Striving For Sanctification – Part 1
“Honor Your Leaders”
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24
I’ll begin by asking you tonight if you know what God’s will is for your life.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”
God wants you to be sanctified.
God wants you to be like Christ.
God wants you to be holy just as He is holy.
God wants you to be perfect just as He is perfect.
In fact, not only does God desire you to be sanctified,
But it is God who is at work to ensure your sanctification.
One of the first ways God revealed Himself to His people was as
Jehovah Mekadesh.
Exodus 31:13 “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘ You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”
God wanted His people to understand the purpose for all the rules.
It is because He was in the process of sanctifying them.
He was undertaking the process of setting them apart as holy.
Sanctification has always been God’s work.
That is why in the upper room we hear Jesus praying to the Father:
John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
Jesus knew that sanctification was the work of God,
And so He prayed to God for it.
And not only that, but that is why Christ came.
Ephesians 5:25-26 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”
You may remember that scene in the upper room
In which Jesus wanted to wash the disciple’s feet.
You may also remember that Peter took issue with that.
John 13:6-11 “So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Peter didn’t fully understand what sanctification was.
On the day we are saved we are bathed, we are cleaned,
We are justified and made right before God.
But that doesn’t mean we are perfect.
We still manage to have a lot of the world stuck to us,
And it is Christ who systematically begins to remove that dirt.
That is the process of sanctification.
And so you see that sanctification is so important to God,
That it is a task that He takes upon Himself.
1 Corinthians 6:11 “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
God did it, and God continues to do it.
Yet, that is only part of the equation.
While it is clearly God who sanctifies us,
The other side is that we also strive for that sanctification.
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
And of course that is implied every time Paul commands obedience
And every time he told the Thessalonians to “excel still more”.
God is the one who sanctifies, yet we also strive to achieve
That same purpose through our obedient lifestyle.
I suppose the mystery is best stated in:
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
• And so it is not possible for anyone to take credit for their sanctification, for God did it.
• Yet it is also not possible for any of us to grow apathetic either as though we need do nothing.
Sanctification is the will of God and the work of God,
But it is work we gladly strive for as well.
And that is what this passage is all about.
Paul is outlining the steps to becoming a sanctified church.
In fact you can see this thought ends in verses 23-24
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
Paul ends the thought by saying, now may God grant this sanctification that you are striving for, and don’t worry, He will do it.
So it ends by reassuring us that God will finish what He started it.
What we find in verses 12-22 are our part in the great equation.
In these next 11 verses,
Paul gives 8 steps to becoming a sanctified church.
(not one time steps, but all the time qualities)
Let me just quickly give you these 8, although we won’t be able to study them all tonight.
1) HONOR YOUR LEADERS (12-13a)
2) LIVE IN PEACE (13b)
3) ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER (14)
4) LOVE ONE ANOTHER (15)
5) REJOICE ALWAYS (16)
6) PRAY CONTINUALLY (17)
7) BE THANKFUL (18)
8) SUBMIT TO GOD’S WORD (19-22)
These 8 points of application are a great pathway
To achieving the sanctification that God wills for you.
And rest assured, He is faithful to bring it about in you.
Tonight we look at the first of these 8 characteristics:
HONOR YOUR LEADERS
(12-13a) But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”
It is quite obvious that Paul wants the Thessalonians to honor those
Whom God has placed in charge of them.
When Christ left, He left His church under the care of under-shepherds.
Sometimes called Elders
Sometimes called Overseers
Sometimes called Shepherds or Pastors
They all speak of the same person,
But the difference in names refers to their differing functions.
Elder translates PRESBUTEROS
(You recognize it as the root to words like presbytery)
It can mean “older man” but when understood in a spiritual sense
It speaks of one who is wise and mature.
And thus God calls them elders because they lead and guide the church.
Overseer translates EPISKOPOS
(again you think of the word Episcopal)
It speaks of one who has oversight of authority.
Pastor translates POIMEN
Often translated “shepherd” it speaks of one who
Feeds the flock through teaching and protects them from false doctrine.
And all of these three titles are used of those
Whom God has placed over His flock.
1 Peter 5:1-2 “Therefore, I exhort the elders (presbuteros) among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd (poimen) the flock of God among you, exercising oversight (episkopos) not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;”
You may remember from studying Acts that in Acts 20:17
Paul called the Ephesian elders to himself. He then told these elders this:
Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopos), to shepherd (poimen) the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
And so it is clear the leadership that Christ left behind.
(You be in prayer about this, as I have even begun talking to the deacons about our church following this biblical model of being an elder led church)
And it is obvious that in Thessalonica
Paul had appointed elders to lead that church.
In fact Paul even lists the tasks that they were doing.
1) THEY DILIGENTLY LABOR
“appreciate those who diligently labor among you”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Well, it simply means they work hard.
But what was their labor specifically?
Well it could have been actual physical labor.
1 Thessalonians 2:9 “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.”
While those who preach the gospel are given right to gain their living by it
Certainly not all do so.
And even today there are plenty who serve God’s flock
And yet still work to provide their own living.
These are certainly exceptional men.
It can also be seen in a more spiritual sense as “God’s Work”.
Such as EVANGELISM
Matthew 9:37-38 “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 – 6:1 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain”
Galatians 4:11 “I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”
Clearly the labor spoken of here is a labor to see the lost saved.
Anyone who has ever sought to win the lost, knows that it is hard work.
It could also be DISCIPLESHIP
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
In regard to his preaching Paul told Timothy to:
1 Timothy 4:15 “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.”
Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
Paul’s labor was to help mold the churches into the very image of Christ.
And so anyway you slice it, the elder or overseer, or shepherd
Is one who diligently labors.
