What was Paul’s primary ministry method that he used on his missionary journeys?

The Introduction to 1 Thessalonians Introduces Me to the Grace and Peace of God

1 Thessalonians 1:1

(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes are throughout sermon.)


Please turn to 1 Thessalonians 1:1. Over the following weeks, as God wills, we will be studying and learning from Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians. As you are turning there, I want to share with you that it is generally agreed that Paul wrote this epistle of Thessalonians sometime around 50 to 52 AD. 1 Thessalonians is probably the earliest epistle written by Paul that is part of our canon. Our focus this morning, will be on the introduction. The introduction is short, but it is ripe with information that introduces us to some very important things. I have found, over the years, that there is a lot of meat in the introductory comments of Biblical epistles. The meat is not usually some instant explanation where a Bible writer launches directly into some deep complex teaching after saying hello. The meat is there though for our edification. This morning, we are going to endeavor to listen to God's Spirit speak to us from Paul's introduction. Along with this, I am also wanting us to get a general understanding of the historical context of the Thessalonian church. We are going to become familiar with those brothers and sisters and some of the issues surrounding their lives. So, Paul makes an introduction in 1 Thessalonians. Please read it with me now,

"1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace." 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Please prepare your hearts to learn from God's word with me, in this introductory sermon in 1 Thessalonians, titled,

The Introduction to 1 Thessalonians Introduces Me to the Grace and Peace of God
[prayer]

Paul's letter, to the Thessalonian body of Christ, begins in a customary way. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are introduced as the people that the epistle is from. Paul is the specific author. He has the apostolic calling and authority. He also places his name first, which is typically a custom of signifying importance. Unlike other epistles where Paul names himself as an apostle, he did not see a need to do so with this early letter, nor of the second one he sent to Thessalonica. It is quite probable that Silvanus, who is mentioned next, and Timothy, had some input into this letter as can be seen from Paul's usage of the plural pronouns throughout the epistle. Certainly Silvanus and Timothy are considered as a team with Paul throughout each point in the letter. Practically every verse of the five chapters refers to we or us. I encourage you, that later on when you get a chance to do so, take the time to look through the chapters and notice the constant usage of we and us and our. It is really quite an interesting attribute of this letter, especially considering the introduction from the three men. But, we also need to realize that Paul makes it obvious in 2:18, 3:5, 5:27 that he is the specific author. He is God's primary apostle with the message.

As we look at this introduction, and we see these three men, we need to become more aquatinted with them. Paul is our main guy. His name used to be Saul. Saul was a devout religious Jew before being saved. Saul was also lost. In fact Saul was a Christian killer who thought he was killing people who were opposed to Yahweh--God. In reality, Saul was opposed to God. Saul was zealous, but deceived. Saul was religious, but lost. A lot of people today are religious but lost. They do not know the grace and peace of the gospel of Christ to be their life. They reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, but they claim to be followers, or believers in God. A lot of people believe in a false Christ. God calls such people false brothers and false sisters in such passages as 2 Corinthians 11:26, and 1 John 2:19. In other words, they might say that they believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, but they have believed a false message that merely uses the name of Jesus. Mormons do this. Jehovah Witness Watchtower cultists do this too. The false circumcision, that Paul speaks of in his epistles, are people who do not believe in Jesus Christ alone as completely sufficient in His final and finished work on the cross for salvation. They want to try and blend in the arm of the flesh, and personal works, to make themselves good enough to God to be saved, or remain saved. In doing so, they show that they despise the outstretched arms of grace, peace, and rest, of the Messiah who died on the cross and reigns as resurrected King of kings and Lord of lords forever. They show that they reject the completed work of God, Who alone saves us from all of our sins by His grace, where He brings us into the peace and rest of His Son Jesus Christ. Like Saul, all such people are religious but lost.

One day, while Saul was on his way to round up God's precious people to be imprisoned and executed, Christ miraculously blinded Saul in a cosmic rescue. Jesus introduced Saul to grace and peace through the grace of doing violence to Paul's previously spiritually blinded eyes. God cosmically rescued Saul by physically blinding Him to the ground. Then the Lord commanded Saul to stand up. The risen Lord was confronting Saul. Jesus dictated to Saul what Saul was going to do for the Lord with the rest of his saved life. In the cosmic rescue of physically blinding Saul, and commanding Saul into full time service, God opened Saul's eyes spiritually to the good news. In a miracle action, Saul was crucified with Christ on the road to Damascus, and in a miracle action, Saul was reborn--Saul was regenerated into a new man in Christ. This happens to all of us when we are saved. God must do a miracle work in us in a cosmic rescue, or else we remain dead in our trespasses and sins, where our nature is in bondage to sin, and we exist in the confines of being in slavery to sin. Thank God that He rescues us in our individual circumstances in the way that He chooses, which are ways that are not always very comfortable to our flesh. Thank God that He chose to blind Saul. Saul's name, by the way, was a Jewish word that had authority and definitions of grandeur behind it. Later, after becoming part of the body of Christ, Saul began being called Paul. Paul is a name that literally means small. Paul considered himself to be the least of the apostles, but Paul's humble smallness was pure power in the hands of God. It is the principle that applies to you, me and all Christians. When you are small, the power of Christ in you is huge in its manifestation. When you are humbled, the grace and peace of the gospel is magnified out of you. As it is, though Paul referred to himself as being small, and even a nobody in 2 Corinthians 12:11, Paul can be said to be the greatest of the apostles under Christ. God commissioned Paul, and gave Paul the message of the body of Christ through the crucified and resurrected King of glory. Paul became the apostle to the gentiles and fulfilled his calling in a mighty way in establishing the church. For this task, Paul became a traveling missionary. His strategy was to go to major cities to preach. On his missionary journeys he would have a small apostolic crew of men with him. Silvanus and Timothy were two such men. Paul writes here,

"1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians" 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Before there was a church in Thessalonica, Luke records for us in Acts that Paul and Silvanus were ministering in Philippi, which was a city that was about 100 miles North East of Thessalonica. This time period is when Paul first took the gospel over to Europe on Paul's second missionary journey. Barnabas and John Mark were two more godly men that used to travel with Paul in Paul's apostolic team. Paul and Barnabas were originally going to make this trip over to Europe to take the gospel there, but they got into an argument about taking John Mark along with them. It was at this time, that Barnabas split up from Paul, and Barnabas took John Mark with him to Cyprus. Cyprus is an Island in the Mediterranean that is across from Syria, and closer to Northern Judea. In God's providence, Paul decided to bring Silvanus with him over into what is now called Europe. Paul had already been ministering to Gentiles on the other side of the Mediterranean up through Antioch, North above Israel as we see in Acts 13, where Paul's first recorded sermon was in Pisidian Antioch. Across the water, in Europe, Paul and Silvanus ended up in Philippi where God first saved His people out of Europe. God's harvest is not without hardship. In Philippi, Paul and Silvanus were persecuted, jailed, and beaten severely. Though they met a lot of opposition, many people came to Christ. It started with Lydia, and then others, like the jailer who watched over Paul and Silvanus (Silas) when they were imprisoned. This was when the Philippian church was birthed and established. But because of the increasing pressure, Paul and Silvanus left Philippi.

This is when they went to Thessalonica.

Something that is important for us to recognize when reading about Paul's second missionary journey in Acts, where we find the birth of the Thessalonican church, is that the man Silvanus is referred to by Luke, who wrote Acts, by the name of Silas. Silas and Silvanus are the same guy. All through Acts, you will find Silvanus called Silas. Paul, on the other hand, always uses the Gentile spelling, Silvanus, in his epistles. Silvanus was a transliteration of a Jewish name; and so this tells us something about Silvanus. Silvanus was probably an Israelite by birth. What this means is that he received His promised Messiah that he had learned about from childhood from the ancient scriptures, and He received His Messiah as the sacrifice for his sins by grace through faith, and now he serves Messiah as his King promised to sit on the throne of David forever. The Scriptures indicate that Silvanus was a gifted prophet. He was highly esteemed among the Jerusalem Christians, Acts 15:22, 32. As a worker in the founding of the Thessalonian church, Silvanus endured cruel beatings, and imprisonment. In respect to what Silvanus went through, he is always depicted as being faithful and bold about the gospel--even though he experienced physical hurt in his persecution, and his life was at risk, Acts 15:25-27. Like Paul, Silvanus was relentless in his witness of the good news of Christ. Paul and Silvanus introduce us to the powerful work of God's grace in saving men out of the bondage of sin, and placing them in the peace of Christ. The same goes for Timothy.

"1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians" 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Timothy is mentioned in every one of Paul's epistles except for Galatians and Ephesians. Timothy's natural father was a Roman, and his mother and grandmother were Israelites. Timothy was taught the Old Testament scriptures by his mother and grandmother as he was growing up. Paul referred to Timothy as his "true child in the faith." Consequently, Paul was Timothy's spiritual father in the realm, the doctrines, and precepts of Christianity. Timothy served as Paul's special helper during Paul's missions. Eventually Timothy became the Pastor over the church of Ephesus, and an ordainer of overseers. Timothy had been with Paul later in the planting and development of the Thessalonian congregation, Acts 17:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:2. But Luke's record in Acts, seems to indicate that Timothy did not accompany Paul and Silvanus on the missionary outreach to Thessalonica at the beginning. It seems that Timothy met Paul and Silvanus there later.

After leaving Philippi, Paul and Silvanus went to the Thessalonians, and when they arrived in Thessalonica, the gospel of Christ was unknown to the Thessalonians. After Paul and Silvanus entered the city, Paul proceeded with his usual practice of going to the local Jewish synagogue to begin his outreach, as we read in Acts 17. What we see there, identifies Paul's typical pattern of missionary outreach;

"1 ... they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.' 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women." Acts 17:1-4

@1 Paul showed from Prophecy that Jesus had to suffer and rise again from the ______________ just Like God said He would do.

Paul's typical practice was to begin ministering and preaching the gospel of the grace and peace of God in Christ Jesus in the local synagogues of the Gentile towns that had a Jewish synagogue in their midst. Paul did this in Thessalonica for three weeks, on the Sabbath days. What Paul first began doing was reasoning with Jews and God fearing gentiles who would attend synagogue. But it is important for us to recognize what Paul reasoned about. Paul did not go there like he did at the Areopagus where the Greek philosophers came to philosophize about anything new. What Paul was doing was reasoning from something old-- the Old Testament Scriptures--particularly the amazing prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus, how the prophecies explain in detail the rejection of the Messiah, His suffering, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. Paul went from the Old Testament and directed people to the New Covenant in Christ's blood. The Scriptures explain that Paul also ministered to pagan idol worshippers. Evidently God saved many people from among Jews, God fearing gentiles, and pagans in Thessalonica. People who came from all of these groups made up the body of Christ, which is the church.

As we look at Paul's main message, I think it is necessary that we see the importance of the method that Paul used to introduce people to the grace and peace of Christ. If you have ever had a problem sharing the gospel, Paul's method is something that you would do well to follow. When you look at Paul's sermon in Thessalonica found in Acts 17:3, you see that Paul preached a three point message that He exegeted from the Old Testament. Paul showed, from the Scriptures, that the Messiah had to suffer. He Showed that the Messiah had to die and then rise from the dead. He showed that Jesus is the actual Messiah that God promised to Israel. Paul's full message, that he preached, also included, that to be saved, God's good news must be embraced in faith. In all of this, the necessity for Christ and salvation was preached by Paul because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This is the basic gospel message. This is easy to do. Just tell people who Jesus is, from the Bible; tell them what they need to do; tell them why they need to do it, and then trust God to do His part by the power of His Holy Spirit. This pattern of ministry of Paul was his typical practice. It's wonderfully simple; and it's a precise method for sharing the gospel of grace, rest, and peace, in Christ. You and I do well to take note of this Scriptural pattern. All Christian ministers should prayerfully consider this biblical method. We would do well to emulate it whenever we are compelled to share the gospel of God in Christ Jesus. Notice that when Paul went to the Corinthians, he did the same thing. He said,

"And when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ...  4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 

@2 Our faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the _______________ of God.

[Paul continues]

1 ... the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 & 15:1-4

@3 Christ died for our __________, was buried, and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

This message seems so simple, and yet in all of its simplicity, it is the deepest and most powerful message around. Every missionary going into the field to share the good news should memorize this method and put it into practice. This is the foundation of the good news. This message is the very foundation of our faith. It is the foundation of the early church, and Paul preached it consistently everywhere he went. This message has the true power of the Holy Spirit behind it that so many people are looking for in ministry messages, because this message is based upon the true power of God's word. This message is what the Holy Spirit is ministering. Paul says to these same Thessalonians later in this epistle,

"4 knowing, brothers beloved by God, His election of you; 5 for our good news did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake." 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

Either the good news message moves the elect by God's Spirit to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in faith, or it compels people to continue to reject God; and typically, when people would reject it, they would do so in such a way that they would violently oppose Paul, and ridicule the gospel. In Paul's first recorded sermon in Pisidian Antioch, we find Paul laying out all these same things in sequential order. It demonstrates to us that Paul started out, from the beginning, doing ministry this way. Pisidian Antioch, had the pattern of how Paul approached each city as a mission field. In looking at Paul's work there, we see the actual Old Testament Scriptures that Paul used. After arriving, and then going to the synagogue, notice how Paul preached,

"27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him [God's Messiah the King of kings and Lord of lord--Jesus of Nazareth] nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.  28 And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.'

