The Keys to God’s Kingdom
Faith, Love & Hope
When we are standing firm in our faith, acting out of love, and sharing our hope with others…we are living life as a new creation in God’s kingdom. We are participating, engaged in a covenant agreement with God, to bring Heaven back to Earth.
To live life as if in the Kingdom, begins with exercising faith. We must believe that God is true to his word and has given us the means to enjoy an abundant and eternal life in the presence of his Light.
That light has always been a beacon there to guide us away from the shores of suffering and toward the hope of a safe harbor.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. - Psalm 119:105
And it is by the Light of his guidance and salvation through Jesus Christ that we become justified to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to experience spiritual regeneration that transforms us into the Light of God that the world needs.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. - Romans 12:2
Paul Preaches in Thessalonica
In the book of 1st Thessalonians, Scripture shares with us some of the valuable lessons we can learn from one of the early Christian churches established during Paul's ministry in Greece, that can help today’s followers of Christ grow stronger in faith and love for the Lord…and for each other.
The story of Paul’s ministry begins in Act 17, when Paul and his co-worker Silas were in Thessalonica teaching the Gospel.
1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. 3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” 4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.
5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. 6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. 7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”
8 The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. 9 So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them. - Acts 17:1-8
Paul and Silas were forced to flee the city as fast as they could, leaving the friends they had made and very much regretting not being able to stay and guide
this precious new spiritual community that followed Jesus Christ. It was in Thessalonica that these newfound believers came together as one of the first church communities established by Paul, Silas and Timothy during their numerous missions in Greece
1st and 2nd Thessalonians were some of the first letters written by Paul to the small church when he later discovered they were thriving after having received a report from another Timothy.
In his letters to the Thessalonian community we have a chance to learn from Paul, an Apostle and a minister of the Gospel, how he inspired the young churches to grow in their faith and spirit
Living in Thessalonica, circa 51 AD
But first, let's talk a bit about Thessalonica itself, and the type of city it was, and the world these early Christians would have lived, worked and worshiped in.
Thessalonica was a good sized coastal town found along a major road east of Rome. There was a seaport that had access to abundant fishing, a robust marketplace, and it was home to many thousands of people of all types.
Many Greeks and Romans lived there, as well as a large population of Jews. There was a rich diversity of people and ethnicities in the region, each one with different philosophies, cultures and worship practices.
This made Thessalonica a challenging place for a brand new Christian community, and a family of followers of Christ to take root and grow.
There was much division at that time among the people. Anger and fear sparked conflict over the many social changes that were taking place because of the works of those early followers of Christ. A spiritual revolution was taking place in Thessalonica, and many people felt threatened by the shift in hearts and minds that was taking place throughout the land.
This often led to persecution and segregation of those early followers of Christ.
Many times their lives became a difficult path to walk, but they chose to stand firm in their faith and with each other, no matter what was going on in the world around them.
The Faith of the Thessalonian Believers
2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. 6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.
8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:2-8
Faith…The Key of the Spirit
Let’s dive a little deeper into that phrase “your faithful work” and see if we can uncover the true meaning of what Paul was trying to tell the congregation about working through faith in his first letter.
In the original Greek language, we see that the word “faith" translates to: Pistis. The root of the word pistis means to trust, obey, have confidence, or believe.
Specifically, when we are talking about God, faith is defined as: “The conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestows eternal salvation through Christ…”
When we are referring to Christ, the definition of faith gets expanded to include: “...and having a strong and welcome belief that Jesus is the Christ, the one sent by God, through whom we obtain His eternal salvation.”
What Paul is expressing to the church is that their “faith,” is working to empower and strengthen them to maintain their trust in the Lord, and his gift of salvation through Christ by listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and following the teachings and works of Jesus.
Their faith bolstered their confidence that the promises of the Lord will be fulfilled, and that He will return and establish His glorious Kingdom across the earth, lifting up all believers and leading them back to their true home with God.
Love…The Key of the Heart
In the next part of the letter, Paul comments on the loving deeds the congregation has been performing throughout Thessalonica. The church was actively being persecuted and ridiculed at the time. However, according to Timothy’s report, they were still able to show love and demonstrate kindness to the people around them.
In Scripture, love has many different intended meanings that vary on the intensity and focus of that love. But we want to understand how Paul intended its meaning to be conveyed.
Paul chose to use the Greek word “agape” to describe the type of love he wanted the congregation to continue to display in their lives. Agape love is described as being transcendent, beyond comprehension and refers to the ideal quality of love that God has for us.
Paul was encouraging the young church to continue to walk in the way of Jesus and to carry Him in their hearts. Jesus often spoke of how he wanted us to treat each other with kindness and love.
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. - John 13:35
I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. - John 15:9-10
God’s love is a dynamic type of love, one that has its activity in the holy spirit, and can transfer its dynamic action through the spirit. This in turn, inspires a similar kind of love in others, and excites the spirit of God within them. By spreading the light of his love, we begin to build the kingdom of God on Earth in the here and now.
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
- 1Cor 13:13
Hope…The Key of the Soul
In the next part of the verse, Paul makes mention of the church's “enduring hope.” Since his and Silas’ departure, the members of the community never lost sight of what they were looking for. When Paul and Silas first arrived in Thessaloniki, they immediately drew a crowd of people to them who were eager to hear the spiritual knowledge of the Gospel they had brought. Their words and deeds, the stories of the signs and wonders performed by the Messiah that Paul shared with them, enlivened their spirits to explore a new relationship with God.
A relationship in which the old ways of being…our sinful nature and temptations of the world are left behind, and replaced with the hope of salvation from spiritual death and eternal life through Jesus Christ.
What can we say about the hope Paul’s growing little church had so much of. In Greek, “hope” is translated as elpis (el-peace), which means to anticipate with great pleasure or joy. When we talk about the hope of God, and of Christ, we are referring to the joyful and confident expectation of His eternal salvation.
And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. - Romans 5:4
Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. - 2Corinthians 3:12
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
- Ephesians 1:18
It is God who is the author and architect of our hope. The hope Paul was expressing is the hope of the thing that was promised through having faith in God (the provider of salvation) and faith in Christ (the means of salvation)
Three Keys in One
Paul eventually brings us back to the first key in the verse, faith and the works that come from it because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice and the promise of salvation.
Paul’s encouragement reminds the congregation of how God is truly pleased with them, and loves them for the good works they’ve done and how they’ve suffered in his name. He reaffirms for them that because of their faith, love and hope, they are among a new type of human, imbued with God’s own light and righteousness that they carry with them into the world.
“In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece…” - 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7
The ultimate lesson that Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians has to teach us is, by belief and works of faith, sharing our good will and brotherly love, and by displaying bold confidence and hope in the promise of salvation delivered, we can make good use of these three keys. Each of us can bring into the world godly qualities and virtues that shine like a beacon, illuminating our path while also lighting the way for others.