We are continuing this morning in our study of 1 Thessalonians. So far, we have only looked at the first two verses. Paul thought a lot of this church as we saw in verse 2.
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 1 Thessalonians 1:2 ESV
The founding of this church caused riots and Paul and his companions were run out of town. When Paul then learns that the church has not only survived but thrived, thanksgiving comes spontaneously.
I asked last week, Why does Paul give thanks to God, rather than commending the Thessalonians for their wise decision to believe in Christ? He gives the answer in verse 4: He thanks God because He chose the Thessalonian believers for salvation. We’ll talk about that in a minute.
remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Yeshua the Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 ESV
This is a pretty glowing assessment. Remember these believers were brand-new, baby Christians in a very difficult culture, without leadership, being harassed by people who are hostile toward what was so very new to them.
This is the earliest mention of the three "Christian virtues," usually expressed as "faith, hope, and love." Paul's order here of faith, love, and hope stresses the eschatological hope associated with Christ's Second Coming which is the focus of his letter. These three terms faith, hope, and love are often linked in the New Testament but the order often differs.
Each of these three phrases is in a grammatical construction that asserts that the work is produced by faith, the labor is produced by love, and the steadfastness is produced by hope. The genitive "of" points to the source: work that comes from faith.
"Your work of faith"—is better translated, "their work produced by faith." "Work" is the Greek ergon, which refers to "a work, a deed, action, or accomplishment." It is "work" (singular) not "works" (plural) and seems to look at a specific work or deed performed.
The Thessalonians were acting out their faith in works of compassion and mercy. But here Paul is probably referring to their bold preaching of the gospel in the midst of persecution (1:8).
"Your labor of love"—is better translated, "their labor prompted by love.""Labor" is the Greek kopos, which refers to "laborious toil, trouble, difficulty." The labor of love is a present labor and is explained in verse 9, "to serve the living and true God." The objects of this love were the other members of the Christian community.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3 ESV
"Your steadfastness of hope"—Steadfastness is the Greek hupomone, from hupo, "under" and meno, "to remain." The idea is to remain under the pressure regardless of the intensity or length of time. So, it means "endurance, patience, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance." But it was not just an endurance of resignation, but one stimulated by hope. The "endurance of hope" is a present endurance prompted by a future prospect, a hope spelled out in verse 10, "to wait for His Son from heaven."
The Christians’ hope was bound up with the coming of the Lord Yeshua the Christ, an event that is mentioned frequently in these letters (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; 2:1; and cf. 1 Thess. 5:8).
This was the virtue of martyrs, according to Jewish thought (4 Macc. 1:11; 17:4; T. Jos. 10:1), and it became one of the most valued virtues of the early church.
Here in 1 Thessalonians 1:3the object of their hope is expressed by the words, "in our Lord Yeshua the Christ." Other translations close this verse with, "in the presence of our God and Father." There seems to be a technical discrepancy here. Christ is in the presence of our God and Father, even if this is not in this verse.
Notice that when our Lord speaks to the church at Ephesus, in the book of Revelation, He evaluates them by these same three virtues in the same order.
"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. "‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. Revelation 2:1-2 ESV
These are virtues of mature believers, what John would call a disciple.
Commenting on 1 Thessalonians 1:3 John MacArthur writes, "When you want to evaluate someone's claim to be a Christian, look at their life. Do you see the deeds of righteousness? Do you see the maximum toiling effort of love for Christ? Paul saw both in the report that he got from the Thessalonians. They were straining their energy to live out their love for Christ at the maximum level. Jesus said, ‘If you love one another, men are going to know that you're Mine,’ because the mark of a Christian is love. That's what identifies us."
Where did Yeshua say that? He didn’t what he really said was,
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 ESV
According to Yeshua the mark of a disciple is love. One of the most important and misunderstood distinctions in the Bible is that of a Christian and a disciple. Many see them as synonymous, but I think the Bible makes a distinction between them.
How does a person become a Christian? What do you have to do to be a Christian? The answer is simple - believe the gospel! A person becomes a Christian when they understand and believe the gospel of Yeshua Christ. At that moment they are placed into the body of Christ, given Christ's righteousness, indwelt by God, and are as sure of heaven as if they were already there. They are "in Christ".
Discipleship is a call to forsake all and follow Christ. I see discipleship as a conditional relationship that can be interrupted or terminated after it has begun. All Christians are called to be disciples, but not all are. Discipleship is a call to obedience. So, from what Paul tells us in verse 3 these believers at Thessalonica were disciples of Christ.
G.K. Beal writes, "We do not live in an age radically different theologically from the Thessalonians. We also live in the end-times and thus need to have faith, love, and hope in order to persevere through a tribulation that subtly attempts to destroy us spiritually."
