1 Thessalonians 2:1-14a - Discipling Friendships

Introduction

Think with me for a moment about a master carpenter. How does a person become one? By sitting in a lecture hall with a bunch of others listening to the theory of woodworking?

No. Master carpenters don’t become this way by listening to lectures, they learn through apprenticeship and practice. They learn through one-on-one discipleship. Jesus’ disciples learned by being with him for three years. It is the same way with a follower of Jesus.

But let me ask you a question. Have you ever been taught how to make a disciple or a follower of Jesus? Or have you been discipled yourself? We know that making disciples and teaching them to obey Jesus is the central mission of the church, so why aren’t we learning this stuff?

Today we are going to see that Jesus is not only to be believed, lived, and shared with our words, but our lives as well as we make disciples and are being discipled by others.

Background

Thessalonica was a flourishing center of trade and philosophy. Paul, Silas, and Timothy went there on Paul’s second missionary journey. In Acts 17:2-3, we see Paul going to the synagogue, reasoning from the Scriptures about Christ, that Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophesy.

In Acts 17:4, we see that some of the Jews were persuaded, as were a large number of God-fearing Greeks. These Gentile converts abandoned their pagan past and turned from idols to the living God.

In Acts 17:5 we see that Paul, Silas and Timothy had to flee Thessalonica because of a mob and a riot that occurred because of the Jews. This persecution led them to flee to Berea and so Paul was concerned about the new believers there. So, he sent Timothy back there and told him to catch up with him later.

Timothy gave Paul a report that generally the community was doing well, but the church had some concerns about the resurrection, they thought they and the people who died missed it, and apparently, Paul and his team were being accused of being charlatans as well.

Paul was glad of the good report. He wanted to answer their concerns and make sure they understood his apostolic authority and his ability to speak authoritatively about the hope of the Second Coming.

Exposition

Though it appears the main point of this chapter is Paul’s defense of his apostleship to the Thessalonians, we are going to focus on how Paul made disciples. Why? It is clear from this passage that Paul is a master disciple-maker.

The reality is that the modern church has a preoccupation with making decisions for Christ (getting people saved) instead of making disciples. Though salvation is a biblical idea, the question is what are we saved for and to? The church got lost in a preoccupation with a part of redemption, and so, it got stuck.

Here is the problem…Jesus intended for every one of us to make disciples. Jesus showed that following him is more like learning how to be a carpenter than going to a classroom. It is learned by living and sharing our lives together.

People don't just learn how to follow Jesus by hearing a sermon or attending a Sunday School class, or a worship service once or twice a week, but through discipling friendships in a shared life.

Today, let’s go back to the early church and see how they made disciples. And who better to look at than one of the greatest disciple-makers (other than Jesus) of the NT church, Paul. Let’s attend Paul’s masterclass on disciple-making. No wait. Let’s look into his small group at Thessalonica. What would we learn, see, and hear as we did this?

First, from verses 1-6, we would learn that there is a message to get across, the message of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. You see, Paul came to Thessalonica and shared the gospel in the synagogue. He explained and proved that Jesus is the Christ who had to suffer and die, rise from the dead to bring redemption according to the Scriptures. Paul spoke a message of the cross. In fact, in another letter, he says that he only had one message, Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The Christ or Messiah was the one hope of all of God's people. Through him, God would establish his kingdom on this earth. The Jews were expecting a warrior-king who would kill the bad guys. But this Messiah was much different, he had to suffer and die. Why? Because the problem isn’t simply the world out there, it is the me in here. If God is going to save us, he has to deal with the evil inside of us. To do this he had to become one of us. Jesus had to live the life we live, die the death we deserve, pay for our evil and accept the wrath of God to settle it, and then rise from the dead to defeat it once and for all. This is truly good news, the gospel. Paul and his friends proclaimed this to them in…

In boldness (1-2): risking their lives and comfort for this grand message. Paul comes from getting beat up and whipped and put in shackels in the middle of a prison, gets out, and says, let’s get at it again, we need to tell people about Jesus. Who does that? A believer of the message.

In purity and truth (3-4): answering the call of God and preaching only God’s message and not a message of his own. When we preach the gospel, we don’t preach our message that we think people will like. In fact, the gospel, the cross, is foolishness to those who do not believe it, but it is the wisdom and power of God to those God calls. We don’t preach our message, but God’s.

