lord Jesus says that those people quickly responded in a positive way to the message of the gospel until “affliction” and “persecution” came their way. Interestingly, those exact two words are used in our text (there are actually three words but...). The main two words that are found in our text are found there. It was on account of those things that those people said “this is not for me; it is not going my way.”

In John 6 in those verses, you see our Lord Jesus dealing with a group of people who want to forcibly make Him king. When he starts to speak about His suffering and death, it is a whole new picture. You remember the story with many of those who were following Him? They abandoned Jesus and never again, so far as we are told, followed Him.

That third set of verses in Luke 19 and Luke 23 is the contrast in reaction of those who are heralding Jesus at his triumphant entry (beings o excited they want to get onboard, so to speak, for the cruise). Yet, when they understand that Jesus is not there to overthrow Rome immediately and to set up an early kingdom that fit their description, then they are the ones who cry out, “forget it, crucify Him.”

In Matthew 24:9-10, when Jesus is talking about the last days, he said when the dark days come and difficulty and persecution comes your way, many will fall away from the faith because it is too much for them. So, all of that is saying to us if we are going to be serious about our walk with Jesus Christ, then we have to take suffering seriously.

It is not something where we can opt out and instead get on that wonderful cruise ship and have the prosperity gospel lived out in our lives. It is a life that is going to involve adversity and persecution— if indeed we are following our Lord Jesus.

The Thessalonian saints knew that well. They knew it well because Paul came to them battered and bruised from Philippi. They saw the marks of his faith borne on his body because of his faithfulness to the gospel. He warned the Thessalonians that if they embrace the gospel, they were embracing the suffering that came with it.

Yet they did embrace the gospel and Paul says in I Thessalonians they did, indeed, suffer for their faith and were joyful in the midst of all of that. So, they thrived in the midst of their adversity and that is described to us not only in I Thessalonians, but in those verses that lead the way for us into our text, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4. That is why I asked that those verses be read, as well, in our Scripture reading this morning.

The saints in Thessalonica were persevering in their faith and they were enduring much tribulation and adversity in their lives— but joyfully so. Paul realized that that brought with it other dangers. In Chapter 3, he says he was concerned because he could not be with them. He knew things were going in a difficult way for them and he wanted to be sure that his efforts had not been in vain. In other words, he wanted to be sure they were not bailing out of their faith. So, he sends Timothy. Timothy comes back with a glowing report and Paul says that overjoyed them to know.

When we come now to our primary text in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12. We are really looking at the issue of the sovereignty of God and how the second coming is a solace for those who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us look at His purpose for persecution and suffering in the lives of His saints.

A few observations to begin with. Three terms are used for suffering. One of those terms is very specific in terms of religious persecution, that is basically its exclusive use. The other terms are broader and they are talking about a broader range of suffering. I would say from a distance (I have not been there myself) but I would say that many people who are especially an unpopular minority might experience this. There are a number of ways in which they will face direct difficulty. They may get thrown in jail. There may be various things that happen, but it is just a general difficulty in life. For example, if you had a situation where somebody was going to burglarize your house or do you bodily harm, if you were in some countries where the police were dominated by a faith other than Christianity and you call the police. Don’t expect help. You will not get it. You are outside the system and, therefore, all of the benefits that come with being inside the cultural system are withdrawn from you and that is not just always in the form of open persecution.

Notice, too, (it may not be apparent, depending on the translation) but scholars will point out that the language that Paul uses in this text is often language that has been borrowed from the Old Testament in the Greek translation, the Septuagint. So, he will use particular words or phrases. In some instances, it looks like a quote. In other instances, it looks like a kind of strange coincidence. All I can say is this. Paul is like a sponge and when he spends time, as he obviously did, in the Old Testament scriptures, it got to the point where he just began to utilize the words that he was so familiar with that he used biblical words to describe the things that he was talking about because they were so familiar to him. All I am really saying is maybe there is a quote here or there, but lots of times Paul is just soaking (Isaiah 66, Isaiah 2, some of the Psalms). He is soaking there and it is just like he is wringing out the sponge a little bit. We should appreciate his general familiarity and love for the Old Testament.

When it speaks of righteous judgment in verse 5 “this is evidence of God’s righteous judgment.” There is a way in which we tend to read that meaning “punishment.” It may well mean that, but, actually, the sense of righteous judgment here, I think, is used in a more general way as it frequently is. The reason is, it is God’s righteous judgment that brings blessing to believers. It is God’s righteous judgment that brings eternal destruction to unbelievers. Both of those aspects are here in this text. So, what he is speaking of is God in His righteous judgment—which will appear at his second coming and will be executed in His second coming— that righteous judgment manifests itself in one way toward believers and in an other way toward unbelievers. Both of those are found in our text. So, it is the saints suffering that ends at the second coming. I want to just make sure that we are clear on that. He is saying we are not going to have this wonderful, glorious, trouble-free life the moment we trust in Jesus. He says the trials and troubles of this life will end when Jesus comes. I think, there again, we have got to get our minds wrapped around the fact that suffering is not the abnormal circumstance; it is the normal one. We have been living in an abnormal time in an abnormal world. But, trust me, you will find what normality means before long. He gives more attention to the fate of unbelievers here than he does believers. He describes the relief that will be given to believers, but at this moment in time, he is really spending more time describing what God is going to do to make things right with respect to unbelievers.

I should say this. As I read this text, it looks to me like unbelievers and persecutors are interchangeable or, to put it differently, I believe when difficult times come, and when one is living a life that is faithful to the gospel, I do not see a large group of people who are unbelievers and who are “live and let live” people. I see unbelievers as picking up those rocks. I guess I would say when you look at the cross of Jesus and you see those people who are hurling abuse at our Lord, do you not basically see everybody? I know the disciples may be standing off in a distance and they are not really into the game, but, virtually, you see everybody--the men hanging beside Jesus, the soldiers, everybody is after Jesus and, as it were, persecuting Him. I believe that is the way it will be. You will not see a large group of accepting people saying “well, that’s theirs opinion, they can have whatever belief they want.” There will not be pluralism, folks, when real persecution comes.

There are some more things which are interesting here. Just as you compare the second coming of our Lord in I Thessalonians with what we see in II Thessalonians so too there are other aspects of comparison and contrast. I Thessalonians has the trumpet call and the shout of the archangel. In II Thessalonians, you have this blazing fire. In I Thessalonians, you have our Lord Jesus coming, accompanied by his saints. In II Thessalonians, you have the Lord coming, accompanied by His fiery angels. You know, this is real clout. Then, you have in I Thessalonians the discussion about those believers—what will happen at the second coming for those who are dead in Christ— and then you have, of course, those who are the living in Christ. When you come to II Thessalonians, the focus now is on the outcome of His second coming. What happens to men as a result of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is where Paul is going as he has these verses for us.

So, let’s talk about the purposes for persecution and suffering as it relates to unbelievers. Look at the basis for their condemnation. I would call the first one unbelief. That says they do not know God. Secondly, disobedience to the gospel—unbelief and disobedience. I am just going to pause there for just a second because I am not sure in the way in which we market the gospel in a slick way, I am not so sure that we come across in ambassadorial terms. We have a message from the king to a people who need to accept or reject His rule.

I fear that in the slicking up of the gospel and making it look appealing— in fact, the misrepresentation of the gospel, where we present a God who is wringing His hands hoping for a few takers on His offer—and we sell it like soap. I do not get the feeling that we are making it clear to people. The gospel is God’s commands.

Now, I know you just cannot pound people over the head with it, but the gospel is not just an offer. It is a command. When we reject the gospel, we disobey. So, it is disobedience to the gospel and that is the way he describes it in this text.

The basis for their condemnation also involves the persecution of the saints. It is very interesting. Unbelievers are recognized and tagged on the basis of this persecution. As I said earlier, I believe that there is not going to be a neutral group of people as much as unbelievers are going to be of one mind and one heart when it comes to dealing with those who profess faith in our Lord Jesus. You can just see inklings of that, even in our day. You take the preacher down in Florida who is going to burn the Koran and whatever. Here are people shaking their heads, “yeah, that’s Christians.” We are all getting thrown in the same pot and, therefore, it is going to get, in my opinion, it is going to get hot for all of us. They manifest that by their rejection of us and that is a pretty scary thing.

Let me say this, in I Thessalonians 5, he says then they will be saying “peace and safety.” What is it that makes unbelievers feel so secure at the time when their judgment is at hand? I will make one suggestion for you. I believe that it is going to be a time of great persecution toward the church and it is going to appear that God does not do anything about it. So, think about that if you are an unbeliever. If you rejected the gospel, rejected Jesus Christ and now you are actively persecuting Christians, and nothing happens to you for doing it. You say to yourself like the Psalmist says in Psalm 37 or Psalm 73, “where is God? He is not doing anything.” II Peter 3, “Where is the promise of His coming.” Then you are not worried about anything. Everything is going the way it was. God is not doing anything about unbelief and rebellion (so it seems). That gives an added sense of confidence and belligerence that I see ballooning as the last days come upon us.

Their penalty is described as payback. It is literally that word, “to give back.” You need to understand that when God punishes the wicked, He gives them back what they have given. Now, you may react one way or the other to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but that kind of justice says the punishment is appropriate to the crime. So, our Lord gives back to men in terms of what they have given out toward Him and, in particular, toward those who are His people. It is eternal destruction away from God’s presence and from His glory. Interesting that while you have those flaming angels, the picture is not here given to us as a picture of flaming, fire and the pit. I am not denying the reality of that picture. I am saying that when you get the core of what God’s judgment looks like on the wicked, the core of that is away from God and away from His glory. Does that not perfectly fit what heaven is? Heaven is to be forever in God’s presence and participating in His glory. So you have those two sides. You are either into the glory of God and the presence of God or you are separated from it. That is the way Paul breaks it out in our text.

Now let’s talk about the second coming as it relates to believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. First of all the basis of salvation and blessing is His calling, verse 11, and their belief, verse 12. Two times in verse 12 it talks about “they believed.” Notice also in verse 10, “all who have believed” and “you did, in fact, believe our testimony.” So, it is belief in our Lord Jesus Christ. I emphasize that because this is a text that is talking about the conduct of Christians. In a context which says they will be proven worthy of the calling. Let us not be unclear about the fact that it is belief in Christ which saves— not one’s behavior that wins His approval.

The purpose of persecution is to prepare the saints and prove them worthy of the kingdom of God. God has a beneficial purpose in the suffering that His saints endure. Our suffering is not lost. It brings about change in the life of the believer. It brings about a deepening of faith, a deepening of trust. The example, I guess, would be Psalm 73. Here is the Psalmist who thinks he is on a cruise ship. All of a sudden, he starts looking around and he finds out other people, you know, they are on that boat. They are having a great time, but for him it is a storm. So, he says “what is the use; why do I serve God?” Then, he sees eternity and he understands that God is with him in the midst of His adversity. Not only is he with him, but he will be with him for all eternity— just as, conversely, those who are wicked will be apart from him. So now Asaph says “it is the presence of God, it is being with Him, the nearness of God, that is my good.” So, it is to prepare us. You see that, for instance, in I Peter 1. I think I will refer to that in a minute, too, and Romans 5 where it talks about tribulation works patience and so on.

The difficulties that God brings into our life are the difficulties to deepen our roots into the soil of faith so that we trust Him more and more. That is why God is allowing difficulties in our lives, as well as those unbelievers—who are actually demonstrated to be such and worthy of judgment because of their treatment of the righteous. The second coming is punishment for those who have persecuted the saints and that is very clear in our text. But, it has some very practical applications. I think the first thing I have to ask you is this. Do you feel guilty when you read a text like this and it looks like the punishment of the wicked is supposed to make you feel good? Do you find a little mental tension with that? Somehow, you know, there is a sense in which we think “well, the punishment of the wicked in hell ought to motive me to witness.” It certainly should. Is not there also a sense in which the punishment of the wicked, for those who love justice, gives you a good feeling?

I was driving down Central Expressway (it was probably in one of my old Pintos so I was not even in the competition) and here goes an old classic Lincoln Continental. Ah, it is beautiful! Then here comes this kid in a Chevy and he comes ripping onto the freeway. These guys floor it and take off. I sit back and all I can do is watch. These guys take off and all of a sudden, for whatever reason the guy in the Lincoln backs off and the guy in the Chevy goes bolting right over the top of this hill into a radar trap. Now, I have to tell you when I drove by that I felt good. Would you not?

You know, you say to yourself sometimes “where are the police when you need them?” Is there not a sense in which we are relieved that somehow something has been done? I think that there is a way in which we ought to feel good and I believe it is also the basis for us doing what Paul has already commanded. Remember in I Thessalonians 5:15 he says, “See to it that no one repays another with evil for evil but always seek that which is good.” In Romans 12, he talks a lot about not seeking revenge. How does the believer deal with that? I will tell you the answer. The reason why I do not have to have justice at my hand is because God’s justice is perfect. He knows attitude. He knows motivation. He knows all the things that go on and I trust that God is going to make things right.

Now, if you think about the holocaust, if you think about a 9-11, if you think about some of the atrocities that have gone on—if there is not some consequence beyond life, then justice has not been meted out. Hell is a moral necessity and I believe that ought to comfort the Christian to know that God is going to make things right when He returns. It will be the second coming of our Lord that gives us that rest and relief from the difficulties and adversities of life and brings us, of course, into the blessings of His kingdom.

Notice also the second coming is where God is glorified, both in His saints and by them, as I see it. So, He is glorified as He works and glorifies Himself in His church and then He is glorified as His church gives glory to Him—as you see in Revelation where the people of God are proclaiming the glory of God. That brings Him great glory.

All right, I see a little bit of a problem and I think this is probably as good a place as any to bring it up. Have you ever noticed when you come to the scriptures that there are certain texts which talk about people going to heaven or hell in terms of their works (i.e., the resurrection of Daniel 12 where there are those who do good and those you do not)? Similarly, in John 5, Jesus talks about that in terms of the works that people do. Jesus also says in Matthew 5:20, unless your righteousness exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees, you are not going to make into the kingdom. So, there is some kind of focus on works.

In Romans 2 it talks again about those who are doing right or those who are not— in terms of whether you go to heaven or to hell. Revelation 20 and 21 again describes people in terms of their deeds. So, the question is, if salvation is by faith alone, then why is it that these texts talk about salvation in this context of doing good or not doing good? How do you deal with those?

Well, try this on for size. One— when we get to heaven there are going to be rewards. Rewards are related to works, are they not? Rewards are related to how we respond to the circumstances God brings our way. Now, we know ultimately that nothing that we do is good, that we do of ourselves. Anything good we do it as God works in us. We understand that, but there still is that element of choices that are made by believers. Godly works actually precipitate this persecution. In other words, in this text if He did not talk about the goodness that is manifested in the lives of his saints, then the persecution would not make sense. Indeed, it is the cruel treatment and persecution of good and godly people that shows these unbelievers to be worthy of God’s condemnation.

So, you see that, for instance in I Peter where Peter talks about living godly lives in a way so that when men stand before God and the judgment, God will judge them for the way they have dealt with His people and the way they have dealt unjustly with His people. I Peter 4, Peter is saying to Christians, you wonder why you are suffering? Well, you used to be like the world and you used to do all these things and now you have thrown them into a turmoil. They do not know what to do with you because you are no longer doing the bad stuff they do. That is why they persecute you. They do not like goodness. They reject it and so the good works of the believer are the instrument which causes the unbelievers to react.

I am going to come back to this in a minute, but it is the goodness of Jesus, the goodness of Jesus that terrified the men who rejected Hm. Remember when Jesus cast the demons into the swine and they plunge into the sea? What did the people say? Please leave. Can you imagine that? Please leave! Goodness is terrifying to the wicked. That is why you see the works of the godly are instrumental in provoking, as it were, the ungodly to what they do. That proves they are worthy of divine judgment.

