Table of Contents
Introduction:
The text I wish to preach for this evening is taken
from 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Before we get into the sermon proper, we need to
understand how the church in Thessalonica was founded. Paul responded to the
Macedonian call at his second missionary journey. The first Church he
established in responding to the Macedonian call was the Church of Philippi.
Thessalonica was his second station after obeying the Macedonian call. The
pioneering process of the Church of Thessalonica Church was very rocky. Paul
and Silas arrived in the city and as usual they went to the Jewish synagogue
and preached to the Jews. They did so for three consecutive Sabbaths (Acts
17:2). Paul argues with them from the scriptures to prove that Christ had to suffer
and rise from the dead. They managed to convert some Jews and some Greeks (Acts
17:4).
However, some of the Jewish leaders were annoyed and
they started a riot and stormed the house of Jason, where Paul and Silas lived
(Acts 17:8). But Paul and Silas were not there, so the Christian brothers sent
Paul and Silas out of the city overnight and took refuge in neighboring Berea
under the covering of night (Acts 17:10).
As you can imagine, Paul was very concerned about
this new church and its believers: there were no pastor and no Bible, except
the Old Testament used by the Jews. Would their faith hold on? Or would they
give up and go back to their former lives? Paul sent Timothy to learn about the
church that had been established in just three weeks:
“For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I
sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter
had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.” (1 Thess. 3:5)
So, what did they turn out? What did Timothy report?
Was it a good report or a bad one? Let's find out:
"And so you became a
model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia." (I Thessalonians
1:7).
It was a good and inspiring report! The church was a
model church. This is the only verse in the whole New Testament where a
congregation is viewed as a model of other churches.
The Greek is tupos [G:5179]. It means “a stamp or
scar.”[1] The
church of Thessalonica brought about a significant impact on the region of
Macedonia and Achaia that demonstrated God’s favour on this church.
What makes the Thessalonian church unique and
exemplary church? The deciding factor in making them to be a model church was
their reception of God’s Word: Let’s read the Word:
“And we also thank God continually because, when you
received the
word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it
actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at
work in you who
believe.” (1 Thess. 2:13)
1 Thessalonians 2:13 contains three verbs, i.e. “received,
accepted and at work” which are the clues to tell us the Word of God brough
about tremendous impact on this Christian community. These three verbs review
to us three steps necessary for the Word of God to bring transforming effect
on any Christian community or any Christian church.
Big Idea/Proposition/Thesis:
God Word is powerful, and it
can transform lives; three steps are essential for the reception of God’s Word
to bring about transformatin in a local church to become a model church.
The three steps are:
Step #1: Appreciating God’s Word
Step #2: Appropriating
God's Word
Step #3: Applying God's Transforming
Word
Step #1: Appreciating God’s Word
Let’s relook at 1 Thessalonians 2:13,
“For this
cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when you received (G=3880 paralambano)
the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received (G=1209, dechomai) it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth,
the word of God, which effectually worketh [G=1754 energeo] also
in you that believe.” (1 Thess. 2:13 KJV)
When comparing KJV with NIV, there is an obvious
translation problem. KJV translates both different verbs as “received” (in red letters), whereas NIV
translates one as “received” and the other one as “accepted” (in blue letters). English has
limitation to translate the original words.
Implication: We must study the original language to
know what Paul meant when he wrote 1 Thess. 2:13.
Let’s look at Bible Lexicons, Thayer defines “paralambano”
as: “To receive with the mind”.[2]
Bible Lexicons, Thayer defines “paralambano” as “to
receive with the mind” provides some clue to define this word correctly.
Let’s look at one Bible commentary written by Warren W. Wiersbe titled: “Be Ready – NT 1 and 2
Thessalonians”. He defines “paralambano” as “hearing of an ear”. [3]
At this stage, the Thessalonians received God's Word only intellectually, i.e., only on a subjective level, which can be described as mental assent. At this stage of receiving the Word, the Thessalonians were looking into the content of the message, but they received it with positive attitude as the prince of preacher Spurgeon comments on the word “received” with insight:
“They first received it by eagerly hearing it. They
wanted to know what it was all about: they were attentive to it and wanted to
understand it. When they had heard it they rejoiced, and said, "Oh, yes,
yes, yes, this is the very thing we want!"[4]
The study of the Greek word “paralambano” by various
writers conclude that a better English word to replace “received” is
“appreciated”. The Thessalonians appreciated the Word of God at the subjective
or mental level, of agreeing that the Word of God preached by Paul was not the
word of man and was the Word of God. They adopted positive attitude towards the
preaching of God’s Word. Model reception of God’s Word begins with how an
individual's life appreciates the Word of God.
