1 Thessalonians 1 | The Power of Imitation: Discipleship Insights from 1 Thessalonians 1

How did the Thessalonian church show faith during persecution?
Why does Paul emphasize imitation in 1 Thessalonians 1?
What does 1 Thessalonians say about the second coming of Christ?

The first chapter of 1 Thessalonians introduces us to a young church enduring persecution and hardship while remaining steadfast in their faith. Written by the Apostle Paul, this letter provides encouragement to the believers in Thessalonica who, despite the intense trials they face, continue to live out their faith with joy and perseverance. 

Paul commends the Thessalonians for becoming examples to other believers throughout Macedonia and Achaia. He praises their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ. Paul emphasizes the significance of their imitation of him, his ministry team, and ultimately the Lord, which he sees as a model for discipleship. 

Moreover, the theme of discipleship emerges strongly in this chapter. Paul illustrates the importance of having role models in the faith and the need for both following godly examples and being an example to others. This process of imitation, which starts with following the example of more mature believers, ultimately leads to a deeper and more personal imitation of Christ himself. Paul encourages believers to embrace discipleship and mentorship as central aspects of their faith journey.

In addition, Paul touches upon the anticipation of Christ's second coming, which serves as a source of hope and encouragement for the Thessalonian believers. Even as they face suffering and loss, their focus remains on the promised return of Jesus, who will deliver them from the wrath to come. This future hope strengthens their present endurance and commitment to the faith, knowing that their ultimate reward lies not in this world but in the coming Kingdom of God.

The chapter concludes by emphasizing the power of the gospel message, which did not come to the Thessalonians merely in words but in power, the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Their story of faith is spreading throughout the region, demonstrating the transformative power of God's work in their lives. As such, 1 Thessalonians 1 provides both a model of steadfast faith in the face of adversity and a call to discipleship and growth in the Christian journey.

#Thessalonians #mentorship #PaulineLetters #SecondComing #ChristianDiscipleship #SpiritualGrowth #JoyInSuffering #BiblicalEncouragement #NewTestamentStudy #GodsPlanYourPart

Transcript

 1 Thessalonians 1

1 Thessalonians 1

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome to God's plan, your part year two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire New Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's plan and your part in it. Today, we are looking at the first chapter of Philippians. First Thessalonians.

I'm excited to dive into this book because one of the central themes in the book is the second coming of Christ, the return of Jesus, which obviously gets a lot of, uh, question and concern and interest. So we'll be diving into that just to give you a little bit of background here on what's going on in Thessalonians.

Uh, this was written around a D. 49, 50, something like that. So this was written before a lot of the books that we have been recently reading. We just closed up Colossians that was written around 62. So we are going back in time a bit. Uh, if you want the full context of what Paul's ministry in Thessalonica, although Jenny says, I say Thessalonica, okay, please don't, um, please don't judge us based [00:01:00] on our pronunciations.

Um, you can see that in Acts chapter 17, it's worth. Read actually, uh, because you can see some of the background in the history. Paul goes into the synagogue to start preaching the gospel and a lot of Jews come to Christ, but also a lot of God fearing Greek Gentiles come to Christ. Uh, and then they are quickly and swiftly persecuted.

Because of their newfound faith. So it's interesting that one of the highlights in this book is the suffering of these believers, because the suffering of these believers apparently kicked off very quickly and is recorded in Acts 17. So there's a lot here in chapter one, and I'm excited to dive into it.

Yeah, so I think that it's very, very short, but there is a lot thrown into this very first chapter and you have to do a little bit of digging to understand what is going on. I like how you said, um, it's kind of a little bit of a flashback to Acts because a lot of things that were said in Acts 17 are prevalent in what we're reading in the first chapter.

So this [00:02:00] chronological order that we've like, appreciated in past years, we're kind of jumping around a little bit, but it is important to note that I would say just right off the bat, some words that are just like hitting me for what this church was like. It does feel like there's this bravery piece where the, the church is like withstanding, uh, I don't know, just like conflict on all sides.

And what is interesting about it is not only are they like, like just continuing to stand firm in what they believe. Um, they also find joy. in like this unity piece where, although the thing that they have in common, both Jewish believers and Gentile believers is that they are getting like hit on all sides, but it's unifying this body to continue to press on and continue to find joy in these times of serious hardship.

Because I instantly, like I opened this book, not really having an idea of which direction it was going, but it's like, Oh man. [00:03:00] Like Paul's praising them right out the gate saying you are pressing on, you are like continuing to be like, I hate the word, but it's all I can think of at the moment, like being brave in the faith.

Like you have faith to continue pushing forward regardless of the circumstances you're finding joy in these things, regardless of who's coming at you, whether it's non believing Gentiles or like harsh, harsh, um, punishing in a way. Um, Jewish. I guess, brothers, you could say, or used to be brothers. So it is really crazy how this church is just like coming together and they're unifying in Christ, regardless of their background.

So I think that's just, it's really interesting. It is widely understood that Paul is writing to encourage this group of believers, uh, because they had recently, um, encountered or dealt with, uh, some unexpected deaths in their, uh, Uh, we [00:04:00] don't really know exactly what caused those deaths. It's fair to believe that it may have been persecution.

It's also fair to believe that it may have just been, you know, sickness or injury or something like that. Um, but they clearly are, um, somewhat downtrodden. I don't know why we're using so many weird words today. Um, but well, it's a real thing though, because if you look at act 17, it kind of goes back to, um, this time where we refer back to Jason.

If you remember reading with us when we were in act 17, where, uh, Jason, I guess they're like, I don't know if they're necessarily like, Keeping people with them. I don't know what the whole deal was with him, but essentially like they were turning from what the Jewish faith was. They were turning the world upside down.

That's what acts 17 says. I think there were like people that were in and out, whatever, but they like basically like took him out in the streets and were like, these people are terrible. Like they're messing everything up. Um, so we have that on [00:05:00] the Jewish front. Uh, people actually like being like berated in the street and being called out among everyone.

And then you also have the Gentile believers who are very much, if you look at verse number, let's see, verse nine, um, this is kind of referring to something that's going on with Um, the Gentiles, I believe, uh, the end of verse nine, it says, and how you turn from God or excuse me, turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

That would have been really, really out of place for the Gentile believers. So they're being kind of like, Excommunicated within their homes, because I was reading in a commentary, like, it'd be pretty common for wives to, like, discover who Christ is and start turning away from these evil things, these idolatrous things, and that caused a lot of, like, ruffled feathers within the home, so there's a lot of shifting going on, on all fronts, and I think it's throwing everybody off, For the good, but at the same time at [00:06:00] the cost of these new believers.

But Paul again is saying in verse six, you became imitators of the Lord for you receive the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy spirit. So regardless of what's going on, they still are holding onto this joy. So over the next couple of chapters, we will see Paul unpack, um, Some pretty sharp theology, but also just some strong encouragement for these believers again, always encourage them to walk in Christ.

So as we dig through specifically chapter one, I talked yesterday about how encouraged I was by Paul talking about prayer with thankfulness. I love here again, how Paul's opening his letter to these, um, You know, discouraged Thessalonians, uh, talking about how often he prays for you. Verse two, we give thanks to God always for all of you constantly.

That's, that's pretty bold. Mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and father, your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope [00:07:00] in our Lord Jesus Christ. I think that would have actually struck them as very encouraging. Uh, Paul tends to open, Not all of them, but most of those letters open with some pretty firm reminders about his prayers for these churches.

And I think it's safe to assume that he took that task very seriously, uh, and sets an example for us to follow. We also should take that task seriously and pray for fellow believers, pray for churches, pray for ministries, uh, and pray for them always. I also like verse four and five because he's talking to them and reminding them about how they came to know Christ and it is one because verse four we know Brothers loved by God that he has chosen you Okay So first and foremost he's chosen you and then verse five because our gospel came to you not only in words So they're hearing the Word of God, which is very powerful But also in power and in the Holy Spirit Spirit and with full conviction.

