Paul prays that God would “fill in the gaps” for the Thessalonians by strengthening their hearts in love. He says this will make them “blameless in holiness.” What’s the connection between holiness and spiritual development?
Scripture:
1 Chronicles, chapters 22-24; 1 Thessalonians, chapter 3
1 Thessalonians 3:6-13 (CEB):
Now Timothy has returned to us from you and has given us good news about your faithfulness and love! He says that you always have good memories about us and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. Because of this, brothers and sisters, we were encouraged in all our distress and trouble through your faithfulness. For now we are alive if you are standing your ground in the Lord.
How can we thank God enough for you, given all the joy we have because of you before our God? Night and day, we pray more than ever to see all of you in person and to complete whatever you still need for your faith. Now may our God and Father himself guide us on our way back to you. May the Lord cause you to increase and enrich your love for each other and for everyone in the same way as we also love you. May the love cause your hearts to be strengthened, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his people. Amen.
Observations: Filling in the Gaps
Paul is writing to the Thessalonians from Athens (see 3:1). In Acts chapter 17, we see that when Paul left Thessalonica, he went to Berea (Acts 17:10). From Berea, he went on to Athens. Acts 17 tells us what Paul did while in Athens; 1 Thessalonians 3 shows us that Paul was still thinking about the new believers he had left behind in Thessalonica.
Timothy encourages Paul with the news he brings from Thessalonica: good news about your faithfulness and love. Paul is excited about this, because he was concerned about the spiritual health and development of those who came to faith in Christ through Paul’s ministry there. As he says in verse 10, he wants to return and to complete whatever you still need for your faith. Obviously, Paul does not think that they have “arrived” spiritually! He wants God to “fill in the gaps,” and he wants to help them in that process. What does Paul say about holiness and spiritual development in this passage?
A Prayer for Spiritual Development
He closes this passage with a prayer. First, he prays that our God and Father himself guide us on our way back to you. Paul left Thessalonica because of threats and agitation by his opponents there. Therefore, God would need to “prepare the way” for Paul and his group to return. Second, he prays that the Lord cause you to increase and enrich your love for each other and for everyone in the same way as we also love you. Paul’s focus on their love for each other and for everyone else reminds us that love is at the core of Kingdom life.
Finally, he closes his prayer with the desire that their increased love will cause your hearts to be strengthened, to be blameless in holiness before God. One of the key misunderstandings about the nature of holiness relates to its connection with love. John Wesley, the spiritual forefather of my “tribe” of Christians, recognized the connection between love and holiness. Christian holiness means to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Just as these commands sum up all the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 22:40), so they also sum up the call to be holy as God is holy.
Application – Filling in the Gaps: Holiness and Spiritual Development
The common conception of holiness is that it deals with behavior. “We don’t smoke and we don’t chew, and we don’t go with those who do.” It’s interesting that in the New Testament, the Pharisees focused on behavior, while Jesus focused on love. That does not mean that behavior is unimportant; it simply means that God looks on our hearts (see, for example, Luke 16:15). We can do the “right” things for the wrong reasons – to justify ourselves, or to impress others – but God is not impressed.
Paul connects our holiness with an increase in love. There’s a reason why he lists love as the first of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). He also says that “the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). It is only through the Holy Spirit’s work in us that we are capable of truly loving God and others. Apart from the Spirit’s cleansing and empowering presence, we always default to selfish motives and desires. But the Holy Spirit – who cleanses, empowers, and leads us in the truth – enables us to truly love God and neighbor.
God makes us holy; we can’t make ourselves holy. God makes us blameless; we can’t do that, either. Our part in this work is to completely surrender to God, allowing the Spirit to lead us each day. As we walk in obedience, the Holy Spirit empowers us to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). And the Spirit’s work produces fruit in us – “but the fruit of the Spirit is love…” (Galatians 5:22).
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit, who leads us into the truth. The truth is that you call us to love you and to love one another. We can’t do that without the Spirit’s work in us, cleansing our hearts and filling us with your love. Help us to walk in your way today. As the Spirit leads us, you will “fill in the gaps” as we grow and develop spiritually. Bless us with your presence today; increase and enrich our love for you and for each other. Amen.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In