1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 - The Power of the Gospel

J Patrick McDonald

1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted 8 months ago • Presented 3 years ago

1 Thessalonians 1:2–5

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2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

Target Date: Sunday, 6 February 2022

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Came – was made, became, occurred – not a sense of a change in location but in an event occurring.

for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia - 1 Thessalonians 1:5-7

Power – dunamei – dative singular meaning “power” or might.

Not to be confused with dynameis, the plural of dynamis, which means “miracles” (1 Cor 12:10; Gal 3:5), the singular does not specify supernatural manifestations but neither does it exclude them. This verse primarily points to the inward power with which the speakers were filled as they gave the message, a power that might show itself in a variety of ways. This made the speakers aware of God’s special involvement in the gospel and its presentation.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith - Romans 1:16-17

That the gospel came to them also not in word only, but in power; they not only heard the sound of it, but submitted to the power of it. It did not merely tickle the ear and please the fancy, not merely fill their heads with notions and amuse their minds for awhile, but it affected their hearts: a divine power went along with it for convincing their consciences and amending their lives. Note, By this we may know our election, if we not only speak of the things of God by rote as parrots, but feel the influence of these things in our hearts, mortifying our lusts, weaning us from the world, and raising us up to heavenly things.

Thoughts on the Passage:

The true gospel comes in:

The word (preaching)

Power

The Holy Spirit

Full Conviction (the result)

“The power is in the gospel preached, the fulfilment in the hearers, and the Holy Spirit above and within them inspires both” (Findlay).

and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

The point of every demonstration of the power of the gospel in the form of miracles was to produce FAITH:

So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? – Galatians 3:5

In the prior verse, the word “miracles” is the common word – “power”.

For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. - Romans 15:18-19

The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. – 2 Corinthians 12:12

Notice that these miracles are referred to as the signs of a true “apostle” – that is, a role in the church that no longer exists.

When Paul indicates in v. 6 that they became imitators of Paul and his companions, the evidences he brings are their patience in suffering, not their miracle-working power.

The position of ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ in the midst of such phrases as ἐν δυνάμει, “in power,” and [ἐν] πληροφορίᾳ “[in] conviction” is paralleled in 2 Cor 6:6. The δύναμις is the power of the Spirit’s working; the πληροφορία is the conviction which he produces in the receptive hearer.

in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left - 2 Corinthians 6:6-7

The power of the gospel is not in the presentation, but in the unction of God through the Holy Spirit. A gospel presentation in just words will accomplish little, although it may be used by God in some way to change a person. But the gospel preached in power is a terrible thing in the hand of God, who empowers it, aims it, and ensures it hits His intended mark.

This power causes the gospel to take root, take hold, of the hearer, even as the preacher is often possessed of it.

This is the power that makes bad people repent, that makes dead people alive, that brings faith to the most wretched and sinful heart. It is this very power that also delivers agape love to selfish hearts.

Paul knew that it needed a stupendous force to make bad men good; the forces to be overcome were so enormous. All the sin of the world was arrayed against the gospel; all the dead weight of men’s indifference, all their pride, all their shame, all their self-satisfaction, all their cherished wisdom.

The gospel must come in word at least; but what a profanation it is to preach it only in word. Not preachers only, but all Christians, have to be on their guard, lest familiarity rob the great words of the gospel of their reality, and they themselves sink into that worst atheism which is for ever handling holy things without feeling them. How easy is it to speak of God, Christ, redemption, atonement, sanctification, heaven, hell, and to be less impressed and less impressive than if we were speaking of the merest trivialities of everyday life.

Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. – 1 Corinthians 4:18-20

What is the greater power: the ability to heal the body which will eventually die?

Or the rebirth of a heart hopelessly enslaved to sin made to seek after God?

Or the change of the heart from selfishness to love?

Or bringing faith in God to the heart that knew only its own council?

Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. – Luke 5:20-25

We look at this event and focus almost completely on the healing. When we do, we make the same mistake as the Pharisees. Jesus FORGAVE his sins – a power no one else on earth possessed. A doctor might could help a person to walk, but only Jesus can forgive sins.

What is the Good News of this passage?

God does not send us merely with a message, even a great one, but accompanies His message with power and the Holy Spirit.

Sermon Text:

We continue this morning to focus our attention on the first five verses of the first epistle to the Thessalonians.

I will remind you this week, as I often have in the past, these are likely the very first words written of the New Testament,

And so they reveal to us much of the teaching of the early church.

You can understand why that is:

Paul and his companions were forced to leave Thessalonica, and so these believers were left with the most rudimentary teachings.

In fact, there are many theologians and commentators who consider these letters to the Thessalonian church the least important of Paul’s church epistles

Because this epistle, probably more than any other, lacks the deep theological teaching and close reasoning we find in the “greater” epistles like Romans, Galatians, or Ephesians.

But one of the great dangers to the church in our day in our country is the risk that we will grow in our knowledge but allow our love to diminish through inattention.

That we would become masters of theological insight but forget the people Jesus Christ came to save.

That we would leave our first love.

That is why Paul and his companions spend so much time in this letter on the most basic points of faith in Jesus Christ.

And why this is a supremely worthy study for a church in our day and location.

As we move into verse 5 today, we notice the first word is “because”.

Because our gospel came to you…

So what we will look at today is the cause for something he has just mentioned:

Namely, how Paul and his companions KNOW that God has elected the Thessalonian believers.

From verse 5 until verse 10, which is the end of this chapter, Paul will describe the reasons for his confidence in their election by God.

Remember, these are evidences of God’s effectual call on these Thessalonian believers,

Not REASONS God has chosen them.

We must never forget that distinction.

All the things Paul will list for the Thessalonians serve to provide them assurance not only of their salvation,

But also confirmation they remain on the path of sanctification if they continue.

So in verse 5, we find four ways the gospel came to these believers:

In word, but not in word only.

In power.

In the Holy Spirit.

With full conviction.

I would like to look more closely at the first three this week, leaving the last, full conviction, for a more thorough treatment next Sunday, God-willing.

The three we’ll look at this morning – word, power, and the Holy Spirit – are VITAL to the effective presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

With the fourth, full conviction, being the result of the gospel.

And I would suggest that the gospel, when effectual in a person’s heart, ALWAYS arrives in this manner with these elements.

In looking at the first element of this gospel presentation – in word – we will not take a great deal of time because Paul sets it as a necessary, but not completely sufficient, part of the gospel proclamation.

In other words, the spoken word – what we call preaching – is absolutely necessary,

But the proclamation of the words is not enough for the gospel to be effectually presented.

Recall Romans 10:14:

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

The verbal preaching of the gospel is VITAL.

But it is not ENOUGH.

I am confronted by the way one commentator put it:

The gospel must come in word at least; but what a [cheapening] it is to preach it only in word. Not preachers only, but all Christians, have to be on their guard, lest familiarity rob the great words of the gospel of their reality, and they themselves sink into that worst atheism which is forever handling holy things without feeling them. How easy is it to speak of God, Christ, redemption, atonement, sanctification, heaven, hell, and to be less impressed and less impressive than if we were speaking of the merest trivialities of everyday life.

Without power, without the Holy Spirit’s work, the preaching of the gospel becomes no more effective than proclaiming your opinion on the topic of the day at the top of your lungs.

It becomes merely one more social media post, lost in the ocean of competing opinions.

But before we move on to these, we need to recall that there were many in Thessalonica who heard the same words preached,

By the same preachers,

At the same time,

Under the same circumstances,

But they DID NOT BELIEVE.

For three straight Sabbaths, using the Old Testament scriptures to explain,

Paul preached the same gospel to a multitude who didn’t believe.

We are told in Acts 17:2-4, when Paul, Silas, and Timothy arrived in Thessalonica:

according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.

These converts formed the basis of the Thessalonian church.

But we are also told in verses 5-9 in that same chapter that many of those who heard him preach in the synagogue rejected the gospel,

Going into the marketplace to get “wicked men” to attack Paul, Silas, and the new believers.

These men and women heard the same WORDS

but had no share of their power.

Because they were not CALLED, not ELECTED, by the Holy Spirit.

And that makes all the difference.

That is why Paul tells the Thessalonians that this is EVIDENCE of their ELECTION by God.

We see much the same thing in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5:

And when he addressed those who opposed the gospel in Corinth later in that same letter, he told them this:

I would like to clarify he is not challenging them to a showdown on Mount Carmel.

We shall see what he is talking about as we move on to the next marks of the effectual gospel.

Because Paul tells us that the gospel did not come to them in word only, but in power and the Holy Spirit.

And even though these are two different things, they are entirely inseparable.

Because it is impossible to have power in the gospel without the Holy Spirit.

So let’s look at what the Bible means when it talks about the “power” of the gospel.

There are many who would see this power as some sort of miraculous sign,

Some might choose to see this as referring to speaking in tongues or some other “power” given to the new believers.

There are a few problems with that:

1. The word used for “power” here is not the same as the one used for “miracles” or “signs” elsewhere.

It is related, but means energy, power, effect.

2. In all the evidences Paul lists in the rest of this chapter, the ability to manifest supernatural signs or miracles is NEVER mentioned.

Instead he mentions their perseverance, faith, evangelism, and steadfastness against idolatry.

Not a single HINT about any sort of ecstatic gift.

3. In 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul says this:

The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

We know from the book of Acts that there were many healings and other “works of power” that God accomplished through Paul,

But even Paul understood them as the marks of a true apostle.

And the office of “apostle” was one exclusive to those who began and sustained the church in its infancy.

But when speaking of the “power” of the gospel, Paul is not referring to these acts of healing or signs.

He is speaking of something much bigger,

much more powerful,

much more profound in its scope.

To explain this power of the gospel, allow me to begin with an illustration.

