Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from 1 Th 3.1 and following. Indeed, twice Satan had prevented Paul from returning to Thessalonica(1 Th 2:17-20). God had allowed it to manifest both the affections of the apostle and the faithfulness of the Thessalonians. Using another weapon, “the tempter” had then aroused great trials against them. But Paul had warned them that not only were these trials inevitable, but that they were destined for this (John 15. 18-21; Jn 16:31-33). Was he indifferent to it for that reason? Quite the contrary! But what he was worried about was not the trials of the Thessalonians, it was the firmness of their faith. Lesson for us who easily stop at external circumstances: material difficulties, diseases, etc… , and let us lose sight of the inner state of the Christian! No longer keen on it, the apostle had delegated Timothy to strengthen and encourage them. And he himself had been consoled, yes, filled with joy, in the midst of his own affliction by the news he had received. For far from shaking the faith of these very young believers, the trial had strengthened it. Similarly, the harshest climates usually forge the most resistant breeds. Again Satan had done a work that had deceived him (Pr 11. 18).
It is not our trials that should lead us to wait for the Lord; it’s love! His coming “with all his saints” is the great thought that must govern all our behavior. We are holy before God through the perfect work of Christ (Hb 10:4-10). But at the same time we are exhorted to strengthen our hearts in practical holiness; it is God’s express will for each of his own. In particular, a young Christian will have to take care to keep himself pure. Considering his body as an instrument of pleasure, he sins first against himself; it sometimes ruins his health, always his consciousness (it loses its sensitivity to evil and gets out of order like the needle of a meter that has been forced).
He can also do the greatest harm to others (Hb 13.1-6). How many ruined lives, defiled minds and bodies, broken homes, have paid for the vanity of a conquest and the pleasure of a few moments! Finally, impurity in all its forms is a sin against God (Ps 51:1-8). Our body no longer belongs to us; it has become the temple of the Spirit that God has given us (1 Cor 6:15-20). The Holy Spirit calls for a holy abode. To preserve our body without reproach (1 Th 523-24) is to honor the One who dwells in it. We are far from having exhausted the subject of the Christian walk by showing, as we have done, that it is directed by the characters of the divine life that we possess, by our relations with God and by our privileges. But let me make a preliminary remark.
It has often been pointed out that the first epistle to the Thessalonians introduces into all our conduct, to determine it, the thought of the Personal Coming of the Lord. This is why the apostle expects the reward of his work only at the coming of the Lord Jesus; only then will the Thessalonians be manifested as the crown of glory of this dear servant of Christ. He waited patiently for that moment, for it can happen that we work faithfully throughout our life without reaping here on earth the fruits of our work for the Lord; but let this not discourage us. Working for our Master, we do not have to pretend to harvest fruit at the moment: it could probably be granted to us, but could also be lacking. For oneploughs, the other sows and plants, the other waters: it takes time to see an increase or a harvest. It is not said that the plants, watered with our hands, will rejoice our sight with many flowers or fruits. If it is convenient for the Lord not to make us see it, our patience is exercised. By habitually reaping the fruits of my activity, my weak heart would be willing to boast and delight in it, instead of waiting for the harvest at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Timothy’s encouraging report:
- Spiritual love, the pre-eminence of love
1 Cor 13:13 Now, then, these three things remain: faith, hope, charity; but the greatest of these things is charity. Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, benignity, faithfulness, meekness, temperance; Eph 5:2 and walk in charity, following the example of Christ, who loved us, and who gave himself up to God for us as an offering and a sacrifice of good smell. 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed in God’s love for us. God is love; and he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God dwells in him.
- Special passages that bring consolation
Ps 27:5 For He will protect me in His tabernacle on the day of misfortune, He will hide me under the shelter of His tent; He will lift me up on a rock. Ps 119:50 This is my consolation in my misery, for your promise gives me back life. Mt 5:4 Blessed are the afflicted, for they will be consoled! 1 Thess 3:7 Therefore, brethren, in the midst of all our calamities and tribulations, we have been consoled about you because of your faith.
- Joy of soul winners
-Essential to the success of christian work Ps 51:14-15 Give me back the joy of your salvation, and may a spirit of good will sustain me! 15 I will teach your ways to those who transgress them, and sinners will return to you.
-Come by reaping Ps 126:6 He who walks weeping, when he carries the seed, Returns with joy, when he carries his sheaves.
-When they have found the lost sheep Luke 15:6-7, and back home he calls his friends and neighbors, and says to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. 7 Likewise, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven for a single sinner who repents, than for ninety-nine righteous people who do not need repentance.
-The sower and the reaper rejoice together Jn 4:36 He who reaps receives a salary, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together.
-Encourage the Church Acts 15:3 After being accompanied by the Church, they continued their journey through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to all the brethren.
-The souls won are a crown of joy 1 Th 2:19-20 Who is, indeed, our hope, or our joy, or our crown of glory? Is it not you too, before our Lord Jesus, at his advent? 20 Yes, you are our glory and joy.
-Sustained Christ in his sufferings on the cross Hb 12:2 looking at Jesus, the head and consumer of faith, who, in view of the joy reserved for him, suffered the cross, despised ignominy, and sat at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Promises for the righteous
Ps 34:16 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cries. Ps 92:13 The righteous grow like the palm tree, They rise like the cedar of Lebanon. Pr 12:13 There is a pernicious trap in the sin of the lips, but the righteous are pulled out of distress. Pr 20.7 The just walk in its integrity; Happy his children after him!
From all the above, we note that Apostle Paul speaks to us of our Christian responsibility which is never related to the coming of the Lord to take us from Him. For the word “his appearance”, designating the moment when he will come to judgment with all his saints, cannot be used here because it is not a question of judgment, but of appearing before our God and Father to finally reach the full result of a faithful walk, accomplished in love. This is not the time when the Lord will appear publicly to be glorified and admired in all who have believed (2 Th 1.10). He introduces them before the Father, into the second before the world. Then theapostle asks for the Thessalonians, that the Lord make them “abound and overabunda in love” as he, Paul, had given them the example. They did not need to be exhorted to do so, for from the beginning they had proved it by their “work of love,” but the apostle desired that their Christian walk should be characterized by an “overabundance” of love “to one another,” the ardent love between members of God’s family being the first thing that made them recognize. Paul also desired that this love abound “for all”; and he himself, whom christ’s love urged to bring the good news of salvation to the world, had also set this example for them. He thus realized the character of his Master who, having loved his own, loved them to the end, and whose love was addressed to all sinners. Our prayers sustain you all in your efforts to love one another as the Lord Jesus did.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterhole to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the exhortation to brotherly love and work.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.