Well we've been looking at these Pauline epistles and last week we looked at the book of Galatians and we saw that Galatians was written after Paul's first missionary journey. Now as we come to study this book of 1 Thessalonians, this is written during his second missionary journey. And if you know anything about Paul's journeys, you know that the second one was far more extensive than the first. The first went to Cyprus and then through the churches of Galatia. It was sort of a short circuit. Now, but the second one, you'll remember there was that Macedonian call, that vision of a man, come over and help us. And the word of God moved not just in Asia, but over and into Europe, into Greece. And the first churches were established in this continent. And so Paul, read about his time in Thessalonica in Acts chapter 17, Paul had just been in Philippi and you'll remember some of the stories of what happened to him there. How when he healed that slave girl who was demon possessed, he was arrested and he and Silas were found in prison singing hymns at night. And there was that earthquake and you remember the Philippian jiggler, he was about to kill And he said, what must I do? Saved. You remember those stories, I'm sure. They're well known. But Paul and Silas were essentially quickly ushered out of Philippi. It was an embarrassment to the governing authorities. And so they were sent on their way. And where do they go next? But to Thessalonica. And Thessalonica is a very important city. It's the largest city in this region with a population of over 200,000. So it's a large city by the ancient standards. But as well as that, it sits on a major trade route that goes from east to west. That's the Via Ignatia it's called. It runs all the way from modern day Istanbul all the way to the sea looking over towards Italy. So it runs through modern-day Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. It was a major road east to west. If people in the eastern provinces wanted to get to Rome, they went along this road, because it ended at the sea right opposite the main road up to Rome. And equally, if you were going the other direction, this is the road that you went on. It was a very important road. And so trade passed east to west. As well as that, Thessalonica, which sat roughly in the middle of this road, Thessalonica was also a harbor. And that meant that trade could go out into the sea and off in that direction too. So here we have this port that can pass trade east and west, but then also south and through the sea. It's a prominent city. And at the time that Paul and Silas go there, it's experiencing an economic boom. Everything's going well for them there in this large city. And we read what the missionary strategy was. As in all places, Paul looked first for the synagogue. He did that, I've said before, for two distinct reasons. First was the pragmatic reason. If you're going somewhere and you want to preach the gospel, you want people to hear the gospel, you go where people are gathered, if you can. If there's a place where people are gathered to listen, that's a good place to start. And in the synagogue, there was a ready-made congregation that Paul could preach to, to try to persuade them that Christ is the one they should believe in. But as well as that, there's a theological reason. To the Jew first, and then to the Greek. Paul believed that. Paul teaches that in his letters, but he also believed it in practice. The gospel's first offered to the Jews, and then if they reject it, if they mock the gospel, then you shake the dust off your feet and you go to the Gentiles, for Christ has made us a light to the Gentiles. And that's what's happening, what happened here in Thessalonica. The gospel is proclaimed, Some of the Jews are persuaded. They're persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, that he had to suffer, that he had to die, but that he has indeed been raised from the dead. But it's not mostly Jews who are converted. It tells us that a great multitude of devout Greeks were converted. They were persuaded. Those are the God-fearers. There are people who have sympathies towards Judaism, but they hadn't taken that plunge into it. They hadn't taken that full commitment to it. But as well as this great multitude of devout Greeks, there were also not a few of the leading women. In other words, it was those women who were married to influential men in the city, the high-brow society, their wives were converted and added to this church. And so this church in Thessalonica was probably a fairly large congregation, a great multitude of the devout Greeks, it says. But predominantly, it was Gentile, just a handful of Jews and then all these various Gentiles. But immediately, as in other places, persecution arises. All who seek to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. There are those ministers who preach that the Christian life is an easy life. The Christian life is far from an easy life. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. And part of that comes through persecution. We do suffer these afflictions. And the Jews are the ones who initiate it. They go and they round up the most wicked men they can find in the marketplace, the rogues. And they bring them. And it's like a mob that goes to Jason's house. This is the house in which Paul and Silas were staying. He was a converted Jew. And they bang and they bang. And they want Paul and Silas to be brought out. Well, they're not there. So they drag out Jason and other brethren, and they take them. to the governing authorities in order to complain about them. Interestingly, the word used there in Acts 17 for the rulers of the city is a word that in the past people mocked the Bible that used that word. They said that's a word that's not found anywhere else in Roman literature. And they say that Luke, who wrote Acts, obviously didn't know what he was talking about. You've heard the same sort of thing before, I'm sure, about various parts of the scripture. Well, the Lord maintains his truth. An archaeologist discovered an inscription found in Thessalonica that had that exact word on it. There you have Luke, who was meticulous in his details. As a doctor, he wrote down things very carefully, and he was so accurate, in fact, that he wrote the very word that seems to be used in Thessalonica that may not have been used in a multitude of other places. There, the Lord's word is true, and we can rely on it. Well, anyway, these Jews take Jason to these rulers, and they argue against what Jason and Paul and Silas and all are doing. And did you remember the charge they sent? They've turned the world upside down, for they proclaim there's another king, even Jesus. It's a very interesting charge to lay before the rulers. Of course, in one sense, there's no truth in it. The people that were turning the world upside down were these Jews. They were the ones that stirred up a mob and created civil unrest. Those who were Christians were living a peaceful life, or trying to live a peaceful life. But in another sense, there is truth in it. Christianity, Christ coming into our hearts, does indeed turn the world upside down for us. There is another king, even Jesus. And that doesn't go to the extent in which we can say that we are to rebel against Caesar. No, we are to submit to the governing authorities. in the Lord. But yet, it does emphasize for us an important point. Jesus Christ is not merely a saviour. We are to receive him not just as a saviour, but as our Lord. Sometimes you hear people say that, I take Jesus as my saviour, and then later on I take him as my Lord. Well, there is another King, and it's Jesus. These Christians, newly converted Christians, immediately view Jesus as their King. They immediately bow their knee to Him, they're immediately serving Him, they're immediately different from how they formerly were. There's that change in them, and it's because Jesus is a King. The Christians pay security for Jason and then Paul and Silas are sent off. It's not safe for them to be in this city of Thessalonica. But the interesting thing is that they were only in that city for really about a month. It says that for three Sabbaths they preached in the synagogue. And then it seems as if this happens straight away, this incident, civil unrest, and then they're sent off to Berea. Imagine that for a moment. Imagine that from the perspective of being a congregation. Think about how three Sabbaths ago, you would hear a particular word. I can't remember who preached three Sabbaths ago. Was it the communion, three Sabbaths ago? Can you remember everything that was said in those services? And then two or Was it Kennedy's shirt? Yeah, two. You've got those various sermons. Can you remember everything that was said? A lot quickly escapes our minds. Now imagine if you're a new Christian. Of course, you're eager to listen. You're attentive to that word. But how much of it goes in? Does it make you solid? Does it make you grounded? Or do you need more? Do you need more information? These Greeks, would never have known much about the Old Testament Scriptures. They wouldn't know much about the doctrines found in God's Word, and they had three Sabbaths of instruction. It's not a long time to impress truth upon someone. But think about it from Paul's perspective. He had only had three weeks, and then he was removed. He had to flee to Berea. And he leaves them, knowing that these are young Christians in a hostile, a pluralistic environment, one which is not safe for them, physically not safe because the Jews could persecute them, spiritually unsafe because of the idolatry and the paganism all around them. Paul was anxious for them. And Paul leaves, and he goes. And that was a burden that lay upon Paul. Do you remember 2 Corinthians chapter 11? Do you remember how Paul describes the sufferings that he faced as an apostle? He lists the number of times that he was shipwrecked, the number of times that he received the lashes, that he was stoned, that he was beaten and so on and so forth. And you think, it's not an attractive job to be an apostle, all this suffering and persecution But he ends that section implying strongly that the greatest burden he had to bear was not all those physical sufferings, but my deep concern for all the churches. That was the thing that he bore most, his concern. Think about the Thessalonians. He had a deep concern for them. Yes, he suffered physically. And I suppose there's a lesson to all of us to have spiritual concerns and to think about our brothers and sisters in Christ and to be concerned for them. But I think particularly for the elders this is indeed a lesson for us to think that we should have a great love for our brothers and sisters As they live amongst those in the world, we should be praying for them and seeking their good. It's an important thing for us to learn from Paul's own example. He had that heart for the people of God. But at the earliest convenience then, Paul sought to find out more information about these Thessalonians. He sent Timothy there to further establish them in the faith Timothy then returns to Paul to give his report, to say how things are going. This time Paul is in Corinth towards the end of his second missionary journey. When Paul receives the report of how things are going, he immediately writes to the Thessalonians. The letter you have open in front of you is what Paul wrote. I suppose it would be good for us, when we read it, for ourselves later is to think how, what would you have thought the first time you read this letter? As you had been converted under Paul's ministry, but then three weeks later he leaves you and you don't see him again. And then there's a long period of persecution, of suffering, of triumphs. What would you think when this letter came and was read in the church? Let's think first of all what the letter is about. And really there are two things. The first half of the letter, chapters one to three, is really Paul expressing his thankfulness for the church of the Thessalonians. He's relieved to hear that the church is still together, that even though they faced persecution and hardship, the church has not fallen apart, but the Lord has kept them. He's thankful to hear a good report. And then the second part of the letter from chapters 4 to 5, Paul seeks to supply what was lacking in their faith. Now remember he had only been there three Sabbath days. I think if you only could preach on three Sabbath days to a group of people, there would be so much that would be left unsaid, so much that you would seek to impress upon the Paul does this in fairly rapid succession in chapters 4 and 5. So let's think just about these two sections then. First of all, Paul's thankfulness for the church. Why is Paul thankful for them? Well chapter 1 tells us he's thankful for their conversion, and of course we should always be thankful when we hear of someone's conversion, when we hear of someone's faith. Paul here and it says that the gospel came to them with power and with much assurance. It didn't just come and pass off like water off a duck's back. They became followers of Christ. And it's not a case of many people coming to faith and you sceptically think, I don't think most of them are truly converted. How can it be that of devout Greeks. Well, we know that most of them were indeed converted because they were brought to faith in much affliction. They were brought to faith in a time when they were being persecuted, when they were suffering for Christ. Not many people maintain a Christian witness under persecution. Although it's difficult, yet he stands under it by God's grace because he's united to Christ, whereas a hypocrite who's separate from Christ does not stand. Remember the parable of the sower. When the hardships come, they just leave the faith. Why? Because the root is not deep. It's not deep enough. And so it is with these Thessalonians. They are truly converted. and Paul is thankful that even in affliction they remain steadfast. So much so, he says in verse 7 of chapter 1, that they have become examples throughout Macedonia and Achaia, indeed further afield than these two regions. There are people who know of the faith of the Thessalonians, there are people in the they've done well, and that's a tremendous witness to the saving work of Christ. But then also, you see in verse 9 of chapter 1, what their conversion was. Towards the end, they've been converted from idols to serve the living and true God. They've turned away from what is false, from what before was appealing to them, this idolatry, and all that went along with it. they've turned to what is true, the living and true God. Paul is thankful, first of all, for their conversion. Then secondly, Paul is thankful for his own relationship with this church. He spells this out for us in chapters 2 and 3. He's thankful for how they've by defending his ministry amongst them. And when Paul does that, when Paul speaks about himself, you have to ask, why is he doing that? And I think probably here the answer is fairly straightforward. There were probably those who were seeking to persecute the church that were saying, this Paul, he came in for a time and he's left. Does he really believe what he said? He's fled from the persecution. or he's some quack, he's a travelling magician or salesman. He's come out of covetousness to gain out of you, and now he's fled and he's left you. You see, people would say such things. And Paul knows that if the Thessalonians believe these things, that they'll end up denying the gospel. And so he spells out for them what his ministry was amongst them. He reminds them of how he has suffered in the past. He suffered shamefully in Philippi, verse 2 of chapter 2. He tells them about how he did not come to please men, verse 4. He did not come to give them nice and comfortable words. He came to speak the truth of the gospel. Verse 5, he did not come out of covetousness. He did not come day working so that he was not a burden on these Thessalonians. In verse 7 he describes himself as a mother to this church. It's quite interesting that Paul calls himself your mother. He was like a nursing mother. He was gentle. He