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Scripture Reading: 1 Thes. 1:1-10
In the foregoing message we saw that the Triune God is revealed in chapter one of 1 Thessalonians. In verses 1 and 3 Paul speaks of God the Father; in verse 10, of the Son; and in verses 5 and 6, of the Holy Spirit. According to 1:1, the church of the Thessalonians was in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This indicates that the church is in the Triune God. In this message we shall go on to consider, also from 1 Thessalonians 1, how this Triune God is ministered to us.
In verses 5 and 6 Paul says, “Because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, even as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having accepted the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit.” According to these verses, to preach the gospel is to preach the word. The gospel preached by the apostles was the word accepted by the Thessalonians. In verse 8 Paul goes on to say, “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.” First the Thessalonians accepted the word, and then they sounded it out.
In verse 8 the word of the Lord and faith toward God are synonymous. This verse says that from the Thessalonians the word of the Lord sounded out and that their faith toward God went out. Thus, the word that is sounded out is the faith that goes out.
What is faith? Hardly anyone can give a satisfactory definition. It is very difficult to say what faith is. However, by considering these verses carefully, we can have a proper understanding of faith.
First, faith is a matter of having the word preached to us. Next, faith includes our accepting of the word and our sounding it out. This kind of word is faith. The word of the gospel is preached, accepted, and declared. In this way the word becomes faith within us. In the speaking of the preacher, the word is the gospel. But when we accept the word, and especially when we sound out the word, it becomes faith within us.
Suppose a preacher of the gospel speaks to an unbeliever concerning man’s fall and God’s salvation. The one who preaches the gospel tells the unbeliever that in Christ God was incarnate, that He was crucified for our sins, that He was resurrected from among the dead, and that He has become the life-giving Spirit in order to dwell in us. When this unbeliever receives the word of the gospel and declares it, it becomes faith.
Now we need to study the content of the word, the gospel, preached by Paul. No doubt, Paul preached the Triune God. In verse 4 he says, “Knowing, brothers beloved by God, your selection.” Selection refers to the Father’s work in eternity past. That was when God selected us. In verse 10 Paul speaks about the Son as the One who delivers us. The Son is the Savior, the Deliverer. In verse 5 Paul says that the gospel they preached came in power and in the Holy Spirit; and in verse 6 we see that the Thessalonians accepted the word with joy of the Holy Spirit. The fact that the gospel was preached in the Holy Spirit indicates that the Spirit is the One who transmits the things of God into us. Thus, God the Father selected us, God the Son accomplished redemption to deliver us, and God the Spirit transmits all the divine things to us. This is the content of the word preached by Paul as the gospel. This is the reason I say that the Triune God is embodied in the word.
A brother may give a short gospel message in which he says that God created man, that man has become fallen, that Christ has come to die on the cross for our sins, and that now the Spirit is seeking to regenerate us. Even in such a short message, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are all included. This is the content of the proper gospel, a gospel that is the divine word embodying the Triune God and telling us what the Father has done, what the Son has done, and what the Spirit is doing. When someone believes this word and accepts it, it becomes faith within him.
Do you realize what happens when the Triune God is ministered to a person through the word, and that person receives the word so that it becomes faith within him? At that moment such a person experiences a new birth. He is born of God. We all were sinners, but through faith we have become sons of God. Through faith we experience a new birth.
Faith is not a matter of trying to believe something that we are not able to believe. Whenever you preach the gospel, do not force anyone to believe. Instead, present the Triune God as the One most dear, precious, and valuable. When others hear the presentation of such an attractive One, they will appreciate what you are saying and receive your word. The word they accept will then become their faith. This is what it means to believe.
Faith has two aspects: the objective aspect and the subjective aspect. When we accept the word of God, it becomes both our objective faith and our subjective faith. Objective faith denotes the things we believe, and subjective faith refers to our action of believing. Through such a faith we are regenerated, born of God, and a relationship of life begins between us and God. Furthermore, through this kind of faith we are put into Christ. Formerly, we were outside of Christ. But now through faith we are in Christ. This means that there is an organic union between us and Christ. This is the beginning of the Christian life, and this life is a holy life that consummates in the church life. In this way the Triune God is transmitted into our being so that we may have a new life, the divine life. With this new life we have a relationship of life with God and an organic union with Christ. By means of this relationship and union we begin our Christian life, a life of holiness, a holy life for the church life.
Now that we have considered verse 1 in a rather full way, let us go on to verse 3. Here Paul says, “Remembering unceasingly your work of faith, and labor of love, and endurance of hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.” In this verse Paul speaks of three matters: the work of faith, the labor of love, and the endurance of hope. The work of faith comes first. Faith comes through our acceptance of the word that is the embodiment of the Triune God. When we accepted this word, faith was produced within us. We have seen that this faith is both objective and subjective.
In Greek there is a definite article in verse 3, the faith. This indicates that this verse speaks of the work of the faith. This faith is God’s word accepted by us. The word preached to us and received by us becomes faith. Because this faith is living and active, it results in the work of the faith.
The Greek word for work in verse 3 is ergon, a word usually rendered as work. Paul uses this word in Romans 3:20: “Because by the works of law no flesh shall be justified before Him.” In Romans 3:20 work mainly denotes our conduct, our behavior. Paul is saying that no fallen person can be justified before God by his conduct. Thus, in that verse work does not refer to an activity or a task that we do; it refers to particular deeds in our behavior. What, then, is the meaning of work in verse 3? Does it refer to deeds, or to some kind of task? Actually, in Greek this word denotes acts, actions, activities. It includes everything of our actions. Our actions involve deeds, conduct, and many other things as well. Therefore, the work of faith refers to all the acts, actions, of faith.
Suppose an evangelist preaches the gospel to an unbeliever. The unbeliever accepts the word, faith is produced in him, and through this faith he is born of God and put into Christ. Now that he has faith, certain actions are sure to follow. For example, he may spontaneously declare, “O Lord Jesus, You are so precious!” Then he may go home and speak to his wife and children about believing in the Lord Jesus. Both the declaration concerning the Lord and the preaching of the Lord are works of faith. Faith implies God, grace, power, light, and many other items. For this reason, when a new believer preaches Christ to his wife, the faith within him may enlighten him concerning his attitude toward her. Then he will confess his shortcomings to the Lord and apologize to his wife concerning certain matters. This also is a work of faith.
First Thessalonians 1:9 says, “For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entrance we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.” Here Paul speaks of turning to God from idols. This is the first action of faith. Anyone who has faith will turn to God from idols.
The work of faith includes all the actions that issue out of our living faith. This includes our relationship with others and all our behavior. Before a certain person was saved, he may have been unkind to others and harsh in many aspects of his behavior. But once he has faith in the Lord, this faith will not allow him to treat others in such an unkind way. Furthermore, it will be difficult for him to behave in a harsh way. I can testify of this from my experience. From my youth, I hated dogs and sometimes mistreated them. But after I was saved, the faith within me no longer allowed me to behave in that way. Such a change in behavior is an action that comes out of faith.
Those who have faith are very different from those who do not have faith. Before they had faith, some indulged in sinful things. Now that they have faith, they can no longer indulge in these things. Spontaneously, as an action, a work, of faith, they refrain from those things. Others before they were saved were not good neighbors. But after they were saved and came to have faith, they became very kind, gentle, loving, and considerate. No one taught them to be different. The change was produced by the faith within them. The faith caused them to be helpful to others, especially to other believers. This is another illustration of the work of the faith.
The work of faith denotes the proper actions of a genuine believer. It is not the performing of a certain task or the doing of certain good deeds to help others. No, it is our daily action as believers, the action that is a product of faith. This is Paul’s understanding of the work of faith. As he was praying for the Thessalonians, he remembered their action of faith.
According to verse 3, the labor of love comes after the work of faith. This labor of love is truly a labor; it is not merely an action or some kind of conduct. It involves endeavoring, striving, working.
We have pointed out that the work of faith begins with turning to God from idols. The work of faith surely implies this kind of turning. Thus, the turning to God from idols is related to the work of faith. Now we must see that serving the living God is related to the labor of love. We are laboring to serve our God, who is living. We serve this living One because we love Him. Galatians 5:6 says that faith operates through love. This love is related first to serving our living God.
The faith within us produces many different kinds of actions. Moreover, this faith operates in love. In love, we as believers should endeavor to serve our living God. Our God is living. As the living One, He speaks all the time, and we serve Him.
It is not easy to serve God; rather, it is a labor. Paul even says that it is a struggle. Therefore, if we would serve the living God, we must struggle. Whatever God speaks in us and whatever He indicates to us, we need to follow Him. This is to serve Him as the living God. This service requires love toward Him. We should first love God, and this love will cause us to labor in serving Him.
Finally, in verse 3 Paul speaks of the endurance of hope. No doubt, the endurance of hope in verse 3 corresponds to the waiting for the Son of God in verse 10. If we have the endurance of hope, we shall wait for God’s Son from the heavens.
Now we can see what is the Christian life as a holy life for the church life. This life originates with the Triune God. Through the preaching of the word and our acceptance of the word, we enter into a life relationship with God the Father and have an organic union with Christ. This comes through faith. Then this faith works, acts, and issues in many things. In particular, it causes us to turn to God from everything else. Furthermore, in love we labor, struggle, and strive to serve the living God. At the same time, with the endurance of hope we wait for the coming back of the Son of God. This surely is a holy life, a life that is sanctified and separated. According to chapter four, verse 7, God has called us in such a life, and according to chapter five, verse 23, God is now sanctifying us wholly for this kind of life so that we may have the proper church life.
