The
Thessalonian Epistles
Faith,
Love, Hope
Lesson
III
1 Thessalonians 1:3
Written:
September 22, 2003
1 Thessalonians 1:1
(1) Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of
the Thessalonians [which is] in God the Father and [in] the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In
his inspired letter Paul sends his greetings to the Church at Thessalonica,
“which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Recently we read that the full name of ‘the
Lord Jesus Christ’ is not used until after the resurrection.). When Paul wrote to the Colossians he told
them that “your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). How can any place be safer than that? Read the words again, “with Christ in
God.” As members of the Church we can
only perish if Christ perishes.
Colossians 3:3
(3) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in
God.
Colossians 1:2
(2) To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which
are at Colosse: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
He
begins both Epistles with the greeting “Grace unto you, and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The
order of those words should be observed.
Grace is always first for it is the message of God’s marvelous grace
that produces peace in our hearts. Until
one learns something about God’s free grace apart from any human works, one
cannot ever enjoy “peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin.”
1 Thessalonians 1:2
(2) We give thanks to God always for you all, making
mention of you in our prayers;
Paul
tells the Thessalonians that he makes mention of them in his prayers. Paul prays for the saints, he never
prays to the saints. One
cannot find any Scripture that teaches one to pray to any saint, and that
includes Mary, the mother of Jesus. We
only find prayer being made to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ in the New Testament. Men have made void the Scriptures by their
traditions.
1 Thessalonians 1:3
(3) Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and
labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of
God and our Father;
Paul
gave thanks to God when he remembered their “work of faith”, explained
to be their “turning to God from idols.”
Then,
thanksgiving for “their labour of love”, manifest by their “serving the
living and true God”, and then “for their patience of hope” in that they
were “waiting for God’s Son from heaven.”
Their
faith, love and hope were all “in the sight of God.”
Adam
Clarke wrote: “Faith that works, a love
that laboured and a hope which enabled them to bear all afflictions patiently
and wait for the coming of the Lord.”
We
remember that God does not see as man sees.
1 Samuel 16:7
(7) But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for
[the] LORD [seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the LORD looketh on the heart.
Man
looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel
16:7).
1 Corinthians 4:5
(5) Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the
Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will
make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise
of God.
In
1 Corinthians 4:5 we read, “ Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord
come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make
manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of
God.” The fact that the Thessalonians
were doing what they were doing ‘in the sight of God and our Father’, will be
fully revealed at the judgment seat of Christ.
Revelation 2:2
(2) I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience,
and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which
say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
When
we compare what is written in Thessalonians with that which is written in
Revelation 2:2, we observe that the Church at Ephesus had, “works without
faith”, “labour without love”, and “patience without hope.”
1 Corinthians 3:12
(12) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Works
without faith could only produce the dead works of “wood, hay and stubble.” (1
Corinthians 3:12). Wood is not merely a
tree, it is a dead tree. Hay is not only
grass, it is dead grass and stubble is also dead stocks. All are dead stuff. So are all the works of any man without
faith.
Hebrews 6:7-8
(7) For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God:
(8) But that which beareth thorns and briers [is]
rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned.
In
Hebrews 6:7-8 we find another illustration.
“For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing
from God: But that which beareth thorns
and briers is rejected, and nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.” Earth or a field that produces products for
human use is obviously blessed of God.
Earth that only produces thorns and briers is useless and the products
are only good for the fire.
Hebrews 6: 9-12
(9) But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,
and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
(10) For God [is] not unrighteous to forget your work and
labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister.
(11) And we desire that every one of you do shew the same
diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
(12) That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who
through faith and patience inherit the promises.
But
the text goes on to say: “But, beloved (i.e.,
believers), we are persuaded better things of you (better than thorns and
briers) and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your
work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister.
And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the
full assurance of hope unto the end:
That ye through faith and patience inherit the
promises” (Hebrews 6: 9-12).
In
this passage of Scripture we note that although these Hebrews had the “labour
of love” they had “work” without faith and “hope” without patience. So the Apostle desires that they give
diligence to add faith to their work and patience to their hope.
Hebrews 8:4-5
(4) For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest,
seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
(5) Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly
things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the
tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the
pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
Why
were their works without faith? He had
addressed them as ‘beloved’ so they must have had saving faith, but as Hebrews
they had gone back to the temple worship.
(The temple was not destroyed until 70 A.D. and in Hebrews 8:4 we read, “there
are
priests, that offer gifts according
to the law” and in verse 5 “who serve”, both facts
proving that the temple at Jerusalem was still standing). However, because Christ had died, to go back
to these animal sacrifices for sin was for them a work without faith.
Romans 10:4
(4) For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believeth.
Hebrews 6:6
(6) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto
repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
[him] to an open shame.
Hebrews 6:12
(12) That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who
through faith and patience inherit the promises.
This
faith is the ability to believe the record that God had given regarding His
Son. Now that we have the written record
we can read, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that
believeth” (Romans 10:4). Thus after
Christ’s finished work and sacrifice for sin, to go back to temple sacrifices
for sin was to “…crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to
open shame” (Hebrews 6:6). And their
works had become works without faith, dead works because they were not
of faith but of unbelief. Their works
were producing thorns and briers, thus the exhortation “to become followers of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews
6:12).
They had
also ceased to have patience with their hope. Without patience their hope would have ceased
to be a happy hope. We have observed
people at train stations and airports waiting for trains or planes. Two kinds of individuals were always there: those
who were waiting patiently and those waiting impatiently. The latter were like the troubled sea, always
restless.
James 5:7-8
(7) Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of
the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
(8) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the
coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Romans 15:5
(5) Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to
be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
2 Corinthians 3:18
(18) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
[even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Peter 3:18
(18) But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.
So
James exhorts: “Be patient therefore, brethren,
unto the coming of the Lord…be ye also patient, stablish your hearts; for the
coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” God is
a “God of patience” (Romans 15:5).
Does
it not follow that, if we are his children and if we are being changed into the
same image (2 Corinthians 3:18) and “growing in grace” (2 Peter 3:18), we
should also be growing in patience?
Colossians 1:11
(11) Strengthened with all might, according to his
glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
For
many years Colossians
Everything
in that verse is humanly impossible. To
be joyful under trying circumstances that demand longsuffering and
patience! Longsuffering is only needed
in difficult situations as is patience.
It takes the power of God in one’s life to endure with joyfulness. When is the last time you heard a sermon on
the glorious power of God being manifest by great joy during the times of the
need of patience and longsuffering?
2 Timothy 3:10-11
(10) But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of
life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
(11) Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at
Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of [them]
all the Lord delivered me.
When
Paul presented his credentials he wrote:
“But thou hast known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering,
charity, patience, persecutions,
afflictions…” (2 Timothy 3:10-11). The
marks of a true believer are many and the Thessalonians are to be commended
because they were marked well by having and manifesting a “work of faith,
labour of love and patience of hope.”
May
the Lord direct our lives “into the love of God, and unto patient waiting for
Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5).