“…Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.” 1 Thessalonians 1:3
The perception of God concerning Christ’s body, His church, and every member of it, is often quite different than that of the believer. This does not reside in the fact that the church is the bride of Christ, and every member of that church is greatly beloved, having been bought, or redeemed, by the precious blood of Christ. But the vision of the church from God’s perspective does differ, and will always do so on earth, concerning the basic truths and power by which it exists, and also the essence of it. What do we mean by this?
In Paul’s first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, he addresses them in this manner: “…unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1:1) The magnitude and significance of Paul’s words here, given to him by the Spirit of God, are of monumental importance, as they take the reader beyond just the existence of the church, to the eternal “Life” and essence of the church. He writes of this church, and every member of it, as being IN GOD the Father, and IN the Lord Jesus Christ. Why does he say this? If we should go back to the gospel of John, we would find there the explanation of the meaning of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, after the death, and resurrection of Christ. That day, at that moment, when the Spirit of God came upon the disciples, there was the fulfillment of the promise of the Father, not only concerning the Spirit’s outpouring, but the miracle of the new birth, when the Spirit not only was dwelling WITH the disciples but now being IN them. (Jn. 14:17) This baptism by the Spirit into Christ, this placement of the believer into living union with Him, was not only accomplished the day of Pentecost, but would be the realization of a mystery hidden from the foundation of the world. The truth of “Christ in you the hope of glory” became that day and time the bedrock for the church’s beginning, and existence, on earth and in heaven. Christ would dwell in the heart of every believer, and thus, as those believers were living by faith in this union by the Spirit, and walked in unity, not only would there be the testimony of the existence of God, but the specific revelation of HIs nature and person. Christ had become one with His church, and His church one with Him, there to derive from Him all that pertained to life and godliness. Out of fellowship with Him on an individual level, and then together, there would be the manifestation of His presence in the midst, a testimony to the world of Him being the true and living God, the Savior of men, and the Lord of Lords who would be coming on the clouds of heaven to take unto Himself this church, which He has redeemed by His blood. How then did this church of the Thessalonians begin and be maintained, along with other sister churches of that day?
These churches, characterized by works of faith, a labor of love, and a patient, enduring hope, came into existence by the intervention of God using the proclamation of the Gospel. However, when this gospel was preached and proclaimed it was “…not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance.” (1Thess. 1:5) The proof of the Spirit’s working was first seen in the reality of the testimony of Christ in the very lives, the manner of living, of those who proclaimed the gospel. It was by the reception of the “the word of the Lord” that the church was born, the testimony of faith and power, spreading by the word of God.
Dear Father, Fill us today with Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.