Introduction
May the peace of the Lord be with you and your household. Let us give thanks to the eternal God, the Almighty, the one true God, the Creator of all things, the One who formed us, who made us, and who sustains us. To Him, and to Him alone, be the honor and the glory.
In this teaching we are going to study the second characteristic that the apostle Paul identified as a manifestation of the kingdom of God in the community of faith at Thessalonica. To set the proper framework, let us recall that Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians is, as far as we know, the first epistle the apostle wrote, addressed precisely to the community of faith at Thessalonica.
Thessalonica was a city within a region that at that time was part of the province of Macedonia, along with Philippi and other cities in that area. It is important to note that the apostle Paul was in the midst of his second missionary journey. It was the Spirit of God who led him to the northern part of what is today Turkey, and in the city of Troas He gave him a vision—the vision of the Macedonian man pleading, “come over to us and help us.” As a result of that vision, the apostle, together with Timothy and Silas, traveled to this region of Macedonia.
What matters most in all this is that the apostle received from the Lord a revelation that, up to that point, he had not yet grasped, even though it was already contained in the Holy Scriptures: he was called to a work on behalf of the Gentiles. On the first missionary journey, Paul moved primarily among Jewish communities; but on this second journey he is moving entirely among Gentile communities, although, as part of his way of proclaiming the gospel, he always went first to the synagogues of the Jews in each city.
When this community of faith was formed—and as we studied in the previous teaching about what a community of faith is—the apostle experienced a very special manifestation from God. When he writes to them, Paul identifies three characteristics belonging to the Thessalonians. Let us read chapter 1, verse 3, to get our bearings and identify which characteristic we are referring to:
“remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).
Today we are going to study the second characteristic: the labor of love.
The Difference Between “The Work of Your Faith” and “The Labor of Love”
I want to begin by drawing a small distinction between the first characteristic and this second one, because we cannot understand what the apostle means by “labor of love” unless we first compare it with the first. Notice: the first says “work of faith,” and the second, “labor of love.” Both characteristics of this community have to do with action; both refer to concrete actions. The question is: if both have to do with action, why does the apostle use two different expressions to refer to them?
The first, “work of faith,” has to do with an action, but it is a spontaneous action, one that requires no effort and no great struggle; it arises spontaneously. That is why the apostle identifies it as “the work.” In the previous teaching we established that the work of faith has to do with the manifestation of the word and of the Spirit of God that takes place in a person who has been exposed to the word. This is vitally important for us to understand: when a man or a woman is exposed to the word, they cannot remain the same from that moment on. The word has the capacity to impact and to transform.
In the New Testament, the word is presented as a double-edged sword that discerns, that transforms, that pierces (Hebrews 4). That is why the apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God, says in his epistle to the Romans that faith comes by hearing. This is not simply hearing for the sake of hearing, nor words we memorize; it is the impact that the word produces in the person, transforming them. The word is also presented as a washing, a place where the person is cleansed and purified from all impurity.
So, when a man or a woman is exposed to the word, the Spirit of God brings about an impact in such a way that this word transforms the person: they can no longer be the same after having been exposed to it. That is why the apostle refers to this first characteristic as “the work”: it is a spontaneous action—I make no effort, but it arises naturally.
The second characteristic, however, “labor of love,” the word “labor” speaks to us of effort, of initiative, of willingness, of an attitude on the part of the person to do, to establish, to carry something out. Now we can understand the difference between the first and the second: one is spontaneous, while the other has to do with a person’s willingness to act.
Yet the apostle defines it as “labor of love,” not as something imposed. Anything that turns out to be an imposition is no longer of love; it might be a labor of coercion, but never a labor of love. Here we have the combination of both words: yes, it costs me effort, it costs me labor, it costs me a certain amount of fatigue, but I do it out of love, because I want to, because I am doing it for the Lord, because by doing this I am pleasing my Lord. This is the precise definition of what the labor of love is. These are not merely rhetorical words; we must get used to understanding not only the phrases but the words themselves, because each one of them establishes precise meanings.