Warren W. Wiersby in his book “Be Ready”, he says
the Word of God and the Lord Jesus is the same. How a person treat the Bible
will reveal how he treats the Lord. Thus, when a person appreciates the God’s
Word, he will likewise appreciate the Lord as both are synonymous.
In the Old Testament, Job, a saint in the Old Testament, used the Bible as a source of spiritual food, he appreciated the Word of God more than his daily bread:
"I have not departed from the commands of his
lips, and I have treasured the Words of his mouth more than my daily
bread." (Job 23:12)
In Psalm 119, the psalmist
sees God's Word is more precious than riches, silver, gold and spoils. So, the
writer of Psalm 119 appreciated the Word of God.
One of the President of America who really
appreciated the bible was Abraham Lincoln. This was what he said about the Word
of God:
“In regard to this Great book, I have but to say, it
is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the
world was communicated through this book. But for it we could know right from
wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to
be portrayed in it. [5]
Step #2: Appropriating God's Word
“And we also thank God continually because, when you
received [G=3880] the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted [G=1209
dechomai] it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of
God, which is indeed at work [G=1754] in you
who believe.” (1 Thess. 2:13 NIV)
We have solved the first Greek word “paralambano”
and we have just completed the study on point number 1 as “appreciating God’s
Word”. The second point is “Appropriating God’s Word”. Why do I use the special
word on point number two? Let’s do some study.
Thayer in Bible Lexicons defines “dechomai" (G1209) as:
“To receive favourably, give ear to, embrace, make
one's own, approve, not to reject.” [6]
W. E. Vine explains on the
difference between “received” and “accepted”:
“The former refers to the ear, the latter,
adding the idea of appropriation to the heart.” [7]
Let’s look at how Warren W. Wiersbe defines “accepted”?
Wiersbe defines it as “the hearing of the heart.”[8]
Through the various studies based on original languages and their definitions by renown scholars, the translation of “accepted” would not be able to reflect the meaning of “dechomai” effectively. I would concur with Vine that he defines the verb “accepted” in NIV as “appropriated”. Cambridge Dictionary defines appropriate as: “To take something for your own use, usually without permission.”
The first point, "receiving God's word with
appreciation," occurs at the level of subjective thought. At the second
point, "receiving the word of God into the heart" occurred in the
inner man. The one million dollars question
I wish to ask the congregation is how to migrate the Word of God from your
subjective understanding of God’s Word to appropriate it as part of your inner
man?
I believe this is the crux of the problem why many churches cannot become a model church in reception of God’s Word. It seems there is a missing link that the Word of God has told us the importance of renewing the mind, and the importance of strengthening the inner man by feeding it with the Word of God. How to go about migrating God’s Word from your mind to your heart is a million question!
Who should we turn to resolve the million-dollar
question? Since Timothy was Paul’s associate to pioneer the Church of
Thessalonica, Timothy most likely has the answer. Let’s look at 1 Timothy
4:13-15 for clue:
“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given
thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate [G3191, meletao]
upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may
appear to all.”
In these three verses, Paul instructed Timothy to
give attendance to reading, to exhortation and to doctrine. In essence, he was
instructed by Paul to spend time reading the bible in today’s terminology.
Other than reading the word, he was asked to meditate the Word of God, with
Greek word “meletao” than only appeared twice in KJV Bible. By meditating on the Word of God, people will
witness the profit (KJV) or the progress (NIV) of Timothy. It implies,
meditation of God’s word will bring visible transformation in the life of
Timothy. However, there isn’t much information in the New Testament to disclose
more information on meditation.
An idea came to me, why not we look at the
Septuagint Greek Old Testament commonly known as the LXX version of Old
Testament. Let’s find out what is the equivalent Hebrew word for “Meletao”
(G-3191). To my surprise, the Hebrew counterpart is “hagar (H-1897)”!
We have discovered the missing link! “Hagar” is the
Hebrew work found in Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2. Now we have solved the mystery.
