A Model for Life and Ministry

Pre intro:

Well, good morning, once again. And, I again want to thank you for having me and my family over to share this Sunday worship service with you. If you may, please turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8.

Today’s Sermon is an exposition of one of Paul’s Apostolic Defenses; in this case, to the church in Thessalonica.

You might be wondering, and that would be a good ask; how is it that an argument aimed to defend Paul’s apostolic authority is applicable for us today?

To answer this question allow me a brief word concerning this text.

First, this particular apostolic defense comes after 1 Thess 1:6; which says:

1 Thessalonians 1:6 (ESV)

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

Second, a brief historical context is at hand:

What do we know about the Thessalonian Church?

Founded during Paul’s 2nd missionary journey as narrated in Acts 17.

Paul spent at least a month there, some commentator speculate that he could have spent more than a month there before moving elsewhere. However, as we will see, the relationship and love he developed toward the Thessalonian church was deep.

Paul was made to flee Thessalonica because of the hard opposition to the Gospel that some Jews still had there.

Third, it is important to understand the overarching function and argument of the Apostolic Defense here:

What can we say about this Apostolic Defense?

By the time Paul is writing this, there are still some people that are trying to convince the Thessalonian church that Paul does not have real authority, or that his ministry is not a real ministry. His gospel is not a real gospel, Jesus is not a real Savior, so on and so forth.

Hence, an apostolic defense not only nor primarily brings credibility to Paul, but it brings credibility to the message Paul brings.

And therefore, it brings credibility to person, being preached.

Also, Paul’s argument

consists in a series of contrast between what his ministry is not, and what his ministry is.

has its peak moment, at a discourse level, at verse seven, when he compares his ministry to a nursing mother.

So, two things to be attentive to while I read the text for us this morning:

Look for the not this but that… [constructions]

These constructions signals the contrasts we are looking for.

See how verse 7 is a culmination of all what precedes it in terms of argument.

With this in mind, my purpose today is simple:

To show you how our Christian life and Ministry reveals Christ.

Our Calling as Christians is to reveal Christ

Our Character as Christians reveals Christ

The Content of our Christian Life and Ministry reveals Christ

With this in mind, let us read from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

1 Thessalonians 2:1–8 (ESV)

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

Prayer:

Father, God. As we come to the text this morning, we ask that your Spirit may visit us. Give me strength to preach, give me wisdom to discern your text. Make this sermon one that is deeply rooted in Scripture, and not in my own imaginations. Be glorified, Lord, and nurture your church through your word, for they are yours, and you are theirs, and they look to you. Bless me, Oh Lord, for I need your blessing. In Christ Jesus we pray, Amen.

Our Calling as Christians is to reveal Christ

English Standard Version Chapter 2

2:1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain.

2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Paul begins his apostolic defense by explaining that having come to the church in Thessalonica was not in vain.

He reminds the church in Thessalonica of two important things.

First, that the purpose of him being there, the calling he had from the Lord was to share one message, and one message alone:

The message he carried with him was the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s calling and Paul’s message are inseparably link.

Then Paul’s calling and its worth, are inseparably related as well.

First contrast:

Our coming was not in vain.

But we had boldness to declare to you the gospel of God.

So what is Paul doing? Paul is reminding the Thessalonian church, and us here today, that the Gospel brings an intrinsic value to everything we do.

Whatever your calling may be, whatever God has called you to do in this life (father, mother, husband, wife, teacher, owner, worker, boss, employe, student, all of it) its worth is directly related to your sharing of the Gospel of God in that context.

That’s the first thing to be reminded of by these verses.

The Second, is that the sharing the gospel comes at a price.

Paul reminds them that their visit to share the gospel of Jesus took place after they had suffered and been mistreated at Philippi.

Later, in Thessalonica, they also encountered much opposition.

So, certainly, there will be opposition.

There will be difficult seasons; some more than others.

