1 Thess 1:3

King James Version (Chapter 1)

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

Remember without ceasing

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 3648 μνημονεύω

mnēmoneuō

word remember in the Greek means to keep thinking about, recall again and again seen in John 16:21; used as remembrance Hebrews 11:15 “And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.” used as mindful

It is important to remember what you are remembering!

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father." This establishes the basis for Paul's great commendation of these brethren.

Remembering at the end of verse three the emphasis on God in who our faith is placed in now.

Remember the church in Thessalonica is strong in their faith. Paul gives thanks. This is what a church is founded upon. in v2

Remembering the reception of the Gospel

What Paul is remembering and what the church is remembering

The church is faithful and Paul gives thanks for that. Whatever works are accomplished by the church either good or bad is done in the sight of God. The Thessalonians could have assurance that God would see the trials of persecution that they are enduring through their faith

2. Faith that works

There is only ONE FAITH

the same author Paul who wrote this letter to the Thessalonians wrote to the Ephesian in chapter 4 verse 5 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,”

overall theme in the letters to the church in Thessalonica was that there was one SINGULAR FAITH that comes from the word of God 1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”

Hebrews 11:3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Continue reading through v3 and they are remembering without ceasing their work of faith. Their work of faith is working!

Faith is something that can be believed with a state of certainty! Their works of faith is not purely a mental assent as some might say. James 2:18–19 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” states that even the devils believe and tremble. Even the devils have faith! Even they believe! The only thing separating their faith was that they were disunited from any kind of love or hope and was without any kind of work, labor, or patience! Some might say that there is a disagreement between Paul and James in regards to faith but that could not be further from the case! They are both in agreement to faith being active!

To take Pauls mention in Romans 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” that the faith being talked about seperate from works to mean anything other then “faith apart of the works of the Law of Moses (Romans 3:20) is to ignore the context of Pauls instructions. The Faith which was preached by Paul was one that required service to God, regardless of the trials and persecutions one might endure 1 Thessalonians 1:6 “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:” they received the word with MUCH AFFLICTION with joy of the Holy Ghost.

what faith is and how it is exemplified

God is clearly set forth in the Word of God. Heb. 11 sets forth this principle clearly with numerous examples, such

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

as: "By faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Heb. 11:7). James forthrightly set this proposition: "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only ... For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:24,26).

A working, obedient faith is always that which a Christian is to have and demonstrate.

"For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6) and works of human righteousness (Rom. 10:3). However, ours must be the works of faith (1 Thess. 1:3).

The works of faith are read as going through the passage “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love...”

Patience of Hope

Rom. 5:4; 8:24! Cf., Pro. 10:28; 13:12;

Hope' triggers faith, steadfastness and perseverance Being a member of church must involve giving people genuine HOPE! Hope is a huge deal (Romans 8:24 “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”

The anchor of faith that is both sure and steadfast for the soul Hebrews 6:19 Romans 5:5 “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Having hope in our faith exemplies our faith through love

"And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation" (2 Cor. 1:7). Hope is that which shines forth as a light in a world of darkness and despair. "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2). These brethren exemplified the courage and patience required to be faithful because of the strength of their hope. Thus hope displays the real confidence of a Christian. "Hope in a Christian context always has an air of certainty about it. It is a confident expectation, and not the unfounded optimism which we often mean by the word. More particularly, the Christian hope is directed towards the second advent, which is in mind here, especially if the phrase in our Lord Jesus Christ is connected with hope."<9>

3. the Labor of Love Exemplified as a Christian

because of their faith their love was exemplified

When we are in accordance with the word which is the truth than our faith will be exemplified and our light will shine. We will be known by our fruits and be a light to the world. A representative of Christ

Our faith should be one that works with a (1 Thess. 1:3). Labor of Love. The members of the church had such a deep love a devotin for God they struggled with mantaining their own life on his behalf and on behalf of those around them! The "love of Christ constraineth us" (2 Cor. 5:14) This is a key point that this initiates obedience and then sustains it: "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)."Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). It is this kind of love that is required for us to keep our priorities right. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; arid all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). The brethren at Thessalonica loved God so much that they ceaselessly toiled for the cause of Christ and for their brethren. What an example for the church of today!