Are you interested in evangelism? Are you interested in the Second Coming? Are you interested in living the Christian life? If so, according to Phil Arthur (in his Welwyn Commentary) then 1 Thessalonians is a book you should know.
The City
Paul came to Macedonia, you may remember, in response to a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia calling for help. Paul and his companions worked first in Philippi then travelled west along the Via Egnatia, the Roman Road across Thrace and Macedonia, and came to the city of Thessalonica. It was about 20 years after Christ's death and resurrection.
Today's city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece was founded near Therma (named for its hot springs) in BC 315 by Cassander. It was named for his wife, a half sister of Alexander the Great. The Romans made it the capital of Macedonia and a free city under 'Politarchs'. It was a significant seaport, a centre of trading. It is now a much smaller city of around 70,000. In Paul's day the population was as as much as 200,000. There was a Jewish colony there and, unlike Philippi, a synagogue, where Paul preached for three consecutive Sabbaths.
The Church
Paul was probably only in Thessalonica for three weeks but he had an astonishing impact. See Acts 17:1-9. He reasoned from the Scriptures that the Messiah had to die and rise again, and that the Jesus he preached was that Messiah. This led to a sharp disagreement among the Jews there, some accepting what Paul said, especially the God-fearing Greek proselytes, others rejecting it and becoming jealous. The opposition became so intense that Paul and his companions had to flee from Thessalonica to Berea, 35-40 miles to the west.
The reception there was quite different. Luke records that the Jews there were more noble-minded than those at Thessalonica. They examined the Scriptures to see if the things Paul preached were true. Again, some were converted, along with some prominent Greeks, both women and men. However, news of this reached Thessalonica and some of the Jews from there came to stir up trouble and again Paul and the others had to move on.
*They went to the sea, as if to board a ship away from the area. However, Silas and Timothy remained at the coast while Paul travelled across land, south to Athens. Paul probably left his companions in the area to help the young churches, who were meeting such great opposition. It may have been that they had not been so much in the public eye as him and so could more easily remain without attracting too much violent attention.
The Letter
First Thessalonians is one of the earliest New Testament letters. It was written after Timothy had reported back to Paul on what was happening to the fledgling church. We find his name alongside that of Silas (Silvanus) in the opening greeting.
In Chapter 3 Paul expresses his anguish at the problems the converts would be facing. He says When we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy ... to strengthen and encourage you. This may indicate that Timothy, after being left behind at Berea, returned to Paul in Athens and was then sent back to Macedonia to further minister to the churches. The verse seems to imply that Timothy was sent to them from Athens. It may be that Silas was with Paul for a while and was then sent after Timothy and the two of them returned to Paul while he was at Corinth. Alternatively, Timothy went to Paul in Athens alone, having left Silas in Macedonia and was then sent back alone, both of them then returning to Paul at Corinth. Commentators are divided on how 1 Thessalonians 3:1 fits into the admittedly edited account in Acts.
Themes
One of the main themes of the letter is commendation for the Thessalonians firm endurance in the faith, despite harsh opposition. Paul also needed to correct certain misunderstandings about the return of Christ. The fact that Paul had only spent a short time there, perhaps as little as three weeks, and so had not had very long to teach the new converts probably meant that there were things he mentioned only in passing that needed to be expanded on. It is hardly surprising then that they had not fully understood some aspects of his teaching.
The problems dealt with in the letter are very different from those addressed in, say, Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia. They are the problems of a largely Gentile church, bringing with them the legacy of Gentile thinking, rather than the problems caused by Judaisers. Paul deals with matters like sexual immorality and idleness, frequently a part of everyday life for pagans but which for the Jews would have been kept in check by the demands of the Law. The Jews had a sense of brotherhood in the nation of Israel and in the family, which the Gentiles did not possess to any great degree. Therefore the Apostle encourages such positive attitudes in Chapter 5.
A characteristic of the letter is its teaching on the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. Every chapter closes with a reference to the subject (1:10; 2:19, 20; 3:11-13; 4:13-18; 5:23, 24.). In his second letter Paul says that he spoke of these things while he was with them (2 Thessalonians 2:5). It may be that Paul knew of the Lord’s own teaching on his return, as he speaks in 4:15 of passing on the Word of the Lord. He uses the imagery of a thief in the night, which the Lord used in the same context. The fact that Paul wrote to them of these matters was partly because of the concern of the Thessalonians themselves for those among them who had died. They believed that Christ would return, as Paul had taught, but would those who had already died be worse off because they had gone before his return? Paul reassures them on this point and addresses the question of when the Lord would return. Of course, he does not answer the question, as no man can. Rather he urges them to be morally prepared, to be living in the light of the Lord’s Coming, whenever that might be. That is the real thrust of the New Testament teaching on the Second Coming. We are not intended to be experts on interpreting the twists and turns of human history in order to fix the exact date. Rather, the Lord’s Return is to affect the way we live now. It is to affect our morals more than our politics.
Outline
We could entitle the letter Instructions and corrections for a new church.
1. Salutation 1:1
2. The State of the Church 1:2-10
Church's character 1:3
Church's election 1:4-7
Church's reputation 1:8-10
3. Paul’s Relationship to the Church 2:1-3:13
Paul’s conduct toward the church 2:1-12
Paul’s reception by the church 2:13-16
Paul's concern for the church 2:17-3:10
Paul's prayer for the church 3:11-13
4. The Problems of the Church 4:1-5:11
Sexual Morality 4:1-8
Social Conduct 4:9-12
The state of those who have died 4:13-18
Times and seasons 5:1-11
5. Closing exhortations and greetings 5:12-28
This aritcle first appeared in Grace Magazine
