The Gospel in Power

The Gospel in Power

(No. 3551)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1917.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, APRIL
28, 1872.

"For our Gospel came not unto you in word only," etc., [down to] "from
the wrath to come" 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10.

A WORKMAN likes to see that he has been doing something. It is very
dispiriting if he has spent much toil and can see no result. God's
workmen by faith would continue still to labor, even if they saw
nothing come of it, but it is much more comforting, much more easy for
them to continue in service when they see that God is blessing them.
Now it is not wrong for a Christian minister to speak about the
conversions that have been worked under his ministry, for Paul says
that he would have done so, only that others did it so constantly that
there was no need of it. Paul, however, would not, under any
circumstances, have done a wrong thing and, therefore, we gather that
it is sometimes most allowable that we should see what has been done
and should speak of it–and the more especially because if any good is
done by any ministry, it is God that has done it–and all the glory is
due to Him and to Him, alone!

Not to speak of what God has done would be ingratitude. It might have a
semblance of humility, but in reality it would be disloyalty to the
Most High. Paul, therefore, did not hesitate to speak of his converts
at Thessalonica and of their good character–and of the good fruit
which they had borne and the way in which they had spread abroad the
Gospel. He did not boast–he gave God the glory of it, but he did speak
of what had been done. And we think we may do the same in any measure
in which God shall bless our work–any one of us may tell of it to the
praise and glory of God and to the encouragement of our fellow
laborers. Now the Apostle in this passage tells us what God had done at
Thessalonica. We will proceed at once, for our text is long–we will
proceed at once to the handling of it.

And you will note that he tells us, first, what he had preached at
Thessalonica. Then how it had come to the people. And thirdly, what had
been the result of this to themselves. And fourthly, what had been the
result of it to other people. First, the Apostle tells us–

I. WHAT WAS PREACHED AT THESSALONICA. He says, "Our Gospel"–(note that
word)–"Our Gospel came not unto you in word only." Why does Paul call
it, "our Gospel"? He did not invent it! He did not think it out and
make it fresh every Sunday. No, it was Christ's Gospellong before it
was Paul's Gospel. Yet he calls it our Gospel by way of distinction,
for there were other gospels. There were those who came and said, "This
is the Good News!" And others, on the other hand, who said, "Thisis the
Good News," but Paul says that there was another Gospel and he adds,
"Yet not another, but there are some that trouble you." He, therefore,
put down his foot and he said, "Bring what gospels you like, each of
you, but I have a Gospel which I preach, distinct from yours, and that
Gospel it is which I have preached to the Thessalonians and which has
not come to them in word only." In these times, Beloved, there must be
made a distinction between men's gospel and God's Gospel, for nowadays
man's gospel is popular enough. Somebody thinks until his head aches
and he gets into nonsense–and then he comes and brings this forward as
something fresh. Men go to the bottom of a subject until they stir the
mud at the bottom and cannot see their own way, themselves, and nobody
else can ei-ther–and then forthwith they come out with something
marvelous! And, having used some words that are hard to pronounce and
harder still to understand, they earn a cheap name for being great
scholars and profound divines. Well, let such go their way–that is
their gospel, but we have another Gospel from that–one which we have
gained in another way and which we desire to propagate in another
fashion! Paul said, "our Gospel," then, by way of distinction.

But he also meant this–it was his Gospel because it had been committed
to him. He had received it as a sacred deposit. He was, as it were, a
steward for God–put into commission to preserve and keep alive the
Truth of God in the world–and Paul did keep it unadulterated, so that
when he closed his life he could say, "I have fought a good fight. I
have kept the faith." Whoever may have adulterated the Gospel, Paul did
not. He gave it forth as Christ gave it to him. Oh, that each one of us
who is called to preach the Gospel and, indeed, every church member
would feel that the Truth of God is committed to us to keep it in the
world! Our grandfathers kept it at the stake and on the cruel rack–and
when they went in their chariots of fire to Heaven, they left the Truth
to their sons to preserve. Handed down to us in the long line of
martyrs and confessors, Covenanters and Puritans, what will we do with
it now? Will we not feel that all the cost expended on it in the
centuries past demands of us that we should spend the same–if there is
a necessity for it–even our blood and that, while we live, it shall
never be said that in our life, in our prayer, in our conversation, or
in our preaching, the Gospel suffered anything at our hands? "I know
whom I have believed," said Paul, and, "I am persuaded that He is able
to keep that which I have committed to Him." Or rather, as some read
it, "He is able to keep my deposit, that which He committed to me to
keep. Christ also will keep and preserve the Gospel pure and clear,
even until time's latest hour." The Lord grant it, for His name's sake!

