A Gospel-Filled Greeting

There is a kind of agony to communication at various points in your life.

Particularly what I have in mind when I say that is the early stages of a relationship that you think has the potential of becoming romantic.

The way that you talk, the way that you fashion your words means a lot to you and it means a lot to the person that you're pursuing or that you hope to pursue in those moments.

The college that Julie and I attended, we had a nightly letter exchange program called the Pony Express.

And it was through the Pony Express every night, you could send a note or a package or a class assignment that maybe someone needed help with if they cared about you enough to send that to you.

They could exchange that with you.

There would be two people after hours, after curfew for the college.

Two people would be designated from the guys.

Two people would be designated from the ladies.

They would collect all the letters or packages that were going to be exchanged.

The guys would meet the ladies in the parking lot.

They would exchange the baskets full of notes like the Pony Express.

And then they would take it back to their respective dormitories and pass them out.

Now, in that context, the early days of a relationship involved writing flirtatious notes that maybe if you really were interested in the person,

spray a little bit of cologne on there if you had it.

You hoped that if you got something in return that it didn't smell like paper.

You wanted it to smell like something nicer than paper.

That meant something significant, right?

You would hope to receive maybe some brownies or cookies in return.

Something that would show that the person you're writing to that you're interested in has some type of interest in you in return.

And when Julie and I were first interested in one another, we would often utilize this system.

But it was a bit of an agony that went along with it, determining exactly what words should I use as I'm writing this letter.

You know, do I say, dear Julie?

Does that say too much?

Like, dear?

Doesn't that mean beloved?

Maybe I should just say Julie.

Or maybe I shouldn't put her name at all.

When you get to the end, you're trying to figure out how to actually sign off on this letter.

I can't put love yet because I hadn't told her that.

She's going to get the wrong idea.

She's going to think I'm going to propose soon or whatever.

And maybe I should put in Christ.

But no, that's too formal.

That's too Christian.

We don't want to write that way either.

It's agonizing.

It's excruciating in the early days of those relationships.

How do I communicate?

How do I write these notes?

You didn't want to be so casual that your interest wasn't adequately expressed.

But being too forward might scare them away.

Now, those in the younger generation, like my daughters,

they don't know much about writing letters with paper and pen.

They text message.

That's the thing that they do, right?

But they understand.

You understand what it's like.

It's the same thing.

When you're writing, you're about to send that text message to somebody that matters to you,

that you actually care about what they think and how they may read,

you're plaguing yourself with, what punctuation should I use?

You know, periods may make them think that I'm mad at them.

Or explanation points may think that I'm too excited about this.

How am I supposed to communicate?

And the reason for that is even the simplest forms of communication,

they carry deep meaning, significant meaning.

We care about that because we know words matter.

And we know the structure of words matter.

We know the way that we say things has significant meaning.

And it's going to have a perceived meaning.

It's going to have an actual meaning.

And it's important.

When we come to the opening verse of 1 Thessalonians,

we find that this is really, it's a simple greeting,

and yet it's still loaded with profoundly rich meaning.

It follows a pattern that's consistent with letter writing

and the first century and Greco-Roman culture,

naming the letters authors and recipients,

including a formal statement of greeting.

Still, as we read through this,

a thoughtful person will recognize

that there's so much more to this opening formula than meets the eye.

The authorship, these first three names that's listed,

it points back to the glorious yet tumultuous beginnings

of the church in Thessalonica.

The recipient designation.

The way that Paul and his team write it,

it expresses an identity-shaping reality that, honestly,

we're often prone to take for granted or to forget about.

The greeting itself, it presents a wonderful hope

that not only sets the tone for the letter,

but it provides the reader, particularly the reader in Thessalonica,

with strength of faith and obedience until the day of the Lord's return.

Three massive, meaningful truths here.

Their beginnings, their identity, their hope.

All three of them are teeming with gospel significance.

And this focus on God's saving work through Jesus Christ

is actually what gives this verse and all of the letter its substance.

The fact that all of it is rooted in the gospel of Jesus.

And what I want to do with this verse today,

and as far as our study,

is by way of introduction to the letter,

I want to break down these three statements

to expose for you their gospel significance,

their gospel meaning.

And in doing that,

I hope to simultaneously kind of lay a groundwork

for what this letter is about

and what its focus is

and kind of give you a roadmap

for our study in the coming months.

And then, of course,

I want you to be encouraged by these words

in the way that I believe

the Thessalonian Christians

would have immediately been encouraged by these words,

even just the simple opening greeting of the letter.

First thing I want you to see here

is their gospel beginnings.

Their gospel beginnings.

Look again at verse one,

just the first three words here.

Paul, Silvanus, who we know is Silas,

and Timothy.

However else this letter might be described

by those who are given to study it,

it is first and foremost

a letter of friendship.

It's a letter of friendship.

There's an incredible warmth

and intimacy

that envelops this letter,

showing the depth of friendship

enjoyed by the church

and this ministry team that founded it.

The Apostle Paul, of course,

is the leader of that team,

and the team included his,

what we would describe as a senior associate.

His name was Silas,

and then also a junior associate

whose name was Timothy.

And we see that there are all three

mentioned at the beginning

because this letter really,

though Paul is the leader,

he would be designated as the primary author.

Really, they're writing this as a team.

Often throughout the letter,

we find the first person plural pronouns

being used,

we and us,

so that even though Paul

is the primary author,

he's writing on behalf

of the three of them together.

Therefore, all three are included

as authors in the opening statements.

However, to truly grasp

the relationship between these men

and the church,

to understand the context

that gave way to the writing

of this letter,

we need to trace Paul's movements.

And fortunately for us,

they're provided for us

in the book of Acts.

So I want you to turn with me

to beginning at Acts chapter 15,

Acts 15 · chapter mention

at the very end of it,

and I just want us to walk through

tracing Paul's steps

and his team's steps.

And along the way,

I hope what it's going to do

is it's going to help us

understand better

his relationship to this church

in the context

that informs

the content of the letter.

We first find

at the end of chapter 15

and the beginning of chapter 16

that this team,

Paul and Silas and Timothy,

are assembled at this moment

for the very first time.

Paul's already been

on one missionary journey

up to this point.

His partner was not these men.

His partner was a man

named Barnabas,

his senior associate.

And then the junior associate

at that time was,

at least temporarily,

was a man named John Mark.

Unfortunately,

beginning in verse 36,

we're not going to read it,

but just for your own notes,

if you'd like to keep track of it,

in verse 36,

we find actually

a sorrowful moment.

Paul and Barnabas

are preparing to launch out

on a second missionary journey.

They want to visit the churches

that they established

the first time around,

check on them,

strengthen them.

The problem is,

Barnabas wants to take John Mark,

and Paul thinks

that's a bad idea.

And he thinks it's a bad idea

because John Mark

had abandoned them

on their first journey.

Hurt by that,

no doubt,

but also wanting to be wise

in the way that he carried out

the next series of season

of his ministry,

Paul thought it would be

a bad idea to take them.

And what we find

is that these two

very close friends

and colleagues in the gospel

have such a sharp disagreement

that they decide

they're going to have

to do this separately.

Barnabas takes John Mark

and he goes to one area.

Paul then picks up Silas,

or Silvanus,

who had come from Jerusalem.

After the Jerusalem Council,

you can read about that

in Acts 15,

Silas is tasked

as one of the men

to go to the Gentile churches

to tell them

about what had been discussed

and decided in terms

of the gospel

and its relationship

to the Gentiles

at the Jerusalem Council.

He's a faithful man,

a skilled man,

a ministry-minded man.

Paul asked him to join him,

and that's exactly what he does.

Just look at chapter 15

and verse 40.

Paul chose Silas

and departed,

having been commended

by the brothers

to the grace of the Lord.

And the first place

that Paul and Silas go

is to revisit some of the churches

he had established earlier.

They make it eventually

to a place called Lystra.

At the very beginning

of chapter 16,

we find that while they're in Lystra,

they pick up another companion

whose name is Timothy.

Just look at verse 1

of chapter 16.

Paul came also to Derbe

and to Lystra.

A disciple was there

named Timothy,

the son of a Jewish woman

who was a believer,

but his father was a Greek.

