1 Thessalonians 2.13-16

1 Thessalonians 2.13-16 Sermon

Introduction:

For famous 12th century Friar, Francis of Assisi, life was something of a roller-coaster. It started easy. He was born wealthy, and loved fine clothes and wine, and dreamed of becoming a knight - all while being a fantastic waste of space. His father despaired of making anything of him. But several reversals in his life brought him to faith in Christ, and radical faith. He gave his life to building the church by serving the poor and loving God’s people.

You’d think his father would be happy, right? His lazy, indolent son converted to serving God and building his church up? What a great outcome. But it was quite the opposite. His father was outraged, and actually took Francis to court to sue him for everything he had given him. Francis took off his clothes, gave them to his father, and went back to serving God.

I tell you this story because I think it aligns well with what the Thessalonians experienced in their time. The Thessalonian church was planted by Paul in Acts 17, and after a short, three week season of exceptional growth. Paul and his companions preached the gospel, and the gospel came in power among those who heard it, such that many believed. And the church responded to the gospel well, in repentance, faith, and love. But the power of the gospel shown there, and the growth of the church, also put them in the crosshairs of the leaders of the city, and the church was persecuted such that Paul had to leave. Paul leaving, however, did not stop the persecution that this poor, fledgling church had to deal with.

Despite his short visit, however, Paul never stopped thinking about this church, and, as we’ve been emphasising in this series, this letter of 1 Thessalonians is in many ways a letter dedicated to encouraging the church. It is this aspect of encouragement I want to focus on tonight. The main thrust of our passage tonight is Paul is looking to encourage this church – to give them reasons to stand firm in their young faith. And we’re going to see that he encourages them in three ways. Firstly, he encourages them by reminding them that although he’s gone God is at work in them through his word. Secondly, he reminds them that they do not suffer alone. Finally, Paul encourages them by reminding them of judgement to come. We will look at each of those in turn.  

Encouragement by The Word of God

Our first point this evening is that Paul encourages the Thessalonian believers by reminding them that the Word of God works among them. We see this in verse 13, which says,

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

Carrying on from the theme of last week, Paul continues to show the Thessalonian believers that his care for them is genuine by telling them that he thanks God for them continually. But he doesn’t just thank God for them, he thanks God particularly for the way that they received the Word of God. Do you see what he says there, he thanks God that when the Thessalonians heard the message of the gospel, that they recognised it for what it really is: not human words, but God’s word.

In other words, they realised that Paul was not just giving them some fancy message, or some man-made feel-good philosophy about how they can achieve their dreams and succeed in all their ventures. No, they realised that this is message, this proclamation that comes from Paul and his companions is nothing less than a proclamation of the very word from God himself.

But Paul is not just wanting to remind them that they did well. He is encouraging them in the present, and to do this he reminds them that the Word of God isn’t just something they received in the past: it is at work in them even to this day, if they believe it. and it continues to work, shaping them to ever greater Christlikeness.

Paul’s point here is to encourage them that even though he and his people had to leave, they have something better, which is God, present and working among them, through his word.  And it continues to work, so although they are facing challenges and trials, that in no way counteracts the fact that God’s word is at work in them. Paul encourages the Thessalonians with the reminder that even though they are facing these trials, the message they received continues to be true and it continues to be powerful.

And, friends, we should be encouraged too, because this same fact is true of us. The Bible is nothing less than the very Word of God. So, when you see us as preachers at this pulpit ask for God’s help before we teach even though we’ve been prayed for already, it is not merely for show. It’s not because we think we’re important or have anything special about us in ourselves. It is because we all believe that what we are teaching you is the very Word of God, with all the authority and import that comes from that. This Word, which we declare to you from this pulpit, is the message of the maker of the universe, alive and crackling with all his power. The implication of this, friends, is that God, albeit in a different way, is as powerfully present with his people now as he was in the Exodus, working as mightily in our hearts against sin as he was against Pharaoh. He is as present and powerful among us as he was on the day of Pentecost. Friends, while it may not be as obvious or as visible, it is no less true. The Word of God means God is powerfully present among his people, changing hearts and working in lives.

