Christ Church

Douglas Wilson

Face to Face (1 Thessalonians)

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INTRODUCTION

The first letter to the Thessalonians was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is part of the Word of God. But at the same time, it was Paul’s second choice. What he really wanted was to be together with the Thessalonians, face to face, so that he could truly encourage them.

THE TEXT

“But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:6–13)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Remember that Paul had said earlier that he was beside himself with concern over how the Thessalonians were doing (1 Thess. 3:1, 5), which is why he had sent Timothy to them (v. 2). Now he said that Timothy had returned with very good news. That news was that their faith and love were solid, and that they had good memories of Paul (v. 6). They wanted to see Paul and company, and the feeling went both ways. That news was a comfort to Paul in the middle of his afflictions and distress. So the news was refreshment to Paul in the midst of a trial. It was such good news that Paul describes it in terms of life—“for now we live” (v. 8). The Thessalonians standing fast was life to Paul. Paul has so much joy over them that he is without words when it comes rendering thanks to God (v. 9). Paul had been praying day and night, and doing so “exceedingly,” as he asked for two things. First, he wanted to see the Thessalonians face to face, and second, that he might be able to complete or perfect whatever was lacking in their faith (v. 10). And so he repeats his prayer request again—that God Himself, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ “direct our way unto you” (v. 11). He also prays that God would make them grow and increase in their love for one another, not to mention everyone else, in the same way that Paul felt about them (v. 12). The purpose of this is so that their hearts might be established without blame in holiness before God the Father, until the parousia of the Lord Jesus with all His saints (v. 13).

THE END OF THE AGE

One of the challenges we will have as we work through the two letters to the Thessalonians will be the challenge of distinguishing the end of the age (which occurred in 70 A.D.) and the end of the world (which will occur we know not when). I am taking the reference to the parousia at the end of our text here as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the passage in 1 Thess. 4:16 as referring to the Second Coming. Briefly, that will happen when the Lord Jesus “will descend from heaven,” and when He does there will be a general resurrection. Then there will be another question, when we get to chapter 5, about whether the “day of the Lord” refers to the Second Coming of chapter 4, or is referring back to the judgment on Jerusalem found in the earlier chapters.

The word parousia simply means arrival, coming, or presence. The word is not a synonym for the Second Coming. Paul can even use it of his own arrival somewhere (2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 1:26; 2:12), or of the arrival of his companions (1 Cor 16:17; 2 Cor. 7:6-7). He uses it to refer to the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:9). And there are references to the coming of Jesus, as in our text here (1 Thess. 3:13). I take this as a coming in judgment on Jerusalem, the appearance of the Lord being manifested in the complete fulfillment of His prophecy that Jerusalem was not going to have one stone left on another. The phrasing is likely an allusion to Zechariah.

“And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (Zech. 14:5).

Here are the reasons for thinking that we are talking about a visitation of wrath in the first century. The first chapter refers to the “wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). The Jews in chapter 2 fight against Gentiles receiving gospel, and Paul says that “wrath is come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thess. 2:16). This is clearly a reference to 70 A.D. This book was written circa50/51 A.D. During Passover in 49 A.D. there had been a massacre of thousands of Jews at the Temple. Also the emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome in that same year. Such events were not the fullness of wrath, but the pot was starting to boil, and Paul certainly expected it to boil all over the stove. Although he moves on to talk about the end of the world in chapter 4, we make that determination from the context (“the dead in Christ shall rise”). From the descriptions in the first three chapters, we have no reason to believe that Paul has moved out of the first century yet.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Notice how deeply Paul yearns for the growth of the Thessalonians in holiness. Also notice that he “settles” for writing to them. He would much prefer to see them face to face. He prayed exceedingly that he might be able to see them in person. Catechized by our digital world, we think we have conquered distance when we really haven’t. Our letters have gotten much more sophisticated than they were in Paul’s day, but our face-to-face communication is not what Paul would have made of it. Our texting, and Zoom meetings, and online sermons, and POD books, and blogs, and phone calls, are just souped up letters. Paul would have used them all, but he still would have yearned to be with the Thessalonians, in the same room, breathing the same air, and not through a mask.

CHRIST WORK

As we grow in the Lord, notice that it is the Lord who enables us to grow in the Lord. God gives the increase. When we increase and abound in love for one another, this is not our doing. It is being done for us. The Lord is the one who makes us love each other, and He is the one who establishes us in holiness. Love for Christ is part of the work of Christ. We are commanded to love Him, and this command to bear fruit is fulfilled as the fruit of the Spirit.

As the great Augustine once put it, “Give what you command, and command what you will.”

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When Desire Divides

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INTRODUCTION

You should recall that at our previous joint worship service earlier this summer, the emphasis was on two kinds of unity. The first is a unity that we are given by grace, and are called to preserve (Eph. 4:1–3), and the second is a unity that we are called to establish or build (Eph. 4:11–13). We preserve the existing unity by dealing with sin properly—resisting temptation, seeking forgiveness, and extending forgiveness. The second kind of unity is the maturity that the Holy Spirit is in the process of bestowing on us as He grows us up into the perfect man.

In the message today, we need to drill down into some of the issues surrounding that first kind of unity. And that means we have to talk about sin. But I want to focus on a particular kind of sin, the kind that consistently thinks of itself as always somehow in the right. You know, sins that are common in church. This kind of sin actually causes a lot of havoc in conservative churches—far more havoc than selling cocaine does, or running a brothel, or robbing banks.

THE TEXT

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:1–6).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

As our community continues to grow, and is growing rapidly, we are likely to find ourselves with increased conflicts with the town, whether we want them or not. One crucial thing to avoid, therefore, would be conflicts with one another.

When Christians collide with one another, what is going on? You would think that when Christians ask that question, they would immediate think of James 4, which actually asks and answers it. Where do battles and fights among you come from (v. 1)? You have certain desires down in your members, and these desires are waging war (v. 1). You want, and don’t have. You kill, and still want, and still don’t have (v. 2). The reason you don’t have is because you don’t ask God (v. 2). And when you do get around to asking God, He doesn’t give it to you because you are asking for it all wrong, in order that you might consume it on your lusts, your desires (v. 3). “You adulterers and adulteresses,” James says. Don’t you know that friendship with the world and friendship with God are mutually exclusive (v. 4)? You cannot have both, so choose and choose wisely. For v. 5, I am following the AV, taking it as “the spirit within us veers toward envy” (v. 5), but God gives more grace (v. 6). God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. But if you take v. 5 in the way other translations do (“the Spirit within us yearns jealously”), it doesn’t really affect the broader flow of the argument.

TWO KINDS OF DESIRE

James tells us that the central villain here is our “desires.” And that means we have to take a moment to understand those desires in the context of this passage.

There is one kind of desire that everyone here has, and there is nothing wrong with it. Let us call it creational desire. You have a desire to breathe, for example, or to drink when you are thirsty, or to eat when you are hungry. This kind of desire can function without anybody else being present. It is not socially rooted. If you are thirsty in the desert, the nature of that thirst will not be affected by the presence or absence of other people. You have these desires simply because you are a creature with a nature. You have lungs, and muscles, and nerve endings.

But there is another kind of desire, and it is the kind of desire being addressed in our text. Do not be thrown by the use of the word lust. In modern English, the word has a strong sexual connotation, but that is not required here. Take it as simply a strong desire, desire for anything. But in this context, it is desire for things that are socially situated. It is mimetic desire, imitative desire. James is asking why fights arise among you (v. 1). He says that we covet (what someone else has) (v. 2). We fight (with somebody else) (v. 2). Then he locates the root problem—the problem is friendship with the world (v. 4). It is friendship with the world, and all of its lies, blandishments, advertisements, fashions, fads, and entertainment stampedes. You could be quite godly if it were not for all these other people out there.

COLLISIONS RESULT FROM CONVERGENCE

But it is not just other people. It is the other people we know, the people who are up close, in your neighborhood, in your school, or in this sanctuary together with you.

