Greetings from Paul
1 Thessalonians 1:1
Thanksgiving for the Thessalonian Believers Faith & Example
1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
- What teams did you belong to (or aspire to) as a child? Of which team were you most proud?
- What do you know about the Thessalonian church from Paul's experiences in Acts 17:1-9?
- What convinced Paul that the Thessalonians were indeed chosen by God?
- How did they first become imitators of, and then models for, the faith (1 Thessalonians 1:6-10)? What does this tell you about their growth in Christ?
- In an age without mass media, how do you suppose their faith became so legendary?
- What kind of "model" are you in matters of faith: Still on the drawing board? A work in progress? Secured in a private collection? On display at the National Museum?
- Which of the qualities in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 do you most wish to see developed in your life now? How can the group help?
SECTION OUTLINE ONE (1 THESSALONIANS 1)
Paul opens his first letter to the Thessalonians by listing five characteristics of the church in Thessalonica.
I. It Is an Energetic Church (1:1–3): Paul gives thanks to God.
A. For their strong faith (1:1–3a)
B. For their labor of love (1:3b)
II. It Is an Elect Church (1:4): They have been chosen by God himself.
III. It Is an Exemplary Church (1:5–7)
A. Paul’s example to the church (1:5–6)
1. His preaching is anointed by the Holy Spirit (1:5).
2. His personal lifestyle is anointed by the Holy Spirit (1:6).
B. Their example to the world (1:7): They are a model to all the believers in Greece.
IV. It Is an Evangelistic Church (1:8): Their faith in God has become known everywhere.
V. It Is an Expectant Church (1:9–10): They are looking forward to the return of Jesus from heaven.
“Faith, Hope & Love”
“We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3)
Paul opens his letter to the Thessalonians with faith, hope, and love. Paul closed 1 Corinthians 13 with the same three words (“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13).
In his letter to the Corinthians, these three words refer to the substance, or character, of your walk with Christ. In his letter to the Thessalonians, we see the tangible results of these three forces at work in one’s life.
These three characteristics – faith, hope, and love – give great insight into how you can not only experience more of Christ, but also allow Him to produce a greater measure of fruitfulness in you.
Whatever God produces in you will be born out of faith. Every step you take with Christ is a step of faith in not only believing who He is, but also trusting Jesus with your decisions and desires.
Once you leave your own strength and enter into a faith walk, you begin to “labor” in Christ. Your walk of faith will take you into the unknown, place you against evil in this world, separate you from your culture and values of the world, and put you on a path you may not have anticipated.
This is labor compared to conforming to the culture and simply coasting through life.
This labor is produced out of your growing and deepening love for Jesus and for others. To the extent that you labor in your faith will typically be in direct proportion to how deep your love is for the Lord. Jesus called us to endure the race. Your endurance will be anchored in the hope you possess in Jesus and his promises.
Faith, hope, and love are all interdependent forces working together in your life. Paul ends 1 Thessalonians by saying in 5:8 “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
He uses the same three traits, but adds a small twist – “the hope of salvation as a helmet.” Ultimately, your endurance to finish the race well will be fueled by the hope of salvation you possess.
No matter what is thrown your way in life, your hope in Jesus will sustain you to the end.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 -- “Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
"Walking in Christ"
“We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3)
It is amazing how this Scripture, in so few words, can capture the fruitful life of a faithful follower of Christ. The three actions of work, labor, and endurance prompted by faith, love, and hope enable you to experience the fullness of Christ’s life in you.
Your foundation will always be your relationship with Christ. Your foundation in Christ begins and expands with the quality and depth of your relationship with Jesus. As your relationship with Christ grows, you are presented with opportunities to become more like Christ as well as to be used by Christ. Every opportunity that you act upon will be a step of faith.
By faith, you trust God’s leading by allowing God to perform His work in you. This type of work of God is like driving an automobile. The more you drive the automobile, the greater the chance of a light coming on indicating the need for maintenance. This is similar to the “work of Christ” that is being produced in your life.
As you live out your life in Christ, you will hit roadblocks that challenge your faith and walk with Christ. These times provide a signal (a light coming on) to go to Christ for His direction. As you work out God’s calling, your labor for Christ will not only require love, but also the full embodiment of God’s character.
Trying to accomplish work for Christ apart from the character and person of Christ is what 1 Corinthians 13:1b calls, “A resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Your labor must reflect who God is, so that your work is usable for God’s kingdom purpose.
Finally, accomplishing God’s will in your life requires endurance. God’s work is not for show, or self-gratification, but for His purposes. This type of endurance often requires sacrifice. Sacrifice can be endured by your hope in God’s redemptive power in Christ. You persist in God’s purposes by believing in His
promises. Your hope in Christ continues to grow through your ever-expanding relationship with Him, which in turn sustains the path on which God has you.
Your life in Christ begins in a relationship with Christ, resulting in “work and labor,” but is fed through the intensifying hope of whom you have come to know as God. Faith, love, and hope become stepping stones for God shining through your life.
1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
No comments:
Post a Comment