The Demand of the Spirit for Our Lives
There is something important that we already established in the previous teaching, and I want to re-emphasize it in this second teaching: when we expose ourselves to the word, it is not in order to gather information about what happened with the apostle Paul and the community of faith at Thessalonica. Every time a man or a woman exposes themselves to the word, it is in order to discover, by the Spirit of God, what God’s demand is for us in this time.
We are not looking at a history book, nor at a letter simply to learn what the apostle said and what those people did. We stand before a demand of the Spirit of God. When we read today about the labor of love, we have to keep in mind: what is it that God is demanding of me? That is what we are going to discover in this teaching—how the labor of love is formed and what God is demanding of us. Because if we only discover what this meant for the men and women of the past, we will not have accomplished anything, since the purpose is God’s demand upon our own lives.
Effort to the Point of Agony
We already have a first definition of what the labor of love is: it is my effort, it is my fatigue. The apostle Paul urges Timothy to fight, to labor precisely for the gospel, and the word he uses has to do with “agony”—fight the good fight of faith. In the original Greek it is “agona.” The apostle is saying: exert yourself to the point of agony, that is, until your strength has been completely exhausted.
This is precisely what the apostle identifies in the community of faith at Thessalonica, a brand-new community that nevertheless learned so quickly that, according to chapter 17 of the Acts of the Apostles (I urge you to read it in full), the apostle was there for only three Sabbaths, going first to the synagogue of the Jews and then devoting himself entirely to the Gentiles. In other words, he was among them less than six months. Yet despite such a short time, the community was impacted in such a way that it learned and exceeded the expectations the apostle had for it.
Let us go to chapter 1, verses 5 and 6, to see how the labor of love is formed. Because it is not simply a matter of saying, “Well, I am going to do my labor of love,” because we could end up doing things that God has not asked us to do. We have to understand what the labor of love is and how it is formed. How can I identify that what I am doing is the labor of love? Because, I repeat, we could end up doing things God has not demanded of us. A person who works for God does not necessarily mean having a completely full schedule. The labor of love does not mean a completely full schedule, one that leaves no room for anything else. It is about understanding and identifying what it is that God demands of us.
“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
“You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
Here we begin to realize how the labor of love developed in this community. The community of faith at Thessalonica developed it in two ways. The first is the word: verse 5 clearly states that they did not receive words only, but also power through the Holy Spirit. A man or woman of God brings power through the word, by the Holy Spirit.
Modeled Through Example
But there is a second aspect, a very important one, that many times we fail to consider, because we have developed attitudes that are not in line with the word of God. Notice verse 6: “you also became imitators of us.” The community of faith at Thessalonica—and not only that one, but the one we are studying tonight—was formed on the basis of imitation. In other words, they were modeled by Paul, by Silas, and by Timothy, who are the ones mentioned in verse 1. How did they learn? By being modeled.
This is very important for us to understand, because part of the transmission of the gospel does not consist only of preached or taught words, but above all of being modeled. Sadly, many teachings and many sermons have been lost to us because we have not wanted to be modeled through the involvement of other people. Teaching is shared not only through words, but above all through the example of those who are establishing the word.
Verse 6, then, gives us the key to understanding what the apostle was referring to: “you also became imitators of us”—they were modeled. In order to understand the labor of love, we must look at the example modeled by the apostle Paul. From here we are going to discover how the labor of love is formed, through three characteristics that answer the question: how can I identify a true labor of love?
This question matters because, as I mentioned, we could end up doing things God has not asked of us, with a completely full schedule, and in the end it turns out to be work without meaning, work without value. When we read 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle begins by saying: if I speak with tongues, if I give my body to be burned, if I give all my goods to feed the poor, but I do not have love, I become like sounding brass or a clanging cymbal, and nothing more—mere noise, but without fruit, without result, without substance.