@4 The ancient prophecy in Psalms foretold that Jesus is God's ___________ Who was begotten.

[It continues]

34 As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.' 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm, 'YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.' 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses." Acts 13:27-39

Multitudes of gentiles were saved through this ministry method, and it was by God's power. But even if nobody was saved, it doesn't matter to us.

What do you mean it doesn't matter to us whether anyone gets saved or not?

What I mean is that though Gentiles were saved, the Jews of Pisidian Antioch rejected the gospel. What matters is that Paul stuck to God's word and was faithful to preach the Scriptures so that the hearers would understand. This is what matters in effective ministry where you and I faithfully proclaim the grace and peace of God in Christ Jesus Who saves us out of the domain of darkness and slavery to sin. What matters is that we preach the word, and we don't rely upon the arm of the flesh, but we rely upon God's word, and the Holy Spirit, to do the work of conviction and salvation. It does not matter what the response is of those around us. What matters is that we are faithful to preach the Biblical message of our God. In Acts 17:4 we see what God did in Thessalonica through the preaching of this good news message,

"And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women." Acts 17:4

This is the same thing that happened in the days of the birth of the church that occurred in Philippi just before Paul and Silvanus went over to Thessalonica. We must always realize that when we preach the good news, it will either fall on the ears of the elect who, by God's miracle, will be persuaded that the argument for Christ is correct, or the good news will fall on the ears of those who remain hardened who will reject it and remain lost in their sins. You and I do not know who each kind of person is. But we do know how people react. Sometimes there are birth pains. The birth pains are involved with introducing folks to the grace and peace of God through Christ's shed blood on the cross. Opposition is oftentimes a stark painful response. In Paul's case, many Philippians got saved. But when Paul got to Thessalonica next, and began the same pattern of introducing the grace and peace of Christ there, many were saved, but there was also a mob of Jews in Thessalonica who became jealous, and their jealousy spread like a wildfire, putting the whole city in an uproar. Immediately their hearts were filled with the number one enemy against grace, which is hatred, and with his ally against peace, which is violence. Later, in the midst of all the turmoil, Paul and Silvanus were sent away from this city of Thessalonica by night. Think about it. This was Paul's initial reception in the city of Thessalonica. From there, Paul and Silvanus fled to Berea, where Paul introduced the Bereans to the same grace and peace of God in Christ Jesus. He used the same pattern. He preached the same message. This was Paul's way that God had divinely led Paul to practice: Go to the synagogue and reason with the Jews from their own prophetic Scriptures; Don't just reason with the Jews, but also with the gentiles; Show Who Christ is; Preach Who Christ is; Tell what Christ has done; Urge everyone to repent, which means to turn away from something over to something else. Repent from your old life in sin and rejection of God, and turn to Him through His Son, Jesus the Messiah who was the sacrificial Lamb, the High Priest, and who is the resurrected King, and Lord of His church; Receive Him by His grace, through faith. God will enable you and I to share this same message too, if we will make ourselves willing vessels like Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. We know what the message is. It is simple. When Paul got to Berea, he found that the Bereans were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica. The Bereans received the word of God with eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether the things Paul said were true. Many of the Berean's believed. The lessons here of introducing the grace and peace of God in Christ are timeless.

How many ways has the last couple of generations tried to be clever in presenting the good news?

