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we would this evening for a short
time to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians, Paul's epistle
to the church at Thessalonica, chapter 1 and verse 5 and 6. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance. as ye 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, O the Holy Ghost." And so on. The words that we have in 1 Thessalonians
chapters 1 verses 5 and 6, As you know, we began to look
at this epistle of Paul to Thessalonica, the first of his epistles. the
only one in which he addresses himself simply as Paul. He's
not Paul the apostle, he's not Paul a servant of God, he is
simply Paul. We see how in common with all
other epistles, other than the church at Galatia, he is thankful
for them. He indicates his thankfulness.
We give thanks to God always for you all. Paul, in every single
epistle, begins by thanking God for the churches, with the exception
of the church at Galatia, because Galatia, he begins immediately
asking who has bewitched them. He doesn't thank God for them,
but he asks who has bewitched them that they have turned to
another gospel. So this evening we want to continue
our study of chapter one of this epistle. And we are brought face
to face with a doctrine that has been attacked so many times
within the church. That is the doctrine of election. It has been attacked on many
occasions. the doctrine of election. The view that we, of course,
embrace is absolute and unconditional election. Absolute and unconditional
election. And that is contrary to, for
example, the Sassanians a way back many years ago, and whose
doctrines are still with us to this day. And the Sassanians indicated that they believed
that there was simply a condition of faith on the part of God. There is basically no sound doctrine
of election. The Arminians, on the other hand,
they say that there is a doctrine of election, but God looks forward
in time and sees who's going to believe or who would be disposed
to believe, and they have the power to believe, and God then
elects them. So that election with both the
Sassanians and the Armenians is based in time. And it is based
on man's ability. Whereas the unconditional and
absolute election is not based on time at all, it's based in
eternity. God from eternity has elected
unconditionally, not because he sees anything in them, but
simply out of his mere good pleasure, he has chosen a people for himself. Some people you may hear saying
that election is God's unrevealed, God's election is God's unrevealed
will, whereby I will have all men to be saved is his revealed
will, but that we must discount altogether. Election is fully
revealed in scripture. Who the elect are is not revealed. That is what is not revealed.
We do not know who God's people are. But does that mean to say
that we are unable in any way or shape or form to discern who
a Christian is? Well, Paul, he helps us with
this because Paul begins to open this very subject up for
us. If you look at verse four, knowing
brethren, beloved your election of God. Now, just before this,
he has spoken, he's given thanks for them. He's remembering without
ceasing their work of faith, their labor of love, their patience
of hope. We saw that last week. But he
goes on to say, knowing this, brethren, beloved, your election
of God and the word for follows on from that. He is now going
to tell us how it is that he knows of their election. for
our gospel came not unto you in word only," and so on. These
two verses are indicating to us that election is able to be
discerned. It's not only in this portion
of Scripture that you find that, but when you go to, for example,
2 Peter and chapter One, you discover that Peter there says,
and he encourages them, wherefore the rather brethren give diligence
to make your calling an election sure. But if you do these things,
you shall never fail. You shall never fall. So Paul
here is encouraging them to make their calling an election sure.
In the epistle to the Thessalonians, he is saying, knowing, brethren,
beloved, your election of God, for, and he goes on to describe
what it is and how it is that he knows of their election of
God. So there are two things that
may be discerned here. First of all, the individual
is able to seek to make his election sure, to make it certain. And it is also true that the
apostle Paul was able to be assured and see that they, and in his
belief, they were elect of God. Now, what is it that he says
here that begins to indicate this? Knowing, brethren, beloved,
your election of God, for, because, that's what he's beginning to
say, because, and the first thing he brings out before them is
their calling. how they have been called by
God's grace to Jesus Christ. Those who are God, God from all
eternity, who has elected in his son Jesus Christ, it's not
selection, it is election in Christ. They are elect in Christ. God has given them to his son
before the very foundation of the world. And having given them
to his son in love, he then brings them that they come to hear and
be called by the gospel of his son, Jesus Christ. Take, for
example, the thief on the cross. It's one that we often go to
because there was a man that had a very dangerous occupation. He could have been killed long
before he was ever taken to the cross. But in God's providence,
it was decreed in God's providence that he would meet one day with
the Lord Jesus Christ, and that the Lord Jesus Christ would bless
that man even in the last hours of his life. such that Jesus
could say to him, today, thou will be with me in paradise. What wonderful mercy and grace
is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a great privilege
it is that when we are brought under the sound of the gospel
and we are called by his grace. Look at what he says, for our
gospel came not unto you in word only, the word came to them in
word. In other words, Paul had brought
the word to them. He brought the word to them.
