1 Thessalonians 1:8
8 For [gar] from [apo] you [humon] sounded out [execheomai] the word [logos] of the
Lord [kurios] not [ou] only [monon] in [en] Macedonia [Makedonia] and [kai] Achaia, [Achaia] but [alla] also [kai] in [en] every [pas] place [topos] your [humon] faith [pistis] to [pros] God-ward [theos] is spread abroad; [exerchomai] so [hoste] that we [hemas] need [chreia] not [me] [echo] to speak [laleo] any thing. [tis] KJV-Interlinear
8 For the word of the Lord has
sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every
place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say
anything. NASB
Sounded forth, means
the sound of a trumpet that is heard far and wide, and its sound echoes beyond
the immediate place of the trumpet.
In other words, their
Christian faith and daily activities were not spread abroad by means of missionary
service, but simply became obvious and known as a matter of their daily activities.
Their Christian
activities were voluntary in that they pursued them of their own volition. Likewise, their Christian activities were
spread far and wide by involuntary means in that they were observed by
travelers who came through the region, as well as observed by others when the
locals traveled abroad.
So, without any attempt
to bring attention to themselves, they were
noticed.And thus the gospel of Christ
and the message of the scriptures became known to others.
If you notice on a map,
the region of Greece and Turkey were well situated for commerce and travel
between Africa, Asia, Persia (Iran and India and beyond) and Europe. Tremendous traffic went through that region
and as such, Christianity was spread throughout the world in a relatively short
period of time.
Thessalonica became
known near and far, not only for their trade, but for Christianity. And so much so that when Paul traveled, the
reputation of the Thessalonians and Christianity was already known in the
places he visited.
Note quickly, that this
letter to the Thessalonians, may have been the first written
letter of the New Testament.James may
have been written in the late 40 s A.D., but that isn t certain. Therefore, without any formal writings, other
than the Old Testament scriptures. The news of Christ and the crucifixion was
spread far and wide by word of mouth alone.
It was spread by the
Apostles, by others who adopted Christianity as their faith, by hearsay, and
general talk amongst travelers. And from that effort alone, Christianity spread
rapidly.The remaining books of the New
Testament were not formally assembled at the time of this writing (most did not
even exist yet) and would not be assembled as a set of books for several
hundred years.
By comparison, we have tremendous
advantages over those folks, and certainly have no excuses with regard to our
opportunity for advancement in our spiritual life.
The knowledge of
doctrine and the Thessalonians preceded Pauls
travels in his day.How much more so
today, with regard to the awareness and availability of Christianity throughout
the world.Folks today should be far more
advanced in their spiritual lives than folks from the ancient world. And yet we are not. Why is that?
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