Crown of Boasting – 1 Thessalonians 2: 13-20

Red Village Church Podcast

All right. It’s great to deliver God’s word to you this morning. I really am grateful for every opportunity that I’m given to preach, and I’m really grateful just for the mentorship of Aaron. That being said, I have to mention that I’m really grateful to see some of the students that are here today who have been gone for the summer. For those that don’t know, actually, some students that have already graduated named Henry and Naomi just got engaged, which, yeah, we are super excited for them and so grateful for them to be part of our little church family.

So, yeah, my name is Wes. I’m a pastoral assistant here at Red Village Church. I’ve been working here for almost four years, and we’ll be preaching through 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20. So if you have a Bible, go ahead and open up to 1 Thessalonians. It’s in the later part of the New Testament, and we’ll be starting at verse 13.

I’m going to read the passage, and then I’m going to pray and ask for the Lord’s help, and then we’ll work through this. So, 1 Thessalonians 2:13. This is what the word of the Lord says: “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out and displeased God and opposed all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, so, as always, to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last.

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time in person, not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again. But Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” That’s God’s word for us.

Please pray with me. Lord, we’re grateful that we can gather together as a body of believers to hear your word. I pray that you would help me to be a good communicator and that you would indeed speak for your church and for the glory of your name. I pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

So, yeah, it’s been a little while since I last preached in 1 Thessalonians. To be exact, it’s been a little over eight months. So I’m going to give us all a refresher of 1 Thessalonians and what we’ve covered up to verse 13 of chapter 2.

1 Thessalonians is the first of two letters written by Paul to the church in Thessalonica. Paul wrote the letter to encourage the Thessalonian believers in their faith and to remind them that sanctification in the midst of persecution was God’s will for their lives. Paul also addressed some misunderstandings that the Thessalonian church had regarding end-time events and Jesus’ return.

Paul and Silas came and preached the gospel in Thessalonica during their second missionary journey near 50 AD and then wrote 1 Thessalonians several months later in 51 AD. Thessalonica was the capital of Macedonia and likely had a population of about 200,000 people, so it was a very large city. In society’s eyes, this city was very successful and prosperous and favored by the royal emperor because of the people’s devotion and even their worship towards the emperor.

It’s likely that Emperor Caesar had granted them many privileges for their large political support of his rule, making its people all the more zealous to devote themselves to Caesar. Spiritually speaking, the city of Thessalonica was a very dark place. It was devoted to non-living idols and manmade practices and establishments that only led to sin and death. This was until Paul and Silas arrived and began to preach the gospel in the local synagogues and reason with the Jewish leaders that Jesus is the Christ.

Amazingly, over a span of three weeks, by the power of the Holy Spirit, there were Jews, Greeks, and some prominent women who were persuaded by the gospel message and believed. These new believers joined Paul and Silas, and the Thessalonian church was born. Paul and Silas were only able to stay with the Thessalonian believers for a short time because the Jews in Thessalonica became jealous and formed a mob that forced Paul and Silas to flee to Berea, where the Jews would continue to pursue and persecute them.

A few months later, Paul sent Timothy to check on the believers and encourage them, to which Timothy returned with a good report of the Thessalonians’ faith and love that was flourishing despite the persecution that they were enduring in Thessalonica. In chapter 1 of 1 Thessalonians, Paul affirms the Thessalonian believers that they were chosen by God, that they had received the word with great joy in the midst of much affliction. Paul also affirmed the believers for their work of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope through Christ.

News of the Thessalonian believers’ faith traveled to all believers in Macedonia and in Achaia and even places beyond, as Paul wrote that their faith in God had become known everywhere. In verses 1 through 12 of chapter 2, Paul reminded the Thessalonian church of the example that he and Silas had given them during their visit. Paul and Silas boldly declared the gospel to the Thessalonians despite the difficult persecution that they had just experienced in Philippi. Their motive in coming and sharing the gospel wasn’t to deceive or to please man; rather, their motive was to please God in obedience with what God had entrusted to them.

They were gentle and caring as a nurturing mother, but they were also strong and forward with their exhortations and encouragements as a leading father. Verse 12 of chapter 2 says, “We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

In the same way, we are also exhorted to follow the example of the apostles and to daily strive to walk in a manner worthy of our God, who has called his people into his kingdom. That brings us to where we left off in verse 13 of our passage of study today. If you look with me in your Bibles, verse 13 says, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

Paul points out another evidence of God’s grace among the Thessalonian church. When Paul and Silas preached the gospel day after day for three weeks in Thessalonica, although I’m sure there were many who received their preaching as the words of men, there were those who received it for what it really was: the word of God.

It’s important to mention that Paul doesn’t provide a middle road in explaining how people received his message, as if it can be both man’s word and God’s word. I’ve talked with many people who have told me that they believe in the Bible, that it’s God’s word, but at the same time, they’ll say they also believe that because it was written by men, it has many errors, and therefore it’s unreliable to speak the truth at all times.

I find this to be very foolish and shortsighted. A person that claims this says they believe in an eternal being who created the heavens and the earth and all of life, and that he sustains it by his infinite wisdom, power, and sovereignty. But at the same time, this person says that this God is unable to preserve and sustain the written revelation of himself to mankind for the salvation of all who receive it. This logic makes no sense and is contradictory to the very nature of God.

Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it, or has he spoken and will he not fulfill it?” God’s word is either entirely true or it’s merely a work of man, for God cannot be both true and a liar; he’s either one or the other. Therefore, it is important that we receive God’s word as such.

2 Peter 1:21 says this: “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Timothy 3:16 says this: “All scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” In Matthew 24:35, Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

The 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which essentially is a collaboration of over 300 different theologians and scholars that came together to write a document pertaining to the infallibility and inerrancy of God’s word, put together an entire document. A small quote from it says, “This holy scripture, being God’s own word, written by men, prepared and superintended by his spirit, is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches. It is to be believed as God’s instruction in all that it affirms, obeyed as God’s command in all that it requires, and embraced as God’s pledge in all that it promises.”

So, to say the least, God’s word is true, it’s trustworthy, and it’s without error, and those who are his people are called to receive it as such. That is exactly what the Thessalonian believers did when they heard the gospel message preached. They didn’t question if it was the words of men; rather, to those who received it for what it really was, they believed that it was the word of God, even in a city like Thessalonica that was very worldly and paganistic in practice, with little to no knowledge of who God was or what Christ had done on their behalf.

Yet when the gospel was proclaimed, people heard it, and by the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit, they believed it was the truth being told. When they believed, Paul tells us that the word of God began to work within these believers. You see, the gospel is not just information that is mentally recorded when heard. Rather, for those who believe, it’s the power of God to transform the heart and mind into a new creation that reflects Christ himself.

As Aaron preached two weeks ago in Hebrews 4:12, “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God’s word is not only true, but it is alive. To those who receive it for what it really is, it begins changing them to look more and more like Christ every day.

This should give us great encouragement and boldness to share the gospel with those God has put into our daily lives. At least for me, it’s easy to believe that nobody around me will believe the gospel is the word of God if I go and tell them so. But that could not be farther from the truth. God is able to convict a sinner’s heart that the gospel is true at any place and at any time, and he is drawing people near to himself, whether I see it or not.

Just as God convicted me of his truth in the gospel when I first heard, he will convict and open the ears and hearts of others to whom we proclaim the gospel. Therefore, we must boldly proclaim the gospel to those around us. Paul says that the apostles thanked God constantly for this. Paul understood that any sinner who places their faith in Jesus is a result of God’s conviction and power. This filled Paul with a worshipful gratitude that constantly gave thanks to God.

We see this over and over again in 1 Thessalonians, where Paul reflects on the faithfulness of God and makes that clear for the Thessalonian church to reflect on as well. It’s something that every church should do regularly: reflect on the evidence of God’s mighty hand or the evidence of his grace that we can thank and praise God for constantly.