So it's like it's saying God has ordained this in such a way that [00:08:00] not only have you heard the words from us, like God brought us to you to encourage you and to empower you with his word, but the Holy Spirit has convicted you in a spiritual and like completely unnatural way of what we would understand.

So he's reminding them of this is no little thing. This is not like circumstantial. This didn't just out of the blue happen. This was ordained by God. Like you are in a place where. This is not just some little tiny thing. This is a serious, eternal thing. And then he moves into also, um, how they have become imitators of even who the missionaries were in order to reflect even more so who Jesus is.

I do love this piece. And this is something that Paul likes to call out this idea of imitation. Uh, sometimes people will point to it and like, kind of be frustrated at how Paul seems like a little bit arrogant or a little bit overconfident in himself. Self. I actually think it's a great example of what discipleship is.

So if you, if you consider what's happening in this church, people are [00:09:00] leaving lives that they have lived for a long time, like cultures and belief systems to embrace a life of following Christ, which is radically different. Uh, and, and, you know, especially in the first century, it was radically different.

And they would not know, uh, what a life of honoring Christ looks like without having a model to follow. So I love here how Paul talks about the, essentially, it seems like the first step they took is to imitate him and his partners, uh, but ultimately as they imitated him and his partners, they ended up imitating the Lord.

And I think it's a great example of just. Person to person discipleship. Like it's a great encouragement for all of us to start essentially mentoring somebody, uh, working with somebody, showing them what it looks like to follow Jesus as we follow Jesus. Like we have this incredible blessing. If we've been following Jesus for a long time.

To know what it looks [00:10:00] like to live a life that consistently, uh, incorporate spiritual disciplines like, like, Hey, I know how to pray. I've been doing it for a long time. I know a lot about, uh, Bible study. I've been doing it for a long time. So you can imitate that. Um, well. I guess you can represent that to somebody else who can imitate that as all of us strive to imitate Christ.

I like to think of different things that hold people back, like addictions or things that, um, keep you from living, like even just like a healthy life. Um, so if you think of, I don't know, weight loss, or if you think of being addicted to any type of substance, there's always a point if you are ready to make a change where you stop and you say, I need help.

And from that point, you oftentimes seek out the help of someone else. And if you truly are committed to the choice you've made, you, you obviously have those people around you. You seek those people around you to push you and help you move into the right direction, give you resources. Um, and eventually you don't need those people around anymore.

You [00:11:00] imitate what they say, you imitate what they, they offer for you, but you don't stay there because you won't get there. You won't continue to grow. So it's like a really good comparison for that. Even, um, if I want to, if I want to lose weight, I'm obviously going to like, try to do my research and figure out what it is, but eventually it should turn into a lifestyle that I don't even need to think twice about because I have studied and I have like lived a life day in, day out of like, Practicing these things.

And it's very similar to what is going on here. I think even as parents, we know the same thing with our children. Um, you know, our son just learned how this is like a silly thing, but our son just learned how to ride a bike within two days. He's so excited about it. But initially it was like. Don't you leave?

Like stay right here. I'm not going anywhere. Like, don't you dare take those training wheels off? Like you're right here with me. Um, and as he began to understand how to ride his bike, it was like, okay, you can leave me alone now. I got this just back off and he can do it now. And he's so proud and he's so excited and it's becoming this natural thing where no longer does he need to be stuck in those [00:12:00] like initial ways.

Um, because he has learned on his own. He has imitated, but now he's learned on his own. Like balance is a thing now. Like it's just so cool. And that's the same as what our faith is like. If you think of anyone that you've known or even yourself, you look very different from the day that you decided I want to follow Jesus.

