Labor of Love

 

1 Thessalonian 4:1-2

Additionally, then brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have receive instruction from us on how you should live and please God- as you are doing-do this more. For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

In Labor of Love, Paul addressed the Thessalonian believers as brother and sister: a people born of God, born of the water and the Spirit and born of the incorruptible seed of the word. He encouraged them to a live a life that pleases God rather than men.  As members of the body of Christ, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, who have accessed to God by one Spirit and no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, member of the household of God and accepted in the beloved. Paul encouraged the brethren to continue steadfast in their work of faith, labor of love and patient of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father. Amen.

Paul exhorted believers to hold fast to serving the living God, and look forward to the return of Christ Jesus, who will deliver us from the wrath of God to come. For God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (1 Thessalonian 5:9) He admonished the Thessalonian to redeem their time for the days are evil, walk in wisdom toward those outside in their speech, conduct and usage of time. (Ephesian 4:29, 5:15, Colossian4: 5). He encouraged the believers, as a people who received Christ as Lord; to continue to walk in Him by demonstrating the love of God to those around them. In doing this, they would be renewed in the spirit of their mind, speak words of edification, be thankful, be tenderhearted, forgiving and grow up in all things in Christ rather than serve idols, engaged in conflict, devise deceit plotting, convey erroneous teaching ,uncleanness, use of flattering words, or pursuit glory from men:He charged every one to walk worthy of God who calls them into His kingdom and glory.

Paul encouraged the Thessalonian believers to continue in faith and love – for without faith it is impossible to please God, continue in their labor of love, -God is love, he who abides in love, abides in God as they have been taught by God to love one another. He urged the Thessalonian to love one another for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God, loves. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome.

 “And this is the commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.(1 John 3 : 23)

Jesus said: If you keep my commandment you will abide in My love, just I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (John 15: 10).

 Jesus said unto him, you should love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all thy soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, you shall love your neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  (Matthew 22:37-34)

As witness of God, Paul encouraged the believers to continue to obey the word of God, with noble hearts and keep it, so the word of God would work effectively in them, by the evidence of the fruits they bear- love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness…- with patience: this would enable them to produce fruits in every season some hundred, some sixty, some thirty, to the praise of the Father’s glory. “Now abide faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love. “

Jesus said: this glorifies my Father that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples. (John 15:8)

In Labor of Love,Paul reminded his brother and sister in Thessalonian, the gospel did not come in words but also in power of the Holy Spirit. He commanded them to continue sounding forth the word – the gospel of God (Galatians 3:8)-to all the earth, even the ends of the earth and they should not be surprise by the afflictions, conflicts, and hindrance which confronts the preaching of the gospel; in this matter, they are more than conqueror through Christ who loves them and they shall overcome as testified by Paul”

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, love, perseverance, persecution, affliction, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra-what persecution I endured. The Lord rescued me from all of them To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.  (2 Timothy 310-11). Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all. Jesus said: These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace, in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. ( John 16:33)

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.   (Galatians 1: 4-5)

Whoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. (John 5:4)

Therefore, my beloved, brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the works of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (Galatians 6:9)

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from temptations and reserve the unjust under the punishment for the Day of Judgment. (2 peter 2:9)

1 Thessalonian 4:3-8

For this is will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality. That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.  For God did not call us to uncleanness but to holiness.

As children of God, our Father expects us to live a Holy life- without holiness no one will see God. The will of God for those who believes Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead is: “sanctification” – to be set apart from the influences of this world. God desire for those who are in Christ to be led by the Holy Spirit rather than yield to the works the flesh: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contention, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries…those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Certainly! How shall we not permit sin to have dominion over us?  Sin shall not have dominion over us when we walk and live in the Holy Spirit. Sin will not have dominion over us when we present our bodies as instrument of righteousness unto God and live under the grace through the righteousness of Christ. “Do not present your members as instrument of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God, as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God”(Romans 6:13-22)

 Jesus said:  If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire- where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”  (Mark 9:47)

The will of God for those who believe Jesus is the Son of God, is to not permit sin to reign in our mortal body, so that we do not obey its lust. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, God dwells in us by His Spirit. He who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your Spirit, which are God’s. “Flee sexual immorality”, guard your mind, your heart and your eyes with the word of God and renew your mind by mediating and living His word to know the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.  “ … That He might sanctify and cleanse you with the washing of the water of the word (Ephesians 5: 26) Jesus said:  Sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth.  (John 17:17)

The will of God for those who believe in the name of the Son of God is that we should walk in Spirit so not to fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lust against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another, causing you do the things that you wish not to do.  For he who sows to the flesh will reap corruption and he who sows to the Spirit will reap everlasting life.  So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God, for to be carnally minded is enmity against God and to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

In Labor of Love, Paul reminded the brethren, we are debtor not the flesh but to the Spirit as stated in 1 Corinthians 7:  Let each man have his own wife and let each woman have her own husband. Do not deprive one another except for time that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.   To the unmarried, if you cannot exercise self-control let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 

But to a woman or man who have a husband or wife who does not believe, let him or her not divorce.  For the wife sanctifies the unbelieving husband and the husband sanctifies the unbelieving wife, otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.  But if the unbeliever departs, let him or her depart, a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace.  For how do you know, O wife whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know O husband, whether you will save your wife? But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. (1 Corinthians 7:1-17…)

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not be not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. (Ephesian 5:3)

Flee youthful passion and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who called on the Lord from a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22)

But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman and lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5: 28)

Marriage is honorable among all and the bed un-defiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4)

Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female? And said” for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.(Matthew 19: 4-6…)

1 Thessalonian 4:9-12

About brotherly love: you don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. In fact you are doing toward all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brother and sisters to do this even more, to seek to lead a quite life, to mind your own business and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be burden to anyone.

Paul admonished the believers in Thessalonian to demonstrate the love of God to one another, not only in words or tongues but also in deeds and in truth.  He acknowledged the Thessalonian believers were walking in love yet he challenged them to abound in their love for their neighbor, meet urgent needs, be light that shine in darkness, salt that preserves truth and hands whose labor bring glory to God.  Paul exhort believers to encourage one another in faith and love, the strong should uphold the weak, no one should render evil for evil, rather they should pursue what is good for themselves and others, pray for one another, test all things, embrace what is good and live a quite and peaceable life in godliness.

 Paul admonished believers to stir up one another in love and good works. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who believe in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable for men.  And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful. (Titus 3:8,14, Ephesian 4: 28, 2 Thessalonians 3)  Paul admonished the believers to work in quietness, to not be a burden to anyone, be at peace with all men – “Blessed are the peacemaker, these are the sons of God”

Jesus said to them: My Father has been working until now and I have been working. (John 5: 17)

Jesus said: I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work  (John 9:4)

Jesus said : I am the door if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:9-10)

Jesus said: Do not labor for food, which perishes, but for food, which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him (John 6:26, John 15:16)

Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and savior Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people zealous for good work. (Titus 2:13-14)

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify us completely, spirit, soul and body and preserve us blameless at the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord of the harvest sent laborer -sowers and reapers-into His harvest for the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us.  Amen.