#01 Followers of the Lord 1.

[AI translation] The letter of the Apostle Paul to the church at Thessalonica is the oldest chronologically dated New Testament document, dating from 50-51 AD. It was therefore written less than two decades after the most holy words were uttered from the most holy lips at Calvary, opening the new era, "It is finished". Not two decades have passed since the earthly, bodily departure of our Lord Christ, and already on the eastern fringes of Europe there is a church, a young, enthusiastic, zealous army of the risen Lord, to whom the apostle greeted at the beginning of his letter, as we always greet every church today: 'Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!" (1. v.) This is a congregation that is quite new in the faith, where the first flame of love is still burning, a picture of a young church living in hope is revealed to us in the letter - and that is why I would like to begin a new series of commentaries on this letter, so that God may use it to help us to see a young church arise in our old, weary Christianity, here among us, and to see the old, stale church life renewed and grow.The central idea of the first part of what we are about to read, around which the rest of what we have to say is this: You have become followers of the Lord! Let us see what this old familiar phrase, "Followers of the Lord", meant in practice in such a young church, where the living gospel of Christ had been heard for only three weeks. And let us measure our own practice of following Christ against it!
Let us stop at this word at once: follower. In the original text, the apostle expresses it with the word that was used to describe the actors and actresses of the theatrical plays of the time. In other words, a person who, in the play, was representing another person, who had to live himself fully into the personality and life of the other person he was playing. He had to study his movements, voice, posture, gait, manner of expression, clothing, in order to portray the person as faithfully as possible. Feel the colouring of this worn-out phrase: A follower of the Lord?! The true follower of the Lord is the one who lives fully into the person and being of Jesus. He who takes his example of the true man, his model of pure humanity, from the one of whom Pilate said, "Behold the man! The true man, the type of man according to God. He who walks in the garments of this true man, that is, who discovers his own wickedness by His merit, holiness and purity, who studies His movements, conduct, motives, voice, in order to represent, display, personify it before the world, before others. He who knows that this world, his child, his friend, his unknown fellow human being, like the theatre audience, watches the life of the Christian man, observes his movements. Who knows that he must make it clear by his whole conduct that he no longer lives for himself, but for Him who died for him and rose again. In this sense, the followers of the Lord were the converted members of that young church.
And what? - Let us answer just one question within ourselves: when we are annoyed or exasperated by the behaviour of our children or our landlord, when our ticket is wrongly punched by a tired conductor on the tram, when we are tempted by the secret pleasures of a smiling human face, when we are overcome by the pain of a bereavement, in other words, when we need to do what is most necessary in our daily lives: do our words, our emotions, our gestures, our facial expressions personify the person of Jesus - or do they reveal that we have been pretending to be followers of the Lord, that we have taken off our masks and are now our old selves?! The true following of the Lord, however much it may be expressed by the word for the man in the play, is not acting, but the new nature within us that is generated and developed through a faith relationship with Christ. It is through immersion in and immersion into the person, life, death and resurrection of Christ that it becomes increasingly real in our lives.
But we learn even more details from the apostle's words about the life of the Thessalonians who followed Christ. Thus he says: "We give thanks... remembering the work of your faith." (Acts 17:3) With this phrase he gives almost tangible concrete expression to the otherwise vague, nebulous, vague concept we are accustomed to call faith. The apostle's readers are not only talking about their faith, but the work of their faith! In a way, he is expressing that faith in Christ is an active factor in a person's life, not just a certain emotion or way of thinking, but a function that has an effect, that brings something to life, that works something in us. Faith that has no effect on the whole course of my life is not faith, or dead faith! This faith that we are talking about here is not just a belief in the truth of the historical facts about Jesus, but a personal relationship, a trusting relationship with the living God. So faith is not a relationship to something, a truth, a dogmatic proposition, but a relationship to a person. Even in an earthly context, to say I believe you is more than to say I believe what you say is true. And if I say I believe in you, for example, when a bride says to her fiancé: I believe in you, that is quite different from saying: I believe that you exist! Here faith is really the reality of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. Beyond the visible, it is connected with the invisible with an unconditional trust and hope. It is here that persons meet, interconnect and decide for one another. Faith is therefore a personal relationship through which God can work the power of His creative Word in us. Faith, then, is not a matter of the intellect, but a life force. To believe is to give God the opportunity to work His work in me.