For God’s glory (5-6): they didn’t proclaim this message for their own glory so that others would make much of them. Paul didn’t proclaim the message so that he could get a bunch of followers on X and Instagram. I’m sure he could have been popular if he wanted, but Paul wanted God to get all the glory, praise, and honor.

For Paul, the gospel was central to everything else. The cross of Christ and his resurrection was the power by which all ministry flows. But it wasn’t just a message; it was a lifestyle. It was something to be lived. Why? We have been created in Christ Jesus for good works, and part of this message is to be about making disciples. So, how can you preach this message if you aren’t living it? And if part of the message is to make disciples, and you aren’t doing that, then what are you doing?

So, second, from verses 7-12, we see that there is a life to share, living as a family. In these verses, we see that Paul’s message was not just words. It was a shared life that he and his friends lived out. It was a life as a family. It wasn’t an assembly line. It wasn’t just about producing converts. It was about making followers of Jesus who would live out of the reality of the Gospel and do so in each other’s lives, life on life.

Notice the deep and rich family language and the practical way in which Paul and his friends were engaged with the Thessalonians. They cared about the people and treated them…

In gentleness like a loving mother (7). They didn’t try to use them to make money, get fame, or as a step stool in their career in ministry. For Paul, people weren’t a means to an end, they were like children to him, and Paul and his friends were like a mother.

When you think of mothers in general, what do you think of? Selfless sacrifice for the good of the child! Helping, healing, caring, and loving. Teaching, guiding, and helping children grow. Not a lecture hall! When you think of your mom, do you think of a lecture hall? I hope not. They are nurturers, they care.

In love, friendship, and sacrifice like a dear friend (8). Paul and his friends really loved and cared for these people. They didn’t provide services for them, they provided their life. Paul and his friends loved the Thessalonians, they were dear to them. They spent time with them. They probably laughed, cried, and enjoyed life together. Through this, the people saw real Christian living in a hostile world. Paul was only there for a short time, and then he had to leave, then Timothy went back. But during this short time, they lived life as a family. How do you get to be family in a few months? By being engaged, living life with one another, and pouring their lives into one another. What happened is that through this, people saw real Christianity, in the real world.

In diligence and hard work spending as much time together as possible like loving siblings (9). Paul worked during the day and poured his nights into them. He cared for them like a loving older sibling. He made sure they had everything they needed. And what was that? The gospel. Their life together was spent being saturated with the Gospel.

Now, I know that siblings can fight. But, there is also a fierceness in their love. They guard and protect younger siblings. They try to make sure they are going on the right path. Paul is emulating a good sibling, he is saying, “I am a good example, you should follow me.”

In righteousness toward others as good examples of Christlikeness (10). Their lives lived together were models of how to live as followers of Jesus. They showed by example how to live a righteous life dedicated to God. They showed how to live blamelessly with and before others. If I tell you, “Live blamelessly before God.” And you never see me do it, what does it mean? Nothing… nothing to me and nothing to you. You think to yourself, “He doesn’t believe this stuff, why should I?”

Living examples is the right way to make disciples. They brought them into the gospel and then taught them how to obey all that Jesus commanded. But not simply by words, but by actions and examples. His life showed how you handle stress, fear, persecution, suffering, how you preach the gospel, make disciples, and teach others to do the same. You can’t go from Phillipi, getting beat, then to a mob in Thessalonica, and then be living and telling people about Jesus and not showing people how to deal with stress, persecution, and anxiety.

But it was not simply an example only. If you care for someone you will make sure they are growing and overcoming obstacles and difficulties, making  sure to comfort them in trouble and guide them. At least that is what a good disciple-maker will do. Why?

They are like a father, in exhortation and encouragement (11-12). Paul and his friends encouraged the Thessalonians to follow hard after Christ, to keep him at the center. They comforted them through their suffering and persecution for the sake of the gospel. They implored them to live for the glory of God and not for their own pleasures. They were like a father. Encouraging, challenging, comforting, and pushing.

The love and care for them was intense. It was like a mother, a sibling, a friend, and a father. It was real life lived in the real world. It was a family of missionary servants. Loving and living a life on shared mission. If there was a masterclass on discipleship this was it. A shared life of disciple-making disciples.

Lastly, from verses 13-14a,  we see the beautiful result in community, reception in the community as imitators, and reflection of it in their lives. They received the gospel as if it came from God himself (13a). Why? Because it did. They trusted in the revelation of Jesus Christ as it is found in the Bible (13b). They received it and owned it. It was not an optional message, but to them, it was absolute truth.

They also became imitators of Christ’s other children who were following hard after God (14a). Powerful things happen when a community of people live as a family of missionary servants on a shared mission to make disciples.

Though relationships are hard, and it is much easier preaching to a large crowd than getting your hands dirty, letting somebody cry on your shoulder, letting them see you when you are angry, living life with people through the high times and the low times, it is worth it and we must do it if we want to make disciples.

Application

There are two questions you might have. First, what will it cost? Well, Paul and his friends re-engineered their lives around this mission of making disciples. Paul and his team probably worked during the day on their business and spent their nights with their friends in Thessalonica so they could help them follow Jesus. This is what it takes.

We should spend our lives walking with people, developing relationships with them, and helping them follow Jesus through the high and low times. And when we do this, we will be doing what Paul was doing…making disciples. This is what Jesus did too. 3 years of his life were for those 12…teaching and guiding them…day after day. Was it hard? Yes. Frustrating? I imagine so. Will it be for us too? You betcha.

Because it involves people it involves risk. Risk of being hurt and/or betrayed. But, we must open ourselves to hurt, or we can’t make disciples. This is the reality of our broken and fallen world. We must be ready to speak the truth of Christ in love when people are not doing and living right. Shared life involves risk. But no risk usually yields no reward.  Basically, if you want reward, you have to take risk. And as disciples, if you aren’t willing to take the risk, you aren’t going to make disciples. You’ll make people who make decisions.

Second, What should we do? We must model the life of Christ in our community in our family of missionary servants. We must live in love with one another as a family. We deal with questions like these: How do we handle adversity, loss, failure, sin? Are we defensive, or can we confess it? Can we receive forgiveness and move on? Do we hold onto hurt? How do we treat our spouses, our children, our friends? To learn these things, we must live in close relationships otherwise, we won’t know how to do this stuff. For you who have children, did you ever get a manual? Did a manual come with them? No? When they got older, did you get a manual on that transition? When people told you what to do with them, and you tried it, did it work? No. Why? Each person is an individual that we must walk and live with.

We must encourage and comfort one another. As a good father sometimes exhorts but is also there to comfort. We can’t tell others what’s wrong if we see something but haven’t loved them and walked with them. People hear us because we love and walk with them. We must be with them through their highs and lows, then we can speak into their life, and they can speak into ours. It is mutual, reciprocal.

We all need these kinds of friendships. Coming to church and hearing sermons is not enough. We must learn how to follow Jesus through friendships. How do we start one of these discipling friendships? We begin in a small group. Being in a group of people who are living as a family of missionary servants. Getting to know and love them.

Do you have a mentor or peer? Someone roughly in the same state, or maybe a little farther than you. We all need this. You find these people in small groups, or by meeting with people one on one. Find someone you can trust that can help you learn how to follow Jesus.

It’s not enough just to be poured into. That’s only half of it. You must pour into someone else too. We aren’t consumers. We don’t just get discipled and boom, we are disciples. This can’t happen in you hearing just one sermon a week. If you aren’t taking this and living and walking it out in small groups, then you aren’t pouring into other people and they aren’t pouring into you. Do you have someone to pour into?

Find people that you want to see come to Jesus, invest into and disciple them, start praying for them daily that they would be open to the gospel, and you would have opportunities to share Jesus with them. Spend time with them. Pray for them to become rooted into Jesus Christ. And teach them to do the same with others.

Ask yourself, “How can I model servanthood so they can see how to be a servant to others like I am being?” “How can I help them see their gifts in Christ? How can I help Christ be known through them?”

All of us need a friend to help us follow Jesus and all of us need to help someone else follow Jesus. It’s that simple. Not by focusing big, but by focusing small.

Let me summarize this. A disciple is someone who pours their life into someone else as they are following Jesus and they show another person how to follow Jesus. You push them, they push you, and you both grow. So, find someone that can disciple you and find someone for you to disciple. This is the Great Commission. Go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and you know what, Jesus said, “I have all power and authority, and I will be with you to the end.”