Let us turn once more to God's
Word and to that portion that we were considering this morning
in the first chapter of this first epistle of Paul to the
Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 1 and reading
again at verse 5 and I'll read through to verse 8. 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 5 For our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and
in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. As you know what manner
of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers
of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction
with joy of the Holy Ghost. so that you were examples to
all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded
out the words of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to God is spread abroad,
so that we need not to speak anything. This morning then we
were considering more especially how these Thessalonians had received
the Gospel. How the Apostle, after his bitter
experiences at Philippi, and he makes mention of those things
that he had suffered together with Silas, there, here in the
opening verses of the second chapter, he makes some reference
to his shameful treatment amongst the Philippians, how after that,
and God's remarkable deliverance of him and Silas from the prison,
they had gone then subsequently into Thessalonica, ministering
now, of course, in the parts that we would know as modern-day
Greece, Macedonia and Achaia, being regions of Greece. And Paul speaks here in verses
5 and 6 of the way in which they had received his ministry, as
they had received the gospel of the grace of God. And he says
that their reception of the message was really an evidence and a
proof of their eternal election. Verse 4, knowing brethren, he
says, beloved, your election of God for our gospel came not
unto you in word only but also in power and so forth. And we
remark this morning on the significance of that little word for the first
word in verse 5. It's a significant word, it's
a strong word it has the force of because he knew that they
were of the election of Christ not because he knew the the secret
will of God but because he had seen the evidence in the way
in which they had received the gospel, they had experienced
that efficacious grace, that irresistible call of God in the
gospel. They had believed, and that faith
that they believed with was not of their own making, it was faith
of the operation of God. We're told in the opening chapter
of John, as many as received Him, as many as received the
Lord Jesus, to them gave He power, or authority, to be called the
sons of God. But the power that we read of
here, in verse 5, is not to be confused with what is said there
in that first chapter of John. When the Lord Jesus gave them
power, it means authority. All authority is given to the
Lord Jesus in heaven and in earth, and he gave those who believe
in him authority to be called God's sons, because they are
God's sons. But the word that we have here is a different word,
and as we said this morning, it has the idea of dynamic power. It's in fact the word dynamis,
and we can say that such a word as dynamo in our English language
is derived from that particular word. the generation of power. This is the power of the Gospel,
this is how they had received the Gospel. It was the fulfillment
of that promise that had been given to the Lord Jesus in the
eternal covenant spoken of in the 110th Psalm, Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. Oh what power, where the
word of a King is there is power, it is that King Jesus. who made
the ministry of men like Paul and Silas so effectual. They received the Gospel then,
not in word only, but they received it in all that power that belongs
to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God. Paul says to
the Corinthians, he's not in words, but in power. Oh, friends, what do we know
of that power of God in the gospel of His grace? Were you by nature
are such poor sinners, dead in trespasses and sins, alienated
from God, enemies of God, made willing in the day of Christ's
power. Oh, how the gospel came to them.
Here is the evidence then of their election. It came says
Paul in power and in the Holy Ghost and in the Holy Ghost Peter
speaks of them that have preached the gospel unto you with the
Holy Ghost given from heaven, how the Spirit came down on the
day of Pentecost and it was Peter who was preaching there on that
auspicious day the glorious coming of the Spirit after Christ had
accomplished His great work of redemption. The fulfillment of
that promise. The Spirit comes and the Spirit
comes in the preaching. It came in the preaching of Peter.
It came also in the preaching of Paul. And now we need that
ministry of the Spirit. What is all the preaching? What
is all the oratory of men? And there are men who have great
oratorical gifts who can say remarkable things. And yet, it's
all in vain except there is that gracious presence of the Spirit,
He must come. Or the sinner must be born again,
born from above, born by the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit
Himself who must come to convince the sinner of his sin. Or we must apply that Holy Lord
of God to the sinner to make him feel what he is, to convince
him. to shut his mouth, to bring him in guilty before God, and
then here is one ready to receive those consolations that are in
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the Spirit comes
to that poor sinner as such a comforter. Oh, he first reproves the sinner
of his sin, but then he reveals the Lord Jesus Christ to sinners. This is the ministry of the Spirit.
