1 Thessalonians. Intro and Chapter 1-3

Transcription

1 1 Thessalonians Intro and Chapter 1-3 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NIV) Reference: NIV, Copeland and Constable Commentaries

2 Acts 28 Paul warmly received at Melita (vs. 1-10) Heals the chief official's son Sets sail for Rome He arrives at Rome (vs ) Meets with fellow believers Allowed to live by himself with a Roman guard His meets with the Jews (vs ) He explains his beliefs and provides witness to them Some believe, but others do not Paul preaches to the Jews, and abides at Rome as a prisoner (vs ) He remains there for two years History beyond Chapter 28 is reflected in the Epistles from Paul's imprisonment: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon

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4 Ancient Thessalonica Modern Day Thessaloniki 4

5 About Thessalonica Thessalonica was originally an ancient town named Thermai, meaning "Hot Springs" The town gave its name to the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, on the shore of which it stood In time it became an important city because of its strategic location Cassander, the Macedonian king, founded the more modern city in 315 B.C., named it for his wife, who was a half-sister of Alexander the Great Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, and it stood on the Via Egnatia, the Roman highway to the East In Paul's day it was a self-governing community, with enough Jews to warrant a synagogue (Acts 17:1)

6 Paul in Thessalonica - Background Paul first visited Thessalonica during his second missionary journey with Silas, Timothy, and perhaps others; around 52 BC They had just been released from prison in Philippi, and had made their way southward to Thessalonica For at least three Sabbath days, Paul reasoned in the synagogue with those present, and many believed the gospel (Acts 17:2) However, he probably ministered in Thessalonica for a longer time than just three weeks, in view of what he wrote that he had done there (see 1 Thess. 2:9) Both Jew and Jewish converts responded to Paul's message

7 Paul in Thessalonica - Ministry, Troubles, and Aftermath When the unbelieving Jews heard of the conversion of the non-jews, whom the missionaries were discipling, they stirred up a gang of men, who attacked the house of Jason Paul and his friends had been staying with Jason Unable to find the missionaries, the mob dragged Jason before the magistrates, who simply commanded him to keep the peace Convinced of the danger to Paul and Jason, the Christians sent Paul and Silas away from the city, by night, to Berea (Acts 17:10) Paul and his party began their evangelistic work in Berea in the synagogue, as was their custom. However, when many Jews there believed, the Thessalonian Jews came down to Berea and stirred up more trouble (Acts 17:10-13) At this point the Berean Christians sent Paul away to Athens, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea (Acts 17:14) Then, having been sent for by Paul, Silas and Timothy joined Paul in Athens, but he soon sent Silas back to Philippi and or Berea, and sent Timothy back to Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:13; Acts 17:15)

8 Paul in Thessalonica - Ministry, Troubles, and Aftermath Later, both men returned to Paul while he was practicing his trade in Corinth (Acts 18:3, 5), with a gift from the Christians in those Macedonian towns (2 Cor. 11:9; cf. Phil. 4:15) Timothy's report of the conditions in the Thessalonian church led Paul to write this epistle Some of the Thessalonians apparently believed that Jesus Christ was about to return momentarily, and had consequently given up their jobs and become disorderly (cf. 1 Thess. 4:11; 5:14) Some worried about what had happened to their loved ones who had died before the Lord had returned (4:13,18) Persecution from the Gentiles as well as the Jews still oppressed the believers (2:17 3:10), who were nevertheless holding fast to the truth, and eager to see Paul again (3:6-8) Some of those outside the church, however, remained hostile to Paul (2:1-12). There appears to have been some misuse of spiritual gifts in the assembly, as well as an unfortunate tendency on the part of some to return to their former habits involving sexual impurity (4:1-8; 5:19-21)

9 Why Did Paul Write This Epistle? In view of this epistle's contents, Paul had at least three purposes in mind when he wrote: First, he wanted to encourage the Christians in Thessalonica who were making good progress in their new faith (1:2-10) Second, he desired to correct misinformation about himself and his fellow missionaries that some of his critics in Thessalonica were circulating (2:1 3:13) Third, he wrote to give additional instruction that would contribute to the Thessalonians' spiritual growth (4:1 5:24) Whereas we regard 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus as the Pastoral Epistles, 1 and 2 Thessalonians are every bit as pastoral and personal, as is 2 Corinthians They reveal much about "Paul's pastoral zeal and his intense interest in the spiritual well-being of his converts"

10 Thessalonian Faith (1 Thessalonians 1) Introduction (vs. 1) Three characteristics of the Thessalonian Christians stood out to Paul (vs. 2-3) First, they had turned to Christ in "faith" Second, they had served Him out of "love" Third, they had borne up under tribulation patiently, because of the "hope" that lay before them Paul identified the source of each virtue. Each virtue found its object in Jesus Christ as they lived before God They are portrayed as model Christians to others in the region (vs. 4-9) They are pictured as waiting for the return of Christ (vs. 10)

11 Pauls Ministry (1 Thessalonians 2) Appeal to his readers to remember that Pauls preaching had yielded positive results (vs. 1-2) Paul claimed that his message was true, his motives were pure, and his methods were straightforward (vs. 3-4) Paul disliked the use of speech that would assure him a positive reception regardless of what he preached (vs. 5-6) Instead, he was "gentle" and unselfish, more like a "nursing mother" than an apostle (vs. 7-9) He called upon them to witness how he had cared for them - he had done so "as a father" (vs ) Paul reminded his readers how they had welcomed the gospel message in order to defend further his own ministry, and to emphasize the importance of proclaiming this message, he did this so the Thessalonians would continue to support it abroad as they had been doing (vs )

12 Timothy's Report (1 Thessalonians 3) Reminder of the persecution that Paul and his followers faced, and thus the need to continue moving (vs. 1-4) Paul had become concerned about the new church in Thessalonica under the yoke of the oppressive Jews (vs 5) Timothy provides a report back to Paul (vs. 6-11) Paul rejoiced when he heard that the Thessalonians were withstanding persecution He shared his reaction to this news with them, in order to encourage them to persevere as their afflictions continued He longed to see them and prayed God would provide the way Paul also prayed that the Lord, not man, would cause the believers' love to continue growing and overflow even more among themselves and "toward all people" (vs )

13 Next Week I Thessalonians 4-5