Admonitions for Healthy Churches Pt 6 | 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Scripture

• 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22

About this sermon

Introduction: We have entitled our study of these closing admonitions to the Thessalonians, “Admonitions for Healthy Churches.” One good reason for this is the fact that all these imperatives are plurals — they were all directed to a congregation. We have seen that a healthy church is known by its attitude toward spiritual leaders. Healthy churches have leaders who do the work described in verses 12-13, and healthy churches have members who love them and highly respect them for it. We have seen (vs.14-15) that a healthy church is known by its faithfulness to the mutual responsibilities that God has set forth in His Word concerning love of the brethren. Healthy churches have leaders and members who love each other in all the ways that Scripture instructs. And in verses 16-22 we see that healthy church is known by its heart condition. What is commanded in these verses gets to the level of what characterizes each individual heart and life. A healthy church has members who choose to walk in the joy of the Lord always. A healthy church has members who live lives of communion that make for readiness to pray, which leads to constant prayer. A healthy church has members who believe what God has revealed about His character and His purposes so that they are living perpetually thankful lives. THE VERSES WE COME TO NOW CONTINUE ADDRESSING OBEDIENCE AT THE HEART LEVEL, BUT THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL NUANCE. What we have in verses 19-22 are five imperatives that all have to do with our response to God in the realm of Worship. GOD GIVES US FIVE COMMANDS FOR OUR WORSHIP. Healthy churches are characterized by genuine worship. And the reason why their worship is vibrant and healthy AS A CONGREGATION is because the people who are gathered are vibrant and healthy as individual worshippers. Lives of worship gathered together for corporate worship. WHAT CHARACTERIZES HEALTHY CHURCHES IN THE REALM OF WORSHIP? We look at three characteristics of a healthy church in the realm of worship — three characteristics produced by lives of obedience to these five commands. I. HEALTHY CHURCHES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY SUBMISSIVE RESPONSIVENESS TO THE SPIRIT OF GOD (vs.19) The first two imperatives are expressed negatively. They are commands about what MUST NOT characterize us. It is good to remember, before we consider these, that as Paul is writing this the New Testament is still coming into existence. The apostles are still serving their function as the foundation of the infant church, and the instruments through whom God was giving authoritative truth. There are still prophets who are ministering. The foundation of the church are the apostles and the prophets. Ephesians 2:19–22 (LSB) 19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. So, some of what Paul describes here likely has to do with the work of God in the midst of His churches that was FORMATIVE in nature. The Spirit of God at work through the apostles and prophets giving truth to the churches while the New Testament is coming into being as the fixed source of apostolic doctrine. Some commentators go a step further and see a problem in Thessalonica that Paul was addressing. But I don’t agree with that. I see this as representing what is healthy Christian practice just like the others in this section. John MacArthur agreed. John MacArthur — “However, such arguments are not convincing for several reasons. First, there is no compelling reason in the text to make Paul’s exhortation, do not quench the Spirit, or the other exhortations in verses 20–22, as anything other than separate statements of general exhortation. Readers ought to see them as principles for the Christian life and not read anything more into the text. Second, if the Thessalonian church had been abusing the charismatic gifts, Paul would have earnestly admonished the Thessalonians in detail, as he later did the Corinthians.”

Topics

• The Church