But I think the Apostle used the term, "our Gospel," not only for
distinction and because he felt it was committed to his trust, but
because he had enjoyed it, himself, and had experienced it. What right
has any man to preach that which he has not himself enjoyed and made
his own? I have heard of a certain physician who usually tried his own
medicines upon himself–and surely this should always be the practice
of those who serve the heavenly Physician. How shall we come and preach
of the Balm of Gilead, which is to heal all wounds, if our wounds are
unhealed? What a wretched case must that man be in who talks of
regeneration, but is not born-again! Who preaches faith, but has never
believed! Who talks of pardon, but has never been washed in the
precious blood! Who speaks of the righteousness of Christ, but is
shivering in the nakedness of his own corruption! Ah, wretched man, to
be a herald of good news while he, himself, partakes not therein!
Ezekiel, before he had to go and speak of the message of God, had that
message given to him, and what was said? "Son of man, eat this roll."
He had to take the message written on the roll and eat it–and when it
was in his own body–then it was that he could tell it out with great
power! It is a good old saying, "If your preaching is to go to the
heart, it must come from the heart." It must first have moved our souls
before we can ever hope to move the souls of others!

The Lord is my witness that in preaching to you here, Beloved, these
many years, I have preached to you what I have tasted and handled of
the good Word of God. I have preached the Doctrine of human sin, for I
have felt its power, felt its bitterness and shame, and lain in the
dust before God, even in despair. I have preached to you the power of
the precious blood to cleanse from sin, for I have looked to Christ's
dear wounds and found cleansing there. We have only spoken to you what
we have, ourselves, known and felt, and proved to be true–and I would
go to my chamber this night wretched, indeed, if I had no other
assurance of the Truth of God of my message than that which I could
find in the experience of other men! Now many of you are engaged in
preaching Christ to others and in teaching Christ to the children in
the schools. Always speak out of the fullness of your own hearts, for
when you can say, "I have tried this. I am rejoicing in this," then
your words will be pretty sure to come with power to the hearts of
those that hear you. The man who desires to bring others to Christ
should imitate Elisha, the Prophet, who, when he found the child dead
in the bed and that it could not be raised to life by any other means,
went and put his mouth upon the child's mouth, his hands upon the
child's hands and his feet upon the child's feet–and then, by-and-by,
the life was restored to the child. We must feel an inward sympathy
with those whom we would bring to Christ! And then we must tell out
from our own soul what we know about the Savior and it will be sure to
come with freshness and with power, God, the Holy Spirit, blessing it!
This, then, I think, was Paul's reason for calling it, "our
Gospel"–the Gospel committed to him and the Gospel which he had tasted
and handled personally. Now I shall want you to observe in the second
place–

II. HOW THE GOSPEL CAME TO THE THESSALONIANS. He describes it as coming
in four degrees. First, he says, "It came not in word only, but in
power and in the Holy Spirit." And, fourthly, in much assurance. Now
these four words enable me to divide the present audience. To all who
have been here present, who have been sitting in these pews for any
length of time, our Gospel has certainly come in the Word of God. They
have all heard it–heard it, too, so as to understand the run, the gist
of it. They have heard it in many forms and shapes commending itself to
their attention. But, oh, it is to be feared that there are some to
whom it has come in word only and it is, indeed, to the preacher (and
more still it should be to those who are in such plight) sad that this
life-giving Word should be only a word. There was the

Gospel feast and the message was sent, but they who were invited came
not to the feast. They heard the message–that was all. Here are sick
men lying at Bethesda's pool–they see the water and that is all–but
they step not in and are not healed. Oh, to lie sick, with healing
within reach! To be hungry and bread hard by! To be thirsty, with the
stream flowing at one's feet and not to drink! Remember dear Hearers,
that if the Word of God comes to you as word only, today, it will one
day be something more than that, for it is an undoubted Truth of
Scripture that hearers are responsible for what they hear. "Take heed
how you hear!" shall have to be answered for at the Day of Judgment.
"You heard the Gospel, but you rejected it!"–shall be one of the
charges brought against those who listened to it–and it shall be more
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than it shall be for such an one! I would
now like to divide the congregation upon this question, "How many are
now here to whom the Gospel has come in word, only?" Let conscience
speak! Let each man put his hand upon his heart and answer, "Is that my
case?" If so, may it not be your case any longer, no, not a single day
longer, but may the Word of God come to you in another way!

