To this point, we have taken our time walking through the text of 1 Thessalonians 1:3. We looked at what Paul meant when he said that he constantly kept them in mind, as well as progressed through each of the three attributes that he chose to highlight in his remembrance of them in his prayers. Today, we're going to wrap up this verse by looking at the final phrase and looking at some final application of faith, love, and hope. So, if we're ready for the study of God's truth, let's begin by once again looking at our passage.
1 Thessalonians 1:3 (NASB) - constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father (emphasis added)
The portion of text that we want to focus on today is "in the presence of our God and Father." This is an intriguing way to end this verse as it serves to tie the whole verse together, while also providing theological truth. When you look at this in the context of the entire passage thus far, not only were Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy witnesses to the Thessalonians' faith and character, but we also find out that God was also witness to all of this. In saying this, Paul was emphasizing the fact that the Thessalonians realized that this wasn't just an act being put on for Paul, but it was genuine and an act of worship unto God. In doing so, these believers conducted their lives in a way that was always mindful of God's presence. It's not only the Thessalonian believers who realized this, but others also make mention of God's watchful eye as they live out the Christian life (2 Cor. 2:17; 1 Tim. 2:3; Heb. 13:21; 1 Pet. 3:4; 1 John 3:21). Taken together, it provides a very important principle for believers to be aware of; Christians need to constantly be aware of the fact that God is watching their actions, good and bad; therefore, we should live lives that are pleasing to Him.
There is also a translation note concerning this phrase. Some Bible translators and scholars match the phrase "constantly bearing in mind" with "in the presence of our God and Father," much like in 1 Thessalonians 3:9. This is an acceptable translation, given the fact that Greek isn't a language that relies upon word order, like English does. The more natural reading in the Greek is to relate it to the attributes that Paul listed; so, instead of Paul's prayers being in the presence of God, which they obviously are, the work of the Thessalonians was in God's presence. In this regard, I like the reading of the New American Standard Bible.
Let's wrap this up with a final look at faith, love, and hope. Looking at these three words together, they will look familiar, and that is indeed the case; although they provide in a different order (faith, hope, and love) in their most popular context, which is 1 Corinthians 13:13. This is, in fact, one of many places where Paul combines the three attributes together (Rom. 5:2-5; Gal. 5:5, 6; Eph. 4:2-5; 1 Thess. 5:8). To sum this up best, I want to offer two quotes, first from J. Vernon McGee's Thru the Bible Commentary, "So here Paul has brought together faith and love and hope, the three tenses of the Christian life: the work of faith, which looks back to the Cross and produces good works in the life; the labor of love, which is the present basis and motivation on which a child of God is to serve Christ; and the patience of hope, which looks into the future[1]." The NET Bible, in its notes, has this to say, "These phrases denote Christian virtues in action: the work produced by faith, labor motivated by love, and endurance that stems from hope in Christ[2]." I want to leave it at that for now, as we will revisit this subject again as we approach the end of this chapter.
So much truth is to be had in this passage, and we could very easily spend quite a bit longer here, but we're going to move on to verse 4 next time. In closing, let's remember that everything we do is in the presence of our God and Father, so let's make sure that we're living lives that are acceptable and pleasing to Him. Amen? Until next time, keep walking in faith, love, and hope! God bless.
[1] McGee, J. Vernon. Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1983. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
[2] NET Bible. First ed. Richardson, TX: Biblical Studies Press, 1996.
