1 Thessalonians 1

1 Thessalonians 1

These notes are not exhaustive, but can be used as a starting point.

1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 (NKJV)

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

our position: physically in Thessalonica spiritually in God through Christ

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

speaking to believers

the source of grace and peace are God and Jesus

you receive grace then peace

no matter the content of the message, goal is to impart grace and peace....whether in doctrine, rebuke, reproof, correction, instruction

John 14:27, Ephesians 2:13–15

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing

prayer starts with giving thanks

its continual and specific/intentional

Colossians 1:4–5

your work of faith, (v 9)

faith is one of the three pillars of the Christian life

as a noun can mean two things: subjectively the act of believing

objectively the content of what we believe, for the Christian the object is Jesus Christ, the living word, revealed in the written word

John 6:29 , Galatians 3:2–5, Hebrews 4:1–9, Romans 1:16–17, James 2:21–26

labor of love, (v. 9)

love extends to others

labor is exhausting, sacrifice

Romans 5:1–5, Matthew 5:43–44, 2 Corinthians 5:14–15, 1 John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 12:31–13:8, 1 Corinthians 13:13

and patience of hope (v. 10)

A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (5281. ὑπομονή)

5281. ὑπομονή hupŏmŏnē, hoop-om-on-ay´; from 5278; cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy:—enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting).

hope = confident assurance

in our Lord Jesus Christ

object of hope

in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.

who are the elect?

know your position in Christ!

who does God say you are?

1 Peter 1:2-3, Romans 8:29, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Ephesians 1:3–4, Ephesians 1:13–14

the elect are those who respond to the call by faith

John 3:16, John 6:47, eph. 2:4-10

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance,

Hebrews 4:12, Romans 10:17, Ephesians 6:17, Mark 16:20

as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

character and integrity

more depth to this in chapter 2

And you became followers of us and of the Lord,

an example to follow, the example is in the Lord not the man

having received the word in much affliction,

remember acts 16,17 imprisonment then the house of Jason

with joy of the Holy Spirit,

example of Paul in Philippi

James 1, 1 Peter, etc..

so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.

Ephesians 2:10

making disciples, living faith, sowing and reaping

For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.

they first recieved the implanted word then they took it out faithfully, they lived it

For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you,

hearing reports of the harvest, as well as the integrity of the ministry

and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

repentance and service

Acts 20:20–21

Romans 6, yield as instrument of righteousness

Romans 12:2 living sacrifice

slave to sin/slave to God

and to wait for His Son from heaven,

Christ is currently seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven

His return is an object of our hope

whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

wrath

Romans 5:9–10, 1 Thessalonians 5:8–11, John 3:36, Romans 1:18

time of trouble for jacob

Jeremiah 30:4–7

great tribulation

Revelation 7:14

rev 6-19 = God’s wrath like no other time

The Bible Knowledge Commentary

Revelation 3:10 (NKJV)

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

3:10. The church in Philadelphia received no rebuke from Christ. Instead they were commended and given a promise because they had been willing to endure patiently. The promise was, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. This is an explicit promise that the Philadelphia church will not endure the hour of trial which is unfolded, beginning in Revelation 6. Christ was saying that the Philadelphia church would not enter the future time of trouble; He could not have stated it more explicitly. If Christ had meant to say that they would be preserved through a time of trouble, or would be taken out from within the Tribulation, a different verb and a different preposition would have been required.Though scholars have attempted to avoid this conclusion in order to affirm posttribulationism, the combination of the verb “keep” (tērein) with the preposition “from” (ek) is in sharp contrast to the meaning of keeping the church “through” (dia), a preposition which is not used here. The expression “the hour of trial” (a time period) makes it clear that they would be kept out of that period. It is difficult to see how Christ could have made this promise to this local church if it were God’s intention for the entire church to go through the Tribulation that will come on the entire world. Even though the church at Philadelphia would go to glory via death long before the time of trouble would come, if the church here is taken to be typical of the body of Christ standing true to the faith, the promise seems to go beyond the Philadelphia church to all those who are believers in Christ (cf. Walvoord, Revelation, pp. 86–8).

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3: 1-3).

When we anticipate the rapture, this purifies our souls. Hope of Christ's coming purifies us. Each generation of believers has the right to expect the Lord to come in their lifetime. Generations past were disappointed but not mistaken.

We anticipate that it might be in our generation, but no one knows for sure. One thing we do know is that it is imminent. Each day we should affirm that "Perhaps Jesus will come today." This will enable us to keep short accounts with the Lord. We will not put off till tomorrow what we ought to deal with today.

