The Assembly and the Gospel 1 Thessalonians 1

www.insidethebible.ca /the-assembly-and-the-gospel-1-thessalonians-1/
Micah Hackett
The Gospel! We love that word, dont we? It reminds us of missionaries giving their lives because of a firm
conviction that the Lord Jesus saves. It reminds us of pioneers who sought to see assemblies established across
vast regions, whose work we benefit from and revere unto this day. It reminds us of tents and tracts and door-todoor work, the effects of which we cannot measure. All these things have something in common: they are done in
the context of local assemblies. Acts would make this concept quite clear. Why does this matter to us? Because it
not only tells us that each one of us has part in Gods grand work of the gospel, but it reminds us of the foundation of
assembly testimony. Without the gospel we have nothing. But when we have the gospel we have everything!
The Gospel at Work in Forming an Assembly
Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. This is how Paul starts his beginning section on the gospel in the
assembly. He begins with the work of God that no man can understand nor thwart, a work that God alone can do in
His great and eternal power. Election is not something to fear, nor is it something that negates human responsibility
in the gospel. Nor is it something preached to the unsaved. But looking back at an assemblys history, one cannot
deny its reality: only God could gather out wicked people unto His name! To see an assembly formed must be Gods
work from beginning to end.
But obviously that does not and cannot lessen the importance nor the necessity of gospel preaching. On the
contrary; gospel preaching is the foundation of every assembly. How shall they hear without a preacher? says
Romans 10. This tells us that the gospel laborer is absolutely vital in regard to local assemblies. In verse 5 we see
four characteristics of a true evangelist that God uses to form assemblies: Gods power with him, the assurance of
the gospel, transparency in testimony, and obvious concern for souls. If great emphasis is not placed on the laborer
and the type of labor he does, then the gospel is not given priority. Yes, it is in the power and sovereignty of God that
His purposes are accomplished, but how undignified to pretend the gospel preacher has no obligation to reflect the
very thing He represents! God demands laborers that take their role and calling seriously.
Then, when God blesses the effects of a laborer, an assembly can be formed. That is what verse 6 describes: You
became followers of us [that is, the apostles doctrine] and of the Lord [they bowed to His authority], having received
the word in much affliction, with joy in the Holy Spirit. Isnt this similar to what we see in Acts 2? They that gladly
received his word were baptized, and the same day were added unto them 3,000 souls. And they continued in the
apostles doctrine Wonderful thing to see new Christians responding to the Word! This is exactly the basis for the
formation of an assembly.
The Assembly at Work in Spreading the Gospel
When an assembly does become formed, the responsibility then falls on it to spread the word of the gospel in its
surrounding areas. We should be quick to take lessons from Thessalonica since verse 7 says You were examples
to all that believe. Why were they so exemplary? Verse 8 says For from you the word of the Lord sounded forth
in every place your faith toward God is spread abroad so that we need not speak anything. This tells us that an
assembly should be marked by two things in spreading the gospel: preaching and testimony. The message was
sounded forth. This cant be done through anything but verbal communication. Obviously they held preaching in
high regard, and we will look at this soon. But on the flip side of the same coin, a solid testimony is vital to the
assembly and its gospel work. If we are known for dead formalism, as the Pharisees were, this will never produce a
good reputation. However, if we are known for liberal teaching to make the world feel comfortable, as the
Sadducees were in a way, we may have a reputation, but not one that God would want. We need solid truth

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accompanied with genuine and obvious care for people. This should ideally result in both direct communication
about our message as well as indirect communication of it from the general reputation we have in our community.
Lets be sure to delineate our sphere of outreach and be diligent to fill it with, well, just that outreach.
Why? What is our motivation? Because we understand the sincere joy of turning from idols to the living God to wait
for His Son from Heaven. We have immense hope! And it is this very hope we hold out for others to view and
consider so that they too might flee from the wrath to come. May our surrounding communities be touched by the
uniqueness of what we have. Let our converts baffle the minds of their peers that they may wonder How could such
change come over a man? We may think that in a semi-religious culture, this change will be harder to see; but this
simply isnt true. We have just lowered our view on a Christians distinction from the world and on what true
commitment to Christ looks like. What, then, should the world see? They should see a turning from idols, not just a
modification to how we view them. The world has many idols Hollywood, politics, sexual sin and themes, vain
philosophy, alcohol, etc. Christian testimony will not be true if these things are just modified slightly. We are fully
believers and are fully identified with the one true God. This is totally different than anything in the world. Not only
here, though, do we find distinction, but in the future. We find a deep longing for Gods Son from Heaven, a firm
belief in the resurrection, and a thankfulness for deliverance from wrath. Does the world see hope, depth, and
gratitude in our faith? These things must associate with the gospel. And these are the things that motivate us to
spread what we have to others. Lets both sound out the Word and live it!
The Primacy and Pattern of Preaching
While 1 Thessalonians 1 doesnt emphasize this per se, comparing it with 1 Corinthians 1-3 we do see that verbal,
public preaching of the Word is an absolute must in the assemblys outreach. To the Corinthians Paul says, For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. This is
not just a preference, but a very purposeful command of God that public heralding of the gospel is His design. His
purpose is this: to confound the wisdom of man. Man has his marketing tactics and means of persuasion, but God
has His own means of spreading the gospel through a public herald without man-made attractions, such as
persuasive visuals, moving music, drama, altar calls, etc. To add these things implies that the omniscient God wasnt
thoughtful enough in His plans. Obviously, we know this isnt true. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to
save them that believe. For the Jews [the religious] require a sign, and the Greeks [the secular] seek after wisdom:
But we preach Christ crucified. Interestingly, the two false ways of evangelism in this verse are highly mimicked
today. On the one hand, we have those that require a sign something that wows them, invoking an emotional,
superficial response. On the other hand, we have those that concede to wisdom, whether by taking away the
intolerant parts of Scripture in their messages or by adding false cliches that, while they make sense to the hearer,
are simply untrue. So then, will we be Greeks, Jews, or Christians in our preaching? A preacher, a Bible, and an
audience with the full influence of the Spirit this is what an assembly gospel outreach looks like.

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