First Thessalonians 1:6

In First Thessalonians 1:6 Paul is continuing to write about the spiritual condition of the believers in Thessalonica, and the kind of believers that they became after receiving the gospel of Christ. Paul wrote, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” One reason that the believers in Thessalonica progressed so well in their spiritual lives was the fact that they had the Apostle Paul as an example. What manner of life should someone live who has been saved by grace through faith in Christ? There may be no better example than the Apostle Paul. Of course, every believer should consider himself to be a follower of Christ, and we should never follow anyone to the point that we forget that we are really followers of Christ. But we do have an influence on each other. Everyone is a role model of sorts to those around them. We are responsible for each other. One of the things for which we will be judged is the kind of influence that we had. Some people have an opportunity to be a bigger influence than others. The greater is our opportunity, the greater is our responsibility.

The believers in Thessalonica “received the word in much affliction.” There is always a price to pay for believing in Christ. “The servant is not greater than his Lord.” Everyone knows that there will be a price to pay if one receives Christ. That is one of the reasons that some people will not believe on Christ. Those who are not willing to suffer for Christ will not believe on Him. Jesus said this would happen in the parable of the sower. Jesus said in Matthew 13:21 concerning the seed that falls into stony places, “Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”

The believers in Thessalonica received the Word in much affliction, but they also received it with “joy of the Holy Ghost.” God always has a compensation that will more than make up for whatever suffering you must bear for His sake. Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” God is able to give you something in your heart that will take you through the greatest sorrows of life with joy and gladness. As the song-writer said, “The love of Jesus, what it is, only his loved ones know.”

The Bible says in First Thessalonians 1:7, “So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.” That is the way that God works: He uses the ones who are willing to suffer for Christ. Jesus suffered and died on the cruel cross of Calvary. “The servant is not greater than his Lord.” Those who are willing to suffer are used by God for the spread of the gospel. Those who avoid suffering will not be used. The way of the cross leads home.

Because of the kind of Christians that they became, the Lord used the believers of the city of Thessalonica. And so it says in First Thessalonians 1:8, “For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.” What kind of publicity and advertisement did the believers of the first century use to spread the gospel? The answer is very clear: none. If you have the power of the Holy Spirit, and the blessing of God, and the will of God, the gospel will go forth as mightily as God wills it to do so. People do not need more money to spread the gospel. They need more of the power of the Lord as performed by the Holy Spirit.

Paul wrote in First Thessalonians 1:9, “For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” Conversion to Christ always involves turning from something and turning to Christ “to serve” him. No one is saved because they serve Christ, because salvation is by faith and faith alone. But true faith involves the desire to serve God. If a certain person never had a desire to serve Christ, then that person never got saved.

But these people in Thessalonica did get saved, and the Bible says about them in First Thessalonians 1:10, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” If you are spiritually minded, then you understand that the next great event for the human race is the return of Christ. Until that happens, everything else will continue on the course that has been taking place since the time of Christ’s first advent. Jesus described the things that will be happening on the earth until He returns, and Jesus said in Matthew 24:4-14, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

It says in First Thessalonians 1:10 that Jesus was “raised from the dead.” This reminds us that Jesus is alive and that He is always present with us. It also reminds us that through faith in God we have the victory over the greatest and last enemy of mankind: death. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He will give life to those who trust in him. According to First Thessalonians 1:10, Jesus has also “delivered us from the wrath to come.” There are two things especially to notice about this phrase. The first is the fact that God delivers us from the wrath to come, and the second is the fact that there will be a “wrath” to come. There will be a divine retribution for all sin. God is holy, and He is the Judge of the whole earth. The sins being committed by all the inhabitants of the earth are building up, but they are not going unnoticed. “He that letteth will let until he be taken out of the way.” And then shall the end come, and with it the wrath of God. True believers in Christ have certain things to suffer in this life, but they do not have to suffer the wrath of God. They are saved from the wrath to come by the blood of Christ.

It says in Second Thessalonians 2:1, “For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain.” The first word of chapter two is the word “for.” This word connects the first part of chapter two with the last part of chapter one, and the last part of chapter one was dealing with the conversion and the great Christian character that had come about in the lives of the Thessalonians. What accounts for the fact that the Thessalonians had become so dedicated to Christ and had matured so well in the Christian faith? Chapter one explained the divine side of the question. God worked in their hearts through Christ. But there is a human side also. God uses human messengers to do His work. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” In the case of the Thessalonians, it was the arrival of the Apostle Paul that made the difference. He was the human instrument.

Paul said that his entrance among the Thessalonians was “not in vain.” Paul used the fact that God had used him in this situation to show the faithfulness of God and the importance of not giving up in the face of adversity. No Christian will bear the fruit that we would like to see in every situation, but it is important that we do not give up and that we continue to be busy about the master’s business. Concerning the situation that Paul was in before he came to Thessalonica, he wrote in First Thessalonians 2:2, “But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.” Paul’s life is a good example of the truth that “in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Paul said that he and his coworkers had three things against them: they “had suffered,” they “were shamefully entreated,” and they had “much contention.” Internally there was a certain amount of emotional agony because of what they suffered. Externally there were human beings who opposed the work that they did. Instead of being honored for the noble work that they did and for the good words that they brought, they were looked down upon. Somewhat similar to Jesus Himself, they were “despised and rejected of men.” In spite of all these things that were against them, how did the Apostle Paul and his companions respond? They were “bold.” The sorrows and the opposition did not stop them. They continued to speak the gospel of God. Do what the Lord wants you to do and leave the results to Him.

Paul wrote in First Thessalonians 2:3, “For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile.” In this verse Paul is probably comparing himself and his work to the false teachers. False teachers do come with deceit, uncleanness, and guile. The word that is translated “deceit” refers to “false teaching.” Of course, false teachers bring false teaching. Paul brought the truth because he had met Christ and was a servant of Christ. There is nothing more valuable than the truth. “The truth shall set you free.” Teachers of truth should be highly honored and respected. Of course, there are not very many teachers of truth, and there are fewer and fewer as we approach the last day.

False teachers come in deceit and they come in “uncleanness.” This word refers to immoral or impure living. The sex drive is one of the strongest of human drives, second only to the need for food and water. In regards to sex there are three possibilities for a human being: the gift of celibacy, the sanctity of marriage, or the damnation of impurity. In these last days there are many deceivers who use religion to seek fulfillment of their impure desires. Of course, they use “guile” in this pursuit. They never openly state what they really are. Jesus called them “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” It is no wonder that we do not have many churches with believers like those in Thessalonica: we do not have many ministers of the gospel with a character like that of the Apostle Paul.

Concerning his ministry, the Apostle Paul wrote in First Thessalonians 2:4, “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.” The word that is translated “allowed” comes from the same word that is translated “trieth” in the last phrase of this verse. It means to be examined and then approved because of that examination. In the past, God examined Paul and then approved of Paul as the type of person to whom the gospel could be committed. Paul believed in Christ, and then God believed in Paul. A believer can only speak the gospel in spirit and in truth when God empowers that person to do so, and God will only give His power to those that He is pleased with. Evidently not many have been approved by God in these last days. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.”

To be a true witness for Christ, you cannot be a politician in the negative sense of the word. You cannot speak for the purpose of pleasing men. You must speak with the purpose of pleasing God and Christ. You must speak, “Thus saith the Lord.” You must tell the truth that everyone should “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” in order to be delivered from the wrath of God.

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