"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work" (Revelation 22:12)

Grace Notes(more information at Gracenotes.online 1 Thessalonians verse by verse notes

who delivers us from the wrath to come Jesus will deliver Christians "from the wrath to come." Thessalonian Christians do not have to be delivered from Hell sometime in the future. For them the deliverance is past (John 5:24). This "wrath" is the wrath of the Tribulation just before the Millennium (Revelation 6:17). Jesus delivers believers from this period of Tribulation. The word "from" indicates that God keeps the church from "wrath." The word "from" means away from. This means that the church will not go through the future Tribulation period. The tribulation period deals with Israel, with the evangelization of the nation Israel in order to establish the promised Millennial Kingdom for Israel. It is apparent that Paul deals with the Tribulation as the "wrath" in this verse because his reference is to the rapture. The Thessalonians did not need to prepare for the Tribulation because Jesus would deliver them from it. Just think of those left behind after the rapture. The church will not be a conscience to society any longer. First Thessalonians deals with the coming of Christ in every chapter (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:23). Each chapter ends with a reference to this event.

Principle

A role of the believer is to anticipate the rapture.

Application

Jesus came to pay for our salvation in His first coming. In the rapture and Second Coming, He will bring full and final liberation from sin, death and Hell. An important function of every believer is to anticipate the rapture. We rejoice in it. We celebrate it. We place our hope in it. It becomes an ever-present blessing to our souls. Looking for the Lord to return at any moment will change our lives. It will transform our way of doing things. It will change the way we deal with temptations. If you knew you were going to die in two years, would you change your priorities? Would you do something about broken relationships? Many of us carry a great amount of spiritual flab. To deal with this, we must admit that we are out of spiritual shape. "There are a few people to whom I take exception. I am out of phase with them. I don't talk to them any more. I resent them. I envy others. Deal with me, Lord." Do you have animosity, resentment or anger toward some other Christian? Have you come to grips with this? You should not allow it to go on and on. If we expect that the Lord may come at any time, we must not allow ourselves to cherish these sins. We must bury the hatchet. We must shake hands with them. We must forget the past.

Gene Cunningham (more information available at Basictraining.org “What day are you looking for” conference notes, audio also available)

Paul begins, in chapter one, by reminding them how we ought to live in light of the promised return of the Lord Jesus at the rapture. He ends with the assurance that the rapture will precede the “wrath”, or tribulation.

1. We must remember who we are, v.1-2 We are 1) in the Church (Mat.16:18; Eph.1:22),

2) which is in God through Christ,

3) which abides in the realm of grace and peace (Rom.5:1). The phrase “in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” is unique to First and Second Thessalonians. It reveals not only our spiritual union with the Father and the Son, but also the unity and diversity within the Godhead. While the Father, Son, and Spirit are one in essence (Joh.10:30), yet distinct in person and work.

2. We must develop Christian character, v.3-5 (2Pe.1:5-11) The essence of Christian character is found in three spiritual virtues (Rom.5:1-5; 1Co.13:13; Col.1:4-5; 1Th.5:8; Heb.6:10-12; 10:22-24; 1Pe.1:3, 5, 8). In v.4-5 we see that faith, hope, love come by means of

1) hearing the word,

2) the power of the Holy Spirit,

3) much assurance (conviction of truth).

3. We must keep in mind our commission, v.6-8 (Mat.28:18-20) The inward working of faith, hope, and love produce the outward effects of combining God’s word, affliction, and joy in the Spirit. By consistent growth we become followers (imitators, 1Co.11:1), examples (leaders), and finally true ambassadors of Christ (2Co.5:14-21).

4. We must point others to our blessed hope, v.9-10 (Tit.2:11-15) In v.9-10 we have the definition of the qualities in v.3. The “work of faith” is to “turn to God from idols”. The “labor of love” is “to serve the living and true God”. And the “patience of hope” is “to wait for His Son from heaven”. Such a lifestyle will attract the attention of those around us, leading some to Christ, while bringing persecution from others (2Ti.3:12).

5. We must develop a sense of urgency to win others to faith in Christ. In the phrase from Hebrews 10:25, …and so much the more as you see the day approaching…”, Paul is most likely referring to the coming fall of Jerusalem (70A.D.), which Jesus had foretold (Luk.21:20-24). This approaching disaster ought to motivate them to hold fast to the local church. How much more we should be motivated to win others to Christ, when we know the time of tribulation is drawing near?

Conclusion

the “wrath to come” is a reference to the coming Tribulation. This will become clear in the notes on chapter five. Paul makes this same point in Rom.5:9-10, and again in 1Th.5:8-11, and possibly Rev.3:10-11. This promise also has implications to the Bema judgment. While works of human good will be burned, this will be done in love, not in wrath (1Co.3:11-15; Heb.12:5-6).