He was well spoken of

by the brothers

at Lystra and Iconium.

And Paul wanted Timothy

to accompany him.

And so he did.

So this is how we see,

even before the people

of Thessalonica

ever come into the picture here,

we see God working

in kind of a unique way,

even in a way

that we would say

is probably sorrowful

and hurtful.

There's this,

what we might think of

as maybe a disintegration

of a close friendship

happening on one hand.

Maybe it's not quite that extreme,

but certainly the breaking apart

of a gospel ministry team.

And what does God do

through that?

Well, God just keeps working,

doesn't he?

He continues to work

in Barnabas and Mark.

He continues to work in Paul

and he begins to assemble

this team,

Silas and Timothy

coming along with Paul.

And so after they pick up

Timothy and Lystra,

they head out

and Paul has tremendous plans.

So when we get to chapter 16,

verses 6 through 10,

we find that Paul has

actually great plans

for this particular journey.

He wanted to go

into Asia Minor

to preach perhaps

in cities like Ephesus.

But you'll notice in verse 6

that God kept them

from doing it.

Look at verse 6.

They went through the region

of Phrygia and Galatia,

having been forbidden

by the Holy Spirit

to speak the word in Asia.

Paul tells Silas and Timothy,

we're going to go

into Asia Minor.

We're going to try

to preach in some synagogues there

if we can find some.

We're going to plant

some churches.

And as soon as they do,

he doesn't explain

how this happens.

He just says,

God wouldn't let us do it.

So they say,

okay, what are we going to do?

Well, why don't we try

to go to Bithynia instead?

But again, God says,

no.

Look at verse 7.

When they had come up

to Mysia,

they attempted to go

into Bithynia,

but the Spirit of Jesus

did not allow them.

Now, I've got the map

on the screen for you here

if you care to see that.

You'll see where they started

is over here in Syria

in Antioch.

That was their sending church,

so to speak.

Paul and Silas leave Antioch

and they jump up to Tarsus

and then over to Lystra.

That's where they pick up Timothy.

And where they actually desire to go

is in this yellow area.

If you can see,

I don't know how clear it is for you,

but there's this yellow area

right in the middle of the picture.

That's where they wanted to go.

If you look far over

on the west side

of that yellow area,

you'll see Ephesus

and Thyatira.

If you read through

the seven churches

in Revelation 2 and 3,

this would have been the cities

that Paul would have been aiming

to go at.

The churches that John

had actually addressed

in that letter.

But as they're trying to go there,

Paul's thinking in his mind,

I'm going to go preach the gospel.

Surely God will bless us,

but God says,

no, I don't want you

to preach the gospel

in Asia Minor.

So he says,

okay, can't do Asia.

Maybe we'll go north

to Bithynia.

God doesn't let him

do that either.

Now, if you're like me,

what you would do

in that situation

is probably get

a little frustrated.

Lord, here I am.

I'm trying to do your work.

I'm trying to preach

the gospel

where people haven't preached

the gospel

and you won't let me.

You ever make plans

and God gets in the way

and refuses?

It can be frustrating,

can't it?

What do they do?

Well, Paul,

in really great wisdom,

goes to Troas.

You'll see it's

on the west side of Asia.

They go the north end.

They take probably

the Ignatian Way

is what that's called.

They go all the way

over to Troas,

which is a port city.

Now, I love that Paul

does this.

You know why he does this?

I'm convinced

the reason he goes

to Troas

is because he could

basically sail

anywhere he needed

to go from Troas.

So he goes there

and he waits.

And what's he waiting on?

Clarity from the Lord.

Lord, where do you want me to go?

I'll go wherever

you want me to go.

You don't want me

to go to Asia Minor?

That's fine.

Don't want me to go

to Bithynia?

That's fine.

Wherever you want me to go,

I'm just going to wait

in Troas

and I'll be prepared

when you tell me.

And it's at this point

in this text

that we read about

what is called

the Macedonian call.

While he's in Troas,

the Holy Spirit

gives Paul a vision.

He sees a man

of Macedonia

calling him to come.

