Christian Evangelism (preaching resource for October 18, 2026)
This post exegetes 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, providing context for the Epistle reading on 10/18/26. Insights are drawn from John Stott's commentary on this passage.
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| "St Paul preaching to the Thessalonians" by Dore (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) |
Introduction
In Paul's first letter to the Christians in the city of Thessalonica, Paul shows how the church and the gospel are inseparably interrelated. The gospel forms the church and the church spreads the gospel. In discussing this interrelationship, Paul begins with the church's evangelism. In 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10 he outlines in three stages the progress of the gospel in Thessalonica. First, 'our gospel came to you' (v5). Secondly, 'you welcomed the message' (v6). Thirdly, 'the Lord's message rang out from you' (v8). Thus it came to you, you received it, and you passed it on. This sequence is God's continuing purpose, worked out through the church.
The gospel came to you
The gospel did not come to Thessalonica by being dropped by parachute from heaven. No, Paul, Silas and Timothy brought it. Before they arrived in Thessalonica there was no church; when they left, the church had been planted and had taken root. How did this happen? The planting of the church was the direct result of the sharing of the gospel, which occurred in four ways:
1. With words. True, the gospel came *not simply with words*, but it did come to them with words. For the gospel is itself a word or *message* (6) or 'the word' (RSV), 'the word of the Lord' (8, RSV) or 'the word of God' (1 Thess. 2:13, RSV). Words matter--they communicate meaning, and the gospel has a specific meaning. That is why it must be verbalized. So in all our evangelism, whether in public preaching or in private sharing, we need to use words and use them carefully.
2. With power. Words by themselves are seldom enough--this is especially true in communicating the gospel, since blind eyes and hard hearts do not appreciate the gospel. So words spoken in human weakness need to be confirmed with divine power. The reference here is probably to the internal operation of the Holy Spirit. It is only by his power that the Word (the gospel) can penetrate people's mind, heart, conscience and will. Paul wrote the same thing to the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 2:1-5), and it is from Corinth that he is writing to the Thessalonians.
We must never divorce what God has married, namely his Word and his Spirit. The Word of God is the Spirit's sword (Eph. 6:17). The Spirit without the Word is weaponless; the Word without the Spirit is powerless.
3. With deep conviction. 'Power' describes the objective result of the preaching, 'conviction' the subjective state of the preacher. Paul's preaching was not only powerful in its effect but confident in its presentation. He was sure of his message, of its truth and its relevance, and in consequence was bold in proclaiming it.
4. With the Holy Spirit. This expression seems to belong to the other three: the truth of the Word, the conviction with which we speak it, and the power of its impact on others all come from the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is he who illumines the mind of those who share the gospel so that our message has integrity and clarity. It is he whose inward witness assures us of its truth, so that we verbalize the gospel with conviction. And it is he who carries it home with power, so that the hearers respond in repentance and faith.
You welcomed the message
Paul praises the Thessalonians for how they received the gospel:
1. Despite severe suffering. There had been considerable opposition in Thessalonica to the gospel, and so also to those who preached it and those who embraced it. The authentic gospel always arouses hostility (not least because it challenges human pride and self-indulgence), although the opposition it provokes takes different forms. But persecution had not deterred the Thessalonians. They had *welcomed the message* in spite of the suffering involved.
2. With the joy given by the Holy Spirit. We must not miss this second reference to the Holy Spirit within two verses. The same Spirit who gave power to those who preached the gospel gave joy to those who received it. He was working at both ends, so to speak, in the speakers and in the hearers. And it is not surprising to read of the converts' joy, for joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Wherever the gospel goes and people respond, there is joy--joy in heaven among the angels over sinners repenting, as Jesus said (Lk. 15:7, 10), and joy on earth among the people of God (Acts 8:8,39; 13:52; 16:34). This pattern of outward opposition and inward joy has often been repeated in the long history of the church (Jn.16:33).
3. You became imitators of us and of the Lord. This is an earlier expression, which comes at the beginning of verse 6. It indicates the profound change which came over the lives of the converts. They began to follow the example as well as the teaching of the apostles (*us*), and so of Jesus (*the Lord*), whose apostles they were. To 'welcome the message' includes this. It is no mere intellectual assent to the truth of the gospel; it is a complete transformation of behavior through a close following of Christ and his apostles.
4. And so you became a model. Those who take Christ and his apostles as their model inevitably themselves become a model to others. And the singular 'model' probably signifies 'a model community'--the church. It is marvelous to see in a congregation of transformed sinners the effect of the gospel on those who receive it. It may mean persecution and consequent suffering. But it also involves inward joy through the Holy Spirit, the imitation of Christ and the apostles in changed lives, and the setting of an example to others.
The message went forth from you
The gospel spread forth from and through them--so loudly and clearly that it (*the Lord's message*) *rang out* (a translation of the Greek word *execheo* which is derived from *echos*, an echo or noise as from a trumpet or thunder). Paul's point is that the Thessalonians lived and shared the gospel, making 'a loud noise' in the ears of unbelievers. As a result, their *faith in God* became *known everywhere* (8).
