And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.You became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit;
4 sermons cite this verse
Verse 6. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction. That's powerful. The Thessalonians believed that what Paul and his team were preaching must be real. because of their argumentation, number one, and then what they went through by way of affliction. In other words, they didn't change their story when they were under attack. They stuck with it with joy of the Holy Spirit so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you, the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything. Wow, they had a very powerful witness. For they themselves declared concerning us what manner of entry we had to you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Here it comes, verse 10. And to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, here it comes, who delivers us from the, what? Wrath to come. Mark it in your notes. …
… I didn't touch on this, so I'm just touching on it. You became followers of us and of the Lord. having received the word of much affliction with joy in the Holy Spirit. Now, why did Paul put it that way? Why didn't he say you became followers of the Lord and of us? He put himself first. We became followers of us and of the Lord. Why did he put it that way? He is simply writing the experience of the Thessalonian church chronologically. way. Paul was their first point of contact. Paul was the first Christian they had ever seen or heard. And when they saw Paul and saw his lifestyle and heard his message, they became followers of Paul and in so doing became followers of the Lord. It's simply a chronological depiction. You follow me? in Corinthians, he said in chapter 11, verse 1, imitate me as I imitate Christ. You can follow me, you can imitate me, but as you're doing it, because I'm imitating Christ, you're going to be following or imitating him. It's sobering to think, is it not, that we are many people's, most unbelievers, first point of contact. …
… And the power is the changed lives in Thessalonica. And verse 6, you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, love this, love this, love this, with joy of the Holy Spirit. Affliction and joy in the same sentence, in the same person. How does that work? Affliction is your external experience. Joy is your internal experience. Two things can be true at the same time. Only the Christian can have affliction and joy at the same time. An unbeliever cannot. To an unbeliever, joy is the absence of affliction. Affliction is the absence of joy. For the Christian, we have affliction and joy at the same time. Some of us suffer with chronic pain. Some people deal with anxiety and depression. Some people are going through deep, hard medical issues and uncertainty. At the same time, the internal condition can be joy of the Holy Spirit. So that you became examples to all who are in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord sounded forth. And I want to unpack more of that next week. Not only in Macedonia and Achaia, north and south, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything. …
… 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, so that ye were examples, that's what the King James says, actually, examples to all them that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 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 were to spread abroad, so that we need not speak anything. For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised up from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Well, we want to talk to you a little bit about the gospel ministry, serving the Lord. …