HEART-TUGS TOWARD HEAVEN

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 27, 2018 under PM Bible Study |

PM Bible Study Group; June 27, 2018 – from 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

Theme: The temporal nature of our fellowship in Christ makes the hope of our eternal fellowship in heaven all the sweeter.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

This whole letter to the Thessalonians is a great letter of love. Paul’s letter—co-written with his fellow-missionaries—is filled with expressions of the delight and joy he had in these dear, relatively newly-born Christians. As we recalled from Acts 17:2-3, he and his missionary colleagues had only been there for a short while—perhaps for only three weeks. But in that short time, his heart had become very quickly and very inseparably bound to theirs.

Have you ever had a similar experience to Paul’s? Perhaps there was a church family that you were once a part of that was profoundly special to you; one that, grievously, you had to say goodbye to because of a move to another town. Or perhaps you were on a short-term mission trip where your heart became bound in deep affection toward the people you served; dear friends that you had to leave behind once the mission trip was completed and it was time to go home. Or most painful of all, perhaps you have had the painful experience of being separated from a dear brother or sister because of extended illness—or perhaps even death. It’s always hard to say goodbye to people we love, but it is especially hard to say goodbye to loved ones in Christ.

Paul had to say goodbye for a time to these dear believers—and in his case, it was because of persecution. But what stands out in his words in the passage before us is that his ‘goodbye’ to them was clearly understood by him to be only temporary. In 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20, Paul writes;

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. Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. 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? For you are our glory and joy (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20).

He looked ahead to a time of reunion with these dear Thessalonian believers; perhaps a reunion on this earth, but most certainly—and most of all—one in heaven. And as this passage shows us, our earth-bound fellowship with one another in Christ—made frustratingly temporal because of the various circumstances that separate us and keep us from one another—is something that makes the hope of heaven all the sweeter to us. There is a glorious day coming when there will no longer be any ‘goodbyes’ between brothers and sisters in Christ!

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Note first how Paul expresses …

I. THE LONGING OF FELLOWSHIP (v. 17).

He writes—on behalf of himself and Silvanus and Timothy—“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 (v. 17).

He begins these words to the Thessalonians by calling them “brethren”. That’s a pretty important word to Paul in this letter. Take a count some time. The word “brethren” shows up a remarkable seventeen different times in this tiny letter alone! And what a wonderful word it is with respect to our fellowship together. We don’t call each other ‘comrades’ or ‘colleagues’ or ‘chums’. We call each other by a very intimate and familial word. We’re in the same family. We are brothers and sisters together under one heavenly Father with one great elder Brother Jesus. We should see each other in that way more often—and call each other by that name more intentionally—and love each other with the kind of unshakable love that it suggests!

In that spirit, Paul writes to these believers of how much he longs for fellowship with them. He says, “But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time …” The word that Paul uses in the original language for “taken away” is an unusual one, and it deserves special attention. It’s a word that appears in the New Testament only just this one time. It’s the word that means ‘to be orphaned away from’ someone or something. What a deeply heartfelt word! I believe the New International Version captures the feeling of Paul’s words well when it translates this phrase “when we were torn away from you …” Paul wasn’t just simply separated from them. He felt cruelly ripped-away from them as if having been separated from those who were his own dear children.

When did this happen? It would appear that it occurred back in Acts 17. He and his fellow missionaries had been serving the Thessalonians and had been thrilled to see them respond to the gospel. Their hearts were all being bound together by the common bond of Christ. But then, they were abruptly torn asunder:

But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.” And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go (Acts 17:5-9).

Circumstances outside of their control—violent and hostile circumstances—made it necessary for them to quickly depart. What an ‘orphaned-from’ feeling that must have been! But the separation was only physical. Paul and his missionary partners were taken away for a short time “in presence, not in heart …” Paul and his co-missionaries felt the ties of their time together with these new believers very strongly—and distance from one another could not sever that bond of love.

And that’s why he wrote, “But we … endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.” The need for that fellowship of love could not be satisfied by a mere letter. They needed to see each other, hug one another, be with each other, talk face-to-face, laugh together, pray together, serve together, worship together, sit at the feet of Jesus together.

We who are truly brothers and sisters together in Christ need that with each other too.

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What an expression of the longing of fellowship these first few words are! But they help to underscores to us …

II. THE FRUSTRATION OF SEPARATION (v. 18).

Paul said, “Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul …” (v. 18). It’s interesting that though Paul attributes this letter to all three—himself, Silvanus and Timothy—he nevertheless writes as if he was the primary author. And because of this, he made a special point of declaring his own personal, uniquely deep longing to be with them.