If you’re going through a time of endurance, difficulty, or suffering, then I encourage you to take time, even later today, to reflect on the evidence of God’s grace in your life and thank him in prayer for the ways that he has been faithful and the ways that he will continue to be faithful. Paul desired for the Thessalonian church to do this, and God desires for us to do this as well.

Looking at verse 14, Paul says the Thessalonian believers became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for they suffered the same things from their own countrymen as they did from the Jews. I have two reasons why I think Paul mentions this here in his letter.

First, I think Paul wanted to further emphasize the principle of imitating others that are in Christ. Paul had just finished writing about the example that he and Silas had given for the Thessalonian believers to follow, and he affirmed them that indeed they were imitating the apostles’ example. Now, Paul is affirming the Thessalonian believers that they are also imitating the bodies of believers in Judea, which was the birthplace of Christianity and the first church.

Imagine being told that the way your church is following God is similar to the churches that at one time had all of the apostles leading their congregation, in whom many of their congregants had actually seen the risen Lord Jesus alive. That would be extremely encouraging for you to hear.

That’s the first reason I think Paul mentions this. The second reason I think Paul mentions this in his letter is that he wanted to remind the Thessalonian believers that they are not alone. Paul says that they suffered the same things from their own countrymen as the churches in Judea did from the Jews.

When suffering comes, whether in the form of persecution, trials, pain, or sickness, we’re tempted to think that we are alone. God’s word tells us this morning that is simply not true. We’re not the only ones fighting this battle of faith, trying to endure trials while keeping our eyes on Christ. Paul affirmed the believers that the things they were experiencing for the sake of Christ were the same things the churches in Jerusalem were facing.

They were not alone in being persecuted by their own countrymen. Other believers, almost 3,000 miles away, were going through the exact kind of trial and feelings and same emotions that they were. This is something that we must remember as well: we’re not alone in our suffering, and we have the body of Christ that is enduring the same kinds of trials. This is why we need to remain connected with believers in our own congregation and with various other churches to help us see beyond our current trials that can often seem like everything in a given moment.

We must remember God’s people all over the earth and throughout church history that have endured suffering while keeping the faith; we’re not alone in our suffering. This is especially true as we also remember that we have Jesus as our great high priest who is able to sympathize with us in every way and help us in our weakness, just as Aaron preached last week.

Moving to verses 15 and 16, if you look in your Bibles, Paul says, “It is the Jews who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove the Jerusalem believers out, who displeased God and opposed all mankind by hindering believers from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved.”

While the Thessalonian believers received the gospel as the word of God, the Jews, who were God’s chosen people, saw the word of God face to face in Christ, and they not only rejected him, but they also killed him, as they did with the prophets. Paul does not speak lightly of the Jews’ actions and ignorance of Christ. They not only rejected the living word of God, but they also opposed all mankind by hindering the gospel from going forth to the Gentiles through their persecution of the church, which was actually the persecution of Christ himself.

The very people whom God had chosen and established as priests to mediate between God and mankind were now the very people who sought to stop God’s salvation from going forth to all mankind, all because they rejected the incarnate word of God when he came to them.

In John 5:38-39, Jesus says, speaking to the Jewish leaders, “You do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me.”

It’s not that the Jews weren’t familiar with God’s word in the Old Testament. They knew it backwards and forwards. They memorized paragraphs of it, and they even taught it in the synagogues. The problem was they did not humbly apply it; they were hypocrites. Instead of allowing God’s word to point them to Jesus, they pridefully relied on their own righteousness to gain favor with God. Their pride blinded them from seeing their own Lord and King standing before them.

Instead of receiving him with worship, as the angels did when he arrived, they crucified him as a criminal. A person can be familiar with God’s word all they want, but to reject Christ is to reject God’s word altogether. Paul says that the Jews’ actions only served to fill up the measure of their sins, like a bitter cup that had been filled up to the brim and was on the edge of spilling over.