If I give my body to be burned but I do not do it out of love—that is, because God has determined that this is what He wants me to do—what I end up doing is a social work, a philanthropic work, a cause that, spiritually speaking, will produce no result, neither in me nor in those toward whom I direct it. It is very important for us to understand this: the labor of love is not activity for activity’s sake; it is doing precisely what the Lord wants us to do.
First Evidence: Persistence in Carrying Out the Proclamation of the Gospel
There are three characteristics that the apostle, by the Spirit of God, presents in this first epistle to identify the true labor of love. Let us go to chapter 2, verses 1 and 2:
“For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. But even after we had already suffered and been spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2).
The first evidence, or manifestation, of a true labor of love is that there is persistence—hear this well—persistence in carrying out the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Let me repeat: persistence in carrying out the proclamation of the message of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. I emphasize “carrying out,” because I could have said “persistence in proclaiming,” but let us remember that both the work of faith and the labor of love have to do with action. If I said “persistence in proclaiming,” I would be canceling out the effect of the action, which is very important.
The apostle is recalling what had happened in the previous city, Philippi. I urge you to read chapter 16 of the Acts of the Apostles. There, in Philippi—the first city of Macedonia—Paul and his companions meet Lydia, a seller of purple from Thyatira, and they stay at her house. One afternoon, at the hour of prayer, they encounter a girl possessed by a spirit of divination, and the apostle rebukes the spirit, which leaves her immediately. For the first time up to that point, the apostle confronts a deliverance of the kind he himself identifies in Ephesians 6:12: principalities, powers, spiritual hosts of wickedness, rulers of darkness, spiritual forces of evil.
What happened next? They were seized, dragged before the magistrates, and according to Acts 16, they were beaten with rods—not only Paul, but Silas as well—and thrown into the inner prison, with their feet fastened in the stocks. Being beaten with rods means they received blows on their backs; and having their feet in the stocks means they were lying down, with their wounded backs pressed against the floor.
This is very important for us to understand. That very night the earthquake occurred, and we know the story of the conversion of the jailer of Philippi. Right after that they were sent away from the city, and that is how they came to Thessalonica. Let us read verses 1 and 2 again: “For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. But even after we had already suffered and been spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold.”
I went through this whole account so that we would realize that the apostle, Silas, and even Timothy did not arrive at Thessalonica in their best physical condition. They arrived beaten, bruised, wounded, mistreated. And yet, when they get to Thessalonica, instead of looking for a place to rest, instead of seeking recovery, instead of seeking medical care to heal, “we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.”
How do I discover the labor of love? When I persist in something even though I am not in the best condition to carry it out. I emphasize again: the labor of love is not a social work, it is not a cause, it is not whatever happens to occur to us. It has to do with the message of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven; it has to do with exerting ourselves, with pressing forward even against ourselves when we are not in condition or able to do something, pushing ourselves to do it anyway. Why? Because this is what I am doing for the Lord.
How do I know I am carrying out a labor of love? When I persist despite not being in condition. Let us now turn to the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans, chapter 1, verse 14:
“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise” (Romans 1:14).
Notice how the apostle defines himself before God. Of course, he is not writing this to impress or to make an impact on a community; he is defining himself in his commitment to God: “I, before God—not before people—am a debtor; I feel myself a debtor.” Why? Because a necessity has been laid upon him. Let us now go to 1 Corinthians 9:16:
“For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
“Necessity is laid upon me.” How can I discover a true labor of love? When I persist in what the Lord has demanded of me. How many of us, sadly, have sought our own benefit first before fulfilling what God has commanded us to do? “I have nothing to boast of, because a necessity has been laid upon me by the Lord.” This is my labor of love. That is why we said it matters: because it is labor, because it is effort, because there is involvement.
The apostle writes to Timothy that the farmer, in order to receive the benefits, must work first; he must exert himself, dedicate himself, give time and a great deal of labor. That is precisely why it is called labor of love: it is of love because I am not doing it to boast of myself, nor to receive benefits from what I do, but because I am doing it as for the Lord.
It is very important for us to understand this point, because we could end up getting involved in many activities and, in the long run, discover that none of it produced any benefit; that none of it caused us to grow, to mature, to stand firm in the faith, but rather, on the contrary, it took something away from us, it held us back, it stopped us, and we could not move forward in what the Lord had determined for each one of us. The demand the Spirit of God places on us is not to get involved for the sake of being involved, nor to work for the sake of working, nor to do for the sake of doing, but to ask: what does the Lord want me to do?
In fact, when Paul was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, the two questions the apostle asked the Lord directed his entire ministry for the rest of his life. The first was, “Who are You, Lord?” and Jesus answered him, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” But the second question, “what do You want me to do?” was the one that directed his entire life, not only as a man of faith but also as a man with a ministry. At every moment of his life, the Lord showed him what He was demanding; and whenever Paul discovered what God wanted, he persisted.
Let us hold on to this word: persistence, persistence, persistence. It is not once, not twice, not three times, not four times, not even ten times. Persistence when things do not work out, when things are not as we thought or planned them. Persistence even when there is opposition, even when there is resistance, even when, on our own, we do not have the desire or the drive, even when there is a lack of motivation. Persistence, persistence, persist, persist: persistence in doing what the Lord has demanded of us. This is the labor of love.
We are discovering, by the Spirit of God and not by our own ability, that the labor of love has to do with persistence. It is labor, it is effort; I have to keep insisting, insisting, insisting, insisting, because it is not going to be easy. Remember how many times the disciples asked Jesus how many times they should forgive—seven times? And Jesus told them, no, seventy times seven. With this we see that a man or woman of faith must remain in persistence. In fact, faith is persistence. It is not one, two, or three failed attempts; it is persistence.
Second Evidence: Not Depending on Resources
Let us now go to verses 9 and 10 of chapter 2:
“For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
The second manifestation, the second evidence of a true labor of love, of a real labor of love, is not depending on resources. “You remember, brethren, our labor and toil, laboring night and day.” The apostle is not exaggerating; we might think he is making things sound bigger in order to impress or to make an impact, but that is not so. That is exactly what happened.
Let us go for a moment to Philippians 4:12:
“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:12).
The apostle is speaking in real terms, without trying to impress anyone. Not depending on resources is the second manifestation of a labor of love: if you are doing it for the Lord, if it is for the Lord, there has to be an effort, but an effort that leads you even to not depend on the things you have. If God said it, God will do it. If God wants me to do this, I will do it, even if I have to go on foot.
In 2 Corinthians 11:9, the apostle again makes reference to this same point, on this occasion writing to the community of faith at Corinth:
“And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself” (2 Corinthians 11:9).
If God called you, if God told you to do something, we cannot depend on resources, nor can we go so far as to say, “Since I don’t have the resources, I can’t do it.” It is for the Lord; that is why it is called the labor of love. In verse 6 of chapter 1, Paul acknowledges that the Thessalonians became imitators of them: they were able to see the effort that Paul and his companions made, and they did exactly the same. The labor of love has to do with the effort we make for the Lord; therefore, when we are diligent to do what the Lord has commanded, even when we have no resources, the Lord provides the resources.
This is the lesson Abraham established. His son Isaac, who had accompanied his father—it was not the first time he had accompanied him to other sacrifices—said to him, “Father, we have the wood, we have the fire, but we are missing the lamb. Where is the sacrifice that we are going to offer to the Lord?” And Abraham, in that same spirit modeled by the apostle Paul, answered him, “The Lord will provide the lamb.”
Could we be guided by this word? The Lord will provide. It is not a matter of checking our bank accounts to see whether or not we have the means before doing something. That is why it is called the labor of love: there is an effort, there is labor, there is fatigue, there is exhaustion, even to the point of not depending on material resources.
