Introduction Often there is a perceived conflict between truth and love, as though we are forced to choose between one or the other. A good comparison for how the thinking here goes is the gears of a car. The car can be in park, neutral, drive, reverse, etc--but there is no option to be two at the same time. Likewise, truth and love are often viewed as different gears of operation, and in the opinion of some a good friend cannot do both at the same time. This kind of thinking is not consistent with Scripture and needs to be rejected. Truth and love are not opponents, obstacles, or even inconveniences to one another. If rightly understood, truth and love are partners, and they inseparable partners at that. Scripture says that God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and God is truth (Jn 14:6); God's character is never divided up nor pitted against itself, and He never ceases to be one thing in order to be something else. God doesn't decide to put on the "truth hat" or "love hat" while obligated to leave the other on the hook. Instead, God is constantly true and loving in everything He does, whether that is the judgment of the wicked or in the extension of grace to sinners. As such, Paul's desire for the Thessalonian's faith to increase and their love to abound makes perfect sense. Paul wants the Thessalonians to truly know God, and that is only possible when truth and love work together. Love is never achieved at the expense of truth, and truth is never truly embraced apart from love. Paul helps us understand the cooperative nature of truth and love, and it is beneficial for us to consider this relationship. The Text
"6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." Quick Recap In 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 we saw that Paul's ministry aimed to operate by and for faith. His desire was to make sure the new church really trusted in Christ and walked in obedience to Him. We could summarize Paul's description of healthy faith as staying close to Jesus and His people, walking in regular obedience to what has been learned, and actively resisting all forms of temptation that would lead us away from Jesus. Paul's burden to see the church be healthy, coupled with Satan's successful opposition to Paul's own efforts to personally go to them, prompted Paul to send his associate Timothy to do a check-up. And praise God, Timothy's report was wonderful! The church was walking in faith and love, and they still remembered Paul very fondly and wanted to see him again (v6). That might not seem like a big deal, but Paul could easily be viewed as "responsible" for the difficulty they were facing since he is the one who taught them to follow Jesus. But the proof of legitimate faith was obvious as they still embraced Jesus and were grateful to Paul for bringing the gospel. As their spiritual father, Paul celebrated the good report about the church and praised God. The only reason the church was still there and thriving was because God sustained them, and Paul gave credit where credit was due. Paul Prays "We pray most earnestly night and day..." -1 Thessalonians 3:10 Gospel ministry is meant to focus on proclaiming God's revealed truth, but it also operates in the strength God supplies. This should lead someone to ask how do we access the power to do the work God calls us to do? Paul's answer, I imagine, would be simple: prayer! Prayer was proof that Paul's ministry not only sought to establish faith, it operated by faith. Prayer is faith in action. Prayer shows trust in God as it goes to Him with the expectation something will be happen because of it. If we are praying, that is a choice to look to God instead of something else for our needs. The themes of Paul's prayer are also familiar: faith, hope, and love. He prays that the needs of their faith be supplied, for love to increase and abound, and that they would be established as blameless and holy at the future return of Christ (hope). In other words, he prays for them to be true, growing Christians. Prayer For Faith "We pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith" -1 Thessalonians 3:10 Christianity is a life of faith, not merely a decision of faith. This is not to say a decision is not important (it is!), but biblical faith is about a resurrected life marked by a new pattern of decisions. This new pattern comes from a new focus: the cross of Christ. Christians love the cross, and we believe its implications regarding our sin and God's glory and holiness. Turning to a crucified, risen, and forever-reigning Lord and Savior is the first decision of a new Christian! But that will not be the last decision for a true Christian--it can't be. Christians follow Jesus, and Jesus told us that would mean choosing to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily to follow Him (Matt 16:24; Lk 9:23). The demands of obedience, the particular "cross" of that day, will vary, and different seasons will leave us feeling the burden of the cross more than others. Paul knew the church was facing pressure, but he didn't know what that pressure was exactly, and he didn't know what the church would need to endure the pressure--which is why he wished he could be there with them. But he knew that for faith to be true it needs to endure, and faith only endures by God's grace. And God often delivers His grace through His servants, and that is why Paul was so set on going to them to supply for their needs. So how would Paul know if the Thessalonians were enduring by faith? What would that look like? 1) Love to Abound "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you" -1 Thessalonians 3:12 In Paul's mind clear evidence of enduring faith is an increase in love. Lots of people talk about love, so let's define our terms. One way to describe love is supporting, giving for, and celebrating the good for another person. To love someone is to be in their corner and delight in their success and wellbeing. The Bible shows there will be different kinds of love, and these variations result from differing definitions of what is good. Jesus taught His love and the world's love are not the same (Jn 15:18-20), and that is because Jesus and the world do not agree on what is good (1 Jn 2:15-16). If we want to have a productive conversation with someone about how to love, it would be wise to first establish what is considered good, and and be clear about how was that was decided. If love seeks the good of another, this also necessitates that love avoids and opposes doing harm. God says, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom 13:10). Furthermore, the greatest expression of love is sacrificially giving for the good of another--when we are willing to be hurt, or lose what is good, so that another may gain or keep what is good (Jn 15:13). When we