The secularists, when trying to give an account of human fractiousness, have a quaint myth that they love to appeal to. They believe that we collide with one another because of our perceived differences, and if we could only come to see how many similarities we share, then the fluffy clouds would suddenly appear, and attractive woodland creatures would caper in the meadow. And so it is that they sponsor international student exchange programs, and food fairs where we sample one another’s exotic foods, and they love to solve problems with diplomacy. Let’s hug it out.

But what if conflict is caused, not by dissimilarity, but rather by similarity? You bonk heads with someone precisely because you were both reaching for the same thing. And you were reaching for the same thing because your tastes were so similar.

If you will allow me, a few autobiographical illustrations might help. I have been in the education business for some forty-odd years now. During that time, guess how many scrapes or collisions I may have had with advocates of the Montessori approach to education? Why, zero. And how may tangles have I had with classical, Christian, Latin-loving, logic-teaching, Trivium-applauding, Sayers-appreciating educators? No idea. Too many to keep track of.

How about theology? How many battles have I waged with ministers from the Assemblies of God? Again, zero. And how many head bumps with Reformed, postmillennial, presuppositional, paedobaptistic, and Presbyterian brethren? Heh.

You have collisions with your roommate because of the things you share. And that would include the things he borrows without asking.

Similar views, similar tastes, similar opinions, similar doctrines cause people to converge. And when they converge, conflict is hard to avoid. I also cannot tell you how many times I have counseled a young man who is interested in a young lady, and he wants to know if he should contact her father, and I am trying to figure out what to do with the fact that I had a very similar conversation the previous week with this fellow’s roommate, and about the same girl. This kind of thing does not happen because everybody is so dissimilar.

REMEMBER THE EARLIER WARNING

In the world of education, we are now have a cornucopia of options—Logos School, Logos Online, Kepler, New St. Andrews, White Horse, Jubilee, and I am sure some others. Do you think that any James 4 elbows might get thrown? Why, yes. Remember what I said about those distributing “the biblical worldview” by various other means (publishing, video, etc.)—we have Canon Press, CCM, Huguenot Heritage, Gorilla Poet, Roman Roads, CrossPolitic, Having Two Legs, New St. Andrews, Blog and Mablog, and there will soon enough be even more points of friction. And also remember what I said about all the restaurants, realty companies, medical practices, software companies, light manufacturing, contractors, and so on. And don’t forget Christ Church, Trinity Reformed, CCD, and so on. You cannot have this type of cloud form without it becoming a thunderhead.

BRING IT TO THE CROSS

In ungodly societies, and in ungodly times, the electrical charge that builds up is dealt with by means of catharsis. Sometimes it is artificial catharsis—plays, movies, grand sporting events. So let’s cancel all those. And sometimes it is real time catharsis—riots, executions, wars. Of necessity, apart from Christ, there is an endless cycle of it.

But the last verse of our text says that God “gives more grace.” And how does He do that? The ultimate and final cathartic event was the crucifixion of Jesus. Even Pilate was keen enough to see that Jesus was turned over to him because the Jewish leaders were envious of Him (Matt. 27:18). And in that ultimate death, we see—by faith we see—the death of death. But there is no death of death apart from the death of sin, and there is no death of sin apart from the death of envy and striving.

In the death of Jesus, every form of envy died. In His resurrection, we have God’s assurance that it need never come back.

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The Mines of Difficulty

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INTRODUCTION

The second stanza of an old Isaac Watts hymn asks quite a reasonable question. It is a question that we—accustomed as we are to many creature comforts—should be willing to ask ourselves.

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed through bloody seas?

THE TEXT

“Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain” (1 Thess. 3:1–5).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After mentioning how dear the Thessalonians were to him, Paul then says that when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he thought it best for him to be left in Athens alone (v. 1). He commissioned Timothy to go back to Thessalonica in order to establish and comfort them (v. 2). This was a significant move because Timothy was important to Paul also. Timothy was Paul’s brother and fellow-worker, as well as a minister or servant of God (v. 2). The reason for sending Timothy was because the Thessalonians were going through afflictions at the hands of their own countrymen, as he mentioned in the previous chapter, and he wanted to ensure that they were taught well enough when it came to such afflictions. He didn’t want any man to be moved by them (v. 3), and he wanted to remind them that as believers we are appointed to them (v. 3). Paul had predicted it beforehand, when he was still with them. He told them what was going to happen. We are going to suffer tribulation, he had said, and sure enough it came to pass (v. 4). The Thessalonians had seen it come to pass with their own eyes. That was the reason why Paul was beside himself with concern. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he sent Timothy to them to find out if the tempter had followed up the affliction with temptation, and in such a way as to unwind all of Paul’s labors there (v. 5). Notice that there are two elements that Paul is concerned about. The first is the trial itself, and the second is the devil’s interpretation of it. The real concern is the spin the devil puts on it. But remember what a liar he is.

THE UNBELIEVERS’ INTENTION FOR BELIEVERS

In the previous chapter, Paul had reminded the Thessalonians that the Jews in Judea were “contrary to all men.” They were full of malice and hostility. They did not want Gentiles to be saved. They murdered the Lord Jesus. They had killed their own prophets. They persecuted the apostles. Paul knew the heart of man, and he knew the inevitable reaction whenever renewed hearts come into contact with unregenerate hearts. There is nothing you can do that will prevent this reaction from happening.

The thing you can do is teach Christians what to expect. Far too many Christians think the negative reaction is the result of them being a poor testimony. The idea that it is because they have had a good testimony scarcely occurs to them. Did Jesus have a poor testimony? Is that why He was killed?

GOD’S INTENTIONS FOR BELIEVERS

But God governs all things, and this means that God must have a purpose or intention for us in our afflictions. What is He up to?

“And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21–22).

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:3–5).

We glory in tribulations, not because we are masochistic, but because we know that it is the pathway to the great city. But we sometimes look at the landscape, which can be pretty grim, instead of looking at what is really happening. And what is really happening is what we are becoming. The hard path fits us for the glory to be found at the end of that road. What is this difficulty? Look at it with the eyes that Paul wanted the Thessalonians to have. It is the love of God, shed abroad in your heart.

OUR OWN INTENTION

We must learn wisdom. This means we must reject the purpose that unbelievers have for our afflictions, and yet we must also embrace the purpose that God has for those same afflictions. We know that God does not tempt any man (Jas. 1:13), but we also know that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted (Matt. 4:1). And we are instructed to pray that God lead us not into temptation (Matt. 6:13). This is not a contradiction. The same event can be a trial and a temptation, and the same Greek word is used for both. The event that is assigned to us by God—“to which we were appointed”—is an event that has different intentions on either side of it. God uses it to strengthen you, and the devil wants to use it to weaken you.

So we must learn to walk straight, which means that we must first learn to think straight. The way into the kingdom of God is fraught with difficulty. But that does not mean that just because something is difficult that it must be the way into the kingdom. Remember that wrath was coming upon the unbelieving Jews “to the uttermost.” The destruction of Jerusalem was difficult, but that is the only thing that it was. “Good understanding giveth favour: But the way of transgressors is hard” (Prov. 13:15).

The diamonds of the promise can only be found in the mines of difficulty—and some of those mines go deep. But there are other mine shafts that are filled with nothing but useless rocks.

The check on your heart should be this: Are you pursuing Christ and His kingdom? Is that what you want? Is that what you want regardless? Then the diamonds are most certainly there. Seek first His kingdom.

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How to Hear a Sermon (1 Thessalonians)

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INTRODUCTION

In the first half of this chapter, Paul recounted for the Thessalonians the kind of character that he and his co-workers displayed when they labored there in Thessalonica. In other words, what kind of man preached the gospel to them? But now he moves on to describe the authority of the gospel preached in itself.

