1 Thess. 1:5-7; 1 Tim. 4:12-16, The Power of Example

Let’s consider the Importance of example in the home.

·        Jacob favored 2 of his 12 sons; for what it's worth his parents played favorites between him & his brother.

·        Amnon raped his half-sister; for what it's worth, his father committed adultery.

·        Absalom murdered his bro; for what it's worth, his father murdered a man.

·        The Rechabites would not take wine when offered by Jeremiah; for what it's worth, that has been the tradition of their ancestors for generations.

·        Timothy had a sincere faith; for what it's worth it dwelt first in his grandmother and then in his mother.

·        The OT predicted that the sins of the father would be visited on the 3rd & 4th generations.

It is no different in the Body of Christ and in the relationship of one local church to another.  We are called to be blameless. 

·        Heb 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19: it's who Christ is.

·        Eph. 1:4: it's why God chose us.

·        Eph. 5:27: it's why Christ died for us.

·        Col. 1:22: it's why Christ reconciled us.

·        Jude 24; Rev. 14:5: it's our destiny.

·        Phil 2:15: it's our best testimony.

To be a church that sets an example for others to follow we must be willing to follow the example of those who have gone become us.  That is what we see in the Church at Thessalonica.


First Paul refers to his own example among them (v5).  What Paul says tells me two things.  For one, he lived his life publicly, before others.  He was visible to others.  He wasn’t locked up in his study all day.  In another place (1 Tim. 4:12) he reminded the young Timothy to be an example in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity.  To do that you have to be with the people who need the example.


For another thing, if you are going to follow someone’s example you have to be with them.  Paul was an example for your sake, meaning he was committed to them and their sanctification.  For him to be their example they had to avail themselves of his ministry; they had to be willing to be with him.  That’s the point of the fellowship of believers. Through fellowship we encounter examples of Christ that encourage us.

Second Paul refers to the mimicry of the Thessalonians (v6; 2:14).  The word followers is the Greek word from which we get the term mimic.  We are called to follow Christ so the example we follow must be like Paul who called people to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).  A. W. Tozer emphasized this:

That terrible zone of confusion (about what is "worldly") so evident in the whole life of the Christian community could be cleared up in one day if the followers of Christ would begin to follow Christ instead of each other.  For our Lord was very plain in His teaching about the believer and the world. (Divine Conquest, p112)

To find examples like this we need to look for people who have been faithful to Christ through trials.  The Thessalonians received Paul’s ministry in much affliction.  He, of course, had been faithful through a lot of persecution, included some in Thessalonica; he was an ideal example for the Thessalonians.


Where can we look for good examples?  Look to God (Eph. 5:1).  The question, what would Jesus do, is good to ask as long as we find the answer in God’s word.  Then we say, look to the Old Testament for both the good and bad examples (1 Cor. 10:6,11).  We should also look to leaders (elders, deacons) in the church (2 Th. 3:9; 1 Tim. 4:12).  And we should look to faithful brothers in Christ (Heb. 6:12).  We find them in our own local church.  And may I also encourage you to find them in the history of the Church.  A good book on Church History can be a great read.


So Paul set an example.  The Thessalonians followed Paul’s example.  Then they became examples to others (v7).  They didn’t showboat their example, like the Pharisees who did all their works just to be seen (Mt. 6:1ff).  But they were models.  Just as we need to follow people who follow Christ, so we need to follow Christ so others have something of value to see in us that will lead them closer to Christ.


The word in 1 Th. 1:7 for example is the Greek tupos meaning a type.  It is used of someone like Isaac who was a type of Christ.  In other words Isaac appeared earlier to give people in his time an idea of what the Christ would be like.  So we can be a type of Christ, an image of what Christ is like so that others will be drawn to Him.  Let us commit to living the life of Christ before others that they might desire Christ!