Works are an evidence of faith. Works are an evidence of faith. They are not the basis of faith. They are the evidence of faith. John the Baptist sees all these people coming down for baptism and when he describes the Pharisees as, “oh, hold on their partner. Bring forth fruits that are worthy of repentance.” He recognized the hypocrisy of making a claim and yet not living a life that is consistent with it. So, He goes on and then describes some of the ways—you who have two outfits, then you ought to share one. If you are a soldier, you ought not to use your authority to extort money from people. So, it is expected that faith will manifest itself in a different kind of life.

Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, right? How does the author of Hebrews demonstrate the faith that is there in the believers? He does it by telling you what they did! So, he equates faith with how it worked itself out in this way for this individual. Faith manifests itself in works.

Here is my favorite part. If we have any concern at all that there is too much emphasis on works in this text, then we need to finish the chapter because look what Paul has to say in those two concluding verses, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. He says...by the way, let me just go back and read verse 5 to you for a minute... “this is evidence of God’s righteous judgment to make you worthy of the kingdom of God.” Now in verse 11-12,

And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, if He is talking about someone being shown worthy, the way Paul ends it is to pray that God will make us worthy. Where does he think worthiness comes from? It comes from God. That is why Paul prayed that he would demonstrate and make the saints worthy of that which he has promised for them. Paul prays that God will, with His power, enable the saints to do those things which are good, those things which they desire.

There is a little question about who desires, whether it is they or God, but if they are in sync with God, then what God desires in them and what they desire ought to be the same. He prays that God would bring to fruition what they desire. Then, he prays that God would take their faith and cause it to bring forth fruit and that all is the work of God, not the work of men. Then, notice where it goes. Where does the glory go? The glory goes to God. So that God may receive the glory as He works and has glorified Himself in the church as His church glorifies Him. Then, God receives the glory. That is where it rightly ought to be. That is the focus. This is a God-centered text, as all Bible texts are. It is a God-centered text because it is God who makes us worthy. But, He also calls us to live in a manner that is worthy of our call and it is all by God’s grace. That is the way He ends it. He says, “According to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” God is glorified through His grace. If there is any question about works versus faith or man’s part versus God’s part, it all falls over to God in the sense of the ultimate cause of salvation and of growth.

OK, let us talk about a few things.

Prosperity Preaching. I have never heard a prosperity preacher preach this text. If you are a prosperity preacher, you have a lot of thin texts to go on, but it will not be here. How would you possibly tell people that everything is just going to be ducky and peachy and smooth sailing through the Christian life? You will not get it from this passage. You will not get it from Paul’s life. You won’t get it from Jesus. You will not get it anywhere except from the prosperity preachers who pick and choose here and there a little text.

This is the reality, my friends. This is the reality of what being a Christian is like. Paul is trying to show that it is because God has purposed it that way. It achieves His ends. I think about the sovereignty of God and the suffering and I would say suffering is for our good and His glory. Then, I thought about it (I ran out of space on your notes). His glory is our good. Is that not right? His glory is our good. So, whatever it is that brings glory to God is what is good for us and we can bask in that. And, suffering is a part of that in our lives which brings glory to Him.

Prophecy and prayer. Is it not interesting that He knows what is going to take place? In a sense, verses 5-10 are a description of what is going to happen at the second coming. He knows that God is going to sanctify His church and glorify Himself in it, but then in verses 11 and 12, He turns around and prays for the things which He has already said are going to happen.

A lot of people would say “why waste your breath? God already knows. God has already purposed. Prophecy and the awareness of what God is set to do and will, undoubtedly and invariably, do without any difference between His plan and the outworking, is set in stone.” Yet, that becomes the basis for our prayers.

Now, the classic illustration in the Old Testament would be Daniel 9. Here is Daniel reading Jeremiah’s prophecy and he understands that the 70 years is going to be the time of the captivity. Daniel knows what the future holds. That prompts him to pray that God will do exactly that. Anybody who says God does not answer my prayers, maybe they should start praying for that which He has assured them is going to happen, rather than what they would like to happen. That is exactly what Paul is doing here and it is what we should be doing.

Payday someday - heaven or hell. When you shake the gospel down to the bare essentials of it, does this not kind of spell it out? One has a choice to make and it is either a choice of obeying God—obeying the gospel and believing in His provision of salvation in Jesus— or rejecting it. Those are the two choices. The two alternatives then are either being forever apart from His glory or forever basking in His glory.

I was thinking about this maybe put in a different way. This text says, “The suffering of the righteous is going to end up for the benefit of the righteous and it is going to end up for the condemnation of the wicked.” So I thought to myself, “where is that best personified?” In Jesus, in Jesus. He lived righteously, and people had a choice to make when He proclaimed that He was the way that God had provided for man’s salvation. They had to make a choice about whether they would accept God’s goodness in Jesus or whether they would reject it.

So, when you look at what God condemns men for, basically, He condemns them on the same principle and that is, “what have you done with My perfect Son?” Not “what have you done with imperfect Christians now.” Rather with My perfect Son who made a perfect sacrifice. You either accept the gift of His sacrifice and the atonement He has made or you reject it. You reject His goodness. That becomes the basis on which your eternal future is determined. Heaven or hell--those are the two choices.

Well, I already said this before. Hell is a moral necessity. Some people just do not like to talk about hell, but there are too many things that have gone unpunished in this life. A just God will always bring about that which is appropriate to the responses and the actions of men.

So, back to the cruise ship and the battleship. I thought of a few more analogies. This is thanks to Scotty who did not email me this week, so I had to do it on my own man. Alright, here are some things to just think about. Self-indulgence or personal sacrifice? Generally speaking, when you go on the cruise, folks, you know, it is the self-indulgence mode. People do not gain, on the average, seven pounds in a week because they have been sacrificing. Yeah, I know there is the workout place, folks. I saw the workout place. I walked right by it on the way to the cafeteria. Self-indulgence or personal sacrifice? A battleship calls for sacrifice. A cruise ship facilitates self-indulgence. I will tell you. I have been there, I am happy I did, but I am just telling you that is the way it is.

Mission. Is the mission to serve or be served? Well, I think we know when we go on a cruise ship it is to be served. They are standing there waiting for you in order to do everything for you. In a battleship you have a place to fulfill. You have something that you were to do. You were serving there. If you do not think that is true, just look at the living accommodations. Folks, when you find your bunk in the battleship, it is not going to be what you found on the top deck of the cruise ship. It will not be all nicely bedded out. There will not be mints on your pillows and all that stuff. So, anyway, to serve or be served?

The price we are willing to pay. Well, we are willing to pay a certain price to indulge ourselves, but we are not looking for self sacrifice in the process. That is why those little pictures I put up on the screen— you are not even willing to pay that price. Not a rough ride out there in the seas. Forget it!

The captain. I got to thinking about this. The captain. On the Love Boat, folks, for example...I never watched that, but I mean I saw it come and go...on the Love Boat, the captain is like the chief entertainment. He is the social director. That is the job that John Maurer always wanted. Where is John? [laughter] I am pulling his leg. I know. I know. Anyway, you know, he is the social director. He is there. He is always around schmoozing at various tables and whatever, he is there to make your life just really warm and fuzzy. Do not plan on that on a battleship, folks. Therefore, there are clear lines of authority. They are not there on a cruise ship. Yeah, I know the captain is supposed to be in charge, but, I mean, everybody is there taking care of you, making sure everything is going groovy for you. But, when you get on a battleship, you have a mission to fulfill. You have a task and you have a clear chain of authority as to what is going on. That is the way it is in the gospel, I believe.

By the way, our relationship to others onboard the ship. I have not seen...I have seen one cruise...but I have not heard of great lasting bonds of relationship from cruise ships. Now, I am sure that they have been made. You know our next door neighbor served in World War II in some of the bloodiest, most dangerous battles that ever existed. Every year of his life that he was physically able to do it, he met with the guys from his particular group that he had fought with all those battles. There are bonds that are developed in the midst of war that I do not think are possible in any other context. There is a tightness. That is why when you go to boot camp, it seems to me, and, again, I have not been there. (I really felt bad about that once— because I really did not try not to. Then, I went to visit my roommate from college, who was there on the base, and I saw those guys out in the desert in a 6x6 picking up tumbleweed in the desert. I decided maybe it was not such a terrible thing that I missed that after all). But, when you go to boot camp, as some of my relatives have, you are going to learn to develop a bond of brotherhood, of teamwork where you are in it full tilt with your brother in war.

The second point here in this analogy with relationships is that you understand authority and you do not ask why. You do what you are told. You follow your orders and you have this bond that is together. I think that is the way that it needs to be in the church. No wonder Paul says that they are to recognize their leaders. They are to exercise a certain leadership, and they are to receive one another with a kiss of love. Because there ought to be that kind of camaraderie in the church because we are in a war. We are in a war and we should be, if we are not, we should be feel the heat from the unbelieving world for believing in Jesus Christ. That is why we need to be together.

So, this is not a cruise ship, folks. It is a battleship. I pray that as we continue in our course, as it were, through Thessalonians, we will come to see that. It may be that you are onboard the cruise ship still. I would simply say to you, if you have never trusted in Jesus, it is far better to be on the battleship than the cruise ship. In the end, God is going to reward those who are faithful to Him. God is using the difficulties we face now to deepen the roots of our faith. He is also using the persecution that we endure to prove men worthy of His judgment— in the sense of eternal condemnation, should it be the case for them.

Let us pray. Father, we thank You for Your word. Thank you for the way in which we can see— as others have seen, who describe it in the scriptures for us— that Your sovereignty is a great solace for those in suffering. We think of Job who never really understood how or why. Yet he came to understand that the God that he serves is sovereign. He is worthy to be worshipped no matter what the outward circumstances. Give us that kind of faith and love and obedience. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

September 19, 2010

1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God. 5 Surely you recall that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you (2 Thessalonians 2:1-5).¹

Introduction

James Sire has written an excellent book entitled, Scripture Twisting: Twenty Ways the Cults Misread the Bible.² In the preface to this book, Sire writes,

I wish I had been there. It would have made a good opening for the preface of this book. There he was – Swami Satchitananada, head of the Integral Yoga Institute, addressing a capacity crowd at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. “‘Blessed are the pure in heart,’ Jesus said, ‘for they shall see God,’” quoted the swami. And moments later, he explained these words something like this: “Yes, blessed are those who purify their consciousness, for they shall see themselves as God.”³

Sire then calls attention to other similar twistings of Scripture by folks like Mary Baker Eddy and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.⁴ There are many others who twist the Scriptures. Some, for example, would twist Scripture in a vain effort to justify homosexuality, same sex marriages, or adultery. And then there are those professed evangelicals who would seek to sidestep Paul’s very clear teaching on submission or male leadership of the church.

Even respected biblical scholars twist the Scriptures. This may not be a conscious, sinister, attempt to alter the teaching of Scripture, but just human failure. D. A. Carson has written an excellent book entitled, Exegetical Fallacies.⁵ In this excellent work, he shows how scholars can fail in their efforts to interpret Scripture. What I like best about Carson’s work is that he wrote one chapter about his own exegetical failing (as I recall – it has been a few years since I read this great work, and it has gone through a good many printings).

My point is this: even godly scholars fail to interpret Scripture accurately. Or perhaps I should say, even godly scholars are guilty of twisting Scripture. If this is true of those who love God, honor His Word, and seek to “rightly divide the Word of truth,” then surely we should expect that those with much less noble motives would twist the Scriptures to mean something other than what God intended to convey to us. They may do this to gain a personal following,⁶ or to profit financially,⁷ which they do at their own peril:

5 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, 16 speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day (2 Peter 3:15-18).

Scripture twisting posed a threat to the church at Thessalonica. Consistent with Peter’s words above, there were those who were twisting Paul’s words regarding the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. This seems to be Paul’s primary concern when he wrote 2 Thessalonians, especially chapter 2. In our text, Paul exposes the error and sets out to correct it. In this message, I hope not only to focus on Paul’s dealing with false doctrine regarding the Second Coming, but also to show how we can learn to handle the Scriptures in such a way as to discern “twisting” when it occurs.

A Word of Warning from Paul

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5

1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily⁸ shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God. 5 Surely you recall that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you (2 Thessalonians 2:1-5).

I understand Paul’s words in verse 1 to be a reference to what he had already taught the Thessalonians while he was with them, and which he reiterated when he wrote 1 Thessalonians 4:13—5:11.⁹ Paul’s attention in our text is on the timing and sequence of these events, rather than on the results, which are spelled out in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10.

I understand Paul’s words to be a warning to the Thessalonians regarding a threat to the church which may not yet have reached them. Notice the rather weak “ask” of verse 1.¹⁰ Had the error already arrived in Thessalonica, we could expect stronger words from Paul. No one individual or group is named as the source of the error, and the falsehood is also described as coming from several possible sources. All of this appears to be a kind of fad or movement that is sweeping through the churches, something like the way Open Theology or the Emergent Church movement has infiltrated the evangelical church today. If Paul is in Corinth, the error may already have appeared there,¹¹ and thus he is concerned that it will soon reach Thessalonica. It is possible, of course, that it has already reached Thessalonica, but the source does not appear to be clear to Paul if that is the case.

The error is not a direct attack of the gospel or of the Apostle Paul. It seeks to appear authentic and consistent with Paul’s teaching. It may even be conveyed as though it were Paul’s teaching. Thus, it appears as a kind of explanation or clarification of Paul’s previous teaching (as they heard it directly from Paul when he was with them, or as they read it in 1 Thessalonians). The main point is that this teaching would appear under the guise of being from Paul and his associates (“from us,” verse 2). It also may be represented as coming directly by way of divine revelation (a prophetic utterance, no doubt). No wonder Paul had instructed the Thessalonians to test such revelations.¹²

It would be worthwhile to call attention to the ways those who sought to introduce this new form of false teaching might seek to authenticate it. Someone might utter what they claimed to be a prophetic utterance as the church gathered. This utterance would convey the error, and the claim would be made that this came directly from God through the Holy Spirit. After all, Paul had instructed the church not to quench the Spirit by despising prophetic utterances.¹³ Another possibility would be that a false teacher could teach this particular error and claim that he had heard this directly from Paul. Yet another possibility would be for someone to claim to have received a letter from Paul containing this “new” teaching. The letter might not be produced, or it could be produced in the form of a forgery. No wonder Paul went to such great efforts to authenticate his epistles.¹⁴

The error which Paul sought to prevent or correct is this: “The Day of the Lord has come.” Paul has already employed this expression (“the Day of the Lord”) in 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).

In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul speaks of the Day of the Lord as a future event, one that will take unbelievers by surprise. Believers on the other hand should be expectantly waiting for this day, living in a way that they will be prepared to meet their Lord. Now, Paul warns that there will be some who will seek to convince the Thessalonian saints that the Day of the Lord has come.

One has to wonder how this error would prove convincing to any Thessalonian believer, since they were doing so well in their Christian walk. I think there are several factors that the Scripture twisters would have sought to use to their advantage. First, it would seem that the persecution of the church was intense, and that the saints were more than eager for it to end. Based on what Paul has already taught the Thessalonians, they would naturally (and rightly) conclude that their suffering would now end and that their time of blessing had come. Paul’s teaching in 2 Thessalonians 1 taught just that.

Second, although Paul’s teaching plainly contradicted the false teachers, the Thessalonians – like all too many Christians today – were not calling Paul’s teaching to mind, and thus they had forgotten what they had been taught. Third, Paul was absent from Thessalonica and was not there to immediately contradict this new error. Fourth, the error was being promoted by those who claimed either divine authority, or Paul’s approval, or both.

It is interesting to note that Paul never actually commanded the Thessalonians not to believe or to embrace this error here. What Paul did ask was that the Thessalonian saints not become troubled or shaken by this false teaching. This implies that false teaching may not need to be fully believed or embraced in order for it to have an adverse effect on believers. Suppose that the mere possibility that this could be true (or wondering if it was true) was sufficient to create doubts or fears.

The terms “shaken” and “disturbed” convey thoughts of a strong and significant reaction to this teaching. While our text reads, “shaken in your composure,” the original text more literally reads, “shaken from your mind.” In other words, the Thessalonians should not panic so as to cease to think clearly, based upon the knowledge they have gained through Paul’s teaching. When we panic, we are not thinking clearly.

Why would the Thessalonians have such a strong reaction to this particular error? In a word, it is because the Second Coming has played such a dominant role in Paul’s teaching, especially in his Thessalonian epistles. The Second Coming is when our Lord comes and we are “gathered to be with Him” (verse 1). It is when our Lord returns that the bodies of the dead in Christ will be raised, and that all the saints will be reunited with Christ and each other.¹⁵ It is when the Thessalonian saints are united with Christ at His return that Paul will experience his joy, because the Thessalonians are his glory and joy.¹⁶ The Second Coming is the goal of our sanctification process:

11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

It is only then that we will truly be like Christ (1 John 3:2-3; 2 Peter 3:10-13). The certainty of the Second Coming of our Lord is the basis for our hope, and thus for our perseverance.

Just how might this false teaching that the Day of the Lord has come impact the Thessalonian saints? Let me suggest two possibilities. First, this teaching would likely cause a Christian to conclude that he or she had missed the Second Coming, thus causing them to doubt their salvation. If the Day of the Lord has come, then my suffering should have ceased, and my blessings should have begun. Those who persecute me, however, should now be under divine condemnation. But things continue as they were. I am suffering for identifying with Christ, and unbelievers are persecuting me for doing so. They are not being punished; they are prospering. Beyond this, the Day of the Lord was said to catch unbelievers by surprise. If I didn’t realize that the Day of the Lord has come, then it has caught me by surprise. So, how can I possibly be saved?

There is yet another way that believing the Day of the Lord has come could cause a Christian to panic. At this point, I remind you of our Lord’s words in Matthew 24:

3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come” (Matthew 24:3-6, emphasis mine).

Here is what I understand our Lord is saying in Matthew 24 (which is exactly what Paul is saying in our text as well): “You are eager to know when I will return to establish My kingdom on earth. Beware, for there is great danger of being deceived (especially for those who are eagerly looking for it to come). When times get particularly difficult, you will be tempted to become alarmed and panic. In these difficult days, many will arise who falsely claim to be the Messiah, but don’t be deceived. Don’t believe them. There are more troubles ahead, but when I do come, no one will be able to miss it! I will not appear in some remote area to a handful of hopeful people; I will be seen by all.

So, I believe that those who twist the Scriptures (in this case, Paul’s teaching and writings) will do so in order to convince many that they are the Messiah. Overzealous Christians who are tired of suffering and persecution will be all too eager for Messiah to come, and thus they will be tempted to follow one of these false messiahs.

Now someone is certain to object, “But how could anyone believe in one of these false messiahs if they did not accomplish what Paul had promised – raising the dead saints, rewarding the righteous, and punishing the wicked?” No wonder Paul has to devote an entire chapter (and not a small one at that!) to refuting the error of those who claimed that there was no resurrection from the dead:

Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? (1 Corinthians 15:12)

Others seem to have handled the resurrection differently – they taught that the resurrection had come:

16 But avoid profane chatter, because those occupied with it will stray further and further into ungodliness, 17 and their message will spread its infection like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group. 18 They have strayed from the truth by saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are undermining some people’s faith (2 Timothy 2:16-18).

The only way I can think of to justify this claim would be to insist that the resurrection was not a bodily (physical) resurrection, but rather a “spiritual” resurrection.

Paul’s Correction: Why the Day of the Lord Has Not Come

2 Thessalonians 2:3-5

3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God. 5 Surely you recall that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you (2 Thessalonians 2:3-5).

Paul’s choice of words in verse 3 is significant when he writes, “Let no one deceive you in any way.” This indicates that Paul expects deception to come from a very wide range of possibilities. Let’s remind ourselves just who this could include. First, we can expect false teaching from heretics, such as those who deny the deity and/or the humanity of the Lord Jesus.¹⁷ There are those highly respected leaders who have departed into some form of error in order to attract a following.¹⁸ And then there are those who claim to speak for Paul, with his authority (such as we find in our text). No wonder we read these words from Paul in Galatians:

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel – 7 not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! 9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell! (Galatians 1:6-9)

Paul writes here that he and his fellow apostles were bound to abide by the Scriptures, so that if he or one of his fellow apostles taught what was contrary to God’s Word, it should be rejected as error. This has profound implications, because it means that even though someone might claim to speak for Paul, or to have an epistle from Paul, if what is taught as from Paul departs from what has already been received as Scripture, it must be rejected as false. No wonder Paul instructs the Thessalonians not to be deceived by anyone by any means. That covers it all, as it should.

So just what is it that has already been taught as God’s Word that proves those wrong who claim that the Day of the Lord has come? Paul’s argument is based upon a simple sequence of events which culminates in the coming of the Day of the Lord. This sequence can be seen in Daniel’s prophecies,¹⁹ from the teaching of our Lord,²⁰ and can be remembered from what Paul has previously taught the Thessalonians.²¹

And so, given this required sequence of events, there are two things which precede the Day of the Lord which have not yet been fulfilled: (1) the great apostasy; and, (2) the appearance of the “man of lawlessness.”

For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:3b, emphasis mine).

The first prerequisite for the Day of the Lord is the great “rebellion” or “apostasy.” The Greek word translated “rebellion” above is the word apostasia, from which we get the word apostasy. Indeed, the NASB and the CSB both translate this word “apostasy” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Other translations seem to favor “rebellion.” Both the KJV and NKJV versions render these terms “falling away,” but even this rendering is a far cry from anything that could be understood as pointing to the gathering of the saints.²² Paul is speaking of the apostasy that occurs as this world rebels against God’s Word and the offer of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I believe this is part of what Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 24:

3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these things are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. 10 Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive many, 12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:3-13, emphasis mine).

I believe that our Lord is also referring to the great apostasy or falling away (from the faith) when He speaks these words in Luke 18:

1 Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. 3 There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, 5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! 7 Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them? 8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8, emphasis mine)

I believe that our Lord is speaking of a significant reduction in the ranks brought about by the tribulation of those difficult days.

In addition to the great apostasy of the last days, there must also be the revelation of the “man of lawlessness.”

3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, emphasis mine).

Due to differing Greek manuscripts, the “man of lawlessness” is identified as the “man of sin” in the KJV and NKJV. The difference is really not significant, as we can see from John’s words in 1 John 3:

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4).

For the moment, let us consider the way that Paul has characterized the “man of lawlessness.” I take Paul literally and thus conclude that this man is just that, a man – not Satan, and not some kind of demonic being (though he is empowered by Satan, as we shall see later). This man is also “the son of destruction.” This is exactly the same expression that we find in John’s Gospel:

“When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction [literally, the “son of destruction”], so that the scripture could be fulfilled” (John 17:12, emphasis mine).

While the expression, “man of lawlessness,” describes the character and conduct of this man who is yet to appear, the further description of him as “the son of destruction” describes both his nature and his destiny. Just as Judas brought about the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, he ended up killing himself. The “man of lawlessness” is a “son of destruction,” so that his destiny is clear and certain.

He opposes and exalts himself above every object of human worship, so that he may install himself as God. How Satan-like he is:

12 Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations! 13 You said to yourself, “I will climb up to the sky. Above the stars of El I will set up my throne. I will rule on the mountain of assembly on the remote slopes of Zaphon. 14 I will climb up to the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High!” (Isaiah 14:12-14).

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” – yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike’” (Ezekiel 28:1-2).

“Then the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur” (Daniel 11:36).

Students of the Scriptures differ over what to do with Paul’s reference to the temple in our text (verse 4). The problem is that there is not a temple in Jerusalem now, since it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. In my mind, the most likely explanations are: (1) that the temple is used metaphorically, and thus Paul is referring to the church; or, (2) a literal temple will be built in Jerusalem before this time. While some impressive scholars argue for the metaphorical interpretation,²³ I am more inclined to take Paul’s words literally. That would require the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.

Paul’s words in verse 5 are surely a reminder, but it is hard not to see them as a mild rebuke because believing the false claims of the Scripture twisters requires the Thessalonians to either forget or forsake Paul’s previous teaching. How easy it is to forget God’s Word and to embrace something else as the truth. Thus, God found it necessary to continually remind His people of the truths of His Word:

Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren (Deuteronomy 4:9).

Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he has forbidden you (Deuteronomy 4:23).

10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin. 11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you. 12 Therefore, I intend to remind you constantly of these things even though you know them and are well established in the truth that you now have. 13 Indeed, as long as I am in this tabernacle, I consider it right to stir you up by way of a reminder, 14 since I know that my tabernacle will soon be removed, because our Lord Jesus Christ revealed this to me. 15 Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things (2 Peter 1:10-15).²⁴

1 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written you, in which I am trying to stir up your pure mind by way of reminder: 2 I want you to recall both the predictions foretold by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles (2 Peter 3:1-2).

Conclusion

Let us begin by reminding ourselves of the purposes of biblical prophecy:

1. Prophecies are given and fulfilled to give us great confidence that God’s promises will always be fulfilled.²⁵

2. Prophecy is given to God’s people so that they know what to expect (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; 2 Peter 3:17).

3. Prophecy is given so that God’s people may know all they need to know about the future, but not more than this (see Deuteronomy 29:29). It is often the desire to know more about the future than God intends that gets people into trouble.

4. Prophecy is given to the people of God so they will not be deceived by those who make false claims regarding the present or the future (2 Thessalonians 2:5; 2 Peter 3:17).

5. Prophecy is given to God’s people to give them hope, which enables them to persevere in difficult times (Romans 15:4).

6. Prophecy is given to instruct us how we should behave (see 2 Peter 3:11-13).

7. Prophecy is given to us to remind us that God is in complete control, and that He will fulfill all of His purposes and promises (2 Peter 1:16-21).

8. Prophecy not only informs Christians about what the future holds for us, it also instructs us concerning what the future holds for unbelievers, thus giving us incentive to evangelize.

Given Paul’s description of the “man of lawlessness,” I believe that our world is ripe for the appearance of this individual. We live in an age of autonomy, when no one wants to be told what to do, even regarding such horrible acts as abortion. This is an age of rebellion against authority and of believing that one’s own assessment of what is true is the truth – for them. The “man of lawlessness” would fit right in to our culture, and our culture is ready to receive him.

We should learn from our text to beware of “new revelation” that changes or sets aside what has already been revealed in God’s Word.

I have applied these things to myself and Apollos because of you, brothers and sisters, so that through us you may learn “not to go beyond what is written,” so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of the one against the other (1 Corinthians 4:6).

18 I testify to the one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book (Revelation 22:18-19).

As Paul has clearly indicated in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Galatians, neither he nor any of the apostles has the freedom to change what has been previously taught as God’s Word. No teachings contrary to God’s Word can be true, even those which may be presented as having come from Paul himself. This means that Christians must know God’s Word in order to discern error and its consequences. Let us know the truth so well that error is readily evident.

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

2 James W. Sire, Scripture Twisting: Twenty Ways the Cults Misread the Bible (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1980).

3 James Sire, p. 6.

4 Sire, p. 7.

5 D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 1996).

6 Acts 20:29-30.

7 Acts 20:33-35; 1 Thessalonians 2:5-6; 2 Peter 2:1-3.

8 I believe that the sense of this term is consistently “quickly,” rather than “easily.” The translations are fairly evenly split between these two options in their rendering of this verse.

9 I understand that Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 may have been new to them (verse 13), but it is clear that his words in 5:1-13 were not new (see 5:1-2).

10 Contrast “beseech” in the KJV and “beg” in the NRS.

11 See 1 Corinthians 15:12. I will shortly seek to show the connection between the denial of the resurrection and the error which Paul speaks of in our text.

12 See 1 Thessalonians 5:20.

13 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20.

14 See Romans 16:22; 1 Corinthians 16:21; Galatians 6:11; Colossians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:17; Philemon 19.

15 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

16 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20.

17 See 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7.

18 See Acts 20:29-30.

19 See Daniel 7, 9, 11.

20 See, for example, Matthew 24.

21 2 Thessalonians 2:5.

22 For Paul’s choice of words regarding this, see 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1; Philippians 3:14.

23 See G. K. Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2003), pp. 209-210.

24 See also Exodus 13:9; 2 Kings 17:36-39; Psalm 103:2ff.; 119:16, 83, 93, 1-9, 141, 153, 176; Jeremiah 2:32; 23:26-27; Hosea 4:6; Romans 15:14-16; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Timothy 1:6; 2:14; Titus 3:1; 2 Peter 3:1; Jude 1:5.

25 Isaiah 48:3-8; see also Matthew 2:17; Mark 15:28; Luke 22:21-22; 24:44; Acts 1:16; 3:18; Revelation 17:17.

The manuscript version of this article is unavailable. This is a lightly edited transcript of Bob Deffinbaugh’s preached message (available in the related media). Appreciation for the transcription work goes to Marilyn Fine.

II Thessalonians 2:6-12

Good morning. We are on Lesson 14 in our study of the Thessalonians epistles and this is the second part of our lesson on “scripture twisters and the second coming.”

Years ago when I was in seminary we were assigned the task of reading this text and doing a paper in which we would conclude who—and then convince others—who the restrainer was. I wish I had read Augustine at that point in time. I should have turned it in on the top of my paper because he said “I do not know what it means.” I thought to myself. He is a pretty smart guy and if a guy as bright as Augustine comes to that conclusion, there are probably times when the rest of us less bright folks need to admit that, as well. But, what it says to us is that these are very difficult words. This is a difficult text we are dealing with and scholars would probably agree.

This is, perhaps, one of the most difficult texts that we have penned from the apostle, Paul. That leads me to what Peter says in II Peter 3:14-18. We would probably do well to take heed to his advice. Remember Peter is talking about the return of our Lord Jesus and when it is going to come. There is a delay, but it is a delay that is prompted by his desire to see many come to faith. Then, he says in verse 14, “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, as he does in all his letters, when he speaks in them of these matters.” –which I would take it to be the second coming and sanctified living— “There are some things in them that are hard to understand.” – This is from the guy who wrote about Jesus descending into hell and coming up! Boy, you would have thought this could be applied to himself—But, there are some things that Paul writes “that are hard to understand which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people.” (Is that not interesting? We are going to talk about lawlessness in our text.) “and lose your own stability. But grow into grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (ESV)

So those are good words coming from Peter that we ought to be cautious. We ought to be careful not to be twisting scriptures— especially those which are the most difficult to understand. We ought to be careful not to be building too many cases on those kinds of texts— although we certainly ought to seek to understand them.

So, the two problems in our text that it puts before us are matters of identification; i.e., the man of lawlessness and the restrainer. We need both caution and restraint. Part of the reason we can see that is that when we look throughout the history of the church, people have been pretty fast and loose in terms of using the label, the “man of sin” or the “man of lawlessness,” and branding people.

For example, early in the history of the church, it was used for describing those vandal rebels who would come down and raid and eventually sack Rome. During the time of the crusades, it was used of Mohammed because he stole the holy places and forced people to commit apostasy. In the thirteenth century, emperor Frederick the Second and Pope Gregory the Ninth called each other the “Antichrist” because they, obviously, did not care for each other. The reformers called the pope or even the papacy itself the “Antichrist” or the “lawless one.” Then, during the counter Reformation and those Roman Catholics who were trying to rebound from the Reformation, they called Luther the “Antichrist.” Then, in the Westminster Confession in 1646, they called the pope the “man of sin” and the “son of perdition.” In the last couple of centuries, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin have all been called the “Antichrist.” If I were to ask you, I suspect you would nominate a few more contemporary names who might also fit the category of the “Antichrist.” All of that is to say, hey, folks, so far nobody has been right. So, we need to be careful that we do not hang that label on people too quickly in a too cavalier fashion.

When you come to this whole matter of the abomination of desolation which is referred to in our text, there are earlier prototypes and later prototypes that we probably ought to take a look at, as well. You see in Daniel’s writings a discussion about the abomination of desolation. Look at verses 31 and 36 in Daniel 11:31-36. “Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.” Then, if you look down at verse 36, “And the king will do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.”

Now, when you read Paul’s words, those words resonate in our minds so Paul surely had Daniel’s prophecy in his mind as he spoke. But, you remember that Antiochus Epiphanes the IV in 169 BC, entered into the holy of holies, erected an altar to Zeus and then sacrificed a pig on it. Many would see that as a fulfillment, at least a partial fulfillment, of Daniel’s prophecies about the little horn.

Then, there was Gaius or Caligula in AD 40 that had declared that men were to set up a statue or an image of himself in the temple area and to worship him. That never got carried out, but that was his intent. Then, during the Jewish war from 66 to 70, Jewish zealots actually entered into the sanctuary and profaned it. After that, the Roman soldiers came in with the incident of the emperor and brought it into the temple area and offered sacrifices to it. So, you see that as another, if you would, instance of abomination of desolation. Paul, of course, if talking about it here in our text and after him you have the emperor cult where you have men like Augustus and Nero, but primarily Domitian who decree that men were to worship him, the emperor, as god. So, surely you are looking at something that is close to what we are reading about in Daniel.

John has some interesting words about the Antichrist and he speaks more in terms of a sort of type of person. He says, for instance, in 1 John 2:18, “Many Antichrists have come.” In 1 John 2:22 he says that the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ is an Antichrist. In 1 John 4:3, he says anyone who denies that Jesus has come in the flesh is Antichrist. So, you see that “Antichrist” becomes a sort of type and not necessarily just an individual, although he is that. Now the way I understand this is that there is multiple fulfillment of prophecy and so you see, in effect, rehearsals. I guess that is the way I would look at history. I would see that these incidents that we have seen in history are rehearsals for the big one, if you want to call it that, when the final man of lawlessness will be revealed. But, these early prototypes gives us a sense of what he will be like and how that may work itself out.

I had a couple more things here that I have hastened right past in my multipage notes. (No wonder I lost it!) Let me just talk for a minute about an observation. Paul’s purpose was not to identify the main players. Therefore, if we set ourselves to pinpoint who the man of lawlessness or who the restrainer is, then it seems we missed the point. The issue is the false teaching that the day of the Lord has come. Paul is setting out a sequence that scripture has set down. So, before the day of the Lord comes, there must first of all be this apostasy or rebellion. Then, there is the revelation of the man of lawlessness or the man of sin. Then the Lord returns and the day of the Lord is carried out. So, he is making, in a sense, a chronological argument. He is saying, no, it cannot have happened because these things that preceded have yet to take place.

Let us see a recommended approach as suggested by I Thessalonians 5:27. Remember that is where Paul in very strong words urged that this epistle that he wrote (the first epistle) be read out loud to the people in the assembly. I was reading through Revelation again and in Revelation 1:3, depending on your translation, again it says, “Blessed is the one who reads this out loud to the church.” I am taking that as a bit of a clue to how we ought to go about the interpretation of this text.

You and I, we have all kinds of copies and translations. In fact, it is one of the problems. Somebody reads the translation and everybody is saying that is not what mine reads, but you have all these different translations. Some of you have it on your handheld devices, either that or you are watching the Cowboys and you are not confessing to it! But you have it on various devices and we can do a concordance search and we can look up words and we can do all these things. Folks, they did not have the copy in their hands. All they had was a reader that read it to them and read the whole epistle. So, they did not just get one verse and they were going to deeply analyze that. They had to come away from that saying, what is he trying to say over all? What is the message of this epistle? How do these chapters fit together? So, it seems to me that what we are saying is they had to understand the text in terms of the camel, not the gnats. They did not have the opportunity to go into the gnat straining mode and so they had to listen for the main points. It seems to me that is what we need to do, as well. We need to be looking for those things which are the major points that he makes very clear and on those things that are less clear we do not put the priority on those that we might put on something else.

Okay, the mystery of lawlessness and the man of lawlessness. I put in parentheses, the man of sin. There is a textural difference in some manuscripts. So in the King James Version you will see it is called the “man of sin” as opposed to the “man of lawlessness.” It is really a kind of academic difference because in I John 3:4, he says, “Sin is lawlessness.” So, I do not think it is worth getting into some great tizzy about which of those two readings it is. We know, basically, the person to whom he is referring.

So, the mystery of lawlessness. Paul is talking about a man who is going to be revealed after the restrainer is taken out of the way. A man will be revealed who will be known as the “man of lawlessness.” He will have satanic qualities. No, that is not really the word I wanted. He will have “satanic attributes” and he will exalt himself to be worshipped like God, but he is not Satan. He is Satan-powered. He will have great abilities in terms of miracles and wonders that he performs, but before that, there is this ongoing working of lawlessness that takes place that is culminated by the revelation of the lawless one. The interesting thing I see is there is a parallel. There is this ongoing working of restraint that parallels that lawlessness and it consummates with the removal of the restrainer which opens the door, so to speak, for the man of lawlessness or the man of sin to be revealed. So, the mystery of lawlessness is ongoing throughout history up until this moment and up until the time that the man of lawlessness is revealed when it really goes big time. This is something that is not really understood. It is the mystery of lawlessness that he is talking about.

So, how do we understand the mystery of lawlessness? Well, I look at it in terms of Ephesians 3 and Ephesians 5. In Ephesians 3, Paul is saying that the mystery has not been understood. I am not saying the prophets have not foretold it, but it has not been clear that God was going to bring together Jews and Gentiles into one body, the church, and make of them one new man. It is not clear that there is this new unity and that work done in Christ now creates a relationship between Him and the church— so that in Ephesians the relationship between Christ and His church is the model, the pattern for Christian marriage. So, I see lawlessness as something which is at work, but its end game, its goal is not really fully grasped. I would say, in particular, it is not fully grasped by unbelievers. For Christians, we ought to see where it is leading. It is leading to the consummation of the revelation of the man of lawlessness. I do not think that people see it for what it is. It is something not grasped.

So, how is this mystery working itself out today? Somehow, lawlessness is ongoing, but kept under containment, to some degree, but that it is going to go full bloom. I am just making a suggestion to you. I am not saying this is inspired, but I am making a suggestion to you how Satan may be working behind the scenes to prepare our age for a lawlessness that is such that the man of lawlessness could be revealed, even in our time. Think about the proliferation of laws and lawyers and, by the way, those go hand in hand, do they not laws and lawyers? When you think about, for instance, the healthcare law, and I downloaded a copy of it and I suppose it depends on whether you do single space or double space, or whatever, but bottom line is mine had 1,990 some pages to it of the healthcare law. Already, I am told, 4,000 pages of rules and regulations have been written to implement that. Now, folks, this is the beginning of woes, sorry for that term, but it really is the beginning. All I am saying is think about this where you have this stack of laws. I think what is going to happen is we are going to be so frustrated and so fed up with laws that, frankly, we will disregard it because it is just so complicated. Who could know what in the world it says. We are still reading it to figure out what it says. You already have disregard in a sense that the majority of the country says, we do not want it. So, I think that could get carried out in a way that leads to an age of lawlessness. Another thing. The way in which our country has come to pass law, we saw this last week, here is a military appropriation bill. What you are saying is we need to pass a law that approves funds for soldiers in Afghanistan to be paid their salaries and for fuel to be purchased and weapons and all that stuff. So, what happened? They tack on all kinds of extraneous legislation which has nothing to do with the carrying on of the war. Again, what happens to people is they begin to disregard the process by which our laws are made, is that not true? There is a disregard, a disrespect for how laws are made and, therefore, there is a subtle disrespect for the law itself. So, I am saying this mystery of lawlessness is working out in our midst and I am not sure that we even see it. But, the end game is that people they just throw their hands up and say, phooey with the law. There are so many of them, they make so little sense people just want to get rid of it. Then you toss on to that the fact that the laws are being passed without a sense of the absolute.

Now, try this on for size. The biblical ideal was the Old Testament. I mean sometimes we talk about the law in negative terms, and it is if you look at as a way in which you are trying to earn God’s favor, but the reality is the law was 10 simple commandments, 10 simple commandments that people could read. They did not have to read 50,000 pages to get it all. Those commandments could be reduced to two commandments. When you look at the rest of the Old Testament books of the law, what you see is that all of the follow-up laws were simply implementation laws of those simple principles. I think you see the analogy. We have a constitution that has simple statements and the laws to follow that up. When our laws cease to honor the governing principles that are over them, then there is disrespect for the law itself. Add to that the post-modern mindset which says whatever I think is true is true for me and whatever you think is true is true for you. You add post-modernism to the mix and, my friend, the law is mighty low on the totem pole of what we respect. I think there will reach a point where there is such disregard for the law that the Lord is now going to open the gates, so to speak, restraint is going to be removed, and you are going to see this deluge of people who are following after this man of lawlessness.

The principle of restraint and the restrainer. Again, what you see is an ongoing influence. Now, think about sin and its ability, as it were to multiply in just quantum terms. When you look at the fall described in Genesis 3 and you move just that distance from Genesis 3 to Genesis 6, the heart of men have become so corrupt. The practices of men have become so corrupt that God, indeed, needed to wipe all mankind off the face of the earth.

Man is really good at developing sin. So, what did God do? Shortened man’s lifespan. That will help, but there is time to implement and carry out your stuff. He added law and government. Capital punishment, Genesis 9. So, there is a restraining effect that the law has to greater or lesser degrees, even in dictatorships. There is a sense in which there is a lid placed upon the sinfulness of man.

Then, you have the confusion of languages at Babel so that now men do not have the same collaborative freedom. God, in a sense, was putting restraint. I believe that God has exercised and carried out restraint throughout the centuries. I am not even sure in my own mind that this effort to identify “The restrainer” does justice in a sense. Let us face it. Ultimately “The restrainer” is God. Is that not true? The restrainer is God. He is the one who keeps the lid on things. What you have to restrain is not only men, but there is a whole angelic element that you see in the book of Daniel so there is something going on up here. What is going on up there and what is going on down here are somehow related. So, restraint is a huge thing. I am not sure, unless you make the restrainer God Himself, how that gets carried out. So, I think there are various components to God’s restraint, but we are not told who it is. I think you probably realize the problem. In this text, the restrainer is recognized by a neuter word and once by a masculine word so it is like you are referring to the restrainer as “It” on the one hand and “He” on the other. The way I see it is that the restraining influence that is being carried on is the “It” and the restrainer that is removed is the “He” at some point in history. Then, of course, the man of sin will be revealed and, so to speak, all hell breaks loose. Somehow, this will be personified in a man, but God is the ultimate restrainer.

Now, look at this. I think the text is really making a point of the appearance and sudden destruction of the man of lawlessness. He has said that lawlessness and the mystery of lawlessness is at work and then there will be this time when the man of lawlessness will be set free, so to speak, because the restraint has been removed. Then, the day of the Lord will come after that.

So, let us look at that man of lawlessness for a second. It seems to me that (1) the man of lawlessness is, in a way, a counterpart of Christ. That is, he exalts himself. He sets himself up to be worshipped and he has his...the technical word, parousia...he has his appearance. It is the same word used for him (2 Thess. 2:9) as for Christ’s second coming (2 Thess 2:8). So this is his coming, so to speak. So, he is a kind of counter Christ, anti-Christ, if you would. By the way, if I did not say it already, while John speaks of the term “anti-Christ” the rest of scripture talks about the “man of lawlessness.” I suspect those are one and the same person from what I understand.

So, here is this person, this man of lawlessness, who is the counterpart to our Lord Jesus and his destruction is described not as the result of a long 15-round boxing match where finally Jesus gets a TKO and Satan takes a fall. The way this is described you see that the Lord comes and that literally with His coming He, with the breath of His mouth, blows this guy away. That does not look like a wrestling match to me. Now, I would also say that when you look at scripture, in particular when you look at Daniel 7:21 and following and others, it is obvious that certain events have not been included in the description that Paul gives in our text. That is, we know that the man of lawlessness is going to have a time when he reigns and even prevails over the saints. But, Paul’s purpose is to say here is the sequence of events and unless people think this is some sort of life and death struggle, it is really not that in the sense that there is any real great balance of power. This is a matter where God has allowed the man of sin a time of freedom. Lawlessness has a time of being exercised to carry out His purposes. When He is done with the man of lawlessness, the man of lawlessness is done. So, you see it described in sudden powerful ways that makes it clear God is running this thing, not Satan. God is not doing the boxing match routine with Satan over that. That, of course, is the sovereignty of God which we are talking about.

So, let us talk about the relationship between the man of lawlessness and a lawless society. When I look at our text, it is verses 9-12 that underscore that relationship between the man of lawlessness and the people who are being led astray “by him.” Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 with me,

“The coming (parousia) of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Now, there are some who would seemingly say that the man of lawlessness is turned loose and that a in a sense you have this sort of neutral group of people who He cruelly deceives and leads down this path. That is not what Paul is saying. Paul is saying the people who will be led down his path are the people who have no love for the truth. They have rejected the gospel. Because they have rejected the gospel, God sends this man who will further lead them down the whole line of delusion and falsehood because they have rejected the truth. So God gives them a man of falsehood who takes them further down that path.

I think I mentioned this before, but I go back to a couple of texts. One would be Romans 1 in my mind. Romans 1 is talking about men who have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They heard the truth. They saw the revelation of God. They saw the demonstration of His invisible attributes and they said, “no, I am going to worship the creature rather than the Creator.” It is a deliberate choice not to believe in God and to disobey His Word. That is what these people have done, as well, but the consequence in Romans 1 is God gives them over to a depraved mind. He gives them over to a depraved life as the consequence of their choice. Now, that I see in our text as well.

Then, go with me in your mind to II Timothy 4 where Paul is talking about those last days and he says of those last days that men are going to reject the truth of God and they are going to gather men to them who will tell them the things that they want to hear. What I see is this. It is a kind of marriage. The deceiver wants followers and he tells them what they want to hear, just like the false prophets and the false teachers in II Peter and Jude too. They tell people what they want to hear. The point is people want to hear it. They choose to reject the truth. They choose to believe a lie and so when God send the man of lawlessness to them, He sends them what they want.

So, I do not want you to look at people as somehow being dragged off down the path of disbelief. These guys are running to it because they have rejected the gospel of our Lord. So, there is this dance, as it were, between the deceiver and the deceived that takes place because both of them are pursuing the same basic goals. Men get what they want and they get what they deserve.

