Introduction (The Book of 1 Thessalonians)

 Introduction

 

             What is a community?  How should the body of the Lord be established as the Lord's community?  How should the Lord's church and the Lord-centered community be?

 

I personally became interested in community by studying Paul theology at Westminster Theological Seminary.  So, as I was studying theology, I was studying intermittently by buying books and reading books about church and community.  I did so because I wanted to learn.  I really wanted to know what the Bible says about the true church and community.  The reason I wanted to know and learn about the church was because I was kept on hearing the negative news about the church.  As I kept hearing the negative news about the church, I had been in a lot of trouble and asked myself these kinds of questions: ‘Certainly what the Bible says about the church or community is not like this, but why is it like this now?’, ‘Why there is quarrel, dispute and division within the church?’  So when I was about to finish my study at Fuller Theological Seminary, I wrote my graduation thesis on the Christ-centered community based on Philippians 2:1-4.  

 

One of my goals that I have is to meditate and preach all the Paul's letter in the New Testament before I finish my ministry.  As I was doing so, I finally finished meditating and preaching 1 Thessalonians last Sunday which I started about two years ago.  Since I had been putting my 1 Thessalonians writings together as after I preached my sermons on 1 Thessalonians each week, it wasn’t hard for me to put all the writings together.  After I did so, I changed the title of the book of 1 Thessalonians from “The community that was loved and chosen by God” to “The Community of Faith, Love, Hope That Was Built by God’s Grace”.  The reason why I changed the title was because I realized that Apostle Paul mentioned “grace” not only at the beginning of the letter in 1:1 but also at the end of the letter in 5:28.  I thought that the key theme that binds the whole book of 1 Thessalonians is “grace”.  And when I thought about what kind of church the Thessalonian church was again,1 Thessalonians 1:3 came into my mind: “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”  I thought that the phrases “your work produced by faith,” “your labor prompted by love” and “your endurance inspired by hope” that are mentioned in this verse are good descriptions of the Thessalonian church as a whole.  So I thought that the Thessalonian church was the community of faith, love, hope that was build by God’s grace, I titled the book “The Community of Faith, Love, Hope That Was Built by God’s Grace”.

 

I am grateful and glad that I have finished this manuscript of 1 Thessalonians by God’s grace.  I hope and pray that this book may be beneficial in learning about the biblical ecclesiology and biblical community.  As we learn, let us pray that we may each seek to serve the Lord's church and pursue the community that the Lord teaches.

 

 

 

As I hold onto the the Lord’s promise "… I will build my church ... " (Mt.16:18),

 

 

Pastor James Kim

(February 2019, Thinking of the Victory Presbyterian Church)