I strongly disagree with him. The believers in Thessalonica lived in the "this age" of Scripture and all believers since AD 70 live in "the age to come" of Scripture. The last days ended when the "age to come" arrived. We are not living in hope of the Parousia.
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 1 Thessalonians 1:4 ESV
Paul calls them "brothers"—this was an affectionate term which highlighted their new spiritual relationship as members of the family of God. "Brothers" was Paul's favorite designation for the Thessalonians. He used it 15 times in this epistle, and seven times in 2 Thessalonians. It emphasizes the equality of Christians in the family of God, Jews and Gentiles alike.
Then Paul says that they are, "loved by God"—this is literally "divinely loved ones." "Loved" is a perfect passive participle of the verb agapao, "to love." The perfect focuses on the abiding results, the fixed condition of being the grace recipients (the passive voice) of God’s love. The agent of love is God.
The adjective "beloved" (agapētos) is usually used of the Fathers’ love for Yeshua (Matthew 3:17; 12:18; 17:5). Here is it used for all believers. The Father loves Yeshua the Son and we are "in Christ" and thus loved like Christ is loved. Paul traces divine election to the sovereign eternal love of God.
"For we know, that he has chosen you"—"chosen" is the Greek ekloge, which means, "selection, election, choosing." With this word, we are confronted with the doctrine of election, a doctrine that has different effects on various people. It makes some people angry, confuses many, and even seems to frighten others.
Differing views on the doctrine of election have created a huge divide in the Christian world. Some have left this church because they didn’t like that I taught on election. But, bottom line, this is what the Bible teaches, like it or not. The doctrine of election is a subject that is a frequent theme in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
In Genesis 12, God chose Abram out of a city of idolaters and promised to work through him to bring His salvation to the nations. He didn’t choose Abram’s entire city or even his entire family. God chose Abram, but He didn’t choose anyone else in Asia, Africa, or Europe. Then He refused to choose Abram’s son Ishmael and chose Isaac. Then He rejected Isaac’s son Esau and chose Jacob,
As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." Romans 9:13 ESV
Centuries later, Moses said to Jacob’s descendants,
And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, Deuteronomy 4:37 ESV
He repeated it in,
It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Deuteronomy 7:7-8 ESV
To drive the point home, he repeated again,
Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Deuteronomy 10:15 ESV
Yahweh chooses who he loves and He doesn’t love everybody therefore he doesn’t choose everybody. And because He doesn’t love everybody He didn’t die for everyone.
Galatians 2:20 is a very familiar verse, one memorized and often quoted by Christians. What I want to draw your attention to this morning is a truth found in the end of this verse that is not so familiar to most Christians.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 ESV
Notice the phrase, "The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Paul says that Christ loved him and died for him. This is a critical element in the gospel of Christ.
Notice that Paul tied Yeshua’s love for him to His death for him. Christ died for those He loved. So, the questions we must answer are: "Who does Christ love?" and "For whom did he die?" The majority of believers today would say that God loves everybody and that Christ died for all men. This is a commonly held belief, but is it biblical?
I understand the Bible to teach that God does not love everybody. Now I know that when I say that, people get upset, but it is clearly what the Word of God teaches:
As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." Romans 9:13 ESV
God didn't love Esau, that is very clear. Now how will you argue, will you say that he loves everyone but Esau? Was Esau the only person whom God did not love? The belief of our day that God loves everybody is a modern belief. The writings of the church fathers, the Reformers, or the Puritans will be searched in vain for any such concept. The fact is, that the love of God is a truth for the saints only. Not once in the four gospels do we read of the Lord Yeshua Christ telling sinners that God loved them. In the book of Acts, which records the evangelistic labors and messages of the apostles, God's love is NEVER referred to at all. Does that seem odd to you? But when we come to the Epistles, which are addressed to the saints, we have a full presentation of the truth.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." Hebrews 12:6 ESV
God's love is restricted to the members of His own family. If He loves all men, then the distinction and limitation here mentioned is quite meaningless. God only chastens whom He loves, which is a reference to believers, the elect.
What about John 3:16? Does it teach that God loves everybody?
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV
Doesn't this prove that God loves everybody? No, remember, He hated Esau. You must admit the Bible says that. Let's put it in the form of a syllogism:
Major premise: God hated Esau.
Minor premise: Esau is part of the world.
Conclusion: God doesn't love everyone in the world.
The word "world" here is not used to mean the entire human race. The word "world" often has a relative rather than an absolute meaning. For example:
And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship." Acts 19:27 ESV
Did everyone in Asia and the world worship Artemis? No! There were many believers at that time, and they were worshiping only the Lord Yeshua the Christ.