He said that he—and indeed they all—wanted to come to the Thessalonians “time and again—but Satan hindered us.” Apparently, there were repeated attempts to come back to the believers in Thessalonica; but those attempts were somehow frustrated by the devil. When did these attempts occur? If we look back to Acts 17 we might speculate about them. It may be that after having been driven out of town the first time, they attempted to come back; but the situation with the security that had been taken from the man Jason, who had provided housing for them, prevented them from doing so without bringing great harm to Jason himself (see Acts 17:9). It may have been that they tried to come back after going ahead to Berea, but were driven further away by the fact that Jewish opponents from Thessalonica had come also to Berea to cause a further disturbance (vv. 13-15). Whatever the cause, though, it was clear to Paul that it was Satan who was hindering his desire to reunite with them. How frustrating!

The word that Paul used for this ‘hindering’ is one that means ‘to cut in’. It suggests the idea of Satan coming along and tearing up the roadway so that Paul could not cross. Elsewhere in the New Testament, Paul suggested that some of his plans for gospel work being ‘hindered’. He spoke of plans being hindered at other times (see Romans 1:13; 15:22); but they weren’t always attributed to Satan. There was even a time when he was being hindered from going to certain places in his ministry; and in that case, it was specifically told us that it was the Holy Spirit who hindered him (see Acts 16:6-10). It takes wise spiritual maturity and sensitivity to recognize when something is being done by Satan; and in the case of coming to the Thessalonians, Paul knew it was Satan who hindered his fellowship with them.

Often our fellowship with one another is hindered by the work of Satan. Sometimes it is hindered by other kinds of circumstances. But what this does is underscore to us the frustration of our separation from one another. How sad it would be if we were separated but didn’t care. How wonderful it will be when there will be no hindrances to our fellowship any longer—either by Satan, or by circumstances.

How much of a longing this all creates in us for the eternal fellowship we will enjoy in heaven!

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It’s this heavenly longing, then, that brings our attention to verse 19; and to …

III. THE ANTICIPATION OF SATISFACTION (vv. 19-20).

Paul looked ahead to that day when there would be no hindrances anymore. And this just made his love and longing for his brethren all the stronger. He wrote to them in verse 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?”

It’s important to note in this that the basis of Paul’s hope for future satisfaction didn’t lie only in those believers. It’s true that they were his “hope”—that is, his anticipation for future satisfaction and fulfillment in heavenly delight; and that they were his “joy”—that is, the prospect of the thrill of seeing them also delighting in heavenly glory along with him; and that they were his “crown of rejoicing”—that is, that they were the victory crown that he would wear for a reward for his labors as he beholds them glorified and blessed in eternal glory. But it was all in the context of the presence of the Lord Jesus. All that ‘hope’ and ‘joy’ and ‘rejoicing’ is ultimately because of Him, and the satisfaction of Paul’s fellowship with them will be that he will enjoy the presence of Jesus forever with them.

By the way—that is the true and ultimate satisfaction of every faithful pastor, or missionary worker, or servant of the gospel. It is to see those that they love and minister to—ultimately—in the presence of Jesus; enjoying eternal fellowship with Him; hearing Him say to them, “Well done!”; celebrating as He rewards them for their faithfulness. True love for someone in Christ means that we desire for them to have all that they can possibly have from the Savior and to see them rejoice in fellowship with Him throughout eternity. Therefore Paul said to these Thessalonian believers in verse 20, “For you are our glory and joy.” They are his glory and joy because he looks ahead toward seeing them forever blessed in the presence of Jesus.

And it will be then that their fellowship will never end—and never again be hindered by separation, or time, or circumstances, or the imperfections of sin. Don’t you long for that?

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Do we love one another in the body of Christ that much? Do we have a genuine longing to be with our brothers and sisters in the presence of Jesus forever? Does that prospect cause us to be frustrated whenever we—here on this earthly plain—suffer separation from one another by distance, or circumstances, or time, or even death? Is it our great hope and joy and crown of rejoicing to be with one another forever in heaven?—and more, to rejoice in seeing each other richly rewarded for faithful service to our Lord? And do we express that hope by enjoying fellowship with one another now? Does that prospect even cause us to overlook the little imperfections that may divide us from one another today—knowing that those imperfections will all be removed from all the saints on the Day of Christ, and that we will love each other with perfection then?

If these things characterize our love for one another now in the body of Christ, then it makes the anticipation of heaven all the more sweeter!

EA