The Mature Christian Life According to 1 Thessalonians: Part I
Because maturity still matters
I don’t know if anyone out there would agree with me, but it seems like the topic of spiritual maturity has gone out of style in a lot of churches. We talk about grace far more than growth, brokenness more than discipleship, and statistics more than our status as new creations in Christ. Paul, on the other hand, had a lot to say to the New Testament churches about how to walk worthily of the Lord (“to walk” in Scripture is a Hebrew idiom for obedience).
This is an excerpt from a research paper I wrote last semester about what Paul has to say regarding the mature Christian life in 1 Thessalonians. I always have the worst time narrowing my thesis, and it took several weeks and a lot of prayer to finally land on this letter, but I’m thankful I did. I became quite smitten with this small yet mighty congregation in first-century Macedonia. There’s much we can learn from their example.
A keyword search for “mature” on Biblegateway.com yields nine verses from the New Testament in the NIV translation. Six of those verses are found in the Pauline corpus while the others in the gospel of Luke, Hebrews, and James. One will not find, however, the word “mature” anywhere in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, and yet, a careful reading reveals that this letter has much to teach believers about how to live a mature Christian life as Paul would define it. It could even be argued that the Thessalonian church presents an exemplary, although imperfect, model of Christian maturity for believers then and now, which is nothing less than a life worthy of God.
In English, “mature” is defined as fully developed physically and having reached the most advanced stage in a process. The biblical Greek word that is usually translated “mature” is teleios, as in Ephesians 4:13, which can also be translated as “perfect,” as in Matthew 5:48 (NIV). Teleios comes from a word that means “complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.),” and “of full age, man, perfect.”[1] It is important to understand this word because it was important to Paul. His commission was to deliver mature believers on the day of Christ, “thus affirming the centrality of maturity to his life, work, and thought.”[2] Paul desired for new believers to follow his example toward maturity (Eph:35) and expended much energy to present disciples fully mature in Christ (Col. 1:28) at his return.
If teleios has the sense of completion then it seems reasonable to say that when Paul writes to encourage believers to grow in some area of spiritual maturity, it is because the recipients are incomplete—they are lacking in the various applications of growth in mental and moral character. In 1 Thessalonians, however, Paul does not address incompleteness but rather praises the young congregation as a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thess. 1:7). Maturity is a prerequisite for being a model for others, and a model is to be imitated.[3]
What were these behaviors the Thessalonian church was modeling so faithfully that Paul expresses his thanksgiving for them not once, but twice, in his letter? Nathan Eubank humorously points out the stark contrast between the joyful opening of 1 Thessalonians and the letter to the Galatians in which Paul was “in no mood to thank God for them.”[4] Considering these two letters may have been written around the same time (there is some debate over which one was written first), it makes an interesting case study in the moods of Paul toward mature and immature churches. The Galatians had been “foolish” and “bewitched” by false teachers while the Thessalonians were standing firm in their trials.
The joyful thanksgiving that opens the letter reflects Paul’s relief and happiness after hearing a good report from Timothy, whom he had sent to visit the congregation when it was still too dangerous for Paul to return. Paul was concerned that the young congregation would turn away from their new Christian faith due to the persecution they had been experiencing (3:5). Timothy’s report, however, went above and beyond his expectations and concerns. Like a proud father, Paul exudes pride and joy that his beloved children—"his glory and joy”—were running their race well. While imperfect, they persevered under pressure just like their pastor.
One important indicator of spiritual maturity in the Thessalonian church is reflected in the way Paul brackets the letter with his famous “triad of virtues”—faith, hope, and love (1:3, 5:8). In his thanksgiving, Paul shares how much he, Silvanus, and Timothy (the letter’s co-authors) have together remembered before God their faith, love, and hope. The Greek word mnemoneuo signifies a remembrance that makes mention of someone or something.[5] The apostles were constantly mentioning their faith, love, and hope before God and bringing it to his attention in their prayers, perhaps because these virtues were bearing the fruits of work, labor, and endurance. This harkens back to the meaning of teleios and completeness “in various applications of labor.” But what was this work and labor?
Some Christians shy away from the concept of work alongside faith, but as Gordon Fee points out, “their work [is] a product of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and their labor is prompted by their love for Christ.”[6] In other words, the Thessalonians were not working for their salvation, but because of it. This makes sense considering the Greek pistis, which can mean faith, trust, and fidelity or faithfulness, as in the “character of one who can be relied on.”[7] What prompted this response of faithfulness was their reception of the gospel as the very word of God, and their understanding of being chosen by God (Acts 16:9-10) because of his love for them (1:4-5). The Thessalonians believed by faith and responded with faithfulness, even in the midst of suffering, quickly becoming a community that could be relied upon to remain steadfast.
Their “work” was the fruit of their faith empowered by the grace and Spirit of God which they received when they believed the message. Eubank notes that the Greek word ergon (“work”) is frequently used by Paul in a positive sense, as opposed to “works of the law,” which is often in a negative context.[8] He goes on to quote John Crysostom regarding this passage: “What is ‘work of faith?’ That nothing turns you away from your constancy…If you believe, suffer all things.”[9] In other words, their faith in the gospel grounded in their understanding of God’s election in love produced trustworthy character and work that benefited one another despite opposition and suffering.
[1] "G5046 - teleios - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv)." Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5046/niv/mgnt/0-1/
[2] James G. Samra, Being Conformed to Christ in Community: A Study of Maturity, Maturation, and the Local Church in the Undisputed Pauline Epistles (London: T & T Clark, 2006), 95.
[3] Elma M. Cornelius, “The Purpose of 1 Thessalonians.” Hervormde Teologiese Studies 57, no. 1-2 (2001): 444.
[4] Nathan Eubank, First and Second Thessalonians (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019), 35.
[5] "G3421 - mnēmoneuō - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv)." Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3421/niv/mgnt/0-1/
[6] Gordon Fee, The First and Second Letter to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 22-23.
[7] "G4102 - pistis - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv)." Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4102/niv/mgnt/0-1/
[8] Eubank, First and Second Thessalonians, 37.
[9] Eubank, 37.