Life Together

When I started writing this sermon, I had a plan about the verses I wanted to cover. In fact, I had planned back in April (6 months ago) the text I was going to preach this morning. And then, as plans tend to do, they changed.

By Tuesday of this week, I was all confused. Well, more confused than normal...

I’m actually unsure how to divide these verses; suffice it to say over this week and next, we’ll cover 1 Thessalonians 2:17 through the end of Chapter 3.

I can see you’re all on the edge of your seats about how that’s going to happen.

Starting in 1 Thessalonians 2:17, Paul is expressing how deep his longing is to be with the church in Thessalonica. He speaks to them with family affection, with eagerness to be with them in person again.

In a sentence, Paul longs for life together with the church.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it:

The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer. Longingly, the imprisoned apostle Paul calls his “dearly beloved son in the faith,” Timothy, to come to him in prison in the last days of his life; he would see him again and have him near. Paul has not forgotten the tears Timothy shed when last they parted (2 Timothy 1:4). Remembering the congregation in Thessalonica, Paul prays, “night and day most earnestly that we might see your face” (1 Thessalonians 3:10). The aged John knows that his joy will not be full until he can come to his own people and speak face to face instead of writing in ink (2 John 12).

Life together with the church is the goal, the desire, the hope, the prayer.

With his life at risk, Paul still deeply desires to be with the church; it’s that important to him.

Do we believe life together with the church is important? What are we willing to risk in order to gather? What commitment do we have to our church family?

“When I was little we used to play church,” writes Anne Ortlund. “We’d get chairs into rows, fight about who’d be preacher, vigorously lead the hymn singing, and generally have a great carnal time.

The aggressive kids naturally wanted to be up front, directing or preaching. The quieter ones were content to sit and be entertained by the up-fronters.

Occasionally we’d get mesmerized by a true sensationalistic crowd-swayer—like the girl who said, “Boo! I’m the Holy Ghost!”

But in general, if the up-fronters were pretty good, they could hold their audience quite a while. If they weren’t so good, eventually the kids would drift off to play something else—like jump rope or jacks.

That generation has now grown up, but most of them haven’t changed too much. Every Sunday they still play church. They still line up in rows for entertainment. If it’s pretty good, their church may grow. If it’s not that great, eventually they’ll drift off to play something else—like yachting or wife swapping.”

-Anne Ortlund, Up with Worship

“Every Sunday they still play church.” Ouch.

Too often, we devolve into playing church. We plaster on a smile, dress up real nice, pretend we didn’t spend the morning yelling at the kids and the dog, and show up to the building where the church gathers to do what we did last week (that is, if there’s nothing more interesting going on that day).

Playing church isn’t the idea; life together with the church is. Life together with the church is the goal, the desire, the hope, the prayer.

1 Thessalonians 2:17–3:2 NIV

17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. 19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

1 Thessalonians 3:6 NIV

6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.

1 Thessalonians 3:9 NIV

9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

Notice the family and emotional language Paul uses: brothers and sisters, orphaned, intense longing, we made every effort to see you, when we could stand it no longer, you always have pleasant memories of us and long to see us, we also long to see you, how can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have because of you.

Life together is the goal, the desire, the hope, the prayer. This is what Paul desires.

Life Together as Family

Already in this letter, Paul has used metaphors for his relationship to the Christians in Thessalonica. He’s said he cares for them as a mother cares for her children. As a father deals with his own children, he has encouraged and comforted and urged the Thessalonians to live lives worthy of God.

Several times, and again here in verse 17, he calls them brothers and sisters.

Your Bible might just say brothers or brethren, but please realize that includes men and women both. Brothers and sisters is the most accurate and complete rendering.

It’s familial term. Paul is speaking to family—his brothers and sisters in Christ.

Don’t miss that. Don’t gloss over it. Anytime you read “brothers” or “brothers and sisters”, take time to reflect upon what it means.

We don’t know much about Paul’s extended family, whether or not he had biological siblings. But we know Paul has innumerable brothers and sisters in Christ.

In 1971, the black and white students in Alexandria, Virginia were integrated into one school named T.C. Williams High School. The players struggled with racial tensions of that era (tensions that still plague us today).

Tempers are hot within the team, until they go away to football camp and become family. Their coach, Herman Boone (played by Denzel in the movie retelling), requires each player to room with and learn something about one of their teammates of a different race.

In no time, in magic movie world, they’re singing together in the locker room and at lunch times.

