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Our text is 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Paul, Silas, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

We trust you have been blessed by scripture during this season of Lent and Easter. Today, we return to our traditional Wilderness Wanderings format, with short reflections on scripture, this time working our way through the first letter to the Thessalonian church.

Paul modelled his letter writing after the common formats of his day. However, he often tweaked them to indicate something of his intention in writing to a particular church. Here, he writes that this church is \u201cin God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d

The use of this preposition picks up a theme which Jesus introduced to his disciples. It conjures the image of a fish in water, of humans in the earth\u2019s atmosphere, of a worm in the earth. These creatures die if them spend too much time outside their environment.

Jesus spoke about his disciples being in him like branches in a vine. To other churches Paul wrote about the Christian life \u201cbeing hidden with Christ in God\u201d. As Christians, we draw our life from God himself. Not just as individuals, He is the source of the church\u2019s communal life. The early Christians did not envision the solitary devotion of the modern Christian. Not having Bible\u2019s in their homes, reading and studying it was a communal activity.

Notice that the Father and the Son are equal in giving life to the church. This pairing, which in other places also includes the Holy Spirit, eventually gave rise to the doctrine of the Trinity. The Christian churches live in the environment of the Triune God.

We are not told why Paul addresses this church in this way, but we can make an educated guess. It was still a young church, all the members recently switching allegiance from pagan gods to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Already, there was strong opposition to those adhering to this new religion. The church, as yet, had no structures as we know them today. No history in which to root herself. They were like freshly planting saplings, easily uprooted, knocked over, crushed. How could this young church survive in hostile conditions?

Paul\u2019s answer is that they are the ones gathered in the Father and the Son. They may live in Thessalonica, and they may be subjects of the Roman Emperor, but their strength and security is not found in the city or in Rome. Their source of life is God himself. Paul does not put any conditions to receiving life from God. All who believe in Jesus live in him. That was true when this letter was written, and it is true today.

And being in God, they receive his peace and grace. God\u2019s peace is not the absence of conflict, but the fullness of health and harmony through reconciliation with God and with each other. God\u2019s grace is his free, undeserved favour through Christ which confers this peace and sustains it. These are the gifts of God for his church. What ever troubles and tribulations we encounter, Paul wants us to know, that God has us. He will not let go.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together\u2014spirit, soul, and body\u2014and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he\u2019ll do it! The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you! (1 Thessalonians 5:23,24,28 The Message).