As Paul began his second
letter to the Thessalonian church, he gave the typical Pauline
greeting which included his name, his companions' names, and desired
“grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”
to be upon them. In chapter one and verse three of this letter, Paul
tells the Thessalonians he is “bound to thank God always”
for them where we read:
We are bound to thank
God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith
grows exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward
each other abounds;
The
verse begins, “We are bound to thank God always for you,
brethren, as it is meet,...”
Paul
began with the phrase, “We
are bound”
which means “owing, indebted and due” “to
thank” or
“grateful and expressing gratitude” “God”
which refers to the God head bodily and trinity which is comprised of
God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “always”
which means “at all times and ever” “for
you”
which refers to the Thessalonian church members “brethren”
or “a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the
same father or mother or a fellow believer who is united to another
by the bond of affection” “as
it is meet”
which is the Greek word “axios”
and
means
“having weight like as in value, befitting, congruous,
corresponding to a thing, of merit and worth”. Paul counted it
“great worth” and “value”
to
be “bound”
to “thank God”
for the church in Thessalonica.
The
verse goes on to say, “...because that your faith grows
exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each
other abounds;” Paul continued
with the word “because”
which is a conclusion word that means “since, for and in” “that
your faith” or “the
Thessalonians' conviction that God exists and is the creator and
ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation
through Christ” “grows exceedingly”
or “increases beyond measure” “and the charity”
which is the Greek word “agapē”
and means “affection, good
will, benevolence, brotherly and unconditional love” “of
every one of you” which again
refers to “each and all of” the Thessalonian church members and
“all” or “each,
every, any, all, the whole and everyone” “toward”
which means “in, unto, for and among” “each other”
or “to one another both mutually and reciprocally” “abounds”
which means “superabounds, exists in abundance and increases”.
Paul knew the “faith”
and “charity” of
the church in Thessalonica grew and superabounded, and with our
imaginations we can almost hear the glee in Paul's words as he wrote.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we begin to understand how Paul felt
“indebted” to the
Thessalonians because of their abounding in the main principles of
Christianity. Even though he was actually with them for only three
weeks when he first started the church, Paul heard reports of their
“faith” and “charity” to one another and considered it “great
value” to express thanks to “God” for them. We, too, should be
inspired by these wonderful people as they fully ascribed to the very
core of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Thessalonians grew in their
relationships with God and with one another, and when we begin to
“grow” in our
“faith” and
“charity” toward
one another, we will have “exceeding worth” in the same manner as
these church members.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians how he “glories”
in them, 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.
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