“The Portrait Of Changed Lives” (Part Two)

This week, we are looking at 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, and seeing what it looks like when lives are transformed by Christ. Yesterday we considered the source of that transformation—the gospel. Today we see how the people at Thessalonica responded to it…

The Response of Transformation (vv.6-8)

• (6) You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, (7) so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (8) For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.

How did they respond to that Gospel? With an acceptance that went beyond intellectual agreement or empty emotional energy. They responded with a full-bore commitment to the things of Christ. How did Paul describe it?

• You followed us- “imitated” (mimetai). They followed Paul, because he was following Christ, so that, as the followed Paul they…
• You followed the Lord- this is the essence of “spiritual followship”. It is walking as He walked, and doing as He did! This was the point of the WWJD emphasis of several years ago, and, long before that, the point of the book “In His Steps.” Even further back, Thomas a Kempis wrote of “The Imitation of Christ”. All say the same thing: Seeking to live the life Christ lives in us. This is the point of transformation—because apart from a changed heart there would be no desire or even any interest in living the Christ-life! Beyond that, it is what was desired, and achieved by the church at Antioch, for it was there that believers were first called “Christians”, that is, “little Christs”. It was what the hymnwriter wanted when he wrote, “To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, all I ask to be like Him. All through life’s journey from earth to glory, all I ask- to be like Him.”
• You received the Word- they “made the application”, they got it and accepted it. Immediately they faced challenges and celebrations. The two are miles apart in how they feel—but linked together in real-world experience! The challenge? “In much affliction”. The celebration? “With the joy of the Holy Spirit.” The two are to be expected, and the one (joy) compensates for the other (affliction). They had begun to experience the afflictions almost immediately, but the Spirit is more than sufficient for that and anything else the world might throw at us!
• You were examples- the idea of the word “example” is to strike a seal. To make an imprint. It is the same pattern of influence seen in 2 Tim. 2:1-4. They became that, marking the imprint of Christ on their lives for all in Macedonia and Achaia to see and model.
• You sounded out the Word- “sounded” means to trumpet forth! This is critical—they weren’t just receivers, they were transmitters as well! They not only accepted the message, they got involved in broadcasting it.
  

See how all of that comes together! They did not merely give a nod to the heavens, they embraced the gospel and its implications for their lives! As a result, it made Paul’s life much easier in communicating the cross to people. In all of Greece, all he had to say was, “Look at the Thessalonians!” Their faith was so completely being declared that he didn’t even need to say any more. All he needed was to point to the living, breathing, walking, talking examples of that congregation of Christians! That is how they responded to the Gospel, and that is the beginning of the impact their transformation would have on their world.

Tomorrow we will close by looking at the witness their transformation gave forth.