1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

Having known your choosing – brothers who are loved by God – that our good news did not become into you all in word alone but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much certainty, just as you all have known what sort of thing we became in you all for your sake.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In verse 5 we have a really neat trio of concepts.  I don’t know that these are so great that we need to make them into some kind of mantra or something that has to happen.  But these are neat to look at with respect to how they come together and work.  The first thing that we hear is that the good news that Paul and his associates brought were in word.  The message was good.  The message was open and honest.  The message was truthful.  The message proclaimed Christ.  It starts with the word.  God’s Word of grace, love, and mercy spreads through our verbal proclamation.

What is your proclamation?  How is God’s good news present in your words?

Second Thought:

However, it doesn’t stop with our words.  Our words are infused with the Holy Spirit.  The message of good news is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit, being a part of the message, brings about change and new life.  The message can bring about metamorphosis because of the infusion of the power of the Holy Spirit.  We do not bring about change through our own power.  It is the power of God working through us that brings about change.

Is God’s power in your words?  Why is it important to remember that the power comes from God, not ourselves?

Third Thought:

Finally, it brings about certainty.  This is not a cautious message.  This is not a message that might work.  We have a message and a power that is effective.  We can know that it is effective because of the witness of those who come before us.  We see what it has done in the life of others.  We see what changes God can make in others.  So we can know God changes us.  And when the certainty of God’s power is alive in us, we can then become the witness to others about the certainty of God’s good news and its impact in our life.

Where does the witness in life come to you?  Where does your witness in your life come to others?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5