Worthy Of…? (1 Thessalonians 2:12b)
GIST: Christian living should be about not only urging but modeling a transformative grace because we have been deliberately rescued, retained, and redefined.
“...walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
One of the most beautiful things about the Bible is how absolutely packed it is with penetrating truth. It doesn’t matter how often you read it; when you dive into it with a sincere desire to see God more clearly, there will always be something new that jumps off the page. This “half a verse” has been one of those occasions for me.
I’ve been reading 1 Thessalonians a lot lately, but until last week, I hadn’t considered these words as much more than a wrapping-up of sorts. Paul had been developing a picture of what an impactful Christian life looks like, so it is easy to see this as a general admonition to just live life “Christianly”. However, the Bible is not vague spirituality offering inspiration without direction. It provides hope and clarity grounded in reality.
Here, Paul tells us Christian living should be about not only urging but modeling a transformative grace because we have been deliberately rescued, retained, and redefined. (Yeah, I know, sometimes the English teacher in me can’t avoid a little alliteration.) Each piece in that statement is worth breaking down.
I. Modeling Transformative Grace
Paul specifically tells us all this exhorting, encouraging, and charging has been pointing to, well, walking. This is actually a really beautiful way of describing the Christian life. It implies deliberate, forward movement in a particular direction. Once we’re saved by His incredible grace, we aren’t magically transformed into people who have it all figured out. Salvation isn’t transfiguration. We’re immediately rescued and, as such, made into new creatures. However, sanctification—the process by which we become more and more like Jesus—happens step-by-step as we move closer to Him. This comes from knowing Him more intimately.
It’s a lifestyle—worthy of God. Let’s talk about that too. Living in a manner worthy of God doesn’t mean one that is somehow good enough to earn His favor. I want to assume it’s been well-established that salvation comes by grace. Unfortunately, I know so much Christian teaching over the years has basically come across as “just be better”. That’s not the message of Jesus, and it’s not what Paul is talking about here.
You’ll see him use this phrase throughout his writings in places like Philippians 1:27 “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” or Colossians 1:10 “... walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…”. However, notice that in both of these examples this “worthiness” isn’t referring to something we could possibly earn. You don’t earn the gospel of Christ. He came freely offering this gift of salvation to all who will believe. You don’t earn “the Lord” either. He’s far beyond our means. So what does this mean?
Jesus uses the same word in Matthew 3:8, but the ESV employees a little different wording that I think really helps clarify the intention of this phrase. In that passage, Jesus tells the Pharisees who are completely missing the point of the gospel to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” What is He saying? “If you’ve turned from sin to Me, live like it!”
Now, look back at the immediate context of those verses from Paul. Right after these calls to worthiness come descriptions of actually living for Jesus.
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so…I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…” A life worthy of the gospel is unified with others as we share the good news of Jesus.
“Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” A life worthy of the Lord bears His fruit and focuses on knowing Him more.
So, walking worthy of God means taking deliberate steps to live like Him. That’s the context of Paul’s urging. All the verses leading up to this have shown us how Paul and his companions strove to show these Thessalonians Jesus. They prioritized the gospel even when it was costly. They held firm to the truth while striving to also love the people around them well. They put pleasing God above gaining approval. They were compassionate and dedicated and willing to walk alongside these new believers while calling them to… also live like Jesus.
II. Deliberately Rescued & Retained
The rest of the verse then tells us how this is even possible by reminding us who this God is we’re emulating. It starts by saying He is the God who calls you. There are actually several things to unpack in just that word. In fact, it’s the “rescued and retained” part of our gist statement.
His calling first points us to His salvation. He does the rescuing. We’ve talked about this recently, but there is an undeniable balance throughout Scripture between human responsibility (we are accountable for our actions) and divine sovereignty (God is in control of everything). Nonetheless, what is completely clear is that salvation is the gracious gift of God. It is His work in us. We cannot be saved by our own strength. We are in desperate need of rescue only He can provide—and He does! You responding to the good news that Jesus came, took Hell in your place, and rose again victorious over sin providing salvation for all who believe is a direct result of you responding to His call. You can emulate Him because you’ve been rescued.
However, the word “calls” is in present tense. Paul isn’t just referring to an event that happened at some point in the past but to Jesus’ continuous work in your life. You are rescued, but you’re also retained. I know that sounds goofy, but I was too committed to the r-alliteration to let it go! What we’re talking about there is Jesus continuing to hold you in His arms. As we walk in a manner becoming of a believer, it is Jesus who walks with us. He never leaves or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). Because of Him, no one can do anything to take us out of the secure grip of God the Father (John 10:27-29)! And as you walk with Him, that’s where the sanctification gets going. Our characters—step-by-step—start to reflect Him.
III. Deliberately Redefined!
Why? Because we have been called into His Kingdom and Glory. We’re being redefined because our life is no longer about us! I usually define His kingdom as: His people in His place following His purpose. Our lives now get to be about His reign, His direction, and His control. And I said get on purpose because I know this might not seem at that appealing to many of us. We’ve grown up hearing messages that push independence. We love rebels. We’re all proud that we beat to our own drums. That’s our gut reaction. What about when we step back and think about where that’s taking us though? We’re also grossly aware of our need. We’re broken. We don’t have it all figured out. The stuff we try to fix doesn’t work. The problems we try to solve often get worse. The questions we want answered continue to build. To paraphrase Tim Keller, we are clearly underqualified for the position of God!
And we were never meant to take on that role. Instead, we can live in His kingdom. Our entire identity has been redefined because we’re no longer people stumbling in the dark on our own, but we’re children of the King! As such, we get to experience His glory. His character, His beauty, and His perfection on full display. We’re no longer defined by the sin that seeks to destroy us but by His righteous grace that came to redeem.
This is a picture of living life abundantly. A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my kiddos about being nervous around groups of people. We talked about how that can make us more reserved and really…less ourselves. See, when we’re home, we’re comfortable, so our true colors come out. Anything that changes that is robbing us of part of our identity. As members of Jesus’ kingdom, we experience belonging and purpose like the best home life magnified. We are free to be exactly who He made us to be fully and forever!
TAKEAWAYS
Christianity is a lifestyle—you don’t have to have it all figured out right away, but it is a process of taking deliberate steps toward Jesus.
Jesus comes to rescue—you can’t save yourself, but He can pull you out of darkness into marvelous light!
Jesus comes to retain—you can be held in His hand and made more and more into His image.
Jesus comes to redefine—you can be part of His kingdom and experience His glory.
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