In Luke 5:20-25, we find the familiar story of the “healing of the lame man.”

You will recall that Jesus was teaching in a house, and the man’s friends could find no way to bring their friend’s stretcher to Jesus for healing.

So they dug a hole in the ceiling and lowered the man through the hole right in front of Jesus.

Luke tells us:

Now, I have heard this story all my life, and you know where the emphasis is?

On the man walking out carrying his own cot.

But where was Jesus’s emphasis?

Your sins are forgiven you.

We are concerned about the man’s legs;

Jesus is concerned about the man’s SOUL.

In fact, with the advance of medical science, this man’s legs could well have been curable by some medical intervention,

But the state of his soul could only be addressed by the only begotten Son of God.

Now, just an aside here, but this entire event demonstrates God’s election:

Jesus saw their faith, given to them by the Holy Spirit.

He gives forgiveness BEFORE He is even asked. Jesus took the initiative in this man’s salvation.

Then the man responded, glorifying God.

Now, back to the power of the gospel.

Because, like I stated earlier, the power of the gospel for the Thessalonians was not that they had become wonder-working machines.

No – the power of the gospel is in the transformation God makes in those He calls.

And if you consider that anticlimactic, please look at where your faith is.

We tend to be excited with the miracle but bored by the message.

But look back to that miracle Jesus performed: what was He doing that day?

He wasn't just waiting around for this guy to get carried in.

Luke 5:17 tells us: One day He was teaching…

And then at the end of that verse, we are given this remarkable statement:

and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

On that day, God was giving Him power to perform healing.

The healing, the miracles, confirmed the truth of His teaching – that was their primary purpose.

If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” – John 10:37-38

Likewise for the apostles – the miracles accomplished through them confirmed they were from Jesus Christ.

But these miracles were not the power of the gospel.

The power of the gospel that the Thessalonian believers experienced was the power of God to regenerate their dead hearts, their sinful lives, into new creatures.

What required more power: to tell the lame man to walk, or to forgive a lifetime of sin that was sending him to hell?

The physical healing required only some tweaking with anatomy;

The spiritual forgiveness required the propitiation of the perfectly-righteous Creator and Judge of everyone.

Healing someone’s body meant that, like when the woman touched the hem of His robe, Jesus might feel some power flow through Him.

Forgiving your sin required the cross, where the perfect Son of God faced the infinite wrath of God on your behalf.

The power of the gospel converts a sinner into a saint.

A rebel into a beloved son.

A slave to sin into a follower, an imitator, of Christ.

Allow me to be entirely clear here: the effectual gospel is not complete if it only changes your mind or opinions.

It has not completed its work if you are simply convinced by its words.

Beautiful and glorious words, though they may be:

That one day very soon YOU will stand before the Just God who created you,

And you will be judged by His HOLY standard, not that shifting scale you use to convince yourself you are good.

And, if you are not found in Christ on that day, you will be sent to everlasting torment, which was originally prepared for God’s most powerful enemies –

The Devil and his angels.

But the good news is that if you come to Jesus Christ,

Repent, turn from, your sin,

And trust Him for your salvation,

You will be saved.

That is the same gospel Paul preached in Thessalonica,

The same gospel the believers followed;

The same gospel the evil people in that town rejected.

And if you have followed, or will follow, this gospel, then the Holy Spirit has given those same familiar words power.

Because that power is not from us; it is the power of the Holy Spirit.

The power of the gospel is not eloquence,

It is not persuasion.

It is not charisma.

It is not even the earnestness with which we preach.

The power of the gospel comes from the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart of the hearer,

Making alive those who were dead.

Making hearts of stone beat again.

And, for us who follow Christ, we can also have assurance that when we go, when we carry the gospel of Jesus Christ, to the world,

The power of the Holy Spirit goes with us.

God doesn’t send us out merely with a script;

He sends us with His Spirit to energize us and the message He sent with us.

That power isn’t about theatrics or parlor tricks that some might call “gifts”,

The power of the gospel is the power to change the most desperate life into a follower of Christ.

The power of the gospel is the power to bring hope to the most hopeless and depressed heart.

The power of the gospel is the power to bring love to the one who thinks they are beyond loving.

The power of the gospel is the power OF GOD to transform lives.

What use to the man with a broken heart, who has given up on life, what use would be some incoherent babbling in a language neither you nor he speaks?

Use your WORDS to speak the gospel of life to him.

The power of God through the gospel of grace is what he needs.

Not some demonstration of YOUR supposed superior spirituality.

As we go, as we encounter a world that is stacked against the gospel of Jesus Christ,

We must remain walking in the Holy Spirit.

We must go where He sends,

Speak when He bids us speak.

As another commentator put it:

That is the power of the gospel:

The divine power to overcome all the opposition of this world and the devil,

To bring in God’s people from the darkness into His light.

To empower His people toward greater holiness and living in His Spirit.

And to keep all His people until that final day.

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