Something extraordinary was happening in Thessalonica: a new society was emerging, with new values and standards, characterized by faith, love and hope. And people were taking notice and telling others about it--the gospel was being "gossiped" around--so much so that Paul says that *we do not need to say anything about it* (8b). Better, 'we do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us...' (JB). Exactly what was being reported? In general, it was a report about their *faith in God* (8). More specifically people were "gossiping" about the *reception* given Paul, his team and their message (9) and the results in the lives of the believers in Thessalonica--in short a report about their conversion (9b-10). That conversion consisted of three parts: (1) a decisive break with idols, (2) an active service of God, and (3) a patient waiting for Christ. This three part formula seems to equate with Paul's three-part summary of Christian virtue: faith, love and hope (cf. 1 Thess. 1:3):
1. As you turned from idols (acting in faith). It would be difficult to exaggerate how radical is the change of allegiance which is implied by the turn from idols to *the living and true God* (cf. Je.10:10). For idols are dead; God is living. Idols are false; God is true. Idols are many; God is one. Idols are visible and tangible; God is invisible and intangible, beyond the reach of sight and touch. Idols are creatures, the work of human hands; God is the creator of the universe and of all humankind. Besides, Paul knew what he was talking about. Not only had he railed against idolatry when addressing the pagans of Lystra (Acts 14) and the philosophers of Athens (Acts 17), but the Thessalonians could themselves see Mount Olympus, about fifty miles south of their city, where the Greek gods were supposed to live.
Every idolater (including people in our day) is a prisoner, held in humiliating bondage. But the good news is that through the grace of God in Christ, in many cases suddenly and completely, the prisoner turns to God from the idols (whether superstitious or sophisticated) which have so far controlled their life. In this way, the 'strong man' (the devil) is overpowered by one stronger than he (Jesus), his palace is raided and his prisoners set free (Lk. 11:21-22).
2. As you served God (acting in love). The claim to have turned to God from idols is bogus if it does not result in serving the God to whom we have turned. We must not think of conversion only in negative terms as a turning away from the old life, but also positively as the beginning of a new life of service. We could say that it is the exchange of one slavery for another, so long as we add that the new slavery is the real freedom. In this way, authentic conversion involves a double liberation, both *from* slavery to idols and *to* the service of God whose children we are.
3. As you waited for Christ's return (acting in hope). Note that 'serving' and 'waiting' go together in the experience of converted people. This is at first sight surprising, since 'serving' is active, while 'waiting' is passive. In Christian terms 'serving' is getting busy for Christ on earth, while 'waiting' is looking for Christ to come from heaven. Yet these two are not incompatible. On the contrary, each balances the other. On the one hand, however hard we work and serve, there are limits to what we can accomplish. We can only improve society; we cannot perfect it. We shall never build a utopia on earth. For that we have to wait for Christ to come. Only then will he secure the final triumph of God's reign of justice and peace (2 Pet.3:13).
On the other hand, although we must look expectantly for the coming of Christ, we have no liberty to wait in idleness, with arms folded and eyes closed, indifferent to the needs of the world around us. Instead, we must work even while we wait, for we are called to serve the living and true God. Thus working and waiting belong together. In combination they will deliver us both from the presumption which thinks we can do everything, and from the pessimism which thinks we can do nothing.
In this first reference of the letter to the return of Christ (the parousia), which is hereafter mentioned in every chapter of both letters, Paul tells us two truths about him for who we are waiting: First, Jesus is the one, *whom he (God) raised from the dead*. The resurrection not only publicly declared Jesus to be the Son of God (Rom. 1:4) but was also the beginning of God's new creation, the pledge that he will complete what he has begun. The resurrection from the dead assures us of the return from heaven. Secondly, *Jesus* is the one *who rescues us from the coming wrath*. Already, Jesus has delivered us from the condemnation of our sins and the power of our idols. But when he comes, he will accomplish the final stage of our salvation: he will rescue us from the outpouring of the wrath of God at the day of judgment (cf. Rom.2:5, 16). It is from this decisive event that Jesus is our deliverer.
Conclusion
As we look back over this passage, we note the vital relationship between the church and the gospel. Two points stand out:
1. The church which receives the gospel must pass it on. Nothing is more impressive in 1 Thessalonians than the sequence 'our gospel came to you - you welcomed it - it rang out from you'. God intends every church to be like a sounding board, bouncing off the vibrations of the gospel, or like a telecommunications satellite which first receives and then transmits messages. This is God's primary method for evangelization--making disciples of all nations.
2. The church which passes on the gospel must embody it. We have noted that what went forth from Thessalonica was not only 'the word of the Lord' (verbal evangelism) but also news of their conversion (rumor evangelism). Everybody heard about this new community which had come into being in Thessalonica, its bold rejection of idolatry, its joy in the midst of opposition, its transformed values, its faith and love. People were so impressed by what they heard that many must have come to see for themselves.
The communication of the gospel is by seeing as well as hearing. This double strand runs through all the Bible: image and word, vision and voice, opening the eyes of the blind and unstopping the ears of the deaf. Jesus is the Word of God and the Image of God. The Word became visible, the Image audible. No church can spread the gospel with any degree of integrity, let alone credibility, unless it has been visibly changed by the gospel it preaches. We need to look like what we are talking about. It is not enough to receive the gospel and pass it on; we must embody it in our common life of faith, love, and hope.