Book of 1 Thessalonians - Ch. 1, Vs. 1 Revisited (10/19/2003)

In God and in the Lord Jesus Christ

I'm going to go back to the first lesson that we had in 1 Thessalonians, so if you'll open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1, we'll start. It begins, Paul, Silas, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. This Silvanus was referred to in the scripture as Silas. Brian, his nickname was Woody. He was a Roman citizen, a companion of Apostle Paul on several of his missionary journeys.

The thing I want to direct your attention to, Dennis, is the phrase, in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you are speaking of something being in something, that means you're not going into it. You are into it.

If I told you to go into the house, that would be correct, but if you're in the house, I don't tell you to go into a room. You go in a room because you're in the house. Get that fixed in your mind. We're going to look at scripture today from God's viewpoint for the most part.

Dennis, everything, and that's a bunch. Andre, it was all in God. Not into God, but in God. Now, I cannot explain God other than God. Everything, and of course, we can't think of everything, but everything you can think of was in God, whether you thought of it or not.

What's your name, TC? See, we have to put time to everything. We cannot think without thinking time. Even when you say time, you're thinking of time. That's the only way we can speak. We cannot speak knowingly outside of time because we're in time, but there was only God only in the beginning.

When you say in the beginning, you're placing time. Let's look at some scripture that explain it from God's viewpoint. First, God the Father needed something or someone to stand between himself and man.

Christ as the Mediator Between God and Man

Why, Dennis? That's right. So, Jesus the Christ, first it was the Christ, later he was born Jesus. Separate those two, Christ and Jesus. Christ was born in this world, but he already existed. Jesus did not exist until he was born.

Christ was brought forth out of God for this purpose. He, being God, could no longer come down and walk with man because man was sinful. So there had to be something between man and God. The first scripture, you don't need to look these up.

First Samuel 23, 16, and Jonathan Saul's son arose and went to David into the woods and strengthened his hand in God. Joy, I know you've heard this before, but I'm going to tell you again. His hand drew the strength from God because he was in God.

Get that fixed in your mind that you were in God. Psalm 62, 7, and God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. David knew where his strength came from because he was in God.

Psalm 63, 11, but the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone that sweareth by him shall glory, but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. The king himself knew that he was in God. Psalm 78, 7, that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.

Joy, their very hope was in God. It's the only place it could be, in God. Acts 16, 34, and when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

He was in God, believing in God. Are you beginning to get the feeling that, Dennis, that we're in God? Can you grasp the awesome being in God? Andre, that is, well, it just blew my mind away when I finally realized that God was everything and that I was in him.

Romans 5, 11, and not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. All of our joy appears while we're, where, Joy? In God. The scriptures tell us over and over and over that we are in God.

Everything was in God. There was nothing outside of God in the beginning. And I use beginning because that's the only way I know to speak it. Second Corinthians 1, 9, but we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raises the dead.

You don't trust in yourself, Dennis. We used to. When I was a kid, I did. I didn't know the difference, but Bob, now I know the difference. Ephesians 3, 9, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ in the beginning.

When God began to create Barah, he spoke into existence and that has to be in our language. That's the only way we can understand. He spoke into existence, Andrea, everything. I hope we can go back to Genesis for long and at least study the first part of it.

All things were hid and were present in God, Joy. Brian, think of something that God has not thought of. Can you, Dennis? You're answering awfully quick. Well, it's impossible to think of anything that God has not already thought of, yet he's not a man that he should think like man.

Hid with Christ in God

Colossians 3, 3, for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Christ was in God. Christ came out of God. God produced him. The manifestation of himself, Bob, where are we hid? Where are we hid in God?

And we have Christ also. We have been in God all of the time. First Timothy 5, 5, now she that is a widow indeed and desolate trusteth in God and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

Andrea, if you're going to trust someone or something, where do you have to start from? Where are you when you start? In God, Joy, can you visualize that? I hope I'm getting it across because it becomes more real to me all of the time being in God.

Titus 3, 8, this is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto man.

If you believe, you have to be in God. To do good works, you have to be in God. First Peter 1, 21, who by him do believe in God that raised him from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God.

Dennis, if you're going to believe, where do you have to start from? Were you ever outside of God? You were not. All of his children, the saved were in him. First you had to believe into God. No, that's wrong.

You had to believe in God. You were in him. Now, that's from our view, not God's, but we find faith and hope in God. First Peter 3, 5, for after this manner in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands.

So, we find, Brian, that the women of old times, that's not talking about old women, but it's talking about the women of old times, the olden times, the first testament times, were in God. So, Andrea, you were once in God.

First John 4, 15, whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. A person cannot confess that Jesus is the Son of God unless first he be in God. This brings up a question, Dennis, you answer.

When did you trust? Was it before you were saved or after? Well, you answered the first. The second part also, you just were never saved. The being saved is man's viewpoint. There has to be some radical change in my life, but not with God.

T .C., you were always in God, and he recognized you as being one of his. As far as he's concerned, we were always his. First John 4, 16, and we have known and believed in love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

It comes down to the fact that we're in God. We have always been in God. We are now in God. We shall always be in God. Now, that's several scriptures that prove the fact that we are in God. Well, what's the purpose of Jesus?

The Faith of Jesus Christ and Justification

Well, let us now look at that name, Jesus Christ. The Romans 3, 26, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Christ. Brian, Brian, just tell me off the top of your head, why was Jesus necessary?

Apparently, he was necessary. Now, why? Well, you could answer that with that statement for anything, and it's true.

But It was necessary for the Lord God chose for us to be.

