The
cities which surrounded the Thessalonian church had heard of their
faith so often that not even Paul the apostle had to share the gospel
of Jesus Christ with them. The people of these cities knew “what
manner of entering in” Paul and his entourage had unto the
Thessalonians, and how they “turned to God from idols to serve
the living and true God”. In chapter one and verse ten of his
letter to the Thessalonians, Paul the apostle added another trait
which was found in them, they were “waiting for” God's
“Son from heaven”, “Jesus”, where we read:
And to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even
Jesus,
which
delivered us from the wrath to come.
The
verse begins, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom
he raised from the dead, even Jesus...” Paul
began with the word, “And”
which means “in addition, also, indeed, even” “to
wait for” or “be patient and
trust” “his Son”
which refers to “the Son of Man and Son of God, Jesus” “from
heaven” or “the
region above the sidereal heavens which is the seat of order of
things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other
heavenly beings” “whom
he raised” which means
“aroused, caused to rise, appear and stir up” “from
the dead” or “one that has
breathed his last, lifeless, deceased, departed, destitute of life
and inanimate” “even Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and refers to “the Son
of God, Savior of mankind and God incarnate”. In addition to
turning from their idols to worship “the living and true
God”, the Thessalonian church
members were known for their expectancy that the Son of God, Jesus,
who was “raised from the dead”
by God was going to come again.
The
verse goes on to say, “...which delivered us from the wrath to
come.” Paul continued, “which delivered” or “rescued
and retrieved” “us from” which refers to “everyone who
believes in Jesus as separated and departed from” “the wrath”
which means “anger, temper, agitation of the soul, impulse, violent
emotion and anger” “to come” or “be established or
become known”. Paul attributed to Jesus the foregone conclusion of
“delivering us” and those who believe in Jesus as Savior
and Lord, from God's anger which will be poured out upon the
unbelieving world.
When
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we should remember the church
members of Thessalonica were very young in their faith and walk with
the Lord. Paul the apostle was among them for only three weekends,
and yet they had “turned from their idols to serve the
living and true God” and were
“waiting for” the
return of Jesus Christ. The angel in the book of Acts chapter one and
verse eleven said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand
gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go
into heaven”, and the
Thessalonians knew and observed this true promise. They were looking
for Him, expecting Him, and anticipating His imminent return. What
about us? Do we gaze out every day and wonder, “Could this be the
day when Jesus returns?” How long has it been since we have heard
“the Lord Jesus is coming” in our Sunday messages or Wednesday
prayer meetings? When have we shared and anticipated the Lord's
return in our home fellowships or men's and women's group meetings?
Perhaps the inspiration of this young, vibrant and worshipping church
of Thessalonica will stir our hearts once again and turn our eyes
toward the heavens to anticipate the return of the One who has
“delivered us from the wrath to come”.
“Even so come, Lord Jesus”.
Next
time we begin a new chapter where Paul talks about his “entrance”
among the Thessalonians not being “in vain”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment