All who are reading this know what it means to be taught a lesson. You could not read this if you had not had lessons on reading. There are three components to a lesson. First, you have the author of the lesson. Second, you have the content of the lesson, and last, you have the one learning the lesson. Life is full of lessons, but the ones we learn best are the ones taught by the Master. God is the perfect teacher and if we will follow His instructions, we can save ourselves a lot of heartache and stress.
The lesson for today is one God taught the Thessalonians. In I Thessalonians 4:9-10, Paul is commending the Thessalonians for their brotherly love. Brotherly love is what Jesus was stating as a new commandment in John 13:34. He didn’t call it new because it had not been taught, but it was called new because it was now to be the distinguishing factor of believers. In John 13:35, Jesus tells his disciples this is what others will know them by.
I Thessalonians 4:9-10 “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more.”
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another.”
The author of this lesson was God. The Greek word for “taught of God,” thedidaktoi, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. This is referring to direct teaching from God on their hearts. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit happens as soon as a person repents and accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Those influences are secret or silent to others because God is working from within, but the evidence will be seen on the outside.
The content of the lesson is love. One of the first pieces of evidence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is the love that we have for other believers. In I John 3:14, John says we know we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. It’s a natural process that takes place when there is true conversion. We are no longer dead in our sins, but we have experienced new life, a life that is eternal. Love for our brothers and sisters in Christ is a natural result of this experience. Because of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, we have a kindred spirit, and we are drawn to one another in love.
These new believers did not discriminate in their love for other Christians. Paul mentions this in I Thessalonians 4:10. They were showing Christian love to the believers in Macedonia, and he encourages them to keep on moving forward in loving others. These believers had learned the lesson of true Christian love and it was evident in their actions.
I John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
What about us? What is the lesson we need to take away from this passage? It is the same as it was for the church at Thessalonica. We are to love other believers. We are not to discriminate for any reason. It is only natural that there will be some believers we have more in common with and we will love them more. However, our common bond, the Holy Spirit that dwells within, should produce love that seeks to prefer others above ourselves. It seeks to meet the needs of others. It will stop wagging tongues that gossip about other believers. It will cause us to seek to bond together in prayer and bear one another’s burdens. It will seek the restoration of fallen brothers and sisters. The result of this lesson learned will be great love and harmony among believers, so much so that unbelievers see it and know our faith is real. They will see God in us and among us.
