"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.
DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH,
1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 "You turned ... to serve ... and to wait." Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica in Greece is perhaps the first New Testament letter Paul wrote. He encourages new believers in their faith, exhorts them to godly living, assures them about the eternal state of believers who had died, and defends the integrity of his ministry as an apostle. This first chapter represents a church living out the essentials of the Christian faith. Paul begins by commending these fellow Christians for their faith, love, and hope, which they eagerly shared with the people around them. The word spread, Paul happily reports, about how they "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." That is a beautiful and practical example of what true repentance looks like: not just turning from evil, like some mere private reformation, but also turning toward God, patiently trusting and obeying Him for the rest of our lives, knowing He will protect and reward us in due time.
1 Thessalonians 2:7 "We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children." This merging of trained, intelligent nursing skill with the tender love of a mother for her children is how Paul and his fellow ministers cared for these new believers. As they grew, they received the love of a father as well. Paul reminds them, "You know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you to walk in a manner worthy of God." Like good parents, these spiritual mothers and fathers worked day and night so that they would not be a burden on their spiritual children. Their efforts bore good fruit. Paul could write from the heart, "We thank God constantly that when you heard the Word of God from us, you accepted it not as the word of mere men, but as what it really is: the very Word of God, which is at work in you believers.... What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy." Are we investing our lives in the lives of other believers in a way that will make Jesus glad at His return?
1 Thessalonians 3:3 "You yourselves know that we are appointed for this." Paul is referring to afflictions, not only that the Thessalonian believers were experiencing, but also what they were distressed to hear that Paul and company were going through. Surveying the whole Christian movement, he saw suffering everywhere as the result of loyalty to faith in Christ, but he did not think of it merely as something to be endured. He saw God ruling over all. The word appointed above reflects that. As the sufferings of Christ were all "according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God" to accomplish His redemptive purpose, so all the afflictions of those who follow Christ are united in the same fellowship with Him to the glorious culmination of history. Paul received word that these believers were remaining faithful to Christ despite their troubles. His response? "Now we really live since you are standing firm in the Lord! How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of God because of you?.... Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus returns with all His holy ones."
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 "Aspire to live quietly, mind your own business, and work with your hands so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders." This chapter famously covers immediate practical matters like this and also gives a thrilling glimpse of the future when Jesus returns, spelling out how that impacts both the living and the dead. It begins with this clear declaration of God's will: "Abstain from sexual immorality. Each of you must learn to control his own body in holiness and honor ... that no one wrongs his brother or sister in Christ in this matter because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you." That should strike terror in the hearts of the unfaithful, but not the faithful, whom Paul and his co-laborers comfort like this: "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death.... God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.... The Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command ... and the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air [an event known as the Rapture]. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks." These 3 commands on the last page of this letter correspond with the 3 key marks of the Christian faith that open it: faith, hope, and love. In faith, the Thessalonian believers had turned to the living God from dead, empty idols, giving them cause to "rejoice always." In labors of love they were serving their gracious Lord, which would be sustained by their praying as a way of life without ever abandoning the practice. In their patient hope they were waiting for Jesus to return and make all things right, giving thanks in the midst of all kinds of circumstances, good and bad. Paul also says, "We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone." He later would write something similar to the Galatian Christians: "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:9-10). Paul closes his first apostolic letter with encouragement, writing, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."
No comments:
Post a Comment