SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/14/2014 6:00 AM
My Worship Time Focus: A Reception of the Gospel in Power and the Holy Spirit
Bible Reading and Meditation
Reference: 1 Thessalonians 1:5
Message of the
verses: “5 For our gospel did not
come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with
full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you
for your sake.”
Two things to remember as we look at this verse: First this is the fourth characteristic of
the elect, and second this is the second part of our ten characteristics of
being elect which MacArthur calls this section “Their Past Conversion.” From verses 5-10 we will look at these last
seven characteristics. MacArthur writes
“Paul’s certainty regarding the Thessalonians’ election encompassed his
memories of their past conversion. The
apostle confidently set forth those memories in verses 5-10 as reasons
affirming their salvation.”
As we look at this verse we might at first think that
Paul was addressing what the Thessalonians’ went through when they became
believers, however what we see here is that Paul, Silas, and Timothy were the
ones who received the power from the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel to
these people. In 2 Thessalonians 2:14 we
read the following “It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul was taking
the gospel so personal that he called it our gospel, speaking of him, Silas,
and Timothy. As believers we should be
able to relate to this when we are giving out the gospel to those who are lost,
for it should become very personal to us also.
Notice that the gospel did not come to them “in word
only.” Now this may sound a bit strange but
when we look at Romans 10:17 which reads “So faith comes from hearing, and
hearing by the word of Christ.”
MacArthur writes “It was not simply the words themselves that mattered,
although any message—including the gospel—by definition has to consist of words
setting forth from the message. Faith
does come by hearing those words of truth, but the transformation process
involves far more than that.” I left a
church which I attended for 32 years because we got a new pastor who wanted to
water down the gospel. He wanted to make
the church weak by what is now called a “seekers church.” The gospel will make people different and
when you water down the church so that when a person who is not a believe comes
into the church and sees little difference than what the world has to offer
then that is not what is suppose to happen, for it is done in word only and not
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
MacArthur continues his thoughts by writing “Regardless of the
erudition, (learning) the compelling logic, the soaring rhetoric, or the clever
and interesting communication style, if the truth spoken is not accompanied by
the power of God, it accomplishes nothing.
But when empowered by God as it enters the prepared soul, the gospel
truth saves: ‘23 for you have been born
again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the
living and enduring word of God.
24 For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL
ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS
OFF, 25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word
which was preached to you.’”
I once heard an illustration from a man I knew as he was
showing that because of the fall that all men are born spiritually dead. He asked an undertaker who was going to our
church at the time if he ever got a response from someone he was about to bury
when he asked them “what kind of a tie would you like.” Of course the answer was that dead men cannot
talk, and Jesus gives out this truth when we look at John 3:19-20 “19 "This is the judgment, that the Light
has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for
their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does
not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” Jesus is saying that men love the darkness
more than the light, but we must realize that we are all born into the darkness,
and it takes the miracle of hearing the gospel accompanied by the power of the
Holy Spirit to take us from the darkness to the light. The man Jesus was talking to was “named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews,” and he came into the light as we see in the
later chapters of John’s gospel. Paul
also said the following in 2 Cor. 4:3-4 “3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that
they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God.” Ephesians 2:1-2 “1
And you were dead
in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that
is now working in the sons of disobedience.”
Our point in all of this is that there will be many people who hear the
truth, the gospel, who will not be saved, for it is not through “word only, but
also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” MacArthur writes “Genuine soul-transforming
power accompanying the gospel preaching is the work of the Spirit energizing
both the preacher and the hearer. Jesus
alluded to this truth when He promised the apostles just prior to His
ascension, ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you
shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even
to the remotest part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).”
We will look at a third point from this verse by quoting
Commentator Leon Morris who wrote “The third point is that the gospel came ‘in
much assurance.’ There is no repetition
of the ‘in’ in the Greek. The effect is to
link these words very closely with the foregoing. Assurance [plerophoria] is not some human device whereby men persuade
themselves. Rather it is the result of
the activity of the Holy Spirit working within believers. Some have felt that the assurance meant here
is that which came to the converts as they put their trust in Christ, and this
may not be out of the Apostle’s mind.
But his primary meaning is the assurance that the Spirit gave to the
preachers, for Paul is dealing with the way he and his companions came to know
the election of the Thessalonians. They
had the assurance in their own hearts that, as they were preaching, the power
of God was at work. The Spirit was working
a work of grace.” This quote comes from
“The First and Second Epistles of the Thessalonians, the New International
Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989], (57-58).”
It is a wonderful thing when believers realize that they
have the power of the Holy Spirit when they are telling someone about the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, and can be assured that their message is being received in His
power, working so that the person or persons they are talking to will become
believers.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: “but sanctify
Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone
who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with
gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter
3:15).
My Steps of Faith for Today: I want always to be ready to be used of the
Spirit to tell others about how they can be saved.
Memory verses for the
week: Philippians 2:5-8
5 Have this attitude in
yourself which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form
of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of
men. 8 Being found in the appearance of
a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Luke” (Colossians 4:14).
Today’s Bible
question: “How many books are there in
the Old Testament?”
Answer in our next SD.
3/14/2014 7:16 AM
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