ENABLING AND EXCELLING GRACE

Perhaps you have heard the expression, “God’s commandment is His enablement.”  Paul attests to that in 1 Timothy 1:12-14. That is the grace of God. Grace is God’s sufficiency for our inadequacy. 

That is grace to save, since we do not have the capability to save ourselves. Paul rejoices in the amazing grace that saved a wretch like he was, “formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief,” (v. 13). 

But, the grace of God extends beyond that, as it is also grace to serve.  Our efforts to serve God will be futile apart from God’s Spirit equipping us. That is the focus of these verses. 

It is ENABLING GRACE, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,” (v. 12). Paul was faithful and God made Him fruitful. Jesus used the analogy of a grape vine and its branches in John 15. He is the True Vine and we are mere branches. Only as we abide in Him, does His grace flow into us and through us, yielding fruit. The God who called us into the ministry will give us the capacity to minister.  The task is beyond my ability, but puts no strain on Omnipotent God!

This is also EXCELLING GRACE, “And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus,” (v. 14). Not only is there an adequate measure of grace so I may serve the Lord, but there is an abundant supply of grace—more than enough. The demands of ministry would be overwhelming. Yet, there is no drain on Almighty God!  This grace is expressed with faith and love. 

The faith in Christ supplies this grace. This is how we connect to Him. The writer of Hebrews list the exploits of heroic people of faith in chapter 11. He concludes with a reminder that we too have work to do in our day—and it is the work of faith. “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” (Heb.‭11‬:‭39‬-‭40‬‬).

The love of Christ shares this grace. This is how we communicate Him. Grace operates in us to turn us from self-centeredness to servant-heartedness. We take up the basin and towel, following the example of Jesus in washing feet, for it is the enabling of Jesus who gives us His heart of love to do so. I need to speak of God’s love, but it will only be impactful as I show His love.

So, as you serve Him—marvel that He would reach down into the den of iniquity and summon you out of the dregs of society to be a trophy of His grace. But, then that same grace is not meant to have you displayed on a shelf, but demonstrated as you serve.

VIRTUES FOR VICTORY

 

There is a trinity of Christian virtues—faith, hope, and love. Paul returns to these again and again in his writings. These are found repeatedly in 1 Thessalonians as the Apostle tells the church what they are to be: a people of faith, hope, and love. Nearing the close of this letter, he indicates that these virtues are vital for victorious spiritual warfare in 5:8. 

He points to THE SOBRIETY OF THE CONFLICT, “But let us of who are of the day be sober…”.  War is serious business. There is the need to face it with sobriety. The Christian life is not to be taken casually. Satan and his forces are ever seeking opportunity to attack. We are exhorted to vigilance of we would have victory—“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation,” is the call of Christ, (Matt. 26:41). Paul had just exhorted, “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober,” (v. 6).  

Then, he stresses THE SECURITY IN OUR COMBAT, “putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”  While we must keep our eyes open, we also must have our armor on. 

This brings protection for our heart, “putting on the breastplate of faith and love…”.  The heart is the seat of affection. To protect our heart for God requires we wear the breastplate of faith and love. 

Faith is the response of the heart to the Word of God. We have heard the truth of the Gospel and by the work of the Spirit we have been drawn to Christ. Faith in Christ saves us and secures us. Satan seeks to undermine the Word of God. Recall in the first temptation in Eden how the serpent called Eve to doubt the Word of God and then to deny it altogether. 

Love is the response of the heart to the love of God. We love Him for He first loved us. God sent His Son to save us and seal us. Knowing this shields us. Again, we revisit the catastrophic choice in Paradise as the serpent basically told Eve that God was holding out on them by denying them the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He called into question God’s love for Adam and Eve.

If our heart does not rest in the Word of God and rely on the love of God, then we have no protection. Our doubt will defeat us.

Further, we have protection for our head, “and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”  The head is the seat of comprehension. Hope is the confident assurance of the promises of God. Satan seeks to undermine these by our circumstances. Consider Job’s devastating circumstances. Satan attacked him furiously. Even Job’s wife assailed him with a call to abandon God for God had surely abandoned him. 

There is what is called, “the fog of war.”  What we cannot see and the wrong conclusions based on that limited knowledge impacts our decision making and potentially can bring defeat. While, we may not fully grasp what is happening in the midst of Satan’s attacks, we can rely on what we have seen—the hope of salvation in the end. Have you not read the book of Revelation?  We win—and it is not even close!  Get this firmly fixed in your mind and press on. That blessed hope is your helmet. It is why Paul stresses the rapture of the church as Christ comes for His people.

