The atmosphere in the city (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

In these verses, Paul reminds his readers that initially there had been a hostile response to the gospel in Thessalonica. This hostility was not a new experience for Paul; in fact, they had gone through a similar one in the previous location they had visited – Philippi. The record in Acts 17 states the source of the hostility in Thessalonica – the Jews. But the account reveals that others became involved, including the rough element among the inhabitants and eventually the civil government.

 

The intention of those behind the hostile response was to hinder, indeed stop, the spread of the gospel. Perhaps they thought that such actions would frighten Paul’s team and cause them to leave. It is the case that they did leave the city, but only after there had been a substantial number of converts, which is a reminder that strong opposition in itself does not prevent the spread of the gospel.

 

The opponents of the gospel came from different groups within the city – the Jews, the mob, and the government. Luke notes in Acts 17 that those who believed the gospel came from different groups as well – the Jews, others described as devout Greeks (probably Gentiles who had identified themselves with the synagogue), and a considerable number of leading women of the city. The gospel penetrated through the various personal barriers that prevented others from accepting its claims. Paul was fully aware that their work in Thessalonica had not been in vain (2:1).

 

The accusation made against the new church is an interesting one because it reveals that the residents of Thessalonica were aware of gospel success elsewhere. We can see this awareness when they call Paul’s team, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down.’ The Thessalonians had realised that the gospel has powerful effects wherever it goes, even causing seismic shifts in society. Not only did they appreciate the effects of the gospel, they also grasped a crucial feature of it, which was that there is another King called Jesus. This means that the gospel causes dramatic changes when it is preached with such clarity that causes its opponents to admit its effects and state its central themes.

Jesus is the Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6)

Yesterday, we thought briefly about the fatherly basis of the kingdom of Jesus, that he as King would be kind and generous to his people. No doubt, there are many ways in which he will do this, but here are three examples.

 

The first example of fatherly care shown by Jesus is his willingness to pardon his subjects. This response is revealed at different stages in their history. They experience it for the first time when they come to him as rebels in great need of his forgiveness. When they confess their sinfulness to him, he immediately pardons them. The basis of their pardon is his work on the cross when he paid the penalty required of them for their sins. Although the price was high for him, he freely forgives them.

 

Then they experience his fatherly character as he pardons them throughout their lives in this world. Although forgiven by him when they come initially to him, they are not made sinless. This means that they will continue to sin, even when trying to obey his laws as their King. Sometimes they sin and dislike their own actions; at other times they may sin because they have become cold in heart towards him. Yet when they repent of their sins, he shows his fatherly care by forgiving them again and again.

 

A third way in which King Jesus will show his fatherly care with regard to the pardon of his people will take place in the future, on that momentous day when he will sit as Judge of all intelligent creatures. It will be awesome day, when he appears in glory. Although he will be so exalted, his heart will burn with great desire to announce, and that publicly, concerning each of his people, that their sins have all been pardoned. Sometimes we try and imagine the looks on our faces when this great announcement will be made, but we should also think about the look on his face as he makes this amazing declaration. It will be a wonderful insight into how fatherly the heart of Jesus is.

 

A further way of revealing his fatherly care concerning our sins will be the way that Jesus will not refer to them throughout the endless ages. We will refer to them as we praise him for paying the penalty for them. Yet he will never say to any of us, ‘You lived a terrible life,’ or ‘You were such a failure.’ Instead we will be treated as those who have been pardoned.

 

Jesus is the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)

We have seen in previous readings that Jesus, the might Warrior, when he was on earth and when he was on the cross, defeated the enemy. But that was not the end of the warfare because Jesus continued his triumphs even after he died.

 

The Saviour celebrated his triumph when he ascended to heaven after his resurrection from the dead. This was another enemy that he defeated when he left the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Death, which had proved almost invincible, met its match and discovered that it had no power over Jesus Christ. In majestic energy he tore open its locked doors and came out of the dark domain as the conqueror of death. 

 

Then, after a period of forty days in which he encouraged his disciples and gave them their task to engage in while he would be away, he ascended to God’s throne and sat down on it, not as an usurper, but as the mighty warrior God.

 

Having won such great victories over the kingdom of darkness and over death, Jesus now continues his exploits, achieving great successes throughout the ages of time, making ongoing progress as he develops his kingdom by adding more and more subjects to it. Every time he brings a sinner into his kingdom, it is evidence that he is the mighty God.

 

One consequence of looking at Jesus as the mighty God is that we are reminded that, unlike earthly sovereigns, Jesus does not have to arrange alliances in order to ensure that his kingdom will survive. It was common in the past, just as it is common today, for powerful nations to make treaties with smaller nations in order to protect potential weak points in their empires. Jesus does not have to make deals with weaker powers in order to secure the borders of his kingdom. He protects every inch of it himself.

 

A second consequence of realising that Jesus possesses divine power is that we do not have to be petrified by the power of the enemy. If we are subjects of King Jesus, then we will be attacked by the enemies of his kingdom. They are powerful enemies arraigned against the church – the world, the flesh and the devil. In ourselves we are no match for these enemies and they will defeat us if we fight them in our own strength. What we have to do when under attack is to remind ourselves that we are to use the Lord’s strength. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 6:10: ‘Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.’

 

The Lord is there

The Bible contains many names for the city of God, the ultimate dwelling place of the Lord and his people. One of the names of the city is mentioned in Ezekiel 48:35 and it is Jehovah Shammah, which means ‘the Lord is there’. 

The big tragedy in the Book of Ezekiel is that the Lord left his residence (the temple) in the earthly city of Jerusalem. Yet even although there was that tragedy, there was hope for the people because when they went into exile from the land the Lord went with them. After the Babylonian exile was over, there were several returns of Jews to their capital, but most never went back to their homeland.

Ezekiel encouraged the exiles by informing them that God would yet build his city and his temple where he would dwell forever (Ezek. 43:1-7). The description of the new city and its inhabitants indicate that it and they will be perfect. We are not meant to regard the dimensions of the new city described in the closing chapters of the book as literal. Rather the descriptions point to a very different kind of city and country, indeed a location that is unique.

The development of the city of God is one of the great themes of the Bible. Psalm 87 describes the diversity of its inhabitants. A greater description is given of the residents in Hebrews 12. And in Revelation 21:2, the city comes down from heaven and remains on the new earth. The next verse tells us that along with the city God has come down to dwell with his people. Then we are told that he will remove every cause of sorrow and make all things new. God will be both the Comforter and the Creator.

‘The Lord is there’ is a description of any kind of Christian gathering. But the expression of his presence in the eternal city will be much more than what has been known previously. What will it be like? No one on earth can say, not even those with the greatest imagination. But we are told about its certainty in order to anticipate ‘dwelling in the house of the Lord forever’. And we know that Jesus will introduce us to the features of the city’s life and enable us to appreciate them endlessly.

El Elyon – God Most High

In Genesis 14, reference is made to an unusual man called Melchizedek. He was priest of God Most High and he proceeded to bless Abram by using this divine name. Later in the incident Abram acknowledged that he had been blessed by God Most High. On both occasions when this divine name is mentioned, he is also said to be the Possessor of heaven and earth.  

This title stresses the uniqueness of the true God. At the time of Abraham, people generally believed in local deities, gods who governed an area of ground, whether large or small. In contrast to that notion, Melchizedek and Abraham believed in the true God and one feature of his existence is that he possesses all things. He cannot cease to have all things as his possession because no creature can take anything from him by force. 

This name of God does not merely mean that God is above us. Given who we are, with all our limitations, it would not take very much to be above us in power and abilities. We could say that angels are higher than us. But even they do not come near the exalted heights where God lives. God cannot be any higher than he is, and there is an infinite gap between him and the greatest of his creatures. 

The title also affirms the kindness of God. Although he possesses all things, he is not selfish. He gives to those who trust in him, as Abram affirmed when he refused to accept anything from the king of Sodom. Abram had discovered through a range of experiences that the God who possesses all the resources in heaven and earth had helped hem. Since he had this God on his side, he was safe and secure. 

There is a wonderful verse in Psalm 91:1. Before reading it, remind yourself of the incredible eminence of God. Now reflect on this statement: ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.’ In that verse, a believer dwells with El Elyon and El Shaddai. The Most High is our protector and the All-sufficient is our provider. A shelter for every storm and a shade from every oppression.  

Although God be high, he regards the lowly (Psalm 138:6). The existence of greatness reminds us of our insignificance. When I see the Queen, I am reminded that I am a subject. When I see the God of the heights, I am reminded that I am a creature of earth. Yet I can cast all my cares on him, both because he is big enough to take them all and because he cares enough to take them all.  

Adoption and Justification

In God’s gracious plan of salvation, adoption is one of several important features which together indicate the greatness of his grace. Adoption for a believer occurs at the commencement of his Christian life. Yet since it is not the only benefit that occurs then, we have to note the order in which several simultaneous aspects of salvation occur.

Before a person is adopted, he has to be regenerated by the Spirit and then given the status of justification by God. When that person is regenerated, he trusts in Jesus and at that moment, because he has done so, he becomes right with God. To be right with God is to say the same thing as to be justified.

Justification involves two benefits. One is that believing sinners are forgiven all their sins and the other is that the righteousness of Jesus (his perfect life) is reckoned by God to be theirs. Those benefits mean that they have a permanent standing before God as the Judge and once given is theirs forever.

If the act of justification described the only benefit God gives to a sinner when he or she trusts initially in Jesus, it would be an amazing display of divine grace which ensures that they will be God’s people always. Yet we can, and should, ask if God does more.

It has been pointed out that justification restores sinners to the place of righteous servants. As unregenerate sinners, they had failed to serve God and lived for sinful masters, whoever and whatever they were. Once those sinners have been justified, the perfect life of service that Jesus lived is now accounted as theirs and as a consequence they are regarded as having a life of perfect service. Wonderful grace is all we can say!

In addition to justification, which deals with their status as fallen servants, God also adopts those believing sinners into his family, which deals with their status as lost sons. Sin had estranged them from God and they lived outside his family. In his grace, he brings them into it at the start of their Christian life and from then on they have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God (as our catechism puts it).

When I was converted, I was told that I now was a member of God’s family. I accepted that gladly, although it would be years before I realised that in showing this level of grace the Lord lifted his people to the heights. What happens on those heights? We probably know, but we will think about some of them in future blogs.

Entering the family of God

A long time ago, I was not a member of the family of God, although I was brought up in a family in which God was honoured. The issue that kept me out of his family was my sin. Among those sins was the sad attitude that I did not want to be a member because I foolishly imagined that all God offered was a set of rules that inhibited life and led to boring experiences. I could not deny, however, that many Christians I had come across seemed very happy and content.

Still, there was a longing within me for satisfaction. The more things I tried, the more empty life seemed. Of course, this was subjective, but humans are subjective creatures. I needed to find out why nothing seemed to satisfy. To cut a long story short, eventually I realised that the problem was that I was looking in the wrong places for meaning. It was not until I realised that the problem was in me that real progress could be made.

I discovered that I was a sinner. This was not because I compared myself to other people and somehow worked out that I was worse than them. Instead, God taught me through various means that the problem in my life was me and he did this over a period of time by showing to me things like my selfish motives, my misplaced desires, and my foolish words. The problem basically was that I was the centre of my life.

During that time, many Christians spoke to me about life in the family of God. They pointed out to me that my sins could be forgiven, that my life could be guided by the Holy Spirit, that Jesus would speak to me through his Word (the Bible), that I could look forward to a heavenly home, and many other things besides. Thinking about those things made me realise that life in the family of God was far better than any other set of experiences. 

So what does one do then? I did what the Bible says we should do in order to become children of God. John describes the process as receiving Jesus, which is a way of saying that he is offered to us freely. In the gospel, he tells us that we can have a real relationship with him, the living Saviour. The relationship we have with him takes place in the family of God.

Not everyone has the same experiences before they enter enter the family of God. Perhaps no one has exactly the same experiences as another. What matters is that we come into the family of God.

I don't know the date when I entered the family of God. That lack of detail does not bother me. What I will say is that what I was told about life in the family of God is true, that having him as my Heavenly Father and being numbered among his children is the greatest blessing that a person can have.

Children of God

In the Bible, there are various ways in which the idea of sonship is used. Angels are called sons of God in the book of Job, and they could have this title because they are dignified creatures of God. Humans also are termed sons of God by creation, and still retain some features of this relationship because they are made in God’s image. Israel as a nation was regarded as a son of God because they had been brought into a special relationship with him. Rulers are also called sons of God, and they are so named because they hold positions of authority under God’s overall control. 

Christians are sons of God because they are members of his family. Even with regard to this relationship the New Testament uses at least two pictures to explain it. One is connected to regeneration and the other is connected to adoption. By regeneration, they are given life and by adoption they are given status. 

There is also a third way that the New Testament mentions and that is connected to the idea of transformation. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that his disciples should behave in certain ways in order to be recognised by others as the children of God.

Those ways of explaining what it means to be children of God are not contradictory. Instead they are complementary. We need to keep the three of them in mind when we think about what it means to be children of God. One way of doing so is to use three words – life, liberty and likeness.

We have already mentioned that regeneration describes how sinners receive spiritual life that marks God’s children. Adoption points to the liberty they have, because the idea behind adoption in those days was adoption from slavery. A slave was selected by a wealthy patron to be his heir and he moved from bondage to freedom. Transformation points to likeness, and the pattern to which they are being moulded is that of Jesus, the perfect Son.

In succeeding posts, we will consider some aspects of life as the children of God.