All right. Andrea, can you, Andrea, I never have known your name. I'll just say, hey, you. Can you add anything to that? All right. Visual. That's a good point. Dennis, why was Jesus necessary? All right.

Bob, why did Jesus come into the world as Jesus?

You go again. I'm looking for a reason, all right?

Greg, Greg, tell me, why did Jesus come into the world? That's it. Jesus came to die. Now, he died. What should you answer? Speak up. He died an unnatural death. Did the soldiers, let me ask you, did the soldiers kill him?

Everybody's answering no. No, they didn't. He committed his soul, his spirit to God, and the body died. He bowed his head, and then he died. So Jesus had to come to die. He had to come as a man, because that's what we were.

So we find that we who believe must believe into Jesus. You cannot just believe in God, and there's lots and lots of people that do, Jews especially. You must believe in his son, Jesus the Christ. Galatians 2 .16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Jesus Christ, and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Brian, it's the faith of Jesus.

It's Jesus' faith. It's not ours. Now, we have been given custodianship of it, to use faith. Jesus certainly didn't need it. We gain access to faith by being in him. Let's not get away from the fact that we're in God.

For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith, which worketh by love. It is the faith that is worked by love. Unless we are in Jesus Christ, you do not have that faith.

And until you recognize that you're in Christ, you cannot have that faith. Now, from God's view, looking at us, all his children were in him. Ephesians 421, if so be that you have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.

Truth in Jesus Christ

Now, we come down to the truth. The truth of the matter is Jesus. The truth is Jesus. Unless we have heard him, have been taught by him, we cannot have the truth, for it is him. Philippians 126, that you're rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

In Jesus Christ. Then it's the same as being in God, only there's one step in between now. It's always been there, we just didn't cover it in the beginning, but now we have injected Jesus Christ. The world may have joy, joy, but not like you and I do.

They cannot have, unless they are in Jesus Christ. And Brian, tell me, why can't just anybody believe in Jesus Christ and have this joy? Was the Savior on their part? If they had been saved, would they have known him?

He's blinded their eyes that they cannot believe and understand, but he opened our eyes so that we could believe and understand. We're understanding more all of the time. 1 Thessalonians 4, 14, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

Now, Bob, when you die, you'll go to be with Jesus. To me, that's a very comforting thought. So I know not where I'll be after death, but one thing I do know, I'll be with Jesus. Jude 1 .1, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God, the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ and called.

Here, Dennis, it is God that sanctified, that called us in Christ. He used Christ to call us. We are the called. We are preserved in Jesus, even sanctified in him. So we find that we are called by God, the Father, and are kept by Jesus Christ.

Being Called, Preserved, and Kept in Christ

Now, there's many more places in the Bible that I'm sure we could look and find being in God and in Christ. Paul says, I give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, I have here an illustration of how this can be. Let's let this represent God. It's as good as anybody's, since nobody's seen him. But when you open God up, you find Jesus, Jesus Christ. Jesus stood between God and man.

He was the God-man, Jesus Christ, the Christ, I like to say. He was in the office of Christ. Christ was out of God. Jesus became man. And we find that we were in Jesus. So we got God, we got Jesus Christ, and you got you and I.

Brian, do you see how it works, the mechanics of it? Now, I don't hope for you to understand any more than the rest of us. But can you see the fact that we are in Christ, in God? That's where we reside.

That's where we are. And we have all of the benefits of God that he has given to his son. All right, if you open us up, you find the spirit. There's the spirit. It was in us all of the time. Spirit in us, us in Christ, and Christ in God.

Yes, but not by man. Yes, that's right. Simple little illustration, but I thought it fit. You know, Bob, we have to see things in this world to believe in them, but not in the spiritual world. You have to believe, then you can see.

Got plenty of time. Is there a word from anybody, discussion? Oh, we'll always be with Christ, called Jesus. I don't think, at this time in my life, I cannot think that anyone will ever see God. I was thinking this morning, Greg, you help me out on this.

If everything, absolutely everything, stars, planets, space, rocks, trees, you and I was in God, wouldn't that make him awfully big? Yet they say the cosmos is expanding. Andre, I guess if everything was in him, it could have been compacted in him.

But any way we go at it, we cannot see God, even mentally. I believe that he is there. I believe that Jesus is his son. I believe that I exist and that I have a spirit, all right? Someone else. It just, every time I start thinking about it, it just expands.

It goes on and on and on. It's an awesome thought. Well, you know, I've always heard the question or a statement from somebody, well, that's the first thing I'm going to ask him when I get there. You won't.

No. I think this world is going to disappear. I think that he will wipe our minds clear and clean from our past life. There won't be any tears in heaven. There are those that I heard one preacher tell me one time that they're sitting around watching us.

They're looking through a big hole, and they're watching us. I don't know where he got that idea, Andrea, but that wouldn't be pleasure to watch me or you.

Another question. Free something in eternity. I just can't. So many times I try to think about it. Yeah. I'm a hands-on guy, so I just have faith in myself.

These young people seated here, I hope, I trust, I have faith in Christ that you will never quit studying, that you will go from this point on. You already know more than I did at your age, because I was very dumb.

Didn't like school. I now see where it would have benefited me had I attended it. I've been there when I was present. It's a great life. Anything else? Okay. When he made the statement, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father, he was talking about his works.

If you have seen my works, you have seen the Father. Not physically, because he's spirit. Jesus was on Earth as a man. He is a glorified man now after the resurrection. But if I understood your question, how do you reconcile Jesus as saying if you have seen me, you've seen the Father?

He was talking about his works when he said that. Greg, dismiss us, please, will you?