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Past Ponderings

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Rescued to be… New? (1 Thessalonians 1:1)

VIDEO

 Rescued to be… New? (1 Thessalonians 1:1)

GIST: People rescued by Jesus have a new identity; therefore, they can experience a new reality.

After two weeks away, one unexpected, we’re coming back to what is really the beginning of our 1 Thessalonians study. Two weeks ago, I introduced the letter by looking essentially at what we can learn from the mere fact it was written at all, namely: God can use unexpected people doing unexpected things in unexpected places to change lives in miraculously unexpected ways. Paul, the author of this letter, wasn’t who people would have expected God to use; sharing the gospel with people outside the Jewish community wasn’t the normal method of evangelism; and Thessalonica wasn’t on the original itinerary. Still, God moved. And He still does.

Today, we’re going to actually walk through at least the first full verse of the letter ☺️. If you’ve read any of Paul’s letters before, you will be familiar with the fact that all of them start with a greeting, which was customary at the time. However, though they follow a similar pattern, they’re not stock messages he “copied and pasted” for each church. Instead, each is personalized for the congregation he’s addressing, and each has some broad takeaway for us, as well. Let’s look at this one→


“1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.”


We could go further this morning, but I really think just camping out with the truth presented in this opening greeting is worth our time. It seems like Paul had really only spent about 3 weeks with these young believers, but— as we’ll see more as we work through the letter—these appear to have been three pretty intensive weeks ☺️! They had been changed by Jesus’ salvation, and during their time with Paul dug deeply into Jesus’ word. Now, as Paul writes to them not long after having to leave them (at their urging) due to safety issues, he’s eager to remind them who they are now. If you have been rescued by Jesus, if you’ve come to know Him as your Savior, these are core truths about you, as well. If not, then they would be if you came to Him. Here’s our gist: People rescued by Jesus have a new identity; therefore, they can experience a new reality.


I. People Rescued By Jesus Have A New Identity

This letter was written to the church, the Body of Christ, at Thessalonica. However, let’s not forget this was a group of Christians primarily comprised of people who just months earlier had not only been steeped in the paganism of their community but had also never heard the name of Jesus. Though there were some new believers who had come out of the synagogue, so they had grown up on the Old Testament, most were Greeks. This was entirely new to them. 

Either way though, they hadn’t been experiencing hope… but Hope came looking for them! That’s the beautiful thing I tried to point out two weeks ago. This happening didn’t make sense from a worldly perspective, but it was 100% on purpose. This Jesus they needed but didn’t know came crashing into their lives, and they were completely changed. 

The nature of that change is what I want to draw particular attention to this morning, as well. Notice the preposition here. They were now in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Being in means this position now defined them. Being in direct fellowship with their Savior was now their direction, purpose, and identity. It determined where they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to be doing, and who they were. They were completely transformed.

And look at why. Look at the specific terms being used to describe their relationship with God. He is called God their Father. Those who once had no knowledge of His existence, who had been living lives opposed to His grace, were now called His children. I know I’ve talked about this before, but it is so worth remembering every single day. Being a child of God is a privilege beyond my understanding. I’m not a perfect daddy, but I can tell you aside from my love for my wife nothing in my life compares to the love I have for my kiddos. I would literally do anything for them. And if you want an emotional response from me of any kind, mentioning my kids is a surefire way to get it! And I think many of you here get that. Again, and this is coming from the broken, sinful version of parenting. How much more does God then love us? It’s crazy. It’s humbling. It’s life-changing!

Likewise, Jesus is referred to as their Lord. They had allegiances before, but none of those mattered anymore. Their ultimate King had come. That ruler we all long for, the hero who can swoop in and save the day, right the wrongs, lead where we stumble—that’s Jesus. AND→ they knew they could trust His control because He was also their Christ, the Messiah. Their King was the one who came to their rescue, and now, they were His! The most important truth about them, and all those who have been rescued by Jesus, is that they belong to the God who loves them unconditionally. It is a completely new identity.


II. Therefore, They Can Experience A New Reality

Their lives would never be the same. Because of this new identity, they were recipients of both grace and peace. Love and favor they did nothing to deserve were poured out for them—that’s grace— and they would now experience the peace they had always longed for but nothing in this world could offer. In fact, this is doubly encouraging when you consider Paul was taken from this city at the urging of these same believers because a riot had broken out against him. Still, he had come to know what they now also had: a peace and security that supersedes circumstances.

They had a new way of looking at life. They weren’t exempt from hardship. Clearly, they were facing some precisely because of this new identity! However, they could look at brokenness through the lens of belonging to the God of grace who calls them His children and walks with them even when everything is falling apart giving them… peace. 

Yeah, and that’s just the greeting ☺️. Let’s consider what this should mean for us in our quick→


TAKEAWAYS

What about you?

  1. You can have this new identity—children following the rescuing King! You are loved with this same love. Are you experiencing this transformed identity? Are you walking under the guidance of your saving King? Are you changed by the knowledge that the God of the universe calls you His child? Do you walk with confident obedience because you know Jesus is not only the King your heart longs for but also the Savior your heart needs?

  2. You can experience this new reality—recipients of marvelous grace and lasting peace! Do you realize you don’t have to earn His favor but instead can experience His grace precisely because Jesus came to rescue you and bring you lasting peace? Can you take a deep breath knowing all this is true, or are you still embracing the world and trying to figure things out on your own apart from His hope?

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