In John 3 Yeshua is speaking to Nicodemus, a Jew. The Jews believed that God loved only them. What John 3:16 is saying is that God's love is now international in its scope, He loves Gentiles as well as Jews.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Yeshua Christ, according to the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV
The Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love.
So, if what we have said so far is true, if God doesn't love everybody, but only His elect, then we would understand that Christ did not die for everyone, but only for those He loved. Paul said in Galatians 2:20 that Christ died for him, because He loved him. This is also a truth taught throughout Scripture. The Tanakh represent the Father as promising the son a certain reward for his sufferings on behalf of sinners:
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:10-11 ESV
"He shall see His offspring," this is a reference to the elect of God. God has given the elect to Christ, we are children of promise. Notice, that it says "He will see and be satisfied," and not frustrated.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21 ESV
There are two things in this verse that we must understand. First, Yeshua did not come to save all men, He came to save "His people." The Reformers called this "Limited Atonement." That does not mean that Christ's death was limited in power, but was limited in scope or purpose. In other words, He did not die for all of humanity. He died for "His people." Next, is the phrase "Will save His people" - notice that the angel did not say, "He will offer salvation to His people." Offering salvation implies that it could be rejected. This verse plainly states, "He will save His people," emphasizing a complete work for His people only, accomplished by Christ, and Christ alone.
Yeshua taught that He was not going to die for all of humanity:
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28 ESV
for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 ESV
Yeshua said He came to give His life as a ransom and pour out His blood for "many" - not "all."
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15 ESV
Yeshua said that He laid down His live for the sheep. Who are the sheep? Is every human being a sheep, or do the sheep only refer to God's elect?
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:32-34 ESV
Those who are of the sheep inherited the Kingdom, but the goats were cast into "everlasting fire." As we saw in John 10:15, Yeshua laid down His life for the "sheep," not the "goats." Christ died only for His sheep:
And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." John 6:65 ESV
There are three things I want to point out here. The first is the phrase "no one." This is a "universal negative." That is to say that the phrase "no one" includes both classes of people, Jews and Gentiles. Second, are the words "can come to Me" - this has to do with the ability of man. Yeshua was saying, "No one, neither Jew nor Gentile, has the ability to come to Me." Lastly, there is the word "unless." This word is a "necessary condition." Yeshua said that the necessary condition for someone coming to Him was God giving it to them. What does God give them? Ability. Simply put, God gives man the ability to come to Christ. Man, on his own, does not have that ability.
and Yeshua was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Yeshua answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. John 10:23-29 ESV
Here again, those Jews could not "believe" on the fact that Yeshua was their Messiah. Why? Yeshua said it was because they were not His sheep. Notice that Yeshua did not say they were not His, because they didn't believe. He said the proof that they were not His was their unbelief. Simply put, if they believed, they were already His. But since they didn't believe, they were not. Christ's sheep are identified by their faith.
Christ tells these Jews that they did not believe, because they were not His sheep. These verses point clearly to the doctrine of particular redemption or limited atonement. Christ died not merely to make possible the salvation of all mankind, but to make certain the salvation of the elect, His sheep:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11 ESV
To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. John 10:3-4 ESV
Notice that the Shepherd calls "his own sheep."
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. John 6:37 ESV
According to this verse, who is it that comes to Christ? All that the Father gives Him. God's chosen will come to Christ.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. John 6:39 ESV
Who is it that receives resurrection life? All that the Father has given Christ. Isn't that what it says? God the Father has given the elect to Christ as a love gift.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 ESV
Notice the words "come to me" are synonymous with "believe in me" as we can see from verse 35.
Yeshua said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 ESV
Here we see that "coming to Yeshua" and "believing in Yeshua" are synonymous concepts. These are parallel terms, coming to Christ is the same as believing in Christ and vise versa. This is very important in understanding this text.
Some have tried to interpret the word "draw" here as "call or invite." Some people would go so far as to say God calls or invites everybody equally and at all times. They would say that the Father draws everybody, and everybody can choose to refuse.
This view distorts the text. If this is all that Yeshua is trying to say, His words make no sense in the context of the discussion in which He spoke them. His words only make sense if the implication is that His objectors may not have been drawn.
There are three things I want to point out here. The first is the phrase "no one." This is a "universal negative." That is to say that the phrase "no one" includes both classes of people, Jews and Gentiles. Second are the words "can come to Me"—this has to do with the ability of man. Yeshua was saying, "No one, neither Jew nor Gentile, has the ability to come to Me." Lastly, there is the word "unless." This word is a "necessary condition." Yeshua said that the necessary condition for someone's coming to Him was God's giving it to them. What does God give them? Life. Simply put, God gives man life which is the ability to come to Christ. Man, on his own, does not have that ability.
