Scripture Reading: 1 Thes. 1:1-10
In reading or studying any part of the Bible, it is always necessary to find out what was in the spirit of the writer. Once we know the writer’s spirit, we can learn his purpose, intention, goal, and aim. In order to learn what was the burden in Paul’s spirit in 1 Thessalonians 1, we need to consider some basic matters in this chapter as indicated by the words Paul uses and by the way this chapter is constructed. This means that Paul’s spirit here is related to certain basic words he uses. Any chapter of the Bible is constructed of specific words that refer to basic elements. Let us now consider some basic matters in 1 Thessalonians 1 expressed in the words chosen by the Apostle Paul.
In chapter one of 1 Thessalonians the Triune God is revealed. First, we have the Father. In 1:1 Paul says that the church is in God the Father, and in verse 3 he again refers to “our God and Father.” In verse 10 Paul speaks concerning the Son: “And to wait for His Son from the heavens.” Furthermore, Paul mentions the Holy Spirit in verse 5, where he says that the gospel came to the Thessalonians in the Holy Spirit, and also in verse 6, where he says that the Thessalonians accepted the word with joy of the Holy Spirit. In this chapter we have the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
At the time of Paul, any typical Jew would have been offended by the expression “His Son.” This was offensive to Jews because they believed in the true God, but did not realize that He has a Son. To a certain extent, the Jews believed that God has a Spirit. However, they did not have the understanding that the Spirit is the same in rank as God Himself. Rather, they believed only that God has a Spirit and that this Spirit is subordinate to Him. According to Jewish belief concerning God, God is unique and yet this unique God has a Spirit. The Jews certainly did not believe that God has a Son; neither did they believe that both the Son of God and the Spirit of God are on the same rank as God. This is altogether contrary to the Jewish concept. Hence, for Paul to speak of the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit is to utter something very basic.
In chapter one Paul not only speaks of the Son of God, but also speaks of Jesus Christ. The Son of God is Jesus, and this Jesus is Christ. The name Jesus refers basically to the manhood of the Son of God, to the Son of God as a man. Through incarnation the Son of God became a man named Jesus. This name is an equivalent to the Hebrew word for Joshua, a name which means either Jehovah our Savior or Jehovah our salvation. The name of Jesus, therefore, is rich in its implications.
Like everyone else, Jesus, the Son of God, has a history. We know that He was born in Jewish territory, lived in that region for thirty-three and a half years, and eventually died on the cross. Now when we speak of Jesus, we need to recall His history, His biography.
The Lord Jesus is also the Christ. For the most part, the title Christ denotes that aspect of the Lord’s history related to resurrection, whereas the name Jesus denotes that part of His history related to incarnation and human living. Christ, the resurrected One, has been made Lord of all and Head of all. God has made Him Head of the church.
If we read 1 Thessalonians 1 carefully, we shall see that even in such a short chapter there are indications of what the Father has done, of what the Son is doing, and of what the Spirit has done and continues to do. In verse 4 Paul speaks concerning selection: “Knowing, brothers beloved by God, your selection.” Who selected us? Surely selection was not accomplished by the Son. The Father is the One who selected us. According to verse 10, the Son delivers us. This verse says that the Son “delivers us from the wrath which is coming.” I would call your attention to the fact that in this verse the word “delivers” is in the present tense, whereas wrath is spoken of as something which is coming. The deliverance is taking place right now, but the wrath is coming. The point here is that the Son accomplishes the work of deliverance.
Selection is of the Father, and deliverance is of the Son, but what is the work of the Spirit? According to this chapter, the Spirit is for propagating, for imparting. In verse 5 Paul points out to the Thessalonians that the gospel came to them not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit. In verse 6 he reminds them that they accepted the word with joy of the Holy Spirit. These verses indicate that the Spirit is for transmission.
As Paul was writing 1 Thessalonians 1, deep within he was exercised concerning the Triune God. He was burdened concerning the Father’s selection, the Son’s deliverance, and the Spirit’s transmission. It is very important for us to see this.
The Triune God is conveyed to us, transmitted to us, through the Word. In verse 6 Paul speaks of accepting the word, and in verse 8, of sounding out the word of the Lord. No doubt in Paul’s concept the Triune God today is fully embodied in the Word. The Word may be compared to a battery that contains electricity. As a battery is the embodiment of electricity, so in the spiritual realm the Word of God, a divine battery, is the embodiment of the Triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all embodied in the Word. Thus, when we preach the Word, God is conveyed to others. Through the Word the Triune God is transmitted to others.
Paul had spent about three weeks with the Thessalonians. I believe that during those weeks Paul told the Thessalonians how God had selected them in eternity past. He must also have told them how one day God the Son became incarnate, how He was born in a manger and given the name Jesus. Surely Paul also told the Thessalonian believers how Jesus lived on earth, was crucified, and was resurrected to be the Lord, the Head, and the Christ, how He is now in the heavens, and how He has become the life-giving Spirit. Paul, therefore, preached the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This was his gospel, the word accepted by the Thessalonians.
When the Thessalonians accepted the word preached by Paul, they accepted the Triune God. The word they received was the gospel preached to them. By accepting this word and thereby accepting the Triune God, they were born of God and put into Christ. On the negative side, this was a turning to God from idols. On the positive side, it was being born of God and also believing into the Son of God. In this way an organic union took place, and the Thessalonians came to be in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The new believers at Thessalonica were all in the Triune God. Because they were in the Father and the Son, they were no longer heathen or Jews. They were saints. They had become saints in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1:1 the phrase “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” not only qualifies the church, but also qualifies the Thessalonians. This means not only that the church was in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, but also that the Thessalonians, being no longer Greeks or Jews, but believers, were also in the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dean Alford makes three points concerning this part of 1:1. First he says that the phrase “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” indicates communion and participation. Alford did not use the expression organic union, but he speaks of communion, which means fellowship and a kind of co-union. He also speaks of the believers participating in God and Christ. Because of this participation, they have a common union with God. Second, Alford says that the words “in God the Father” mark out the believers as being no longer heathen, for as heathen they were not in God the Father. Third, he says that “in the Lord Jesus Christ” indicates that the believers are no longer Jewish, for the Jews were not willing to accept the Lord Jesus. Hence, the believers at Thessalonica, being in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, were no longer heathen or Jewish.
In chapter one we have the Triune God and the preaching of the Triune God in the word, His embodiment. This word is the gospel that is accepted by the believers. When the Thessalonians accepted the word, they were born of God and united to Christ. Therefore, they became the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Then what did they do? They served the living God. The word serve used in verse 9 is all-inclusive. It includes everything we do in our daily living. God is living because He is true, not false. Thus, in 1:9 Paul speaks of serving a living and true God. The church of the Thessalonians was made up of believers serving a living God who is true. This is also what we are doing today. The fact that we are serving a living God proves that we are in God the Father.
Furthermore, in verse 10 Paul points out that we are waiting for the Son of God from the heavens. We are serving the living God, and we are waiting for His Son, the One whom He raised from among the dead. Jesus, the Son of God, delivers us from the wrath which is to come. Although the wrath will come in the future, He is now delivering us, and He will deliver us to the uttermost, until there is no longer any wrath.
To serve a living God indicates that we are in God the Father, and to wait for the Son indicates that we are in our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, our serving and our waiting mark us out as those who are in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we were not in the Father, we would not be serving a living God, and if we were not in Jesus Christ our Lord, we would not be waiting for Him.
As we consider verses 1, 9, and 10, we see that the end of this chapter corresponds to the beginning. In the beginning Paul says that the church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of this chapter he speaks of serving the living God and waiting for the Son. This is the holy life for the church life, a life constructed of faith, love, and hope. Faith is working, love is laboring, and hope is enduring.
I would call your attention to verse 8: “For from you the word of the Lord has sounded out, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to speak anything.” Notice here Paul says that from the Thessalonians the word of the Lord has sounded out and that in every place their faith toward God has gone out. This indicates that the word of the Lord and faith toward God are synonymous. The Thessalonians heard the word. When they accepted the word, it became their faith in both an objective and subjective way. As we have pointed out, objective faith denotes that in which we believe, and subjective faith denotes the action of believing. In verse 8 faith toward God includes both the subjective and objective aspects.
In your experience, is the word of the Lord simply the word, or is it also faith? If the word is faith to you, this means it has brought you a view, and you have seen this view. This seeing of the view results in your believing. In this way the word becomes your faith. Now when the word of the Lord is sounded out, it is not merely an objective word; it is also your subjective faith. Therefore, when such a word is sounded out, your faith goes out.
Faith is the foundation of the structure of a holy life for the church life. Upon this foundation a building is taking place. This is the labor of love. Then the topstone, the capstone, of this building will be the enduring hope. In this way we have the complete structure of a holy life for the church life: the work of faith, the labor of love, and the endurance of hope.
If we see the basic matters in chapter one of 1 Thessalonians — the Triune God, the word as the embodiment of the Triune God, the mark of being in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the work of faith, the labor of love, and the endurance of hope — then we shall know the burden in Paul’s spirit when he composed this portion of the Word.
