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Earthly Good and the Heavenly Mind

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INTRODUCTION

In this next portion of this letter from Paul, we find a marvelous balance between our daily mundane concerns and our ultimate eschatological concerns. A taunt is sometimes leveled against certain Christians that they are “so heavenly-mined that they are no earthly good.” But this not how it works, actually.

C.S. Lewis sums the situation up nicely when he says this:

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next . . . It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither” (Mere Christianity)

THE TEXT

“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:9–18).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul begins the next section by saying that he does not need to teach them about brotherly love—for God Himself had taught them that (v. 9). And they were doing what they had been taught to do, loving all the brothers throughout Macedonia (v. 10). Paul’s plea was that they do what they already knew how to do more and more (v. 10). However, this active love is not a busybody love. It studies to be quiet (v. 11), to mind its own business (v. 11), work with its own hands (v. 11), as Paul had commanded. The reason for this ethic was so that they could walk honestly before outsiders, and not lack anything (v. 12).

He does not want them to be in the dark over what happens to fellow believers who “fall asleep in the Lord” (v. 13). They should not sorrow over them in the same way as those who have no hope (v. 13). For if Jesus died and rose (v. 14), even so those who have fallen asleep will be brought by God (v. 14). For Paul assures them by the word of the Lord that those who survive to the Lord’s appearing will have no advantage over those who died beforehand (v. 15). The Lord will descend from Heaven with a shout, an archangel’s voice, the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise (v. 16). Those alive at that time will follow after (v. 17). These are to be words of comfort (v. 18).

TEND TO YOUR OWN KNITTING

The great Pauline principle here is “mind thine own business.” You do this, not because you are telling the rest of the body to get lost, but rather because you need to acquire something before you can give it. You cannot give what you do not have, and you cannot have something to give unless you came by it honestly. Paul says something very close to this in Ephesians, when he tells the thief to work with his hands instead of pilfering with them. The reason is so that he might have something to give (Eph. 4:28). Loving more and more means gathering more and more, and it also means being generous with it. We give to get, in order that we might be enabled to give even more.

Notice how this works. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they were already loving all the brothers throughout all of Macedonia, and he urges them on. Do this more and more, he says. With this as the basic baseline charge, what is the action he then demands? Study to be quiet. Mind your own business. Work with your hands. Conduct your business honestly. Save your money.

And do all your work with the Second Coming on your mind. This is a juxtaposition that has radical implications for societal transformation.

COMFORT ONE ANOTHER

Paul moves seamlessly into his next topic, and we learn that Monday morning in the workplace and the end of the world are actually all part of the same subject.

In the short time that Paul and the Thessalonians had been acquainted, some of the saints in the Thessalonian church had already died. There was therefore some concern among the Thessalonians that these departed saints were somehow going to miss out if the Lord came. What is going to happen to them? Paul says that it goes the opposite way. When the Lord comes, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those who remained alive until that glorious day would be transfigured. That is when we will all be together with Lord, and we will be with Him together forever.

In an earlier message, we noted that not every Parousia in Scripture refers to the Second Coming. But this appearing unmistakably does refer to the end of the world. If you have any doubts, look at the events that surround it. There is a general resurrection of the dead. The living are caught up into the clouds. There is a great shout, probably that of the archangel. There is the last trumpet blast. The Lord descends from Heaven. This is not the demolition of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

HEAVEN AND EARTH KISS

So in the work of the saints, we should be able to see God’s declared purpose of bringing heaven and earth back together (Eph. 1:10). The Fall was the point where Heaven was “removed” to an almost infinite distance. But in Christ we are privileged to learn that Heaven is close, and by grace can be opened, and it is merely one short dove flight above the Jordan. When the Lord descends from Heaven, He will come down to your shop, your office, and your kitchen. He will come down to inspect His workmanship (Eph. 2:10), and He will look at your work as part of that (1 Tim. 6:18; Tit. 2:14; 3:8,14). This is because your work is part of His workmanship, and all of it is under a thick layer of grace.

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Not Like the Gentiles (1 Thessalonians)

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INTRODUCTION

We come now to the passage in Thessalonians that addresses the vast difference between the Christian sexual ethic and a pagan sexual ethic. We want to be careful here because there is a ditch on both sides of the road. Some Christians have confused being fastidious with being holy, and they are not the same thing at all. Other Christians have veered off the road on the opposite side, and are drinking all the ditch water that the porn industry can supply. So let us try to stay on the road, shall we?