Paul takes that

as a sign from the Lord

that what he intends

for him to do

is not to go

to those other places

but to go into Europe,

into Macedonia,

a place where the gospel,

as far as we understand,

had not yet gone.

And what does Paul do?

He goes.

Of course.

He goes.

Now I want you to take

a moment and consider

God's sovereign work

in this ministry endeavor.

It was not Paul's plan

to go to Macedonia

at that time.

But God,

through the work

of the Holy Spirit,

intervenes.

Why?

Because God had

a saving plan

for the people

of Macedonia

that Paul was totally

unaware of.

but because he was

flexible

and he was sensitive

to the leadership

of the Lord

in his life,

he followed through

and the Lord used him

to great effect.

Proverbs 19, 21,

many are the plans

in the mind of a man

but it is the purposes

of the Lord

that will stand.

A month from now,

we'll celebrate

five years

as a church

and as a church plan.

And those of you

that have been with us

since the early days

will probably say

this is not exactly

what we expected

our church to look like

and where we expected

to meet

in the course

of five years.

That's okay.

That's okay.

God's got a work

that he's doing

in our church

and that he's doing

through our ministry

that we might not

ever understand.

Our job is to be faithful,

to be faithful,

to follow his leadership,

be sensitive

to land.

Paul's desire

to obey the Lord

created this flexibility

of heart

so that he was willing

to go wherever God led him

even if it meant

abandoning all of his plans

in the process.

And what was the result?

Really, really

incredible hardship

was the result.

Tremendous persecution,

overwhelming stress,

and also

the miraculous conversion

of many,

perhaps hundreds,

of lost souls

who up to that point

had never even heard

the name of Jesus Christ.

Paul, I think,

would say

that's worth it.

You see,

I think there's something

for us here.

I think we need to learn

to hold our plans loosely

in life

as hard as that is to do

and to remain sensitive

at all times

to the leadership

of the Lord.

We need to always acknowledge

that God's plans

for us

are not easy.

And if you've got

an idea in your mind

that to obey the Lord

and be faithful to him

means that it will

always come

in what we determine

as blessing,

then you've really

got the wrong idea.

God's ways

are very often hard.

still yet,

God's ways

are always good,

always right,

always fruitful

for the gospel,

for his saving work

and his sanctifying work

and his people

and his saving work

in others.

The gospel went

to Thessalonica

not because Paul

wanted to take it there,

but because God

was determined

to get it there

through Paul.

And how precious

of a thought this is.

How precious

of a thought

that God

would use our lives,

that he would use

a church like ours

to reach people

in such a magnificent way,

even through hardship

and difficulty

and stress.

Yet,

is it worth it

if the result

is the conversion

of the loss?

And I'd say,

it's worth every moment

if people come

to know Christ,

if he's determined

to use us

in that way.

So the thing

we establish,

at least up to this point

in Paul's movements,

is what's happening

eventually when we get

to the part

about Thessalonica

is not Paul's plan.

This is God's work.

It's God's work

of grace

that's unfolding here.

Well,

they go into Macedonia

and when we get

to verses 11 through 40

and it's a familiar story

to you,

I'm sure,

we see Paul's exploits

in the city

of Philippi.

And let me just give you

a couple highlights.

Their time in Philippi,

it began

with the conversion

of a wealthy woman

named Lydia.

Her family was converted

and baptized

and then so was

a servant girl

who was being abused

for money.

Well,

the people who were

abusing her

didn't appreciate

the fact that they

lost their income

through the conversion

of this servant girl.

So Paul,

after being obedient

to the Lord

and doing exactly

what the Lord

told him to do,

guess where he

and Silas land

when they get

to Philippi?

They're dragged

into the marketplace

before the city leaders.

They're stripped naked.

They're beaten

almost to death

and then they're

cast into a jail cell.

Can you imagine?

With wisdom,

you've waited in Troas.

Lord,

just send me

wherever you want

to send me

and God says,

go to Macedonia.

So they go to Macedonia.

As soon as they get there,

a couple of people

get saved

but then they're

almost killed

and then they're

put in prison.

They're humiliated

in the process of it.

And again,

if you're like me,

you'd have been

a little discouraged,

probably a little angry,

ready to quit.