But there were, secondly, some to whom it came in power. Now there are
hearers to whom the Gospel comes with an awakening power. They used to
be careless, but they cannot be, now! They hear the words, "Eternity!
Eternity! Eternity," ringing in their ears and it startles and awakens
them. They cannot be at ease while they are at enmity with God! They
feel that their nest is stirred up. It has come with power to them.
More than that, there are some to whom the Word has come with crushing
effect–it has struck them down! It has bruised their righteousness. It
has dashed to shivers their hopes of themselves and though they have
not looked to Christ for the true hope, yet they feel the power of the
Gospel which lays all other hopes in the dust! Ah, I know some of you
have felt the power of the Gospel, for you went home and prayed,
perhaps dozens of times–after hearing the sermon! You have gone up to
your chambers and you have begun to pray, but the next morning you have
forgotten. Your goodness has been like the morning dew and has melted
when the heat of the day's cares have come upon it. Alas! Alas! Alas!
In many a furrow we have sown in vain! We have cast the Seed on stony
ground, we have thrown it on the highway side and we have lost our
pains–nevertheless, we are to continue to preach the Gospel, for in
some it will come with a greater power than this!

Again, I would entreat another division of the house. I know there are
some who will come under this head. They are not saved, but still they
cannot ridicule it–they cannot pass it off with indifference. It is
like a sharp two-edged sword–it pierces, cuts and wounds. I pray God
it may kill them spiritually, that they may yet be made alive!

Now the third degree of the coming of the Word to Thessalonica was that
it came in the Holy Spirit. Ah, here is the blessed way, for if it
shall come in any other power than this, it will come in vain! But if
it comes in the Holy Spirit, oh, then–then its end is achieved, for
the Holy Spirit quickens men by a mysterious operation which we cannot
describe– but which some of us have felt! It comes upon men and
creates in them a new life and whereas they were dead in sin, they
begin to live as they never lived before! That same Spirit then
enlightens them, showing them a thousand Truths of God in a light in
which they never saw them before. They find they have entered into a
new world. They have passed from darkness into marvelous light! Then
the Spirit of God begins to purify them. He purges them from this sin
and that and He refines and renews them. He is in them as a Spirit of
burning–consuming sin–a cleansing Spirit purging them from
unrighteousness! Then He comes as a consoling Spirit and gives them joy
and peace, lifts them up above their cares, their temptations, their
doubts and fills them with a preface of eternal bless! Oh, blessed is
that man to whom our Gospel comes with the Holy Spirit! Beloved, we do
not wonder if persons sneer at the Gospel in itself, or if others hear
it and are unaffected by it, for the Gospel, in itself, is like a sword
without a warrior's arm to wield it. But when the Spirit of God comes,
man is a doubter no longer! When He lays home the Truth of God, He cuts
so to the dividing of soul and spirit, joint and marrow, so that men
are convinced, converted, saved–and the Truth is to them, indeed a
living thing! Pray, O beloved members of this Church, pray that the
Word of God, even our Gospel, may come with the Holy Spirit!

But there was a fourth class to whom the Word came in a yet higher
degree, for it is added, "and with much assurance." To all Christians
it comes with the Holy Spirit, but to some with a still greater degree
of spiritual power! They believe the Gospel, but they do not believe it
timidly–they accept it as a matter of firm, solid, indisputable fact!
They grasp it as with an iron hand and their own interest in it does
not remain a question. No, they know whom they believe and are
persuaded that He is able to keep that which they have committed to
Him. They believe in Christ with the faith of Abraham, which staggered
not at the promise through unbelief. Clouds and darkness have gone away
from their sky and they see the clear blue ether of God's own Presence
above them. They rejoice in the Lord always, and again they do rejoice.
There are some such in this house. I bless God for every one of them.
May there be many more, for you that possess full assurance are the men
who are strong for service! Having the joy of the Lord in your souls,
it becomes your strength as you go forth to fight the Master's battles
because you feel the Master's Love! The Lord give us many, many such in
the Church, to whom the Word of God shall come with the Holy Spirit and
with much assurance! Now this is how the Word of God came to them. I
must pass on to the third point, and that is–