Think about how many ways we have tried to come up with to make the message stripped down and easier to present. Think about how many ways we have made it more complicated than it really is. Each generation tries to reinvent the wheel when it comes to introducing the good news of Christ. People will try to make the gospel into an emotional appeal. People will try to make the gospel into a sales tactic urging. We even try to make the gospel seem more logical sounding. But the gospel is simply the word of God. It is God's good news, and all our task to do is introduce people to the message of grace and peace in the crucified and risen Christ through faith for salvation. The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin. Through Him, in Him, we become the righteousness of God. He is eternal life, and in Him we have eternal life. It is God who is the power behind the message. The power of the Holy Spirit does all the energizing, and convicting, and heart opening, and saving. It is really so simple. All you have to do is start with

A) Christ suffered,

B) Christ died on the cross for our sins,

C) God raised Christ from the dead,

E) All will have eternal life who trust Him as our Lord and Savior by grace through faith,

where we turn from our previous life in repentance to Christ who is eternal life, we enter His rest, which is His eternal peace, where we cease from working to make our selves acceptable and savable, and where we rest in the fact that He really forgives us each and every moment for each and every sin. This is the message that God uses to bring salvation to depraved humanity. You don't need to be eloquent to state this simple message. If this is the only thing that you know to say, then you have said enough to lead someone to salvation. It's God's power; not yours. But it is your mouth, and you are the one who must open it. People may mock you. They may argue with you and demand more answers. You may not have more answers, but you don't need any more answers. Just tell them that this is what God's word says. In it, you have experienced God's grace and peace. In it, others can also experience God's grace and peace. When you do this, then you have reasoned with someone who is a divine appointment in meeting with you. You have given the classic introduction, and it is enough for the work that it is meant to accomplish. What God wants us to do is rely upon Him to save whom He wills, and God will do it by the power of the Holy Spirit through willing vessels who will preach His word, like Paul, Silvanus, Timothy, you and me.

Now, I want us to put our minds back there where Paul was preaching to the noble Bereans after leaving Thessalonica. What happened next, was that the Jews of Thessalonica found out that Paul and Silvanus went over to Berea. So the apostate Jews went to Berea too. What did they find when they got there? They found out that Paul and Silvanus were there preaching the simplicity of the good news--introducing the Bereans to Christ, grace, and peace. Once there, the apostate Jews stirred up the Berean crowds like they had done in Thessalonica. Paul left Berea for the sea, and then went to Athens. Silvanus and Timothy stayed there in Berea. When Paul gets to Athens, what does he do? He preaches the same good news, and we find out that Paul was doing the exact same pattern again. Paul was reasoning in the synagogues with the Jews and God fearing gentiles. But not just there; Paul also went out into the market place every day and preached to anyone who happened to be present, Acts 17:17. The message is simple. The method is simple. The mission never changes. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God uses people to preach the good news. This is how God creates His church. God will use you when you preach this way. He will use you in season and out of season, and the message is simple. So, Paul says here in his introduction to Thessalonica,

"1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace." 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Even though Paul did not spend very much time in Thessalonica, God had established His church there through introducing them to the good news. First comes conversion, and then comes the more intense discipleship, where people are taught line upon line and precept upon precept. First comes the essential milk of the word, and then comes more solid food. First comes the introduction into the grace and peace of God, and then comes growth in grace and peace. By the time Paul sends this letter back to the church there in Thessalonica, the most seasoned Christians there had only been saved less than a year--some conservative estimates say only about three months. Think about that. This letter was written about three to six months after Paul left Thessalonica. So, we must understand that Paul is writing to babes in Christ. But this does not matter. They will grow. They have been introduced. They have had some solid discipleship to keep them in the renewing of their minds. What is important now, is that they are God's church. This means that they are the body of Christ. Once the body, always the body, and so now it is time to grow, and so Paul writes this letter. Notice that Paul says,

"To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:" 1 Thessalonians 1:1

@5 The church is made the church in ________ the Father and the ____________ Jesus Christ.

Paul's identification of his audience is already a discipleship basic. Paul's introduction is both encouraging, and it is stabilizing for those who need to know what they are in Christ. When Paul calls the Christians in Thessalonica, "the church" Paul is talking to the called out and gathered. According to Moise Silva, the Greek scholar, the koine Greek word, ekklesia, that Paul used for church, is a word that has a semantic range of being the called out ones in its original genesis, and the gathered, which it took on much later--both terms when used by the Christians, is in respect to God's salvation of the elect. In other words, everyone who is saved is God's called out and gathered in Christ. If you are saved, then you have been called out of the domain of darkness and have been transferred into the Kingdom of Christ. Or to put it another way, all who are saved are called out of the spiritually dead body of the first Adam of the lost world, so to speak, and born again spiritually in the body of the last Adam, which is Christ. God brings us saved people together to gather as His assembled children who experience community. The church is the called out and gathered. The church is the body of Christ. Sometimes ekklesia designates all of Christians everywhere, and is a synonym for the whole entire body of Christ, Colossians 1:18, 24. At other times it is a particular assembly in a certain location, Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15. Elsewhere, as here, it denotes all the assemblies in a single city, Romans 16:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2. The Greek term translated "church" finds its ancient background in the Old Testament concept of the assembly of the Israelites who were summoned before the Lord as a covenant community. The exact same word was used by Jews, and also by Romans for various groups. Here, in the New Testament, after the establishment of the New Covenant, the meaning is specifically meant for God's people in Christ. We find Paul making the distinction in 1 Corinthians, so that there would be no confusion when he says,

"32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God;" 1 Corinthians 10:32

Obviously in the New Covenant, the Jews are not the church even though they may claim to be of God. Only the church of God is the church of God, and the church of God is the body of Christ, Ephesians 5:23, and Colossians 1:24. So it is vital that we get this word settled very quickly: Again, the New Covenant church comprises the called out ones, who are also gathered in assembly as all those who had become the body of Christ by grace through faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. What this means is that if there are any unsaved people meeting along with the saved then they can be found among the church but they are not really part of the church. So, when we look at what Paul writes we notice two designations. Paul calls it the church "of the Thessalonians" because this describes the place where the Thessalonian people physically live in respect to their city identity as Thessalonians of Thessalonica. Then there is the other designation. Paul goes on and uses the phrase

"... in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:"

Paul is describing the person and place where the Thessalonian Christians get their life. Paul is talking about their identity in Christ Jesus who is their all in all. That is the place of grace and peace. That is the place that we want to be. It is the place we want to be identified with. To be "in" both God and Christ means that all who are saved are saved in Christ, Who is God as the third person of the Trinity. The preposition "in" grammatically joins God the Father and Jesus Christ together.  This is a clear indication of the deity of Jesus Christ. The picture is that God the Father is the Father of the Thessalonian Christians. God is your Father too. He is my Father. Christ Jesus is our identification as the first born heir, and the head of the body. In Him we are in the body--we are in the first born heir; and you get the inheritance that He obtained for you. Paul concludes the introductory greeting with,

"... Grace to you and peace." 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Both grace, and peace, are blessings that are married together in the holy matrimony of salvation. Grace, means favor. In salvation, grace is bestowed as unmerited favor in Christ's love for you. When Paul wishes grace and peace upon the Thessalonian Christians, it is like a prayer request. Paul is wishing extra favor upon them from God, and the peace that passes understanding in the midst of persecution. The order of these two as presented by Paul is important when it comes to our spiritual salvation. There can be no true peace until we recognize that God has bestowed His grace upon us in completely forgiving us of all our sins in Christ Jesus. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul gives the exact same introduction to these Christians, but Paul adds,

"2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:2

Grace and peace are miracle works of God. They continually come from God as privileges bestowed upon us according to His own good pleasure.

Brothers and sisters, I hope the introduction to 1 Thessalonians has both familiarized you with the Thessalonian church and encouraged you in your faith. Paul Silvanus, and Timothy are the authors--Paul being the primary apostle. There is a difference between false Christians and real. The difference is in whether you believe the real gospel, or a counterfeit one. The real Christian trusts in the completed work of God Who alone saves us from all of our sins by His grace, trough faith, where He brings us into the peace and rest of His Son Jesus Christ. It is the cosmic rescue, where our salvation is a miracle of God. Paul had a pattern for missionary evangelism. We should learn the same pattern as an effective approach that God has given for ministry--Show from the Scriptures, that the Messiah had to suffer--Show that the Messiah had to die and then rise from the dead--Show that Jesus is the actual Messiah that God promised to Israel--Show that to be saved, you must turn from your sinful state of your past, to Christ, and God's good news must be embraced in faith. It is simple. Then trust God with the outcome. Discipleship should follow, and then trust God with the outcome again. We are God's church. We are the called out and gathered in Christ. We are the body of Christ. Everything about our salvation is our identity in Him. God makes the church in His Son and the Holy Spirit indwells each and every one of us in it. Finally, I wish God's grace and peace to you as we leave here this morning and go out into the mission field of the world. Amen.


@1 Paul showed from Prophecy that Jesus had to suffer and rise again from the ______________ just Like God said He would do.
@2 Our faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the _______________ of God.
@3 Christ died for our __________, was buried, and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
@4 The ancient prophecy in Psalms foretold that Jesus is God's ___________ Who was begotten.
@5 The church is made the church in ________ the Father and the ____________ Jesus Christ.