1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 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. {2} We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; {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’s interest in the church:
After establishing the church in Thessalonica, Paul was forced to leave due to problems by the Jews who did not believe. This did not prevent Paul from his concern for the believers there and he wrote two letters to them to encourage and teach them and us truths for Christian life. In this first letter and our text, Paul is commending the believers for their example of being Christian and we can apply that to our churches today as we endeavor to apply Scripture and our belief to everyday living.
Their faith:
Faith must be taken in two ways – one is our trust in God, His word and the atonement made for us by Christ; two, the body of truth contained in the Bible which instructs us in our Christian walk.
Our trust in God is shown by our security and contentment in our new life as Christians. We are not trying to please God in order to be saved, but our love for Him causes us to work and live in accordance with God’s law. Our security rests in our relationship to God and not how much we do (1 Jn 3:18-24), but what we “do” we do out of our love for Him (1 Jn 4:8-17). Our trust is also shown by our obedience to God’s word even though we may not understand it. We often become hypocritical in that we want our children to obey w/o understanding why we say some things, but at the same time we refuse to obey God’s word until we understand it. Our faith (trust) is shown by the way we obey without perfect understanding because of our love for God.
Faith also is the embodiment of truth contained in Scripture. True faith does not water down God’s word, but believes and accepts it in spite of political correctness or our own “fairness” struggle. We struggle with what seems unfair to us when we read of certain things in Scripture, i.e. the extermination of the Canaanites when Israel entered the Promised Land. Calling sin what God calls sin and contending for the faith is often a lonely and sometimes dangerous course, but the church in Thessalonica is commended for their faith.
Their labor of love:
These believers were committed to both outreach and missions (verses 7 & 8). Their testimony had not only affected the local area but had spread abroad to areas beyond their church. Verse 9 tells us that their life and testimony were genuine and their worship of God was not just lip service, but was actual in their changed living. Their labor of love would also be seen in their sharing with others – both spiritually and materially. John spoke of this in 1 Jn 3:18 and Paul developed in Gal 5:13; 6:1-2; Ro 12:9.
Their love was true love out of appreciation for what they received and not hypocritical and out of duty. Jesus said that it is this kind of love that indicates we are His disciples (Jn 13:35); but it is not just love for the brethren, it is also a love for the lost (Gal 6:10).
Their patience of hope:
Our patience of hope is expressed in outlook of the future. We believe that the Lord will return again to receive us into glory, we just do not know when. Our patience in hope is holding unto that truth in spite of the way things appear. Jesus said, “(Luke 18:8) “when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Our patience in hope is continuing on even though it seems long and the day grows weary and we are worn by the battle, we do not give up nor give in to the deceptions of the devil.
Jesus did all things well
Mark tells us that (Jesus) hath done all things well” (Mk 7:37), meaning He never had to go back and make apologies, never made mistakes; His deeds were not flawed in any way. He was the Master of every situation and knew always how to respond. His words were gracious – except when scolding the hypocrites – when He spoke. We can’t say that, but we do not cease to be examples because of that, but commit our errors and sins to a faithful high priest and continue to serve faithfully.