This is the office of the Spirit. as the Lord Jesus Christ, as
His offices in the Eternal Covenant, that great Trinitarian Covenant,
so the Spirit also. And how Christ speaks of His
coming in those chapters that we are so familiar with in John's
Gospel. For they had received the Gospel
then, and they had received it not in word only, but in power
and in the Holy Ghost says Paul and in much assurance as you
know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. As we said this morning the Apostle
can speak of it as the Gospel of God that's how he speaks there
in chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 We were willing, He says, to
have imparted unto you not the Gospel of God only, God's Gospel,
but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us. For you
remember, brethren, our labour and travail, for labouring night
and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you,
we preached unto you the Gospel of God. It's God's Gospel. It's
not that it has been devised of men. It is the gospel of the
grace of God, that great purpose, that eternal purpose of salvation. Or we think in terms of that
blessed covenant of grace that was entered into by the persons
in the garden. It is truly God's gospel, it
is the gospel. And yet Paul here in verse 5
speaks of it as our gospel. He could say elsewhere, it was
my gospel. Now he had an interest in it. And how also these Thessalonians
were brought to experience that grace of God. Our gospel, he
says, came not unto you. Or how did it come? It came in
power in the Holy Ghost, says Paul, and in much assurance. They became followers of Paul
and Silas. as we read in verse 6, followers
of us and of the Lord having received the word in much affliction
with joy of the Holy Ghost. Now, these who had received the
Gospel must now be those who are sounding out, sounding forth,
resounding the Gospel and so I want us this evening to move
on and look at how the Apostle continues here in verses 7 and
8. So that ye were in samples to all that believe in Macedonia
and Dikaia, that's all of Greece, for from you sounded out the
word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Dikaia but also
in every place. Your faith to God will be spread
abroad so that we need not to speak anything. The resounding
of the gospel then is the theme that we're going to take up now
with the Lord's help for a little while. First of all, to say something
with regards to what we're to understand by this particular
expression that Paul is using, where he speaks of the sounding
forth of the gospel. From you, he says, sounded out
the words of the Lords. Now the word that is used literally
means to sound forth a trumpet. It's a word that is used specifically
of the blowing of a trumpet and immediately it reminds us of
that that we have in the Old Testament mentioned in Numbers
chapter 10 with regards to the silver trumpets and the ordinance
that God appoints in the way in which those silver trumpets
were to be employed amongst God's ancient people, they were a typical
people Israel and so the trumpets are also typical. Now we read
of this ordinance of the blowing of the silver trumpets back in
Numbers chapter 10 and there in the opening Words the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, Make thee two trumpets of silver.
Of a whole piece shalt thou make them, that thou mayest use them
for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the
camps. And then later, verse 8, we're
told, the sons of Aaron, the priests shall blow with the trumpets,
and they shall be to you for an ordinance forever throughout
your generations. It's an Old Testament ordinances
that was to be used not only during the wilderness wanderings,
it was perpetual. It's part of that type that we have in the Old
Testament. they shall be to you for an ordinance forever throughout
your generations and if you go to war in your land against the
enemy that oppresses you then you shall blow an alarm with
the trumpets and you shall be remembered before the Lord your
God and you shall be saved from your enemies and in the day of
your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of
your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt
offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, that
they may be to you for a memorial before your God. I am the Lord your God." It was
such a solemn thing then, the blowing of the silver trumpets. Now what is it to type on? What
is the significance of this? It is a type of the preaching
of the gospel, the proclamation of the gospel. And again, we
have scripture that would indicate that. We have the proof that
we find there in the book of the prophet Isaiah in chapter
27, Isaiah chapter 27 and verse 13,
the last verse, it shall come to pass in that day that the
great trumpet shall be blown and they shall come which were
ready to perish in the land of Assyria and they outcast in the
land of Egypt and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at
Jerusalem were the silver trumpet to be blown for the assemblings
of the children of Israel. Well here we read of that day
And Isaiah when he speaks of that day he is speaking of the
last days. He is speaking of the great day
of the gospel. And he makes mention of the great trumpet that is
to be blown and who come. They come not only from Israel
but of Assyria and Egypt. And who are these characters?
They are such as were ready to perish. They are the outcasts. and they come to worship the
Lord in the Holy Mount at Jerusalem. The silver trumpets are clearly
a wonderful type of the blowing of the great trumpet of the gospel.
which summons sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hark how the
gospel trumpet sounds, Christ and free grace therein abounds. And this is what we have there
behind this expression used of these Thessalonians. From you sounded out, sounded
forth the word of the Lord. Now, does this mean that all
of these Thessalonians were to be preachers of the Gospel? It doesn't mean that at all.