Near the end of the film, Gary (a white leader on the team) is injured and is in the hospital. Julius (one of the black leaders on the team) comes to see him. Gary’s mom tells Julius, “He only wants to see you.”

When Julius enters Gary’s room, the nurse tries to stop him and says, “Only kin is allowed in here.”

Gary responds, “Alice, are you blind? Don’t you see the family resemblance? That’s my brother.”

If football can bring people together, how much more the gospel?!?

We have to remember that Paul and the Thessalonians were different in just about every way that matters—race, religion, ethnicity, geography, language, culture, favorite baseball team.

Different in every way imaginable. But the gospel—the Good News about Jesus Christ—changes that.

About the divide between Jew and Gentile, Paul always focuses on what Jesus has done. He writes the the church in Ephesus:

Ephesians 2:14-16 “For he himself [Jesus Himself] is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

The gospel works; it takes people, very different from one another, and makes them family. Those who might hate one another before the gospel grips their hearts, before the Spirit changes stone to flesh; those who were once hostile enemies become, in Christ, a spiritual family.

They become church. And that’s a bond deeper than biology, a tie stronger than blood or DNA or race or personality or preference.

And so, in God’s gospel economy, Paul and the Thessalonians—once worlds apart, separated by every single earthly metric—become members of the same family, the Church.

In God’s gospel economy, the Lord God takes people like us and unites us with people very different from us, making us one body, the Church.

Since Paul couldn’t be with his family in Thessalonica, he sent Timothy to them. “We sent Timothy, who is our brother,” Paul writes, because they’re family and family cares for each other.

We need each other. Life together as family is what God had in mind for Paul, Silas, and Timothy and the Thessalonians.

Life together as family is what God has in mind for us.

We we are unable to experience life together, we find out quickly that:

Separation is Painful

Paul has employed the metaphors of father and mother in relation to the Thessalonians.

Now he says he and his friends have been orphaned from them. Torn away from the Thessalonians, as parents from children, as a child being orphaned.

That’s a strong word—orphaned. Paul used the strongest word he could think of to describe the pain of being taken from his family, of not being able to return to his brothers and sisters.

For Paul, having to leave his brothers and sisters, having to leave his family brings about a deep feeling of loss. Something is not right; part of himself is missing. It’s a struggle for him.

Paul feels the pain of separation but believes that their separation will be short-lived—for a short time, Paul writes.

“Short time” on whose schedule? That’s the question. Paul doesn’t know how long it will be before he’s able to make it back to the city of Thessalonica. It could be a long time, humanly speaking.

Paul may never make it back to see them, but, of course, Paul believes and would teach that in a “short time” according to God’s calendar, Paul and the Thessalonians would be together again.

They may not see each other again in this life, but Paul has an eschatological perspective. He knows he and all who believe in Jesus will be with the Lord, and soon. At least “soon” from an eternal perspective.

Paul credits his failure to return to the Thessalonians to satanic spiritual opposition. He says, “But Satan blocked our way.”

Satan is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew name meaning “accuser” which appears a few times in the OT (Job and Zechariah).

Paul doesn’t mention how he knows Satan was hindering him from traveling to Thessalonica. But it seems clear to him. Paul and Silas wanted to go see their family, but Satan prevented it.

Satan will do everything in his limited power to separate us, to prevent the church from gathering together.

Satan is not all-powerful; only God is. And still, Satan is able to tempt, to lure, to oppose the church. One of his most effective gambits is to convince Christians that they don’t need the gathering of the family of God.

“You won’t miss anything. Sleep in; you were out late last night. Enjoy the long weekend. You can worship all the same in the deer stand, on the lake, at the ballgame. You don’t need to attend a church when you’re on vacation. It’s fine. Gathering together isn’t as important as people want you to believe.”

We know all the excuses. We have believed and used some of them ourselves. It’s a subtle ploy of Satan to keep us from experiencing the blessing of life together. If he can keep us separated, that’s half the battle.

There is no substitute for life together. This is the reason Paul’s longing and desire to be with the Thessalonians is so strong.

It’s the same as being separated from your biological family (well, some of your family. I’m good to see my sister once or twice a year. Any more than that is overkill). But, overall, we miss our families when we’ve been apart for a while.

Paul gives a number of reasons the separation from the believers in Thessalonica is so painful.

The believers there are their hope, joy, and the crown in which we glory.

Imagine how happy a child feels with his mom declares she is proud of him or when a dad tells his daughter that she is his joy. This is what the Thessalonians would feel upon reading this.

