I Thessalonians

If you look at a map of Greece, the area known as Macedonia is the north eastern region. You will see a natural harbor that is the location of the town of Thessalonica. Sounds a bit like Corinth, a sea port city, a good place to preach the Gospel and have it taken by travelers as they traveled throughout the Mediterranean area. Paul preached there, starting at the synagogue and then, as he became more successful, the Jews turned on him. The Jews instigated a riot which forced him to move on to Berea, Athens and then onto Corinth where he wrote this epistle (Acts 17).

What prompted Paul to write this letter? Well, Paul wrote this letter to encourage the church during a time of persecution as well as to encourage godly behavior and give them assurance concerning the future of believers who die before Christ returns. Six months later he wrote them a second letter (II Thessalonians) to clarify a few points of prophecy and to encourage them again to live a godly life.

Let’s take a look at a few passages:

1:1 “Paul, Silas and Timothy.”

Paul doesn’t use his title “Apostle” here. Why do you think he omitted it? If I were back in the Army the Commander called me and said, “LTC DuCett, this is Colonel Jackson. I need to talk with you right away.” Now, using formal titles or rank is a way of demonstrating authority. If, on the other hand, the Colonel called me and said, “Steve, this is Jackson, let’s have a cup of coffee.” Then I know that this is going to be a friendly visit. Paul sets the tone by not using his title. Do you think he used his title when he wrote his letters to Corinth or Galatia? You bet he did. 

Paul then goes on to say that he thanks God for them commending them for:

1:3 “. . . your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Their work, labor and endurance were expressions of their faith, love and hope. In each of our lives, faith should produce good works (Gal 5:6; James 2:18); love should produce labor (Rev 2:2, 4) and hope produce endurance (Rom 5:2-4; 8:24, 25). 

1:6 “. . . in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.”

Do you recall reading in Gal 5:22 that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit? In spite of their suffering, they were still joyful. Their joy was not destroyed because of the difficult times they were going through. Do you remember the Galatian church where Paul asked them, “What has happened to all your joy?” What destroyed the joy in the Galatian church? Wasn’t it legalism imposed upon them by those who claimed that these Gentiles had to adopt the Law of Moses? How do legalists destroy joy in today’s churches?

1:7 “They became a model to all the believers.”

Do you remember the message to the Israelites from Amos? Were the Israelites a “model” for the rest of the world? Rather than being a model for others, they were an embarrassment to God. Their worship gave God a bad name. Go back and take a look at Amos 5:21-23. He said that he despised their religious feasts, assemblies, offerings, and even their songs. Do you think God feels the same way about some churches today?

1:8-10 “Their faith has become known everywhere.

They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead-Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

A couple of point jump out at me in this verse. Paul said that they have turned to God in order to SERVE God. This doesn’t sound like a passive existence. How do we serve God? How about using the gift(s) that he gave us and getting involved in some sort of ministry? Not only are we to serve God, we “wait” or anticipate the return of Jesus. Some years ago I saw a bumper sticker which read: “Jesus is coming-look busy.”

Paul says that Jesus “rescues us from the coming wrath.” What wrath is he speaking of? The Great Tribulation period that follows the rapture of the church.

2:7, 9 “We could have been a burden to you . . . but we were gentle among you.”

These leaders were not a financial burden to them they earned their own income or had assistance from others.

Being gentle reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matt 20:25 when he said that his leaders would not “lord over” the churches (see also I Peter 5:3; Titus 1:7).

Where do you sometimes find harsh, overbearing leadership? Some cults have been known for authoritarian leadership styles.

2:11-12 “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God . .

2:13 “. . . when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God.”

In recent decades fewer people actually accept the Bible as the inspired word of God. This is one reason why there is less emphasis on Bible study and greater ignorance of the Bible in so many churches. Here Paul says, it is the “word of God” (see also II Tim 3:16).

How many Christians treat the Bible like junk mail, leaving it unopened and unread?

2:16 “They (those who persecuted them) displease God and are hostile to all men in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.”

