Out & Of & In

It’s one of my favorite moments: when I get to start preaching through another book of the Bible.

This marks the 20th time I’ve done this here in Rich Hill (I’ve preached through 17 books in-full and have preached part of Genesis and Psalms and now I start 1 Thessalonians; and we’ve studied 19 books of the Bible on Wednesday nights).

I’m so excited to open God’s Word with you, the people I love.

There is something in every book of the Bible that addresses what we need to hear today. I try to rotate between the OT and the NT when picking a book to preach, so we get a balanced diet of Bible.

I honestly chose 1 Thessalonians because it’s a NT letter I haven’t preached here (I preached it at Barnes Christian Church when I was a student at MCC 20 years ago; thankfully, those sermons have been lost to history and weren’t ever recorded).

I chose 1 Thessalonians because it’s been a while since we’ve worked our way through a NT letter.

But, I also know that there is something in this book for us here in Rich Hill, Missouri in the year 2022. Even the opening verse of this letter is instructive for us right where we’re at.

1 Thessalonians covers a number of topics and it’s hard to pick one over-arching theme for the whole letter. But, I think, if pressed, I would say 1 Thessalonians is about the counter-cultural church and what that counter-cultural church look like.

Let’s look at the first verse of this letter and talk about it for 25 minutes or so. What do you say?

1 Thessalonians 1:1 NIV

1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

You might remember from the book of Acts that Paul, Silas, and Timothy preached in the Thessalonian synagogue over three Sabbaths. Three weeks’ worth of preaching and a number of Jews and God-fearing Gentiles believed. It’s an incredible result; something the gospel accomplishes time and time again.

Later in 1 Thessalonians 1, it seems that Paul spent some weeks ministering to and teaching the pagan, idol-worshiping Gentiles. This ministry was fruitful and effective.

However, not long after Paul and Silas and Timothy came to Thessalonica, the Jewish population had enough. They dragged a local fellow named Jason and some other Christians before the local leaders and charged them with sedition against Caesar.

This uproar forced the missionaries (Paul, Silas, Timothy) to leave town earlier than they had expected.

We read about all this in Acts 17. Listen:

Acts 17:1–10 (NIV)

1 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said.

4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.

6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here,

7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”

8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.

9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

That’s what we know about Paul and Company’s visit to the city of Thessalonica.

After they left the city, Paul was concerned for the new Christians there.

A few months after being ran out of the city, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica: 1 Thess 3:2 “We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith...”

Some time later, Timothy caught up with Paul in Corinth and updated him on the Thessalonian church. 1 Thess 3:6 “But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.”

It’s to this people in this town that Paul writes this letter, what we refer to as 1 Thessalonians.

[MAP]

You can visit the city today. It’s found in modern-day Greece. If you go to a travel agent, you’ll need to call it ‘Thessaloniki,’ just FYI.

It sounds like quite the vacation destination; maybe we should take a church trip…

In the time that Paul was writing Thessalonica was the proud capital of Macedonia, a Roman province, a city of anywhere from 100,000 - 250,000 people; it was the center of trade and philosophy.

Religiously, Thessalonica was polytheistic (they worshipped a plethora of gods). People there worshipped the Greco-Roman gods/goddesses. Most had pledged their allegiance to the imperial cult (“Caesar is lord!”); some were loyal to the Egyptian cultic system. There was also a large Jewish population.

Thessalonica was a bit of a religious hodgepodge. The opportunities were many to share the gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ.

And so Paul begins this letter:

1 Thessalonians 1:1 NIV

1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

Believe it or not, there is a great deal of teaching in this first verse: teaching for the new believers in 1st-Century Thessalonica; teaching for an established church full of young and old believers in 21st-Century Rich Hill, Missouri.

Notice, Paul and his buddies are writing to the church. They are writing to encourage them as they face persecution. They are writing to instruct them since they didn’t have a lot of time to spend with them before they were angrily kicked out of town.

Paul and Silas and Timothy want the Thessalonians to understand what it means to be a church, a body of believers, even as they live in a hostile world that is unfriendly to followers of Christ.

So Paul begins this letter by addressing them as the church. Paul knows what he’s doing. He’s using a term to intentionally set them apart.

The Church is a Gathering of People Who Have Been Called OUT of the World

1 Thessalonians 1:1 “Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church...”

The word for church is ekklesia. It just means “gathering, assembly, or congregation.”

This word was used in a variety of contexts, both religious and secular. An ekklesia was any body joined together for political, social, or other purposes.