connect the dots, loving someone means protecting them from what is harmful, working to lead them to what is good, and being willing to carry the necessary cost or burden to see that happen. Paul wanted the Christians to be the kind of people who were increasing in God's love, and this was a work he prayed God would accomplish in them. But how would does that prayer get answered? Paul explains the answer to this question in a number of places, but very explicitly in Ephesians 3:14-19. In this passage Paul shares his prayer for Christians to be strengthen in their inner being, for Christ to dwell in their hearts by faith, and for them to be rooted in love. Furthermore, in v19 he says he prays for them "to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that [they] may be filled with all the fullness of God." How do Christians abound in love and be filled with the fullness of God? They receive and know the love of Christ! The word Paul used for "know" carries a fuller meaning than just head knowledge, it involved personal familiarity. It is the difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing them. Christians cannot settle for a faith that can only parrot back facts and statements about God's love for them; we must "taste and see" for ourselves that God loves us (Ps 34:8) to benefit from it. Paul's desire was the Thessalonians would make full use of the access they had to God so that they could be filled by Him. But Christians are filled so that we can pour out what they have received to others--and we do this so we can be re-filled and stretched in our capacity to receive. With each cycle of receiving, giving, and receiving again, we grow. If this were happening to every individual Christian who gathers with other Christian in worship, what would be the result our time in worship? 2) The Hope of A Blameless, Holy Heart "So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." -1 Thessalonians 3:13 The first thing to notice about this prayer is the heart of God--He wants us to be fully prepared for the Day of Judgment, and for that Day to be a delight for His people! The coming of Jesus will be the fulfillment of the Day of the Lord mentioned often in the OT. It is the day appointed for God to visit the earth and render final judgment for all that has been done (Rom 2:6-8). Everything will be revealed, weighed, and judged when Christ comes again. This will be a day of final day of salvation and vindication for those who delight in God and have waited for Him, but it will also be a day of utter despair for all those who have rejected the Word of God and lived in wickedness. God could have left everyone to their own condition, but instead He has saved a people for Himself by His grace. He has opened eyes to see the deceptive evil of sin and the devastation that it brings, but He has also sent a conquering Savior to deliver all who trust in Him. God is a holy God, and those who will dwell with Him must also be holy. The author of Hebrews instructs us to strive for "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb 12:14). So holiness matters, but how do we become holy? According to Paul, truly abounding in love is what leads to holiness. This is very different from the way the world loves. As far as popular opinion is concerned, loving someone means accepting them for who they are and where they are. God's love, however, is holy (pure) and it transforms. Biblical love meets a person where they are and embraces them, but it does so with the desire to see them restored to a right relationship with a holy God. A person who abounds in love will be holy, and the only person who will be truly holy will be full of love. Our hope as Christians is that we can stand blameless before Christ when He returns. We can only be blameless if we have not violated something--and that something is the law of God. God's law is an objective standard that reveals God's holiness. The 10 commandments are not impersonal, arbitrary rules; they are an expression of the very character of God. Whatever is consistent with God's law is good, and whatever is inconsistent with God's law is bad. If there is a violation of God's law (sin), there is blame. Consequently, to be blameless before God requires that sin be forgiven and cleansed; the sinner must be transformed to be able to stand before God in holiness. And the only thing powerful enough to transform a sinner into a saint is the love of God. As people we are all wired to seek that which makes us feel loved--and the operative word there is feel. We don't necessarily seek the thing that actually loves us in a godly way, but we seek the thing we that makes us feel loved in the moment. We chase the thing that gives us what we believe is good. We look to the thing that affirms us and grants a sense of happiness and security. A Christian is a person who defines good according to what God has revealed, and accordingly feels loved by God. It is only when we are deceived and doubt God's love that we start looking to something else to satisfy that desire. But as long as we are convinced we are loved by God and are satisfied by His love, we will keep following Him. Abiding in the love of God is how we get ready for Christ's return, and so Paul prays for their love to increase and abound. Final Thoughts People are shaped by the thing they look to for love, and mature Christians look to God. Satan's lie since Genesis 3 has been God cannot be trusted to give us what is good--He cannot be trusted to truly love us. But Jesus Christ obliterates this lie through the cross. At the cross God's love is most clearly shown and defined (Rom 5:5-6). The cross declares that we are powerless sinners who rightly deserve the wrath of God. And the cross proves that God will not ignore sin, it will be judged. But the cross also declares God's love because a Savior has been offered to us. When Jesus went to the cross He made our problem His problem; that is what love often does. To know our Creator and live His way is good, so Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead in order for us to be reconciled to Him--because love works for the good of another. The question every person must now ask is will you receive the love of God revealed at the cross? Do you accept what is declared at the cross as true and good? Whoever acknowledges themselves to be a helpless sinner with no hope of salvation apart from Jesus will comes to the cross and receive God's love. And the good news is God's love is so powerful that it always transforms the one who truly receives it.
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AuthorI am follower of Jesus Christ by God's grace, married to Kelsey, father to four children, and pastor of Lighthouse Church (EPC). Archives
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