2. 1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-3
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the
assembly of Thessalonians in God
the Father and the Lord Jesus,
the Messiah. Grace to you, and peace.
We always give thanks to God for all of you
as we make mention of you in our prayers.
We constantly remember the accomplish-
ment of your faith, the hard work of your
love, and the patience of your hope in our
Lord Jesus the Messiah, in the presence
of God our father.
3. 1 THESSALONIANS 1:4-6
Dear family, beloved by God, we know
that God has chosen you, because our
gospel didn’t come to you in word only,
but in power, and in the holy spirit,
and in great assurance. You know what
sort of people we became for your sake,
when we were among you. And you
learned how to copy us – and the Lord!
When you received the word, you had
a lot to suffer, but you also had
the holy spirit’s joy.
4. 1 THESSALONIANS 1:7-8
As a result, you became a model for all
the believers in Macedonia and Achaea.
For the word of the Lord has resonated
out from you, not only in Macedonia and
Achaea; your faith in God has gone out
to people everywhere. This means we
haven’t had to say anything.
5. 1 THESSALONIANS 1:9-10
They themselves tell the story
of the kind of welcome we had
from you, and how you turned
to God from idols, to serve the
living and true God, and to wait
for his son from heaven, whom
he raised from the dead – Jesus,
who delivers (rescues) us from
the coming fury (wrath.)
6. N.T. WRIGHT
…”wrath” or “fury,” the strange
and dark reaction of a loving and
holy God to all that distorts and
defaces his world.
(People sometimes ask how a
loving God can also be angry.
Looking back at the inhumane and
brutal 20th century, one has to say
that a good and loving God must
be angry when faced w/wickedness.)
11. why a God who IS love and
HAS wrath is good news
12. JONATHAN EDWARDS
The God that holds you over the pit
of Hell, much as one holds a spider,
or some loathsome insect, over the fire,
abhors you and is dreadfully provoked;
his wrath towards you burns like fire;
he looks upon you as worthy of nothing
else but to be cast into the fire; he is of
purer eyes than to bear to have you in his
sight; you are ten thousand times so
abominable in his eyes as the most
hateful venomous serpent is in ours.July 8, 1741
13. THE QUESTION BECOMES:
Is that true?
Is that really what God is like?
Is Edwards’ picture of God accurate?
How do we know?
14. BRIAN ZAHND
In the Old Testament God is
portrayed as both quick to anger
and slow to anger. It’s Jesus who
settles the dispute…God is like
Jesus. God has always been like
Jesus. There has never been a time
when God was not like Jesus;
we haven’t always known this,
but now we do.
15. HEBREWS 1:1-3a
Long ago God spoke to our
ancestors in many and various
ways by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken
to us by a Son, whom he
appointed heir of all things,
and through whom he also
made the universe. He is the
reflection of God’s glory
and of the exact imprint
of God’s very being…
16.
17.
18. GREG BOYD
…the “flat view of the Bible”
(holds that) Jesus’s revelation
of God is placed on the same
level as all other biblical depictions
of God…(but) the Bible itself
instructs us to base our mental
representations of God solely on
Jesus Christ…nothing in Scripture
should ever be interpreted in a
way that qualifies or competes
with his revelation of God.
20. GOD’S LOVE
an ontological reality
revealing the very nature
and character of God
and the Trinity’s posture
towards ONE ANOTHER,
ALL of humanity
and ALL of creation
at ALL times and
in ALL places
i.e. inherently who
God ALWAYS is
21. BRIAN ZAHND
God does not hate you,
and God will never harm you.
But your own sin, if you
do not turn away from it,
will bring you great harm.
The wisdom (acknowledging)
this fact is what we call the
fear of God. Sin is deadly,
but God is love.
23. FLEMING RUTLEDGE
The wrath of God is not an emotion
that flares up from time to time,
as though God had temper
tantrums; it is a way of describing
his absolute enmity against
all wrong and his coming
to set matters right.
24. FLEMING RUTLEDGE
Because justice is such a central
part of God’s nature, he has
declared enmity against every
form of injustice. His wrath will
come upon those who have
exploited the poor and weak;
he will not permit his purpose
to be subverted.’
25. BRIAN ZAHND
The wrath of God is a biblical
metaphor (that we aren’t meant
to literalize…it’s a metaphor) to
describe the very real
consequences we suffer from
trying to go through life
against the grain of love.
26. BRIAN ZAHND
…we (all) suffer the inevitable
consequences of acting
against love. We can call this
wrath…the Bible does, but
that doesn’t mean that God
literally loses (God’s) temper
(anymore than God) literally
sleeps, even though the Bible
says, “The Lord awoke as
from sleep.” (Psalm 78:65)
27. GOD’S WRATH
a biblical metaphor
describing God’s:
(a) anger towards sinful
idolatry and injustice, and
(b) God’s eventual consent
to our self-destructive
rebellion/defiance, but
always with an eye towards
restoration and forgiveness
i.e. occasionally something
God HAS or PRACTICES
28. Your new moons and your appointed festivals
my soul hates; they have become a burden to
me, I am weary of bearing them. When you
stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes
from you; even though you make many
prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full
of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves
clean; remove the evil of your doings from
before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do
good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed…
ISAIAH 1:14-17 (a)
29. Your princes are rebels and companions
of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs
after gifts. They do not defend the orphan,
and the widow’s cause does not come
before them. Therefore says the Sovereign,
the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
Ah, I will pour out my wrath on my enemies,
and avenge myself on my foes!
I will turn my hand against you…
ISAIAH 1:23-25a (a)
30. I will smelt away your dross as with lye and
remove all your alloy. And I will restore your
judges as at the first, and your counselors
as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be
called the city of righteousness, the faithful
city. Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and
those in her who repent, by righteousness.
ISAIAH 1:25b-27a (a)
31. COLIN E. GUNTON
…God’s justice is not primarily his
punitive act but his purpose to see
that right prevail…the wrath of God
…is the form that holy love takes
when it is rejected, and it involves
the rejection of the actions of those
who put themselves outside the
love of God (in order to bring them
effectively back “into” it again!)
32. See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.
Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their
violence descends.
PSALM 7:14-16 (b)
33.
34. are we able to accurately discern when/where/
how God’s wrath is expressed or meted out?
35. QUESTION:
Were the victims of Hurricane Harvey
experiencing the wrath of God?
If so, why? And then what?
37. MY ANSWER:
I generally don’t think we’re able to
accurately discern when/where/how
God’s wrath is meted out, so it’s best
to take a position of humility
and trust in God’s loving character
to ultimately do what is good and just
while we, too, seek justice for all…
38. FLEMING RUTLEDGE
If, when we see an injustice, our
blood does not boil at some point,
we have not yet understood the
depths of God. It depends on what
outrages us. To be outraged on
behalf of oneself or one’s own group
alone is to be human, but it is not to
participate in Christ. To be outraged
and to take action on behalf of the
voiceless and oppressed, however,
is to do the work of God.
39. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away, …And I heard a loud voice from
the throne saying, “See, the home of God is
among mortals. He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples, and God himself
will be with them; he will wipe every tear
from their eyes…for the first things have
passed away.”
REVELATION 21:1-4
40. why a God who IS love and
HAS wrath is good news
41. One of the scribes…asked him,
“Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered, “The first is: ‘Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’ The second is this:
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment
greater than these.”
MARK 12