When Paul, for example, writes to the church at Rome in that
wonderful chapter, chapter eight, we know that all things work
together for the good of them that love the Lord, to them who
are the called, according to his purpose. For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestine to be conformed to the image
of his son. Paul is saying there that to
be a Christian is not an accident of history, but rather it is
God's rich grace and mercy that reaches down and blesses the
sinner. It didn't come to them in word
only, but it did come to them in worth. It is through the preaching
of the word that sinners are called by the outward preaching
of the gospel. What a great privilege it is
for our young people, for our children, our children's children,
to be blessed, being under the preaching of the gospel from
an early age. The Lord, we are told, has called
preachers of the word. They are called to go out and
to preach the gospel. Timothy, for example, when you
read of Paul's epistle to Timothy, he speaks about Timothy being
set apart to the preaching of the word. The Lord sets apart
preachers of the gospel, whose duty it is to go out and to preach
the word. Preaching itself, as the confession
says, is a divine ordinance. a divine ordinance established
by God, and a divine call to the preaching of the Word. But
the preacher, the pastor, is there to bring the Word, to preach
the Word in season and out of season. That is the great object
of the preacher of the Word. It is to preach Christ crucified.
Nowhere do you find in Paul's epistles Are we told that it
is the job of the church to entertain, to be simply entertainers, to
be comedians in the pulpit? Rather, the preacher of the gospel
has been set apart to preach the word, to bring the word before
poor sinners. This is a great provision that
God has given. He says, for our gospel,
that's not the apostles' gospel. The apostles' gospel is the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the good news of Jesus Christ. It is Christ's
gospel. But Paul brings it now as his
own gospel, because he wants and desires to set before the
church at Thessalonica, he had set before them the gospel, which
was his gospel. He had tasted and seen that God
was gracious. The Lord had blessed him, and
he brought that gospel to the church at Thessalonica, and he
preached it with word. But he says here simply the preaching
of the word will not save you. Although he preached and he brought
it by word, that word itself would not in and of itself save. He needed to come. He needed
something else. The preacher of the gospel can
preach the word in the midst of the congregation, but that's
not the problem. The problem is the hardened,
stony heart of unbelief. It needs to come in the power
of the Holy Spirit. And Paul says, you know that
our gospel came not unto you in word only, it came in word,
but it also in the power and in the Holy Ghost. It came in
power. That is what's needed in the
preaching. The power of the Holy, the power of God. because it
is only the power of God that is able to break the hard and
stony heart of unbelief. The Arminian will say to you
that God sees ahead or that man has the innate power within him
to believe of himself. But that is not true. Man is
dead in trespasses and in sins. He's dead. He cannot believe. But what he cannot do, the power
of God is able to do. Do we recognize ourselves here
this evening? The power that is to be availed
in the preaching of the word. The preaching of Christ crucified
can achieve what nothing else can achieve. The word preached
from the pulpit is able to bring life where there is death, bring
about a changed creature, to bring about the very image of
God into the soul, so that when you come to God's house and you
have a prayer meeting, should we not then be praying that God
would not only have the preaching, but that God would bless that
preaching in the midst of the congregation? that as sinners
come in that door, God would bless them. We have had three new people
come in the door in the last three weeks, off the streets,
never having been in church or not going to church, they've
come in the door. My friend, what can this church, what can
this congregation do for people like that? Nothing really. except preach the word and pray
that there is the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul was able to
say, we know your election of God, because by God's grace,
the gospel was preached here. And remember, Paul was the one
who knew what it was when he would go up into Asia, his mouth
was closed. He would have preached there,
but we are told the Holy Spirit closed his mouth. Why did the
Holy Spirit close the mouth of the apostle? Because there were
none of God's people there. There was a call over to Macedonia,
and what does he find? He comes to Philippi, and there's
a woman down by the riverside whose heart the Lord opened.