The Apostle  would go on to say, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (v.8‬-‭11‬‬). 

Shane and Shane have a song that puts it:

So I can face tomorrow
For tomorrow's in Your hands
All I need You will provide
Just like You always have

 

I'm fighting a battle
That You've already won
No matter what comes my way
I will overcome
I don't know what You're doing
But I know what You've done
I'm fighting a battle
You've already won.

SACRIFICE IN THE SENDING

 

We are beginning to get some produce from the garden that one of my sons-in-law works with me—already squash, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes, with beans, corn, and okra about ready. Yet, this reward has demanded an investment of time, money, and energy. You do not have a crop without a cost.

That is true in the spiritual realm, also. A spiritual harvest demands a sacrificial service. We see it in 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3, as Paul sacrificed to send his young protege, Timothy, to buttress the faith of the Thessalonians. Paul would miss the young preacher’s assistance, but Paul was not about caring for himself, but the church.

THE DESCRIPTION OF THE MINISTER is given in verses 1-2a. Three terms are used to describe Timothy, and are helpful for us in understanding Gospel work. 

Timothy was described first as a “brother.”  The preacher has an elite responsibility, but is not in a superior category. Whether an apostle, like Paul, a preacher like Timothy, or a member of the church at Thessalonica, there is an equal standing before God. He is our Father, and we are brothers. Everything begins with our relationship to God through Christ by the regenerating work of the Spirit that births us into the family of God. There is no special category of priest or saint whom we must go through to get to the Father. Scripture teaches the priesthood of all believers. A class system dividing clergy and laity is doctrinal error. So, if you have been called to preach the Gospel, it is a gift of grace, and there is no room for arrogance. 

Timothy is further described as a “minister.”  He is a minister of God. He answers—ultimately not to a church board or even the church body, but to the Lord who called him. We serve Christ as we serve His body, the church. Yet, we are accountable to God—to do the will of the Master and not the whims of men. 

Timothy was also described as a “laborer.”  The preacher does not sit on a throne to be waited on and fawned over. He takes up a basin and towel as his dear Lord, and follows Christ’s example in washing dirty feet. Gospel ministry is not for the lazy. Church work is simply that—work!  Timothy is called “a fellow laborer,” and this is a reminder that ours is not a solo service. We work most effectively when we multiply ministry by equipping and engaging others in the church to labor alongside us. 

All of this flows from, “the gospel of Christ.”  We are in a relationship with Christ and His church because we have responded to the Gospel. We are ministers with the duty of sharing the message of the Gospel. We are laborers who have embraced the commission to take the Gospel to all people in all places.

THE DUTY OF THE MINISTER is disclosed in verses 2b-3. The Thessalonians were facing intensifying persecution—“afflictions,” as Paul called it. He knew the danger that they might be “shaken,” by this. From the first century until now, Satan is busy in opposing the church. Those whom Christ so loves, the Devil rabidly hates. As a minister of the Gospel, you are to ground the saints in the Gospel. 

Our duty is to establish the people of God. We lay a solid foundation of faith. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” (Rom. 10:17). As we preach the Gospel publicly in the church house and share it personally from house to house, we establish the saved on the Rock—Jesus Christ. This was Paul’s pattern, “how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,” (Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭20‬‬). 

Yet this extends beyond evangelism to edification. Our duty is further to encourage the people of God. We construct a Scriptural framework of faith. These pillars of truth form a solid doctrinal house to encourage the saints to withstand the assaults on them from the world and the Devil. If the Wicked One cannot deter souls from grounding in the faith, he will try to discourage saints from growing in faith. Gospel ministry not only brings people to Christ, but buttresses them in Christ.

There are many struggling churches that are in need of support. If you are a pastor of a stronger church, do not try to maintain what you have, but multiply your ministry. Call out the young men in the church who are candidates for Gospel ministry. Yes, it is God who calls them, but He often uses our voice. Pray for the Lord to raise up young men. Then mentor them as you model for them what Gospel work is all about. When you call them, commission them—send them out, if possible with a support team—to some declining church to establish and encourage that congregation. Yes, it is a sacrifice in sending out those who have been so valuable in serving alongside you, but Kingdom work is not about us—it is about propagating the Gospel beyond our walls.