THE TEXT

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe . . .” (1 Thessalonians 2:13-20)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul says that he constantly thanks God for the reception that the Thessalonians gave to the preached message (v. 13). When they heard it, they received it, not as a word from men, but as it was in fact, the Word of God. As the Word of God, it worked effectively and powerfully in the lives of those who believed (v. 13). The Thessalonians became, in effect, the younger brothers of the believers in Judea. They were persecuted by their countrymen, and then the same thing hap- pened to the Thessalonians (v. 14). The Jews had murdered the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and they persecuted the apostles. They don’t please God, and they are contrary to all men (v. 15). They get in the way of those preaching to Gentiles, that they might be saved, and this is why utmost wrath is coming down on them (v. 16). This likely refers to the impending judgment that is about to fall on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. We may also dispatch any anti-Semitic sentiments that some might want to assign to this kind of statement. It is true that the Jews did these awful things to Christ and the apostles. It is also true that Paul makes the point of saying that the Thessalonians got exactly the same treatment from their unregenerate countrymen. This viciousness is not how Jews are; it is how people are.

Paul had to leave the Thessalonians for a brief time, and longed greatly to see them again (v. 17). He attempted to revisit them repeatedly, but Satan hindered them (v. 18). What is Paul’s reward? What is his hope, joy, or crown of rejoicing? (v. 19). That would be the Thessalonians in the presence of Christ at His coming (v. 19). They were Paul’s glory and joy (v. 20).

HOW TO HEAR A SERMON

Paul here says that when they first arrived in Thessalonica, they preached the gospel. He goes on to commend the Thes- salonians for how they heard him. They received the message proclaimed, not as the words of men—even though they were the words of men—but as the Word of God Himself.

You have no doubt noticed that when I read the text I am going to preach from, I preface it with “these are the words of God.” The Scriptures are the Word of God. When you open your Bible, you don’t have to hunt around in or- der to try to find something God said. He said it all. But there is a theological school of thought (neo-orthodoxy) that teaches that the Bible is the place where you might encounter or meet with the Word of God (and then again, maybe not). This is obviously deficient, but we can take an illustration from it. That is not how to approach the Bible, but it can be a helpful way to approach a sermon.

When a minister of the Word, lawfully called and set apart, stands before you with an open Bible in order to expound what it says, you should prepare your hearts to encounter the Word of God. You should come to worship expecting Christ to speak to you. Evangelical sermons are not the Bible, stem to stern, obviously not. But something happens there, and it is a profound work of the Spirit.

“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11).

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14).

So when the sermon accords with the text, and the people are listening in faith, then Jesus Christ is speaking to His people.

The Second Helvetic Confession puts it this way: “The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God” (Ch. 1).

“The true idea of preaching is that the preacher should become a mouthpiece for his text, opening it up and applying it as a word from God to his hearers . . . in order that the text may speak . . . and be heard, making each point from his text in such a manner that [the congregation] may discern [the voice of God]” (Westminster Directory)

PERSONAL ENCOUNTER

The Scriptures are not embarrassed to offer us staggering rewards in the next life for faithfulness in this life. This has been mocked by some (“opiate of the masses”) and thoughtlessly pursued by others, as if God were going to give them a chest full of gold doubloons for having been such good boys. Now the fact of the promised rewards is undeniable, but we also have to consider the nature of the rewards. They are all bound up in personal relationships. Paul says that his crown is made up of Thessalonians. They were his hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing. They were his glory and joy. This is more like a wedding day than a pay day. The relationship is the reward.

Consider how this flows out from what was said just before this. When the gospel is preached in power, that means that Christ Himself meets with His people there. And when Christ meets with His people, His people also meet with His people. This is how fellowship in the Spirit arises. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One body, one Spirit.

CHRIST AND A YARD SALE VIOLIN

Sermons are not sacraments, but I think it is fair to say that they are sacramentals. A sermon is not a lecture, or a talk. It is not a chat about the things of God. It is a declaration, and unless Christ picks it up and uses it for His intended purposes, a sermon makes the hollowest sound a mortal has ever heard. Christ speaks with authority, and not as the scribes (Matt. 7:29). But He has so much authority that He can even pick up a scribe and do wonderful things through him. Every mortal preacher is in this position. Remember how Paul once cried out in a holy despair (2 Cor. 2:6). Who is sufficient for these things? The best preacher in the world is nothing more than a fifteen-dollar yard sale violin. But when Christ picks that thing up, He astonishes the world with the music He can make.

Christ is the revelation of God Himself, and He cannot be other than what He is. He is the revelation. He is the manifold grace of God. When He is preached, there He is made manifest. Christ is present.

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