Introduction

We spent a good portion of last week’s message establishing the setting of this letter written by Paul to the Thessalonian believers.

Last week, we looked at Roman world events at the time of this letter, as well as what was going on in Israel.

We reviewed what the book of Acts reports about the events leading up to and surrounding Paul writing this letter.

And he spoke very                             of them.

• For one thing, the church in Thessalonica was made up of born again people, saved by the grace of God.

a.                             was evidenced in their lives in those 3 things we talked about, which Paul listed out in Verse 3 of Chapter 1:

1 Thessalonians 1:3 NKJV
remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,

i. Faith

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Romans 10:17 NKJV
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

1. So then, faith is                                      and is                                   in the life of the believer.

b. Faith is the evidence of the inward condition … an outlook of trust and dependence toward God.

i. Love

1 Thessalonians 4:9 NKJV
But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

1. Love is the Greek word Agapē, which means, “Selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love.”

2. Instead, God teaches us to                                                   , and we serve Christ because we love him.

i. Hope

a. So then it’s expecting God to do what He says.

b. In regards to Jesus’ return for His church, which Paul speaks of a lot in his Thessalonian letters, it is not hoping that Jesus will keep His promise to return, but                       on Jesus to return according to His promise.

2 Peter 3:3–4 NKJV
knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

These things … Faith, Love, Hope … are evidences of salvation that can only come from God … they cannot be manufactured.

• The Thessalonian church was also commended by Paul for hearing the Word, obeying the Word, enduring affliction and operating in the joy of the Holy Spirit as an example to other believers and fellowships.

In the New Testament, Christians were expected to be a part of the local fellowship.

Being an active part of the local fellowship was a natural consequence of their relationship with Christ.

Enduring persecution as a faithful member of the local fellowship gave them a good                               among believers.

1 Thessalonians 1:7 NKJV

so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.

In verse 8, Paul said that, “The word of the Lord has sounded forth” from them, and “Your faith in God has gone out.”

In other words, they Thessalonian Christians were “sounding out” the Gospel loud and clear to their lost friends.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 NKJV

and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Paul commended the Thessalonian church for being expectant and living out their faith as those expecting the soon return of the LORD.

There was yet another commendation that Paul gave that church was in something he didn’t say.

In every one of his epistles, except for both                                        ,                                   and                         , Paul started the letter by introducing himself as “Apostle of Jesus Christ” and that often followed by something like, “by the will of God.”

But he does not do that in his letters to the Thessalonians.

They heeded scripture and the teaching of the Apostles.

Paul commended them for being doers of the Word and not hearers only.

So that’s a brief reminder of what we talked about last week … not everything, but enough to refresh our minds or fill in some holes in our notes.

In today’s chapter, Paul provides a picture of the ideal pastor or Christian servant.

In the last chapter he gave us some line items depicting the exemplary church.

• We’ll find that the exemplary disciple of Christ is a                                                 .

• The exemplary disciple of Christ                          and                 for younger believers.

• The disciple of Christ who is exemplary watches over the family of believers and                                                  for their welfare.

• The disciple of Christ treats other Christians as family …                                  ,                                                 , and                                                                         .

V1-6

Paul is dealing with his detractors … calling the Thessalonians themselves to bear witness, saying, “For you yourselves know.”

When he first came to Thessalonica, as was his custom, Paul went first to the synagog and taught about Jesus there.

In his absence, the counter missionaries began their work to try to discredit Paul and his teachings.

The word “even” doesn’t belong here.

Prior to coming to Thessalonica, Paul and Silas (and Luke) were in Philippi where an uprising against them resulted in their being imprisoned.

They were stripped, beaten with rods and thrown into prison.

It’s recorded in                       that miraculously, Paul and Silas were freed by God and their jailor was                                                 .

Their experience in Philippi didn’t intimidate them into silence.

Instead, Paul and Silas took confidence and courage in God.

It was not a man’s Gospel … it was God’s Gospel.

The Gospel is God’s own divine plan for dealing with our sin.

It is often the case that the purity of the gospel that is being preached is proven by the heat of the conflict around it.

Their exhortation was the Gospel of God which they preached.

Because it was of God and not from man, Paul and Silas were not wrong … how could the Gospel of God be a mistake?

Acts 17:2–3 NKJV
Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”

No doubt the Jewish Synagog Leaders tried to twist what Paul had said and make it sound as if there was error in his teaching.

Thessalonica was on a major Roman road called the

Paul says that he and his companions have been approved of God.

If God approves of you, what need is there to find approval anywhere else?

The Greek word means, “Tested and approved.”

Paul could not be a minister of the Gospel if he was not himself saved by that same Gospel.

It’s not one Gospel for Paul and another for everyone else.

Galatians 1:10 ESV

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The word that is translated “approved” in the first part of the verse is translated “tests” in the last part.

James 3:1 ESV

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

1 Corinthians 4:2 NKJV
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

In our chapter, there is a big idea, which is being an exemplary servant of the LORD.

We also need to remember that every Christian is a steward of the                    and the                                  .

A steward owns nothing, but possesses and uses everything that belongs to his master.

And every steward must at some point give an account of his stewardship.

1 Timothy 1:11 NKJV

according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

1 Timothy 6:20 NKJV
O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—

2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

In order to be faithful to his or her stewardship, a believer must be willing to endure hardship.

As Paul noted in verse 2, he and Silas had been mistreated in Philippi.

Paul and Silas didn’t come up with any excuses for taking a break.

They knew that God had entrusted them with the Gospel and that they had to carry the message to other cities.

The faithful steward must live to please God, not men as Paul says in verse 4.

But God cannot bless a steward whose message and ministry are not according to His divine pattern.

i. His motive was pure, and not one of uncleanness.

ii. His method was honest, not deceitful.

iii. Verse 5 states that Paul did not resort to flattering people for personal gain.

Paul always honored faithful workers.

He gave praise where it was due; but he did not stoop to flattery to win converts or influence followers.

Psalm 12:2 NKJV

They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

Some people flatter others, some people flatter themselves, and some people even try to flatter God.

Mark 7:6 NKJV

He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.

V7-8

Counter missionaries had accused Paul of ministering out of self interest.

But Paul simply asks the Christians in Thessalonica to remember the gentle character of his ministry among them.

The picture here is of a                                            caring and providing and attending to her children.

This is reminiscent of what Paul wrote to the Corinthians and what the author of Hebrews wrote to Jewish believers, just in this case there is no rebuke.

1 Corinthians 3:2 NKJV
I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;

Hebrews 5:12 NKJV
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

There is an appropriate time for milk … but once you begin to mature, it’s time to move onto more solid foods so that you can continue to grow.

There are many Christians who never go beyond the simple milk to the richer, heavier, meatier things of God’s Word.

New Christians need love, food, and tender care, just as a mother would give to her own children.

Newborn babes need the milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2).

1 Peter 2:2 NKJV
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

Milk means the basic, elemental teachings of true Christianity first learned by new believers.

Meat means the more solid, complete and deeper spiritual doctrines of scripture.

He fed himself on the Word of God and then shared his nourishment with the younger believers so that they could grow.

• The exemplary Christian pictured here is the young believer who is willing to learn and be discipled, desiring to move beyond childhood to maturity in the faith.

• Another picture of the exemplary Christian is the mature believer who is willing to nurture and disciple the younger believer into maturity in the faith.

1 Corinthians 4:14–16 NKJV
I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

• So, we’ve seen in the first 6 verses that the exemplary disciple of Christ is a                                                 .

• Next, in Verses 7-8, we observed that the exemplary disciple of Christ                          and                 for younger believers.

In verse 9 we will see that Paul labored, preached, behaved himself, exhorted, and suffered.

Children are great                            .

• The disciple of Christ who is exemplary watches over the family of believers and                                                  for their welfare.

V9-12

Paul wants them to remember the labor and toil he and Silas had endured.

Toil is a Greek word that means hardship.

Also interesting is the Greek word κηρύσσω Kērysso (kay-RHEE-soh) which is translated as “preached” here.

It denotes the actions of a herald, who would not come up with what to say, but was given what to say.

Paul labels the Thessalonian believers as witnesses of their behavior among them.

They saw how Paul and Silas conducted themselves, so they have no call to believe any false reports spoken about them by the anti-missionaries.

The word ”                     ” is the Greek word Martys (mar-tis).

A Martyr is one who is killed for their testimony.

Acts 21:13 NKJV

Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

The Thessalonian believers were not only witnesses, but God Himself was witness of Paul’s behavior.

Hebrews 6:10 NKJV
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

It is a great promise that our own labor and toil in service to the LORD does not go unnoticed by Him.

But it’s also a reminder that our own behavior be beyond reproach.

Paul describes his behavior with three adverbs: Devoutly, Justly, Blamelessly.

Devoutly is the Greek ὁσίως Hosios (hoh-SEE-ohs) – it points to the character involved in being set apart for God.

Justly is the Greek δικαίως Dikaiōs (dee-KAY-ohs) – it points to observance of rule.

Blamelessly is the Greek ἀμέμπτως Amemptōs (ah-MEMP-tohs) – it means without cause for reproach.

And wrapping up this verse, Paul uses the phrase “among you who believe” to draw contrast between the                                                                       and the                                                             .

Here, Paul describes the “fatherly” ministry.

Paul considered himself to be a spiritual father to the believers in Thessalonica.

1 Corinthians 4:15 NKJV
For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

But a father not only sires children, he also has duties of caring for them.

Through labor, toil and sacrifice Paul had done this, but that was not his only fatherly duty toward the converts.

Another of the duties of fathers is to exhort and educate their children.

However, also like a father, while there is understanding and tenderness, there had to be discipline.

1 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV
Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

Ephesians 6:4 NKJV

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

The metaphor of walking is used quite often in the New Testament.

It gives the idea of                                                                         , inspired by the call of God which is to the highest standard.

Paul ministered as a faithful steward, a nurturer and a caregiver, an example and a guardian to be a model for them to follow … so that they might learn how to walk.

• The exemplary disciple of Christ treats other Christians as family …                                  ,                                                 , and                                                                         .