The Heart Of A Healthy Church Series

The Heart of a Healthy Church

1 Thessalonians 5: 12-15

We are getting close to the conclusion of the first letter Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church. He has covered much with them – seeking to encourage, admonish, and challenge them in their faith. Thessalonica was not a perfect church, but she was fruitful for the Lord. The modern church would do well to look to her example.

As we continue in Chp.5, Paul has once again shifted his focus. From the latter part of Chp.4, through the opening verses of Chp.5, he has dealt with the rapture of the church, the end times, and the church’s responsibility to be aware and committed during the time leading up to the Lord’s coming. Our text today is certainly needful in the latter days; but in reality, these verses paint a picture of what the church ought to resemble at any time.

This passage offers wisdom regarding the overall health and well-being of the church. I want to consider the challenges Paul reveals concerning: The Heart of a Healthy Church.

I. A Word Concerning the Pastor (12-13) – Here Paul speaks to them concerning the role of the pastor among the church. He reminds them of the importance of this role and their attitude regarding the pastor. The pastor is not a lord or dictator over the church, but God ordained the office of pastor and that office is to be viewed with respect and humility. First, he spoke of:

A. Their Labor (12a) – And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you. We know he spoke of the pastor because he referred to them which are over you in the Lord. The first attribute of the pastor Paul mentioned was his labor. This involves more than just working or laboring among a people. It goes beyond a simple job or task. The word has the idea of “laboring to the point of exhaustion, and then to keep on laboring, even when one has become weary; to toil to the point of weariness; to work beyond what one is capable of doing.”

Paul does not reveal that to receive sympathy or in arrogance. He is simply revealing the heart of God’s man for the work he has been called to do. Paul’s commitment to the church was not limited by physical weakness or weariness. Even when his body was tired and he didn’t feel like doing anything else, he continued to labor among them.

I know there are lazy preachers today who only seek to benefit themselves, but a man of God who has his heart right, devoted to the church and its work, has no problem laboring among the church. He will go beyond what others would be willing to do.

B. Their Leadership (12b) – And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you. Here Paul deals with the leadership of the pastor. He is the under-shepherd, the leader of the church. Now, as I said, that doesn’t imply that he is lord over the church or a dictator of the church, but God has placed the pastor in a position of leadership. He will give account to God for the church he pastors. Heb.13:17 – Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

God will honor those who support and encourage the leadership of the pastor. It isn’t something that man devised in recent years, but the God given order of the church. Heb.13:7 – Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

C. Their Love (13) – And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. This is actually making reference to the pastor’s labor again, but it also reminds us of the love involved. The church is encouraged to love the pastor for the work he does. A pastor that is loved and supported by the congregation he serves will be more beneficial and fruitful in ministry.

I think the love of the pastor for the people is also evident here as well. If a man is working and laboring among a congregation, he is doing so with a heart of love. A pastor who doesn’t love the church will not be very active in labor, but a man who loves will be compelled to labor earnestly for their benefit.

II. A Word Concerning the People (14) – After Paul reminds them of the work of the pastor and their obligation to each other, he then directs their attention to the responsibilities the church has for those around them. He reveals several groups the church is to have a love and concern for. First there is: