1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 – Serving God
- Study Index for 1 THESSALONIANS by Chester McCalley
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I Thessalonians 1:1-10- Serving God
I Thessalonians 2:1-16 – Gospel Taught at Thessalonica
I Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 – Paul and new believers
I Thessalonians 3:6-13 – Timothy’s Report
I Thessalonians 4:1-12 – Christian Conduct of the worthy walk
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The Parousia
I Thessalonians 5:1-11 – Day of the Lord
I Thessalonians 5:12-22 – Church Relationships
I Thessalonians 5:23-28 – God of peace
Serving a Living and True God – Turn from idols
Thessalonica was a major city in Greece. It was strategically located on the Ignatian way, which was the main road between Rome and the eastern provinces of the empire. In Paul’s day, it had a population of nearly 200,000 inhabitants. Thessalonica is one of the few cities of the first century that has maintained continuity to our day. It has grown some, with a current popula- tion of nearly 300,000.
The opening chapters of I Thessalonians are reminiscent, recalling the spiritu- al history of the church located there. The first three chapters are a detailed exposition of the words “how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.” The entire book may be divided into two parts. First, the Thessalonians are reminded of how they had received the word of God (1:1-3:13). Second, they are told of how they must live the word of God (4:1-5:28).
PAUL’S GREETINGS 1:1
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.”
Who were these men? We find our answer in Acts 17:1-2 and 14 where we learn that these were the servants who brought the gospel to Thessalonica. Paul later dispatched Timothy to be their first teacher in Christian truth (I Thessalonians 3:1-2). Silvanus is also called Silas by Luke.
While it is too much to say that Silvanus and Timothy were Paul’s co-authors, the pronoun we continues throughout most of the letter. This stands in contrast to I Corinthians 1:1 where Paul associates Sosthenes with himself but by verse 4 changes to the first person singular I for the remainder of the book.
Every age has a conventional form for letter writing. The style in Paul’s day began with the writer’s name, then the recipient’s name, followed by a greeting and the body of the letter.
Paul notes that the recipients were not only dwellers in Thessalonica but were also in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word for Father is patar and means nourisher or protector. This position is their assurance of supply and security. In Christ is a basic New Testament description of what a Christian is—one who bears a personal relationship to Christ.
PAUL’S THANKSGIVING 1:2-4
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4knowing , brethren beloved by God, His choice of you…”
Prayer for other believers occupied much of Paul’s time. The emphasis on continual prayer is found in Romans 1:9, I Corinthians 1:4, Philippians 1:3-4, and Colossians 1:3.
Thanksgiving is an expression of faith in what has been done for one. We say “thank you” only after we know something has been given to us. These opening words of Paul’s letter reveal how he views believers. He always recalls what God has done for them before he deals with their problems. In I Corinthians 1:2-3, he calls the Corinthians sanctified before he calls them men of flesh (carnal).
Paul mentions his characteristic trilogy of faith, love, and hope. These same words occur in I Corinthians 13:13 but in different order, i.e. faith, hope, and love. Why does I Thessalonians put hope last, giving it special emphasis? If one thinks of the context of the two books, the answer becomes obvious. Love is last in I Corinthians 13 because it is the theme of the chapter; hope is last in I Thessalonians because the entire book focuses on the return of Christ, which is the believer’s hope. Each chapter mentions the return of Christ (1:10, 2:19, 3:13, 4:17-18, and 5:23). The trilogy of faith, love, and hope is not in itself the focal point. The emphasis is rather on what each part of the trilogy produces. Faith produces works; love produces the labor; and hope produces stability.
Verse 4 introduces the idea of confidence with the word knowing. Paul will show why he is confident the readers are among God’s beloved elect ones.
PAUL’S CONFIDENCE 1:5-10
PAUL WAS CONFIDENT BECAUSE OF HOW GOD’S WORD CAME TO THEM 1:5
“…for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”
The word for introduces the grounds of Paul’s assurance concern- ing the Thessalonian church. The gospel may be viewed from various aspects. Romans 1:1 speaks of the gospel of God, which looks at the origin of the message; Romans 1:3 views the gospel from the standpoint of its theme—concerning His Son. Revelation 14:6 speaks of the eternal gospel, stressing its duration; and Acts 20:24 shows its basis in calling it the gospel of the grace of God. Paul calls it our gospel because he is the proclaimer of it.
The word gospel is euangelion and stresses the content of the mes- sage. Paul does not say, “We came to you with the gospel,” but rather, “The gospel came to you.” This makes the message focal, not the messengers. That the gospel did not come to them in word only points to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in causing the message to be understood. The following shows how effective communication of the gospel takes place. It is a combination of all the natural aspects of communication plus the work of the Holy Spirit.
“Our” “gospel” “to you”
Speaker Message Hearers
Everything that is required for communication is seen above, but it can break down at any point. The speaker must make a clear pre- sentation, his message must be worthwhile, and the hearers must put forth the effort to listen. In Thessalonica all of the above took place, but it was in word only until it came in power and in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit touched the speaker in verse 5, and the Holy Spirit touched the hearers in verse 6. The message of the gospel came in power because it is power itself (Romans 1:16). The result of all of this is found in the words full conviction.
PAUL WAS CONFIDENT BECAUSE OF HOW GOD’S WORD WAS RECEIVED BY THEM 1:6
“You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit…”
The word of God had changed the direction of their lives. The word imitators is mimatai (our mimic). This word is used six times in the New Testament, setting forth four examples. We are to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1), Paul (I Thessalonians 1:6, I Corinthians 4:16- 17, 11:1), other churches (I Thessalonians 2:14), and other believers (Hebrews 6:12).
The participle having received is dechomai, which means to welcome, to embrace, to make one’s own. The believers in Thessalonica had suf- fered persecution on their first reception of the truth (Acts 17:5-8), after Paul had left them (I Thessalonians 2:14-17), and as Paul is now writing (I Thessalonians 3:2-4).
PAUL WAS CONFIDENT BECAUSE OF HOW GOD’S WORD WAS HANDLED BY THEM 1:7-8
It Was Reproduced Locally 1:7
“…so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.”
The word example is tupos (our type) and means to be a model. Macedonia and Achaia represented the two parts of Greece.
It Was Reproduced Universally 1:8
“For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.”
The Thessalonian church is a good example of New Testament missions. The words from you point to the origin of missions; the word of the Lord to its message; faith toward God to its image; and every place shows the scope of their missionary activity.
PAUL WAS CONFIDENT BECAUSE OF THE WAY GOD’S WORD HAD AFFECTED THEM 1:9-10
“For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
The word reception is eisodos (opposite of exodus) and means the way into. The details of Paul’s entry into Thessalonica are given in chapter 2. There we will learn how Paul went to a large pagan city where there were no believers and in about three weeks formed a local assembly.
It is significant that Paul says they turned to God from idols, not from idols to God. The former is salvation by grace; the latter salvation by works. Each chapter of I Thessalonians contains something relative to the return of Christ.
,- Study Index for 1 THESSALONIANS by Chester McCalley
-
I Thessalonians 1:1-10- Serving God
I Thessalonians 2:1-16 – Gospel Taught at Thessalonica
I Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 – Paul and new believers
I Thessalonians 3:6-13 – Timothy’s Report
I Thessalonians 4:1-12 – Christian Conduct of the worthy walk
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The Parousia
I Thessalonians 5:1-11 – Day of the Lord
I Thessalonians 5:12-22 – Church Relationships
I Thessalonians 5:23-28 – God of peace
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