And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints [1 Thess. 3:12–13]. Abound in love. Abound means exceed, and love is the Greek agape. In this epistle, love is seen only in action—labour of love. It is not affection, but an active seeking of the welfare of another. To the end—love has a purpose; it is not an end in itself. He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness—the desired end of their love for one another is that they would develop a character of holiness. If you were tried in court for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? We are going to appear before Him someday, and He is going to judge our works. This may terrify you, but He also is going to judge our character as believers and determine the reward we will receive. My Christian friend, what kind of a life are you living today? At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. Most schools of thought would agree that this verse indicates that the saints are going to come with Christ when He comes to the earth to establish His kingdom. But this verse also seems to indicate that He doesnt reward them until that time when He comes to the earth to establish His kingdom. Yet many of us believe that believers will come before the judgment seat of Christ before that; that is, we believe that when He takes the church out of the world, the world enters the Great Tribulation Period, and then He comes to establish His kingdom at the end of the Great Tribulation Period. So the question naturally arises: When is He going to present us unblameable in holiness before God? Is it when He takes the church out of the world? Or, will it be at the time He comes to the earth to establish His kingdom? The answer depends upon our understanding of this phrase, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. There are different Greek words for coming or appearing. The first of these words is epiphaneia; we get our word epiphany from it. The first coming of Christ was an epiphany. It has the idea of a shining through. The King James translation uses the word appeared: For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men (Titus 2:11). The Lord Jesus came in person as a little Babe in Bethlehem more than twenty hundred and thirteen years ago. It was a breaking through, a shining through of the Lord. It was His epiphany. This word can be used of His first coming or His coming to take the church out of the world or His coming to set up His kingdom. All three have the idea of a breaking through, a shining through, and the actual presence of the Lord Jesus. A second Greek word is apokalupsis, which means a revelation or an unveiling. That is actually the name of the Book of Revelation. One could hardly call His first coming an unveiling, because actually His glory was veiled in human flesh when He was born in Bethlehem. It was like the shekinah glory in the tabernacle of the Old Testament which was back in the Holy of Holies where only the high priest was allowed to enter. There was a veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle. When the Lord Jesus was here the first time, His glory did not show forth; it was veiled in human flesh. When He comes again, His glory will shine forth. So this is a word that refers to His second coming. The third Greek word is parousia. It literally means presence or being alongside. It is commonly translated coming, but it actually means presence. We use coming in that same way today. I have been introduced to an audience with the words, We are thankful for the coming of Br. Johnson. I wasnt coming at that time: I was already there. It means that I was present, sitting on the platform, and they were happy that I had come. Sometimes in the King James translation, parousia is translated as presence and sometimes as coming. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only … (Phil. 2:12). In 1 Thessalonians 2:19 as well as in the verse we are considering, parousia is translated coming. Therefore, at the coming of our Lord Jesus refers to the fact that believers are going to be present with the Lord Jesus at the very moment that we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. He will take us home to glory, to the place that He has prepared for us. So that this coming does not refer to the return of the Lord with His saints to establish His kingdom, but to our coming to heaven into the presence of the Father. We have the same thought in 1 Thessalonians 2:19:For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? We will come into the presence of the Lord Jesus and at that time will be presented unblameable in holiness before God.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 07:41:40 +0000
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