2) THEY HAVE CHARGE
“and have charge over you in the Lord”
I know that today we live in a world that resents authority and rejects the notion of submission, yet we also know that the church is different.
God did not make the church a democracy.
God set up the church, to be under definite authority,
That is Christ ruling through men He has divinely appointed.
1 Peter 5:2-3 “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”
1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”
1 Corinthians 16:15-16 “Now I urge you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints), that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.”
I am well aware that at times the church has been so eager
To follow the pattern of this world
That any notion of the church having earthly leaders they are to obey
Can seem almost shocking.
Yet, that is precisely the way God ordained it.
Now obviously their charge is “in the Lord”
Meaning that their authority only reaches as far as the word of God does.
They don’t get to boss people around for the sake of it.
They do however have the authority to rule the church
According to the truth of Scripture,
And the church is expected to submit to their authority.
And it is obvious that Paul has set up some of these men in Thessalonica.
Men who diligently labor. Men who have charge
3) THEY GIVE INSTRUCTION
“and give you instruction”
This is of course their primary role and occupation.
They guide the church by instructing her according to the word of God.
When you read the qualifications of an overseer in 1 Timothy,
There is only one qualification that is not character based.
Only one speaks of their ability.
1 Timothy 3:2 “…able to teach,”
Titus 1:9 “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”
It is these men who study the word of God in order to teach it
And to teach the flock how to live.
And again it is obvious that Thessalonica had such men in their midst.
Now, here comes the first command in being a sanctified church,
And that is that you honor those men.
Now that being said, this is a little out of my comfort zone
To preach a sermon that tells you to honor your preacher.
So just know that I am preaching this in sincere hope
That we will eventually become an elder led church,
And I am giving you the basis for how to honor those men.
And here Paul gives two points.
#1 RECOGNIZE THEM
1 Thessalonians 5:12
We already talked about what these men are doing.
The main point here is “that you appreciate those” men.
“appreciate” is a little misleading here.
The Greek word actually means “to know”.
It means “to have seen”
And it speaks of having full knowledge of someone.
To better understand what Paul is getting at, he is saying
“Recognize what these men in your midst do for you.”
• Recognize how hard they work.
• Recognize the decisions they make.
• Recognize the instruction they give.
And it helps us understand Paul’s point.
The first step in living that sanctified life is to recognize
That God has placed in your midst men
Who are specifically set apart to help you achieve it.
God hasn’t left you on your own.
DO YOU EVER GO TO A LUMBER YARD?
(Now days they are called home improvement centers)
And you go in looking for that special type of electrical box
Or that unique piece of plumbing material
And if you are like me, you probably don’t even make it to one of the aisles before you do something else.
YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO WORKS THERE.
And if you find one who works hard
And if you find one who can tell you where to go
And if you find one who can instruct you as to what you need
Then you have really found a good thing.
See those people are specifically placed throughout that store
To help you achieve your goal of buying something.
Because not only is it your goal to buy something,
It is also the goal of the people who own the store.
You both want you to buy something,
And so they place people in your midst to help make that goal a reality.
And when we find a good one, we are grateful.
Well Paul says, open your eyes, God has done the same for you.
Furthermore stop and think about where you might be
If God had placed no one who would work hard
To lead you and teach you the truth.
Ephesians 4:11-15 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,”
There you see why God gave those men.
And the implication is that without them,
You would be susceptible to all sorts of deception,
Tossed here and there and carried about by every wind of doctrine,
And you would never grow up into Christ-likeness.
God gave them to you to help you.
And the first thing Paul wants you to do is recognize that.
#2 REGARD THEM
1 Thessalonians 5:13a
“and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”
Not only should you recognize them, but you should also regard them.
The Greek word for “esteem” literally means “to lead.”
Here it means to “lead before the mind” or “to consider” them.
Here is how the word is used elsewhere.
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;”
So Paul is talking about the place you assign to these men.
He is talking about how you view their importance.
Paul says “esteem them very highly”
He wasn’t asking for the Thessalonians to get together
And see what their leaders were worth.
Paul was telling them what they were worth.
He tells the Thessalonians to spot their leaders
And give them a high standing.
He even tells them in what manner.
“esteem them very highly in love”
Open your eyes and see that you have some there
Who work hard to lead you and instruct you,
You make sure that you love them a lot.
You make sure that you give them great amounts of love.
And he even says why:
“because of their work”
And Paul is wanting the Thessalonians to recognize
That the service they perform is absolutely vital to the congregation,
And the congregation ought to be extremely grateful.
1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
Paul told Timothy that he actually assures salvation for his flock.
By working hard, and leading right, and teaching thoroughly,
Timothy would bring that entire congregation under conviction
And cause them all to examine their salvation,
And he would ensure the salvation of all of them.
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
There the preacher essentially says the same thing.
These men “keep watch over your souls”
Make this easy on them, because if you make it hard on them,
It won’t help you in the long run.
(It is much easier to preach in Spur, than it was in Crawford)
Sheep that make it hard on the shepherd
Aren’t doing themselves any favors.
And so Paul tells the Thessalonians
To not only recognize their leaders, but also to regard them highly.
These men are here to help you achieve God’s will in your life.
They are placed here by God to help you achieve sanctification.
And so the first step to becoming a sanctified church
Is to willingly come under the authority of those
Whom God has commissioned to lead it.
If the church continually rebels against her shepherd,
She will never be sanctified,
After all, they are the ones who work as God’s agents to bring it about.
So if you want to be a sanctified church, and to achieve God’s will,
THEN HONOR YOUR LEADERS.
It will make the journey much much smoother.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
