When last we were together, we looked at the first half of 1 Thessalonians 1:6 and how the believers at Thessalonica were motivated to become imitators of the apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a great thing to become an imitator of a great man of God, and even the Lord Himself, but the verse doesn't end there; with the remainder of the verse, Paul elaborates on the specifics of their imitation and the consequences that came with it. This will be our focus today. If hearts and minds are ready, let's jump right on it.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 (NASB) - You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
In looking at our passage, we can see that there were two ways in particular that the believers at Thessalonica Bible Church became imitators of Paul and Jesus Christ: 1) by receiving the word (the gospel) in much tribulation, and 2) with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Both of these could be examined in some detail, but we will take a light look at them, as we will elaborate on them more fully as we get further in our study of this epistle.
According to this passage, the first way that these believers became imitators was in their acceptance of the gospel and the persecution they faced because of it. In this letter's first few chapters, the persecution that they endured is a dominant theme and is stated in several occasions (1 Thess. 1:6; 2:2; 3:2-4). It is mentioned at least once in each of the first three chapters when Paul is recounting the events that took place during his visit. He even makes mention of it in his second epistle to them as he opens the letter (2 Thess. 1:4). Facing persecution was definitely something that these believers faced, and a more in depth account is had in Luke's account (Acts 17:5-10). In terms of the persecution that they faced, it primarily came from the unbelieving Jews who were persecuting the Jews who chose to put their faith in Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah. We can even infer that they were persecuting the Gentile converts as well, trying to keep them from hearing the gospel message and mocking the ones that did accept it. But, not only did they have to deal with unbelieving Jews, there was also an entire pagan culture to deal with. For many of these converts, they were formerly involved in pagan activity, and there were likely members of that arena that persecuted those who chose to leave their pagan practices & convert to Christianity. It has also been suggested by others (Malherbe) that they were persecuted through alienation from their normal way of life, and in some instances this may be true, but it's more plausible that the physical persecution is what Paul is speaking of [1].
Even in the midst of all this persecution, the believers in Thessalonica were still able to maintain the joy that they had received through the Holy Spirit. This is the second thing that we see in this passage as a means of imitation. These Christians did not let persecution get them down. It's interesting to take note of this because this behavior is not common to most people. Normally, when difficult situations come our way, we allow ourselves to get down & depressed, moping around until our situation changes. In the rough times, unlike us, they kept their joy. What is this joy, though? Well, it's one of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and it is a consistent attitude based upon God's divine promises and eternal realities, instead of being something solely based on emotions. So, even if things go bad, their attitude remained the same because they kept their focus on God, as opposed to their external circumstances. The main reason that they were able to do this is because they knew that the persecution they were enduring was not in vain; they knew that it would have eternal benefits (some of which we will see in verses 7 & 8). It was this eternal perspective that allowed them to keep their joy. There are passages all over the New Testament that testify to this truth that the Thessalonians held to (Acts 5:41; Rom. 5:3-5; 8:16-18; Heb. 10:34; 12:11; Jas. 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 1:6, 8). The bottom line is that it was this kind of joy that allowed these believers to work, labor & remain steadfast as we saw in verse 3.
In closing, when you look at this passage, you cannot help but to think of Paul's words to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:12) where he tells him that all those who desire to live godly will be persecuted. Timothy was at Thessalonica and other places to witness this, yet Paul still penned these words. Those are words to take to heart, but, as Christians, we shouldn't let it get us down. In our study today we were given a great example of a group of believers who were willing to imitate men of God, even though they knew that persecution was guaranteed. What's more, they did it without losing their joy. So, if we're facing persecution because of our faith, we should be able to stand firm and keep our joy as well, just like the Thessalonians. Let their example be an encouragement to you, knowing that your steadfastness is not in vain. Until next time, keep your eyes fixed on Him!
[1] Wanamaker, C. A. (1990). The Epistles to the Thessalonians : A commentary on the Greek text. Spine title: Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians.; Includes indexes. (81). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