THE TEXT

“Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 4:1–8)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We have seen how dear the Thessalonians were to Paul, as expressed in the previous chapter, and these exhortations are built on that foundation (v. 1). Paul says that just as they had received Paul’s teaching on how to please God, he now begs them, exhorting them, to do this more and more (v. 1). For “you know,” he says, reminding, what commandments we gave you (v. 2) “by the Lord Jesus.” Sanctification is God’s will for them, especially sexual sanctification (v. 3). Every one should know how to “possess his vessel” in sanctification and honor (v. 4). This is contrasted with the “lust of concupiscence,” which is characteristic of Gentiles who do not know God (v. 5). Sexual immorality is not “victimless,” as Paul says here that it is a matter of defrauding your brother—and God is the avenger for the defrauded one (v. 6). God’s calling for us is not to uncleanness, but rather to holiness (v. 7). If a man despises this commandment, he is not primarily despising man, but rather God (v. 8)—the same God who has given us His Holy Spirit.

THE POSSIBILITY OF PLEASING GOD

First, we must set the stage. Far too many Christians, particularly in our own Reformed camp, think of their Christian lives as having the ultimate goal of “not displeasing” God. Like the servant in the parable, they think their master is a hard master, and so their objective is simply to stay out of trouble. And that’s actually how they get into trouble.

Notice that Paul had taught them how to walk in a way that pleased God, and now he wanted them to do this more and more. Holiness is not the absence of sin, although cleansing from sin is a precondition. Holiness is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). It is the presence of something, and it is crowned with the pleasure of God. Not only so, but there is always room for advancement.

CAN GOD’S WILL BE THWARTED?

This is a good place for us to note that the phrase “the will of God” has to be understood in two senses. The decretive will of God cannot be thwarted by anyone at any time. Even Nebuchadnezzar knew this (Dan. 4:35). If God has determined that something will happen, then that something is going to happen.

God’s preceptive will has to do with what He has commanded us to do. This will can be thwarted, which is why we are instructed in v. 3 here not to disobey that will. We are told not to disobey that will because we could.

And remember there are times when the two kinds of wills intersect. When Jesus died on the cross, it was the will of God (Luke 22:42; Acts 4:26-28) even though it was accomplished by wicked hands (Acts 2:23). The violation of God’s preceptive will by Judas, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Sanhedrin, etc. was the instrument God used to accomplish His decretive will.

POSSESSING YOUR VESSEL

There is an ambiguity here. When Paul says that each one should know how to “possess his vessel,” is he talking about the person’s own body, or is he talking about that person’s wife? It is true either way, and it amounts to the same kind of behavior either way, but I am taking it in the latter sense.

When it comes to sexual behavior, it is not a contrast between the Gentiles possessing and the Christians not possessing. Both possess “their vessels.” But one does so with these descriptors—dishonor, uncleanness, passionate lust, fraudulence, and contempt. Don’t possess anything that way, Paul says.

By way of contrast, he requires sexual behavior from Christians (not sexless behavior) that is sanctified, honorable, honest, clean, and holy. When Paul says in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, he is talking about avoiding sexual impurity (1 Cor. 6:18). He is not talking about avoiding refined sugar or transfats. (Something is transfat, for example, when a baby carrot identifies as grease on the inside.)

Some of you may be thinking, “Great. Now I have to talk with my kids about all this on the way home.” To which an appropriate response might be “and about time.” The Thessalonians had learned from Paul how they were supposed to behave in this area (vv. 1-2). He taught on it. To leave the subject untouched (for the sake of remaining prissy and fastidious, as mentioned earlier) will not leave your children in some neutral zone. The world does not hesitate to catechize everyone in their sexual mores—through sex ed, through pop entertainment, and through porn. But in our revolt against this, we want to be joyful in holiness, not grim in our moralism.

JUSTIFICATION AND THE PLEASURE OF GOD

We are called to live in such a way as to please God. But this is not possible without the baseline of justification—the legal and forensic declaration of not guilty in the court chambers of Heaven. Our free and complete justification sets us free to pursue our sanctification without timidity.

Because of that great declaration of not guilty, we have no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). On the foundation of that great declaration, we are set free to be spiritually minded, which is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). To fall short of this, to be carnally minded, results in what? It means that those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8).

And this is why we declare Christ as your righteousness, as your complete justification. Because of that, and only because of that, His Spirit is at work in your for your sanctification, which includes your sexual life—whether in thought, words, or deeds.

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Face to Face (1 Thessalonians)

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INTRODUCTION

The first letter to the Thessalonians was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is part of the Word of God. But at the same time, it was Paul’s second choice. What he really wanted was to be together with the Thessalonians, face to face, so that he could truly encourage them.

THE TEXT

“But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:6–13)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Remember that Paul had said earlier that he was beside himself with concern over how the Thessalonians were doing (1 Thess. 3:1, 5), which is why he had sent Timothy to them (v. 2). Now he said that Timothy had returned with very good news. That news was that their faith and love were solid, and that they had good memories of Paul (v. 6). They wanted to see Paul and company, and the feeling went both ways. That news was a comfort to Paul in the middle of his afflictions and distress. So the news was refreshment to Paul in the midst of a trial. It was such good news that Paul describes it in terms of life—“for now we live” (v. 8). The Thessalonians standing fast was life to Paul. Paul has so much joy over them that he is without words when it comes rendering thanks to God (v. 9). Paul had been praying day and night, and doing so “exceedingly,” as he asked for two things. First, he wanted to see the Thessalonians face to face, and second, that he might be able to complete or perfect whatever was lacking in their faith (v. 10). And so he repeats his prayer request again—that God Himself, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ “direct our way unto you” (v. 11). He also prays that God would make them grow and increase in their love for one another, not to mention everyone else, in the same way that Paul felt about them (v. 12). The purpose of this is so that their hearts might be established without blame in holiness before God the Father, until the parousia of the Lord Jesus with all His saints (v. 13).

THE END OF THE AGE

One of the challenges we will have as we work through the two letters to the Thessalonians will be the challenge of distinguishing the end of the age (which occurred in 70 A.D.) and the end of the world (which will occur we know not when). I am taking the reference to the parousia at the end of our text here as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the passage in 1 Thess. 4:16 as referring to the Second Coming. Briefly, that will happen when the Lord Jesus “will descend from heaven,” and when He does there will be a general resurrection. Then there will be another question, when we get to chapter 5, about whether the “day of the Lord” refers to the Second Coming of chapter 4, or is referring back to the judgment on Jerusalem found in the earlier chapters.

The word parousia simply means arrival, coming, or presence. The word is not a synonym for the Second Coming. Paul can even use it of his own arrival somewhere (2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 1:26; 2:12), or of the arrival of his companions (1 Cor 16:17; 2 Cor. 7:6-7). He uses it to refer to the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:9). And there are references to the coming of Jesus, as in our text here (1 Thess. 3:13). I take this as a coming in judgment on Jerusalem, the appearance of the Lord being manifested in the complete fulfillment of His prophecy that Jerusalem was not going to have one stone left on another. The phrasing is likely an allusion to Zechariah.

“And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (Zech. 14:5).

Here are the reasons for thinking that we are talking about a visitation of wrath in the first century. The first chapter refers to the “wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). The Jews in chapter 2 fight against Gentiles receiving gospel, and Paul says that “wrath is come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thess. 2:16). This is clearly a reference to 70 A.D. This book was written circa50/51 A.D. During Passover in 49 A.D. there had been a massacre of thousands of Jews at the Temple. Also the emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome in that same year. Such events were not the fullness of wrath, but the pot was starting to boil, and Paul certainly expected it to boil all over the stove. Although he moves on to talk about the end of the world in chapter 4, we make that determination from the context (“the dead in Christ shall rise”). From the descriptions in the first three chapters, we have no reason to believe that Paul has moved out of the first century yet.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Notice how deeply Paul yearns for the growth of the Thessalonians in holiness. Also notice that he “settles” for writing to them. He would much prefer to see them face to face. He prayed exceedingly that he might be able to see them in person. Catechized by our digital world, we think we have conquered distance when we really haven’t. Our letters have gotten much more sophisticated than they were in Paul’s day, but our face-to-face communication is not what Paul would have made of it. Our texting, and Zoom meetings, and online sermons, and POD books, and blogs, and phone calls, are just souped up letters. Paul would have used them all, but he still would have yearned to be with the Thessalonians, in the same room, breathing the same air, and not through a mask.

CHRIST WORK

As we grow in the Lord, notice that it is the Lord who enables us to grow in the Lord. God gives the increase. When we increase and abound in love for one another, this is not our doing. It is being done for us. The Lord is the one who makes us love each other, and He is the one who establishes us in holiness. Love for Christ is part of the work of Christ. We are commanded to love Him, and this command to bear fruit is fulfilled as the fruit of the Spirit.

As the great Augustine once put it, “Give what you command, and command what you will.”

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The Mines of Difficulty

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INTRODUCTION

The second stanza of an old Isaac Watts hymn asks quite a reasonable question. It is a question that we—accustomed as we are to many creature comforts—should be willing to ask ourselves.

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed through bloody seas?

THE TEXT

“Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain” (1 Thess. 3:1–5).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After mentioning how dear the Thessalonians were to him, Paul then says that when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he thought it best for him to be left in Athens alone (v. 1). He commissioned Timothy to go back to Thessalonica in order to establish and comfort them (v. 2). This was a significant move because Timothy was important to Paul also. Timothy was Paul’s brother and fellow-worker, as well as a minister or servant of God (v. 2). The reason for sending Timothy was because the Thessalonians were going through afflictions at the hands of their own countrymen, as he mentioned in the previous chapter, and he wanted to ensure that they were taught well enough when it came to such afflictions. He didn’t want any man to be moved by them (v. 3), and he wanted to remind them that as believers we are appointed to them (v. 3). Paul had predicted it beforehand, when he was still with them. He told them what was going to happen. We are going to suffer tribulation, he had said, and sure enough it came to pass (v. 4). The Thessalonians had seen it come to pass with their own eyes. That was the reason why Paul was beside himself with concern. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he sent Timothy to them to find out if the tempter had followed up the affliction with temptation, and in such a way as to unwind all of Paul’s labors there (v. 5). Notice that there are two elements that Paul is concerned about. The first is the trial itself, and the second is the devil’s interpretation of it. The real concern is the spin the devil puts on it. But remember what a liar he is.

THE UNBELIEVERS’ INTENTION FOR BELIEVERS

In the previous chapter, Paul had reminded the Thessalonians that the Jews in Judea were “contrary to all men.” They were full of malice and hostility. They did not want Gentiles to be saved. They murdered the Lord Jesus. They had killed their own prophets. They persecuted the apostles. Paul knew the heart of man, and he knew the inevitable reaction whenever renewed hearts come into contact with unregenerate hearts. There is nothing you can do that will prevent this reaction from happening.

The thing you can do is teach Christians what to expect. Far too many Christians think the negative reaction is the result of them being a poor testimony. The idea that it is because they have had a good testimony scarcely occurs to them. Did Jesus have a poor testimony? Is that why He was killed?

GOD’S INTENTIONS FOR BELIEVERS

But God governs all things, and this means that God must have a purpose or intention for us in our afflictions. What is He up to?

“And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21–22).

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:3–5).

We glory in tribulations, not because we are masochistic, but because we know that it is the pathway to the great city. But we sometimes look at the landscape, which can be pretty grim, instead of looking at what is really happening. And what is really happening is what we are becoming. The hard path fits us for the glory to be found at the end of that road. What is this difficulty? Look at it with the eyes that Paul wanted the Thessalonians to have. It is the love of God, shed abroad in your heart.

OUR OWN INTENTION

We must learn wisdom. This means we must reject the purpose that unbelievers have for our afflictions, and yet we must also embrace the purpose that God has for those same afflictions. We know that God does not tempt any man (Jas. 1:13), but we also know that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted (Matt. 4:1). And we are instructed to pray that God lead us not into temptation (Matt. 6:13). This is not a contradiction. The same event can be a trial and a temptation, and the same Greek word is used for both. The event that is assigned to us by God—“to which we were appointed”—is an event that has different intentions on either side of it. God uses it to strengthen you, and the devil wants to use it to weaken you.

So we must learn to walk straight, which means that we must first learn to think straight. The way into the kingdom of God is fraught with difficulty. But that does not mean that just because something is difficult that it must be the way into the kingdom. Remember that wrath was coming upon the unbelieving Jews “to the uttermost.” The destruction of Jerusalem was difficult, but that is the only thing that it was. “Good understanding giveth favour: But the way of transgressors is hard” (Prov. 13:15).

The diamonds of the promise can only be found in the mines of difficulty—and some of those mines go deep. But there are other mine shafts that are filled with nothing but useless rocks.

The check on your heart should be this: Are you pursuing Christ and His kingdom? Is that what you want? Is that what you want regardless? Then the diamonds are most certainly there. Seek first His kingdom.

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How to Hear a Sermon (1 Thessalonians)

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INTRODUCTION

In the first half of this chapter, Paul recounted for the Thessalonians the kind of character that he and his co-workers displayed when they labored there in Thessalonica. In other words, what kind of man preached the gospel to them? But now he moves on to describe the authority of the gospel preached in itself.