To where you are now, you know, so much, you just, you can't unlearn that. I will add to your bike riding analogy. Oh, first of all, we have five kids and I just, I just, well, the fifth one's on the way, but I, I just taught my first son, uh, my, my first kid how to ride a bike and part of the mindset in my mind was like, Oh my goodness.

I have to do this a lot of times, uh, but on the imitation front, what's really, really interesting is that as I was teaching, uh, our oldest son to ride his bike, it got the attention of our second son. And our second son now has an increased desire to ride his bike. And our first son is very eager, I think with, with a little bit of [00:13:00] correction to encourage his brother.

First, he wanted to brag to his brother. Uh, encourage his brother and help his brother learn how to do it. So that, that is how imitation works. Um, I like to call it discipleship. I like to call it mentorship. It is radically important. I can think back over my own life and I could name a handful of very influential men in my life.

That set a great example for me to follow. And, you know, for whatever reason, there's lots of different reasons. They stepped out of my life and somebody else stepped into my life and I continued to grow and develop and follow. And I have tried very often to also pick up someone, um, to, to follow me. So I think every Christian striving to do really good lived out discipleship.

It should be finding somebody more mature, more wise to follow and also invite somebody less mature and less wise to imitate. And I think it's really powerful. I know you, you come from a lot of experience with like [00:14:00] men's ministry. I think it goes both ways for both men and women. We need those people alongside of us that are.

Pouring into us, but that we can also begin pouring into others. And I don't know, I think back to my own experience as well. Just like a couple of individuals that have really poured into me. And now it's like, man, they were so smart. Like I get it now. I understand where they were coming from. I I'm so appreciative of that.

And I can't wait. To do that for someone else, what a gift it is to know, you know, not everybody announces it up front, but to know that somebody intentionally gave you time to help you make and live out better decisions. And we see them, not even just decisions, like God honoring biblically founded, like decision making.

So that's interesting conversation about discipleship mentorship. I think those two things go hand in hand. Um, and it all comes just so you guys know, it all comes from verse like. Four, five, and six probably. Um, so same rules apply. Always go and read the chapter for yourself or stick around to listen to us.

Read it. [00:15:00] Uh, your part for today is probably find someone to imitate and invite someone to imitate you. Um, it is very helpful, uh, because you can read the Bible. All day long. And we believe you should, uh, we believe you should read the whole Bible. That's why we do this podcast, but it is very difficult to live this out.

If all you do is read all day, um, you need to figure out how to put these things into action and it's really helpful to have an example to follow. So we invite you to do that. Uh, I've been plugging a lot. Lately, I'm not sure why, but I do work at a men's ministry, uh, that specializes in mentorship. So if you are a, uh, man or young man, whatever, I don't know, uh, if you would like to have a mentor, uh, please reach out because we specialize in that and we can definitely help you find a mentor and we can definitely help you get the help that you're looking for.

That was, we can link that in the description. We will link that in the description. So, uh, we'll be back again tomorrow with first Thessalonians two. We'll see you then. Hey, before we get into the reading, we want to [00:16:00] tell you quickly about Logos Bible software. It's very helpful to us as we prep for the podcast and we can offer it to you at a discounted rate.

There's two links in our description. One, we'll get you the Logos, uh, fundamentals pack for free. 50 bucks was a great price. The other one will get you a percentage off any package that you want. We use it often. We think it will be useful to you. And if you use that link, you'll be helping out the podcast.

So go check that out with that in mind. Here's today's reading. First Thessalonians chapter one, Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God, the father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you constantly. Mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers, loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you, not only in word, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with full [00:17:00] conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake, and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and the and Acacia.

For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you 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, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part. Don't forget, you can find us on just about every social media platform. And YouTube, let us know what you thought of today's episode. And if you have any questions, go ahead and post them there. You can also reach out to us directly at God's plan, your part at gmail.[00:18:00]

com. As always, if you don't have a Bible, or if you'd like to use the one that we use, uh, reach out to us via email and we'll be happy to send one to you. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you again tomorrow.