1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 Accept God’s Word as God’s Word
Good morning, everyone! This is our third message in our series on 1 Thessalonians. Since, the Thanksgiving holiday will be coming up soon, it’s good to think about some of the things the Apostle Paul was thankful for. Don’t forget next Sunday we will have a joint Thanksgiving celebration at IIT. Though they were a young church in Thessalonica, God was working mightily in and through them. Because they were following and worshipping Jesus as Lord, they began to receive persecution from their own countrymen. Apostle Paul was thankful that they were following the spiritual example of other believers by enduring and keeping their faith in spite of strong opposition. How were they able to keep growing spiritually and overcoming attacks against them? It was because of their faith in the message of the gospel. Paul wrote that they accepted God’s word as God’s word. We learn from them that it is God’s word that gives us strength and food for our souls. My title for today is:
ACCEPT GOD’S WORD AS GOD’S WORD
1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
Key Verse:13:
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”
Look at verse 13. “13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” Here “also” means that previously Paul had other thanksgiving topics for the Thessalonian believers. Paul was thankful to God for the Thessalonian believers because of their faith, love, and hope in Jesus Christ. He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here the words “work, labor, endurance” are words of actions. As human beings, we are only prompted and compelled to do something beyond our normal tendencies when we are inspired by something or by someone. For example, when we have a lot of expenses to pay for, we are compelled to work hard and make money. When mid-term exams are approaching students begin to study harder. What inspired these believers? Paul made it clear in verse 13 that the believers accepted God’s word as “the word of God.” Paul in the first two chapters associated the “the word of God” to the “gospel,” which means good news. We can see in chapter 1:5, chapter 2:4, 8-9. So, it was hearing and accepting the gospel that changed their lives 180 degrees. Paul said that it was the word of God that was working in the hearts and lives of those who believed. This is a constant theme in the Bible and in the lives of believers because God’s word is powerful and life changing.
According to the Bible the heavens were made by God’s word. Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” As we know from our Genesis 1, God made the heavens and earth by his mere commands. As God’s word has power to make everything out of nothing, it can change the lives of those who accept God’s word in their hearts. St. Augustine was one of the most influential theologians in church history. But before his conversion he was known as a womanizer and loved to party. This is why he was known as the unlikely saint[Pic 1] —a playboy to a saint. But the word of God that changed the course of his life comes from Romans 13:13-14, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” His change in life reminded me of the of this man. Does anyone know who this handsome man is? [Pic2] His name is Joshua Broome and he was an ex-porn star who became a pastor. He is pictured here with his wife Hope. His life direction was changed by the word of God from Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Maybe he can be known as the unlikely pastor—from a porn star to a pastor. As a teenager, Maria Peace hated herself because she compared herself to blonde and gorgeous Americans. She thought she was no good and became a depression patient. But through 1-1 Bible study with Christy Toh God’s word touched her heart from Genesis 1:31a, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” She realized and accepted that she was very good in the sight of God. She no longer became depressed or felt pity for herself. She accepted God’s word that she is a beautiful daughter of God. Then she began to serve God wholeheartedly as a Bible teacher for young college students. [Pic 3] As a teenager, I was motivated by my competitive spirit and anger towards others. So, through sports I struggled with others and became proud when I beat them. But in the end, I was not happy but became only a proud and self-centered person. Then through 1-1 Bible study my heart was changed by Genesis 35:10, “God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.’ So he named him Israel.” Israel means “he struggles with God.” Through this word God changed my life direction from struggling with men and struggle spiritually with God. Instead of struggling with others, God helped me to be a shepherd and Bible teacher for others. [Pic 4] You remember Neil, though he went back to Cincinnati, we continue to meet for Bible study on Zoom. According to the Bible, when we accept God’s word in our hearts our minds and desires are also transformed. We no longer want to conform to the pattern of the world, but according to God’s plan for our lives. We also want to imitate the good example of our brothers and sisters around the world like the Thessalonian believers did.
Look at verse 14. “14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews…” As you know, imitation is known as the best compliment to those we imitate. It was interesting several weeks ago when we celebrated our granddaughter’s birthday, she asked everyone to put on a costume. People came imitating their favorite characters. [Pic 5] This was also the party where Elena ruptured her achilles tendon. What about the believers in Thessalonica, who did they imitate? They honored the saints by imitating their Christian lives of faith. For example, they imitated the lives of Paul, Timothy, Silas, and other believers that Paul must have told them about. After accepting Jesus as the Lord of our life, the Bible encourages us to no longer conform to the pattern of the world. As we read earlier from Romans 12:2. It means that we don’t have to keep envying the people of the world who seem to have the perfect life with all their wealth and pleasure-seeking lifestyle. But they are not living according to God’s will when they only live for their own self-aggrandizement. Rather, we imitate those who following God’s will because we want find what God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will is for our own lives as well.
Though it is difficult to bear, part of imitating God’s people is sharing in their sufferings. Verse 14b reads, “You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews…” As human beings, we must discernment to know the difference between bad suffering and good suffering. We will never be able to avoid suffering in this fallen world. What I call bad suffering are those things that really don’t help us and cause us to only deteriorate humanly and spiritually. For example, bad suffering is like being addicted to drugs or pornography. We all know what can happen if we are. I know that there are people here who like to run or lift weights. These would be good sufferings because we know that these activities, like running, help build our cardio, VO2 max (volume of oxygen your lungs take in during exercise), which is known to prolong a person’s life. Lifting weights actually cause micro tears in our muscles, which are replaced with stronger muscles. Sometimes we suffer to lose one job only to find a new and better job. Students suffer several years studying hard, but in the end, they earn a college or university degree. In the same way, suffering for the gospel and God’s work is actually good for us because it strengthens our faith and hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, which are our spiritual muscles building up. Romans 5:3-5 read, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Wow! When we suffer for the gospel, in the end, God pours out his love into our hearts! This is why the Apostle Paul was not sad that they were being persecuted for their faith, but was thankful to God for their perseverance, in the midst of suffering. One woman was being interviewed because she was being persecuted for her faith. She smiled and answered, “If they are attacking me, it must mean I’m doing something right.” Instead of being scared, she considered being persecuted for her faith a badge of honor. As mentioned in previous messages, the Jews were opposing the work of Paul wherever he went. They really hated what the Apostle Paul was preaching. Why? In brief, because in their pride and arrogance, they did not want the Gentiles to receive the message of salvation.
Look at verses 15-16. “15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.[a]” The persecution at that time was so severe that it could cause one to lose his or her life. Sometimes, we feel today if someone disagrees with our Christian beliefs, we are being severely persecuted. But at that time and in the Old Testament, they killed Jesus and the prophets. The last of the Old Testament prophet was John the Baptist, whom Herod beheaded. The Jews wanted to kill Paul, but he, Silas, and Timothy were able to escape to another city. Paul wrote that these persecutors not only displease God, but are hostile to everyone. According to religious demographers, more Christians were martyred in the 20th century than all previous centuries combined. And it’s still going on in this century. [b] Of course, we will not hear much about this in our news because many people are not interested in hearing about Christians dying for their faith. Whether we agree to it or not, the fight against Christianity is basically a fight against morality. Those who oppose Christianity want to live their lives and their sexual freedom as they see fit. They don’t want anything or anyone to tell them how to live their lives nor have any restrictions on their sinful activities. And they will even become hostile and impudent against those who oppose their values. In brief, they will oppose Christianity to stop people from believing, while they themselves will propagate and enforce their own values on others. But our job is not to judge these people, because their judge is God, who will bring his wrath upon them in his right time. For example, to the Apostle Paul writing this letter, his greater and more important concern were the spiritual condition of the believers, whom he desperately wanted to see in person.