But what Paul means here by ekklesia is clear from the rest of verse 1. They are an ekklesia belonging to God and to Jesus.

The Christian church is a unique kind of assembly that has turned to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul’s later writings (this is one of his earliest) will convey the distinctiveness of the church by referring to his readers as “saints” or “holy ones” who have been separated by God for faith, godliness, ministry, and worship in Christ’s name.

John Lillie comments here that the church is:

“Called out…from the surrounding mass, whether of unbelieving Jews or of heathen idolaters, and quickened individually with a new life. They were, as a church, incorporate with one another, set apart and furnished for holy service, and consecrated to a glorious destiny.”

Lillie wrote that in 1860, so the language is a little different than we use today, but he’s spot on.

The church is “called out.”

But “called out” of what?

The church is a people who have been called out of the world and set apart to God.

Paul sees the Christians to whom he is writing as an extension of the ancient, OT people of God who were redeemed in the exodus and called out as a pilgrim nation to serve and worship the LORD in the midst of all the pagan peoples around them.

This means, just a the OT people were to be separate from the unbelieving nations around them, we—the church, the ekklesia of God in Christ are to be separate, distinct, different, holy.

My good friend and the president of Manhattan Christian College, Kevin Ingram, pointed out to us that what we learned in Sunday School is just plain wrong.

Using your hands, as a kid you folded your fingers together and said: “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors, see all the people.”

That’s really cute and gives kids something to do with their hands, but it’s terrible theology. This (hands and steeple) isn’t the church, this (the people) is.

The church is not a building; it’s a people.

And as a people, the church, the ekklesia, the called-out people of the LORD must be different/distinct, in belief and in lifestyle, from the unbelieving world around them.

What this means for us is pretty easy to identify. Easy to identify, but harder to implement.

We—the church, the ekklesia—are called out of the world to be different from the world. This means our allegiance is to Christ, and not to anyone or anything else.

Do you remember from what I read in Acts 17 what really got the Thessalonians into trouble, as well as Paul and Silas and Timothy kicked out?

A mob dragged them before the city officials and said: “They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”

This—this—is the stance of the ekklesia, the called-out ones. We have no king but Jesus. No person, no matter the office, is worthy of our worship, or our allegiance, or any part of our hearts.

Let them drag us before the officials and let us stand separate from the masses and proclaim: “There is One King, and His name is Jesus. He alone has my allegiance.”

We—the church, the ekklesia—are called out of the world to be different from the world. This means our belief is based on the unchanging Word of God and not to the ever-changing beliefs and values of our society.

What God has said, He means. We don’t get to change what He’s said to suit our current cultural moment. We don’t get to avoid what He has said because it clashes with our sinful situation or our sinful preferences. We don’t avoid what He has said; we submit to what He has said.

And trust me, that will make us quite different, quite distinct in this dark, dark world.

The church, a counter-cultural gathering of people who have been called-out of the world, is important. The church is important to the Christian faith and life.

To be a Christian is to be part of the church, both locally and universally.

It’s in the gathering of the church that discipleship takes place. It’s in the gathering of the church that we participate most fully in worship. It’s in the gathering of the church that we are equipped and prepared for ministry and for evangelism.

“When Christians are saved out of the world, they are saved into Christ’s Church, which serves to establish group boundaries between saved and unsaved humanity.” - Richard D. Phillips

Brothers and sisters, fellow Christians, you have been called out of this world by virtue of believing in and belonging to Jesus. Your life should reflect this. We should be different/distinct.

We are, after all, strangers and aliens in this world.

The Church is a Gathering OF People in a Particular Place

1 Thessalonians 1:1 “Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians…”

You see, Paul wrote this letter to an assembly of Christians—an ekklesia—at a particular place and time.

His original audience was “the church of the Thessalonians.”

Christian life and ministry will always have a local feel and flavor. It’s a little different, a little nuanced from location to location.

How one preaches in the Midwest and how one would preach on the East Coast would be a little different. The audience is different; people hear things a little differently.

Paul would have varied his strategy from city to city a little. But his doctrine, what he believed and taught wouldn’t have changed at all.

What’s significant about each gathering of believers in different locations is their influence.

Thessalonica was the chief city in the northern Greek region of Macedonia. Thessalonica was a strategic location. Its main street was the primary East-West highway of the Roman Empire.

A strong church in Thessalonica would be well-situated to spread the gospel to others.

Paul addresses them as the church of the Thessalonians. That is, they are in a particular place, at a particular time, for a particular purpose.

As an ekklesia, a gathering of Christ-followers, their task is the same as ours: to live distinct lives as followers of Jesus, to share the Good News about Jesus with all we come into contact with.

Like the Thessalonians, we are in a particular place, at a particular time, for a particular purpose.

You are here in Rich Hill, Missouri in the year 2022. We aren’t facing the persecution the Thessalonians were (not yet, anyhow). But we have been given the same purpose as the Thessalonians and have the exact same purpose.

A strong church in Rich Hill is uniquely suited to well-situated to spread the gospel to those in our area.

The Word of God must sound forth from us, with joy and power and full conviction.

We, like the Thessalonian ekklesia have been tasked with sharing and living our faith amongst a people who don’t really care for objective truth. We hold forth Jesus as the only way to be saved. We stand upon the truth of God’s Word no matter what.

And the LORD will work through the Church of Rich Hill, Missouri just as He worked through and used the church of the Thessalonians to make His name great.

The Church is a Gathering of People IN God and Christ

1 Thessalonians 1:1 “Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…”

Paul’s original audience may have been located in Thessalonica, but their identity came from God.

The Thessalonian ekklesia had faced a lot in their infancy. The church there had just begun; it was only a few months old. And already it was facing persecution. These spiritual toddlers had already been pulled in front of the city officials and charged with treason. The persecution had caused Paul and his friends to leave.

So when the ekklesia of the Thessalonians received this letter from Paul, right of the bat, the first sentence of this letter would have been encouraging to them.

How encouraging it was for them to know that their life was rooted in God Himself, who through Jesus Christ had become their loving Father.

Thessalonica might reject them, but God had received them as children.

Thessalonica might persecute them, but God the Father would provide for them, protect them, and deliver them.

They might be worried about their status as citizens of Thessalonica. But because they had been united to Christ by faith, they were just as secure as Christ.

Not only was this encouraging to the Thessalonians; I think it had to be empowering, too.

Think about it. Here’s this new gathering of people, a new ekklesia. They are freshly converted from Judaism or paganism or whatever. Their Christian convictions are pretty new to them. Their Christian moral standards have just recently been adopted. And they are already being tested and persecuted.

You might expect it to be, says John Stott, “a very wobbly church in a very precarious condition.” But no.

Paul is even confident about them and their faith and their future, BECAUSE he knows it’s God’s Church and Paul has confidence in God.

That’s empowering! Is there anything God can’t accomplish through His Church? No sir!

The very fact that this ekklesia of the Thessalonians is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ has identify-forming implications.

It helps to know that we are His. We belong to Him. Nothing can separate us from Him. Nothing.

The very fact that this ekklesia of the Thessalonians is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is empowering for mission.

It helps to know that He is at work in us and through us and even in spite of us. He’ll use us, weak as we are.

The church of the Thessalonians and every other true church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ lives in Him, is rooted in Him, draws life from Him.

Their security was to be found in God and in Christ.

Their life as a church gathering is derived from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Triune God is the church’s strength and stability.

1 Thessalonians 1:1 NIV

1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

To the church—the called OUT ones—of the Thessalonians in God and Christ, Paul sends his greeting.

Grace and peace is a play on the common greetings of the day.

Greeks would have greeted people by saying “Greetings”—the word “chairein”. Paul switched it to the sound-alike “charis” meaning “Grace”—the basis of the Christian life: God’s Grace.

Jewish people even today greet one another with “Shalom” meaning “peace”. Paul took the Greek word for “peace” and tied it to “grace”.

Grace and Peace—what the church in Thessalonica needed to hear, what they needed to be reminded of:

God’s free, undeserved favor in through Christ and the peace we have because He saved us and sustains us.

Grace and Peace to the Church—out & of & in. Out of the world. Of a particular place. In God and Christ.

I think these are three important words to keep in mind as we function as a local church body.

An ekklesia—a gathering of people—called OUT of this world, to be separated to God and to live for Him. A distinct people. Different for His sake and His glory.

An ekklesia—a gathering of people—OF a particular place and time. We are here for a reason and God has a purpose for us. To live for Him, to honor Him, to shine as a light on a hill for Him, telling others about Him and pointing others to Him.

An ekklesia—a gathering of people—IN God the Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. This is our identity. We are His. We belong to Him and to no other. In Him we live and move and have our being. In Him we are secure, forever and ever.

The Church Out & Of & In

Grace and Peace to you.