“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” 1 Thes. 1:3
Today I would like to talk to you about the marks of a living church. What are the signs of life in the church? Not every church remains alive. We find a strong warning in the book of Revelation, where the Lord speaks to the church in Ephesus: “I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Rev. 2:5. This is why it is so important that we understand how the church needs to work in this world and if necessary repent from their wrongdoings. The passage we read today in the first epistle to the Thessalonians gives us a picture of what marks we should seek in the church that names itself after Christ.
The letter begins by naming the three human writers: “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus”. Apostle Paul has two people who work with him to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ: Silvanus and Timotheus. The epistle was probably written in Corinth in A.D. 54 and is one of the earliest letters written by the Apostle Paul.
He writes “unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.” He writes unto the church of the Thessalonians and re-affirms us at the very beginning that this is the model church. The candlestick has not been removed there. The church in Thessaloniki is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the most important mark for any church!
Further, he outlines the intentions of this epistle by Christian salutation. “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” He blesses them (and all who hear and believe) by sending them grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This affirms the divine inspiration of the epistle for it is only God who can send us grace. The words written down by Paul in the presence of Silvanus and Timotheus are breathed by God.
He says they keep the church in Thessaloniki in their prayers. “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;”. Here we find an indication that our prayers should include specific mentions and requests. How do you give thanks to God for your beloved brethren? Make a mention of them in your prayers!
There is both an instruction and encouragement that we find in this verse. Our Lord Jesus Christ was teaching: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Mt. 5:16. This is how our Father is glorified, when we mention others in our prayers as thanksgiving for God’s work in them.
We find more specifics detailed out in the next verse: “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, Silvanus and Timotheus remember in their prayers the marks of the church being truly in God’s hands. The Thessalonians are remembered without ceasing. The church does not know what it means to be in a lockdown! They are actively praying, preaching and proclaiming the Kingdom of God! They work and labour without ceasing.
The three signs of life that we find in this verse are: work of faith, labour of love, patience of hope. Faith, love and hope are made here active by a descriptive word added. The Apostle clearly speaks of work, labour and patience. These are working attributes, making the church alive.
All these marks can only be present when the church is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul writes: “In our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father”. Church that is alive walks in the presence of the Lord. He remains in the sight of God, in His light and does not backslide into the worldliness. When it does err it will repent and come back to the Lord.
To see these marks in the church is the confirmation of their election. “Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” This is the seal of God. Apostle Paul does not say he hopes for their election. He says: “Knowing your election”. They are called brethren beloved, they are truly elected by God because of how faith, love and hope are expressed outwardly in this church.
“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance;
as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.”
Our gospel came not unto you in word only. It is not simply a matter of hearing the gospel and passively believing, but we need to seek the marks of true salvation. “Faith without works is dead” (Jam. 2:26). Faith needs to bear fruit in power, in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. True, saving faith will push the church beyond its boundaries and make it work and labour in the world without ceasing.
So how exactly is the faith expressed in work? How does love labour? How is hope patient? All these is the work of God. I want you to see how this verse runs in parallel with the three marks identified earlier:
- work of faith – in power; We know the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Faith requires action. It needs to push us out of our comfort zone. The source of faith is the power of God, so it will make us do things our old natural man would not do. Work of faith leads to obedience to Christ. It brings us to true repentance, where we no longer trust in ourselves, but rely fully on God. It makes us turn away from our dead works.
- labour of love – in the Holy Ghost; God is love and it is only in the Holy Ghost we can experience that love which God has shown to the world on the cross of Calvary. But love requires from us labour. This is the self-sacrificial love, agape, which can only come from God.This kind of love will see the need of Christ in other human beings above all their other needs. The labour of love will not only feed the needy and clothe them who are poor. It will be active in pursuing the great commission and labour in evangelism and preaching the Word of God. Church that is alive will see this as the most important role it has to fulfil in this world.
- patience of hope – in much assurance; The divine hope that is brought to us through faith in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ does not have an expiry date on it. It will be persistent and patient for it is expecting things beyond the death of our physical bodies. It will be the working force that is constantly present and determining our actions here on earth.This kind of hope brings us eternal assurance. Just as Paul speaks about knowing our election, by that hope within we are assured of our destiny. Prophet Isaiah writes: “And the effect of rightousness quitness and assurance for ever” Is. 32:17b. The effect of the saving work that our Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross is that hope and assurance that we have through His resurrection.