was nourishing the church out of his love for the Thessalonians. And then later on he describes himself as a father to them. As a father, he was a disciplinarian. He exhorted, he comforted, and he charged. He showed them the way they should walk worthy of the gospel. a child would need. A child needs a mother and a father, and Paul fulfilled both. I suppose tangentially that's, you think about the attacks on marriage in our world, that you can have two fathers or two mothers, or one father and one mother. It's not best for the child. The best thing for the child is to have a father and a mother, and Paul even shows us that here. He was a father and a mother to this church. spiritually speaking. But then he goes on to show how they responded to this faithful ministry. In chapter two, verse 13. For this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you welcomed it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. which also effectively works in you who believe. And remember, Paul here is listing ways in which he's thankful for this church. One of the main ways is their attitude to God's word. How do you view God's word? How do you view this Bible? Do you view it the way the Thessalonians did? Not the words of men, but the words of God. How do you view the preaching of God's word? Do you view it as the words of men or as the word of God? There's very clear distinction between those two things. But I think quite often we come to the time for the preaching and we can sit back and wait to be either entertained or to have something that satisfies us, something that we can learn from, but we don't always sit under the word knowing that it is the word of God. There is a difference in attitude coming to hearing preaching. If you believe it is the word of men, you sit back and wait until something strikes you before you'll take any notice of it. But if it's the word of God, right from the very start you're eagerly listening, you're careful to listen to all that's being said. If there's a challenge that comes, a biblical challenge, in accordance with God's word, Well then you accept that as a challenge that God himself is bringing to your own heart. And therefore you must consider it. It's not the words of men, it's the word of God. It's a challenge of God into your heart. When there's an encouragement or a promise that the minister says that comes out of God's word that's faithful, It's an encouragement from God to your heart and you accept it as such. When there's a command that's preached and it's consistent with the scriptures, you don't say the minister's trying to command us to do something. You say, this is the command of God and I must obey it. You see, that's the difference between how we sit under the word of men and the word of God. And Paul tells us here in chapter two, verse 13, that these Thessalonians received his preaching as the Word of God, and it worked in them effectively in their faith, and that's an important thing. But even though then the missionary team had fled, and he describes this for us, he's very clear that they would know that they were still in his heart. While he was absent from them, yet he still held them dear in his heart. In fact, he longed to come back, verse 18, we wanted to come to you time and time again, but said and hindered. There was opposition from the spiritual forces of evil that stopped them returning. And then chapter three, verse nine, he continues in his thankfulness for them. For what thanks can we render to God for you? For all the joy which we rejoice for your sake before our God. Night and day, pray exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abide in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. And that concludes this first section. Paul expresses his thankfulness to God that these Thessalonians are truly converted a right, that they have a good relationship with Paul, and therefore he prays for them into the future, that they would continue to grow. I suppose there is one practical lesson that we can say from that, is that we should be thankful when we see the work of God's Spirit in anyone. When we see the Lord work in a person, we should truly be thankful and rejoice in it. I think sometimes we can have that attitude, Perhaps they're young in the faith, perhaps they're immature and we say they're not there yet. But Paul here takes a different attitude. He sees God's work, no matter how small it is, he sees it and he rejoices in it. Yes, he says here towards the end of chapter 3 that there are certain ways in which they could abound more. There are certain ways in which they could go further and we'll see that in sanctification there are some areas where they're lacking. There are some areas where they're weak. There are some areas where they're plain wrong. Yet Paul spends three whole chapters of this book expressing thanks for her. I think we should be thankful at all times when we see the Lord's work in someone's life. We should always try to look for positives before we look for negatives. Then the second section, the last two chapters, these are the practical instructions. Chapter 4, verse 1. Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more. You see, there's that idea. You have a portion, you should have more of it. You're sanctified to an extent, you should be sanctified more. Verse 3. For this is the will of God, your sanctification. Sometimes people wonder what God's will for them in their life is. I think particularly when people are younger and they've got lots of decisions ahead of them. What job will I do? What will I study? Whom should I marry? All these questions that we've all gone through. We're conscious as Christians, we want to be in the Lord's will to do what's right. But here we have a verse that very clearly tells us what God's will is for us. It's our sanctification. We seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. It's his righteousness that we should be pursuing, not our sanctification. And there are a few different ways in which this church in Thessalonica needed to be further sanctified. First of all, sexual immorality. They had to abstain from that. Verse 3. The church no doubt faced pressures as we do in our own land. There was a very liberal culture all around. There were all sorts of immorality, it was encouraged. Immorality was shown forth to be virtuous. The truly religious people went to the temples and engaged in such wickedness. But Paul says in verse 4 of chapter 4, you are to know your own vessel and to possess it in sanctification. and honour, not in passion of lust like the Gentiles. So that's an important thing. And the second thing is about how you treat those around you. Verse 6, don't take advantage and don't defraud. You see, you can imagine this city that was prosperous. No doubt there were businessmen that took advantage of those who were poor and weak. And perhaps some of those fraud at each other. And Paul says, no, that is not what you are to do. And he tells us there in verse 6, the Lord is avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. And then a third way in which they can be further sanctified is in their work ethic, in how they are to work hard. And I will consider this more especially Lord willing in 2 Thessalonians. But it is important to see that even here in 1 Thessalonians verse 11, they were to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you. Now I think probably a lot of you grew up with a good work ethic that was instructed to you. Your parents probably taught you to work hard, idle or lazy. And what Paul here shows us that the will of God, part of our sanctification, is to work hard in whatever calling we have, whatever profession we have, is to work hard because we're doing it to God. And again, we'll see more of that next week. And then also look at chapter 5 and verse 12 towards the end. You see here that Paul gives other exhortations to them. and he simply does this as a list. He lists all these ways in which they can be further sanctified, saying things like rejoice always, pray without ceasing and everything give thanks. It's just this list, verse after verse of topics that he wants to give to them, that they would go further in them. So that's really the first part of the practical instruction, but then there is a second part And it's to do with this topic of eschatology or the doctrine of the last things. What is going to happen in the last days? What's going to happen around the time of Christ's return? And Paul explores that here mainly because there's some confusion in the Church of the Thessalonians. On this point of doctrine they are very weak and they need instruction. There are some, as we see in verse 13, there are some who are grieving the loss of loved ones, Christians who have died in the Lord, but they're grieving without hope. They think perhaps that these Christians have died and Christ hasn't come yet, therefore they are going to miss out. Or perhaps they put the dead bodies into the tombs, And they thought on the third day they will rise from the dead, just as Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. But nothing happened. And so they've lost these loved ones, and it seems as if they haven't been raised to life. And so their grief is without hope. Paul says to them, don't grieve without hope. There is coming a resurrection, but it's not at the time that you expect. It's coming when Christ returns. He will come, the trumpet will sound, the dead will rise, the dead in Christ first, and then we'll be caught up together, those of us still alive and those who have died, all of us together in Christ, in glory. So he says in verse 18, therefore comfort one another with these words. You see, you've been confused about this eschatology. therefore use it, comfort each other, encourage one another. But then he has something else to say about eschatology, and that's in chapter 5. It's about this day of the Lord, the last day, when the Lord will come to judge the world. When will that come? Well, verse 2 of chapter 5 tells us it comes as a thief in the night. It comes when you least expect it. I don't know if your house has ever been burgled, but if it has, it was on a day when you least expected it. You didn't wake up that morning and think, my house is going to be burgled tonight. That's not what you think of. But when the thief comes, it takes you by surprise. And Paul says here that when the day of the Lord does come, when Christ comes to judge the living and the dead, it will take you by surprise. But, he says, It won't overtake you. It won't destroy you. You're of the day, not of the night. And therefore, he warns them to be sober, to be alert, and to be awake, and not to walk in the night, but to put on this armor, verse eight, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. He's