There will be pressure from the world not to share God’s Gospel as the Word commands.

Not to live according to the Gospel

Not to live according to who Jesus Christ is and according to what He has done

But God can provide you with the courage to continue sharing , to continue living according to this gospel. To continue adding worth to your calling, by making the Gospel of Christ the center of everything you do.

God can provide you with this courage

Where, then does this courage comes from? It comes from knowing that our calling is from God and For God.

From God

English Standard Version Chapter 2

3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive,

4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel,

One reason Paul can stand firm in the ministry the Lord has given him is precisely that he considers the source of his calling.

Paul reminds the church that

his ministry does not proceed from error, from impurity, nor is it from deception. [Second contrast]

Rather, it is the Lord who has approved his ministry to care for his children in the faith.

God has entrusted Paul with the gospel to share it with the members of that congregation.

In other words, Paul's assurance and encouragement is not found in himself, not even the congregation he very much loves; but in the God who is the source of this gospel, and who has entrusted him with it to share it.

And so, let me ask, do we need to be Apostles to say that we have been entrusted this same Gospel to share?

To a certain degree, all of us Christians have been entrusted with the core message of the Gospel.

Do we find encouragement in that fact? Rom. 1:16-7

Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Do we live in light of this truth? Christian, this is my calling for you this day: Believe! Believe that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. It comes from Him, and it bears His power.

For God

But our calling is not only from God, but also for God.

English Standard Version (Chapter 2)

so we speak, (v.4 continues) not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Paul goes on to explain that this calling, this ministry of exhortation in the gospel not only comes from God; it is for him.

Here’s the third contrast:

The gospel message is not to please men.

What people think about the content and nature of the message is to a degree, irrelevant.

But the message Paul shares is for the purpose of pleasing the Lord.

Thus, God is not only the source of our calling, but also its object and end.

In other words, the reason you and I are to share the Gospel is yes, to bring many into God’s family, but even more important than that, to please the Lord. We share the Gospel as an act of worship and submission to him who tests our hearts.

We share the gospel amid a culture that rejects Christianity because God is the most important being in our lives. Because Christ is King, and it is pleasing to Him.

And when our hearts are tested and we fail, there’s a great opportunity to ask God for grace, and for the Spirit’s help to make us understand, remember, who he is.

How then does this would look like when you consider your calling?

How does caring more about who God is than about others think may play a role on how you relate to your spouse? Your children? Your neighbors? Employees? Boss? You name it?

Now that we know that Our Calling as Christians is to reveal Christ to share His gospel in all we do and how we live, let’s turn now to the Character of our Christian life.

Our Character as Christians Reveals Christ

Gentle at its Core

English Standard Version Chapter 2

5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness.

6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

After considering the source and purpose of his ministry and calling in Thessalonica, Paul goes on to describe this ministry.

And so here comes the fourth contrast:

He reminds the church in Thessalonica that this ministry does not come from an attitude that is carried away by false praise, greed, or vainglory.

The contrast then is striking.

The attitude with which Paul ministered to this church is one characterized by gentleness

like a Mother tenderly nursing her baby.

Two things are to draw attention here.

On the one hand, the word used for mother is most often used for nurse or maidnurse.

That woman who feeds a child that is not biologically hers.

On the other hand, the word for children is quite common.

In addition, the emphasis is that this woman has seen these children as her own.

So this perhaps gives us an image of a mother who has decided to bring in a baby; make him her own.

a mother who has taken a baby to nourish him from her own breast.

This is the image Paul uses to consummate the description of his ministry, and the life the Christian is to imitate.

This tells us a lot about Paul's ministry,

but at the same time it says us a lot about motherhood.

So, a side-note word of encouragement for moms:

Mom, your ministry, your labor is exemplary.

Your life is exemplary. Your gentleness is exemplary, as long as those are Christ-centered.

This is true not only of those mothers who raise biological children, but of those who raise adopted sons, and even of those who pour their lives into spiritual sons and daughters in the faith.