Oh, not Paul and Silas.

You know what they did.

At midnight,

they begin to pray

and sing praises

to the Lord

and miraculously,

God unlocks

their chains

through an earthquake

and opens up the gates

but they don't leave anywhere.

And overwhelmed

by what he's heard

through the night

in their praises,

the jailer,

who is responsible

for the prisoners,

runs in,

can't believe

that they're all still there

and what is it

that he asks?

What must I do

to be saved?

He asks the right question.

What I have to do

to be saved?

And Paul preaches

the gospel

and him and his family

get saved

and they're baptized.

That's the beginnings

of the church

in Philippi

but that's not

an easy beginning.

That's hard.

Finally,

the city leaders

let them go

but they tell them

they can't stay,

they're going to have to leave.

And so Paul

and Silas

and Timothy

and Luke

probably at this point

they leave

and guess where they went?

Another town over

called Thessalonica

or Thessalonica.

Now look with me

at chapter 17

and let's just read

the first four verses.

Now when they had passed

through Amphipolis

and Apollonia

they came to Thessalonica

where there was a synagogue

of the Jews

and notice what Paul did.

Paul went in

as was his custom

and on three Sabbath days

he reasoned with them

from the scriptures

explaining and proving

that it was necessary

for the Christ,

the Messiah

to suffer

and to rise from the dead

and then saying

this Jesus

whom I proclaim to you

is this Christ

who suffered

and rose from the dead.

What do we find

in these verses?

We find the gospel

beginnings

of the church

of the Thessalonians.

And what we see here

is that everywhere

Paul went

his priority

was to preach

the gospel of Jesus

as a matter

of first importance.

There's a lot of things

he could have reasoned

with them about.

There's a lot of things

you and I

might reason

with people about

in this world

and outside of the walls

of this church.

But if the priority

of our proclamation

is not the gospel

of Jesus

we're wasting our time.

Paul knew that.

He knew in following

the pattern

of Jesus himself

the priority must be

the proclamation

of the gospel.

So that's what he does.

He finds the synagogue

which is his custom

and he goes in

and he takes his Bible

and he opens his Bible

and he shows them

he proves to them

out of the scriptures

the Messiah must die

and rise again.

And by the way

somebody just did that.

Jesus

of Nazareth.

His preaching

was rooted

in the Old Testament

law and prophets

he explained

from the scriptures

the gospel message

of Jesus.

This is the apostolic

pattern

for all Christian ministry.

We must faithfully

preach Christ

from all the scriptures

calling sinners

to respond

to the gospel message

in repentance

and faith.

faith.

This is the gospel

upon which a true church

is founded

and it's the foundation

that was laid

for the Thessalonian church.

If they didn't know

anything else

from Paul

and Silas

and Timothy's visit

in the early days

they knew the gospel message

and the gospel message

was enough

to transform them

and to empower them

to move forward

even despite

the tremendous hardship

that was going to come

their way.

Amazing.

gospel beginnings.

Now read with me

verses 5-10.

What happens

after they are saved?

Let's start at verse 4 actually.

Some of them were persuaded

and joined Paul and Silas

as did a great many

of the devout Greeks

and not a few

of the leading women.

Lots of people

coming to Christ here.

But the Jews were jealous

jealous.

Taking some men

of the rabble

they formed a mob

set the city

in an uproar

and attacked

the house of Jason

who must have been

one of these early converts

that was

perhaps the church

was meeting in his home.

They were seeking

to bring them out

to the crowd

and when they could not

find them

they dragged Jason

and some of the brothers

before the city authority

shouting

these men

who have turned

the world upside down

have come here also

and Jason

has received them

and they are all

acting against

the decrees of Caesar

saying that there is

another king

Jesus

and the people

of the city

and the city authorities

were disturbed

when they heard

these things.

This was frightening.

It actually terrified

them to think

as a Roman

free city state

that there is

a movement

that's happening

within their city

that would somehow

go against Caesar

that would threaten

their independence

it would threaten

their freedom

it would threaten

their safety

so they're disturbed

verse 9

and when they had

taken money

as security

from Jason

and the rest of them

they let them go

and the brothers

immediately sent

Paul and Silas

away by night

to Berea.