God would only put up with their sins and persecution of his church for so long before his holy and just wrath would be poured out upon them at last. Scholars aren’t sure what Paul is referring to in regard to God’s wrath coming upon the Jews at last, since this letter was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It’s likely that Paul is referring to a future wrath that would come to Israel.

He is so sure of this wrath that he speaks of it in the present tense, which the Greek language sometimes did when a person was extra certain of a prophetic future. Whatever this wrath may refer to, it is certain that God would hold the Jews accountable for the rejection of the living word of God and for nailing him upon a cross. Without receiving Christ as the incarnate word of God, there would be no escape from the just wrath of God according to their sin, and the same is true today.

John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son of God has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” It’s not enough to be familiar with God’s word. God calls us all to repent and to turn to Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. He is the word who took on flesh and gave his sinless life as payment for all who would believe in him. He was buried, and on the third day he rose again from the dead.

Now, today, right now, he is alive and at the right hand of the Father. If you are here and you have not received God’s word for what it really is, namely Christ, I urge you today to believe in Jesus as your Lord and as your Savior. It will never be convenient for you to follow Jesus; it will always require a humble step of faith. But to all who receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gives them the right to become children of God.

Moving on to verses 17 and 18, it says, “Since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time in person, not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again. But Satan hindered us.”

As I mentioned earlier, Paul and Silas were only able to spend three weeks in Thessalonica before the Jews in the area formed a mob and forced them to leave their Thessalonian brothers and sisters in Christ in the middle of the night. This was a very emotional experience for Paul. He describes this goodbye as being torn away or forced apart, and the Greek literally renders it as a child being taken away from their parent.

Paul wanted the Thessalonian believers to be assured that although some time had passed since they last saw each other, his love and desire to see them again face to face had not changed. A hypothetical thought that came to mind as I was studying this passage over the past week was: I wonder if Paul lived today and had access to social media to live stream or FaceTime if he’d no longer feel the need to go visit the Thessalonians. He could just look at their reel and see, “Oh wow, they’re actually doing pretty great at the moment. They’re enjoying another seafood potluck.”

Or he could talk to them on FaceTime, wave at them all, and take screenshots of them so that he could look at those later, or he could watch their Sunday service live stream on their website. All these means that we have today to stay connected digitally. I bring this up, and maybe this is just because I’ve spent too much time around Aaron, but I really don’t think that digital connection would have satisfied Paul’s longing to be with the Thessalonian church.

Look at verse 17 again: “We endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.” Great desire can also be translated as intense longing. Writing this letter wasn’t Paul’s first choice. He longed to be reunited with the family of God in Thessalonica, and the only thing that would suffice would be meeting face to face, which should be the same for us.

We should never substitute digital communion and fellowship with the family of God unless we are physically unable to be there; in which case, being able to connect with the church digitally is a helpful tool. Paul, as a shepherd of Gentile believers, gives us this incredible example of love, and we too should strive to imitate this kind of love toward one another in person.

Moving on to verse 18, Paul says that he personally tried to come to Thessalonica again and again, but he was hindered by Satan. There’s a real enemy who still roams the earth today, and he seeks to divide and to devour all who look to Christ as Lord. He is always opposed to the plans of God, seeking to kill, steal, and destroy all whom he can before his time of roaming is up.

Paul had the insight to recognize the opposition he faced in ministry in every city he traveled to that had spiritual connections to Satan, who is, according to Jesus, the ruler of this present world. Although his rule is on a chain and on a short one at that, God is sovereign over all of Satan’s attempts to hinder his coming kingdom. The advancement of the gospel with Christ’s return is inevitable. God will be glorified, and there will come a day when Satan will roam the earth no more.

His sentence will be eternal imprisonment in hell, along with all who oppose God’s king, Jesus the Lord. We would do good not to forget that every day there are spiritual forces at work that we cannot see. The world is more than what meets the eye, but through Christ, we have the power to overcome the schemes of the devil. His work is futile when our faith is tethered to Christ.

