1 Thessalonian 5 verses 12 to 28: A Healthy Church

 

Introduction

If someone was to ask you. ‘What is a church?’ I wonder what you would say?

In their book ‘Rediscovering Church’ Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman discuss what church is and why church is essential for Believers; they helpfully define church as:

…a group of Christians who assemble as an earthly embassy of Christ’s heavenly kingdom to proclaim the good news and commands of Christ the King; to affirm one another as his citizens through the ordinances; and to display God’s own holiness and love through a unified and diverse people in all the world, following the teaching and example of elders.

Now, that is a lot to take in. But it does help us understand what a ‘Healthy Church’ should look like; and it is a helpful summary of the key teachings of 1 Thessalonian 5 verses 12 to 28.

In these verses we see how the Gospel impacts the lives of God’s People to produce a ‘Healthy Church’ to the Glory of God. Here we see how Gospel-shaped relations with church leaders, one another, and with the Lord are required for the Church to thrive. And so, in our passage we see that a ‘Healthy Church’ is a church where the Gospel shapes relationships and leads to:

Loving Respect for Leaders (verses 12 to 13)

Loving Responsibly in the Community (verses 14 to 15)

Living in Response to God’s Grace (verses 16 to 22)

Then our passage concludes with:

Paul’s Closing Prayer (23 to 28)

Paul concludes as he began with the focus upon God and His grace to us in the Gospel. Throughout our studies in the passage (this week and on 30^th August) we will see that a ‘Healthy Church’ is one which keeps its focus upon God, His Grace in the Lord Jesus and the Fullness of Life He offers in the Gospel.

So, let us firstly consider how God’s grace leads to… Loving Respect for Leaders.

 

Today it seems like there is no end to the books on leadership- both secular and Christian. Reading one of those books I was struck by this sentence from Paul Tripp:

The church is in desperate need of a leadership community whose function is not just structured to achieve with efficiency but is more deeply shaped by the comforts and calls of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Church has always needed the Gospel to shape its understanding of what leadership looks like both in how it is exercised and how God’s People respond to it.

Ultimately, the grace of God and the desire to be like Christ must inform and transform leadership in Christ’s Church. In verses 12 and 13 we read:

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

Paul writes to a young Church with passionate but inexperienced leadership; indeed, there was much that was healthy about the Church and its leadership. But it still faced many difficulties.

These novice leaders had been thrust into a situation where, as new Believers themselves, they had to care for other new Christians. In this context it is easy to see how the relationships in the church could be put under strain.

It would be reasonable to assume that some members had been disrespectful towards the leaders as they sought to address moral issues amongst the congregation. You could imagine a strong reaction such as: ‘What right do you have to tell me what to do, sure aren’t we all saved by grace and you haven’t been a Believer any longer than me, what right do you have to be leading the church?’.

In response, Paul he writes to guide the new church in how the Gospel must shape leadership. While he doesn’t designate them a title, he does refer to them as those who are ‘…over you [or care for you] in the Lord…’. This language indicates a degree of authority to care and provide for those entrusted to them. And so, these leaders are called to warn against bad behaviour and its consequences, to disciple and discipline the people under their care.

The leader in Christ’s Church is called to be like Christ, the Good Shepherd, and care for His People. He is to feed them, lead them, protect them, and guide them in right paths.

The leader in Christ’s Church is also to be a hard worker. Notice in both verses 12 and 13 that Paul emphasises the ‘hard work’ of the leaders. The work of leading God’s People is hard work, it involves toil and struggle, physical exertion, sweat and tears; it is not just a Sundays-only occupation.

So the church leaders in Thessalonica were hard workers, known for their servant heartedness. These leaders did not lead because they had been appointed as leaders; they were recognised as leaders because they were doing the work.

In this respect they were following the example of Paul; in Chapter 2 verse 9 he said he ‘…worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone…’. And Paul himself was following the example of Christ who did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life for His People. In the ultimate act of loving service Christ bore our burdens and made them His very own as the ultimate servant leader and Good Shepherd of God’s People.

A note here to leaders: Dependent upon God’s grace and guided by His Spirit we must be diligent in our duties and in the way we perform them. The work is hard and it calls for hard work, but we must not shirk our responsibilities of faithful service and loving discipleship.

Our calling is to point our people to Christ and apply God’s Word sensitively and sensibly to those under our care. In all this His grace is sufficient and we remember that He is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep.

Paul describes the leaders in the Church. He also describes how the members respond to their leaders. Paul uses repetition in verses 12 and 13 to make his point.

Though some of the Believers may have resented being corrected and disciplined, nevertheless they were to respect and highly esteem their leaders. Indeed, they were to hold them in the highest regard ‘…in love…’ because of their work.

God’s People are to be committed to those He has appointed as their leaders. They are to support and encourage through prayer and a willingness to listen as God’s Word is taught and proclaimed in the home or at church activities.

In Paul’s teaching we can see that the love and respect of the congregation for those appointed leaders was the glue that would hold this body of Believers together during this time of stress. Looking to Christ, these Believers were to remember the peace with God they now enjoyed and seek that same harmony with those their Lord and Saviour had appointed to lead them.

So there was to be appreciation and affection that would produce healthy, harmonious family relations. Happy is the church family in which leaders and people recognise their God given roles, exercise those roles with grace-fuelled care and humility, and give to leaders respect and love which their God-given work demands.

So the Gospel produces healthy relationships with leaders. It also promotes… Loving Responsibly in the Community.

 

Again, it is important to remember the context of the original audience.

In this newly planted church there were all kinds of people who had come together in Christ. And with all kinds of people come all sorts of needs and issues. I’m sure we can all imagine this must have been a frustrating experience at times- it is not always easy to get along with people who are like us never mind those who are very different.

Added to this was the reality that they were all still souls struggling with sin and needing the fellowship of God’s People as they pursued Christlikeness. And so, in verses 14 to 15 we read:

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

At the heart of these verses is the desire that all God’s People should pursue the teaching of Jesus and His earthly example.

Notice that it is the responsibility of all God’s People, not just the leaders, to call out sin and to cultivate patience, to renounce retaliation and pursue kindness, to help the weak and bring encouragement to those in difficulty. It is a beautiful vision of a healthy local church pursuing true Gospel fellowship.

And Gospel fellowship is seen in the way the church displays loving responsibility to several groups of people. So, the idle and disruptive are to be warned. God’s People must make the most of their time and make the most of every opportunity to store up wealth in the Kingdom of God. The grace of God must provoke in us a desire to serve His purposes with our time and talents. And when we discern that Brothers and Sisters are not living according to God’s Way or are being disruptive in the Church then we must address this with grace and truth.

God’s People must also be concerned for the disheartened. They are to encourage them with the truths of the Gospel. God’s People are to remind one another of the hope that comes from the Gospel: sins forgiven, peace with God, a new identity in Him, and the hope of eternity in His Perfect Kingdom.

There is much in this life that will leave us disheartened so we must keep pointing each other to the One we serve. He is graciously sovereign and sovereignly gracious. He has gracious plans for those who are His and His People have been graciously chosen in eternity. So we have an eternal identity and destiny that is secure.

God’s People must also help the weak and be patient with everyone. Whether it is physical, moral, emotional or spiritual weakness God’s People are to provide prayerful and practical support.

Out of the riches of the Gospel, we are to minister to people’s needs and provide for them as we trust in God’s gracious provision for us. And remembering God’s patience with us we are to walk with people regardless of how long and frustrating the journey may be.

God’s People need each other, and we need each other to show the reality of God’s love when we struggle with all kinds of weakness. So, humbled by God’s grace to us, we must humbly serve our Brothers and Sisters and seek their good for God’s Glory.

In verses 14 to 15, then, there is recognition that church life involves all sorts of tensions where friction can easily develop; this is not a place of healthy relationships infused with the Gospel. So, into the mix Paul pours the oil of the Gospel, to lessen the friction and overheating that may result.

In light of the Gospel, and the Spiritual Fruit it produces, Believers are to avoid retaliation. Followers of Jesus are to forgive as He has forgiven. Those filled with the Spirit are to produce the fruit of kindness, patience, love and peace; and this is to be seen in the harmonious relationships of a Healthy Church

So the Gospel transforms our relationships. As recipients of love and grace we are gracious and loving towards our Brothers and Sisters. Some issues will need to be resolved by leaders, but mostly when difficulties arise between Believers, they need to be resolved through the Gospel principles of grace and forgiveness.

 

Conclusion

 

In 1 Thessalonian 5 verses 12 to 18 we see how the Gospel should work in the lives of God’s People to produce a ‘Healthy Church’. Here we see how Gospel-shaped relations with church leaders and with one another Lord are required for the Church to thrive.

Let me leave you with three ‘take aways’ for us to ponder in the coming week…

 

As leaders we must work hard and lead faithfully.

Leaders within the Church Family are marked out particularly by their hard work (what they do) and by their working hard (how they do it). Being given the opportunity to serve as a leader in Christ’s Church demands a sense of responsibility which leads to a desire to work hard on behalf of the Church Family.

Notice also that working hard is linked with leading faithfully. Most of all this means that leaders must be faithful in applying the truth of God’s Word to those in their care- even in those instances when it is uncomfortable and may lead to confrontation. God’s People need to know God’s grace and His truth if they are to truly flourish.

 

As a congregation we must honour our leaders.

In verses 12 and 13 Paul calls on the congregation to acknowledge and appreciate those who are serving them as leaders. Indeed, the congregation should ‘Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work…’.

Giving respect may be easy when everything is running smoothly. However, it may be more difficult when words of admonishment are required. In these circumstances leaders should be supported and respected because of the difficulty of this sort of ministry.

How should such respect and love be given? It will be shown most definitely in a willingness to listen to and engage with the preaching of the Word of God, by personal support and encouragement, and by an underlying commitment to pray for those in leadership.

 

As Believers we must pursue true fellowship.

In verses 14 and 15 Paul advises the community on how it ought to treat those with spiritual problems and needs. They are to ‘warn’, ‘encourage’, ‘help’, ‘be patient’, and ‘be kind’. In other words, Paul is placing upon each Believer the responsibility to truly love those around them and pursue deep fellowship with Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Here we see that the whole congregation is to have sense of pastoral responsibility to one another; caring for one another and helping one another both practically and spiritually.

And it is important to note that we all have a responsibility to pursue healthy and harmonious relationships with one another. Too often we place a higher value on superficial harmony- on ‘keeping the peace’- and being nice so that everyone is happy (at least on the surface).

But the Gospel calls us to the hard work of true fellowship and real relationship. The Gospel calls us to sacrifice and service, reconciliation and humility, calling out sin and calling each other back to Christ. The Gospel calls us away from gossip and backbiting to genuine peace through addressing hurt honestly and seeking to heal relational wounds.

In the Gospel we meet Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His Sheep. In this supreme example of sacrificial love, we are called to love and serve one another. In this perfect act of reconciliation that leads to total forgiveness, we are called to be reconciled as those who have been utterly forgiven.

 

The Gospel produces healthy leadership as leaders work hard amongst the People to serve them and point them to Christ and. And the Gospel produces healthy fellowship which calls people to Christlikeness through truth and love and a continual turning to God in all the seasons of life. Let us seek to be a Healthy Church as we seek after Christ and Christlikeness in all we say and think and do.