How Did The Thessalonians Model The Message And Power Of The Gospel?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we start a chapter by chapter devotion on the books of First and Second Thessalonians. And we see Paul starting out the first letter in a very winsome way with unmixed praise and encouragement on behalf of himself but also Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy. The three were really an impressive team embodying the comfort but also conviction of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt their life in the life of the Messiah is worthy of study and emulation. For in them we see the hope of the church, the called-out assembly of believers actively living out the promise of the Jews in a part of the pagan and Gentile world where Paul and Silas were incarcerated for their radical, transformative and disruptive Christian teachings. And given the tenuous status of things in Jerusalem at that time, at the crossroads of power and commerce we see the message of Jesus extended to the world. And we see drama, courage and virtue that might well contain a message for the changing image of the church today. And so we ask, How Did The Thessalonians Model The Message And Power Of The Gospel?
Scripture: 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 give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
1 Thessalonian 1:1-10 (NRSV)
After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
Acts 17:1-4 (NRSV)
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not “Yes and No”; but in him it is always “Yes.”
2 Corinthians 1:19 (NRSV)
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NRSV)
Message: Today Thessaloniki a bustling center of northern Greece, and it is one of the few New Testament cities that is still flourishing. The ancient gate through which the apostle entered the city is still standing. It spanned the Egnatian Way, the Roman road which ran from the Adriatic to the Bosporus. After Paul and his friends had been treated shamefully in Philippi, they journeyed on some fifty miles west to Thessalonica. Paul remained there at least three weeks and probably longer, but he was able to minister in the synagogue for only three Sabbaths. The Jews of the city became so enraged by his teaching about Jesus that they created a riot and took Paul’s host, Jason, captive, holding him responsible for the apostle’s behavior. Paul left the city, traveling south to Berea and there began to preach again. The Jews from Thessalonica, however, followed him, creating another uprising in Berea. Finally, Paul was sent on alone to Athens. He remained but a short time there, and then went on to Corinth. It was from that city, around the year 50 or 51 A.D., that he addressed this letter to the new believers in Thessalonica, only a few weeks old in Christ. The Thessalonian letters were written to a young church that was situated in an extremely dangerous and pagan world. Within twenty years of their writing, the whole of the ancient East was convulsed in warfare and rebellion. In 70 A. D., the armies of Titus surrounded the city of Jerusalem. Following a bloody siege, the city was overrun, the temple destroyed, and the Jews taken captive. The movements that culminated in these events had already begun when this first letter was written. The Thessalonian Christians were facing extremely perilous times but were also a great hope for the spread of the faith. Two things confronted them. First, obedience to the truth in the gospel and secondly the high destiny and challenge to which they had been called of Christian living. They were not only to share the message but be the message in abiding fidelity to God’s will. Friends, the letter to the young church at Thessalonica was written because people there had found, in the good news about Jesus, a way to be changed. Their conduct had become inspiring to others and the true joy of full assurance of their belief in Christ had motivated them to be imitators of Christ and even in suffering find joy in such abundance that they became instruments of conversion for other Jews and Gentiles as well. That simply says that if we cannot discover how to change people, there is no hope for saving the world from ultimate collapse. Right here is the glory of the gospel for the gospel changes men and women. Paul’s letters to the young church at Thessalonica were written because people there had found a focus and purpose of their lives to drastically altered the reality we experience as humans. That is what these letters clearly reflect.
Pray we are inspired by our faith to give thanks. Pray our labor in service of the Gospel of Christ is prompted by love. Pray our endurance is steadfast and founded on virtuous hope. Pray we come to know that we are beloved by God even as we serve in the world and wait for the Glory to come.
Pray we have the joy of knowing Jesus and in sharing the joy. Pray we understand the joy comes from the inside out. Pray we understand that joy is eternal, and that happiness is fleeting. Pray we get the connection between joy and revival. Pray we realize that worship of God can occur anywhere. Pray we understand the role of joy in people accepting Christ as their Savior. Pray that in our communion and call we have a joy that brings revival because it reflects the power of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 