A Successful Life of Service

I. The Success of Paul's Converts — 2:13–14

A. How They Accepted the Word — 2:13

1. In All Its Divine Authenticity — 2:13a

“...you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God...”

Later, by the time seminary was reached, they were changing things up. Don't just say inspired — say verbally inspired. Every word in Scripture is inspired of God verbally. And then came the word plenary — fully, every part of the Word of God. So every word and every part of the Bible is inspired verbally and completely.

The Thessalonians didn't have a Bible to hold up and point to. If you are a witness today, you say, ‘Look here, it says right here in the Bible.’ They didn't have that. Maybe they had access to it, but maybe they didn't. They heard Paul, and Paul spoke the word to them, and they believed it. They believed it as the Word of God. It is interesting to see that they took Paul's word — and of course nothing more than the Holy Spirit working through that to reach their hearts — so they believed the authenticity of the Word.

Paul's deep gratitude in verse 13 rests on one foundation: when the Thessalonians received the word, they did not receive it as the word of men. They received it as the Word of God. That distinction matters enormously. A word from men can be debated, modified, or ignored. The Word of God demands a response. It carries authority.

2. In All Its Divine Achievement — 2:13b

“...which also effectively works in you who believe.”

They also believed in its divine achievement, which effectively works in you who believe. If you are not careful, you will get the idea that Paul is talking here about evangelism — talking about their salvation. Well, that is part of it, but he says, ‘Remember, it effectively works in you, believers.’ So it is not just salvation here. He is talking about discipleship, about the working of the Word for a lifetime.

And according to Paul, it does something — it effectively works in those who believe it. Not worked, past tense. Works, present tense. This is ongoing, active, continuous operation of the Word in the life of the believer. Paul is describing discipleship, the process of the Word shaping, correcting, strengthening, and maturing the believer day by day throughout a lifetime.

B. How They Acted on the Word — 2:14

1. Whom They Followed — 2:14a

“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is not referring to the Judean Christians as spiritual models of how to live the Christian life. He is not saying, go imitate their piety. He is saying something more sobering: you followed them in consequence. The consequences of their receiving the gospel were the same as your consequences. They were persecuted. You are persecuted.

2. What They Faced — 2:14b

“For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans...”

It is their own countrymen — not just Jews but Gentiles as well — who are persecuting the Thessalonians. The success of these converts, then, is not measured in comfort or ease. It is measured in faithfulness under fire. They heard the Word, believed the Word, acted on the Word — and paid for it with suffering. That is the mark of genuine reception.

II. The Sin of Paul's Countrymen — 2:15–16

Paul now speaks with unusual directness about the Jewish leadership — his own countrymen — who opposed the gospel. He identifies five distinct expressions of their sin.

A. Their Provocation — 2:15a

“...who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us...”

They killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us. Some might argue that it was the Romans who drove the nails. That is true. But it was the Jewish leadership who demanded the crucifixion, who worked every available channel, who maneuvered Pilate into the position where he felt he had no choice. Reading Matthew chapters 26 through 29 makes this plain. The Jewish leadership was responsible for Christ's death — there is no question about it.

They also killed their own prophets. This could include Isaiah and Jeremiah. The tradition says Isaiah was sawn in two — Hebrews references someone ‘sawn asunder,’ and that tradition points to Isaiah. Jesus himself, in Luke, declares: ‘The blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation — from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple.’ They not only killed Jesus; they killed the prophets; and they persecuted Paul himself, who had once been the chief persecutor of Christians, who had put them in jail and done all manner of things to them.

B. Their Presumption — 2:15b

“...and they do not please God...”

They had two thousand years of history before Christ. God called Abraham. He gave them the law. He gave them everything — his special chosen people. And yet they did not try to please God. They tried to please themselves. They spit in the face of Jesus. They delighted in his suffering. They demanded that Pilate seal the tomb: ‘Don't let him get out.’ They invented a lie to disprove the resurrection. They rejected the Holy Spirit. They murdered Stephen. They attempted to kill Paul many times. They left him for dead in Lystra. All of that — not pleasing God, but doing whatever it took to protect themselves and suppress the gospel.

C. Their Perversity — 2:15c

“...and are contrary to all men...”

The nation was called by God to be his instrument. He called them out. He was going to work through them. They were supposed to carry his message to the world. Instead, they took advantage of the blessings and turned them inward. They were supposed to be reaching out to the world, but instead they were showing the world how much they had. ‘We are special.’ And they are — they are genuinely special. But they took that gift and used it as a wall rather than a door. They pushed people away. When you do that — when you walk around saying you are better than everyone else — it becomes a reason for others to hate you. In becoming contrary to all men, they also became contrary to God himself.

D. Their Prejudice — 2:16a

“...forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved...”

Verse 16 says they were forbidding the gospel-bearers to speak to the Gentiles, that they may be saved. They called the Gentiles dogs. God had intended them to be the conduit of blessing to every nation, but they were now actively blocking the channel. They were not content merely to reject the gospel themselves — they worked to prevent others from hearing it.

E. Their Punishment — 2:16b

“...so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.”

Paul uses the past tense — ‘has come’ — and it is used as a past tense to show just how certain and definite it is. God does this in Scripture. Romans 8:30: ‘Moreover, whom he predestinated, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.’ Are you glorified yet? No — but it is as certain as if it had already happened. The same logic applies here to the judgment on these Jewish leaders. The wrath is there, it is waiting, and it is going to happen.

God suffers long — he is patient. He was patient even with the Amorites. He said to Abraham: you are going to go down into Egypt, you will be there for four hundred years, because the sin of the Amorites is not yet full. Four hundred more years of patience for them. And finally, after four hundred years, he brought Israel into the land and said, take it. God waited almost forty years before he judged the generation that killed Jesus. In AD 70 the nation was devastated. Jesus had said there would not be one stone left upon another of that beautiful temple — and that is exactly what happened. Their measure was full.

There is more judgment ahead for Israel. The nation will sign a seven-year peace treaty with the Antichrist — that treaty is the one described in Daniel 9:27. In the middle of that treaty, he will break it, take over the rebuilt temple, defile it, and launch a holocaust that will make Hitler's holocaust look like nothing. All of this is included in the tribulation predicted for the nation. You can read about it in Daniel 9 and Revelation 16.

III. The Sureness of Paul's Crown — 2:17–20

A. Paul's Earnest Desire — 2:17–18

1. His Great Hope — 2:17

“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.”

Paul was separated from them geographically, but he was not separated from them in heart. He longed to see them. He wanted to be there for them. In his heart he thought about them, prayed about them, and looked for ways he might return. You can understand that — the longing to go back and see the people you love, the ones you have poured your life into.

2. His Great Hindrance — 2:18

“Therefore we wanted to come to you — even I, Paul, time and again — but Satan hindered us.”

Somehow Paul knew that it was Satan who had blocked the path. That does not mean, however, that everything difficult is Satan's fault. James chapter 1 makes that clear: ‘Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God’ — and then, instead of saying Satan did it, James says: ‘each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lusts and enticed.’ Do not blame God. Do not shove the blame off on Satan. In many cases, that is where we come from on our own. But Paul here had some specific information that it was indeed Satan who had hindered him from returning to Thessalonica.

B. Paul's Eternal Delight — 2:19–20

1. The Reward He Expected — 2:19a

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?”

These two verses carry us back to the judgment seat of Christ, where believers' works will be judged. Notice: believers' works will be judged, and rewards will be given — or not. The reward Paul hoped for was directly connected to his service from the time he believed. Our service runs from the time we believe until the time the Lord calls us or comes for us. That is the time we have. From the time we believe until we meet the Lord, we have that time to prepare for him.

There was a motto in the home: ‘Only one life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last.’ At any time you say, I cannot do that for the Lord because I am doing something else — that something else will not last. Only what is done for Christ will last. We serve him. We use our gifts to please him. Because one day we are going to stand before him, and he is going to say: what did you do with the gifts I gave you?

First Corinthians 3 and Second Corinthians 5 describe the scene. There are good works and bad works. The bad works are called wood, hay, and stubble — good only for burning. The good works will be seen as gold, silver, and precious stones. Paul emphasizes here that those whom he has won to the Lord are his reward. The people he has led to Christ — they will be there. And when you stand there, where are your people? The sum that you know indicates the sum that you do not know. What your life is right here and now with other people will reflect what is going on out there as well.

2. The Return He Expected — 2:19b

“Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?”

The Thessalonians will be part of Paul's reward — only a part, because he has not stopped. The first missionary journey, the second, a third yet to come. Thirteen letters. He kept carrying the Word, talking, talking, talking. ‘You, you Thessalonians — you are a part of it.’ At the parousia, the coming of the Lord — used here for the rapture of the church — there will be rejoicing.

3. The Rejoicing He Expected — 2:20

“For you are our glory and joy.”

That leaves one question for each of us. What is your crown and glory?

Conclusion

A paraphrase from John Phillips: what people rejoice over indicates their character and spiritual condition. Solomon and his father, David, are two cases in point. Solomon, in spite of his good start, rejoiced in the things of this world: women, power, and riches. He was a colossal failure in God's eyes. Solomon loved things and used people. David, in spite of his mid-life failure, repented of his sin — especially Psalm 51 — and served God faithfully. David used things and loved people.

That is what Paul did. Paul loved people. He lived for people. He spent his life winning people to Christ and discipling them in the faith. His glory and joy was to see people saved and established in the things of Christ. His ambition was to see them at last as crowns and trophies — not to show off, but to lay at the feet of Jesus, who had done so much for him. The hymn says it well: ‘Bringing in the sheaves, sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness... we will come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.’ Scripture says he that wins souls is wise.

What is your glory and joy?

Lord, thank You for this Word.