"The Gospel and the Church!"
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Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace.
We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers.
We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,
because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you for your benefit,
and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.
As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything,
for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
John Stott writes,
What is of particular interest, because it applies to Christian communities in every age and place, is the interaction which the apostle portrays between the church and the gospel. He shows how the gospel creates the church and the church spreads the gospel, and how the gospel shapes the church, as the church seeks to live a life that is worthy of the gospel.
We are travelling with Dr. Stott as we consider, “The Gospel of God & The Church of God!”
I. The Church of God - (1:1b-4)
I. The Church of God - (1:1b-4)
Though this congregation was only a few months old, when Paul sends Timothy to check on them, Timothy discovers a vibrant, growing congregation! - (3:2, 6)
Q: How is this possible? A: This was God’s Church! Paul describes it in four ways:
1. The Church is a Community Which LIVES “...in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” - (1:1b)
1. The Church is a Community Which LIVES “...in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” - (1:1b)
The Church belongs to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Of all the things we could do, the church should only do what only the church can do—to be a community of faith that lives “...in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
2. The Church is a Community Which is MARKED by “Grace and Peace” - (1:1c)
2. The Church is a Community Which is MARKED by “Grace and Peace” - (1:1c)
Within this common greeting is a powerful truth: believers are marked by grace and peace, because we have RECEIVED grace and peace!
The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more
so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
If grace reigns “…through righteousness,” then grace must also reign in the local church!
Like grace, we become instruments of peace when we experience the peace of God!
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.
For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,
and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it,
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Peace marks you as a child of God!
3. The Church is a Community Which is DISTINGUISHED by Faith, Love, and Hope - (1:3)
3. The Church is a Community Which is DISTINGUISHED by Faith, Love, and Hope - (1:3)
Stott points out two aspects of these Christian qualities:
FIRST, each is OUTGOING!
FIRST, each is OUTGOING!
Faith is directed towards God, love towards others, and hope towards the future!
J.B. Lightfoot – “Faith rests on the past; love works in the present; hope looks to the future.”
They are all sure evidences of being born again, because they completely reorient our lives!
Stott – “The new birth means little or nothing if it does not pull us out of our fallen introversion and redirect us towards God, Christ and our fellow human beings.”
SECOND, each is PRODUCTIVE!
SECOND, each is PRODUCTIVE!
These are not abstract qualities, rather they have concrete, practical results!
• Faith WORKS! - (James 2:14-26)
• Love LABORS (from kopou- ‘intense labor, toil’)!
• Hope ENDURES!
The key to remaining “…steadfast”is an UPWARD look!
It is “…steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Two questions: “Is God in control?” and “Do you believe that?”
Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up.
Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.
For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
John Calvin did not exaggerate (in 1550) when he refers to this passage as, “…a brief definition of true Christianity.”
Likewise, Johann Bengel affirmed in 1866, that, “…in these(sc. faith, hope and love) the whole of Christianity […] consists.”
4. The Church is a Community Which is LOVED and CHOSEN by God – (1:4)
4. The Church is a Community Which is LOVED and CHOSEN by God – (1:4)
Again, from Stott,
To whatever denomination or tradition we may belong, the doctrine of election causes us difficulties and questions. To be sure, it is a truth which runs through Scripture, beginning with God’s call of Abraham (Gen 12:1) and later his choice of Israel ‘out of all nations’ to be his ‘treasured possession […] a kingdom of priests and a holy nation’ (Ex 19:5-6). This vocabulary is deliberately transferred in the New Testament to the Christian community.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Moreover, the topic of election is nearly always introduced for a practical purpose, in order to foster assurance (not presumption), holiness (not moral apathy), humility (not pride) and witness(not lazy selfishness). But still no explanation of God’s election is given except God’s love.
The LOVE of God!
The LOVE of God!
“The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
IN the same way, Paul unites the love of God and the election of God- (1:4)!
He chose us because He loves us!
This is a consistent message of the NT:
For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.
He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
The CHOICE of God - (v.4b)
The CHOICE of God - (v.4b)
Do you know you were chosen by God?
As difficult as this may be to understand, or accept, it is TRUE!
ἐκλογὴν - Noun - “election, selection, choice, chosen” - Used 7 times in the NT.
(Acts 9:15) (Romans 9:11) (Romans 11:5, 7, 26-28) (2 Peter 1:10–11)
Whether you understand it, or not, you go to heaven because of God’s call and election!
ἐκλεκτός - Adjective - ‘chosen, select, elect’ - Used 23 times in the NT.
(Matthew 22:14; 24:22-24, 31) (Romans 8:33) (Colossians 3:12) (2 Timothy 2:10) (Titus 1:1) (Revelation 17:14)
ἐκλέγομαι - Verb - “choose, select, elect” - Also used 23 times in NT.
(Mark 13:20) (John 15:16, 19) (1 Corinthians 1:27-28) (Ephesians 1:4-6)
I don’t pretend to understand how this all works (my free will and God’s election), I do know that BOTH are taught in Scripture and are therefore, true.
Furthermore, I do not limit God to my capacity to understand God! He does not require our approval of a doctrine for it to be true!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration.
“For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Conclusion to Part Two...
Conclusion to Part Two...
What have we learned?
· The Church is a community which lives in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
· The Church is a community marked with grace and peace.
· The Church is a community distinguished by faith, love, and hope.
· The Church is a community which is loved and chosen by God.