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II
Thessalonians 1:3-4, "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it
is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of you all
toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches
of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations
that ye endure:"
This morning, our thoughts revolve around the premium we should place on
formalized worship, public assembly, and the common bond of faith and order.
While not an old man by any stretch of the imagination, my own little experience
has seen great changes along this front. In my youth, the community's
overwhelming majority were faithful church-goers (of some sort) with a firm
belief in the importance of such. While we disagreed with many in the community
of the particulars of faith and order, they were nonetheless very deeply
committed to formalized worship and public assembly. Today, we are seeing the
trend, more and more, that degenerates into the personal, individualized,
mystical "what works for me is my own spiritual well-being without being tied to
a group." While I most certainly agree that our personal, individual
spirituality needs to entail more than formal, religious exercise, it can never
completely replace the mode of public worship,
for then we would be saying (by our actions) that our Lord Jesus was at fault
for establishing such while in His earthly ministry. Furthermore, the benefits
and protection of this bond and union cannot be found on our own, fighting alone
against the world, and trying to labour solely as individuals.
Paul is beginning yet another epistle to some of his more beloved brethren.
While all of Paul's epistles exhibit great love, care, and concern for the
church being addressed, people like the Thessalonians were more diligent in
their labours than others (Corinth being a good example). Paul's first epistle
to them is full of rich, comforting truths that begin in the opening remarks
when Paul describes his assurance of their election based on their reception of
the gospel. (I Thessalonians 1:4-5) Indeed, reception of the gospel is not the
only indicator or fruit of our eternal standing with God, but it is by far the
most pronounced and best assurance we can have in this life. As Paul begins his
second epistle, he makes several points in clause statements that we would like
to investigate through the looking glass of formal, public worship or assembly.
The first thing that Paul does is thank God for these people. Why such a glowing
remark? Paul describes them as brethren (people he had something in common with)
that united them and brought them together. There are many good people that I
know in the world that have exhibited love, joy, peace, or any number of the
fruit of the Spirit. However, we have not the same level of unity as I do with
those inside the defensed walls of Zion. The brethren Paul describes are those
of like precious faith who earnestly contend for the same truths that he tried
to expound, preach, and teach. Paul thanked God for them, and their presence,
fellowship, and faith assured Paul that he did not stand in the defense of the
gospel alone. Paul was not deluded with the "Elijah complex" in thinking he was
the only one, for he saw their faith and works of righteousness.
Paul then makes some pointed remarks as to why he thanked God for them and
called them his brethren. The first remark is that their faith grew exceedingly.
These Thessalonian brethren were not complacent and lackadaisical about their
religion, but rather, they sought ways to grow that tender seed that God planted
within. As we have remarked many times, faith does not grow in the sense that we
give it an addition (like adding a room onto a house). Rather, our faith grows
by exercise the way a muscle grows through use. The muscle itself is not a
different muscle than when we were born, but its ready use grows and abounds
when we put it to use. Faith is the same way; we can sit upon what God has given
us and never readily use to the best of our ability what God has given. But,
should we water and tend what He put in, we can work out what He implanted
through regeneration to blessings and glory for His names' sake. Paul saw that
they diligently
searched the Scriptures, prayed without ceasing, and as a result grew in the
grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (II Peter 3:18)
The next clause that Paul employs as reason of his thanking God for them and
addressing them as brethren is that their charity toward one another abounded.
Like their faith growing, their manifest love and labour of love to one another
grew in manifestation. Again, they were not any more or less in possession of
the love of God than any other regenerated individual, yet they sought out ways
to show forth in action that love that God implanted within. When people looked
at the Thessalonian church, they saw people that loved each other. They saw
people that genuinely were concerned about one another, looked over each other
for good, and sought ways and means to increase that love toward one another.