warning them there that it's not going to be an easy life. a life of difficulty, a life of trials, but the Lord has provided what we need to pass through. Therefore, he says in verse 11, comfort and edify one another just as you are doing. It's interesting that Paul uses these two sections on eschatology, but he doesn't just confine it to those sections. In fact, in this chapter Paul refers to something that's in the future. Look at chapter 1, verse 10. Speaking about their conversion, they've turned from idols to serve the living and true God. And he says, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. What is a Christian? What are you to do in this world? Well, part of it is you're waiting. you're waiting for Jesus to return. Is that not what we're doing? We're in this time period between Christ's first coming and his second coming, and we're waiting. We're waiting for him to come. Chapter two, verse 12. Another section that ends here. That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. What is God calling Christians into? for us in heaven. Chapter two, verse 19, speaking about their own missionary activity. What is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? What is it that makes Paul rejoice most? It's the thought of having these Thessalonians who have been converted through his ministry Jesus coming back and they'll be together. That's his crying, that's his boasting, that's what he rejoices in. It's this good thing. And then chapter 3 verse 13, speaking about sanctification, so that he may establish your hearts, blemless in holiness, before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. You see, we're moving towards greater holiness, or we should be moving towards greater holiness, but there's an end point. Jesus is returning and we'll go to be with him. And so we see that Paul unites this whole letter together with this doctrine of these last things, with this doctrine of the second coming of Christ and the glory which follows for a Christian. And so just to finally say this, a means of it, an application for us. We are to seek our own holiness, we are to seek to grow in our faith and our conformity to Christ by the power of the Spirit. But there are certain things that motivate us towards that end, and one of those things is the fact that Christ Jesus is returning. He is coming to judge, He is coming to take us to glory. I think all too often we don't think about these things as we ought to. All too often we don't remember that there is a great glory awaiting us, there is heaven and a fullness of joy at the right hand of God. Well we need these reminders, we need these motivations to help us pursue after holiness. So that's Paul's first letter then to the Thessalonians, a church that he was only with for three weeks. and yet he saw them established in the faith. He encourages them here to live in the light of eternity. Amen. Let's stand and pray. Lord our God, we're thankful that your word has indeed come to us and that it has come with power into our lives. We thank you that we have received it, but we pray always to welcome it as the word of God, as it truly is. We're thankful, Lord God, that we are converted, that you have done this mighty work in our lives. But we do indeed pray that you would sanctify us further by your truth, that you would help us to abstain from all the uncleanness in this world, for you called us to holiness. And if we choose to go after these things of the world, we're denying you and the Holy Spirit that you have put into our hearts. Help us, Lord God, to remember that this life is not all that there is to live for, but there is eternity. There is a great joy for us in heaven. Help us to remember that you are the avenger, but also you are the rewarder of those that diligently seek you. We pray, Lord God, that you would help us to learn these things and always to live for your namesake. And we pray that if we are to suffer persecution and much affliction, that our response to it would be even as this church in Thessalonica. We're thankful, Lord God, that you give them the grace to be sustained. And we pray that in our own day, with the various challenges that we have, you would grant to us that same grace to preserve us from the evil one. Oh Lord bless us we pray, for it's in Jesus name that we pray, amen. We close by singing from Psalm We'll sing verses 1 and 2, singing praise to God, and then verses 5 to 9, and particularly noticing verse 9, before the Lord, because he comes to judge the earth, comes he, he'll judge the world with righteousness, is full with equity. A reminder there of the things that we've even been thinking about, the Lord is indeed coming once again. Psalm 98, verses 1 and 2, and 5 to 9. ♪ O sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ What wonders he hath done ♪ ♪ His right and love is all in all ♪ ♪ In victory he has won ♪ ♪ The Lord God is our creation ♪ ♪ Our God is to be known ♪ ♪ His presence in the earth ♪ With thy, with thy, with thy, with thy, with thy, with thy, with thy, with thy, with and to Jehovah sing. With trumpets loud they sound before the Lord their King. ♪ This is a nobler foe'ner's war ♪ ♪ The world a dweller's lair ♪ ♪ Let bloods now rise under the hill ♪ Before the Lord he goes he comes to judge the earth and sea. He'll judge the world The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit