first Thessalonians

Background

Author.   Few have attempted to refute the claims for Pauline authorship. None has succeeded in winning a significant following. Evidence that Paul is the author is strong both externally and internally. (See Guthrie, NTI, p. 167; on the life and ministry of Paul, see the Romans Introduction.)

Destination.   Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 15:40—18:22) took him almost directly to Troas on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, and then across to Macedonia. His ministry in Philippi ended with a night in jail and an official ‘request’ that he depart.

He came next to Thessalonica, the largest and most important city in Macedonia. There he ministered to the Jewish population first, until after three weeks they rejected him (Acts 17:1–9). He probably stayed on some weeks or months after his synagogue ministry (though the record does not say so), reaching many Gentiles (see 1 Thess. 1:9).

Date of composition.   The internal data allow a fairly precise dating. After his departure from Thessalonica and then from Berea, Paul ministered in Athens. While there his concern for the Thessalonian church prompted him to send Timothy back to obtain a first-hand report of their spiritual condition, and to strengthen their faith (3:1–2). Timothy and Silas then caught up with Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:5), and provided the encouraging report upon which the present letter was based. It seems Paul immediately penned this letter (3:6). It must then be dated from near the beginning of the Corinthian ministry, about A.D. 51, perhaps as little as a few months after he left Thessalonica.

Purpose.   Paul’s purpose must be at least partially a function of the occasion. It was noted that his concern for the church prompted him to dispatch Timothy to ascertain their condition. As soon as he returned with his good report Paul wrote the letter, expressing his pleasure over the report of their progress in faith, as well as reassuring them of his affection for them and desire to see them (see especially chapters 1–3).

The teaching section of the letter (4–5) suggests other purposes as well. He took the opportunity to urge pastorally that the believers “excel still more” in the practice of their faith (4:1). It seems also that while he had taught the believers eschatological truths, he may have been unable to complete the course while with them,[1] since he gives so much space to that subject in both of his letters to them.

Argument

The bulk of the epistle is very personal (1–3), as if the apostle is speaking to them as their pastor in a private meeting, seeking to encourage his flock not to doubt their faith, but to continue faithful even in the face of persecution. The introductory paragraph of the epistle (1:2–10) develops several signs of spiritual life and vitality in the Thessalonian saints. The gospel Paul had preached to them resulted in behaviors and attitudes not native to unregenerate man. Tucked in among such virtues as love and repentance was tribulation and their faithful response to it (1:6–7). By this and the conclusion—speaking of deliverance from coming wrath (1:10)—Paul bolstered the faith of these new believers, which was clearly one of his great concerns (cf. stērixai, 3:2, 13).

Further reinforcing their present faith, Paul took his readers back to the beginning of their faith when he came to Thessalonica, reminding them of his ministry of the gospel (2:1–12), as well as their reception of it (2:13–16). The validity of the message preached was confirmed by the manner of the preachers. Contrary to the distortions and lies of certain opponents, Paul had not been insincere; the facts actually bore out the opposite: namely, that he had given of himself freely (2:1–12). As a result they had responded in faith, and the persecution they then endured was not a sign of their error, but of their following in the train of the faithful (2:13–16).

Their continuing dearness to Paul is abundantly clear in the section that follows (2:17—3:13). Since these converts were the fruit of his labor, and hence his justifiable glory (2:19–20), he desired personally to return (2:17–18). When that was deemed impossible, he determined to do the next best thing—he sent Timothy to check on them, and to build them up (3:1–5). His report prompted both this letter, and personal comfort for Paul (3:6–10). Concluding this personal section Paul expressed his two-fold prayer wish: that he might visit them again personally, and that they might continue to grow (3:11–13).

From this point on the letter turns paraenetic and didactic (in a clearly pastoral manner). The introductory verses (4:1–2) indicate the same. The subjects—sexual purity (4:3–8), social responsibility as love (4:9–12), and the rapture and the Day of the Lord (4:13—5:11)—were probably all particular problems within this congregation. The call to sexual purity was based on the divine will of sanctification (4:3), and tied, as so much of the epistle is, to the coming judgment of God (4:6). The command concerning brotherly love is patently Christian, and was not a new teaching to the Thessalonians (4:9–10). However, its connection to responsible industry (4:11–12) was apparently not previously seen.

The discussion of eschatology (4:13—5:11) seems to have become necessary because of an inability on Paul’s part to complete his teaching on the subject when he had been with them, when he had to leave prematurely. The first point, concerning the rapture, addresses the question, We know that the Lord will rapture the living saints; but what is to become of our brothers and sisters who have died? Will they be bodiless, or worse, will they not participate in the Kingdom?

Where the previous section was primarily comforting through the impartation of new information, this second eschatological matter (5:1–11; note especially the peri de with which 5:1 opens which introduces a new subject) is primarily hortatory in the light of old knowledge (5:1). Here the apostle meant to urge the people to live soberly in light of the fact that the timing of the Lord’s return is unknown.

The rapid-fire exhortations that follow (5:12–22) make tangible the previous exhortation to sobriety (5:1–11). Corporate life seems to be the primary thrust of the section; as there is reference to cooperation with the assembly leadership (5:12–13), helping and urging the faltering (5:14), interpersonal relations (5:15), and testing of public teachings (5:19–22). The exhortations of 5:16–18 are equally applicable individually and corporately.

The benediction (5:23–24) reinforces the pastoral encouragement of the whole letter.

Outline

I. Salutation  1:1

II. Personal relations  1:2—3:13

A. Thanks for the Thessalonians’ demonstration of salvation  1:2–10

1. Statement of thanks  1:2

2. Reasons for thanks  1:3–10

a) General: faith, love, hope  1:3

b) Specific  1:4–10

(1) Election  1:4–5

(2) Faith in spite of tribulation  1:6–7

(3) Testimony  1:8

(4) Repentance  1:9

(5) Hope  1:10

B. Recollections of past relations  2:1–16

1. Paul’s ministry of the gospel  2:1–12

a) Purposeful, though opposed  2:1–2

b) Sincerely for God, not insincerely for men  2:3–4

c) Selfless, not selfish  2:5–12

(1) Negatively: no wrong motives  2:5–6

(a) Not for greed  2:5

(b) Not for glory  2:6

(2) Positively: evidence of right motives  2:7–12

(a) Motherly care  2:7–9

i) Tenderness  2:7

ii) Loving toil  2:8–9

(b) Fatherly care  2:10–12

i) Modeling righteousness  2:10

ii) Exhorting unto righteousness  2:11–12

2. Thessalonians’ reception of the gospel  2:13–16

a) Recognition of its divine source  2:13

b) Persecution by its human opponents  2:14–16

(1) The experience in Thessalonica  2:14

(2) The pattern of Judea  2:15–16

(a) Habitual hostility against God’s spokesmen  2:15–16a

(b) Destiny of destruction  2:16b

C. Concern for continuing relations  2:17—3:13

1. Paul’s desire to see them  2:17–20

a) His desire expressed  2:17–18

b) His desire explained  2:19–20

2. The mission of Timothy  3:1–5

a) The purpose of the mission  3:1–3

b) The necessity of the mission  3:4–5

3. Paul’s resultant comfort and joy  3:6–10

a) The reason  3:6–8

b) The expression  3:9–10

4. Paul’s prayer  3:11–13

a) Their reunion  3:11

b) The Thessalonians’ growth  3:12–13

(1) In love  3:12

(2) In holiness  3:13

III. Practical exhortations and instructions  4:1—5:22

A. Exhortations concerning Christian living  4:1–12

1. General conduct  4:1–2

2. Sanctification in sexual behavior  4:3–8

a) Applications of the exhortation  4:3–6a

(1) General statement: God’s will  4:3a

(2) Specific statements  4:3b–6a

(a) Abstain from immorality  4:3b

(b) Control oneself in honor  4:4–5

(c) Defraud not a brother  4:6a

b) Reasoning behind the exhortation  4:6b–8

(1) Divine vengeance  4:6b

(2) Divine calling unto sanctification  4:7

(3) Divine authority demanding compliance  4:8

3. Brotherly love and quiet responsibility  4:9–12

a) Love within the Christian community  4:9–10

b) Industry in the lost community  4:11–12

B. Instructions concerning Christ’s return  4:13—5:11

1. The rapture of living and deceased  4:13–18

a) The motive: Christian grief  4:13

b) The teaching  4:14–17

(1) Assurance of resurrection  4:14

(2) Order of the rapture  4:15–17

c) The injunction: Christian comfort  4:18

2. The Day of the Lord  5:1–11

a) Review of the known facts  5:1–3

(1) Assurance of knowledge  5:1

(2) The uncertainty of the time  5:2

(3) The certainty of the destruction of the lost  5:3

b) Exhortation in light of the facts  5:4–11

(1) Basis for the exhortation  5:4–5

(2) Exhortation to alertness  5:6–10

(a) The exhortation  5:6–8

(b) The confidence of salvation  5:9–10

(3) Exhortation to mutual edification  5:11

C. Miscellaneous exhortations  5:12–22

1. Relations within the assembly  5:12–15

a) Respect for leaders  5:12–13a

b) Harmony with one another  5:13b

c) Addressing problem situations  5:14–15

2. Holiness in each individual  5:16–22

IV. Closing  5:23–28

A. Benediction  5:23–24

B. Greetings  5:25–28