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“Strengthened in the Faith”
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1 Thessalonians 3.1-5
Therefore
when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left
behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and
God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and
encourage you as to your faith, 3 so that no one would be
disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we
have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with
you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer
affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. 5 For this
reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find
out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have
tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.
This paragraph
comes in a larger section beginning in 2.17 and going all the
way to the end of chapter three. It is a sort of narrative
section describing Paul and Silvanus and Timothy’s relationship
with the Thessalonians after their forced departure from
the city of Thessalonica. You will recall from our study of
2.17-20 that Paul and his teammates were forced to leave
Thessalonica after a reasonably short stay in that city. The
opponents were apparently using this to suggest that Paul didn’t
care about the new Thessalonian believers. He had run at the
first sign of the persecution that they were left to endure,
only to go to the next city in an attempt to take advantage of
another group of people.
But Paul’s response
was filled with his great concern and affection for the
Thessalonian believers. He described his premature departure
from that city as being “taken away” (v. 17) from them like a
father would be ripped away from the children he loves. He
explained his longing “with great desire” to be reunited with
them and even his attempts to visit them (though hindered by
Satan). Finally, he actually calls the Thessalonians his “hope”
and “joy” and “crown of exultation” (v. 19). He actually saw
their genuine salvation and resulting spiritual fruit as his
hope and joy and as the crown in which he would boast in the
presence of the Lord Jesus at His coming.
I. The Sending of Timothy
But he was still
separated from them, and he still didn’t know if they were
standing firm in their faith. He knew that they were in the
midst of tribulations and afflictions, but wanted desperately to
see how they were doing. “Therefore,” he says in verse one of
chapter three, “when we could endure it no longer, we thought it
best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy.”
The idea here is when, i.e., after we had been separated
from you for a short time (and I, Paul, had been thwarted in my
attempts to visit you—2.18), “when we could endure that
separation no longer, we thought it best (after deliberation we
resolved) to be left behind at Athens alone.”
According to the
Acts 17 account, after Paul and his teammates had been forced to
leave Thessalonica, they went to Berea (a three-four day journey
of 50-60 miles to the southwest) where they preached the gospel
for a time before the Jews from Thessalonica came and stirred up
the crowds there. “Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out
to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.
Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and
receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon
as possible, they left” (vv. 14-15).
Now
the Acts account never records the arrival of Silvanus and
Timothy in Athens, but when Paul says here in 1 Thessalonians
3.1, “We thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone,” he
implies that Timothy and Silvanus were in Athens with him.
Evidently they must have heeded Paul’s command “to come to him
as soon as possible,” and met him in Athens. There they
resolved that Timothy would be sent to Thessalonica (and we know
that Silvanus was also sent somewhere in Macedonia—Acts 18.5) so
that Paul was left alone in Athens.
Timothy is described in verse two as “our brother and God’s
fellow worker in the gospel of Christ.” At this point one might
ask, “Why did Paul describe Timothy in this way; why didn’t he
just say, ‘We sent Timothy?’” Well the Thessalonians certainly
knew who Timothy was; they didn’t need to be informed of what
Paul said, but again, this comes on the heels of Paul’s defense
against his opponents in Thessalonica. They were saying that he
ran from the persecution in Thessalonica because he didn’t care
about the Thessalonians. On the contrary, after Paul was taken
away from them against his will (2.17), he made repeated
attempts to visit them (though hindered by Satan—v. 18) because
they were his glory and joy (v. 20). And in describing Timothy
as “our brother and God’s fellow worker,” it was as if Paul was
saying, “Sending Timothy was essentially the same as going to
you myself, an appropriate gesture of my great concern and
affection for you.”
II. The First Reason for
Sending Timothy
Why did Paul and
his teammates resolve to send Timothy to the Thessalonians? He
tells us very clearly: “to strengthen and encourage you as to
your faith.” Now we are going to revisit this idea and dwell on
it at length, because I think the whole passage is really built
around this purpose. For now, I will simply draw your attention
to a few details in this verse. Notice that Paul does not say,
“to strengthen your faith,” but “to strengthen and encourage
you as to your faith.” The preposition is huper.
It means in behalf of, or for the sake of. It
speaks of what is in the best interest of their faith. “Faith”
here speaks not of the body of Christian doctrine, but of the
Thessalonians’ individual faith, their belief in the gospel
message and in Christ Himself. Timothy’s mission was to
establish them, to see that they were fixed and firm, and to
encourage or exhort them for the benefit of their
personal faith. That was the reason for sending Timothy.