III. WHAT HAD BEEN THE RESULT OF THIS IN THEMSELVES?

You will kindly observe that the Apostle first says, "You became
followers of us and of the Lord." A man, when he is first converted, is
not fit to be a leader–he has to be a follower. We do not take
recruits and make them captains! They must be drilled. They must go
into the rank and file a bit. So one of the first things that Divine
Grace does is to make a man a disciple, that is, a learner–and then he
sees in God's Word what his life and conduct should be and, looking
about him, he sees some whom God has blessed with His Grace whose life
and conduct is according to the Word–and he follows God's servants,
but not slavishly. He draws a distinction between them and their Master
and only follows them as long as they keep company with their Lord.
"You became followers of us and of the Lord." Brothers and Sisters, I
know that many of you here present, when the Word of God came to you,
became followers of holy men. If you heard of any good action, you
desired to imitate it. If you read any biography that told of noble
deeds, you aspired to emulate such deeds. And when you read the
Character of your Lord and Master in the four Evangelists, you asked
that you might have Grace to live a life of self-sacrifice, of devotion
to God and of philanthropy to men. Well, this is no mean work of Divine
Grace when a man is brought to be a follower of that which is good.

At the same time he tells us that these people received the Word of God
"in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit." I know that there
are some in this house who, when they received the Gospel, had to
suffer for it, but they rejoiced to do so! From the day in which they
publicly put on Christ, they were jeered–they became subjects of
derision. Some have gone back from us because they could not bear the
perpetual taunt, but others of you have been kept by the Grace of God
and made able to bear any stigma or any sneer! And, indeed, is it not a
small thing to bear the jests and jeers of men if the heart is right
towards God? What do we care–what should we care though all men point
the finger and should hiss because of it? Be true to God, Believer, and
to your conscience, too, and you may well receive the Word "with joy of
the Holy Spirit," even "in much affliction"! This is one proof of every
Christian minister's ministry, when he can point to a people who have
become followers of that which is good and have continued to follow
when they have been made to suffer for it!

But it appears that these people at Thessalonica went farther. They
grew out of being followers in some sense and, therefore, became
leaders. "So that you were examples to all Believers in Macedonia and
Achaia." Now it is a very easy thing for a Christian to be an example
to a sinner. He ought to be–and he is not a Christian if he is not. I
won't give twopence for your religion if you do not set a fair example
to the ungodly. But it is a higher degree of Divine Grace when a man
becomes an example even to Christians–when he is such a Believer that
others may look upon him as the typical Christian, for that is the word
used here–may regard him as the type of what a Christian ought to be!
Paul says that some of those degraded idolaters to whom he had preached
the Gospel, first followed him and the Lord, and afterwards grew in
Grace so that they stood in the front rank and became an example to
Believers! Let me hold this up, Beloved, to your emulation. Let none of
us be content to be according to the ordinary cold Christianity of this
age! What cold, poor stuff it is! If the Lord, Himself, should come,
would He find faith in the earth? Where is the zeal of the days gone
by? Where is the ardor, where is the courage of the ages that have
gone? If these things are found nowhere else, O my Brother, seek to
have them in your own soul! Ask God, if you are compelled to see others
decline, that you may not decline, for God's Grace can make you an
example to the rest of His people! There are such here tonight of whom
I might speak– only the Lord bless them and keep them as they are–for
I have seen Apostolic Christianity here! If I have seen it nowhere
else, I have seen it here among some of my Brothers and Sisters here
present, whose service for the Lord shall be remembered in the Day of
Account! They wish it not to be known here, nor will it be, but they
have, with tears and prayers, devoted themselves to Christ and served
Him well–and He will remember them in that Day.

Further, the Apostle goes on to tell us what was done by these
Thessalonians–that they turned from idols. Oh, that God might turn all
of us from every idol that we have! We do not worship gods of wood and
stone, but how many professors are there still who worship learning?
Let them seek it, but let them not worship it! There are some that
worship fame, others that worship pleasure. This city is full of
idolaters from end to end! When the Grace of God comes, it makes men
worship the unseen God and leave their idols to those that choose them.
Turning from idols, it appears that these people served the living God.
They did not merely acknowledge that He was the living God, but they
began to serve Him! They put forth their strength in His cause. So will
it be among us wherever the Word has come with the Holy Spirit–we
shall spend and be spent in the service of our Creator and Redeemer!
And he adds that they waited for the coming of the Lord. Oh, this is a
high mark of Grace, when the Christian expects his Lord to come–and
lives like one that expects Him every moment! If you and I knew tonight
that the Lord would come before this service was over, in what state of
heart should we sit in these pews? In thatstate of heart we ought to
be! If I knew that I would see my Lord before another sun should rise,
how would I preach? I ought to preach just in that way as though He
were sure to come at once and there could be no doubt about it! We
would hold very loosely the things of this world if we knew that Christ
was speedily coming–and so loose we ought to hold them! We would care
but little for the discomforts of life if we knew that it would all be
over and Christ would come very shortly–so little ought we to think of
life's discomforts. Blessed is that man whose soul is always looking
for the coming of the Lord! He may not study texts of Scripture to know
the times and seasons, but if he is always expecting that his Lord may
come at any time, and shall live under the feeling of that belief and
in the power of it, he will be the holy man! "What manner of persons,"
says Peter, "ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness?"
Such we desire to be by the power of the Holy Spirit! Thus we have
noticed what the Grace of God did for the Thessalonians themselves. Now
let us mark–