Our text ends with verses 19 through 20: “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”

Before I explain what Paul is saying here, I want to first point out what he is not saying. Paul is not saying that he will pridefully boast about the Thessalonians before Jesus, as if their salvation was his. The apostles doing that would contradict Paul’s teaching. In almost every other letter that he has written, Paul is clear that all glory belongs to Christ and that God is the one who is reconciling the lost to himself.

God has simply chosen Paul to be his vessel of ministry to the Gentiles, and Paul knows and declares that it is Christ who powerfully works within him to accomplish all that God desires and has purposed. Any boasting that Paul has is boasting in what Christ has accomplished through him. Paul is also not saying that the source of his hope or joy or crown that symbolizes victory originates from the Thessalonian believers. God is the source of these things for all who are in Christ, and Paul knows this very well.

So, what is Paul saying here? Paul has been pouring out his heart up to this point to express how grateful he is to God for the Thessalonian believers and for the work that God has done in such a short amount of time. Now, in verses 19 and 20, Paul’s encouragement reaches a theological peak. Not only does Paul express his present joy and reason for boasting about the Thessalonian church to others during his earthly ministry, but Paul also says the Thessalonian church is a reason for joy and boasting in the life that is to come when Christ returns.

That is truly incredible to think about. Paul is saying, when Jesus returns and lays out the entirety of his life before him, you know what will stand as evidence for the apostles? Hope or joy or crown of boasting before the King? Is it not you? Yes, you, the Thessalonian church. You are the reason for glory and joy before Jesus. The fact that God used Paul and Silas to preach the gospel to lost sinners in Thessalonica, who then received God’s word for what it really is, is evidence and reason for joy and hope and victory that they will feel and express before Christ himself when he returns.

This had to be incredibly encouraging for the Thessalonian believers to hear that even before Christ himself, the Thessalonian believers were a reason for hope and joy and victory in the eyes of Paul and the apostles with him. It’s clear that Paul cannot express enough how grateful he is to God for his brothers and sisters in Christ in Thessalonica. He is full of hope and joy because of this little family of believers who are faithfully persevering in Christ in the midst of much persecution, despite their abrupt goodbye.

This leads me to my last application that I think speaks loudest in our text today, and that is to value the family of God. It’s very obvious in our text that Paul loved and cherished the family of God. He understood that when people in a community believe in the gospel by receiving God’s word and come together for the sake of their growth and the advancement of God’s kingdom, God is glorified.

Recognize that whatever church God leads you to join, whatever church he leads you to serve in a season of life, is a precious gift and opportunity to join the family of God wherever you may be. When I say family, I mean it. There is real hope to be found in having the family of God come alongside you as you walk with Jesus through good times and hard times. There’s real joy to be felt as you fellowship and laugh and share your life with others in the church for the glory of God.

There’s real reason for boasting before Jesus for the work that he does through his Spirit and through his word in the household of God when we are together. So friends, value the family of God. Make Sunday service a priority. Find ways to serve the church in ways that God has gifted you and in ways that you are passionate about. Seek friendship with believers to share your life with, disciple those younger than you in the faith that they may grow and continue the kingdom work that is at hand. Encourage one another regularly and share one another’s burdens. Pray for each other constantly and finally love one another as Christ has loved you.

For one day soon, Christ will return, and when he does, the family of God that you loved and served here on earth will be a reason for hope and for joy and a crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus forever.

That being said, please pray with me. Lord, I’m grateful for your word here in 1 Thessalonians. God, I praise you that you did this work among the Thessalonians through your word being preached. You draw people near to yourself. God, each of us would not be here if you didn’t open our eyes to see and didn’t bring others to preach the gospel to us. I pray that you help us to do the same and to believe your word has power and to receive it for what it really is.

I pray, God, that you would help us to indeed recognize that your church has great value and glory in the kingdom of Christ. Help us to love one another deeply, help us to recognize the family that we’ve been given, and to faithfully serve them. God, help us to recognize the praise and glory that it gives you when we faithfully commit to the church that you lead us to. Thank you for your word, thank you for this morning, and I pray for the rest of our time that it would continue to bring you glory, worship, and honor. I pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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