1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

1 Thessalonians 1:1–3 KJV (WS)

1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

Introduction SLIDE #2

I was going to start us off in another book, but as I was studying it, I saw a lot of topics regarding persecution and suffering.

We saw a lot of that in 1 Peter.

While we may go back to that book at a later date, I wanted something a little different as a follow up to 1 Peter.

So I’ve chosen 1 Thessalonians as our next study.

There are some excellent topics and themes for us in this book.

The second coming is a key theme of this book. PT# 1

1 Thessalonians 1:10 “10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

1 Thessalonians 2:19 “19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”

1 Thessalonians 3:13 “13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.”

1 Thessalonians 4:14–18 “14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Thessalonians were especially interested in this topic because of how many people had died at their church since Paul had left. PT# 2

Paul’s doctrine is followed up with strong moral applications. PT# 3

Purity

Honest work

It helps to know some things about Thessalonica. SLIDE 3

Thessalonica was formerly known as Therme and served as a camping place for Xerxes.PT# 1

Thessalonica was formerly known as Therme due to its hot spring.

The city was renamed after the daughter of Philip, King of Macedon.PT# 2

Thessalonica was a free city.

It was the largest and most populous city of Macedonia.PT# 3

Greeting SLIDE 4

Intro

Paul regularly uses the accepted form for letters of his day.

He was educated in good grammar.

God used it in the Bible.

Who

Paul omits his apostolic title because it was un-needed. PT# 1

This is an indication that a strong relationship existed between Paul and this church.

Paul had started this church.

He was only with them for the first 4 weeks of their existence, however.

This was the 2nd church planted in Europe.

Paul came here after he had started the church in Philippi.

He had to walk 100 miles along the Egnatian Way to get there.

He passed two other cities along the way to Thessalonica.

Paul was pretty special to these folks.

Silvanus shows up again.PT# 2-3

We just saw him at the end of 1 Peter.

Silvanus was his Roman name.

Silas is his Hebrew name.

Much like Saulus Paulus.

Then there is Timothy. PT# 4

The youngest of the team.

Timothy is mostly unknown at this time.

OF course he will become a trusted member of the group.

To whom

There were three churches in Thessalonica.

By church, I mean an ekklesia.

The term ekklesia is a greek word that was co-opted by christians.

It was a common word that people would have understood.

It referred to an organized body of people.

It’s most common use was to refer to a called out assembly of citizens.PT# 5

The first two were in existence before Paul visited the city.

There was a strongly represented Jewish population in Thessalonica.

This is one of the reasons why Paul stopped in Thessalonica.

If you go back to the book of Acts, you will see that this Jewish ekklesia was especially fierce.

The Jewish community was ultimately responsible for Paul’s short stay in the city.

Membership in this ekklesia was based primarily on birth.

The second ekklesia was the greek ekklesia.

The Greek Ecclesia, would have been the civil body.

They managed the affairs of the city.

Membership in this ekklesia was based on citizenship.

The third ekklesia in Thessalonica, and the one to which Paul writes is the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Talk about a long name.

I had a local business man try to tell me we needed to change the name of our church because it was too long.

The name of the church sets it apart from the others in town.

It is not the Jew’s ekklesia.

It is not the city’s ekklesia.

It is God’s ekklesia.

There are some similarities though.PT# 6

Birth is a factor as all of this ekklesia’s members have been born again.

Citizenship also plays a part, citizenship in a heavenly city.

Paul greets this church with a request for grace and peace to be upon them.PT# 7

I never tire of sharing the importance of this dual greeting.

Paul combines the two customary greetings of Jews and Gentiles.

Both are welcome in the church of God.

Grace is the gentile greeting (charis).PT# 8

Peace is the Jewish greeting (shalom).

Thanksgiving SLIDE 5

Intro

Paul’s custom was to include a word of thanksgiving right after the salutation, if there was anything to be thankful for.

Many believe that part of the purpose of this letter was for Paul to respond to an encouraging report that he had received regarding this church.

The extant of Paul’s thanksgiving to the Thessalonican church exceeds that in any other letter.

Though it was his typical practice, Paul’s thanksgiving for the Thessalonians was not just a formality, it was genuine.

We see this in the regularity with which Paul offered thanks.

When

Paul says that thanks was given to God for the Thessalonians during every prayer time. PT# 1

Paul had 2 companions with him who were familiar with the work of Thessalonica.

They were mentioned already.

If we can think practically, Paul probably led his team in a prayer time on a regular basis.

What Paul is telling the church is that not a prayer time goes by that someone doesn’t remember them in prayer.

Why

Ekklesia’s were always tasked with a purpose.

Paul thanks God that the Thessalonian church was accomplishing it’s purpose.

We know the great commission of the church is to evangelize, baptize, and disciple.

How we go about these task may be just as important as the tasks themselves.

Paul commends them for the manner in which they fulfilled their mission.

He uses, for the first time, a trilogy of traits that should define a Christian and their ministry.

Faith, hope, and love.

Paul says that he and his team always remember the way the Thessalonians do ministry.PT# 2

Their Work of Faith. PT# 3

A lifestyle or conduct stemming from genuine faith.

Too many churches are distracted by church work as opposed to the work of the church.

One seeks to maintain inner processes and culture.

The other seeks to promote the external outreach of the ministry.

The Thessalonian people evidenced their faith by their works.

Their Labor of Love. PT# 4

Refers to intentional actions not just emotional responses.

All of us are subject to emotional responses.

We have to develop a second discipline where we choose to show love even when we don’t feel like.

One author said that this is not the same “lol” that we talk about today.

When we talk about a lol today, we are usually saying that this person doesn’t expect anything in return.

That is not the case with a Christian’s lol.

We do expect to be repaid.

How?

If it’s a loss person, we lol so that they will get saved.

If it’s a saved person we expect that our lol will push them closer to God.

Their Patience of Hope. PT# 5

Patience is more accurately pictured in the image of active endurance like a soldier.

A soldier is patient, he endures because he has hope that

It is not a passive acceptance of circumstances.

We can see through this list that the Christian traits of Faith, Hope, and Love are active qualities.

Application SLIDE 6

As we close these introductory verses, I want to leave you with a few thoughts.

Who are you investing the way that Paul invested in the Thessalonians?

Not that you have to go out and start a church.

Who are discipling and investing in their spiritual life?

Who can thank God for you? PT# 1

Can your spiritual leaders (PAULS) thank God for your ministry? PT# 2

Can you co-laborers (SILVANUS’) thank God for you? PT# 3

What about the next generation (TIMOTHYS)? PT# 4

How does Faith, Hope, and Love show up in your life? PT# 5

These are not passive qualities.

These are active pieces of your life.

One act may accomplish multiple of these goals.

As we seek to evangelize, baptize and disciple, we must use these traits to accomplish our mission.

Conclusion SLIDE 7

I want to say that I am thankful for the hard workers we have at our church.

I could go on and on about the different ones in our church that I thank God for.

We have many that serve with Faith, Hope, and Love.

Our church wouldn’t be what it is today without the investment of so many. PT# 1

May God bless you as you continue to serve him through your church. PT# 2