1 Thes 1:4 Knowing, brothers, beloved of God, your selection; (5) For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, even as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. (6) And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit, (10) And await His Son from the heavens, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath which is coming.
Now we need to study the content of the word, the gospel, preached by Paul. No doubt, Paul preached the Triune God. In verse 4 he says, "Knowing, brothers beloved by God, your selection." Selection refers to the Father's work in eternity past. That was when God selected us. In verse 10 Paul speaks about the Son as the One who delivers us. The Son is the Savior, the Deliverer. In verse 5 Paul says that the gospel they preached came in power and in the Holy Spirit; and in verse 6 we see that the Thessalonians accepted the word with joy of the Holy Spirit. The fact that the gospel was preached in the Holy Spirit indicates that the Spirit is the One who transmits the things of God into us. Thus, God the Father selected us, God the Son accomplished redemption to deliver us, and God the Spirit transmits all the divine things to us. This is the content of the word preached by Paul as the gospel. This is the reason I say that the Triune God is embodied in the word. [continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Thessalonians, pp. 48-49. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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