Chapter Introduction
When he wrote this letter, Paul was in Corinth, spreading the gospel there. Until this point in Paul's life, he had traveled quite a bit and started several churches. Many were started after just a short visit, just like Thessalonica. The book of Acts said he only taught in the synagogue three weeks before the Jews were running him out of town. He may have been there longer than three weeks, but it probably wasn't too much longer.
You can imagine Paul sitting in Corinth; he had to be somewhat concerned about these young churches surviving in these places that started riots, beat Christians, threw them in jail, or ran them out of town. How could a church survive there? As the excitement of these new believers settled into a day-by-day walk of faith, could they hold on?
We can imagine Paul's excitement when he received good news from Timothy about the believers and the new church in Thessalonica. They were doing well. In his excitement of receiving this good news, Paul sat to write a letter to this church. This is either the first or second of Paul's epistles he wrote. They know the date of 1 Thessalonians pretty firmly, but the letter to the Galatians may have been first, depending on how it is dated. That letter is a little more challenging to date. So, 1 Thessalonians is the first or second letter Paul wrote that the Holy Spirit preserved for the bible.
Paul was sitting in the immoral cesspool of Corinth. We know all about the city of Corinth and everything happening there. These things had to be on Paul's mind as he wrote. But first on his mind was always the message that turned the world upside down. It was this message of Jesus Christ, the son of God, who came and died for the sins of men. The hope found in Jesus Christ was always on his mind. With that, we know Paul's heart, where he was sitting, the setting, and some of the people in Thessalonica. Paul put his pen to the parchment and wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica.
This letter is considered the earliest preserved letter from Paul, written in AD 51. Paul wrote to encourage the Christian growth of new believers and settle questions about the Lord’s second coming.
The young church became a model church for their faithfulness in the midst of suffering. The power of the Holy Spirit was present and working. The encouragement Paul brought may have been due to his concern about them holding together through the persecution.
1 Thessalonians 1:1
Given his short time there, Paul had to be excited to refer to these folks as a church. The word for church is “ekklesia, " meaning the “called out ones.” The church is called out of the world and set aside for the people of God. It is a living thing, a mystery revealed in this age. It's how God brings his people together under a shepherd with the guidance and work of the Holy Spirit for their sanctification and God's glory.
Paul founded the church and then got kicked out of town. Silvanus is the Greek version of the name Silas. Silas had been there with Paul when the church was founded. Timothy had just been there ministering to them. So, the church knew all three of these men very well. While Paul is recognized as the author of the letter, Silas and Timothy were with him there when he wrote it.
Paul preached the message of grace that came from God through Jesus Christ to the people there in Thessalonica. And he preached peace from God the Father by having faith in Jesus. He greeted them in grace and peace as in nearly every letter. Grace comes from God, and peace follows the grace.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-5
That day, offering thankfulness and a prayer were standard parts of letter writing.
Paul is thankful to God for the Christians and the church there in Thessalonica. To find out the gospel had spread and taken root was great news. I'm sure Paul would not have been surprised if Timothy returned from Thessalonica and said he couldn't find a church. But he did find it, and it was alive. God was working there. The Holy Spirit was working in the hearts of these believers. The gospel message was still turning the world upside down.
Paul said he lifts them in prayer and remembers them before the Lord, speaking of their faith, love, and hope. These are the three core virtues of Christianity. In Paul's short stay there, he saw these things. Timothy returned from his visit and, no doubt, spoke of the same thing. As we go on in this letter, we'll see that things were not all perfect in that church. But the foundation was present, and there was proof of salvation and the presence of the church by the presence of fruit. The cornerstone was set.
The Holy Spirit was doing three things:
- Work through faith:
- The faith was producing works. These works were the works of living your faith out every day. It was going about the business of living the life of a Christian. This was walking the path laid out by God, being engaged in the adventure.