Paul recognised Thessalonians as his own and calls them “brethren beloved”. But he knows this recognition is mutual. “As ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” He knows they heard and believed and put their faith into action. They now follow him and follow Jesus Christ in obedience to the gospel. “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord”
He writes further: “having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” How is it that the affliction goes together with the joy? We may see both of these as opposite words, but this is not so for God. We read in 2 Cor 7:10: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
The word of the gospel brings in first place much affliction. All of our sins are brought to light and we need to repent of them. It is a painful process as we come to the cross with guilt and shame. We see the heaviness of all the burden that the Lord was carrying on the cross. The Word of God gives us this affliction that it may bring us to the knowledge of God’s love and hope and forgiveness of sins.
This is what the second part of this verse speaks about. It is the Christian experience of the joy of the Holy Spirit. We rejoice in everything for we know that God is with us and for us. This is the true joy of our salvation and of God’s presence in our lives. It is the triumph of Lord Jesus over our sins, over our rebellion and over death.
We see in verse 5 how this is accomplished in us by faith in the gospel: “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance;” God’s power is manifested in them who believe. “ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” God is calling His people to repentance and life in holiness. We are to pursue the perfect standard that was set by Lord Jesus Christ.
“So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.” This is how the light of Christ is shining among the nations. We, Christians, need to shine not only to the wicked generation. We are also called to be ensamples to all that believe. This way by being obedient to the Word of God, we become the living stones of the church. We give strength and inspire to seeking a deeper relation and knowledge of Jesus Christ amongst the weaker brethren.
The church that is alive will be obedient to the Word of God. It will shine through its actions. Preaching the Word of God is the most important commission of all.
“For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad;
so that we need not to speak any thing.”
Apostle Paul says: “For from you sounded out the word of the Lord”. This is how the 3 marks of the living church merge together in a single, most important sign. The work of faith, the labour of love and the patience of hope are all expressed in how the church is seen from the outside. The word of the Lord sounds out of it!
The Thessalonians preach the Word of God and it is not limited to their local place. They preach so loudly that it is heard not only in Macedonia and Achaia. It is heard in every place! This is how their faith works, their love labours. Their hope is expressed in assurance that any work done for the Lord is never in vain. “Ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58.
This is the essence of the church in Thessaloniki. We see that their faith is God-ward and not towards the world and men. This faith is fearlessly spread abroad for it is preached in the Word of God. It does not leave any doubts as to whether they are a church alive. “We need not to speak any thing.” Nothing needs to be spoken any further for the actions confirm their election. The actions confirm the saving faith that the church is proclaiming.
“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;”
The faith of Thessalonians is expressed outwardly by preaching the Word. But it is also expressed inwardly by turning to God from idols. When we hear the gospel and believe it, we believe in its saving power. God starts cleansing our lives by removing all things that are idols and prevent us from serving wholeheartedly the living and true God.
This is the power of the gospel of Christ. We turn away from idols and sins that once enslaved us. The new life that is in us, requires us to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven. We know that this life here in this world is short and that we have a much greater eternal inheritance above in heaven.
Notice how God is identified in this passage. He is the living and true God. He is a divine being. Because God is living and is true, that means I can know Him and have a relation that is true and real. I can communicate with Him – both ways.
Having clearly outlined the marks of the church being alive, Paul reiterates the gospel message in verse 10: “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
We believe in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins to deliver us from the wrath to come. The wrath of God is real and will come upon this earth. All people who reject the Son and deny the saving power of the gospel by their unbelief will have to suffer the punishment for their sins themselves, eternally.
But we believe that Jesus died for our sins. We are saved. He is risen from the dead. He reigns in heaven and will one day very soon come back to earth to judge all creation. Where are you today? Do you believe Him? Do you look forward for His coming or are you scared of all that is happening in this world? Whom do you serve?
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” 2 Cor 13:5. Today is the day of self-examination. Are you in faith? Is your faith proven? And how is your church? This you need to answer yourselves, but God calls all of us to repentance.