III. The Reason for
Strengthening the Thessalonians in Their Faith
Why in light of the
situation in Thessalonica was it so critical that the new
converts be strengthened? Paul says, “So that no one would be
disturbed by these afflictions.” The idea is that none of the
Thessalonians would be shaken, moved, or agitated
by the tribulations they were enduring. “Afflictions” comes
from the word (thlipsis) that means a pressing,
pressing together, pressure, and which metaphorically came
to mean oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress.
The Thessalonians were undergoing such distress on account of
their identification with Christ, and Paul saw the sending of
Timothy to strengthen and encourage them as being critical to
preventing them from being derailed by those afflictions.
Paul says, “For you
yourselves know that we have been destined for this.” One thing
that keeps believers from being shaken by tribulations is
the knowledge that they are to be expected. This has always
been the case. Paul even says, “We have been destined
for this.” It means that we have been set or
appointed for this kind of tribulation. It should come as
no surprise, right? Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people
insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you” (Matt 5.11-12). Later He said,
“If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John
15.20). “In the world” He said in John 16.33, “you have
tribulation.” As Paul strengthened the believers in Lystra,
Iconium and Antioch, he said, “Through many tribulations we must
enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14.22). And in fact shortly
after his own conversion, the Lord said of Paul, “I will show
him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9.16).
Suffering for Christians is simply par for the course. To a
discouraged Timothy, Paul said, “Do not be ashamed of the
testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in
suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim
1.8). And later in that same letter Paul said, “Indeed, all who
desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”
(3.12). That is just the lot of those who truly identify with
Christ.
Paul goes on in 1 Thessalonians 3.4, “For indeed
when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we
were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you
know. This is one of the things I love about Paul. When he
brought the gospel to people, he didn’t give them a pair of rose
colored glasses and coat it with frosting. He told them of the
difficulties that it would bring. He says, “I kept telling you
in advance that we were going to suffer affliction.”
This would seem to suggest that there may have been an initial
period in Thessalonica in which there was no persecution.
Perhaps the events unfolded like this: Paul reasoned in the
synagogue and some of the Jews and many of the Greeks were
persuaded (Acts 17.2-4). At this point Paul was warning them
that affliction was about to come. He knew that this was to be
expected for a true follower of Christ. After all, he had just
come from Philippi, where he was sorely abused. So Paul told
the Thessalonians to expect this, and sure enough, it came about
(Acts 17.5-15).
Part of the problem with how the gospel is often
presented today (and you’ve heard this from me before, but I’m
going to say it again) is that people are not told to count the
cost before embracing the message. Jesus said, “If anyone comes
to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and
children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life,
he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross
and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you,
when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and
calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it”
(Luke 14.25-28)? The invitation to follow Christ went out to
“anyone.” But He was very upfront about what it would cost.
Salvation is a free gift (Rom 6.23), but being saved in this
life does not preclude the persecution that comes to those who
identify with the Christ who suffered so much at the hands of
godless men.
Paul was simply following Jesus’ example when he
told the Thessalonians to expect persecution. I think that if
we followed that example in presenting the gospel, we wouldn’t
end up with so many false converts. Who doesn’t want to become
a Christian when all they are told is, “God loves you and has a
wonderful plan for your life?” If they were told, “All who
desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim
3.12), they might sit down and count the cost first. Paul
warned the Thessalonians of the “affliction” that would come to
those who followed Christ, and that is exactly what happened.
IV. The Second Reason for Sending Timothy
In light of that
affliction, Paul said in verse five, “For this reason, when I
could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your
faith.” Here, then, is a second reason for which Paul sent
Timothy. He just wanted to know the condition of their faith,
to know if they were standing firm in the Lord. And this is
essentially the same as the first reason—“to strengthen and
encourage you as to your faith”—with more stress being laid on
the fact that the said tribulations had come upon them. The
following clause confirms this: “For fear that the tempter might
have tempted you, and our labor and our labor would be in
vain.”
In Paul’s mind,
when he and Timothy and Silvanus were in Athens deliberating
over whether to send Timothy to Thessalonica, the one thing he
did not know at that time was whether or not the new
Thessalonian believers were standing firm in their faith in the
face of persecution. He really didn’t know, and his fear was
that Satan (here called by one of his dominant
characteristics—“the tempter”) might have been successful in
tempting them to deny the faith. If that had indeed happened
(and the emphasis here is on if because Paul uses the
language of potential), his copious labor of gospel ministry
among them would have proved to be “in vain” (without result, or
useless).
Had the Thessalonians rejected the faith on account
of their tribulations, Paul’s labor would indeed have proved to
be in vain in regard to their faith. Their profession would
have proved false and the fruit of Paul’s labor in terms of
bringing about genuine conversion would have been found
lacking. This is why Paul sent in particular to “know” (come to
know/learn) about the condition of their faith. If it was
genuine, they would not turn from the Lord. That is why he was
so certain of their status as being among the elect (1.4) upon
finding that they were indeed standing firm in the Lord (3.8).
Paul’s Emphasis on Spiritual
Maturity
Now as you can see, this whole section is just
bursting with Paul’s concern about the condition of the
Thessalonians’ faith. That’s why he sent Timothy—to find out
about their faith; to strengthen and encourage them as to their
faith. That was just the beating of his pastoral heart, an
earnest concern about the spiritual vitality of those who had
come to faith in Christ through his ministry. I remember
talking to Kelly a few weeks ago after I had finished preaching
through 2.17-20 and saying, “My preaching is going to sound like
a broken record until I get all the way to the end of chapter
three. Paul just can not get away from talking about his
passionate desire so see the Thessalonians growing in spiritual
maturity, so that is what I have to preach over and over until
the end of chapter three.” And by the way, it doesn’t really
stop at the end of chapter three.
If you’ve been here since we began our study of this
book, you’ve seen the huge emphasis on spiritual maturity. I
mean, go back to chapter one and ask what it is that Paul is
giving thanks to God for? In the whole of the chapter he is
essentially thanking God for the Thessalonians’ genuine
salvation and the resulting spiritual fruit in their lives. And
when in those verses we saw “The Master’s Model for Missions,”
we concluded that the most strategic effort of the church in
missions and evangelism must be aimed at bringing about
spiritual maturity in those who come to faith in Christ. If
we want the church to truly grow, we can’t just make converts,
we’ve got to make disciples. We’ve got to see people to the
place of spiritual maturity wherein they themselves become a
model that is worthy of imitation; they become the missionaries
and evangelists even as they have followed our example. That’s
what we are aiming for.
As Paul moved into chapter two, he began to review
his and Silvanus and Timothy’s ministry while among the
Thessalonians. He had the boldness to preach the gospel of God
amid much opposition (2.2) and he worked night and day to do it,
supporting himself financially so that he wouldn’t be a burden
to them (2.9). He cared so much about that Thessalonians that
he not only brought the gospel to them but even poured his own
life into them (2.8). He says in verse nine, “We were exhorting
and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would
his own children.” Why; why did he do all of that? Verse
twelve: “So that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” All that he did
among the Thessalonians was aimed at that greater goal. His
great passion was to see them come to know Christ and then to
grow in Him to that place of spiritual maturity that would see
their daily conduct as being consistent with the very nature of
God. Spiritual maturity—that’s what Paul was shooting
for!!
You come to verse seventeen and you see that Paul
was ripped away from the Thessalonians, and the greatest pain of
that separation for him was his concern for the condition of
their faith. That’s why he finally sent Timothy when he
couldn’t stand it any longer. Why did he send him? That brings
us back to verse two of Chapter three—“to strengthen and
encourage you as to your faith.”
Now when I was telling Kelly that my preaching for
the next several weeks would sound like a broken record because
of Paul’s repeated emphasis on spiritual maturity, she asked me
a novel question: “What do you mean by spiritual maturity?” She
asked, “What does it mean to be built up or strengthened or
established in the faith?” Well, that was just the question I
needed to hear, because I think I so often take it for granted
that everybody understands what I am talking about when I speak
of being strengthened in the faith. And while I think many of
you do understand, I believe that it will nonetheless be worth
our time to dwell on that question for a while.
And what I want to do with the time that remains
this morning is to introduce a study entitled “Strengthened
in the Faith.” One of the joys of consecutive exposition
(teaching through the Bible book by book and chapter by chapter)
is that when you come to a given topic or theme or doctrine that
is widely found in Scripture, you have the freedom to “camp out”
on that doctrine, if you will, to expand into what the rest of
the Bible has to say about it. That is what we want to do here,
and I want to do it by essentially seeking to answer two
questions:
1) What does it mean to be
strengthened in the faith? 2) How can we be strengthened in the
faith?
I. What Does it Mean to Be
Strengthened in the Faith?
This morning we
will focus on the first question, and this really takes us back
to verse two of chapter three. Paul sent Timothy to the
Thessalonians “to strengthen and encourage [them] as to [their]
faith.” The word strengthen is from the Greek sterizo.
It is a rich term. It means, “To cause to be inwardly firm or
committed, confirm, establish, strengthen.”
It is to make stable, place firmly, set fast, or to
strengthen, make firm.
Examples of its use can be found in the following passages: “He
resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk 9.51);
“there is a great chasm fixed” (16.26); “strengthen
your brothers” (22.32); “strengthening all the disciples”
(Acts 18.23); “that you may be established” (Rom 1.11);
“so that He may establish your hearts” (1 Thess 3.13);
“comfort and strengthen your hearts” (2 Thess 2.17); “He
will strengthen and protect you” (3.3); “established
in the truth” (2 Pet 1.12).
Timothy’s mission
was to see that the Thessalonians were inwardly firm and
committed, that they were firmly set or fixed in regard to their
faith. That’s what we’re aiming at in terms of spiritual
maturity. That’s what it is to be strengthened in the faith,
and when a person comes to that place he will find that his
faith is not easily shaken. His belief in and dependence upon
Christ stands fast; it is fixed; it is not easily moved. He
won’t be disturbed or agitated by afflictions or tribulations,
as Paul says here in verse three.
Now there is
another place we can turn (and there are many) to broaden our
understanding of what it means to be strengthened in the faith,
to become spiritually mature—Ephesians chapter four. Here in
verses 12-16 we have a wonderfully full picture of what it is to
be strengthened in the faith. In verse 11, Paul says, “He
[Christ] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some
as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.” We will come
back to this verse when we seek to answer the question, “How can
we be strengthened in the faith?” But for now, notice why our
Lord has given these gifted men to the church: “For the
equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building
up of the body of Christ” (v. 12). Now when the saints are
equipped, when the body of Christ is built up, God’s
people are being strengthened in the faith; they are going the
right direction on the road that leads to spiritual maturity.
When the saints are
equipped, they are prepared in the sense that they are made
adequate or sufficient for something. They are equipped “for
the work of ministry.” That’s what it looks like to be
spiritually mature. The one who is strengthened in the faith is
sufficiently equipped for the work of ministry; he’s ready to
invest in others; he’s ready to serve within the church and
ready to evangelize those who are outside the church.
And when the body
of Christ is built up as Paul says here, it is edified. This is
construction terminology. If you’ve ever been involved in
building a house, you know the difference in appearance from
when the foundation is first poured to when the rafters are
placed upon the framed walls. The progress is striking, and
that is the picture Paul paints for us here. The emphasis is on
the process. When believers within the church are being
strengthened in their faith, the whole body is being built up
into a structure that appears more and more complete over time.
It’s a process “until we all attain to the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the
measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of
Christ.” That’s the ultimate goal! Do you want to know what
spiritual maturity is? Do you want to know what it is to be
strengthened and established in the faith? Look at Christ!
He’s the picture of spiritual perfection. We aim to become like
Him. That’s why Scripture describes the process of
sanctification as being transformed into the image of Christ (2
Cor 3.18). The extent to which we look, act, speak, and believe
like He did is the extent to which spiritual maturity has become
a reality in our lives.
You might say,
“Well, I haven’t seen Christ walking around lately.” Well, I
would say first of all that you need to look to the Gospels,
because there we have the life of Christ in stereo, if you
will. With no less that four gospel accounts of the life and
ministry of Christ we have enough for a lifetime of study. But
secondly, I would say this: look at those who are spiritually
mature in our midst. I mean, what did the apostle Paul say? He
said, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor
11.1). The spiritual leaders in our midst should be worthy of
imitation precisely because they are spiritually mature. That’s
why the qualifications for an elder in 1 Timothy 3 have way more
to do with a man’s moral character than with his ability:
An overseer,
then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,
temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle,
peaceable, free from the love of money. 4 He must
be one who manages his own household well, keeping his
children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a
man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he
take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a
new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into
the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must
have a good reputation with those outside the church, so
that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil
(1 Tim 3.2-7).
This in summary is the picture
of someone who is spiritually mature. So much of the point of
having elders in the local church is so that we can look at them
and say, “Oh, that’s what the Christian life is supposed to look
like,” or, “That’s how a family should function,” or, “That’s
how children should be raised,” or “That’s how a husband and
wife fulfill their God-given roles in love and harmony.” Of
course, an elder’s life will be far from perfect, so the people
should see him in his weakness and say, “Oh, that’s how one
should deal with sin,” or, “That’s how a person should seek
reconciliation with those he has offended.”
And the reason
these men in particular need to live such godly lives is because
they are the examples to be followed. And because we are all
trying to follow their example, we’re all aiming at the same
thing—spiritual maturity, “the measure of the stature which
belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4.13), to be
strengthened and established in the faith!
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