Does this mean that this work is always pleasant? Clearly not - Paul writes to the Thessalonians because they are suffering. Paul's point is not that God works without suffering. Paul's point is that even when suffering comes, God is still present and working through his Word. And, though it be painful, ultimately, this work brings glory to God and good to us. CS Lewis portrays this memorably in his book Mere Christianity when he says,

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house.

At first, you understand what He’s doing. He’s fixing obvious problems — stopping leaks in the roof, patching cracks, repairing things that clearly needed attention. That makes sense; you expected those repairs.

But then He starts knocking the house about in ways that don’t seem to make sense. Walls get torn down, new structures go up, things feel uncomfortable and even painful. It no longer feels like simple repairs.

What’s going on?

The explanation is that He’s not just fixing your house — He’s turning it into something completely different than you imagined. He’s adding new wings, extra floors, towers, courtyards.

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage.

But He is building a palace — because He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

God’s word is alive and it works in his people. And through struggle, through persecution, through fire and temptation he is at work by that word. But when his work is finished, and we stand before him in heaven, we will see that everything he did was not just to make us a nice little granny flat - it was to make us a palace in which he could dwell forever. So, be encouraged. God is working in you through his word. And so Paul's word to the Thessalonians, and our word tonight, is to be encouraged, because God is present with us and working in his word.

Encouragement by Community

Our second point for this evening is that Paul encourages the Thessalonians by showing them that they are not alone in going through what they go through. He does this particularly in verse 14, which says,

“For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews”

We’ve seen the language of imitators before in the letter. Paul told the Thessalonians that they had become imitators of him and the other apostles and the Lord because they welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering (1.6).

But now he changes the referent. They are no longer imitating the apostles and the Lord, but they are imitating the churches of God in Judea. Why would Paul make that point? Well, as I mentioned a moment ago, it is about giving the Thessalonians a sense of unity in the midst of their difficulties.

Notice, firstly, how Paul describes the church in Judea. He calls them God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus. You see what he’s emphasising there? He’s focussing on what unites them, they are both churches of God in Christ, because both of them heard the powerful message and responded in faith. And so, in their faith, the Thessalonian churches have imitated the Jewish churches and so find commonality in them.

But they have a much more important unity as well. Paul reminds them in the second half of verse 14 that the Thessalonians have suffered exactly what the Judean church suffered – persecution for your beliefs by your own people. Paul’s going to go into more detail, as we shall see, but for now his point is clear – he is showing the Thessalonians that although their situation is difficult and unpleasant, it is not unprecedented. They are not alone in their sufferings. Not only is God with them by his word, but God’s people are with them in the brotherhood of those who have suffered for the gospel.

Isn’t it always the case that when you’re suffering something, it becomes easier when you walk that road with people who have experienced the same thing? They may not even be able to help you exactly, but just knowing that other people have gone through, or are going through, what you have are experiencing, can often be just the encouragement we need to persevere.

During the my studies at university, I went through a bad, protracted break up. It was a very tough season in my life. But what made it a bit easier to deal with was that the other guy in my Greek course, probably the person I saw most often at the time, was going through the same thing. And, although it didn't fix anything, and in fact we barely ever spoke about what was going on, it was so helpful for both of us to have each other. We sustained each other through those hard days.

And one of our great privileges in the church is that we get to be this for one another. Just like the Thessalonian and Judean churches, we all share an identity in Christ. And, just Paul directed the Thessalonians to the church in Judea to show them people who have survived what they’ve been through, So God has given us to one another to walk along the journey, sharing our sufferings and our burdens. Because of the church, none of us should have to walk this dark, difficult journey alone.

So let me ask you, in your struggles, who can you imitate? Are there people you know in the church you can walk this road of suffering with? And if you yourself have been through something challenging, how are you stewarding that and using it to build up the body of Christ? God, in his grace, can use your brokenness to help others walk through the same valleys he took you through. So let us seek to imitate each other, and in that receive the encouragement God has created for us.  

Encouragement by Judgement

Our third point for this evening is that Paul wants to encourage the Thessalonians by reminding them of the reality of God’s judgement. Let’s take a look together and see how this counterintuitive sounding point works itself out.

In verse 15, Paul begins to describe the Jews, whom he had mentioned at the end of verse 14. All of the descriptions he gives are designed to show how the Jews, the people God had chosen, through whom he hoped to do his work in the world, were actually the very people who opposed his work in the world.

Firstly, Paul tells us that they opposed God's work in the past. They killed the prophets, those who were supposed to call them back to faithfulness and following God. Then, when their God came in flesh to love them and bring them into his new kingdom, far from receiving him, they killed him.

But their opposition to the work of God in the world is not only past. It is ongoing at Paul’s time as well. They drive the apostles out of town. They displease God and oppose humanity says Paul because they try to keep the apostles, the heralds of the message of life, from giving that message to the world, and thereby do their best to ensure that as many are lost as possible. For this reason, Paul says, God's wrath is on them, and is coming as surely as if it had already happened.

Before I say anything more here, let me quickly address the nature of Paul's speech here. Although Paul is using very harsh language about the Jews here, we must resist thinking about this as "God's view about the Jews" or anything like that. Paul, who loves his people, as we see in Romans 9-11, is using the language of a prophet to speak about where the sins of his people have led them. But this passage gives absolutely no warrant for anti-semitism, which is an unfortunate part of its history.

So, what is Paul saying here? Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians by showing them that all who oppose the work of God, which includes them as the church, will face his wrath. The Jews here speaks both for the Jews who actually did persecute the Thessalonians, as well as all those who oppose the work of God in the world. While they may make the believer's life hard for a time; indeed, may even kill them, ultimately, the believer's destiny rests secure in Christ, and justice for them is guaranteed, because it is God himself who will bring it about.

The wrath of God, friends, is therefore an encouragement to believers - both back then and now. It shows us that our God is not a disinterested God. He is a loving Father who will protect his own. Because of the wrath of God, as his people we can trust him even in the midst of persecution.

The wrath of God also empowers believers to live lives of love even in the midst of trials and sufferings. The reason why Christians should be able to love even their persecutors is because we know we don't have to seek our own justice. Our loving heavenly Father, the righteous judge of all, will seek it for us. And in the mean time, we can live as he has called us to live, in loving care for all - even those who persecute us.

And so, friends, for the Thessalonians, as well as for us, the wrath of God provides a sure encouragement. God will defend his people, and he will bring those who wrong them to justice. But, the only reason we can find encouragement in God's wrath is because of verse 13 - because we have first trusted in his Word. God's gracious act of redemption in Jesus, proclaimed to us in his Word, is the only means we have to stand in his wrath. Without this security, God's wrath is terror. But with it, friends, it is true encouragement.  

Application

And so, as I close, I want to ask three simple questions.

Firstly, Are you in the Word of God, and is it at work in you? Or do you seldom if ever read it? Or are you resisting the work that God is trying to do? Though the work be painful, if you let him, God will turn you into a palace in which he can dwell.

Secondly, are you imitating those who have walked through your sorrows and pains? Are you walking in such a way that other people can imitate us? Are we forming a community of saints who bear one another’s burdens?

Finally, Is the wrath of God an encouragement to you? Does it spur you on to trust God and love others? More seriously, will you be one upon whom the wrath of God falls? Or will you, even now, turn to Jesus, so that you can say on that last day "Christ became sin for me; took the blame, bore the wrath; I stand forgiven, because of the cross."