We have found the clue of how to transfer the Word of God from the mind to the
heart or inner man of a person. We have found the answer how the Church of
Thessalonica became the model reception of God’s Word to become a model church
impacting the mission work of Macedonia and Achaia. The secret is MEDITATION!
Let’s look at the call to meditate in Old Testament:
The study on the missing link has given us the
answer to appropriate the Word of God into the inner man is meditation. For New
Testament and Old Testament, the key to successful living is meditation of
God’s Word. Both testaments are the same, Paul instructed Timothy to meditate
God’s Word, so people could witness the profiting or progress in his life, it
means the success of his life. Joshua 1:8 says the similar notion, successful
living is linked to meditation of God’s Word. Psalm chapter 1 says the same thing,
that meditating of God’s Word will connect you with the source of life, “he is
like a tree planted by the streams of water that yields its fruit in its
season, and its leaf does not wither” (Psalm 1:3).
Why don't many Christians grow? Why are Christians
unable to apply the promises of the Bible? Why Christians dare not cast out
demons and heal the sick? Because God's Word stays at the subjective level of
their mind, and they are only having mental assent to the Word.
To conclude the second point of the sermon of a
model reception of God’s Word, you must hear God’s Word in your heart, and
embraced and appropriate it with your heart, and that is called the renewal of
the mind.
Step #3: Applying God’s Transforming Word
“And we also thank God continually because, when you
received [G=3880] the word of God, which you heard from us, you
accepted[G=1209] it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of
God, which is indeed at work [G=1754 energeo] in you who believe.” (1 Thess.
2:13 NIV)
The
final step of receiving God's Word positively, and to become a model reception
of God’s Word, you must allow the Word of God to energize you, and let God’s
Word at work in your lives. Unfortunately, many Christians do not let God’s
Word at work in their lives, and God’s Word is “unemployed”.
God’s Word at work in you is a special Greek word, it reads as “energeo”. This is a special word. Thayer in Bible Lexicons calls it "to be operative, be at work, put forth power.”[9] English words which link to this Greek word are energy, energizing, and even battery energizer, just to name few.
This special word is used to describe the enabling work of the Holy Spirit on believers such as the distribution of spiritual gifts on believers, and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in the saints for sanctified living. Let’s look at few examples how this word “at work” or in Greek “energeo” is used in few examples in the Bible: Here are a few examples.
"For it is God who works (energeo) in you in you to will and to act to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13).
"There are different kinds of gifts…but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work (energeo).” (1 Corinthians 12:4).
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work (energeo) within us.” (Ephesians 3:20).
We have seen how “energeo” is used in the Bible. The special Greek word is associated to the working of the Holy Spirit to distribute spiritual gifts to believers. In the process of sanctification, the Holy Spirit will work in believers’ lives to bring transformation as Romans 12:2 says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Transformation in Greek is “metamorphoo,” and English word “metamorphosis” is derived from this Greek word.
Let us have a look how the Holy Spirit is at work
(energeo) in the lives of the Thessalonians. I will include two examples in
this study:
Example #1: They converted to Christianity during great persecution.
“Because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction…You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit…you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” (1 Thess. 1:5,6,9)
Example #2: They were taught to love one another as a model of loving others with agape love.
“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more.” (1 Thess. 4:9-10)
Conclusion
It is no accident that the church of
Thessalonica was a model reception of God’s Word. There is a Chinese saying
that two hands are required to clap. Paul faithfully preached the Word of God.
The Thessalonians appreciated, appropriated and allowing transforming Word of
God at work in their midst. The result was God through the Holy Spirit brought
about transformation, and the church became a model church.
[1] James Strong, The
New Strong Complete Dictionary of Bible Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publication, 1996), 715.
[2] https://www.studylight.org/lexicons/eng/greek/3880.html, accessed
12.12.2024 5.47pm.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be
Ready (Cororado Spring: David C Cook, 1979), 58.
[4] https://www.preceptaustin.org/1thessalonians_213, accessed
12.12.2024 5.51pm.
[5] Roy P. Basler, Editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume
VII, P. 542
[6] https://www.studylight.org/lexicons/eng/greek/1209.html, accessed
12.12.2024 5.56pm.
[7] W.E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary - Volume 3:Lo-Ser 255 (New Jessey: Fleming H. Ravell Company, 1981),
255.
[8] Warren W. Wiersbe, 58.
[9] https://www.studylight.org/lexicons/eng/greek/1754.html, accessed
on 14.12.2024, 12.51am
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