Look at verses 17-18. “17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.” In these verses, we see Paul using very emotional words in regards to their separation from the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. He wrote that they “were orphaned by being separated from you.” Unless you are an orphan it is probably unlikely, that you or I can understand the emotional pain that it causes the person orphaned. We know that God understands their pain and commands believers to take care of widows and orphans. Even though Paul didn’t have his own children, he understood deeply the agony of being separated from your loved ones because he deeply loved the believers in Thessalonica. Paul also shared the shepherd heart of God for them. We see here one of the reasons Paul’s ministry was successful there. He deeply loved the believers there and they knew it. As some of you may know, Maria and I have been leading a prayer meeting for Ukraine with other members from around the world for more than 2 and a half years. Among the prayer topics is that 19,000 Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia may be returned home. So many people are crying because these precious children were taken away. We remember that Paul was taken away from the ministry in Thessalonica, which he started, prematurely because of severe persecution. Paul was suffering what we can call spiritual separation anxiety.
Some of us may have experienced this when we have taken our children to daycare or kindergarten for the first time. When they are very young and are taken away from a parent they are crying and having anxiety because they are being separated from someone that they had found comfort and security in during their short life. When Maria and I babysit our grandchildren, who has not seen their parent the whole day or a few days, and they finally are reunited. They are smiling, jumping for joy, and excited to be reunited. [Pic 6] There can even be separation anxiety even with pets and their pet owners. Some pets anxiously sit by the door waiting for their owner to come home. [Pic 7] Maria and I know an international teacher while we were living and working in Ukraine, who could not bear herself from separating from her cats. She had some opportunities to go back and visit America with her husband, while they lived in Ukraine. She would sometimes let her husband go back to America while she stayed with her cats. Paul was longing for this reunion and tried his best to find a way back there. As you know, we have a saying in English, “out of sight, out of mind.” Paul really wanted to see them again face to face. Because of our human desires to see our friends and families who are far away face to face, the website Facebook made billions of dollars. Maria and I are in constant contact with our church members in Kyiv, Ukraine, via Telegram or Zoom. Even though we are away from each other we can still see each other face to face. In fact, almost every Sunday morning I get up 5:30 am to watch their worship service on Zoom. Usually, on Sundays the majority of people in the world sleep in. But it’s the day I get up the earliest during the week. But I don’t mind because I want to see the faces of Podil UBF coworkers. Actually, I attend and serve two churches—Podil UBF and WL UBF. Also, during most weeks I have Zoom Bible study with three Ukrainian brothers—face to face. [Pic 8]
According to verse 18, Satan blocked Paul’s way to go back. What does this mean? It meant that Paul had such spiritual keenness that he could distinguish clearly God’s leading and Satan’s attack. For example, when Paul was starting his second missionary journey he wanted to actually go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit stopped him from going there. He was guided by the Holy Spirit to go to Macedonia. As God’s children, it is imperative for us to distinguish the difference between God’s leading and Satan’s misleading us. A good example of this is when Jesus, at the beginning of his earthly ministry, was led by the Holy Spirit to the desert. Why? To face the devil and all his temptations. Wow! The Holy Spirit led Jesus to face the devil’s temptations. But it was necessary because Jesus had to confront and defeat mankind’s arch enemy the devil. If Jesus could not overcome all the devil’s temptation, then there was no hope for mankind. But we all know what the final result was. Praise God! We must also know that God does not tempt us to sin against him. The devil tempts us to sin against God. For example, when a student has to study the night before an important exam, his friends invite him to party where the cute girl you like will be there. You can be sure it’s not from God. Or when you really want to lose weight but someone puts a delicious piece of cake on your plate. Or when it’s time to go to church but your friends invite you to watch a football game. But God empowers his people with his strength so that they can overcome the devil’s temptation. First Corinthians 10:13 reads, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand under it.” We do not fully understand in this text how Satan was blocking Paul from going back. We can only speculate. But there will be times when we may be separated from our beloved brothers and sisters due to circumstances beyond our control. Maria and I had planned to stay in Ukraine longer, but because of the war started by Russia in Ukraine more than 2 years ago we had to return to Chicago. We have gone back two times this year to visit our church members there [Pic 9] and plan to visit them again next year—in March and May. Though it can be difficult and dangerous to visit Ukraine in a time of war we can understand the heart of Paul who wanted to see the Thessalonian believers again because they brought him much joy.