IV. WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THIS TO OTHERS?

And here I wish to speak practically to the members of this Church.
Thessalonica was a seaport. It was also a principal town in Macedonia.
Therefore, whatever was done in Thessalonica was pretty sure to be
known throughout Macedonia and the rest of Greece. If the Church at
Thessalonica had been a dull, sleepy Church, as some Christian Churches
are, it would have lost a fine opportunity of doing good–but being a
thoroughly awake Church, really full of God's own power–from that
Church was sounded forth the Word of God throughout all Greece! And
when the ships left that port they carried the tidings to Asia Minor
and to other lands, so that Thessalonica became the starting point for
the heralds of the Cross. Now if there is any place in the world that
ought to feel its responsibility, it is London. We are not egotistical,
I think, when we say that it is the very heart of the world! Whatever
is done here is sure to be known and an earnest Church in London is
only what it should be! A Church in London of any prominence that is
sleepy, dull, and cold will have a very heavy account to render when
the great Master shall come! The Church at Thessalonica sounded forth
the Gospel involuntarily, and also voluntarily. They did it
involuntarily, for their very lives spoke! If they did not preach, they
were so full of faith, good works and holiness, that other people
talked about it. And the matter was known and the work of God in the
hearts of the Church could be perceived in the lives of the
members–and so it went out. Oh, how happy would any pastor be whose
people should be so godly, so united, so generous, so persevering, so
prayerful, so full of faith and of the Holy Spirit that everywhere they
should be spoken of and through them, through their conduct, the Word
of God should be sounded abroad! See to that, my Brothers and
Sisters–see to it. God has placed us where we are observed by many.
Give them something to observe worth seeing! With the eyes of a
multitude of witnesses upon us, let us run with patience the race that
is set before us!

But then the Church at Thessalonica sent out the Word voluntarily. I
have no doubt that if they had any men among them that could preach the
Gospel, they bade them go and preach it! And if any went on their
travels, whether they were sea captains or merchants who went from
place to place, or persons of influence, or whatever they might
be–they said to them, "Wherever you go, keep up the propaganda. Preach
the Gospel! Tell of Jesus Christ! Be, all of you, missionaries." Now in
this I can rejoice and will rejoice that it has been so among us. At
this present moment I suppose that not less than 300 of our sons that
have been borne upon our knees are preaching the Gospel while I am
preaching here–I mean ministers of Christ preaching the Gospel!
Besides that, all round these streets are our Evangelists preaching at
street corners. There ought to be more of them. Some of you that come
to hear me on Sunday nights ought not to come. If you have got the
Grace of God in your heart, come and get enough spiritual meat to feed
you, but remember that London is perishing for the lack of the Gospel!
How dare you, then, sit still to enjoy the Gospel while men are
perishing? There are lodging houses that are accessible! There are
halls, large and small! There are the street corners! There are all
sorts of places where Jesus can be preached! Oh, let us labor with all
our might to make Him known throughout the length and breadth of this
great city!

At this moment we have our sons, the sons of this Church, preaching in
Australia, in America–an abundance of them there, preaching the Gospel
of Christ–in the islands of the Pacific–all through every portion of
our Dominions. God be thanked that there are so many, but there ought
to be many more. I propound as a theory, not that a Christian man ought
to say, "Am I called to preach the Gospel?" but that he ought to say,
"Am I excused from preaching the Gospel?" The old plan was for young
men to preach before the Church to see if they could preach. I think we
must bring them all up to make them prove that they cannot preach. Now
Mr. Oncken has been blessed in Germany, as you knew, to the raising of
many Baptist Churches, and he always works upon this theory–Every
member of the church must say, when he comes in, what he can do. If he
says he cannot do anything, and he is old, and infirm, and bed-ridden,
very well, he can serve God by patiently suffering. But if he has any
ability and says, "I cannot do anything," then the reply is, "You
cannot come into the Church." We cannot have any drones–we must have
all working bees in the hive. I think it would be a good resolution for
the Tabernacle to expel every member that is not doing something or
other for the Lord Jesus Christ. I am afraid some of you would have to
go!

