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“and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith” (1 Thess. 3:2, NKJV)
In His commission, our Lord Jesus calls us not merely to make converts but to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). The primary place for making disciples is the local church. That’s why the risen Lord speaks of “baptizing” new believers. Baptism is the sacrament of initiation into the visible church, God’s covenant community.
The local church has the responsibility to make disciples by “teaching” them the things of Christ. New believers are babes in Christ and are entrusted to the incubator of the local church to develop them as disciples. Many of Paul’s letters are addressed to congregations to remind them of this charge and how to go about it.
For example, he urges the church at Colossae: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:6–8).
This speaks not to a simple discipleship course or a one-time introduction. Rather, it describes a life-long endeavor, fostered through involvement with the local church. To the church at Ephesus, Paul described the role of pastor as one of shepherding with an eye to protect, provide, and guide the sheep through equipping them for kingdom service. The goal is spiritual maturity (Eph. 4:11-16; cf. Acts 20:28). The pastor engages the body for the development of disciples (2 Tim. 2:1-2).
Paul was deeply concerned for the spiritual wellbeing of the saints. The book of Acts records his return to congregations he established to check up on them. “And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’ So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:21–23).
So it is no surprise that Paul sent Timothy back to the church at Thessalonica to check up on them. “Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ” (1 Thess. 3:1-2a). Paul longed for their welfare and knew full well the efforts of the evil one to undermine his work, particularly in the face of persecution.
What was Timothy’s mission? He says he sent Timothy to them “to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this” (1 Thess. 3:1–3).
Paul describes Timothy’s mission in two terms, strengthen and encourage them in the faith. Strengthen carries the sense of reinforcing or making more firm. Encouraging relates to comforting or inspiring, urging them on.
How might Timothy do this? Likely through teaching. Doubts, fears, confusion and other assailants to our faith are addressed through being reminded of the gospel of the kingdom. Wavering faith needs to be shored up and reinforced with the truth of God’s word to ward off the fiery darts of our enemy, the devil.
Why is a community of faith so important to our spiritual wellbeing?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