Paul wants the church to be encouraged. To know that Paul and his colleagues call the church their glory and joy would lift them up for sure.

Paul’s legacy before the Lord will be the people to whom he has ministered. Just as an athlete in that day would receive a crown for victory, Paul refers to the church as his crown; they are his reward for his faithful ministry.

This deep love and appreciation—one for another—is what makes the separation so tough.

Ask yourself: if you couldn’t be gathered with your church family—if you were separated or prevented from gathering—would the separation be difficult for you?

If it wouldn’t be difficult, ask yourself why.

For Paul and Silas and Timothy, the the Thessalonians, too, their desire was clear: they wanted to be together.

Desire Life Together

Paul and his team had been, all along, concerned about the Thessalonian believers’ welfare. They were praying for them, seeking avenues of returning to them, longing for news about them.

Paul says, “When we could stand it no longer…we sent Timothy to you.”

They just had to check in on their family. And it’s not just one-sided.

When Timothy returns to Paul and Silas after going to see the Thessalonians, he reports to them good things about the Thessalonians’ faith and love.

But he also tells Paul and Silas about the Thessalonians’ fond memories AND reports how the Thessalonians long to see the men who brought the gospel to them in the first place.

The longing is reciprocal. It goes both ways. Both sides of the separation long to be with the other. The desire is for life together.

Paul was willing to send his ministry teammate, Timothy, to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonians. Such was Paul’s concern about and care for his church family.

“Paul simply could not get the Thessalonians off of his mind. Even after arriving in Athens, Paul’s heart was still in Thessalonica. The eager anticipation of what God was going to do in Athens did not erase his memories of what God was doing in Thessalonica.” - Mark Howell

When Timothy arrived in Thessalonica, to strengthen and encourage them, to cheer them on, to help them in their journey as new believers, no doubt the church there felt the love and care that these men had for them.

Paul couldn’t make it himself, but he cared enough to send his friend and co-worker, Timothy to them.

The desire, on both sides, was life together. This, simply because both Paul and the Thessalonians know enough to value the gathering of God’s people. They realize they need one another in a very real way.

At several points in my life—often the lowest times, the hardest times—what I need and appreciate most, after the never-failing presence of God, is the presence and strength and encouragement of my church family.

It’s something I’ve never really been without, and for that, I’m beyond thankful.

God, in His good design, gives His people one another. Look around. These are the people you can lean on, depend upon. These are the people who need you. They need your encouragement, your strength, your presence.

Long for life together. Desire life together.

As I said, I didn’t really know how to divide this section of text for a couple of sermons, but I do realize what the Lord is trying to teach us about the church and life together as a body of believers.

Here are some points of application.

Elevate your concept of the church.

Don’t treat the church as unimportant, unnecessary, or a hindrance to doing great things for God. The church is imperfect, but it is indispensable to faithful Christian discipleship.

Identify yourself with a people in a local church.

If you are a professing Christian but not a part of a local church, then realize that you’re not following the NT pattern.

Realize also that you’re not helping yourself; it is not wise or safe to be apart from accountability, discipline, and the oversight of pastoral leaders who will give an account to God.

Never forget that it’s a privilege to belong to a local family of faith, and to be part of the larger universal Church.

Locally, it’s a gift to extend Christ’s welcome to one another, to gather corporately for worship, to share life together, to give our time, talents, and treasure to further the gospel, and to live on mission together.

Globally, it’s a gift to stand together with our brothers and sisters around the globe who confess Jesus as Lord.

Eternally, it’s a gift to know that we will be joined with all the redeemed from all time singing, “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb.”

>I would have loved to have been able to read our kids minds when they joined our family a little more than 4 years ago. Long before the adoption was finalized, they were ours. And as such, our family became their family.

They met Grandma Terrie and Grandma Jam. My sister and her little monsters. Uncle Matt and Uncle Brad. Some of our extended family.

But before our kids met any of our biological family, they met a good number of you, our church family.

They met the guy who came and helped assemble their bunk beds. They met the guy who gave us the bunk beds, the families who gifted Magal a basketball goal, the people who gave us clothes and books and games, some kids to show them around the school, the folks who took up a collection to help with all the expenses.

Before the kids met our family, they met our family. They met a bunch of strangers who loved them immediately and who shared their lives with them. They met the church.

There’s nothing in the world like the church—the gathered people of God who have been redeemed by Christ.

Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.