The word "aboundeth" carries connotations of "being multiplied." When looking at
mathematical principles, multiplication upon multiplication gets rather large in
a hurry. For example, 10 x 10 = 100, but multiplying again by 10 yields 1,000,
10,000, on
so on. Therefore, when more people abounded in their love for one another, how
fast does that manifestation grow and multiply? Sometimes, we may think, "How
much difference could I make?" Consider that repeated multiplications of 10
versus 9 yield significantly smaller results very quickly. (i.e. 3
multiplications of 10 is 1,000 but 3 multiplications of 9 yields only 729)
Then in verse 4, Paul again points to their patience in the face of adversity
and tribulations. These brethren were not behaving so well because life had been
blissfully easy for them. Quite the opposite. They had been persecuted and
suffered for righteousness' sake. What they experienced Paul will later describe
in verse 5 as a manifest token to them of God's righteous judgment. Paul is not
calling their tribulation and suffering God's judgment to them, but rather, they
are showing forth true patience and diligence in the face of opposition for
which God's righteous judgment upon their detractors will not be absent. (Verse
6) We may get cast down in mind or have mopey lips about what we must suffer in
life to the point of wondering, "Does He even care about me anymore?" He has not
left us destitute, but our suffering for righteousness and the kingdom's sake is
a sure token to us to remain faithful to what He has called us unto. In other
words, Paul's thanking God for them in this regard is that when faced with
adversity they did not think it meet to pack up and go home, but rather, they
thought it meet to fight another day in standing fast for these principles that
they loved.
Having made all these points, what are we to draw from them? What lesson is
there in Paul's language for us today as it was for the Thessalonians then?
Paul's language should instill in us the highest premium of being found as these
Thessalonians in earnest dedication to these things. Formal worship and exercise
is not a cold, dead, out-of-date custom as we so often hear today. Many think of
public assembly as "mock spirituality" whereas the "what works for my own
spirituality" is better. Some even say, "It really doesn't matter what church
you go to, so long as we all believe in Jesus." Dear friends, if it did not
matter in the slightest, why contend earnestly for these things? If it did not
matter whether we heard a man declare the finished work of Christ or the
attempted work of Christ, why bother standing firm on that issue one way or
another? The point is that what the Thessalonians stood for did matter, and Paul
thanked God for it and
them.
They laboured together in faith, love, and patience. They sought ways to grow
what they already had, and their exercise was not in vain. When we today labour
in faith, love, and patience, Paul's language assures us that it is not in vain.
The highest premium must be paid in our bodily sacrifices to worship God in
spirit and in truth. (John 4:24, Romans 12:1) Consider the consequences of not
following this injunction. Our race of life is oftentimes correlated to
soldiering. (Ephesians 6) What is the difference to a soldier looking at the
enemy alone or standing with his comrades? The defense for the soldier is
abundantly more when in his place in the ranks of the army. Our defense is
abundantly more when inside the ranks of Zion's city than standing on our own
against the devil and his wiles. We have to stand alone from time to time, but
how thankful ought we to be to have a place of refuge and comfort, to assemble
with like minds that share something stronger than anything else in this world.
One final point is this: our kinship in Christ coupled with a common faith is
stronger than any other relationship we could experience here. It exceeds beyond
the bonds of natural family, personal friendship, acquaintances, etc. Paul's
language here shows his deeply felt conviction that these people were beloved of
the Lord by what he saw. As if mirroring his opening comments to them in the
first epistle, he declares these things as the strongest tokens of their
standing with God. While we should not continually walk around thinking about
sheep and goats (and who is who in our life), what if someone came up to you and
asked, "Name me 10 people off the top of your head (without thinking about it)
who you are convinced are children of God." How would your answer be? Without
any hesitation, I can say that all of mine would share this in common with each
other: they all stand within the walls of Zion (His church) with a common bond
of faith. The reason that I say that is the same reason that Paul uses such
language here. While we have those we meet that we see fruit of the Spirit in
their lives, the level of manifestation in gospel adherence and unity of faith
exceeds all other. Truly, the words of one of our favourite hymns rings in my
ears when I read these words of Paul:
My soul shall pray for Zion still,
While life or breath remains;
There my best friends, my kindred dwell,
There God my Savior reigns.
In Hope,
Bro Philip |