There was a prison and the soldier is gloriously converted. What
must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
thou shalt be saved. When Paul wasn't able to preach
the word going up into Asia, he was able to preach it at Philippi.
When he came into Corinth later on, he wondered, Why? There didn't seem to be anything
going on here. But the Lord said to Paul, you
continue preaching because I have many people in this city. That's what kept him going. So my friend, for our gospel
came not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost. It's the power of God, the power
of the Holy Ghost, which is poured out and which accompanies that
preaching that brings about the blessing. Think then, he says,
and in much assurance. What's the assurance there? There
are two aspects to this. Some will say it's giving Paul
the assurance that they are elect. Others say that it's giving them
assurance. The assurance of salvation, I
prefer the last one in fact, is giving them assurance of salvation.
When Paul sees how assured they are in their salvation, how assured
they are in their faith in Jesus Christ, he sees that, and that
convinces him. of their election of God, that
they are truly one of God's people. You see how what Paul is saying
here is, here is the effect of election. Here is the outcome
of what took place in eternity. Here is what took place in that
transaction with his son before the very foundations of the world.
The providence is that God brings the gospel there. He brings the
word there, but it didn't only come in word only, but in the
power and in the Holy Ghost. And they had much assurance of
their faith in Jesus Christ. Now, how did that all come about? Well, as ye know what manner
of men we were among you for your sake. What manner of men
were they? Was the Apostle Paul a mighty
orator? Not at all. Was he a mighty man
of stature? Not at all. There was nothing
outward between these three brethren, and the brethren at the beginning
are Paul and Silvanus, that's Silas, and Timotheus. The three
of them are there, Paul, Silas, and Timotheus. And when you see
the three of them, you wouldn't say that they were anything of
great, mighty men. He wouldn't say that they were
anything. They weren't rich men. They weren't men that had great
wealth and money or influence. They had nothing. And Paul says,
you know what manner of men we were among you. Do you think
that we are the ones that are able to do this? Do you think
we are the ones simply by our own oratory that we are able
to change lives the way the gospel is changing? He says, you know
what manner of men we were among you. We were just like flesh
as you are, the same manner of men as you are yourself. This
is not man's worth. This is God's worth. See what
he says when he comes to, when he writes to the church at Corinth,
1 Corinthians chapter two and verse one. And I was with you,
he says, And I, verse two, and I determined not to know anything
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with
you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my
speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Paul
is now writing to the church at Thessalonica and he's saying
to them, you know what manner of men we were among you. We
weren't ones who came in that were mighty, great orators or
anything, lest you think it's by our own persuasion. Lest you
think it's by our ability to persuade you. That's not how
it's come about. It's come about because of the
power of the Holy Ghost that has brought and the assurance
that you have. is because of God's grace. I mean, is that not true of every
single believer this evening? Is that not true of every one
of us? Every single one of us do we say that, we'll say with
the Apostle Paul elsewhere, I am what I am by God's grace and
by God's grace alone. See how the Apostle Paul, so
there's this, the calling, the calling of election. He knows that the election of
God is there because, first and foremost, they are called, not
just by the outward call of the gospel, but by that inward call,
the inward call of God's Spirit, blessing the Word, blessing the
preaching, and drawing sinners to himself. So that is the first
and foremost evidence that they are the elect of God because
they have been called by the gospel. And that calling of the
gospel has changed their lives. So the second, the next thing
is, not just that they have, that the gospel has been, that
they've been called, but the second thing is that having been
called, they become followers of the apostle. They become followers
of them. Their section, you became followers
of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction
with joy of the Holy Ghost. It's not just that they are called
and that there is a mighty work of the power of God's grace in
their lives. They now become followers of
the apostles. they become followers of the
Apostle Paul himself. Now, you might think to yourself,
well, the Apostle Paul is somehow perhaps exalting himself. But look at what Paul says again
when he writes to the church at Corinth. Be ye followers of
me, even as I also am of Christ. Paul knows their election of
God, not just because they're following him, but because he
himself is following Christ. In other words, he's exhorting
them because they have listened to the gospel that he has preached
among them. They have listened to the gospel
that he has experienced in his own life. He has tasted and seen
that God is gracious. He is now someone whose own life
has turned around. The Lord met with him on the
road to Damascus. He knew the power of the gospel
in his own life. And he was called, not as a minister,
but as an apostle to the Gentiles. He is an apostle to the Gentiles.