All right, let us talk about a couple of things. By the way, I think I left some things out in my conclusions and this is a great place to stuff them in. (1) I made a comment last week about the difficulty of interpreting scripture and I basically said something like “nobody has all the answers.” I may have over spoken and given the impression that it is a futile effort when one tries to study prophecy and that it cannot be understood. If I said that, I take it back. What I meant to say was nobody in my knowledge has the ability to fill in all the blanks which God has left and, therefore, to explain all of these things. So we need to come to prophecy with a kind of caution about the particulars. But, the global message of prophecy is clear and that is, men will resist. Men will rebel and God in His sovereignty is working out his plan exactly as He wants. That is why when I see the restrainer taking place and God working, I see Him carrying out His plan. Do you know what restrain? That is not really the issue, because the issue here is about timing. Somebody has come along and said now, you know in a sense, we have turbocharged the day of the Lord and now it is here. One of the things that is very clear, and I see this in Daniel very clearly in Daniel 11:27, “And as for the two kings their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail. For the end is yet to be at the appointed time.” Down to verse 29, “At the appointed time, he shall return.” Then, down at verse 35, “And some of the wives will stumble so that they may be refined, purified and made white until the time of the end for it still awaits for the appointed time.” What hinders the man of sin? My answer is God’s schedule. God has a schedule in time. He has a perfect plan and God is not going to allow anything to interfere with that schedule. Because He is sovereign, then He is going to restrain and keep these other things, as it were, Satan on the leash. He is on the chain and he will only be released at the moment when it is God’s time for His program to move ahead in that regard.

Oh, I wanted to say something, too, about the comments that Joseph made and that we pursued this morning in the worship time. Where Exodus 34 basically says God is gracious and kind and forgiving, but He also condemns sin, right? So you have those two dimensions which we see both carried out on the cross of our Lord. In II Thessalonians, especially chapters 1 and 2, is that not exactly what these two chapters say? When our Lord comes, He is going to come and the tribulation and the suffering approves those and demonstrates those who are worthy of His coming and of His blessings but it also is the time when He will bring about the condemnation and the judgment of those who are unbelievers. You see it in Chapter 1. You see it again in Chapter 2. God is bringing to fruition that which he said at the beginning in Exodus. What is part of God’s nature and attributes is what God executes when we come to prophecy in our text and I just think it is helpful to understand this.

So, as I said, I believe that God’s timing is the critical issue when we look at this issue of restraint and that will not be removed until the time that God has chosen. So, if there is anything that is clear to me in all of this it is that God is in control. God is sovereign and we will see that in the prayer that Paul is going to give at the end of Chapter 2 and the beginning of Chapter 3. He sees that it is the sovereign God who calls. It is the sovereign God who sanctifies. It is the sovereign God who regulates the opposition and brings about the conclusion of His purposes. That ought to say to us when I think about prophecy, I do not really need to know all the particulars. What I need to know is that God is the one Who has the plan and He has the power to make that plan work. Okay.

Let me say something for a minute about imminence and the passing of time. The nearness of His coming and yet it is distant. I think there needs to be a balance kept between two tensions of it being imminent yet, having taken so long. In Matthew 24 and in other places (I think here as well) there is a tendency for us to want the Lord to come quickly as in the four certain things must come to pass. So, what you see is here are the disciples in Matthew 24 saying, you know, “when is this all going to come about?” and even, you know, in Acts 1 they are saying, “is it now, is it now that this is going to happen?” What Jesus says is there is a whole bunch of stuff that is going to happen. (By the way, most of it is not pleasant.) So, there is a sense in which we have to grant that in God’s working. I would also say some of the things which may look like they take a lot of time may happen very quickly. I think I may have mentioned this last week. If I did not, I will mention it now. The gospel must be preached to all the world. Well, I am all in favor of missionaries going out and whatever, but Revelation 14: 6-7 says that the angel is going to go about and the gospel is going to be proclaimed to the whole globe. It will happen and it could happen in a day. But, the other side of it we need to be careful that we do not put our Lord’s coming mentally off in the distant so long away that we see it as unreal and, therefore, we are sloppy about it. I am thinking of Luke 12 where remember the servant says, well, my master is gone. He is gone for a long time and so he beats the slaves and does all that. Let us be careful that we do not think like that. Although his coming could be imminent, there is a sequence of things that must take place. The lawlessness and the coming of the man of lawlessness must come before that, as I see it. At the end game, there also is a danger of saying it is so far off somehow that I do not need to worry about it. You have to hold both of those true. It is near, but there may be a wait. I think both of those are involved.

I want to say one more thing that you will not find here, but I was going to say earlier. As I have been reading our Lord’s words and Paul’s words about the coming of our Lord, I think there is a danger of thinking that the thing we fear is fear itself. That sounds familiar, does it not. When you read our Lord and He is saying do not be fearful or do not be frightened, I am not sure that those words are implying only fright. I would like to suggest to you that there may be other ways in which the events that take place could rattle us. Think about our Lord. Think about His kind of messiah-ship. What Israel wanted, what the disciples wanted was a Messiah who would come and throw Rome out and would rule immediately over these political powers. Then all the apostles could sit on their 12 thrones in all their glory. Is that not what they wanted? When it became apparent at our Lord’s trial that he was not going down that path the crowd instantly flips. Even Peter bails for a moment. The crowd flips and now they want Barabbas rather than Jesus. Why? Because Barabbas was an insurrectionist. He was given to violence and they wanted violence. They did not want the one who did not utter a word in His own defense.

So now when you see Peter and Paul (Peter in I Peter 2 and Paul in Romans 13) teaching about the government, what do they say? They say submit to governmental power. They say we ought to be subject to masters but also subject, in a sense, to those powers that God has placed over us. I know that there are qualifications but set that aside for a moment to look at the big picture. They are saying do not be a revolutionary. So that when Jesus comes, men may glorify Him, not because of our rabblerousing, but because we have lived righteous lives. So, it seems to me that when you look then at the Jewish revolt in 66-70 A.D., that is exactly what our Lord was saying to Christians: do not join that army. Those people wanted to bring about, as it were, the kingdom of God by revolt.

I think there is a way— and I am speaking for myself now— when I watch the news and hear of circumstances, it makes me madder and madder. You know, like “where is my gun.” I just want to resist and it is getting mad out there. Yet, it seems to me that what our text is saying, where He says the Lord, when He comes, will take care of it with a breath of His mouth that he is not talking about everybody packing Uzis. He says God will take care of this guy in His time and He will take care of him quickly. So, I would say this. For some of us it may be fear and panic that we face. For others of us it may be anger that we experience. Yet, if God is really in control then He is going to bring His plan to pass in His time.

Last point. Why is Paul so concerned about the Thessalonians and the fact that they may embrace this error and be led down, as it were, the garden path? Why is that more of a concern to Paul than it is for us? I realize it was last week in the news that you had a group of a few women and a few kids and they went up to a park and they sat there and waited for the Lord to come. At least they were not packing guns or drinking Kool-Aid. So, I say, you know, as crazy as that was, at least they believe. They really believe Jesus is coming. I think that what happened with the Thessalonians is they are suffering so much and their hope is fixed so much on the future that when somebody comes and offers them what looks to be Jesus who is bringing about the fulfillment of His plans, they jump for it. Now, that is why you need the instruction and the caution and all these things that Paul has set forth. I think when we read it we sit back in our chairs and are rather blasé. I think what that says is we are not as eager for the coming of Christ as they were. It may be because we have gotten too thick with the world. It may be we are too comfy and cozy. In that coziness the world may not be on us like they were on them. So, I say to you when we read this, if it sounds foreign to us, that may be a message to us that maybe we are not in danger because we just do not love His coming and look for it as much as we should!

Well, I pray that God will give us something to think about this week in that regard.

Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this text and we thank You that You have a lid on everything that is contrary to Your purposes. We also thank You that in Your time You will remove that and You will allow Satan and the man of sin to have their day— but only for Your purposes. I pray that those who are listening to my words may be those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus and who have the assurance of eternal life knowing where they will be and what their destiny is because of Him. If there is anyone here who has never trusted in the Lord Jesus, who has never acknowledged that they are a sinner in rebellion against God, I pray that You might work in their heart. Convince them of their sin and of the judgment that rightly follows. May they trust in Jesus Who is gracious and compassionate and eager to forgive and Who has died on the cross of Calvary so that men might live forever. May they trust in Him. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

October 3, 2010

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 He called you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say. 3:1 Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and be honored as in fact it was among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing – and will do – what we are commanding. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5).¹

Introduction

A couple of years ago I was invited to speak at a conference in a part of the world where Christians were experiencing a great deal of persecution for their faith in the Lord Jesus. There were several reasons why I had to decline, but I remember thinking, “What could I possibly say to these people? They are suffering greatly for their faith, but I live in relative safety and ease. What can a person like me have to say to people like them?” I now know what biblical text I would use to encourage persecuted saints – our text, for it was written by the Apostle Paul to minister to those who faced a great deal of persecution.

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16).

For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know (1 Thessalonians 3:4).

4 As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring. 5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5).

We know that the Thessalonian church was a persecuted church, but it might be good to remind ourselves of what the Bible says some persecuted saints experienced, as indeed they still do in many parts of the world.

32 But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. 33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. 34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly had a better and lasting possession (Hebrews 10:32-34).

. . . But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. 36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed apart, murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (Hebrews 11:35b-37).

I was right to question my ability to speak to persecuted saints about their suffering, when I have experienced none of the hardships they have faced. But the author of our text is eminently qualified, for he experienced more persecution than nearly anyone else:

19 But when her owners saw their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. They are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.” 22 The crowd joined the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks (Acts 16:19-24).

But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of much opposition (1 Thessalonians 2:2).

23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times. 24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with a rod. Once I received a stoning. Three times I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I spent adrift in the open sea. 26 I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers, 27 in hard work and toil, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing. 28 Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with indignation? (2 Corinthians 11:23-29)

Context

This is the second epistle that Paul has written to the Thessalonian saints. Intense persecution forced Paul to leave Thessalonica, and in spite of repeated efforts to return to them, Paul had been prevented from doing so.² Consequently, Paul sent Timothy to Thessalonica, and he returned with glowing reports as to how these saints had not only persevered, but were growing in their faith, love, and hope.³ After challenging these saints to press on in the process of their sanctification (4:1-12), Paul put their minds at ease by assuring them that at the Second Coming those who had died in faith would be raised from the dead, to enjoy eternal fellowship with their Lord and with their fellow-believers (4:13-18). He also urged the Thessalonian saints to be alert and ready for the Lord’s return, and not caught by surprise, like those who are outside the faith (5:1-11).

Things had apparently gotten worse after Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, and so he penned a second epistle to them. In 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul sought to encourage the saints by showing them how enduring persecution served God’s purposes, both for His saints and for the unbelievers who were the source of their persecution. Persevering in the midst of persecution proved that the saints were worthy of the glory that was to be revealed at the Second Coming.⁴ Persecution likewise proved that those who abused and oppressed the saints were deserving of God’s eternal punishment (1:4-10).

In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul set out to deal with false teaching pertaining to the Day of the Lord. To add insult to injury, this false teaching was deceitfully presented as coming from Paul, with his approval and authority:

1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

Paul refuted this error by reminding the Thessalonians of what he had taught them earlier.⁵ There were certain things which first had to take place, and only then would the Day of the Lord come. The first of these was the great apostasy (or rebellion), and the second was the appearance of the “man of lawlessness.”⁶ This was something that would be very public, and thus known to all, for the “man of lawlessness” would exalt himself as God, and would demand men’s worship. This usurper would be easily dispatched at the Second Coming (by the breath of our Lord’s mouth).⁷ Until it was God’s time, lawlessness would be divinely hindered by the “restrainer,” but a time would come when this restraint would be removed, and then the “man of lawlessness” will appear. With his deceitful words and amazing works, he will deceive many, who are blinded by their own rejection of the truth.⁸

Our text serves as the conclusion to Paul’s dealings with this false teaching regarding the Day of the Lord. It is intended to remind the Thessalonian saints (and all other saints) of the solid footing on which they may stand firm, so that they will not be shaken by teaching which is untrue, harmful, and deceitful (since it claims to be from Paul). Paul sees this treacherous teaching as an attack on the gospel itself, and so he deals with it by the use of two different forms of imagery. The first is that of a solid and immovable foundation, on which the saints stand securely (2:13-17). The second is that of a rapidly advancing message (something like a runner), which brings salvation to lost sinners and the defeat of Satan and his schemes.

I believe that these are some of the most powerful and encouraging words in the Thessalonian epistles, so let us listen well to these words to persecuted saints, from one who endured more persecution than we can even imagine.

The Gospel: How Firm a Foundation
1 Thessalonians 2:13-17

1. “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

2. “Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

3. “When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

4. “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

5. “The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

The words of the Apostle Paul provide us with a firm foundation for they summarize the pure message of the gospel by which we are saved, and in which we stand:

13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning⁹ for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 He called you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say (2 Thessalonians 2:13-18).

In verses 13 and 14, Paul summarizes the message of the gospel. It is a selective summarization of the gospel. It does not emphasize sanctification¹⁰ or the changes which should occur as a result of coming to faith in Jesus. This is because Paul is emphasizing the sovereignty of God in our salvation, rather than man’s sin and hopeless state without Christ. In so doing, he underscores the certainty of our salvation and the security of every saint, which is the key to perseverance in the midst of persecution.

13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit¹¹ and faith in the truth. 14 He called you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, emphasis mine).

The origin of our salvation. Salvation is the result of the sovereign choice of God in eternity past, a choice made long before we were born, long before we did anything good or bad.

3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. 4 For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. 5 He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will – 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son (Ephesians 1:3-6, emphasis mine).¹²

The means employed to secure our salvation. God saves lost sinners through the proclamation of the gospel, through the sanctification of the Spirit, and through His divine (and irresistible) call. Salvation is not the result of our works, but is of His doing.

1 And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you formerly lived according to this world’s present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest… 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! – 6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:1-9).

God set us apart for salvation, and then His Spirit worked in our hearts, bringing us to life and prompting us to trust in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, whereby He bore the penalty for our sins and provided His righteousness in their place. Over and over again in the New Testament, we read that salvation is the sovereign work of God. While men must choose to accept God’s offer of salvation,¹³ it is God who first chose them:

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (John 15:16).

When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed (Acts 13:48, emphasis mine).

13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began to speak to the women who had assembled there. 14 A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a God-fearing woman, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying (Acts 16:13-14, emphasis mine).

5 He saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7).

28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

While Paul does not overlook the fact that men must respond in faith to the gospel message, his summary is a God-centered view of salvation. Why is it so important for Paul to remind the suffering saints of Thessalonica that salvation is the work of God? Because our security, like our salvation, is ultimately the work of God, and His work never fails. What he teaches here in our text, Paul clearly reaffirms elsewhere:

For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? 35 Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:33-36, emphasis by underscoring mine).

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2, emphasis mine).

1 From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you! 2 We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers, 3 because we recall in the presence of our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 in that our gospel did not come to you merely in words, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you) (1 Thessalonians 1:1-5).

The goal of our salvation. Paul not only emphasizes the means of our salvation; he likewise calls attention to the goal of our salvation. It is true that salvation brings about the forgiveness of our sins, so that we are declared righteous in Christ, and thus we will not face God’s eternal wrath. But that is not what Paul wants us to see as the ultimate and final goal of our salvation. He puts it simply and plainly here in our text:

He called you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14, emphasis mine).

We think of the goal of our salvation as heaven, and we think in terms of those “streets of gold,” of no more suffering and sorrow and death. We look forward to heaven so that we can be reunited with loved ones. But Paul does not describe the goal of our salvation in these terms; he speaks of it in terms of the glory of God. He has just spoken in similar terms earlier in 2 Thessalonians 2:

9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. 11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:9-12, emphasis mine).

The goal of the gospel is a salvation which enables us to share in the glory of God for all eternity, while those who reject the gospel spend eternity away from God and His glory. No wonder Paul writes,

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

What I want you to see here is that Paul found it necessary to reiterate the gospel because the false teaching he is correcting is ultimately an attack on the gospel. It is a very subtle attack, but that is only an indication of the deceitfulness of Satan and his servants. These false teachers do not attack Paul directly, but they seek to revise and undermine Paul’s teaching by claiming that their doctrine comes from Paul, directly from God (by a revelation), or with Paul’s approval. They do not deny the deity of our Lord or the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement of our Lord on the cross of Calvary; they attack the gospel by diminishing the goal of the gospel.

This may not be immediately obvious. If one can attack any part of the gospel, one has attacked it all. The false claim that the Day of the Lord had come was an attack on the outcome of the gospel. The saints at Thessalonica gladly endured persecution for the sake of the gospel. This was because of the hope which the gospel brought, a hope that Paul reiterates over and over in both Thessalonian epistles.

9 For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)

11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. 15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).

You may be asking, “But how did this claim that the Day of the Lord had come undermine the gospel?” It does so by depreciating the hope of the gospel. Think about it for a moment. The Thessalonian saints have put all their eggs in one basket – the gospel basket. They have chosen to forfeit present pleasures for future promises of glory, as Moses did many years earlier:

24 By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. 26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward (Hebrews 11:24-26).

This is the hope which Peter speaks of with such great certainty:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. 7 Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold – gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away – and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 because you are attaining the goal of your faith – the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:3-9).

The Thessalonians’ eyes were likewise fixed on this “living hope” – the hope of glory.¹⁴ And then along come those who claimed that the Day of the Lord had come. But in spite of the promises of glory that Paul had conveyed (and the Thessalonians had believed), nothing glorious seems to have happened. Indeed, things may have only gotten worse. The saints are still being persecuted, the wicked are not punished, and the dead in Christ have not been raised. The Thessalonians who believed this false claim had to be asking, “What glory?” If one believed the false teaching that the Day of the Lord had come, then you must also confess that the promises of future glory Paul promised have not been fulfilled. And if the goal of the gospel is no better than this, all their suffering was in vain. Paul’s argument is similar regarding the resurrection of the dead:

12 Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. 15 Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. 18 Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

And so Paul first refuted the claim that the Day of the Lord had come, and then he moves on to summarize the pure gospel of salvation in a God-centered way. Viewed as Paul conveyed it, the gospel is God-centered, and thus the Christian can be assured that everything God promised, He will fulfill. Now, the Thessalonians have three good reasons for rejecting this false teaching: (1) It wasn’t what Paul taught in the first place; (2) the prerequisites necessary for the coming of the Day of the Lord had not yet been met; and, (3) the goal of the gospel is far more glorious than what they were presently experiencing. And with this foundation laid, Paul now calls upon the Thessalonians to stand firm in their faith, love, and hope, rather than to be shaken and disturbed by false teaching.

Notice Paul’s call to spiritual stability (rather than being shaken and disturbed – 2:2) in verse 15:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

We should first observe that Paul speaks of the truth to which they should cling as “the traditions that we taught you.” There are at least two kinds of tradition in the New Testament. The first kind is bad tradition – those traditions of men which are contrary to the Word of God:

He answered them, “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3)

8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Colossians 2:8).

These man-made traditions are not what Paul is referring to in our text. His “traditions” are the teachings which God has revealed through His apostles which are to be observed and passed on:

I praise you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I passed them on to you (1 Corinthians 11:2).

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us (2 Thessalonians 3:6).

Paul is therefore exhorting the Thessalonians to hold fast to His (apostolic) teaching, rather than to embrace the false teaching of those who claim to speak for Paul. How would the Thessalonians be able to discern between Paul’s genuine instruction and the false teaching of those who would lead them astray? Paul tells us here. They are to cling to those “traditions” which they heard from Paul’s mouth, rather than those things which allegedly come from him “second-hand.”

There was also a sure way to discern whether a writing that was purported to be from Paul was actually authored by him. Paul authenticated all his epistles by signing them (at the least) with his own signature, in his own hand. Look at what Paul writes at the end of this epistle:

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter (2 Thessalonians 3:17).

Paul signed every correspondence with his own hand. All they needed to do was to check the handwriting on any letter and see if his signature was on it. And so if they had heard it directly from Paul or had seen it in his own handwriting, they knew they were receiving a true apostolic tradition. Truth like this gave them stability, rather than to shake their faith:

11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. 14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes (Ephesians 4:11-14).

Beyond Belief to Intimacy with God
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

When I say beyond belief above, I do not mean that belief in the gospel is somehow left behind as no longer relevant. Bible doctrine is to Christian living what a marriage license and wedding ceremony is to marriage – it is the beginning of a new and wonderful relationship. Here, I am trying to call attention to the relationship with God that begins when the truth of the gospel is believed, resulting in salvation. The gospel is truth, just as our Lord is the truth.¹⁵ The truth of the gospel serves as the foundation upon which a wonderful relationship is built.

In our worship time this morning, Tom Wright called attention to the fact that when God saves us, He draws us into the perfect relationship that has eternally existed within the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we are saved by faith in Jesus, we enter into that perfect unity and fellowship. And when the tests and trials of life come our way, it is not just the truths of the gospel which sustain us (which they do); it is the relationship which we have with the Holy Trinity. And so it is that in verses 16 and 17, Paul prays that God the Father and God the Son will personally comfort, encourage, and give hope to the saints. While sound doctrine gives us stability of mind,¹⁶ an intimate relationship with God encourages our hearts.

Look and see how this works in Psalm 73. Asaph (a choir director and the author of the psalm) is very distressed because God does not seem to be fulfilling His promise to bless the godly. Instead, the wicked seem to be enjoying the blessings of the good life while the godly suffer (at their hand?). This causes Asaph to contemplate giving it all up (Psalm 73:1-14). This psalmist then comes to the sanctuary of God and sees these things from an eternal perspective. He realizes that the prosperity of the wicked is short-lived. They have no relationship with God in the present, and they face eternal judgment for all eternity (verses 16-20). Asaph also sees his own circumstances very differently. He realizes how foolish he was to feel as he did because God is near to him in his earthly trials, and he is likewise assured of being with God for all eternity after his death (verses 21-24). That brings him to this conclusion:

25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
I desire no one but you on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak,
but God always protects my heart and gives me stability.
27 Yes, look! Those far from you die;
you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need.
I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,
as I declare all the things you have done (Psalm 73:25-28).

God ministered to Asaph on two levels. On the one hand, Asaph saw that in his time of rebellion he was beastly, senseless, and ignorant (verses 21-22). In other words, he was not thinking straight. Seeing things from God’s eternal viewpoint straightened out his thinking. But God ministered to Asaph on another, more intimate, level. In his time of mental anguish and doubt, God ministered to him personally, intimately. Asaph came to realize that intimacy with God was his highest good (“God’s presence is all I need,” verse 28). And so, just as we see Paul stressing pure doctrine (especially related to the gospel in this instance) and intimacy with God, we see the same thing happening to Asaph.¹⁷ God ministers to our minds and our hearts. This is what gives us stability in difficult times.

Prayer, Purity, and the Advancement of the Gospel
2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

1 Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and be honored¹⁸ as in fact it was among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3).

One can easily see how 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 relates to the error related to the Day of the Lord, but I would contend that verses 1-3 of chapter 3 are also closely tied to Paul’s instruction in chapter 2, providing a kind of closure for the matter. This is indicated by the “Finally” which Paul uses at the beginning of verse 1. This “finally” informs the reader that Paul is now concluding the argument of chapter 2.

Several changes occur when we leave chapter 2 and come to these introductory verses in chapter 3. (This is not to say that 2:13-17 and 3:1-5 are unrelated!) First, there is a change in Paul’s imagery. In 2:13-17, Paul deals with the gospel as a firm foundation, which gives the Christian stability in times of trouble. In 3:1-5, the gospel is in motion, hastening forth effectively to those who are lost (evangelism). Furthermore, the pronouns change from “you” and “your” to “us.” In 2:16-17, Paul is praying for the Thessalonians saints; now in 3:1-2, he is asking the Thessalonians to pray for him and his associates.

Like me, you might initially conclude that Paul is asking for prayer so that God would deliver him and his associates from suffering persecution at the hands of their opponents. Several things strongly indicate otherwise. First, why would Paul praise the Thessalonians for enduring persecution, and encourage them to continue to persevere, only to ask them to pray that he and his associates escape it? Secondly, Paul’s concern is not for himself, but for the gospel. He wants it to progress and be honored, like it was among the Thessalonians. This happened when both Paul and the Thessalonians suffered persecution. Third, Paul’s statement, “For not all have faith” (verse 2), doesn’t seem to make any sense when applied to those who persecute them. Of course, unbelievers do not have faith. So who is Paul talking about here? That, my friend, is the critical question.

The key is found in Paul’s description of these men from whom he wishes to be delivered as “perverse and evil people” (verse 2). What kind of people are “perverse” people? This word originally meant “out of place.”¹⁹ I think that one might even render it “out of line” when it occurs in a text like this:

40 But the other [thief on the cross] rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom” (Luke 23:40-42, emphasis mine).

You might paraphrase the words of that thief on the cross this way: “We’re getting what we deserve, for we broke the law; but Jesus is innocent because He never crossed the line (stepped outside the boundaries prescribed by the law).”

Think about the context for a moment and this word describing these men from whom Paul wishes to be delivered will make sense. There were those who were falsely teaching that the Day of the Lord had already come. These were not the persecutors of the church. These were folks in the church, or who claimed to be genuine believers. They had not denied Paul’s apostolic authority; they had claimed Paul’s authority for what they taught.

Now Paul’s words (“For not all have faith.”) make perfect sense. He is saying that not everyone who claims to be a believer actually is. Not all who profess to be Christians are Christians. False teaching often comes from just such people:

12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).

1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction. 3 For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things. 4 And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand they will turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:1-4).

1 But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep (2 Peter 2:1-3).

3 Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain men have secretly slipped in among you – men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe – ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 3-4).

And so we see that Paul is not asking the Thessalonians to pray that he will escape from persecution. He is asking them to pray that God would protect them from those who seek to associate with them who are not true believers, but are false teachers (just like those who teach that the Day of the Lord has come) who seek to corrupt and distort the truth. He asks the saints to pray this so that the gospel will not be hindered, and thus might go forth in power so that many will be saved (as the Thessalonians were).

In contrast with those who do not have faith and who pervert the truth of the gospel, Paul reminds his readers that God is faithful, and that He will strengthen and protect them from the evil one.²⁰ Is it any wonder that Paul now speaks of Satan as the ultimate deceiver, the one who is behind all deception?²¹ But Paul will have his readers know that God’s truth will prevail, for God is faithful to preserve His truth and to protect and strengthen those who proclaim it. Satan is already a defeated foe, whose doom is certain:

17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:17-18).

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!” (Matthew 25:41)

“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out” (John 12:31).

“. . . and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:11).

A Word of Encouragement and a Benediction
2 Thessalonians 3:4-5

4 And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing – and will do – what we are commanding. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:4-5).

Paul now encourages the Thessalonian saints by publicly expressing his confidence that they will continue to heed the Lord’s commands through the apostles, rather than to embrace the false teaching of the deceivers. This confidence does not ignore the Thessalonians’ past faithfulness and continued growth and perseverance, but it affirms that ultimately Paul’s confidence is in God, who sovereignly brought about their salvation, and thus will bring them safely to the end (their death or the Lord’s return). That is why Paul tells these saints that they are confident about them in the Lord.

Now comes Paul’s benediction, a prayer on behalf of these saints as it relates to those teaching false doctrine about the Lord’s return. The basis for Paul’s confidence is God’s sovereignty in the salvation and sanctification process. Some have charged that too much emphasis on the sovereignty of God discourages human participation in matters like prayer. That is not the way Paul sees it at all! Paul is greatly encouraged to pray, because he knows that God keeps His promises and finishes what He starts.

But there is even more for us to see in verse 5. Paul prays that the Lord will “direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ.” As you think through 1 and 2 Thessalonians (not to ignore the other epistles of Paul), the three benchmarks of spiritual health are faith, love, and hope.²² I believe that Paul has emphasized the love, faithfulness, and sovereignty of God because these are the basis for the believer’s faith, love, and hope. We love because of God’s love for us.²³ We have faith in God because He is faithful and thus trustworthy. We have hope because God is sovereign, and thus He has the ability to fulfill all of His promises. Now I see one of the reasons why Paul’s Thessalonian Epistles are so God-centered. Not only is this true to who God is; it is also the foundation for the Christian’s stability, so that we need not be shaken or disturbed in our faith and Christian walk.

Conclusion

As we conclude this lesson, let us pause to reflect on what Paul has said here.

First, Paul has devoted this chapter to disproving the false teaching that the Day of the Lord has come. He’s done this because this teaching is not true. The Day of the Lord cannot come until after the great apostasy and the revealing of the “man of lawlessness.” But he has also refuted this error because it distorts and dilutes the gospel, diminishing the believer’s hope because the blessings of salvation are minimized, or denied altogether. The Day of the Lord will not come apart from the resurrection of those saints who died prior to His return for His own (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Furthermore, the Day of the Lord must be accompanied by the deliverance and rewarding of the saints and the punishment of the wicked (2 Thessalonians 1). To believe that the Day of the Lord has come without the fulfillment of God’s promises undermines the Christian’s hope, and this diminishes the good news of the gospel. To refute this false teaching related to the Day of the Lord is to affirm the gospel Paul preached and the hope it promises.

Second, Paul has reiterated the pure gospel because any distortion of the gospel negatively impacts the proclamation and progress of the gospel. A distorted gospel is a gospel robbed of its purity and power. Paul desires the gospel to spread quickly to those who are lost, and thus he defends it from distortion and asks the Thessalonians to pray that counterfeit Christians will not infiltrate the church and thereby hinder the gospel with their teaching. Behind it all is Satan, who was defeated at the cross, and whose destruction will follow the return of our Lord in power.

Third, the pure gospel is God-centered and reflects the character of God. It is His love, faithfulness, and sovereignty that are the basis of the believers’ strength and standing.

When I think about the teaching of those who would distort the gospel by claiming that the Day of the Lord had come, I believe we can sum it all up this way:

BIG MEN; little god

When I think about Paul’s teaching in Thessalonians (in general) and especially his teaching on the nature of the gospel (in particular), I believe it can be summed up this way:

BIG GOD; little men

Whenever we exalt men rather than God, we are already in big trouble. What a comfort it is to have a BIG GOD. When we gather as a church, let us do so by focusing on how big our God is, and let us never forget how small (weak, foolish) we are. Let us keep in mind that the Word of God is not nearly as interested in making us feel good about ourselves as it is in calling us to delight in the greatness of our God.

When we (Community Bible Chapel) gather to worship every Sunday, we celebrate the Lord’s Table. We do this because we believe this is the instruction of our Lord (Luke 22:14-20; especially verse 19).²⁴ It is also the practice of the early church.²⁵ The primary purpose of the gathering of the church is to worship God and edify believers,²⁶ not the evangelization of the lost. This is a wonderful thing when it happens,²⁷ but the gospel needs to be proclaimed to believers every week when they gather because this is the basis for our stability and security. It is what enables us to endure persecution as it encourages us regarding God’s sovereignty and the certainty that His promises will be fulfilled.

As we study this text, let us never lose sight of the fact that it was written to persecuted saints. Let us bear in mind that persecution is the norm and that our life of relative peace and comfort as American Christians is the exception.²⁸ Let us not conclude this message without pausing to remember the persecuted saints around the world. November 14 is the day that is set aside to pray for the persecuted saints around the world, but let us begin now to pray for our brothers and sisters who are experiencing the things which the Thessalonians saints (and Paul) experienced long ago. And let us prepare ourselves for the day when their experience may be our own. These truths may mean much more to us then than they do now.

