1 Thessalonians 2: What Is a Minister of the Gospel?

Introduction

Ollie Lansdowne preaches at the Sunday evening service of All Souls Langham Place, in the "Children of the Light" series on Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. If he had to sum up what this letter has produced in him, he would say it overflows with the power of the gospel, a power able to take hold of a human life, especially through suffering, opposition and pain.

The week before, chapter 1 had shown what a Christian is. This time, in chapter 2, Paul gives the Thessalonians reasons to trust his ministry. As we listen to him, says the preacher, Paul is going to teach us what it means to be a minister of the gospel.

His answer fits in one sentence: a minister of the gospel is someone who proclaims the gospel to you while taking care of you. And this is not only the business of pastors.

Outline of the Message

1. A Fragile Church and a Suspicion: Three Weeks for Nothing?

• When Paul leaves Thessalonica, the church has existed for only a few weeks. It is a newborn church, which received spiritual life through his ministry. But the opposition is so fierce that Paul and his friends have to flee the city in the middle of the night, for their own safety and for that of the whole church.
• This church is therefore fragile for three reasons: it has only just begun, it faces intense hostility, and it is left completely alone in those circumstances.
• Yet Paul's letter overflows with confidence. In chapter 1, he is sure that God has chosen the Thessalonians, because the gospel has become a power at work in their lives, the same power that works in him.
• The Thessalonians must have had questions. Three weeks is the time Paul spent with them according to Acts 17: three Sabbaths, then he left. Ollie Lansdowne imagines the opponents: he left you so quickly? You meant so little to him? Are we even sure he was serving the Lord?
• This is the accusation we can sense in verse 1: an empty visit, in vain, without result.

2. A Minister of the Gospel Puts the Gospel into Words

• The first foundation of Paul's confidence is found in verse 2: with God's help, he had the boldness to proclaim the gospel in the midst of strong opposition.
• The preacher asks the question: how could proclaiming the gospel be empty, vain or useless? Paul told the Thessalonians that Jesus died to save them from the consequences of their sins. That was enough to justify his visit.
• Even if the Thessalonians had abandoned their faith, which Paul really feared (1 Thessalonians 3:5), what else should he have done? It is the gospel that makes Christians, when the Holy Spirit takes its words and uses them to convince.
• If proclaiming the gospel is useless, he says to his friends, then everything is useless. There is no greater power or purpose than the power of the gospel in a life. If this is not worth it, nothing is worth it.
• A minister of the gospel is the one who puts the gospel into words and tells it to people, nothing more. Many in the city are paid to be ministers, wear the clothes of one or have made a commitment to be one. But a single line separates those who carry out this ministry from the others: do they dare, with God's help, to put the gospel into words and proclaim it?
• Without that, all of Paul's journeys, to Philippi, to Thessalonica, to Berea, and all his letters would have been empty.

3. Tested by God, Then Entrusted with the Gospel

• In verse 4, Paul and his companions speak as men whom God has tested in order to entrust them with the gospel. If the minister of the gospel is the one who proclaims the gospel, he is formed by being tested, then entrusted with the gospel.
• Ollie Lansdowne was ordained this summer in the Church of England. He acknowledges plainly that the way this church approves its ministers today raises very serious problems, which have contributed to what he thinks it is right to call a spiritual disaster.
• The fact that a person is ordained does not guarantee that they will proclaim the gospel to you rather than try, from their pulpit, to deceive you or teach you error. It breaks his heart and makes him very angry, he says.
• Yet he remains glad about his ordination. By God's providence, this church still trains its ministers the way it has been done since Paul and Timothy: he promised to teach the gospel, then he received the charge, before God, before the church, the bishops and the archdeacons, to go and proclaim the good news of Jesus.
• The certificate he received says the essential: the good news that Jesus saves us from God's judgment against sin, so that we can wait for his return. He is glad to be bound, by the very law of his church, to proclaim it.
• With a Church of England in such spiritual confusion, it is more important than ever to commit, as faithful people, to do this by every possible means.

4. Two Requests: Hold Me to My Promise and Join Me

• First request: hold the preacher to what he promised. Proclaiming the gospel always draws opposition. Paul's life would have been much easier if he had tried to please people rather than God, and Ollie Lansdowne knows this temptation lies in wait for him, as it does for all of us.
• If proclaiming the gospel were easy, the church would not need to make some people promise, before God, never to stop doing it.
• Second request: join him. Perhaps by thinking about ordination, but in any case by coming to church and talking about the gospel.
• He would lose his post if he taught anything other than the good news of Jesus, and he rejoices in that. You will probably not lose your job if you never speak of the gospel after the service, and he rejoices in that too. But that does not mean it is not important.
• Your gospel is the same as his, and so is your Bible. You have the same God who helps you and the same Spirit working through you. Ministers make these vows because it is essential that we all talk about the gospel with one another. Hence his request: do not leave this task to them.

5. He Proclaims the Gospel While Taking Care of You

• The gospel is no less than words, but it is always more than words. In chapter 1, verse 5, Paul writes that the gospel did not come in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.
• This verse describes the effect of the gospel on the Thessalonians, but also Paul's way of doing things. He did not just pass on words: he shared his own life, in which those words became power.
• Verse 8 says it: Paul would have liked to give them not only the gospel of God, but also his very own life, so dear had they become to him.
• This power drove him to seek to please God rather than people (verse 4), to flee flattery and greed, so tempting (verse 5), to work night and day so as not to be a burden to anyone (verse 9), and above all to live in a righteous and blameless way (verse 10).
• He was full of gentleness, like a nurse caring for her children, toward people he had known for only three weeks. Isn't that astonishing? None of us is capable of it on our own.
• His goal, in verses 13 to 15: that the Thessalonians receive the gospel as the word of God, and not as the word of men. For the preacher, this is the only right way: that the gospel be seen as a power that moves us to care for those God cares for, and not only for those who make life easier.

6. A Health Check for the Leaders You Listen To

• These verses invite us to know the lives of those we listen to: pastoral team, preachers, small group leaders, people we pray with. Do they live by the strength of human nature or by the power of the gospel?
• In London, in the church and online, many want you to listen to them, and many have useful things to say. But the Christian leaders we listen to most should be people we know well, and who know us well.
• The preacher does not want to exaggerate: the Thessalonians did not know Paul thoroughly. But they knew enough for him to be able to say to them: you know that I did not seek to please you or to satisfy my greed, that I worked hard and faced opposition for you, that I cared for you like a nurse and encouraged you like a father.
• All Souls is a church where people often stay a few years before leaving, and some are still looking for their church in London. Hence two questions to ask about the leaders you listen to, here, in the church more broadly or online: are they ready to suffer to keep proclaiming the good news of Jesus to you? Do they care for you more than for their reputation?
• If you do not know them well enough to answer, look into it. Beware of a minister who never seems to meet opposition, and even more of one who does not really care for you. And there are many of both kinds.
• Some, like him, have promised to do it and would answer for it if they stopped. But the only reason for these promises is to be sure that at least one person will do it when we come to church. Wouldn't you like to be in a church where we are all like this, all the time?
• Ollie Lansdowne applies the rule to himself: if he preaches something other than what God says in his Word, or if he cares more about his reputation than about you, you have full permission to take him aside and tell him so.

7. The Challenge: Don't Waste Your Time at Church

• Paul did not waste his time in Thessalonica. And you, did you plan to waste your time by coming to church tonight?
• If you came with difficulty, the preacher thanks you: time is never wasted when you arrive at church at the cost of an effort. And if you do not call yourself a Christian, he is very glad you are here. This challenge is not for you.
• But if you are a Christian, there is one way to waste your time: not talking about the gospel, or not caring for the people sitting around you.
• The challenge: do not leave before you have asked at least one person: "What is precious to you in the gospel right now?" Then answer the same question yourself. Even if you are not a Christian, it is a good question to ask the people sitting around you.
• The message ends with a prayer: that the church be a place where the gospel is always put into words, where the Spirit uses it to convince, and where we gladly share not only the gospel, but our very lives.

Key Takeaways

• A minister of the gospel is someone who proclaims the gospel to you while taking care of you.
• Proclaiming the gospel is never wasted time: if this is not worth it, nothing is worth it.
• The gospel is no less than words, but it is always more: it becomes a power that moves us to care for others as Jesus cares for people.
• The leaders you listen to most should be people you know: ready to suffer for the gospel, and concerned about you more than about their reputation.
• Talking about the gospel is not reserved for pastors: you have the same gospel, the same Bible and the same Spirit.

Personal Application

1. Have you left it to pastors to talk about the gospel? Who could you talk to about it this week?
2. What do you really know about the lives of the Christian leaders you listen to most, at church or online?
3. In what area are you tempted to please people rather than God?
4. Who around you needs you to share not only the gospel, but also a bit of your life?
5. What is precious to you in the gospel right now?

Verses Cited

• 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
• 1 Thessalonians 1:5
• 1 Thessalonians 3:5
• Acts 17:1-10

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a minister of the gospel according to 1 Thessalonians 2?

For Ollie Lansdowne, it is quite simply someone who proclaims the gospel to you while taking care of you. They put the good news of Jesus into words, even in the face of opposition, and they also share their own life, as Paul did with the Thessalonians.

Why was Paul's stay in Thessalonica not in vain?

Paul stayed only about three weeks, and his opponents said his visit had been in vain. But he told the Thessalonians that Jesus died to save them from their sins. For the preacher, proclaiming the gospel is never useless: if this is not worth it, nothing is worth it.

How can you tell whether a Christian leader deserves to be listened to?

Ollie Lansdowne suggests two questions: is he ready to suffer to keep proclaiming the good news of Jesus to you? Does he care for you more than for his reputation? If you do not know the person well enough to answer, look into it.