And now he goes out and he preaches the gospel that has been given
to him by Jesus Christ. And they listened to him. And
that preaching was so effective in their experience that it was
spoken of throughout the world. Paul, when he went elsewhere,
didn't need to go to other places and say, do you hear about the
faith of those in Thessalonica? It was spread abroad so that
other people already heard it. Paul didn't need to tell them.
It was in a higher and every place your faith to God were
to spread abroad. And what was it about that faith?
They were following the apostle. They were following Timothy.
They were following Silas. They were following the same
gospel as the apostles. And my friend, is that not the
second aspect of God's electing love? Not only that a sinner
is called, by his grace. But that sinner is turned around
and he begins to listen to what the apostles say, to what Paul
is saying. That's why it is so important
that we have an open Bible before us this evening. That is what
is so important that we come to what Paul is saying in his
epistles. Because God has spoken, holy
men of old have spoken. as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit. And we have that word this evening.
He says, ye became followers of us and of the Lord. One followed
after the other. If one is elect and one is going
to make their calling and election sure, And if one seeks to see
whether by their fruits ye shall know them, what is the fruit?
Ye follow the apostles. You follow the Lord Jesus Christ. It's just like all those in the,
I think we mentioned, blind Bartimaeus. When the Lord, when blind Bartimaeus
was calling out to the Lord, And the Lord called for him to
come over. What would I have you to do that I might have my
sight? So be it to you according to
your faith. And he was able to see, and he
followed the Lord. The Lord called him over to himself.
He healed him, and now he followed the Lord. And that's what Paul
is saying here. He says, you became followers
of us and of the Lord. and of the Lord. And whatever
the apostles had said, whatever the Lord Jesus had said, and
the apostle is just repeating what the Lord Jesus already gave
to the disciples and the apostles when he was in this world, they
are now speaking the word of Christ. And how did they receive
that word? They received it in much affliction. That's what he said, you receive
that word in much affliction. Now you think of the troubles
that there were for those in Thessalonica. You get it in the
Acts of the Apostles, chapter 17. In the Acts of the Apostles,
you see how the apostle came down into Thessalonica and he
began to preach the word. And as he preached the word,
there were those who believed. There were those who believed
in verse five. But the Jews, which believed
not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of
a base of sort, and gathered a company and set all the city
in an uproar. Later on, Jason is going to be
persecuted. But they received the word in
much affliction. Now you might say to yourself,
we don't have the same affliction here today. You don't have the
same affliction. You don't have the same troubles
that they had in Thessalonica. You believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. You may not be put into prison. But we forget that the
Christian is in a dark world, a world that is full of sin and
iniquity, a world that basically When confronted with the truth
of Jesus Christ, not the Jesus that they think they believe
he is, but the truth as he is, the world reviles against Jesus
Christ. I preached recently on Jesus
being taken and being before Pilate, and then after Pilate,
his own soldiers take them into the hall. And what do they do? They spit in his face. And that's
what Paul in human nature does today. When confronted with Jesus
Christ, they spit in his face. They had much affliction. We
ourselves, if you stand for Jesus Christ, may have much affliction.
Young people in school, if they are Christian, may have much
affliction. may be reviled and rebuked because
of their faith. But see how those in Thessalonica,
they received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy
Ghost. They rejoiced to receive the
word. Didn't matter what affliction was going to come their way.
Jason may be passed into prison. may be cast into prison, but
they receive the word with joy. You think of, we often go back
to Paul and Silas himself, the two here, Paul and Silas in Philippi,
the very first place they come to in Macedonian. What happens
to them? Cast into prison. There's affliction. They're manacled to the very
prison, the depth of the prison, what a place that would be. That
would be a place that the prisons today would seem like a hotel
compared to the prison that Paul and Silas were cast into. And
what do you find? Much affliction, singing psalms
in the very depths of the prison. I can't remember who it was.
