1439. How They Served the Living God

How They Served the Living God

"Ye turned to God from idols to serve the Living and True God" (1Th_1:9).

The second Sabbath that Paul was in Thessalonica, he may have preached "That Christ must needs have been raised from the dead."

Whether it was the second Sabbath or no, he certainly preached upon this theme. The result was, the Thessalonians served the Living and the True God.

1. They believed that Jesus Christ was living. They received Paul's message on the resurrection as the Word of God.

They believed that Christ's body did not see corruption, and that His soul was not left in hades.

They believed that the Lord Jesus Christ could not have been holden of the grave; that He arose, and that He ascended up on high, where He ever liveth to make intercession for them.

To them Christ was a living reality.

The Thessalonians did not follow a cold, dead creed, but a glorious, living Christ.

The women of old went down to the tomb on the first day of the week, carrying with them their precious spices. They found the stone rolled away from the grave; they heard the angels as they said, "He is not here but is risen;" they heard the query–"Why seek ye the living among the dead?" (Luk_24:5-6). Then the women departed with great joy and brought the disciples word. That joy of resurrection hope, was the life of the early Church.

The saints of old, and the Thessalonians in particular, did not relegate the resurrection of Christ to a once a year celebration. They were not satisfied with a few Easter lilies, some fancy music, and a sermon on flowers. They walked every day with the living Christ. They set the Lord always before their face, therefore did their hearts rejoice.

2. They believed that Jesus Christ was the Living and True God. They did not speak of the Lord Jesus, as Joseph's son; they knew Him as the Son of God, born of the virgin; they knew that He had come forth from the Father, and that He had returned to the Father.

They believed that He was living, because He was raised; and that, being raised, He was very God of very God.

There was no doubt in the minds of the Thessalonians concerning the Deity of Christ. They believed in His Deity and believed in it tremendously.

The Church at Thessalonica was a model church in this. They knew that the Son of God had come into the world, and that He was true. They knew that they were in Him, that was true, even in Jesus Christ; they knew that He was the true God and eternal life. Compare 1Jn_2:20.

There are many denials going the rounds to-day. There are those who deny both the Father and the Son. There are those who deny that Jesus is the Christ, all of these are of the antichrist. There are those who deny that Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh; they are of the antichrist.

3. They SERVED the Living and True God. They not only believed, but they obeyed. They not only trusted, but they served.

Paul sums up their service, as "a labor of love" (1Th_1:3). Whenever a vision of the risen Christ grips the heart, those who see Him and trust Him will never be satisfied without they serve Him. No sacrifice will prove too great, no gift too large, no burden too heavy, no task too irksome.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR