The church as it is supposed to be; a people of joy 1 Thessalonians 2:19 to 3:10
Remember that we have already looked at the Church as a people of encouragement, self-sacrifice, and controversy. Now we are looking at them as a people of joy. And I noted that in this passage, we can see the beliefs that Paul had that strengthened his joy.
Joy is elicited by your beliefs about time and space
2: 17 But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire,
Joy is elicited by your beliefs about your enemy
2: 18 because we wanted to come to you—indeed, I, Paul, once and again—but Satan hindered us.
3: 5 For this cause I also, when I couldn’t stand it any longer, sent that I might know your faith, for fear that by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor would have been in vain.
Today we are going to consider,
Joy is elicited by your beliefs about your priorities
2: 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our Lord Jesus[a] at his coming? 20 For you are our glory and our joy.
3: Therefore when we couldn’t stand it any longer, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the Good News of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith,
9 For what thanksgiving can we render again to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sakes before our God, 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
I. Joy is elicited by your beliefs about your priorities
We know this. We know that our priorities are not the same as the world’s. And we know that our priorities make a difference in whether we have joy or not. If we focus on the eternal things, it grows our joy. If we focus on temporal things, it grows our discontent.
Jesus said as much when he told His listeners on the Sermon on the Mount, “Don’t worry about your life, what you eat, drink or wear, but seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you.”
From our earliest Christian lessons we’ve learned that our priorities impact our joy.
It’s something that Geraldine has used in children’s story for quite a number of years. The acronym; JOY. If you want to have joy, you have to have the opposite to what the world has. You make pleasing our Lord Jesus first, helping others second, and myself third. JOY; Jesus, others, yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’Deuteronomy 6:5 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
And now we have it all here in one passage of Scripture.
Paul, in his relationship with the church at Thessalonica, described the same set of priorities; He was first a servant of our Lord Jesus, second he was a servant for the good of others, the church at Thessalonica, and third, he thought about himself. That’s where we go today. We are only going to get to the 1st point today-our priority is pleasing our Lord Jesus Christ.
prayer
A. Priority # 1; Glory at Jesus’ coming – pleasing Him
2: 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our Lord Jesus[a] at his coming? 20 For you are our glory and our joy.
But before we get into the priority itself let me give you some
1. Background to these two verses
17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. 18 Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.
Remember that Paul had just written about his effort to get back to Thessalonica to see the believers there. He was writing this letter from Corinth. Timothy had just returned from Thessalonica bringing word of the strength of their faith. Paul had been concerned, even anxious about how they were doing. He was concerned, in chapter 3 verse 5, that
5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.
So, he sent Timothy back to check on them. And now Timothy returns with good news.
That’s the background of verses 19 through 20. He’s telling them why he sent Timothy back to them. He’s telling them why he didn’t come himself; Satan hindered us. Now notice what his priorities are; it is them. But look more specifically, presenting them to the Lord Jesus Christ at Jesus’ coming.
2. 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
It’s you, in the presence of the Lord Jesus, at His Second Coming.
Our reward is the good pleasure of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He’s using the idea of the laurel wreath that was placed on the head of victors in athletic competitions. It was exactly what a wreath is to us today. It is branches and foliage, originally from the bay laurel plant, twisted into the form of a crown. And that crown was placed on the head of the winner.
Why do we do what we do? Because we anticipate the joy we will feel when we present you to Christ.
This reminds me of the parable of the talents. You remember that Jesus told a parable describing His Second Coming. The parable was about a Master who went on a long journey and left his business to be continued by 3 servants. To the first he gave 10 pieces of money, to the second he gave 5, to the 3rd he gave one piece of money. And remember that when he returned, the one who had received 10 coins, had invested them and made 10 more. The master told him, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.” The same thing happened to the one who had received 5, he to doubled the money, and received the same reward.
The parable is about the Second Coming of Christ. And our great reward is going to be, that our Lord is pleased at what we did with what He left us to do.
Our first priority is the good pleasure of our Lord.
So, Paul is expecting a future reward. Now, this is interesting, because it gives us a contrast regarding sources of joy. Many people seek for joy in their lives by pursuing some external reward, their laurel wreath, their crown. They pursue athletics, or financial success, or fame, because they want glory, and ultimately fulfillment for themselves. But look at what Paul is saying, “What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?”
3. Isn’t it even you,
We don’t seek personal glory. We don’t expect to be fulfilled or joyful based on getting some acknowledgement of our worth, like a crown, or earthly reward. You are our crown, our hope, our joy.
His priority was them.
But notice that that isn’t even a complete picture of his priority. He says, “what is our hope, joy, crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you,
4. before our Lord Jesus[a] at his coming?
2 Corinthians 1:14, "We are your reason to be proud as you also are ours in the day of our Lord Jesus."
Paul lived in the light of the coming of Christ. And it was not as an escape. We might say, “Well I can’t wait until Jesus comes back, then I can get out of this lousy world.” He wants to be able to say, Lord, you gave me 10 talents, I’ve made 10 more. Lord, you gave me the Church at Thessalonica to nurture, and here they all are.
5. 20 For you are our glory and our joy.
What was he saying? He was saying that the joy and hope and reward of his life was not going to be personal reward or glory. It wasn’t even some personal vicarious pride in seeing what he had achieved in the lives of the people of Thessalonica.
His anticipated glory, joy and reward was going to be that moment when he, and all these believers in Thessalonica, and all the believers that he has labored over, will be together at the coming of Christ.
It makes me think of work. We all have occasions at a job where the boss is gone for the day, or even longer. And sometimes when that happens, he/she leaves his/her employees a list of things to get done while he is gone. Now, if we want to please the boss at his return, there are three ways. Three ways to be pleasing to the boss at his return. First, we want to be pleasing, by not getting caught goofing off when the boss returns. Second, we would love it if she returned, walked to our desk, or station, and caught us doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing. But, the third way that we can be most pleasing to the boss, is if he or she returns, finds us working, and we are able to hand her a completed to-do list. “I finished everything that you left me to do.”
And Paul is saying that his highest priority in life is to be there at the return of Christ, and to be able to present to Christ a completed list. Every soul that was entrusted to his care, from Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, and every other city Christ sent him to.
Paul looked forward to that day when Christ, Paul, and all the churches Paul had ministered in would be together.
When will that be? At Jesus second coming.
Think about that day. There is coming a day when all the saints of all the ages will be gathered together with Christ.
Matthew 24: 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His [d]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
So, the living Christians will be gathered to Jesus’ side. What about all of those saints, who are passed?
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 New King James Version
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Paul is anticipating a day when the Lord will return, and all the saints, living and dead will be gathered. And he, Paul, will get to gather with all those to whom he personally brought the gospel, and feel the joy in their all being together with Christ, having arrived to the last step of their sanctification; their glorification.
Can you imagine that day? If we are alive, we will meet Him in the air, if we have died, our bodies will be resurrected and will meet Him in the air. Then as it says in Jude,
Jude 14: 14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
What a glorious day, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our 1st priority is to be found pleasing to the Lord
Colossians 3:1717 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
Ephesians 6:5-75 Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ, 6 not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with good will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men,
Now, before I leave this point, I can’t resist making a point about that phrase “His coming.”
6. His coming
Most of you know that I believe that the Bible teaches that the rapture of the Church will be after the Tribulation. And since the book of 1st Thessalonians has a lot to say about the end times, I find it necessary to address that topic, anytime that the text brings it up. We just read this verse;
2: 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our Lord Jesus[a] at his coming?
The Greek word for “coming” is Parousia. There are 16 occurrences using the word Parousia paired with Christ, or the Son, in the New Testament. Now this concerns the timing of the rapture. Some say that Jesus calls living believers to Himself in the rapture, before the Tribulation.
Paul here mentions the “coming” of the Lord Jesus, when he expects to see Jesus, and be reunited with all the saints who have grown by his ministry.
When is the “coming” Parousia of Christ? I believe Scripture teaches simply that it is “after the Tribulation.” He came the first time as a Lamb, He will come the second time as a Lion. There are not three comings, just two.
So, the question is, “when is that coming?” Is that reunion and coming before, during, or after the Tribulation?
I believe the rapture is after. And this word “Parousia” is part of my argument that the rapture is after the Tribulation.
And here’s how the logic goes.
Point # 1 The “Parousia” or coming of Christ is an official title for a specific event.
Many Bible scholars, including many who believe that the rapture will be before the Tribulation, take this word “Parousia” to be sort of an official Biblical title for the return of Christ.
John MacArthur
At His coming, at His parousia. That's a key word used twenty-four times in the New Testament. Sixteen of those twenty-four, or two out of three, it is eschatological, referring to the Second Coming.
In other words, any time the word Parousia is used alongside one of the names of Jesus, (Jesus, Christ, the Son) we know that it is talking about the Second Coming of Christ.
Point # 2
The first place that we find the word “Parousia” referring to Jesus’s Second Coming is in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, (Parousia) and of the end of the age?”
Point # 3
In Matthew 24, the Parousia, or coming of Christ is visible to all the world.
6 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming (Parousia) of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
Point # 4 In Matthew 24, the Parousia, or coming of Christ is “after the Tribulation.”
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming (Parousia) on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Point # 5
The rapture, in Matthew 24, is described as after the Parousia.
30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Now you tell me. Doesn’t that sound like Christians being caught up, and meeting the Lord in the air? And here is the order of events from Matthew 24;
1. 7 year Tribulation-then after the Tribulation,
2. Parousia, the visible coming of Christ; seen by all the world
3. The Rapture-the gathering of the elect to meet Christ in the air
Well, you might say, if it is that obvious, how can anyone believe that the rapture is before the Tribulation? The only way to believe that is if “Parousia” is a word used for two different “comings,” one before the Tribulation to gather the Church, and the other after the Tribulation to judge the world and start the Millennium.
There are Bible teachers, and scholars, even some that I hold in high regard who teach that there are two parousias. John MacArthur is one of them. This is a quote from his sermon on 1 Thessalonians 2:19
“At His coming, at His parousia. That's a key word used twenty-four times in the New Testament. Sixteen of those twenty-four, or two out of three, it is eschatological, referring to the Second Coming. Sometimes it refers to the end of the tribulation when the Lord returns to set up His kingdom, such as its use in Matthew 24. But here in 1 Thessalonians it refers to the rapture. (emphasis added)
He’s saying that the Parousia of Matthew 24, is a different Parousia than 1 Thessalonians 2:19. Why would he take the same word, and say that it describes two different events? Because he already believed there were two events, so when he reads the text, he takes the event described in the text, and slides it into a category that fits his existing doctrinal framework. It has much to do with dispensationalism, but we’re not going to get into that now.
But a simple reading would simply say, every time that the word “Parousia” is used, it refers to the same event.
And let me say this, I have no problem with one word meaning two different things. Sometimes the word “orange” means the color, sometimes it means the fruit. But how do I know when the word orange means the color or the fruit? I look at the context.
And that’s the same thing that we do with the word “Parousia.” We look at all the places that the word is used for the return of Christ, in the New Testament, and decide if they all describe the same event, or if they describe two different events. So, let’s do that.
Now remember that in Matthew 24, the Parousia is after the Tribulation. It is used 2 more times in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24: 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
So, since this use of “Parousia” in verses 37 and 39 happens in the same speech Jesus is giving His disciples about the end times, the Parousia of verse 27, (after the Tribulation) has to be referring to the same Parousia as verses 37 and 39. So 37 and 39 are after the Tribulation.
What are other verses describing the Parousia? And again, ask yourself the question, is the Parousia or coming described here at a different time than the one in Matthew 24? Is there anywhere here that it says that this Parousia is before the Tribulation?
1 Corinthians 15: 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits (He was resurrected from the dead.) of those who have [d]fallen asleep.
23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
What’s the order of events given here?
1. Christ rose from the dead.
2. The Parousia or coming of Christ
3. The resurrection of those who belong to Christ
4. The end, the millennial Kingdom of Christ
Is there anywhere there that says the Parousia is before the Tribulation?
Another one of the verses that uses parousia, of course, is the verse we are addressing today. 1 Thess. Chapter 2
19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
And 5 more times it is used in 1 Thessalonians 2 through 5
Chapter 2
2 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you 2 not to be quickly shaken in your mind, and not be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as if from us, saying that the day of Christ has already come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the rebellion[a] comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. 5 Don’t you remember that, when I was still with you, I told you these things? 6 Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;
Chapter 3
11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
Chapter 4
13 But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.
Chapter 5
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify[g] you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, Paul wrote about the Parousia. But did he ever say that there was going to be one Parousia before the Tribulation, and one after? Did Paul tell us anything to make us believe that he was talking about a different Parousia than the one in Matthew 24? Look at the order of events that Paul tells us;
1 Thessalonians (above)
1. The rebellion (falling away of supposed believers) 2:3
2. Restrainer removed (Holy Spirit stops restraining the ascension of the antichrist.) 2:7
3. The man of sin is revealed (the antichrist) 2:3
4. 2nd coming 4:16
5. Dead in Christ rise first 4:16
6. Living Christians are caught up to Him in the air 4:17
7. Christ destroys antichrist at His coming (Parousia) 2:8
Did Paul say there are two “comings?” one before the Tribulation and one after? Or does his description of events fit Jesus description in Matthew 24 where the rapture is after the Tribulation?
Now, three other apostles also wrote about the Parousia. And before you read what they say, remember the question; Did they describe two comings of Jesus, or did they say that Jesus would rapture Christians before the Tribulation?
2 Peter 2: 3 knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?
James 5:7-8 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord [f]is at hand.
1 John 2: 28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that [h]when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
If you read what Peter, James, and John said about Jesus’ Parousia, you have to note that they said nothing about when it would happen; before or after the Tribulation.
Let me say a word further. I’m a simple man. So, I read and interpret the Bible with some very simple principles. One of those principles is “Keep it simple, stupid.” So here again is my logic; because Matthew 24 tells us that the coming, or Parousia of Christ will be “after” the Tribulation, and the rapture will be when He comes, then the rapture has to be after the Tribulation.
And, simple man that I am. Unless one of the other Bible authors, (Paul, Peter, James, or John) gives me good reason to believe otherwise, I’ll figure that the rapture is after the Tribulation.
Now, I went down that rabbit hole for a while, now let’s return to Paul’s main point; our priorities and our joy.
So, Paul’s first priority, is Jesus. Jesus is coming back, and all that I do is done in light of that fact. I want to be unashamed to see Him. I want to have great joy in presenting to Him the talents and people that He entrusted to me. So even my work among believers is first motivated by pleasing the Lord at His coming. And when He is my first priority, joy is the result.
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives: On May 19th, 1780 the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought." Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we're to be lights as we watch and wait.
Harry Heintz.