The term “the wrath HAS COME” might refer to its arrival upon the threshold of fulfillment, not the entrance into the experience. It also might refer to Gods’ judgment on some already. Do you remember how King Herod died?  In Acts 12:22-23 we find Herod finishing a speech to his people and they shouted to him that this wasn’t the voice of a man, but of a god. “Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”

2:19 “. . . when he comes.”

I just want to comment on the word “comes.” It is from a Greek work, parousia, which means “presence, being present.” It was used for the arrival of a great personage, such as a king. Here is another of many verses referring to the second coming of Jesus. How much do you hear about this in church? Should the fact that Jesus is coming back, at any time, have some bearing on our priorities today?

4:11 “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

Later, in II Thess 3:10 Paul says that if a person will not work, he should go hungry. In the 1840’s there was a popular preacher who taught that Jesus would return in 1843. His name was William Miller. Some people sold their property, left their jobs and simply sat and waited. Perhaps there were some in this church who were getting lazy and depending upon the generosity of others.

Also, Greeks degraded manual labor whereas Christianity and Judaism viewed it as an honorable pursuit. For some, working with their hands was beneath them.

4:13-18 “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

This is probably the most familiar passage in this epistle. Paul says that he doesn’t want us to be ignorant of this fact. We can be ignorant about a lot of things, computers, music, mathematics, etc. but let’s not be ignorant about this. One other subject that Paul said we should not be ignorant about is our spiritual gifts (I Cor 12).

Some members of the church were concerned for those who have already died, that they might miss the rapture. So Paul had to comfort them with the fact they not only will the departed be raptured, they get to go first. He concludes his remarks by suggesting that they comfort each other with this message.

When Paul says, “we who alive” he means that it can happen in his lifetime, but since he does not know, he doesn’t limit it to his lifetime.

5:1-2 “Now, brothers, about the times and the dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” 

How does a thief come in the night? He comes unannounced. You never know when a thief might try to break into your home.

Matt 24:36 tells us that “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father.” Jesus said the same thing in Acts 1:6.

Sadly, there have been “date setters” in the church for centuries. Just recently some were saying that the end would be 21 May, 2011. One person foolishly took all of his life savings, about $140,000, and spent it to purchase billboards announcing the end. In the cult that I was in there were people who never saved for retirement, some didn’t get married or go to college, all because they thought the end was so close, it wouldn’t pay to do so.

The Day of the Lord is the ultimate overthrow of God’s enemies (Isa 2:12); sometimes means “judgment” (I Cor 4:3); and a day of deliverance for Israel (I Thess 5:9). I sometimes hear people incorrectly speak of Sunday as the Lords’ Day. 

5:6 “Let us not be like those who are asleep” refers to those who are ethically insensitive. If we are asleep, we can find ourselves adopting the ways of the world.

5:9 “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Isn’t it a comfort that we will not have to endure the wrath of God during the tribulation period (Rev 6:16, 17)?

5:12 “. . . respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.”

5:19 “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”

Rom 12 says; do not prevent people from using their gifts.

5:21 “Test everything. Hold on to the good.”

Do you recall Acts 17:11, where the Bereans were commended for searching the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true? 

5:23 May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Referring to the distinctions between spirit, soul and body, one scholar wrote, “It must be confessed, much unresolved mystery remains regarding the interrelationship between man’s different parts, including the body.”

Some scholars say that the Spirit (pneuma) enables us to perceive the divine; the Soul (psyche) is the sphere of will and emotions. 

Notice one more thing about this letter: the number of times Paul refers to the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1:10 “to wait for his Son from heaven.”

2:19 “in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes.”

4:16 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven.”

5:13 “. . . at the coming of the Lord.”

Have you heard many messages concerning the coming of the Lord? John wrote in Rev 22:10 “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book.” The Bible ends with the words of Jesus, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Paul tells the church in Thessalonica that Jesus is coming back, live your lives in this hope and comfort each other with this promise.