1 Thessalonians 1Background

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. Greece

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).

Guzik

“This letter is interesting because it is among the first of those which have been written by Paul. It was the first he wrote to European Christians, and in it the fundamental things of the Christian life are very clearly set forth.

a. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: he usually did not work all by himself. Whenever he could, Paul worked with a team. Here Paul mentioned the men he worked with.

i. Silvanus (also known as Silas) was a long and experienced companion of Paul. He was set free with Paul in the Philippian jail (Acts 16:19–30). When Paul first came to Thessalonica, Silas came with him (Acts 17:1–9). Therefore, the Thessalonians knew Silvanus well..

Timothy was a very young man at this time and joined the team from his hometown of Lystra (Acts 16:1–3), the product of a Jewish mother (his father was a Greek unbeliever) and a faithful grandmother (2 Tim 1:5). He became a virtual son to Paul,

b. To the church of the Thessalonians: Paul himself founded the church in Thessalonica on his second missionary journey (found in Acts 17:1–9).

Acts 17:1–9 (NLT)

1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

8 The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.

9 So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

He was only in the city a short time because he was forced out by enemies of the Gospel. Yet the church of the Thessalonians continued alive and active. Though Paul had to suddenly leave this young church, his deep concern for them promted this letter.

After only three weekends of prosperous ministry (Acts 17:2), he had to flee from an angry mob. He moved on to Berea—again enjoying several weeks of ministry, but soon driven out by the same Thessalonian mob.

This letter presupposes a basic truth: Paul thought it important, (even essential) to organize these young converts into a sustainable church. Paul “knew better than to leave this young church with nothing more than the vague memory of his preaching. The church was primitive, but evidently it was sufficient to maintain itself and carry on the business of the church, when the guiding hand of paul was removed.

1 Thessalonians 1:1 (c)

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul begins his second epistle the same way he began his first (Galatians 1:3). It is also the way he would begin his subsequent epistles to the Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, and the Colossians. He links grace with peace. Man cannot experience peace until he receives God’s grace because true peace is the result of an understanding that our salvation rests on what God has done rather than on what we do on our own.

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 (NLT)

2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.

3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What does Paul remember thankfully about the Thessalonians?

Paul started the church there in less than ideal circumstances, being run out of town after only three weekends with them (Acts 17:1–10). Yet the church was strong and full of life. Paul knew that this work was beyond him and his abilities and that it was the work of God.

And not Paul alone. The plural implies that all three missionaries prayed together.

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith: There were things about the Christians in Thessalonica that Paul simply could not forget. He always remembered them. What he remembered about them, made him thankful.

1] Paul’s gratitude didn’t come because all the Christians in Thessalonica thought so highly of him. Later, Paul used a whole chapter defending himself and his ministry against slander and false accusations.

2]Paul’s gratitude didn’t come because the Thessalonian Christians were morally impeccable. Later in the letter, Paul strongly warned them against sexual impurity.

3]Paul’s gratitude didn’t come because the Thessalonian Christians were completely accurate in all their doctrine. He had to correct some of their wrong ideas also.

1 Thessalonians 1:4 (NLT)

4 We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.

Being chosen by God is not a matter of the Lord casting His vote on our behalf because He sees something that impresses Him. No, God chose us before the foundation of the earth apart from anything we have or haven’t done ( Ephesians 1:4).

I agree with D. L. Moody when he said, “I’m glad the Lord chose me before I was born. I don’t think He would have chosen me after I’d done some living!”

1 Thessalonians 1:5 (NLT)

5For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.

Jesus promised His disciples The Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8.

Thus, the power to believe in Jesus, love others, and to patiently hope for the Lord’s return—as seen in the Thessalonian church—was evidence of their being chosen by Him.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 (NLT)

6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.

How can there be joy in the midst of affliction?

When baseball playoffs happen, the guys were battered—as evidenced by the sweat and blood left on the field. Yet even though bones were sore and bodies were bruised, there was great joy because of their victory.

The same thing happens spiritually. Sure, we get beat up. Sure, there are trials and tribulations. When we start to see the Lord’s presence in the midst of the problem, we find joy in the big picture; joy in the knowledge that we’re headed for heaven.

1 Thessalonians 1:7–8 (NLT)

7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.

8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it,

Unlike the Pharisees who blew their own horns in Matthew 6:2, the Thessalonians trumpeted the sweet song of salvation to such a degree that everyone in the Greek peninsula heard about their radical faith.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 (NLT)

9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.

The gods of Greek and Roman paganism were everywhere. If you were going to plant a tree, you would pray to the relevant god. If you were going on a business trip, a quick visit to the appropriate shrine was in order. If you or your son or daughter was getting married, serious and costly worship of the relevant deity was expected.

At every turn in the road the gods were there: unpredictable, possibly malevolent, sometimes at war among themselves, so that you could never do too much in the way of placating them, making sure you’d got them on your side.