It is interesting how Paul is able to use these examples of fathers and mothers without ever having had children of his own.

And yet, he acknowledges having children in the faith.

Mom, your labor in gently caring for your children is not going unnoticed, rather is being used by the apostle Paul as an image for his own ministry because of the gentleness inherent to it.

How does that informs your motherhood? How does that informs our lives? How often do we see gentleness as desirable?

We do not live in a gentle culture. We do not live in a gentle world. We do not live in an age in which Gentleness is appreciated outside the church.

By contrast, last week Dr. Michael Kruger, president of RTS Charlotte, addressed the graduating class of 2022 with this charge: Be gentle.

He reminded future pastors that there’s only one time in which Jesus speaks openly about his own heart saying:

“...I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matt 11:29)

Gentleness is at the very heart of the Gospel.

We have a God, whose gentleness toward us is above what words can express.

What are those things that usually challenge your gentleness? It is precisely at those moments that our gentle character reveals the person of Christ.

So, we’ve spoken about God’s calling. We’ve spoken about a gentle character as a central characteristic of Christian Life and Ministry. Now finally, let us turn to the content of our Christian Life and Ministry

The Content of our Christian Life and Ministry reveals Christ

English Standard Version (Chapter 2)

8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

We have spoken in large part of Paul's ministry as one characterized by the gospel he shares.

Definitely, his ministry cannot be less than that, but it may be more.

So here’s the fifth and last contrast:

Paul, after comparing his ministry to the work of a Mother raising her baby, reminds the church that they did not simply impart the gospel to them: but that they gave themselves.

When my wife gave birth to our first daughter, the days, weeks, and months that followed were tremendously difficult (for everyone, but especially) for her.

Our baby had some problems that led her to be hospitalized a few days after being born, and to needing special therapy when she was discharged. My wife had more physical consequences from her delivery than the average woman.

It took months for her body to recover from delivery. Her soul was hurt from carrying around the normal tiresomeness of an infant, plus a much longer recovery than usual.

And yet, day by day, she was there. Nursing. Even when it hurt. Waking at night, even when she was tired. Praying, even when she was discouraged. Reading Scripture, even when she didn’t feel like it.

Many mothers, may be able to identify with her. If you’ve had children you know what is like. My wife didn't just give our baby milk, she gave herself. And I praise God she continues to do so.

The reason Paul links motherhood to ministry is because motherhood is a precious image of the gospel.

There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for those loved (Jn 15:13).

And Christ knows what it is to give himself for those whom he loves.

So just as a mother gives herself to her children, just as Paul and his coworkers gave themselves to the church, just as Christ has given himself to his bride,

We ought to live gentle lives, which content is not only the delivery of the Gospel of Christ,

But our own selves.

Luther wrote a book called The Freedom of the Christian Man. In which he paradoxically lines up two statements side by side:

The Christian is free from all, subject to none.

When we become Christians we are free from all the outside pressures of this world, the outside authorities that expect us to do ungodly things, and we are free to the bondage of sin to live for Christ.

The Christian is free from none, subject to all.

When we become Christians we are free from none. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to serve the needy; to care for those in need. We are subject to all, we are expected to live a life like Christ’s, one that share the message, and the same time, share’s its very existence for the good of others.

How this looks like may vary from person to person. So a good question for you to answer this week might be how is God calling you to share the gospel and yourself with the people around you?

But before going on and doing it remember this, as the last words in verse 8 say, the only way you can do that, the only way to pour your own life for others, is if it truly comes from love.

because you had become very dear to us.

So pray, pray that the Lord might give you love for others. Pray that he might help you pour your lives into others; and share the gospel with others. Pray that he might help you through his gospel to be gentle to others. Pray that the Lord will show you so much love through what Christ has done, that your life would reveal Christ to others, in its calling, its character, and its content.

Let’s pray.