Well, we won't move that resolution, but we will move another–that
every member who has been a drone up till now shall pray to be a bee!
That everyone who has done nothing shall ask the Lord to help him to
begin! That those who have done half as much as they could, will do the
other half! And that those who are doing all they can will always try
to do a little more, for it is always that point of doing more than you
can do that, in the long run, is the best kind of doing–for then you
have to lean upon God's strength when you have gone to the limit of
your own–and there is the point where the results are pretty sure to
follow! I ask the prayers of the dear Brothers and Sisters who have
been with us–some of them 16 and 17 years in this service–that God
would not stay His hand in our midst. That as He has multiplied us to
an unexampled company of some 4,500 persons or thereabouts in
membership, that He may give us unexampled Grace! That our zeal and
earnestness, and enthusiasm may be in proportion to the number and that
the success achieved for God may be commensurate with the
responsibilities laid upon us. I sound the clarion again tonight! As
God said, "Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward," so
would I speak to you. Forward in God's name! Forward! The world still
lies in the Wicked One. Forward, you light-bearers! Scatter the
darkness! Satan still laughs at God! Forward, with the invincible
weapon of the Cross and put him to flight!

Now sound your trumpets around the walls of Jericho–continue still to
compass it. Now let the trumpet sound and the wall shall fall flat to
the ground by the power of the eternal God. Forward! I hear the angels
say it! Forward! I seem to hear innumerable spirits say, beckoning us
like the Man of Macedonia, who beckoned Paul across the sea, Forward!
The very powers of Hell behind us might well drive us on. Forward! The
love of Christ within us shall impel us and let each man and women here
that has been redeemed by blood, resolve tonight, in Jehovah's
strength, to do for God and for His Truth something more than yet we
have thought of–to the praise of the Glory of His Grace! God bless
you, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: 1 THESSALONIANS 1.

Verse 1. Paul, andSilvanus, and Timotheus, unto the Church of the
Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Paul is very full of Christ. His heart is full of love to God
our Father and, therefore, it is that twice over in as many lines he
mentions both names. He uses no vain repetitions, as the heathen
do–his inmost soul is taken up with communion with the Father and with
the Son–and so in one single verse he twice gives us their names!

2-4. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in
our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor
of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of
God and our Father Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
Paul had a very high opinion of the Church in Thessalonica and no doubt
it deserved it. See how he speaks of it–with such confidence.
"Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God." Their character was
such that he felt sure that he saw the mark of God's elect about them
and he speaks most positively of them–perhaps more positively than he
does of any other Church. Well, there were three grand signs. There was
the work of faith, the labor of love and the patience of hope. And
where we see three works of the Spirit, we may be fully persuaded that
electing love is there.

5. For our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Spirit And in much assurance; as you know what manner
of men we were among you for your sake. Paul never had a happier time
in preaching, it would seem, than when he preached to these
Thessalonians! He felt a power resting upon him. He spoke the Gospel
with great positiveness and assurance and, consequently, the people
received it in power–and the assurance of the hearer made the
assurance of the speaker! It is a great mercy when it is so.

6. And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the
Word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit.Ah, dear Friends,
we read of one that he was more honorable than his brethren because his
mother bore him with sorrow. And so when faith is born in the heart in
the midst of affliction, it is a very precious faith. It is faith,
indeed. "Having received the Word in much affliction with joy." I seem
to see that joy of theirs floating, like Noah's ark, above the floods
of their affliction. It seems to be a contradiction that we can be in
affliction and yet be full of joy. But many a Believer will tell you
that there is no contradiction in it. He knows what it is to be
sorrowful and yet to be always rejoicing!

7. So that you were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and
Achaia. Brothers and Sisters, let us not only be Christians, but let us
be examples of Christians! They are sure to pick out the best for an
example. Oh, that we might be such that if God, Himself, were to select
Christians to show what they are like, He might select us to be
examples!

8-10. For from you the Word of the Lord has sounded out, not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God
has spread abroad, so that we need not to speak anything. For they
themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had unto 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, even
Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.Paul here states that
all the Churches abroad knew what a wonderful time he had had with the
Thessalonians and with what alacrity they had received the Gospel–and
how they had turned away from their idols in thorough earnest to become
worshippers of the living God! This was a great comfort to Paul and he
speaks about them here with great joy!