I think it was Rutherford that said that he knew the greatest
joy of the Holy Ghost when he was in Aberdeen, when he was
under affliction. There the Lord blessed him, even
in affliction. And how many have found that
to be the case? Being persecuted, yet blessed
with the gospel. And that's the way the church
in Thessalonica, you became followers of us and of the Lord, having
received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. Who
was there that received the word with much affliction and yet
joy of the Holy Ghost? The Apostle Paul. He became followers
of me, because I have known affliction, and yet I know the joy of the
Holy Ghost." And he doesn't leave it there. He brings us to the
true example, isn't it? The true one. He says, you became
followers of us and of the Lord, because you received the word
in affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. Is it not the Lord
Jesus himself who had much affliction? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. He knew what it was to be afflicted. As our great high priest, he
knows what it was to have been afflicted, but yet he also knew
the joy of the Holy Ghost. More than because he was one
who was filled with the Spirit without measure. He had the Spirit
upon him without measure. In our nature, he was afflicted. Yet in our nature, he had the
joy of the Holy Ghost. And that is what Paul is commending
in the church at Thessalonica. You became followers. In other
words, you're in the same footsteps as I am, of us, Paul, Silvanus,
Silas, and Timotheus. You are followers. We are followers
of the Lord Jesus, having received the word in much affliction with
joy of the Holy Ghost. And it's that, that the Apostle
Paul says, knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God. You have been called. You have
been called by the power of the Holy Ghost. You knew that it
wasn't us. You knew what manner of men we
were among you. We didn't achieve this. But you
became followers of us, became followers above all of the Lord
Jesus, that you receive the word You received it in much affliction,
but with joy of the Holy Ghost. And can we say that of ourselves
today? Can we say that we receive the
word of Christ? We receive it with joy. We receive
the comfort that that word gives to us. We receive the comfort
that Christ himself affords to us. When Paul writes to the church
at Thessalonica, then he is writing to us as well. And he says, I'm
thankful for who you are. And I'm thankful that you show
the signs of the election of God. Elsewhere, Peter said, make
your election, your calling. and your election, surely. What's it telling you? It's telling
us that salvation is all of God's grace. It all flows out of the
love of the Father in electing a people to himself in eternity,
whom he called, whom he makes to be like unto his Son. the
image of citizen, renewing them by the power, spirit of God. Let us join together in prayer.
Let us pray. Most gracious and ever blessed
Lord, we thank thee for the goodness of thy grace. We thank thee that
we have nothing of ourselves, preacher, hearer. We have nothing
but what we have already been given. We thank Thee for the
encouragement that the gospel gives to us. We thank Thee that
in the councils of eternity Thou hast a people, a people that
Thou wilt call in time and Thou wilt bless in eternity. Who before
us in the rest of this evening, we pray Thee, we pray that Thou
would help us in all that we would seek to do. May it be that
we would do it to Thy glory. thine honour and thy praise.
Bless us, we pray thee, and bless the closing of the seminary tomorrow. Prepare us, we pray thee, in
thy providence to come to the Lord's house on the Lord's day.
We pray that thou would bless the preaching of the word, that
sinners would be saved. Undertake for us now, part us
in thy fear and with thy blessing, for we ask it in Jesus' name
and for his sake. Amen. Psalm 119 from verse 40. Psalm 119 from verse 40, and
we'll sing four verses to the end of the verse, Mark 45. From 41 to 45. Psalm 119, 41 to 45. Let thy
sweet mercies also come and visit me, O Lord, even thy benign salvation
according to thy word. So shall I have wherewith I may
give him an ancestor to spitefully reproach him. For in thy word
I trust. Four verses. Let thy sweet mercies
also come and visit me, O Lord. Let thy sweet mercies also come and visit me, O Lord. In thy benign salvation, adore
him to thy word. So shall I now, wherewith I may,
give him an answer just, ♪ Disciple thee in reproach and fear ♪ ♪
For in thy word I trust ♪ ♪ The word of truth I hold my God ♪
♪ With love not utterly distressed ♪ So shall I be forevermore thy
Lord. Service on the Lord's Day is
at 11 and 6 p.m. These are all the information
we'll conclude with the benediction. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest on and
abide with you now and always. Amen.
Knowing Their Election
Series Studies In 1 Thessalonians
"For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye 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:" (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6)
| Sermon ID | 612252222374097 |
| Duration | 41:29 |
| Date | |
| Category | Special Meeting |
| Bible Text | 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 |
| Language | English |
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