Okay we got

gospel beginnings

in Thessalonica

we have a different

type of a beginning

in Thessalonica

as well.

Severe persecution

severe

Christians being

dragged out of

their homes

taking by riot

into the mobs

of people

in marketplaces

or perhaps

wherever it was

that they had

gathered before

the city leaders

their lives

are being threatened.

Can you imagine

something like this

happening here?

Davidson,

Cornelius

just imagine

today

a mob of people

come into the

elementary school

they drag us out

they're going to

take us down

to the town hall

down the street

where perhaps

hundreds of people

have gathered

calling for us

to be killed

because of their

faith in Christ

because he is

our Lord.

Now

many of you are

seasoned Christians

you've been Christians

long enough to know

that that's a reality

that's probably

going to happen.

These believers

in Thessalonica

they're brand new

Christians

and that's how

their faith starts

with that kind

of hardship.

The young Christians

protect Paul

and Silas

they help them

escape under

cover of darkness

but the trouble

of persecution

from Thessalonica

wasn't over

it was far from over.

Well that takes us

to the next one

we're going to move

fairly quickly

through the next part.

We get to verses

10 through 15

in chapter 17

we find that

Paul and Silas

go about 45 miles

west of Thessalonica

to Berea

and what's important

for us to recognize

here is that

as they were preaching

people were being

saved again

and then when the

people that hated

them so much

in Thessalonica

heard that the people

in Berea

were coming to faith

they made the journey

too.

They went all the way

to Berea

and what did they do

while they were there?

They incited

another riot

threatening the lives

of Paul and Silas

and Timothy

and their team

Luke

at this point

so not only

is there persecution

in Thessalonica

but the kind of

persecution

that's happening

there

it's so strong

that it's actually

spreading to the

other cities

and the home base

for the persecutors

was the backyard

of the new church

in Thessalonica

that's their condition

that's their life

now.

when we get a little

further in the chapter

we find that

Paul goes to Athens

that's about 300 miles

south of Berea

so now he's getting

far enough away

where perhaps

they don't want to

travel this far

to cause a problem

particularly

in a city like

Athens.

Now I want to

encourage you to go

and read this particular

section on your own

this afternoon

and we won't have time

to go through it

but it's an amazing text

and it's an amazing

sermon

that Paul preaches

to what would be

the equivalent

in our day

of an agnostic situation

amazing sermon

that would be

worth your time

but the point

for us to piece

together now

is the movements

here

okay

Paul preached

through Athens

but he sent

Silas and Timothy

back

into Macedonia

he wants them

to go and check

on the churches

there

he's the one

that the people

are most upset

with

he sends Timothy

to Thessalonica

to check on the people

he sends Silas

somewhere

we don't know

if it was Thessalonica

maybe it was Philippi

or another place

but what we know

is he's alone

in Athens

and he preaches

the gospel

while he's there

to great effect

or to minimal effect

excuse me

and then he decides

to move on

to Corinth

and that's where

the passage picks up

in chapter 18

I want you to look

with me just at

the first few verses

of chapter 18

this is about 50 miles

west of Athens

remember Silas and Timothy

are not with him right now

he's by himself

perhaps Luke is

with them still

after this Paul left Athens

and went to Corinth

and he found a Jew

named Aquila

a native of Pontus

recently come from Italy

with his wife Priscilla

because Claudius

had commanded

all the Jews

to leave Rome

and he went to see them

and because he was

of the same trade

he stayed with them

and worked

for they were tent makers

by trade

and he reasoned

in the synagogue

every Sabbath

tried to persuade Jews

and Greeks

now let's just pause

for a second

this has been

a frustrating journey

right

fruitful

sure

also frustrating

first

God changes

all of his plans

and sends him

to Macedonia

everywhere he goes

in Macedonia

people want to kill him

this man is tired

he's traveled

hundreds of miles

on foot

he's been beaten

nearly to death

at least once

maybe a couple

of times

at this point

is it any surprise

that when we get

to 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

Paul reflecting

on this moment

in Acts 18

says

when I came to you

I came to you

in weakness

weakness

and in fear

and trembling

weakness

fear

trembling

that's the story

of Paul's life

at this moment

but what is it

that he does

in verse 4

he just kept going

he's in the synagogue

every day

every Sabbath

preaching the gospel

trying to persuade

Jews and Greeks

and he enjoys

wonderful fruitfulness

there he stays

for at least

a year and a half

where the Lord

is blessing

his ministry

there in Corinth

surely

a sign of God's

blessing

and the renewal

and refreshment

of his ministry

for a season

but look at verse 5

Silas and Timothy

show up

when Silas and Timothy

arrived from Macedonia

where he had sent them

Paul was occupied

with the word

testifying to the Jews

that the Christ

was

Jesus

now

here's the point

and we'll get back

to verse Thessalonians

eventually

Silas and Timothy

joined Paul

in Corinth

to update him

on the condition

of the Thessalonians

and it was there

in Acts 18

at some point

after they arrived

that the three of them

sat down

perhaps Silas

is the writer

we know he wrote

for Peter

at one point

and Paul says

Silas write this

Paul

Silvanus

Timothy

to the church

of the Thessalonians

and God the Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ

grace to you

and peace

now

when that letter

actually makes it

to Thessalonica

and those dear people

hear just the opening greeting

you want to tell me

that that was just

a simple greeting

for them

I don't think so

I don't think so

just the first three words

the names

of the missionaries

that had

sacrificed

their very lives

to bring them

the gospel message

that had transformed them

oh no

this would have recalled

for them

their gospel beginnings

their gospel love

and friendship

and camaraderie

those were more

than just names

to these people

they were God's

instruments

for bringing them

the gospel message

that changed their lives

for all of eternity

what do we know

about the church

and of the Thessalonians

well the first thing

we know is that

they had a gospel rich

beginning

second

and quicker

I want you to see

their gospel identity

here

gospel beginnings

gospel identity

as a result

of those beginnings

now just look at

1 Thessalonians 1

1 Thessalonians 1:1

verse 1 again

Paul

Silvanus

Timothy

to the church

of the Thessalonians

in God the Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ

now in our culture

church

the word

is universally

associated

with religion

particularly

Christianity

that was not

the case

in the first century

church

church

or as you've heard me

say many times

before

ecclesia

would be

the Greek word

in Greco-Roman

society

it wasn't

a religious word

it was a civic word

it was used

secularly

to describe

formal gatherings

formal assemblies

of people

for civic purposes

about 200 years

BC

somebody

some Greeks

take the Hebrew Bible

and they translated

into Greek

we call it

the Septuagint

or sometimes

you'll see it

abbreviated

as an LXX

to refer to

the Septuagint

it means 70

and that is

just a Greek

translation

of the Old Testament

and when this

Greek translation

of the Old Testament

comes out

what we find

is that

ecclesia

is the Greek word

that's used

to describe

the assembly

of God's people

in particular

so if you were

to go back

and read

in your Old Testament

there's a number

of references

where the Greek

translation

actually uses

ecclesia

now that gives us

an idea

for what Paul

is trying to

communicate here

now the fact

that Jesus

and the apostles

use this specific

word for Christians

in the New Testament

reflects their

understanding

that Christians

even Gentiles

which would have

mattered in this

circumstance

and in this context

even the Gentiles

constituted

the new

people of God

when Paul

calls this

congregation

the church

of the Thessalonians

he's speaking

of them both

as a physical

assembly

that is they're

a group of people

that gather

but he's speaking

of them also

as the assembly

of God's people

who gather

together

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus Christ

that was the

distinction

so they're an

assembly in a

civic sense

they're a physical

gathering

that's what a church

is

they're also

God's people

as Christians

and that distinction

comes through

the Lord

Jesus Christ

they are the church

of the Thessalonians

that would have

mattered

now

the recipient

designation

moving on

from there

is all about

this

church's

gospel identity

Christ's church

finds its

very existence

the preposition

here

in

the very

existence

of Christ's church

is in

the sovereign

plan of God

the Father

brought about

through the

saving work

of his son

Jesus Christ

our Lord

and Savior

it was the

father's

sovereign plan

in ages

past

to send

his son

to die

for our sins

to rise

from the dead

for our salvation

and to call

out of this

world

people whom

he would

redeem

on whom

he would

bestow

his eternal

atonement

and forgiveness

they would

become

his people

this was

the sovereign

plan of God

through

Jesus Christ

that's their

identity

this was

Paul's very

argument

when he went

to Thessalonica

and preached

he used the

scriptures

to prove

this

but their

gospel identity

it was very

personal as

well wasn't

it

you just

read about

it

the history

of the

church

it was

God's

sovereign

plan

to intervene

in Paul's

plans

so that the

gospel of

Jesus would

be taken

to Thessalonica

it is the

sovereign

plan of

God

through the

work of

Jesus Christ

that made

them what

they were

it was their

very identity

as a people

and it is

no different

for us

than it

was for

them

our very

identity

as a people

as a

true church

is rooted

in the

sovereign

plan of

God

to save

us

through the

crucifixion

and resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

his sinless

son

the sovereign

plan of

God the

father

has brought

this particular

group of

Christians

together

as an

assembly

in the

name of

Jesus

Christ

Christ

it's who

we are

the very

core of

our identity

as a people

here might

be adequately

described as

the church

of Lake

Norman

in God

the father

and the

Lord Jesus

Christ

church is who

we are

and if we

ever get to a

point that we

start to think

that our

belonging and

that our

existence

and that this

group of

people as a

formal

covenanted

group has

anything to

do other

than the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

then we

will cease

to be a

true church

who we

are as

Christians

we are

God's people

meeting in the

name of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

to glorify his

name in this

world and to

do his work

until he

returns and

there's a lot

of implications

crucial implications

of that for

us

everything we

are as

individuals and

as a church

that means that

it is a work

of God's

grace

we're going to

get to that in

the next point

it also means

that it only

makes sense

that born

again believers

who have

expressed saving

faith in the

Lord Jesus

Christ only

they can really

truly belong to

this assembly

when we talk

about meaningful

membership in

our church

that's what

we mean

there is no

belong before

you believe

dynamic here

that's foreign

to the scriptures

and we want

unbelievers to

come and be a

part of our

worship services

we want them

to hear the

gospel but you

cannot be a

part of the

church if you

are not in

Christ

that matters

we need to

care about that

as a church

as we think

about membership

our gospel

identity it must

be the motivation

and the goal of

everything we do

as a Christian

church

we've been

called as

God's people

in Christ

and this will

dramatically affect

the way that we

relate to one

another

and the way that

we relate to

those outside of

our church

it is who we

are

we are gospel

people

by the sovereign

plan of God

in the Lord

Jesus Christ

thirdly and

finally

we see their

gospel hope

their gospel

are you still

with me

we're almost

there

Paul

Silvanus

and Timothy

to the church

of the Thessalonians

and God the

Father and the

Lord Jesus

Christ

grace to you

and peace

Paul had this

unique way

of turning

everything he

set his hand

to into

gospel

significance

these words

are a subtle

yet significant

departure from

the typical

greeting of

letters in that

culture

the traditional

greeting in

Hellenist culture

was a word

called

kairain

it literally

translates to

rejoice but

in a letter

it meant just

simply greetings

explanation point

if you're a

texter

greetings

we say

hello

which means

health to you

in English

when we greet

somebody and we

say hello

what we mean is

I hope things

are well for you

when they met

somebody formally

in their culture

they would say

kairain

I rejoice

with you

greetings to you

I hope things

are well with you

Paul just makes

a subtle change

in this word

he doesn't use

kairain

he uses a word

charis

it's almost

exactly the same

if you see it

written out

except it doesn't

mean rejoice

it means

grace

grace

unmerited

favor

peace

peace

peace

peace

peace

in the sense

of wholeness

and well-being

now what's

Paul saying

in this

he's wishing

upon them

the continued

outpouring

of God's

grace

and peace

but again

he intends

a gospel

connection here

the grace

and peace

of God

he knows

can only

come

through the

person

and work

of Jesus

Christ

God's grace

is supremely

revealed to us

in sending