Past Week’s ReviewTIMOTHY WAS SENT TO THE THESSALONIANS TO “ESTABLISH
and encourage you in your faith” (v.2). The Thessalonians’ faith is a
key focus in 1 Thessalonians 3: “your faith” is repeated five times
(1 Thess 3:2, 5, 6, 7, 10). A key action towards our faith is “establish”
(stērizō). Stērizō means “to cause someone to become stronger in the
sense of more firm and unchanging in attitude or belief ”9. Our faith is
established in three ways.
We establish ourselves in our faith. The primary building block in
establishing our faith is the Word of God: “So faith comes from hearing,
and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). The object of
faith is God. Faith in God grows out of knowing God. Who God is, is
represented by what God says. How do we trust in God? By trusting in
His Word, where He has revealed Himself. So, devoting time and effort
to get into and grow in the Word of God is a critical necessity.
We establish one another’s faith. Faith building is a community
endeavour, as Paul said to the Roman Christians: “that we may be mutually
encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Rom 1:12). We
do this “through the encouragement of the Scriptures” (Rom 15:4) and by
sharing our personal faith journey.
God establishes us in our faith. Trials and suffering are key divine
means in this: “After” we “have suffered for a little while”, God will
“restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” us (1 Pet 5:10). How will
God answer our prayer, “Lord, increase my faith” (Lk 17:5)?