And let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and on the hope which lies before us, confident that He who began a good work in us will complete it, and will preserve our future hope for us, and us for it, to His glory and our good.

Copyright © 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited manuscript of Lesson 15 in the series Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians, prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh on October 3, 2010. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

2 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18.

3 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8.

4 I understand this to be something similar to God’s purpose for allowing Satan to afflict Job (see Job 1 and 2).

5 2 Thessalonians 2:5.

6 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

7 2 Thessalonians 2:8.

8 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.

9 I agree with the translators of the NET Bible (along with the NASB, NIV, CSB, KJV and NKJV) who have chosen this rendering over “as the firstfruits to be saved” (ESV).

10 A subject which Paul has addressed earlier in 1 Thessalonians, especially 4:1-12.

11 While we rightly think of sanctification as the process that begins with salvation and continues until death or our Lord’s return, I believe that “sanctification” here refers to those whom God has set apart for salvation because He has chosen them for salvation.

12 See also Romans 9:6-13.

13 See Romans 10:5-17. If Romans 9 presents salvation as the sovereign work of God, Romans 10 presents the gospel as the message which men receive by faith.

14 Romans 5:2.

15 John 14:6.

16 In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul instructs the saints not to be shaken in mind (literally). Here in verses 16-17, he speaks of being comforted and strengthened in heart.

17 I believe that we can see this elsewhere in the Bible. For example, consider how God ministered to Moses (Exodus 32-34), as well as to Elijah (1 Kings 19). The Word of God is often the means by which God ministers to our spirit (see Psalm 119; Hebrews 4:12-13).

18 Literally glorified.

19 Greek = atopos. Topos = place; a = not. Thus, not in place.

20 Some might be inclined to render this simply “evil,” as we find the KJV doing (it is noteworthy that the NKJV corrects this), but most see this as a reference to Satan, “the evil one,” as we see elsewhere in Matthew 6:13; 13:38; and John 17:15.

21 See 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation 12:9.

22 See 1 Thessalonians 1:7; 3:6-8; 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4. In some of these texts, only two of the three terms (faith and love) are listed, but the context may suggest hope as well.

23 1 John 4:19.

24 The command, “This do in remembrance of Me” would be more literally translated, “This be doing (present active imperative) in remembrance of Me.”

25 See Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-32.

26 Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 14.

27 See 1 Corinthians 14:23-25.

28 See John 15:18-25; Acts 14:21-22; 2 Timothy 3:12-13.

October 10, 2010

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline among you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” 11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others. 12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing what is right. 14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all (2 Thessalonians 3:6-18).¹

Introduction

My friend, Fred Smith,² used to say, “John Calvin would have been a good golfer – everything that feels right is wrong.” I’d like to take a similar approach by saying, “The apostle Paul would have made a great Puritan – he believed in a Christian work ethic.” I’m in the process of reading a fascinating book entitled, The Puritan Gift, by Kenneth Hopper and William Hopper.³ So far as I can tell, this book is not written from a Christian perspective, but it does show how the “Puritan work ethic” significantly contributed to the success of the American economy (until recently; it is now in the process of being replaced by an inferior business model). There is no better biblical underpinning for the Puritan work ethic than the teaching of Paul in his epistles, and especially in his Thessalonian epistles.

Not only is Paul’s teaching on work readily apparent in our text, it is also desperately needed. I heard Dr. Haddon Robinson say something like this just a few days ago: “Ninety-five percent of all Christians have never heard a sermon on work.” Think of it, a significant portion of our time each week is spent at work, and yet little has been taught on the subject, in spite of its prominence in the Bible. The time to address the Christian work ethic has come, so let us listen well to what the Apostle Paul has to say to the Thessalonians – and to us – about work.

Work is a Subject Frequently Addressed by Paul

Our focus is on Paul’s teaching on work in 2 Thessalonians 3, but we would do well to familiarize ourselves with other texts where we encounter Paul’s Christian work ethic. For the moment, I will merely list a number of texts which you should consult to familiarize yourself with Paul’s teaching about work:

Acts 17:21⁴; 18:1-3⁵; 20:33-35⁶

Romans 16:3, 6⁷

1 Corinthians 4:11-12; 9:1-23⁸; 16:15-16⁹

2 Corinthians 6:5; 11:7-9, 27¹⁰

Galatians 6:6-10

Ephesians 4:28¹¹

Colossians 3:23¹²

1 Timothy 3:1¹³; 5:9-15¹⁴, 17-18¹⁵

2 Timothy 2:3-7, 15¹⁶; Titus 1:12-14¹⁷; 2:5, 8-10¹⁸

Paul’s Example in 1 and 2 Thessalonians

What makes Paul’s instruction regarding work so forceful is that he practiced what he preached. In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul ties the impact of the gospel that was preached in Thessalonica with the work ethic and lifestyle of those who proclaimed it (which, of course, included Paul):

1 For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, about our coming to you – it has not proven to be purposeless. . . . 5 For we never appeared with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is our witness – 6 nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others, 7 although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ;¹⁹ instead we became [gentle]²⁰ among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children, 8 with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe. 11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory (1 Thessalonians 2:1, 5-12, emphasis mine).

Paul’s words here carry even greater weight with readers today, for they are supplemented by Paul’s other references to the same practice elsewhere, especially as mentioned in Acts 20:33-35 and 1 Corinthians 9:1-23. Paul frequently set aside his right to be paid for his ministry, choosing instead to labor night and day to support himself and others.

Paul’s Previous Instruction about Work in 1 Thessalonians

Not only did Paul set an example for the Thessalonians to follow; he also gave some very specific instructions regarding work. He particularly focused his attention on those who were undisciplined and did not work:

9 Now on the topic of brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 12 In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, emphasis mine).

We need to recall that this instruction is given in the context of the believer’s sanctification, and also that these words are not suggestions but apostolic commands (4:1-3ff.). In this text, the believer’s motivation for working hard is brotherly love. (It is not loving to let your brother work hard to support you, when you are not working as you should.) And so Paul commands the Thessalonians to strive to lead a quiet life and to mind their own business (literally and metaphorically).

Why the emphasis on living quietly? Because most labor is not done as well when the worker is carrying on a conversation with others (something like the distraction caused when driving while e-mailing or sending text messages today). Indeed, it is hard to hold a job when you are spending too much time talking and too little time working. Excessive talking (or meddling) seems to have been the reason why some folks were not working. This “busyness in the affairs of others” was a “lion in the road”²¹ which may have been disguised as “ministry,” but in reality, it was just sanctified loafing.

When I was a seminary student I worked at a factory, along with a number of other seminarians, producing after-market air conditioners for automobiles, trucks, and even tractors. We had a “break” period of 15 minutes, which some stretched to a considerably longer time. “Witnessing” (loosely called) and discussing some of the fine points of theology seemed to justify an exception to the rule, so that the conversations of seminarians could be extended considerably. What could possibly be more important than talking about the Bible?

We turn next to 1 Thessalonians 5:

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor²² among you and preside²³ over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work.²⁴ Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all (1 Thessalonians 5:12-14, emphasis mine).

As Paul begins to conclude 1 Thessalonians, he urges these saints to recognize church leaders (elders, and perhaps deacons as well). Notice the first thing Paul says which characterizes those who should be formally recognized as leaders – these men are those who “labor hard among them” and who “rule over” them. He then urges the church to “esteem them most highly in love because of their work” (verse 13). Thus, one of the things that should characterize leaders in any church is the fact that they work hard at caring for the flock.

Workers and Shirkers in 2 Thessalonians 3

Allow me to make some observations from our text regarding the problem Paul is seeking to correct in our text.

1. This is the third problem which Paul has addressed in 2 Thessalonians. In chapter 1, Paul addressed the problem of persecution. He declared that persecution not only proved the saints worthy of the Lord’s coming deliverance and blessings, but it also revealed that the unbelievers who persecuted them were worthy of God’s coming wrath. In chapter 2, Paul corrected the error that the Day of the Lord had already come by pointing out that those things which must precede the Lord’s Second Coming had not yet occurred. And now in chapter 3, Paul deals with the problem of those who failed to work and thus became dependent on the labors of others.

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. . . . 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” 11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 10-11).

2. Those who failed to work were living off of others and were thus unnecessarily depleting the resources of others. Slothful saints were a burden on their brothers and sisters.

And we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you (2 Thessalonians 3:8).

3. While these undisciplined “moochers” were not working for an income, they were busy doing the wrong things. I like the way the ESV highlights Paul’s wordplay on the Greek term for “work”:

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies (2 Thessalonians 3:11, ESV; emphasis mine).

This is a very critical observation. The “freeloaders” that Paul is dealing with are not people who refuse work in any and every form. They are people who avoid one kind of work by becoming too busily engaged in other “work.” And to make this even more sinister, they would be inclined to call this other “work” ministry. Paul is clear that these freeloaders are engaged in work, but their “work” is not really productive; it is a pretext for gossiping and causing trouble.

I remember teaching on the sluggard in a series I did in the Book of Proverbs.²⁵ It was then that I realized that sluggards were not people who avoided work altogether; sluggards were the folks who worked very hard at avoiding the “work” which they found too difficult or taxing. I hate to say it, but I believe there are some who go into “full-time Christian ministry” because they are sluggards. Christian ministry as shirkers go about it is “easy,” while working for a living through secular employment is just too hard.

This is a day when young people feel entitled to a job that pays very well and provides all kinds of benefits. But more than this, they feel entitled to have a job that is “fulfilling” and “fun.” In reality, they want employment that avoids the curse which God pronounced on Adam and all men due to sin:

17 But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground thanks to you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17-19, emphasis mine).

No wonder there were those in Thessalonica (not to mention everywhere else in the world) who sought some way of escaping the curse of hard labor. But man’s calling and task was to work hard, and thereby to provide for himself and his family. In reality, the Thessalonian shirkers were sluggards.

The problem of misusing one’s “free time” in unproductive ways is clearly indicated in Paul’s instructions to Timothy regarding younger widows:

11 But do not accept younger widows on the list, because their passions may lead them away from Christ and they will desire to marry, 12 and so incur judgment for breaking their former pledge. 13 And besides that, going around from house to house they learn to be lazy, and they are not only lazy, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not. 14 So I want younger women to marry, raise children, and manage a household, in order to give the adversary no opportunity to vilify us. 15 For some have already wandered away to follow Satan (1 Timothy 5:11-15, emphasis mine).

4. When freeloaders fail to work, they often distract others from doing their work as well as they should.

For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others (2 Thessalonians 3:11, NET Bible; emphasis mine).

For we hear that there are some among you who walk irresponsibly, not working at all, but interfering with the work of others (2 Thessalonians 3:11, CSB; emphasis mine).

A person who is “not doing their job” (or not doing any job) is probably hindering one or more people who are seeking to do their job well.

5. The freeloaders Paul speaks of here are Christians:

But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us (2 Thessalonians 3:6, emphasis mine).

Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:15, emphasis mine).

6. Failing to work for an income not only ignores the example set by Paul (and others); it also disobeys Paul’s very clear instructions:

6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline among you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate (2 Thessalonians 3:6-9, emphasis mine).

7. Paul’s words in our text are his “final warning” to the Thessalonian sluggards:

12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing what is right. 14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:12-15, emphasis mine).

Paul began to deal with the Thessalonian freeloaders early in his first epistle. What we are reading in 2 Thessalonians 3 are Paul’s final words on the matter. Paul and his associates have set the example for the Thessalonians in the matter of working hard and not being a burden on others.²⁶ He has instructed the Thessalonians to express their love for one another by pursuing sanctification in the matter of work.²⁷ He has encouraged recognizing leaders who are hard workers.²⁸ Now, in 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul commands freeloaders to go to work, and he instructs the rest that if they do not heed this final warning, these folks are to be disciplined:

12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing what is right. 14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:12-15).

The time has come for someone to act on what Paul has been teaching. If the freeloaders do not heed his instructions and go to work, then the church is to obey Paul by admonishing them and then withdrawing fellowship from them. Both the Thessalonian freeloaders and the church are now on notice. Something needs to change in the church at Thessalonica!

If the freeloaders are willfully disobedient to Paul’s instructions, then they are to be publicly identified as those who have disregarded Paul’s instructions and his words of admonition (warning). If the admonition of the church goes unheeded, then the members of the church must withdraw fellowship from those who persist in their sin of slothful living. Nevertheless, they are still to be regarded as a brother, and not as an enemy.

Paul’s Last Words to the Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all (2 Thessalonians 3:16-18, emphasis mine).

Let’s remember that Paul strongly desired to return to Thessalonica, but his efforts were repeatedly hindered by Satan.²⁹ Because Paul was not able to return, he wrote these two epistles and also sent Timothy to Thessalonica in his place. What I want you to see from Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians is that he does not emphasize his return to Thessalonica as much as he does our Lord’s return – His Second Coming to earth. Paul wants these Thessalonians to be more focused and eager regarding the Lord’s return than on his return.

Paul’s words are designed to encourage a strong dependency on God, rather than on himself. The things that were most important for Paul to say to these saints will remain recorded in his epistles. But these epistles, like Paul’s ministry in person, were intended to draw Christians nearer to the Lord Jesus, rather than to make them more dependent upon Paul. And so Paul concludes this epistle by confidently praying that the Lord himself give these saints peace in every conceivable (and inconceivable) way, and at all times. In other words, there is no time and no way in which the Lord will not personally give these believers peace. Do they live in turbulent and troubled times? The Lord will give them peace. Are more difficult times ahead? The Lord will continue to give them peace. Thus, the Thessalonians should continue to look to the Lord personally for peace, rather than to Paul.

Then in verse 18 Paul closes with this benediction: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is all about grace. It is by grace that we are saved. It is by grace that we endure. It is by grace that we will enter into the blessings of enjoying God for all eternity. And so it is that the first thing Paul says to these saints (1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2), and also the last (1 Thessalonians 5:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:18), is to remind them of God’s grace.

We should also note Paul’s words in verse 17, especially in the light of Paul’s warning that some will come to the Thessalonians claiming to speak for Paul or with his authority (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). How will the saints know whether they are reading one of Paul’s genuine epistles or not? He tells us here:

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter (2 Thessalonians 3:17, emphasis mine).

How will the saints know if an epistle that comes to them is from Paul? Look for his signature, written with his own hand. That is Paul’s seal of authenticity. That is how he signed this epistle, and it is also how he signs every one of his epistles.

Conclusion

1. Please distinguish between Paul’s instructions regarding “work” in our text (as it relates to sanctification) from his teaching elsewhere on “works” (as it relates to salvation). Paul is emphatic about the fact that people are saved apart from their works, and solely on the basis of the finished work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – 22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:19-23).

8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

4 But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

There is no work that you or I can do that will make us righteous in God’s sight. That is why the Son of God came to earth, lived a perfect life, and then died in the sinner’s place, suffering the penalty he deserves. He takes our sin upon Himself and bestows His righteousness on every one who believes in Him. Once one comes to faith, they understand that the way in which they do their work should radically change. Saints should do their work as to the Lord, and for His glory. They should work hard in order to be able to help others. They should work so that they will not be a burden to others. This is one aspect of the believer’s sanctification.

2. Weren’t Jesus and His apostles supported by others? Why, then, does Paul say what he does here? It is true that Jesus was supported by others:

1 Some time afterward he went on through towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Cuza (Herod’s household manager), Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources (Luke 8:1-3).

It is also true that apostles and others who preached the gospel had the right to be supported in their ministry:

1 After Jesus called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave the area. 5 Wherever they do not receive you, as you leave that town, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 Then they departed and went throughout the villages, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere (Luke 9:1-6).

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves. 4 Do not carry a money bag, a traveler’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house!’ 6 And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in that town and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come upon you!’” (Luke 10:1-12, emphasis mine)

1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, for you are the confirming sign of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to financial support? 5 Do we not have the right to the company of a believing wife, like the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6 Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not to work? 7 Who ever serves in the army at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk? 8 Am I saying these things only on the basis of common sense, or does the law not say this as well? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, ”Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” God is not concerned here about oxen, is he? 10 Or is he not surely speaking for our benefit? It was written for us, because the one plowing and threshing ought to work in hope of enjoying the harvest. 11 If we sowed spiritual blessings among you, is it too much to reap material things from you? 12 If others receive this right from you, are we not more deserving?

But we have not made use of this right. Instead we endure everything so that we may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple eat food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar receive a part of the offerings? (1 Corinthians 9:1-13)

Now the one who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with the one who teaches it (Galatians 6:6).

17 Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. 18 For the scripture says,”Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker deserves his pay” (1 Timothy 5:17-18).

What we need to see in these verses is that those who work hard at proclaiming the gospel have the right to be supported by those whom they serve. These folks are far from freeloaders! In Luke 10:7, Jesus tells those He sends out that “the worker is worthy of his pay.” How is this so? Those who have worked hard at preaching the gospel are worthy of financial support from those who have come to faith through their ministry (see 1 Corinthians 9:11 above). But remember that those whom Jesus sent out were also healing the sick, casting out demons, and even raising the dead.³⁰ How could anyone feel that they were “ripped off” by our Lord’s servants when they had benefited by partaking of some of the fruits of their ministry? Those who are supported in their ministry are those who should be “worth their salt,” or as Jesus put it, worthy of their hire.

Paul in no way condemns those who are legitimately being supported in their ministry. He is emphatic that this is the right of those who diligently labor in the Lord’s service.³¹ It was a right Paul could have exercised. Paul sometimes allowed other churches to support him as he ministered to those in a particular city.³² One of the reasons Paul declined his right to be supported was that he did not wish to be a burden to others.³³ Another reason was that he was seeking to set an example for others to follow (of sacrificially caring for others). I think Paul’s primary motivation for surrendering the right to be financially supported was his desire to adorn and advance the gospel:

19 For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) to gain those under the law. 21 To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law. 22 To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some. 23 I do all these things because of the gospel, so that I can be a participant in it (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

Paul sought to adorn and advance the gospel by setting aside his right to financial support. Religious hucksters were common then, as now, and they never turned down money; indeed, they did what they did out of greed and hope for material gain.³⁴ By working hard and supporting himself (and others) as Paul did, he set himself apart from self-serving religious hucksters, thereby adorning the gospel.³⁵ Paul’s method of supporting himself was an illustration of the gospel. Our Lord provided salvation for lost sinners by paying the price for man’s sin, and offering that salvation to men without charge. If Paul’s message was all about grace, so was his method of ministering to men by bringing them the gospel. Paul’s method complimented the message.

3. One’s work (and how he goes about it) is closely related to the gospel. I have just said that Paul’s practice of working hard and supporting himself in his ministry was motivated by his desire to adorn and advance the gospel. I believe that this should be the motivation of every Christian, and thus Paul’s words in our text have a very direct relation to us and to our work. One of the reasons why Paul urges some of the Thessalonians to “stop shirking and start working” is because the way they do (or don’t do) their work is a reflection on the gospel. Note Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:

9 Now on the topic of brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 12 In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, emphasis mine).

One’s work does reflect on the gospel, and thus Paul urges the Thessalonians to be hard workers, supporting themselves so that it will be a good testimony to “outsiders.” We all know that hard work was part of the curse:

17 But to Adam he said,
“Because you obeyed your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
cursed is the ground thanks to you;
in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17-19, emphasis mine).

I believe that just as death for all men was part of the curse, the death of the Lord Jesus on man’s behalf became the cure for the curse. I believe the same is true for work. While hard work is clearly part of the curse in Genesis 3, so it is also part of the cure. Adam and the rest of mankind have earned their bread by the sweat of their brows; Jesus achieved salvation for those who believe by sweating drops of blood from His brow.³⁶ No one has ever worked harder than our Lord did on the cross of Calvary.

Working hard and doing a good job should characterize every Christian, and it should likewise put us in good standing with men. Think, for example, of this proverb:

Do you see a person skilled in his work?
He will take his position before kings;
he will not take his position before obscure people (Proverbs 22:29).

I am reminded of the faithful labor of Joseph, Daniel, and Nehemiah, which put them in favor with men of great standing – with kings. They were noted not only as good workers, but also as those on whom God’s hand of blessing could be seen:

37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” (Genesis 41:37-38)

It is my conviction that one of the most effective ways to spread the gospel is through Christian businessmen. This concept is becoming more and more popular today as “business as mission.” Christian businessmen who are skilled and successful are often welcomed in countries where missionaries are prohibited. Not only are they welcomed, they have the opportunity to interact with people in a capacity for which they are highly respected, and thus their testimony carries weight as well. (This in no way is meant to deny or ignore the role of the Word of God and the Spirit of God in evangelism.)

There is another reason why “business as mission” is growing in popularity today. Sending missionaries (even where they are permitted) is extremely expensive, and current economic conditions are not favorable for sending out many more missionaries. Those who engage in “business as mission” pay their own way, and often they provide jobs and income for many others. Let me remind you that Paul was a “tentmaker” who often provided for himself and for others through his hard work. Why are we not as eager to follow Paul’s example and exhortation regarding work as we are to embrace his teaching on other matters like soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) or eschatology (the doctrine of future things)?

4. Our text adds significantly to our understanding of church discipline. I must confess that I have always considered the guiding texts for church discipline to be Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5, and Galatians 6:1. Somehow, 2 Thessalonians 3 never seemed to come to mind, and yet it also clearly speaks about church discipline. It seems to me that Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5 deal with blatant sin and rebellion, so that the willful sinner is dealt with in the most severe fashion. According to Matthew 18:17, the rebellious sinner is to be treated as a “Gentile and a tax-gatherer.” That sounds pretty dramatic. In 1 Corinthians 5, the willful sinner is handed over to Satan, with the possible outcome of the destruction of the flesh (death?).³⁷

Discipline is not to be exercised on unbelievers.³⁸ In both passages (Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5), it is assumed that the sinner in need of discipline is a believer. The goal of church discipline is the repentance and restoration of the sinner, as well as the preservation of the purity of the church. Loss of one’s salvation is never considered a possible outcome, only the loss of one’s life. But when we come to our text in 2 Thessalonians 3, we find what appears to be a less severe application of church discipline. The church is instructed to admonish the undisciplined, and then withdraw fellowship, but Paul makes a point of saying that the freeloading saint is still to be regarded as a brother in the faith. I’m not certain that I know exactly what that means, but I do believe that it means one does not go as far in withdrawing as we find in Matthew 18 or 1 Corinthians 5.

So, our text forces me to recognize that church discipline cannot be applied in a “one size fits all” fashion. Our text causes me to think of church discipline more as a continuum, but when you think of it this way, it really does make sense. Church discipline begins with sound teaching and a godly example of living according to the truth, as Paul taught and practiced his faith. From there, it moves on to admonition or warning, pointing out the dangers which lie ahead. The Book of Proverbs is an example of this kind of instruction and admonition. Then, when people cross the line drawn by the Word of God, you personally and confidentially rebuke them, pointing out the sin and showing God’s way of escape. If this warning goes unheeded, you draw in two or three witnesses so that the rebuke and the sinner’s response can be verified. Only if this fails do you take it to the church, so that the entire congregation can participate in the corrective process. If this rebuke is rejected, then the church withdraws fellowship, but the form of this withdrawal may have various degrees of intensity. Only the most flagrant sin and rebellion (against the authority of the church in its correction) would result in turning the sinner over to Satan, and/or treating the sinner as a tax gatherer. In the case of the freeloader, a somewhat less dramatic course of correction would take place, but something drastic enough to get their attention.

The Implications of our Text for a New Testament Church

This is not the time or the place to attempt to describe in detail the characteristics of a New Testament church, but I will include some links to messages which I have preached on the church:

http://bible.org/series/can-we-serve-church-cafeteria-style

http://bible.org/series/following-jesus-me-first-world

http://bible.org/seriespage/characteristics-healthy-church-acts-241-47

http://bible.org/series/measure-new-testament-church

http://bible.org/series/true-spirituality-study-1-corinthians

http://bible.org/series/what-new-testament-church

What I wish to do here is to focus on the nature of a New Testament church and to show how our text particularly applies to such a church. In a New Testament church, ministry is the work of the entire body of believers, and not just the work of a few professionals:

11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God - a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. 14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. 15 But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love (Ephesians 4:11-16, emphasis mine).

The “work of ministry” is just that – work, and hard work at that! The work of ministry is also the work of the entire body of Christ. That is why our Lord gave each member of the body of Christ specific spiritual gifts and particular places of ministry.

4 Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 7 To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. 8 For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, emphasis mine).

When a believer in Christ fails to carry out the work that God has given them, they become an unnecessary burden to the church. Others must take up the slack that the slacker has created. And because that particular believer has been uniquely gifted and equipped for his or her ministry, it will never be done as well as it could have been done by the one whose ministry it was. That is why Paul speaks of our gifts as a stewardship:

10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:10-11).

Our text should teach us that prophecy is practical. Neither Paul nor any other biblical author speaks of prophecy in a purely academic or intellectual way. God does not reveal what He does about the future to satisfy our curiosity; He reveals prophecy in order to motivate us to godly living:

11 Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, 12 while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze! 13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides. 14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence (2 Peter 3:11-14).

We see this truth dramatically illustrated in the Book of Daniel. In this wonderful prophecy, we learn much about what the future holds, but interwoven into these prophecies is the example of the godly living of Daniel and his three friends. Prophecy is a motivation for piety. That is what Peter has just said, and with this, Paul would heartily agree.

Finally, a word of encouragement to the overworked: Don’t grow weary and give up. In the midst of Paul’s admonition and instruction for the freeloaders, and his instructions to the church, Paul includes a word of encouragement to those who are paying the price because of those who refuse to shoulder their share of the work which God has given them. When someone fails to do what God has given them to do, someone else often carries the extra load. Paul does not conclude this epistle without an encouraging word to the overworked: Don’t grow weary, and don’t give up. I believe these saints will be rewarded for their sacrificial service, which is above and beyond the call of their duty.

A Question to Ponder

And so I must ask you, my Christian friend, “Are you a worker or a shirker?” Are you carrying your share of the load, or are you leaving that to others? If you are not carrying out your part of the task, this text should be very convicting. God takes note of our deeds, and He rewards us accordingly. There is the financial load, which all too many fail to shoulder. Nearly every church has those who carry more than their load, and many others who carry little or none of that load. The same could be said for caring for others, for teaching Sunday School, or working in the nursery. I would encourage you to be a worker, and not a shirker. What are the tasks God has given you to do in His church, and what are you doing to fulfill them?

Copyright © 2010 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited manuscript of Lesson 16 in the series Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians, prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh on October 10, 2010. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. In addition, anyone who wants to share the Bible with others can print unlimited copies and give them away free to others. It is available on the Internet at:

www.netbible.org.

2

http://www.breakfastwithfred.com/

3 New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009 (available at amazon.com).

4 Granted, this text isn’t about Paul; it is about those “sidewalk philosophers” in Athens that Paul encountered. It seems that they had nothing better to do (like work) than to sit around talking about new and novel things.

5 Paul joined up with Aquila and Priscilla, who supported themselves by making tents in Corinth.

6 This is a particularly important text, for it is here that Paul shared his work ethic with the Ephesian elders.

7 Mary is singled out for her “hard work” on behalf of the church.

8 This is no doubt Paul’s most definitive statement regarding his work ethic. Here he makes it clear that being financially remunerated for his ministry is his right, but it is a right that he sets aside for the advancement of the gospel.

9 Paul is here commending Stephanas as a leader the saints at Corinth should formally recognize. His hard work is one of the characteristics of this man which sets him apart from (and above) others.

10 In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is contrasting his position and authority as an apostle with the claims of those who are false apostles (verse 13). He does so by stressing his suffering and his hard labor, both of which the false apostles avoid.

11 Working hard in order to give to those in need is a monumental change in attitude and lifestyle for one who has lived as a thief, but it is what sanctification requires.

12 Even secular work is transformed by the Christian work ethic. Since God is the One whom we serve, we must wholeheartedly do our work in order to please Him.

13 Here, as elsewhere, eldering is portrayed as hard work, rather than a position of status.

14 One might easily pass this passage by, since it pertains to women – widows (old and young) actually. Nevertheless, it is the hard work of serving others that (in part) qualifies the older widow to be added to the support list. And Paul’s concern is that if younger women were supported by the church, they would have idle time, which could very easily be misused in an unprofitable manner, for the young widow and the church.

15 Paul acknowledges here that some elders (particularly those who concentrate on preaching and teaching) may devote more time and energy to their ministry than others, for which they may require remuneration.

16 Paul seems to indicate here that the ideal is for one like Timothy (teaching and preaching) to be engaged full-time in that ministry, and thus he will need to be supported by those who profit from his ministry. I understand this to be saying nearly the same thing that Paul has already written in 1 Timothy 5:17-18.

17 Unfortunately, there are those “would-be teachers” who need to be silenced. Among other things, they are lazy and useless.

18 Whether it be men or women, young or old, the Christian who is idle brings reproach on the gospel, while those who are diligent in their work honor Christ and His gospel.

19 I assume here that Paul means that while he could have insisted on being supported financially as an apostle, he did not do so.

20 I’ve altered the wording of the NET Bible here, although I am aware that some Greek texts support this rendering. The reason that I reject “little children” is that it fails to communicate Paul’s point, which is illustrated by both a mother’s (gentle) care and a father’s faithful instruction. To become like “little children” would be to become dependent upon the Thessalonians; but to gently “mother” and “father” this flock is to give of oneself to meet the needs of those who are dependent. Paul is not dependent on the Thessalonians; they are dependent on him and his associates.

21 See Proverbs 22:13; 26:13. Only a fool would go out into the street knowing that a lion was waiting there for his next meal. And thus, the sluggard invents some compelling reason why he must do (or not do) a particular thing, like “go to work.” As a former school teacher, I have heard my share of “lion in the road” excuses.

22 While a number of translations choose to render the Greek term kopiao “labor,” I believe that this does not adequately convey the idea of physical fatigue or weariness as the result of laboring hard. Thus, the NASB renders “diligently labor;” the NIV “work hard;” and the NJB “work so hard.”

23 The Greek term means to “rule over” or “lead.” It can also mean to “busy oneself with,” a rather fascinating option when considered in the light of our text in 2 Thessalonians 3.

24 This is a different Greek word for work, ergon.

25

http://bible.org/seriespage/sluggard

26 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

27 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12.

28 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13.

29 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18. Obviously, God was allowing Satan to hinder Paul’s efforts because it was not His time for Paul to return to Thessalonica. As usual, God uses Satan’s resistance to achieve His purposes.

³⁰ See Matthew 10:8. I am also reminded of Elisha’s ministry in 2 Kings 4:8-37.

³¹ See 1 Corinthians 9:1-13; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 2 Timothy 4:2-6; 2 Thessalonians 3:9.

³² See 2 Corinthians 11:8-9; Philippians 4:14-16.

33 See Acts 20:33-36.

³⁴ See 1 Timothy 6:3-5.

³⁵ On this matter of adorning the gospel, see Titus 2:5, 10.

³⁶ Luke 22:44.

³⁷ 1 Corinthians 5:5.

³⁸ 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.