What might be parallels for us today of turning away from the “powers” of this world to the one true God and his one true Son?

How would “turning from idols” have been an incredibly difficult thing for the Thessalonians to do?

1 Thessalonians 1:10 (NLT)

10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

Revelation 6–19 describes a time called the Tribulation, when God pours His wrath on a Christ-rejecting, sinful world. Scorpions are released. Hundred-pound hailstones come crashing down. Water turns to blood. Islands disappear. There is starvation, plagues, war, and famine. It’s a hellish time, causing the people to cry, “Who shall save us from the day of the wrath of the Lamb?” (Revelation 6:16, 17).

Let me highly encourage you to say ‘pass’ to the tribulation. Become a Christian today. Believe on Him whom the Father has sent, and, like the Thessalonians, you’ll find yourself turning from the idols of our present day, laboring under the light burden of love, and waiting for the Son with joyful hope.

So, too, we should say, “Jesus is coming. I must make sure my family and friends are ready.”

In verses 9–10, Paul describes the conversion of the Thessalonians. What are the elements of conversion Paul describes here?

1 Thessalonians 2:1–2 (NLT)

1 You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure.

2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.

The ancient world had its fair share of wandering salesmen, traveling teachers, people who tried to make a living by offering their hearers fresh wisdom or insight, some kind of magic, a new philosophy, or whatever. When Paul and his companions arrived in a city and began to tell their strange story, many people must have thought that’s the sort of people they were. The cynical ones in the crowd would be waiting for the moment when the speakers produced a moneybag and requested contributions, or invited people to pay to hear more in private.

In a passage that ought to be written out in large letters and hanging on the wall in every Christian minister’s house or, perhaps better, engraved in letters of gold on his or her heart, Paul reminds the Thessalonians that his pattern of life has nothing to do with the tricks people would have expected from him.

Paul wrote here in a personal manner, but this really wasn’t a personal issue for Paul. He knew that it mattered for the sake of the Gospel. If Paul was discredited, then the Gospel message itself would be discredited.

Paul’s pointing out the Thessalonians’ conversion did two things.

1] it showed his confidence in them. He had no fear they would succumb to the propaganda being put before them.

2] it demonstrated that all the facts required for his justification were facts of common knowledge

iv. Barclay saw the following false charges against Paul, evident from the way Paul explained himself in this chapter:

David Guzik, 1 Thessalonians, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), 1 Th 2:1–2.

• “Paul has a police record and is therefore untrustworthy” (1 Thessalonians 2:2, suffered before referring to his imprisonment in Thessalonica).

1 Thessalonians 2:3 (NLT)

3 So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.

• “Paul is lying” (1 Thessalonians 2:3, deceit).

• “Paul’s ministry is based on impure motives” (1 Thessalonians 2:3, uncleanness).

• “Paul deliberately deceives others” (1 Thessalonians 2:3, trickery).

1 Thessalonians 2:4 (NLT)

4 For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

• “Paul preaches to please others, not God” (1 Thessalonians 2:4, not as pleasing men).

The fear of God obliterates the fear of man. Because Paul answered to God rather than to man, he was free from the fear of man. God’s antidote for young Jeremiah’s timidity was to boldly speak the whole truth (Jeremiah 1:7, 8). The same is true today. If you’re afraid of your audience and only speak those portions of truth that are easy to hear, you will be confounded in front of them. But if you “fully preach the gospel of Christ,” you’ll be strengthened (Romans 15:19).

1 Thessalonians 2:5 (NLT)

5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money!

• “Paul is in the ministry as a mercenary, to get what he can out of it materially” (1 Thessalonians 2:5, 2:9, nor a cloak for covetousness).

1 Thessalonians 2:6 (NLT)

6 As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.

• “Paul only wants personal glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:6, nor did we seek glory from men).

The fear of God obliterates the fear of man. Because Paul answered to God rather than to man, he was free from the fear of man. God’s antidote for young Jeremiah’s timidity was to boldly speak the whole truth (Jeremiah 1:7, 8). The same is true today. If you’re afraid of your audience and only speak those portions of truth that are easy to hear, you will be confounded in front of them. But if you “fully preach the gospel of Christ,” you’ll be strengthened (Romans 15:19).

1 Thessalonians 2:7 (NLT)

7 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children.

• “Paul is something of a dictator” (1 Thessalonians 2:7 we were gentle among you).

Paul was like a nursing mother. As he remembers the Thessalonians’ past, he doesn’t complain but loves them as deeply as a mother loves her newborn baby.

1 & 2 Thessalonians: 8 Studies for Individuals or Groups 2. Paul’s Ministry to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 2)

7. An old poem could sum up Paul’s life of example in this way:

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one, any day;

I’d rather one would walk with me than merely show the way.

The eye’s a better pupil, more willing than the ear;

Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear.

Do you agree or disagree? Explain.