Look at verses 19-20. “19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” If you may remember, in chapter 2 verses 1-6, Apostle Paul had to defend himself because his enemies were telling lies to the believers in Thessalonica that he didn’t care about them and that is why he left the city. They were trying to defame and destroy his integrity and character saying that he was only a charlatan and false teacher. But in these last two verses we see that it was not the case at all. Not only Paul, but Silas and Timothy also loved them so much that Paul called said about them, “our hope, our joy, our crown.” Paul’s motive in serving the church and God’s people was because he was looking forward to Jesus’ return. In chapter 1 verse 10, he ended with the words, “and to wait for his Son from heaven.” In verse 19, he wrote “in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes.” Paul was considering his eternal hope and his eternal reward. In light of his enemies’ false accusations, Paul will be justified in heaven when the believers are rejoicing with him in there. They would have been right for listening to the Apostle Paul’s gospel message instead of the listening to the lies of the false teachers. Paul was not boasting about his accomplishments and number of Bible students he had. Rather, he was boasting in the gospel and its authenticity, that whoever believes the gospel message will be saved and have eternal life. The Thessalonian believers were living proof of the veracity and powerful effect of the gospel in the lives of those who accept the salvation work of Jesus.
In the gospels, Jesus talked about how we can rejoice with the heavenly angels. Luke 15:10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” This means that we can also share in this joy when God uses us to help others to repent and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Of course, we cannot save others, but God can use us as his instrument to bring the good news of the gospel to others. Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:14, “…as you have understood us in part, you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.” I hope that you like to hear testimonies of how people were saved from their miserable lives of sin and became a child of God because in heaven we will hear beautiful and life changing testimonies of all believers. We will hear about the powerful work of God in and through his servants. How wonderful it will to hear in heaven from someone saying to you or me, “Thank you that while on earth you shared the gospel with me and now, I can live in eternal happiness because of your good Christian influence on earth.” This is why Paul in verse 20, called the Thessalonian believers his glory and joy. May God help us to accept God’s word as God’s word, and not from men. In this way, the word of God can work in and through us to bring lost sinners to Jesus. May we be able to say like the Apostle Paul, not in pride or human boasting, you are our hope, our joy, and our crown. Amen.
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 2:16Or them fully
- https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/modern-martyrs
Bible Study Questions:
ACCEPT GOD’S WORD AS GOD’S WORD
1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
Key Verse:13:
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”
1.Look at 1 Thess. 2:13. Why was Paul thankful to God for the Thessalonian believers? Why was it important that the Thessalonian believers accepted Paul’s message as God’s word, not men? What must be our attitude towards God’s word? (Rom. 10:17; 2 Tim. 3:16; Ps. 119:105)
2. Look at 1 Thess. 2:14. What was the second reason Paul was thankful for them? How did the Thessalonian believers become imitators of believers in Judea? What did Jesus say about suffering for God’s people? (Jn. 15:20-21) Why is perseverance in suffering so important for God’s people? (Rom. 5:3-5) Who do you try to imitate?
3. Look at 1 Thess. 2:15-16. In contrast, how were the attitudes of the Jews towards Jesus, the prophets (God’s word) and God’s people? Why did the Jews not want the Gentiles to hear the message of salvation? How would God treat such rebellious and unrepentant people? (Mt. 21:38-41)
4. Look at 1 Thess. 2:17-18. How was Paul torn away from the believers in Thessalonica? (Ac. 17:10) Though the believers were out of Paul’s sight, why were they not out of his mind? Though Paul made every effort to visit them, who was stopping them? Why does Satan, in particular, want to attack the leaders of the church? (Lk. 22:31-32)
5. Look at 1 Thess. 2:19-20. What was Paul’s hope, joy, and crown? Why was this contradictory to his enemies who said he didn’t care about the believers in Thessalonica? What is the relationship between Paul’s attitude towards the believers with Jesus’ return? While on earth, how can we share in the joy in heaven? (Lk. 15:7, 10, 32)
1 Thessalonians 2 (NIV)
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.[a]
Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians
17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. 19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
Footnotes
a. 1 Thessalonians 2:16 Or them fully