- Labor of love:
- The Holy Spirit was doing a work of faith but also a work of love that was producing labor. This word for labor is different from the word for works. The labor of love is the word kopos, which is intense and difficult. It is grinding it out every day because we love the Lord. It's labor to exhaustion out of love for our brother. It's being engaged in life with the heart of a humble servant. The servant isn't figuring out how little they can get away with. They are just serving because that's what they do. And they serve to exhaustion without thought or regret. They don't shy away from the intense work, the arduous task, or the uphill challenge. That's a labor of love.
- Patience of hope:
- The word hope means “steadfast endurance.” The Holy Spirit empowered the work of faith and labor of love. The ability to endure this came from their hope. This hope wasn’t a longing for a good outcome but the knowledge of a sure thing. The eternal promise empowered them to walk for a while in this life, longing for the next. This hope allowed patience and eagerly awaiting the future while working and enduring. Having hope in Christ gave them patience in the middle of the difficult times in which they lived. In Christ, they were no longer bound to this world and its troubles, hoping and longing for a better life but never seeing evidence.
God was moving and shaking and turning these people's worlds upside down. Paul called them the beloved brethren and the elect of God. He could do this from his limited knowledge and from a great distance because there was visible fruit. This faith, love, and hope were evidence of their salvation. They were beloved by God despite all the odds against them. This group of believers was thriving.
They were the elect of God, chosen by God. This “chosenness” had only previously been used to speak of Jews. Now, it was used to refer to the church, both Jew and gentile. There was purpose in their life and work. The Holy Spirit was growing, sanctifying, and showing them the purpose and calling on their life. These folks were living it out together. Their faith was real for them. The Holy Spirit had given their life a balance of faith, love, and hope. They had become part of the Ekklesia. They were the church of the living God.
The gospel didn’t just come to them in words. It wasn’t just to be read, comprehended, understood, and filed away. It birthed faith in power.
Power. What was the power of the word? By His word, God is mighty to save. His word was found living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.
Holy Spirit. Their faith was authenticated. The Holy Spirit sealed them. He came to them and began His work in them as they grew and were sanctified, and they received gifts and ministries.
Assurance. Much assurance came with God’s display of saving power and the authentication of their faith by the Holy Spirit. The assurance came from finding out how real and alive God’s word and work were. It wasn't any kind of empty promise or religion of the day. This gospel message changed hearts and lives and raised the souls of men from the spiritual grave. Their living faith was a contrast to the dead faith all around them.
The Thessalonians had seen the lives of Paul, Silas, and Timothy and their testimony. These men didn't give their lives and walk away from their homes to spread a hopeless, powerless bunch of words that had no authority and no ability to make any difference in the lives of men. The fact that these men had given so much and continued to do so, living a life that reflected the God they confessed, gave credibility to their message. God will send people into your life who give you assurance and share their faith, love, and hope with you. Don't discount this as some coincidence. This is a divine appointment with people who are confirming your election.
When these people of Thessalonica became believers and yielded to what God was doing, they suddenly understood what kind of men these apostles and disciples really were. As an unbeliever, you look at what believers do and how they act and wonder why. Why would they suffer? Why would they give of themselves? Why would you give money to church when you could go shopping? Why would you study an old book when you could pick up a bestseller?
Unbelievers look at us and think we are nuts because we are filled with joy without any obvious reason. Christians enjoy being with each other.
1 Thessalonians 1:6-10
The Thessalonians had become followers of these disciples and the Lord. It was a common idea – follow us as we follow Jesus. These folks received the word in affliction. The word for 'affliction' is a word that means great pressure. The word would describe the crushing of grapes to make wine. They were pressed under great pressure until they burst. These people didn't become believers for the benefit package. For their troubles, they got affliction, oppression, and tribulation. A great pressure was brought to bear on them to turn away from this gospel message. Yet, despite Satan's efforts, they received it with joy in the Holy Spirit. And they likewise became examples for others to emulate.
