Loving the Church and Living Among the World

1 Thessalonians 4:9–12 NKJV

9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

Loving The Church

Brotherly Love is Taught by God

This is a fulfillment of Old Testament texts

Isaiah 54:13 NKJV

13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children.

Jeremiah 31:33–34 NKJV

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

This is taught by Jesus

John 13:34 NKJV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 15:12 NKJV

12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

3. This is taught by Spirit

Romans 5:5 NKJV

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Galatians 5:22 NKJV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

4. This was taught to them by Paul

1 Thessalonians 4:2 NKJV

2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Another way we could put this is that we are taught to love one another as the Holy Spirit has made us aware of the love of God the Father in sending His Son to die for our sins. The primary way that we are motivated or taught to love one another is by considering the love of God for us.

Brotherly Love isn’t Territorial

Notice that Paul doesn’t just say, “You guys really love the First Baptist Church of Thessalonica.” But he says that they show this brotherly love for the believers throughout all of the Macedonian region. This isn’t a territorial love, but is a brotherly love that is extended to all who belong to the Lord.

Brotherly Love is to be Consciously Improved

Another thing that Paul picks up on here is that although they are thriving in affection for one another, he reminds us that there is always room to grow so we should frequently ask ourselves, “How could I show the love of God to others today?”

Living Among the World

Christian love is concerned with the Church’s relationship with the non-believing world. We are not interested in compromising our Christian beliefs, but where there are places where we can obey the Lord and obtain a good reputation in the community, that is the route we want to go. Here Paul gives us two ways that we can strive to cultivate a healthy testimony as we love the Church and live among the world. First, we can do this by pursuing a quiet life

Pursuing a Quiet Life

Proverbs 17:14 NKJV

14 The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

The imagery that Proverbs is using here is like a dam with a small leak in it. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen videos of dams that spring a leak, but its only a matter of time before all of that pressures causes that hole to blow the whole thing down. Therefore, this Proverb is calling us to pursue a quiet life before contention causes serious damage. Another way that we can pursue a quiet life is seen in 1 Peter 4:15 which reminds us of the importance of simply minding our own business.

1 Peter 4:15 NKJV

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.

Finally, we can pursue a quiet life is by praying for those in leadership around us. 1 Tim 2:2

1 Timothy 2:2 NKJV

2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

Pursuing Productivity

Finally, Paul is going to address tending to your own business, working with your own hands, and developing a life that isn’t dependent on others. One commentary said this, “A Church in need is inhibited from contributing to the needs of others.” - Michael Martin.

So, if we are going to develop a good reputation in our community, Paul says that we should be a people committed to prayer, seeking to simply mind our own business and to bless others instead of being a burden.