The Greek word translated "draws" is helkuo, which means, "to drag by irresistible superiority." It is used eight times in the New Testament. Look up each use and you will see that it’s meaning is to "to drag by irresistible superiority."
So, Yeshua is saying here that no one can come to Him "…unless the Father who sent Me draws him!" This is what Calvinists call "Irresistible Grace or Sovereign Grace." It is not that God drags those who don't want to come. It is that God makes willing by His grace. In regeneration, God gives us spiritual life which includes a desire for Him. If God gives us a desire for Christ, we will act according to that desire and we will choose Christ.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 ESV
One more thought on this verse. Notice that it doesn’t say, Everyone can come to me because the Father who sent me draws everybody. And everybody gets raised up at the last day. The Universalist is wrong!
The idea of God choosing certain people to receive His grace and mercy is taught all through Scripture. Look with me at the story in:
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Yeshua saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me." Yeshua said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." John 5:2-8 ESV
There was a "multitude" of sick folks there, but Christ healed only one. Why? He could have healed them all, why didn't He? The answer is simple, He chose not to. God is sovereign in the dispensing of His mercy and grace. Does it bother you that God chooses certain people to give grace and mercy to? If the doctrine of election bothers you, you are not alone:
But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away. Luke 4:25-30 ESV
Here, out of the many widows and lepers, God chooses to bless two Gentiles - this made the Jews very angry. People, God is Sovereign over all, and this includes the giving of His love and eternal life:
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. John 5:21 ESV
Who does the Son give life to? Whom He wishes. Our Shepherd's love is a sovereign love.
The church today is being flooded with a new gospel, a humanistic gospel. The gospel is always, and essentially, a proclamation of Divine sovereignty in mercy and judgement. It is a summons to bow down and worship the mighty Lord on whom man depends for all good, both in nature and grace. Its center of reference is God. But in the new gospel, the center of reference is man. You choose, you decide, you initiate salvation. The chief aim of the gospel was to teach men to worship God, but the concern of the new gospel seems limited to making them feel better.
Our minds have been conditioned to think of the cross as a redemption which does less than redeem, and of Christ as a savior who does less than save, and of God's love as a weak affection which cannot keep anyone from wrath without their help, and of faith as the human help which God needs for His purpose. This is not the gospel, the gospel is "God saves sinners."
In John 17 we see the Great Shepherd giving eternal life only to those the Father had given Him:
When Yeshua had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. John 17:1-2 ESV
Who does Christ give eternal life to? He gives it to all those that the Father has given Him, the elect.
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 ESV
Those given to Yeshua by God the Father are children of promise. God is selective in salvation.
To teach that Christ loves, and died for, all of humanity is to teach against the plain words of Scripture. The Bible teaches that the work of Christ accomplished the full salvation of His people, and His people alone. So, our message must be, "Christ died for His people."
because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 ESV
Some have claimed the words "in power" and "with full conviction" refer to the recipients and the effects manifested in these new believers, but the words, "You know what kind of men … ," restricts it to the missionaries. In verse 4 Paul said,
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 1 Thessalonians 1:4 ESV
How did he know that God had chosen them? He tells us how, Because.
"Because our gospel came to you not only in word"—the gospel Paul preached was not just words; it was God’s words. 1 Corinthians 2:4 explains the sense of 1 Thessalonians 1:5, using much of the same vocabulary:
and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 1 Corinthians 2:4 ESV
"But also in power and in the Holy Spirit"—"but" is alla, a strong conjunction of contrast. This power is the inherent power of the gospel as the "Word of God which is alive and powerful" (Hebrews 4:12). It is not just a message of words, but a message which is living, active, powerful and able to bring men into a saving relationship with the living God for one simple reason: It is God’s Word and it is truth.
When Paul preached the gospel, he depended upon the Holy Spirit to authenticate and empower his words because the natural man is incapable of grasping spiritual truth.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV
This is why Yeshua said,
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 ESV
"And with full conviction"—this points to the faith and confidence of the missionaries. Paul states that the gospel came with deep conviction, an expression that refers to the way he and his associates themselves were convinced of the truth of the message. They knew that God was speaking through them.
"You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake"—he appeals to his readers’ first-hand knowledge of their missionary team. As Paul and his companions had preached a Spirit-empowered message, so they had also lived lives that were fully consistent with that message while they were in Thessalonica. In chapter 2 Paul contrasts the way he and his mission team acted among the Thessalonians (2:7,10) compared to those mentioned in 2:3-6.
It was not only the message of the gospel that the Holy Spirit empowered and authenticated; it was also the lifestyle of the messengers. Believers, If we are not careful to live Christ like, our lives will speak so loudly no one wants to listen to what we say. We are to preach the gospel with our words and with our lives? Saint Francis of Assisi put it this way, "Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words."