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1 THESSALONIANS

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (1 Thessalonians)

Along with Paul’s letter to the Galatians, his first letter to the Thessalonians is one of the two oldest of his letters. Written only twenty years after Jesus’ Resurrection, it was addressed to the believers in Thessalonica, a mega-city of about two hundred thousand people. Renamed Salonika, the city thrives today.

Following his miraculous deliverance from a Philippian prison (Acts 16), Paul arrived in Thessalonica. There, he started a church, appointed elders, and helped the ministry to take root—all in the space of three weeks (Acts 17:2).

Curious about how the Thessalonians were doing, and wanting to encourage them concerning the Lord’s coming, Paul writes the letters before us, wherein he:

• Remembers the Thessalonians’ past in chapters 1--3 as he recalls how he lived among them and shared with them in close communion;

• Refocuses their present in the first part of chapter 4 as he encourages them to love with brotherly affection;

• Reveals their future in the second half of chapter 4 and the first part of chapter 5 as he speaks to them of the Rapture and of heavenly expectation;

• Refines their walk in the last part of chapter 5 through a series of practical exhortations; and

• Reinforces his teaching concerning the Second Coming in 2 Thessalonians.

In these last days, as we study Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, may the Lord refocus our vision of the big picture—the hope of heaven.