1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
Their Conversion
13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
Longing to See Them
17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. 18 Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
The faithful response to the gospel is not flattering the messenger but imitating Christ in that man. This was the response of the Thessalonians who had heard Paul and been recon to God in Christ Jesus through repentance and faith. They heard God’s word and received it by that same acceptance which made them accepted in the Beloved. They did not consider the word to be that of the apostle or any mere mortal man, but as the very word of God given (2 Corinthians 4:6) and spoken through the messenger who bore witness to it as coming from the mind and mouth of the Lord Himself. That word was spoken by Jesus to the apostles and passed on to us by them, a feat not to see a repeat as some would have us imagine today in some circles. This word which comes from God is to be welcomed wholeheartedly as it works effectively in us to make us conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29, 12:2) as it corrects us and sets us on the right course (2 Timothy 3:16-17) when we stray in sinful disobedience and seek forgiveness (1 John 1:9). We then are likewise to imitate those who imitate Christ in the church and not those in the world as we suffer for not aligning with the culture and philosophy of men as we are expected to do. Just as the Jews persecuted the first believers in Christ as they had done to the prophets and apostles before them, so we will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12) when we follow and imitate our Lord as these had suffered for His name’s sake. Those who persecute the children of God will answer in the end (Luke 18:7-8, Revelation 6:10, 11:18) as the fullness of God’s wrath on those opposing the gospel and His Son will earn to match their sins. Yes, we who know these things should be pleading with the all to heed this gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17) before it is too late. This means we build up our fellow believers in the word of God to be equipped for this task no matter the obstacles to reach them in the face of the adversary’s attempts to hinder us. Others in Christ should also be our “hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing” as they were to these apostles and their co-laborers in the gospel as they looked forward to the Lord’s return and their joy made full in Him now and then. Are others we minister the word of Christ to seen as our glory and joy? They should be, just as we are to those who brought us to Christ and discipled us! May we not flatter those who served us with the word of God in the gospel, but imitate them as they (1 Corinthians 11:1) imitate Jesus Christ our Lord.
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