It's not saying that at all. We know that there is a specific
office of the Ministry of the Word. After these epistles to
the Thessalonians we have what we call the Pastoral Epistles
to Timothy and Titus. that deal with the whole matter
of the office of the ministry of the Word of God. And not all
believers are called to be ministers in that formal sense. All of
the Thessalonians were not to be preachers. But, and it's an
important but, every one of them and every believer still is to
be in a certain sense a walking sermon. We should all be walking
sermons. All remember what happened after
the martyrdom of Stephen. We read of it there in the 7th
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and that noble defense that he
makes for his faith even as he is stoned to death and much really
at the hands of Saul of Tarsus. What an impression it must have
made upon Saul. It was part of God's dealings
with that man who was himself to be called to be the great
apostle to the Gentiles. But after Stephen's death In
the opening verses of Acts chapter 8 we see that there was a terrible
persecution that came upon those early Christian believers. And
as they were persecuted so there was a tremendous scattering.
And what do we read in Acts chapter 8 and verse 4? Thy that were scattered abroad
went everywhere preaching the gospel. All those believers who
were scattered abroad went everywhere, it says, preaching the gospel.
But again, when it speaks of them preaching, we're not to
think there in terms of the formal ministry of the world, the sort
of ministry that was being exercised by the apostles and the evangelists,
as we have it recorded in other parts of the Acts of the Apostles.
Now those that went everywhere at that scattering, how did they
preach the gospel? They were living it. They were living it. They were living the Word of
God. Why when Paul writes to the Corinthians, he says, you
are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all
men. Known and read of all men. And
this was true of these Thessalonians. Oh, God's word had so come to
them, God's gospel had so taken hold of their hearts, it had
had such an effect upon them, that they were living sermons. They were living sermons wherever
they went. The gospel had so come to them. Oh, it was such
mighty power, it was the Holy Ghost. It was that assured preaching
of the apostles, how Paul himself was so convinced of the message
he was proclaiming. And so these who are receiving
the word, they are believing the word, they are followers
now of those who are in the way, the narrow way that leads to
life. and they become ensembles, it says, to all that believe
in Macedonia and Nicaea, for from you sounded out the word
of the Lord." Oh friends, is it not a truth that the best
sermons are those sermons that are lived out? How we are to
live our religion, how we are to live as those who are true
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what we have with
these people. We remember the ministry of the Lord Jesus. What
a preacher was the Lord Jesus Christ. What remarkable sermons
we have recorded in the Gospels. I'm sure we're all familiar with
much of the content of that great sermon that he preaches on the
mounts. There in those three chapters in Matthew chapters
5, 6 and 7. And at the end of his preaching
the people are astonished because he spoke as one that had authority
and not as the scribes and Pharisees. But what does the Lord Jesus
say in the course of his preaching there? He says, let your light
so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father which is in heaven. Oh, there is a place for good
works. Good works perform not to our
own glory. If our light is to shine before
men they will see our works and they'll give glory to our Father
which is in heaven. We are to bear testimony unto
Him. Now, look at what Paul says here. concerning himself. He referred
again to the way in which the Gospel had come to them there
in verse 5 in empowering the Holy Ghost in much assurance
and he says, as you know what manner of men we were among you
for your sake. Lord how it was that this man
lived his life. His life was parts and parts
of his ministry. He could appeal to those in the churches concerning
what they had witnessed. When he writes to the Philippians
he says something quite similar. These or those things he says
which you have both learned and received and seen and heard in
me do. Striking are the words. He can
appeal, you see, to what they had witnessed in Him. What they
had, yes, heard from Him, what they had received. But more than
that, more than that, they had both learned and received, He
says, and heard and seen these things in Me. All you know what
manner of men we were among you for your sakes, he says. Again, verse 10 in chapter 2, he says,
you are witnesses and God also how holily and justly and unblameably
we behaved ourselves among you that believe. He lived his religion,
he didn't just preach What he preached, this man also practiced. And how different this was to
the scribes and Pharisees. The Lord Jesus makes mention
of those men who were sitting in the seat of Moses and how
they must therefore be respected. The opening part of Matthew 23. Then spake Jesus to the multitudes
and to His disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees
sit in Moses' seat. For those who are the teachers
of the Lord of Moses, they sit in His seat. All therefore whatsoever
they bid you observe, that observe and do. But do not ye after their
works, for they say and do not. Oh, what a condemnation that
is. They say it, but they don't do it. How different it was with
the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. The things that they
said, they did. The things that they preached,
they practiced. And not only the apostles, but
those to whom they ministered, to those who received the ministry
at the hands of these men. And it's not just It's not just
Paul. The other apostles say much the
same. James of course has much to say.
There at the end of the opening chapter of his epistle. He says,
Be ye doers of the words and not hearers only, deceiving your
own selves. If we're really hearing the word
of God it will be more than an assent in our minds. will be
doers of it. There'll be that experience of
it in the soul as we said this morning. There'll be an experimental
effect upon us. But not only that, there'll also
be a practical effect. We will begin to walk in all
those holy precepts of the Gospel. And this is what Paul is saying
then of these Thessalonians. Yes, they have received the Gospel. Paul had seen it, so remarkable. Our Gospel came not unto you
in word only, he says, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, in
much assurance. For they became followers, followers
of Paul, followers of Silas, followers of the Lord, having
received the Word in much affliction. Oh, it was costly to them to
receive that word, to believe that word, to practice that word.
There was persecution because of their embracing of the gospel.
But there they were faithful followers of the Lord. and so
Paul had seen now or had heard now how that this word that they
had received they were resounding it was going forth now he doesn't
just speak of them resounding out the word of the Lord in all
Macedonia and Achaia but he also there at the beginning of verse
6 speaks of them as followers So let us in the second place
just say something with regards to the significance of this particular
work. Ye became followers of us, he
says, and of the Lords. Now the word that he uses is
interesting because some suggest that our English word mimic is
derived from the particular word that he uses here under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. They were mimics. We don't like
the word mimic really. But they were imitators. That's
what it means to follow. They were imitators. And this
is what Paul desires of all those that he ministers to, not just
the Thessalonians. He also says to the Corinthians,
Be ye followers of me. Be ye followers of me. But he
says something more than that at the beginning of that chapter
in 1st Corinthians, 1st Corinthians chapter 11. He says, Be ye followers
of me even as I am of Christ. Well there's the key, you see.
They're only to follow the Apostle as far as he is a follower of
the Lord Jesus Christ and here writing also to the Thessalonians
and not just followers of us he says they are also to be followers
of the Lords that to be those who are walking in that narrow
way and that narrow way is of course a way of great conflicts
great spiritual conflict it cannot be avoided If anyone will come
after me, says the Lord Jesus Christ, let him take up his cross
and follow me. Again, it's part of his ministry
there as he is preaching in the sermon, one of his sermons in the 16th chapter of Matthew's
Gospel. He says to His disciples, if
any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up
his cross and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake
shall find it. For what is a man profited if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What shall
a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall
come in the glory of His Father with His angels. And then shall
he reward every man according to his works. Very nice say unto
you there be some standing here which shall not taste of death
till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. And then
in the next chapter of course we have the transfiguration when
those five and three Peter, James and John see him transfigured.
But though the Lord speaks of the cost that is involved if
we are those who are truly followers of Him. A man must take up his
cross. He has to take up his cross.
He is following Him who is the Crucified One. And this was Paul's
great desire, that I may know Him, he says, and the power of
His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings be made conformable
unto His death. or he wants to know something
of the fellowship of those sufferings. He wants to be conformed to the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's Paul. What is it? Why it's to be crucified? It's to crucify the old man.
I am crucified with Christ, he
says. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith
of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." He
lived the crucified life, he was mortifying the deeds of the
body, putting to death. That's what mortification is,
dying. And now he desires to know that
that fellowship with the suffering side conformable to his death
but it's interesting what he says there in Philippians chapter
3 because first of all he speaks of the power of his resurrection
he puts the resurrection before the crucifixion that I may know
him he says and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
of his suffering being made conformable unto his death. We must first
of all, you see, have that communication of spiritual life. It must be
that gospel coming to us. We who by nature are dead in
trespasses and sins, we must be those to whom the gospel comes,
not in word only, but in all that power and in the Holy Ghost
and in much assurance. before ever we can know what
it is to be identified with Christ the Crucified Saviour. Oh, this
is the one thing that there to be followers of, followers of
the Crucified Lord. Oh, there is a cost, a great
cost in coming to and following after the Lord Jesus Christ. Know these these Thessalonians
knew it. Ye became followers or imitators
of us and of the Lord having received the word in much affliction
with joy of the Holy Ghost. Oh, there was that affliction,
there was that opposition that they experienced as we said this
morning, there was that persecution that came from the Jews? Had they not witnessed something
of this in Paul and Silas? As I said, they came to Thessalonians,
they came from Philippi, and what had been their experience
there? He speaks of it, remember, in chapter 2. for yourself brethren know our
entrance in unto you that it was not in vain but even after
that we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated as
you know at Philippi we were bold in our God to speak unto
you the gospel of God with much contention. Oh Paul and Silas
how they'd suffered how they'd been taken and imprisoned and
cast in the innermost prison their feet fast in the stocks and at midnight singing praises
unto God, and then that miraculous deliverance. And then they're
going forward again with the gospel. And these Thessalonians
were aware, but they didn't only witness these things in Paul
and Silas, they knew these things in their own experiences. We
said again this morning, read the opening verses of Acts 17
and see what persecution came upon them from the unbelieving
Jews. but not only that where there
is that receiving of the gospel there is also that opposition
from satan himself of course there is that opposition in ourselves,
that opposition of the flesh, that opposition of the old man
it's no easy thing to be a believer don't believe those who preach
the gospel of easy believism, it's not easy It's a tremendous
conflict, it's a fight. Paul calls it the good fight.
The good fight of faith, laying hold on eternal life. Followers of the crucified Christ,
imitators of the Lord Jesus. Oh yes, they were sounding forth
the truth of the Gospel, they were imitators of Paul and Silas
of the Lord himself And then thirdly, also here he speaks
of them in verse 7 as in samples. Really the old-fashioned word
for example. So that you were examples to
all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. But again when we
examine the word and as I've said On other occasions it is
profitable sometimes to look carefully and closely into particular
words. We say we believe in the verbal
inspiration of scripture, words are important. We sing the verse of the hymn
so many times. before their dark appear be well
thy want of sights no imperfection can be there for all God's words
are right it's not just the word of God all what we have here
are the words the words of God and we have such a faithful rendering
of the words of God in our authorized version. Now what is the significance
then of these particular words? Well it's the word for type.
You were types. Or patterns we might say. Patterns
to all that believe. Now, Paul himself was the great
pattern of faith. Remember, And we have it there in 1 Timothy
chapter 1 and verse 16. But verse 15 also, this is a
faithful saying. Worthy of all acceptation that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
chief. Obeying it for this cause, I
obtained mercy. that in me first Jesus Christ
might show forth all longsuffering for a pattern. It's the same
word as we have in 1 Thessalonians 1 as in samples. To show forth
all longsuffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe on him to life everlasting. Paul is a pattern of what it
is to be a true believer. Now, think of the word for a
while. What is a pattern? What of this
word ensemble? Well, we can think in terms of
a die for striking the super-inscription upon a coin. The blank, of course,
must be taken and the blank has to be pressed into the die. And so the superscription is
transferred from that guy to that blank piece of metal. That's
the idea that we have here. Or we can think in terms of a
pattern shop in a foundry where the molten metal is taken and
it's poured into the pattern and so what's in the pattern
is transformed to the molten metal. This is the idea that we have. In order for us to be a pattern
to others of what salvation is, in order for us to be ensembles,
to use the word that we have in our text, we must first experience
the efficacious grace of God. We must know that effectual call
of God in the gospel. God's word must come into our
souls. It's not so much us having the
gospel delivered to us, but it's us being delivered over
to the gospel as it were. And we see this very idea in
what Paul says when he writes in Romans chapter 6 at verse
17, he says, to those at Rome ye have obeyed from the heart
that form of doctrine which was delivered you. That form of doctrine,
that was the gospel. It was delivered to them, it
was preached to those at Rome, and they believed it. Just as
with these at Thessalonica. how the gospel was preached to
them, how the gospel came to them. But it's interesting, if you
turn to that verse in Romans chapter 6 verse 17, there's an
alternative reading in the margin, it's a very interesting reading,
it's a more literal rendering, it says, you have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine where to ye were delivered Not just the form of doctrine,
not just the gospel being delivered to them, but they were delivered
to the form of doctrine. They were delivered to the pattern. It was, as it were, so pressed
upon their hearts, this is the effectual call of God. This is
the effectual call of God. We have to be delivered over
to the gospel, it has to come, it has to affect us. it has to
be imprinted not just in our minds but it has to be printed
in our hearts, in our souls or we have to be those who are truly
receiving it if we're going to be those who would resound it
those who would be true followers imitators of the Lord Jesus and
in samples, patterns to all that we come into contact with or
is this what we desire as we come under the sound of the Word
of God. We don't just want to have the
Word delivered to us. We don't just want to have the
Gospel conveyed to us, so that it comes into our minds and into
our hearts, but we want to be all together entirely and totally
delivered over to this doctrine. We want it to take possession
of our lives. We want to be those who are conformed
more and more to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think
of Paul's exhortation to the church at Rome, I beseech you,
he says, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable
unto God which is your reasonable service and be not conformed
to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind
that ye may prove what is at goods and acceptable and perfect
will of God. Oh God grant that both you and
I might be such as know that transforming power of the gospel
of the grace of God that we might truly experience that efficacious
grace that it might be the proof of our election, even as the
Apostle says to these Thessalonians, knowing brethren, beloved, your
election of God for our gospel came not unto you in word only,
no, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, in much assurance, for
from you sounded out The Word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia
and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith to God will
be spread abroad, so that we need not to speak anything. Oh, the Lord so bless His Word
to us. Amen.