Author: Nevil Williams

1 Thessalonians 1

1 Thessalonians 1

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(Original date of publication: Believer’s Magazine – June 1992)

The Gospel message preached by Paul revolutionized the lives of many Thessalonians during his second missionary tour. The presentation of this message, along with its result, is summarized in two verses, “For they themselves shew 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; and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess 1:9-10).

“What manner of entering in we had unto you,” indicates the Thessalonians Reception of the message. This led to their Conversion – “And how ye turned to God from idols. Consequently, they sought to “serve the living and true God. This denotes their Ministration. Their ministry was stimulated by their Expectation of God’s Son from Heaven. (“Letters to the Thessalonians” by William MacDonald.)

Their Reception

The reception of the Gospel by the Thessalonians was a means of entrance for Paul, Silas and Timothy into the city of Thessalonica. The word “Entrance” is, sometimes, in Scripture, typified as a door. For example, Paul told the Corinthians that he ” came to Troas to preach Christ’s Gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord” (2 Cor 2:12). A door is “the entrance, or enlarged exercise of the Gospel Ministry” (Nicholson’s Bible Explainer). This entrance was not “barren of results.” (2:1, A.S. Way’s rendering in “The Letters of St. Paul”).

God is sovereign in shutting and opening doors. After shutting the door of Asia, He opened that of Europe. “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they came to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; but the Spirit suffered them not. And they, passing by Mysia, came down to Troas, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (Acts 16: 6-9). Soon after Paul had entered the door of Europe, God opened that of Thessalonica, too.

Their Conversion

Conversion was the next step in the Thessalonians’ spiritual experience. They had turned to God from idols. The magnetic effect of the Gospel is implied in these words. The idols had lost their charm. Their sole attraction was God. This truth is mentioned in the Gospels, too. The Lord Jesus told the Jews, “No man can come unto Me, except the Father which hath sent Me, draw him.” (John 6:44). Similarly “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me” (John 12:32). He appealed to people to come unto Him (Matt 11:28). Some rejected this appeal (John 5:40), truly, we may sing,

“I’ve found a Friend: Oh! such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him:
He drew me with the chords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him.”

This attraction involved the forsaking of their idols. The Thessalonian’s outlook on life had changed completely. No longer did they indulge in the immorality associated with their religion. As Paul put it,”If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor 5:17). Converts must not compromise. They cannot have the best of both worlds. Bad habits and bad company must be abandoned. The Thessalonians rejected their various idols. They chose rather the living and true God as their Source of satisfaction. Indeed, “He saves, He keeps, He satisfies.”

Their Ministration

The Thessalonians’ conversion became evident from their ministration. They had been under the tyranny of Satan as Israel had been under that of Pharaoh. Now they served as slaves the living and true God. May the hymnist’s words be ours:

“Yes, ear and hands, and thought and will,
…

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