Macedonia and Achaia (Greece) were watching them. Others were now looking at them and saying, "I don't get it! I don't understand why they have any joy. That Jesus stuff doesn't look fun to me." The world doesn't understand why we wouldn't just go along with the crowd with an attitude of eating, drinking, and being merry, for tomorrow, we may die. Instead, they see us living our lives as if tomorrow we may die and face the Just Judge with confidence and assurance our sins are forgiven.
They had become examples or imitators (v.7). The word “typoi” means a stamp or instrument used to make an impression. They used this expression for the stamp to make identical coins. As we press into Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed to look like Him. He is the mold or the stamp we can never become a perfect copy of. But we are to press into Him and allow him to change and grow us. When we yield to that, the Lord does those works of Faith, Love, and hope in each of us.
The Thessalonians didn’t even need to say anything. Their lives had become a testimony. Others had taken note of the change. History recorded the change of these people.
They turned from idols to serve the Living and True God. They were living and working while looking up, awaiting their redemption. Jesus would deliver from the wrath to come. The persecution and affliction they suffered were not to be mistaken for the coming wrath when God punished a wicked and unbelieving world.
The Thessalonians were the typoi, imitators of the Lord. Because of their faith, the word of the Lord sounded forth. To sound forth was to ring the bell, getting everyone's attention, calling for everyone to notice. Thessalonica was on the main highway of the Roman Empire. The word went out from there to all of Macedonia and Achaia. People were saying, you ought to see those guys. They are radical. They are different somehow. It's like they've changed. They've broken their idols, and they aren't drunken, dishonest, and immoral any longer. They had turned from their cold, dead idols for the true and Living God.
Fallen and sinful men seek after gods to serve them, to find solace in their sins, and to feel better about themselves. They want god to serve them and their desires. Yet, for those in Christ, we throw off all our idols so we may serve the Living God. We die to ourselves, give up our desire to be served, and offer ourselves in service to the one who saved us.
The Thessalonians had placed their lives in the hands of God. This got the attention of the world. It turned the world upside down. It was radical then, and it still is a radical difference in the world today, and it still gets people's attention. In the heart of every man is the knowledge of God. But our sinful nature works to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The human race is very good at suppressing the truth, and Satan and his demons are always there to help. That's why the church must be on guard. We need to stay on the gospel message.
The Thessalonian Christians were living their lives with their eyes lifted high, living in anticipation and with the expectation that Jesus was coming back soon. They knew He was raised from the dead and was in heaven waiting for the Father to say, "Go, go get your bride." They knew Jesus would return. He is coming to bring salvation to all who believe and trust in Him. For those in Christ, He will deliver from the wrath to come.
So many churches are trying to look like the world to attract people. We don't want to invite the world in here. We don't need to be imitators of the world. We need to be imitators of Christ. We must live as citizens of heaven, as children of God seeking Him, traveling on the path he set before us. This wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination and still isn't. The price is high. Your life was bought and paid for by the blood of Christ. It's no longer yours to live as you see fit. There will still be pain and sorrow and persecution as we make our way through this world. But we look different from the world in how we respond to these things. The contrast in reactions between the believer and unbeliever should be profound, and we should be easily recognized as part of the church.
We know Paul lived expectantly and believed Jesus would come in his lifetime. The Thessalonians did, too. I believe He is going to come in my lifetime. I hope you believe it also. Believing that our faith is real means we are engaged in our adventure and have our eyes on the horizon, waiting and longing for the return of our Lord.
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:25-27)
Today might be the day. If the gospel has a reputation for turning the world upside down, what will it be like when Christ returns for his church? Are you ready? Are we living in the faith that produces works, the love of a humble servant working to serve, and in the sure hope of the imminent return of Christ? We are the called-out ones, the Ekklesia. Our message and lives turn the world upside down. Our testimony will be heard loud and clear like the ringing of the bell. And that bell is just the warmup music to the sound of the trumpet that will call us all home.
©2017, 2024 Doug Ford
Facebook