All the cases we see in the Old and New Testaments have one unique, singular characteristic: there are no resources; that is the only thing they have. If we look at the two occasions on which Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fish, very few realized this, even though they were participants in it. On one occasion Jesus asks His disciples, “How many loaves do you have?” Let us start from what we have, from the effort we can make, and the Lord will provide the lamb, my son. In fact, on Mount Sion it was established, from that moment on, as a saying: God will provide the lamb.
Second manifestation, second evidence of a true labor of love: we do not depend on resources. My labor is out of love, it is of love, and therefore, even if I have to walk, I will do it.
Third Evidence: Continuing to Do What We Have Been Taught
Now let us move on to the third manifestation, the third evidence. Let us go to 1 Thessalonians 4, and read from verse 9 through verse 12:
“But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another, and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more, that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12).
The third manifestation, the third evidence of a true labor of love, of a real labor of love, is continuing to do what we have been demanded to do; continuing to do what we have been taught to do. When a man or a woman of God is exposed to the word, it is not the word of the day, nor the word of the week, nor the emphasis of the month. When a man or a woman is exposed to the word and receives instruction from the Lord, it is the teaching for a whole lifetime, the teaching for my entire existence. Keep doing what you were told to do.
The apostle tells them, “we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more.” He does not tell them they have already achieved it, nor that they are already specialists, nor that they should now move on to something else, to another activity. No—what they already learned, multiply it and keep doing it, multiplying it more and more. Keep doing what the Lord has impacted us with, what the Lord has established as His demand upon us.
In one of His teachings about His second coming, Jesus declares at the end that blessed are those whom, when their Lord comes, He finds doing so. This is not the teaching of one day, or two, or three days; it is not the teaching of a week, or a month, or even a year. It is not a one-year project; it is the teaching of continuous, ongoing, constant living for as long as we remain on the face of the earth. Keep doing so.
Conclusion: A Community Dignified by Its Labor of Love
First Thessalonians has only five chapters, at least as it appears in our Bibles. Back then it had no chapters or verses; it was a letter, an epistle. But in such a small space, the apostle sets forth a powerful teaching. In this newly formed community of faith he identified three characteristics: the work of faith, the labor of love, and the patience of hope. With these three characteristics, the apostle dignifies a community that, in its time, gave everything, risked everything, and exposed itself to everything.
Why do I say this? Because when we get to chapter 4, starting at verse 13, we discover that the apostle speaks to them about those who have fallen asleep. This is not a doctrinal topic presented simply to teach it; it is that, as part of the work of faith, as part of the labor of love and the patience of hope, many died, many lost their lives. For the Thessalonians it was not easy, just as it was not easy for the apostle. It was not easy; there were those who lost their lives. But, at the end of it all, they received a dignifying recognition. This community of faith was marked by the work of faith, the labor of love, and the patience of hope.
We have been exposed to the word, and as always, we have two options. The first is to present ourselves to be impressed: “what an amazing community, look at everything that happened to them,” and to remain with the word merely as a story. The second option is to present ourselves so as to see in it the demand of the Spirit of God for our lives. That is God’s purpose: not that we have a historical knowledge of what happened, but that we have a demand from the Spirit of God.
What is your labor of love? What is our labor of love? What is it that God is demanding of us today? Are you a minister? Then honor your ministry. Are you not in the ministry? You are a man, you are a woman of faith: what is the demand the Lord is making of you? What is the demand of the Spirit of God? Each one of us has to discover it, because all of us—hear this well—all of us, with a ministry or without a ministry, have a demand from the Lord. All of us. The problem is that many times we do not open our hearts so that the Lord may open our understanding and declare to us what that demand is.
One demand, the labor of love: “whatever you do”—the apostle Paul writes—“do it as for God, and do it out of love.” That is our labor. The peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.
Review Questions
1. What is the difference between “the work of your faith,” which arises spontaneously, and “the labor of love,” which involves effort and willingness? Why is it important to distinguish between the two? 2. This chapter presents three evidences of a true labor of love: persistence in proclaiming the gospel, not depending on resources, and continuing to do what we have been taught. In what ways does each of these evidences show up—or should it show up—in your own life of faith?
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