Receive. Reorient. Resonate. These three terms came to my mind when I read the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians. They received the power. They reoriented their hearts to serve the true and living God. Their influence resonated through the entire region. Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus were extremely thankful and joyful to hear this great message.
Background
Thessalonica was one of the cities that Paul visited during his first missionary trip (Acts 17:1-9). He stayed in the city for three Sabbaths only, after which he had to flee southward due to a severe, violent persecution by the jealous Jews.
However, the church of the Thessalonians must have been very dear to the heat of Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus. Although the total stay in the city was short, this first letter to Thessalonians showed no shortage of expressed yearning and brotherly love from Paul. What enabled Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus to develop such a strong bond with the Thessalonian church and its saints? Let’s explore this in the five chapters of 1 Thessalonians.
Summary
Paul is giving thanks to the Thessalonians for their work of faith, labor of love, and perseverance of hope. He states that the Gospel came to them in power with full conviction. As a result, the Thesslanians became the imitators of Paul and of the Lord, receiving the word with joy despite ongoing great trials and afflictions. Because of the joy with which they received the word, they became a great example of Christians to all the believers in Macedonia. They also turned to God from idols, served God, and waited for the coming of His Son from heaven.
Recipient: Church
Very clear and important was the recipient of Paul’s letter: the church of the Thessalonians. Although Paul visited the synagogue of the Jews for three Sabbaths in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-3), the primary recipient of the letter was the church.
Then, what is church? As Paul’s main message indicated during the three Sabbaths in the synagogue, church is the assembly of people who profess Jesus as the Christ (Acts 17:2). Although he preached the message to the people at the synagogue at that time, his letter was addressed to the people of Christ, not the people at the synagogue. Again, church is the assembly of people who profess Jesus is the Christ – in other words, Jesus as their master and Lord.
First Step: Received the Gospel in Word and Power
Paul states that “our gospel did not come to you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1 Thess 1:4).” What a statement. Let’s unpack this profound statement by focusing on the two terms, “word,” and “power.”
The Gospel came in word. Let’s not take this for granted. Why is this important? It is important because words can be understood by finite people like us. It came in words so that the Thessalonians can grasp the love languages of God. In addition, it came with power. The absolute power resides in the Gospel because it unshackles us from the grip of the power of death to eternal life with God.
The opportunity to receive the Gospel is utterly by the sole grace of God. The Gospel is the most precious gift to mankind. Paul was the messenger to the Thessalonians. That Thessalonians received the Gospel through Paul was by grace.
Second Step: Reorient and Grow
The Thessalonians received the Gospel in word and power. By seeing Paul’s prayer for them, we can tell three important elements that pertain to the reorientation and growth in Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).
- Work of faith: Faith is a relation with and an utter trust in Christ. Any relation requires sincere work. Paul wanted to include this in prayer so that the church of the Thessalonians continue to work on deepening their relation with Christ. This is not saying that work is required to be saved – this is solely based on the grace of Jesus Christ. However, as faith is an active relation between two entities, it makes sense to use a phrase, “work of faith.”
- Labor of love: Loving your God and neighbor is not a natural extension of man’s heart and behavior. The world often uses a phrase like “falling in love” as if love is a passive and emotion-driven element. However, biblical love is agape. Love requires labor. It needs to be deliberate and action-oriented. God demonstrated this by persistently chasing the Israelites, His people, by eventually sending Jesus to forgive and save them. Paul wanted the Thessalonians to labor to show love.
- Perseverance of hope: Reorient your perspective to behold the great glory with Christ in the near future. The church of the Thessalonians was under severe afflictions from the Jews. Therefore, Paul was encouraging them to persevere and look for the future of Christ and His glory.
The Thessalonians seem to be already demonstrating the results of these. As they “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven (1 Thess 1:9-10).”
Third Step: Resonation
The Thessalonians had already become influential as they became imitators of Christ and Paul demonstrated joy despite ongoing great trials and afflictions (1 Thessalonians 1:6). This was one of the key attributes that distinguished the genuine followers of Christ from others. Because of the expressed joy, they became a great example of Christians to all the believers in Macedonia.
So let us pray that we will receive the word of God, let the Holy Spirit reorient our hearts, and let the work of God resonate from us.
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