THE TEXT

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe . . .” (1 Thessalonians 2:13-20)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul says that he constantly thanks God for the reception that the Thessalonians gave to the preached message (v. 13). When they heard it, they received it, not as a word from men, but as it was in fact, the Word of God. As the Word of God, it worked effectively and powerfully in the lives of those who believed (v. 13). The Thessalonians became, in effect, the younger brothers of the believers in Judea. They were persecuted by their countrymen, and then the same thing hap- pened to the Thessalonians (v. 14). The Jews had murdered the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and they persecuted the apostles. They don’t please God, and they are contrary to all men (v. 15). They get in the way of those preaching to Gentiles, that they might be saved, and this is why utmost wrath is coming down on them (v. 16). This likely refers to the impending judgment that is about to fall on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. We may also dispatch any anti-Semitic sentiments that some might want to assign to this kind of statement. It is true that the Jews did these awful things to Christ and the apostles. It is also true that Paul makes the point of saying that the Thessalonians got exactly the same treatment from their unregenerate countrymen. This viciousness is not how Jews are; it is how people are.

Paul had to leave the Thessalonians for a brief time, and longed greatly to see them again (v. 17). He attempted to revisit them repeatedly, but Satan hindered them (v. 18). What is Paul’s reward? What is his hope, joy, or crown of rejoicing? (v. 19). That would be the Thessalonians in the presence of Christ at His coming (v. 19). They were Paul’s glory and joy (v. 20).

HOW TO HEAR A SERMON

Paul here says that when they first arrived in Thessalonica, they preached the gospel. He goes on to commend the Thes- salonians for how they heard him. They received the message proclaimed, not as the words of men—even though they were the words of men—but as the Word of God Himself.

You have no doubt noticed that when I read the text I am going to preach from, I preface it with “these are the words of God.” The Scriptures are the Word of God. When you open your Bible, you don’t have to hunt around in or- der to try to find something God said. He said it all. But there is a theological school of thought (neo-orthodoxy) that teaches that the Bible is the place where you might encounter or meet with the Word of God (and then again, maybe not). This is obviously deficient, but we can take an illustration from it. That is not how to approach the Bible, but it can be a helpful way to approach a sermon.

When a minister of the Word, lawfully called and set apart, stands before you with an open Bible in order to expound what it says, you should prepare your hearts to encounter the Word of God. You should come to worship expecting Christ to speak to you. Evangelical sermons are not the Bible, stem to stern, obviously not. But something happens there, and it is a profound work of the Spirit.

“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11).

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14).

So when the sermon accords with the text, and the people are listening in faith, then Jesus Christ is speaking to His people.

The Second Helvetic Confession puts it this way: “The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God” (Ch. 1).

“The true idea of preaching is that the preacher should become a mouthpiece for his text, opening it up and applying it as a word from God to his hearers . . . in order that the text may speak . . . and be heard, making each point from his text in such a manner that [the congregation] may discern [the voice of God]” (Westminster Directory)

PERSONAL ENCOUNTER

The Scriptures are not embarrassed to offer us staggering rewards in the next life for faithfulness in this life. This has been mocked by some (“opiate of the masses”) and thoughtlessly pursued by others, as if God were going to give them a chest full of gold doubloons for having been such good boys. Now the fact of the promised rewards is undeniable, but we also have to consider the nature of the rewards. They are all bound up in personal relationships. Paul says that his crown is made up of Thessalonians. They were his hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing. They were his glory and joy. This is more like a wedding day than a pay day. The relationship is the reward.

Consider how this flows out from what was said just before this. When the gospel is preached in power, that means that Christ Himself meets with His people there. And when Christ meets with His people, His people also meet with His people. This is how fellowship in the Spirit arises. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One body, one Spirit.

CHRIST AND A YARD SALE VIOLIN

Sermons are not sacraments, but I think it is fair to say that they are sacramentals. A sermon is not a lecture, or a talk. It is not a chat about the things of God. It is a declaration, and unless Christ picks it up and uses it for His intended purposes, a sermon makes the hollowest sound a mortal has ever heard. Christ speaks with authority, and not as the scribes (Matt. 7:29). But He has so much authority that He can even pick up a scribe and do wonderful things through him. Every mortal preacher is in this position. Remember how Paul once cried out in a holy despair (2 Cor. 2:6). Who is sufficient for these things? The best preacher in the world is nothing more than a fifteen-dollar yard sale violin. But when Christ picks that thing up, He astonishes the world with the music He can make.

Christ is the revelation of God Himself, and He cannot be other than what He is. He is the revelation. He is the manifold grace of God. When He is preached, there He is made manifest. Christ is present.

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