To believe is to entrust myself to God, so that the same divine energy that did the work of creating the world and raising Christ may work in me, to form Christ in me! Transform my thinking, my feeling, my inner and outer life. Wherever this work of faith, of being transformed into the image of Christ, does not take place, wherever recognised sins are perpetuated instead of being hated and repented of: there is a fundamental problem of faith somewhere. There is a disconnect. Examine your faith in your works! Do you experience the nature-transforming power of God at work in you through your faith? Are your habits, your passions, your affections, your sensibilities the same now as they were when you did not believe in the Lord in this way? You are a follower of the Lord! Do you not want to be different, to be renewed, to change? Of course, you cannot do it on your own, but the Lord Himself wants to purify and sanctify your whole life, inside and out, if you give Him the opportunity by believing in Him!
The apostle then goes on to describe another specific way of following the Lord. (Acts 17:3) It is not new, in fact it is a very common practice in Scripture to mention love immediately after faith in a familiar turn of phrase, but nevertheless this ever-renewed admonition is necessary. For a believer's following Christ is visibly realized in the practice of love. Whose heart, mouth and hands are filled with love when God is at work in him through faith. Our faith is known to the world, to people, through our love. When Paul speaks of the labor of love of the Thessalonians, he may have been thinking of the scene which had happened to him among them, when the rebellious mob had stormed his host's house, when the brethren had almost covered the apostle and his companions with their own bodies, when the host himself went before the tribunal in their stead, and refused to betray the Lord's ambassadors even to the most dangerous threat.
This love triumphed over temptation in the midst of trial and persecution. Even now Paul's heart fills with joyful thanksgiving when he thinks of it. That is why he says: "remembering... the labour of your love." The original word Paul uses means hard, tiring, exhausting work. To love is not easy, love is not something to be done by hand, to be demonstrated in fine words: to truly love is a sacrificial, risky undertaking, it can cost not only our comfort, but our strength, our health, our life! But our Lord spent his whole life loving us! To share in this divine love is to share it with others.
The love of Christ can mean nothing more than giving a piece of my life to someone else. And yet the wonderful thing is that life is enriched by the one who is able to distribute himself in love in this way. For whoever loses his life for Christ will find it! And whoever wants to keep his life for himself will lose it! Who can speak with such thanksgiving of the labour of your love? Thou art a follower, a representative, an impersonator of Christ, but can this be done without the wearisome, consuming, and yet life-giving work of love? Of course, you cannot love on command, for that is the fruit of the Spirit of God at work in you. But this fruit is produced in the true followers of the Lord, that is, in those who live into the person of Christ, who enter into the mystery of his life, death and resurrection.
And on this occasion, let us mention one more concrete example of following the Lord - Paul says: "remembering... the perseverance of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." What faith works in us, what love works in others through us, hope works for us. It teaches us to carry on with the burdens of life in silence and peace. The follower of the Lord has a living hope, not such as the world knows, not a vague expectation of fortune, not a doubtful perhaps, but a certain expectation! An expectation of the fulfilment of a divine promise. A hope that does not shame or disappoint, whose fulfilment is certain, which gives every reason and ground for rejoicing. Eagles is the name given in the Bible to the hope under whose protection the follower of the Lord may lift up his head in the battle, not fearing the blows that may be dealt him. This hope teaches us to bear and endure painful events, sufferings, disappointments, hurts, injustices, crushing burdens. For even the weary wanderer finds renewed strength and spirits when he sees the gates of the awaited city, the goal of his journey. The sight of the final destination gives strength, encourages, reaffirms! For following the Lord is not a purposeless wandering, but a steady, purposeful, guided journey towards the happiest goal. The hope of a direct encounter with Christ teaches us to endure the toils and cares of life, and even the terrifying darkness of death, with a joyful heart.
Is it not a great thing, is it not a majestic privilege to be a follower of the Lord?! And yet we are afraid of it, we dare not give ourselves to the Lord's death and resurrection, to live into his person and life. But what are we afraid of? Are we afraid of Christ - our sanctifier? Look, the Thessalonians could only hear the Gospel for three weeks, yet they dared to follow Christ.
How many times now do we hear again: follow me! We do not know if this call will ever be renewed. It is no coincidence that we are here now, that we are hearing this Word: God has prepared the occasion for Jesus to say again the urgent, the renewing call: Follow me!
Let those who truly want to follow the Lord now ask with me:
Lord Jesus, in your death,
Lord Jesus, give us this life,
In your holy knowledge.
In your gentle suffering.
Let us be humble.
Merciful to all.
Help us to do this with your Holy Spirit,
Teach us, guide us with your Word.
(Canticle 440, verse 14)
Amen
Date: 15 November 1953.