Text -- 1 Thessalonians 5:27 (NET)

5:27 I call on you solemnly in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 1Th 5:27

I adjure you by the Lord ( enorkizō humas ton Kurion ).

Late compound for old horkizō (Mar 5:7), to put one on oath, with two accusatives (Robertson, Grammar , pp. 483f.). Occurs in inscriptions.

Robertson: 1Th 5:27

That this epistle be read unto all the brethren ( anagnōsthēnai tēn epistolēn pasin tois adelphois ).

First aorist passive infinitive of anaginōskō with accusative of general reference in an indirect command. Clearly Paul wrote for the church as a whole and wished the epistles read aloud at a public meeting. In this first epistle we see the importance that he attaches to his epistles.

Vincent: 1Th 5:27

I charge ( ἐνορκίζω )

N.T.o . Rev. stronger and more literal, I adjure . o Class. This strong appeal may perhaps be explained by a suspicion on Paul's part that a wrong use might be made of his name and authority (see 2Th 2:2), so that it was important that his views should be made known to all. Lightfoot refers to 2Th 3:17, as showing a similar feeling in his anxiety to authenticate his letter.

Wesley: 1Th 5:27

Christ, to whom proper divine worship is here paid.

Wesley: 1Th 5:27

The first he wrote.

Wesley: 1Th 5:27

That is, in all the churches. They might have concealed it out of modesty, had not this been so solemnly enjoined: but what Paul commands under so strong an adjuration, Rome forbids under pain of excommunication.

JFB: 1Th 5:27

Greek, "I adjure you."

JFB: 1Th 5:27

Namely, publicly in the congregation at a particular time. The Greek aorist tense implies a single act done at a particular time. The earnestness of his adjuration implies how solemnly important he felt this divinely inspired message to be. Also, as this was the FIRST of the Epistles of the New Testament, he makes this the occasion of a solemn charge, that so its being publicly read should be a sample of what should be done in the case of the others, just as the Pentateuch and the Prophets were publicly read under the Old Testament, and are still read in the synagogue. Compare the same injunction as to the public reading of the Apocalypse, the LAST of the New Testament canon (Rev 1:3). The "all" includes women and children, and especially those who could not read it themselves (Deu 31:12; Jos 8:33-35). What Paul commands with an adjuration, Rome forbids under a curse [BENGEL]. Though these Epistles had difficulties, the laity were all to hear them read (1Pe 4:11; 2Pe 3:10; even the very young, 2Ti 1:5; 2Ti 3:15). "Holy" is omitted before "brethren" in most of the oldest manuscripts, though some of them support it.

Clarke: 1Th 5:27

I charge you by the Lord, that this epistle be read - There must have been some particular reason for this solemn charge; he certainly had some cause to suspect that the epistle would be suppressed in some way or other, and that the whole Church would not be permitted to hear it; or he may refer to the smaller Churches contiguous to Thessalonica, or the Churches in Macedonia in general, whom he wished to hear it, as well as those to whom it was more immediately directed. There is no doubt that the apostles designed that their epistles should be copied, and sent to all the Churches in the vicinity of that to which they were directed. Had this not been the case, a great number of Churches would have known scarcely any thing of the New Testament. As every Jewish synagogue had a copy of the law and the prophets, so every Christian Church had a copy of the gospels and the epistles, which were daily, or at least every Sabbath, read for the instruction of the people. This the apostle deemed so necessary, that he adjured them by the Lord to read this epistle to all the brethren; i.e. to all the Christians in that district. Other Churches might get copies of it; and thus, no doubt, it soon became general. In this way other parts of the sacred writings were disseminated through all the Churches of the Gentiles; and the errors of the different scribes, employed to take copies, constituted what are now called the various readings.

Calvin: 1Th 5:27

27.I adjure you by the Lord. It is not certain whether he feared that, as often happened, spiteful and envious persons would suppress the Epistle, or whether he wished to provide against another danger — lest by a mistaken prudence and caution on the part of some, it should be kept among a few. ⁶²⁴ For there will always be found some who say that it is of no advantage to publish generally things that otherwise they recognize as very excellent. At least, whatever artifice or pretext Satan may have at that time contrived, in order that the Epistle might not come to the knowledge of all, we may gather from Paul’s words with what earnestness and keenness he sets himself in opposition to it. For it is no light or frivolous thing to adjure by the name of God. We find, therefore, that the Spirit of God would have those things which he had set forth in this Epistle, through the ministry of Paul, to be published throughout the whole Church. Hence it appears, that those are more refractory than even devils themselves, who in the present day prohibit the people of God from reading the writings of Paul, inasmuch as they are no way moved by so strict an adjuration.

END OF THE COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS.

TSK: 1Th 5:27

I charge : or, I adjure, 1Th 2:11; Num 27:23; 1Ki 22:16; 2Ch 18:15; Mat 26:63; Mar 5:7; Act 19:13; 1Ti 1:3, 1Ti 1:18, 1Ti 5:7, 1Ti 5:21, 1Ti 6:13, 1Ti 6:17; 2Ti 4:1

that : Col 4:16; 2Th 3:14

holy : Heb 3:1

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Th 5:27

I charge you by the Lord - Margin, "adjure."Greek, "I put you under oath by the Lord"- ενορκίζω ὑμᾶς τὸν Κύριον enorkizō humas ton Kurion . It is equivalent to binding persons by an oath; see the notes on Mat 26:63; compare Gen 21:23-24; Gen 24:3, Gen 24:37.

That this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren - To all the church; compare notes on Col 4:16. The meaning is, that the Epistle was to be read to the whole church on some occasion. on which it was assembled together. It was not merely designed for the individual or individuals into whose hands it might happen to fall, but as it contained matters of common interest, and was designed for the whole body of believers at Thessalonica, the apostle gives a solemn charge that it should not be suppressed or kept from them. Injunctions of this kind occurring in the Epistles, look as if the apostles regarded themselves as under the influence of inspiration, and as having authority to give infallible instructions to the churches.

Poole: 1Th 5:27

The apostle having now finished the Epistle, lays a solemn charge upon them all, especially their elders and teachers, to have this Epistle published. He now being himself hindered from preaching to them, he sends this Epistle to them to be read to all. He wrote it for public use, and therefore would have none ignorant of it, whereby they might all understand what he had written about his great love and care of them, and the commendations he had given of them, and the instructions, admonitions, exhortations, and comforts that were contained therein, of great use to them all. And his charge herein is in a way of adjuration, Orkizw umav ton Kurion , imposing it on them as by an oath; as Abraham did upon his servant in the case of providing a wife for Isaac, Gen 24:3 . And so the high priest said to Christ: I adjure thee by the living God, & c., Mat 26:63 ; answering to the Hebrew word Hishbagnti, I adjure you; Son 5:8 : I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, & c. It imports the requiring of a thing in the name and authority of God, with a denunciation of vengeance if it be not done. And all this charge is about the reading of this Epistle; as he commands the Epistle to the Colossians to be read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that from Laodicea to be read to them, Col 4:16 , but not with that solemn charge as this is. Hence we may gather the duty of reading the Scriptures in the church assemblies, as the law of Moses was read in the synagogues. And, very early in the Christian churches there were some appointed to be readers. Julian the Apostate was a reader in the church at Nicomedia. And if this was the first Epistle written by the apostle, as some suppose it, he lays this solemn charge first for the reading of this, to show the duty of the several churches to the rest of the Scriptures, as they should come to their hand. The word of God should dwell richly and plentifully in the people, and therefore reading it is necessary, together with expounding and applying it. And we hence also may prove against the papists, it ought to be made known to the people, even all the holy brethren, and not confined to the clergy; and to be read in their own tongue, for so, without question, was this Epistle read in a language which the people understood. The apostle was not for confining of knowledge, and keeping the people in ignorance, as those are who make it the mother of devotion.

Gill: 1Th 5:27

I charge you by the Lord,.... Or "I adjure by the Lord"; by the Lord Jesus: it is in the form of an oath, and a very solemn one; and shows that oaths may be used on certain and solemn occasions:

that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren; to all the members of the church, who are called "holy", because they were sanctified or set apart by God the Father in election; and were sanctified by the blood of Christ, or their sins were expiated, or atoned for by the sacrifice of Christ in redemption; and were sanctified or made holy by the Spirit of God in regeneration; and were enabled by the grace of God to live holy lives and conversations. Now this epistle being directed only to some of the principal members of the church, it may be to one or more of their elders; lest he or they should be tempted on any account to conceal it, the apostle in a very solemn manner adjures, that it be read publicly to the whole church whom it concerned, that all might hear, and learn, and receive some advantage from it; from whence we may learn, as is observed by many interpreters, that the sacred Scriptures, neither one part nor another, nor the whole of them, are to be kept from private Christians, but may be read, and heard, and used by all.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Th 5:27

¹ tn Grk “I adjure you by the Lord,” “I put you under oath before the Lord.”

² tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א² A Ψ [33] 1739 1881 Ï ar vg sy bo), read “holy” before “brothers [and sisters]” (ἁγίοις ἀδελφοῖς, Jagioi" adelfoi"). It is possible that ἁγίοις dropped out by way of homoioteleuton (in uncial script the words would be written agioisadelfois), but it is equally possible that the adjective was added because of the influence of ἁγίῳ (Jagiw) in v. 26. Another internal consideration is that the expression ἅγιοι ἀδελφοί ({agioi adelfoi, “holy brothers”) is not found elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum, though Col 1:2 comes close. But this fact could be argued either way: It may suggest that such an expression is not Pauline; on the other hand, the unusualness of the expression could have resulted in an alteration by some scribes. At the same time, since 1 Thessalonians is one of the earliest of Paul’s letters, and written well before he addresses Christians as saints (ἅγιοι) in 1 Corinthians for the first time, one might argue that Paul’s own forms of expression were going through something of a metamorphosis. Scribes insensitive to this fact could well impute later Pauline collocations onto his earlier letters. The internal evidence seems to support, albeit slightly, the omission of ἁγίοις here. Externally, most of the better witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א* B D F G 0278 it sa) combine in having the shorter reading. Although the rating of “A” in UBS⁴ for the omission seems too generous, this reading is still to be preferred.

tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Th 5:1-28

1 He proceeds in the former description of Christ's coming to judgment;

16 and gives divers precepts;

23 and so concludes the epistle.

Maclaren: 1Th 5:27

Paul's Earliest Teaching

I charge you, by the Lord, that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.'--1 Thess. 5:27.

IF the hooks of the New Testament were arranged according to the dates of their composition, this epistle would stand first. It was written somewhere about twenty years after the Crucifixion, and long before any of the existing Gospels. It is, therefore, of peculiar interest, as being the most venerable extant Christian document, and as being a witness to Christian truth quite independent of the Gospel narratives.

The little community at Thessalonica had been gathered together as the result of a very brief period of ministration by Paul. He had spoken for three successive Sabbaths in the synagogue, and had drawn together a Christian society, mostly consisting of heathens, though with a sprinkling of Jews amongst them. Driven from the city by a riot, he had left it for Athens, with many anxious thoughts, of course, as to whether the infant community would be able to stand alone after so few weeks of his presence and instruction. Therefore he sent back one of his travelling companions, Timothy by name, to watch over the young plant for a little while. When Timothy returned with the intelligence of their steadfastness, it was good news indeed, and with a sense of relieved anxiety, he sits down to write this letter, which, all through, throbs with thankfulness, and reveals the strain which the news had taken off his spirit.

There are no such definite doctrinal statements in it as in the most of Paul's longer letters; it is simply an outburst of confidence and love and tenderness, and a series of practical instructions. It has been called the least doctrinal of the Pauline Epistles. And in one sense, and under certain limitations, that is perfectly true. But the very fact that it is so makes its indications and hints and allusions the more significant; and if this letter, not written for the purpose of enforcing any special doctrinal truth, be so saturated as it is with the facts and principles of the Gospel, the stronger is the attestation which it gives to the importance of these. I have, therefore, thought it might be worth our while now, and might, perhaps, set threadbare truth in something of a new light, if we put this--the most ancient Christian writing extant, which is quite independent of the four Gospels--into the witness-box, and see what it has to say about the great truths and principles which we call the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is my simple design, and I gather the phenomena into three or four divisions for the sake of accuracy and order.

I. First Of All, Then, Let Us Hear Its Witness To The Divine Christ.

Look how the letter begins. Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ.' What is the meaning of that collocation, putting these two names side by side, unless it means that the Lord Jesus Christ sits on the Father's throne, and is divine?

Then there is another fact that I would have you notice, and that is that more than twenty times in this short letter that great name is applied to Jesus, the Lord.' Now mark that that is something more than a mere title of human authority. It is in reality the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Jehovah, and is the transference to Him of that incommunicable name.

And then there is another fact which I would have you weigh, viz., that in this letter direct prayer is offered to our Lord Himself. In one place we read the petition, May our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way unto you,' where the petition is presented to both, and where both are supposed to be operative in the answer. And more than that, the word direct,' following upon this plural subject, is itself a singular verb. Could language more completely express than that grammatical solecism does, the deep truth of the true and proper divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? There is nothing in any part of Scripture more emphatic and more lofty in its unfaltering proclamation of that fundamental truth of the Gospel than this altogether undoctrinal Epistle.

The Apostle does not conceive himself to be telling these men, though they were such raw and recent Christians, anything new when he presupposes the truth that to Him desires and prayers may go. Thus the very loftiest apex of revealed religion had been imparted to that handful of heathens in the few weeks of the Apostle's stay amongst them. And nowhere upon the inspired pages of the fourth Evangelist, nor in that great Epistle to the Colossians, which is the very citadel and central fort of that doctrine in Scripture, is there more emphatically stated this truth than here, in these incidental allusions.

This witness, at any rate, declares, apart altogether from any other part of Scripture, that so early in the development of the Church's history, and to people so recently dragged from idolatry, and having received but such necessarily partial instruction in revealed truth, this had not been omitted, that the Christ in whom they trusted was the Everlasting Son of the Father. And it takes it for granted that, so deeply was that truth embedded in their new consciousness that an allusion to it was all that was needed for their understanding and their faith. That is the first part of the testimony.

II. Now, Secondly, Let Us Ask What This Witness Has To Say About The Dying Christ.

There is no doctrinal theology in the Epistle to the Thessalonians, they tell us. Granted that there is no articulate argumentative setting forth of great doctrinal truths. But these are implied and involved in almost every word of it; and are definitely stated thus incidentally in more places than one. Let us hear the witness about the dying Christ.

First, as to the fact, The Jews killed the Lord Jesus.' The historical fact is here set forth distinctly. And then, beyond the fact, there is as distinctly, though in the same incidental fashion, set forth the meaning of that fact--God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us.

Here are at least two things--one, the allusion, as to a well-known and received truth, proclaimed before now to them, that Jesus Christ in His death had died for them; and the other, that Jesus Christ was the medium through whom the Father had appointed that men should obtain all the blessings which are wrapped up in that sovereign word salvation.' I need but mention in this connection another verse, from another part of the letter, which speaks of Jesus as He that delivereth us from the wrath to come.' Remark that there our Authorised Version fails to give the whole significance of the words, because it translates delivered, instead of, as the Revised Version correctly does, delivereth. It is a continuous deliverance, running all through the life of the Christian man, and not merely to be realised away yonder at the far end; because by the mighty providence of God, and by the automatic working of the consequences of every transgression and disobedience, that' wrath' is ever coming, coming, coming towards men, and lighting on them, and a continual Deliverer, who delivers us by His death, is what the human heart needs. This witness is distinct that the death of Christ is a sacrifice, that the death of Christ is man's deliverance from wrath, that the death of Christ is a present deliverance from the consequences of transgression.

And was that Paul's peculiar doctrine? Is it conceivable that, in a letter in which he refers--once, at all events--to the churches in Judea as their brethren,' he was proclaiming any individual or schismatic reading of the facts of the life of Jesus Christy I believe that there has been a great deal too much made of the supposed divergencies of types of doctrine in the New Testament. There are such types, within certain limits. Nobody would mistake a word of John's calm, mystical, contemplative spirit for a word of Paul's fiery, dialectic spirit. And nobody would mistake either the one or the other for Peter's impulsive, warm-hearted exhortations. But whilst there are diversities in the way of apprehending, there are no diversities in the declaration of what is the central truth to be apprehended. These varyings of the types of doctrine in the New Testament are one in this, that all point to the Cross as the world's salvation, and declare that the death there was the death for all mankind.

Paul comes to it with his reasoning; John comes to it with his adoring contemplation; Peter comes to it with his mind saturated with Old Testament allusions. Paul declares that the Christ died for us'; John declares that He is the Lamb of God'; Peter declares that Christ bare our sins in His own body on the tree.' But all make one unbroken phalanx of witness in their proclamation, that the Cross, because it is a cross of sacrifice, is a cross of reconciliation and peace and hope. And this is the Gospel that they all proclaim, how that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,' and Paul could venture to say, Whether it were they or I, so we preach, and so ye believed.'

That was the Gospel that took these heathens, wallowing in the mire of sensuous idolatry, and lifted them up to the elevation and the blessedness of children of God.

And if you will read this letter, and think that there had been only a few weeks of acquaintance with the Gospel on the part of its readers, and then mark how the early and imperfect glimpse of it had transformed them, you will see where the power lies in the proclamation of the Gospel. A short time before they had been heathens; and now says Paul, From you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything.' We do not need to talk to you about love of the brethren,' for yourselves are taught of God to love one another, and my heart is full of thankfulness when I think of your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope." The men bad been transformed. What transformed them? The message of a divine and dying Christ, who had offered up Himself without spot unto God, and who was their peace and their righteousness and their power.

III. Thirdly, Notice What This Witness Has To Say About The Risen And Ascended Christ.

Here is what it has to say: Ye turned unto God .. to wait for His Son from heaven whom He raised from the dead.' And again: The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.' The risen Christ, then, is in the heavens, and Paul assumes that these people, just brought out of heathenism, have received that truth into their hearts in the love of it, and know it so thoroughly that he can take for granted their entire acquiescence in and acceptance of it.

Remember, we have nothing to do with the four Gospels here. Remember, not a line of them had yet been written. Remember, that we are dealing here with an entirely independent witness. And then tell us what importance is to be attached to this evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Twenty years after His death here is this man speaking about that Resurrection as being not only something that he had to proclaim, and believed, but as being the recognised and notorious fact which all the churches accepted, and which underlay all their faith.

I would have you remember that if, twenty years after this event, this witness was borne, that necessarily carries us back a great deal nearer to the event than the hour of its utterance, for there is no mark of its being new testimony at that instant, but every mark of its being the habitual and continuous witness that had been borne from the instant of the alleged Resurrection to the present time. It at least takes us back a good many years nearer the empty sepulchre than the twenty which mark its date. It at least takes us back to the conversion of the Apostle Paul; and that necessarily involves, as it seems to me, that if that man, believing in the Resurrection, went into the Church, there would have been an end of his association with them, unless he had found there the same faith. The fact of the matter is, there is not a place where you can stick a pin in, between the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the date of this letter, wide enough to admit of the rise of the faith in a Resurrection. We are necessarily forced by the very fact of the existence of the Church to the admission that the belief in the Resurrection was contemporaneous with the alleged Resurrection itself.

And so we are shut up--in spite of the wriggling of people that do not accept that great truth--we are shut up to the old alternative, as it seems to me, that either Jesus Christ rose from the dead, or the noblest lives that the world has ever seen, and the loftiest system of morality that has ever been proclaimed, were built upon a lie. And we are called to believe that at the bidding of a mere unsupported, bare, dogmatic assertion that miracles are impossible. Believe it who will, I decline to be coerced into believing a blank, staring psychological contradiction and impossibility, in order to be saved the necessity of admitting the existence of the supernatural. I would rather believe in the supernatural than the ridiculous. And to me it is unspeakably ridiculous to suppose that anything but the fact of the Resurrection accounts for the existence of the Church, and for the faith of this witness that we have before us.

And so, dear friends, we come back to this, the Christianity that flings away the risen Christ is a mere mass of tatters with nothing in it to cover a man's nakedness, an illusion with no vitality in it to quicken, to comfort, to ennoble, to raise, to teach aspiration or hope or effort. The human heart needs the Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.' And this independent witness confirms the Gospel story: Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.'

IV. Lastly, Let Us Hear What This Witness Has To Say About The Returning Christ.

That is the characteristic doctrinal subject of the letter. We all know that wonderful passage of unsurpassed tenderness and majesty, which has soothed so many hearts and been like a gentle hand laid upon so many aching spirits, about the returning Jesus coming in the clouds,' with the dear ones that are asleep along with Him, and the reunion of them that sleep and them that are alive and remain, in one indissoluble concord and concourse, when we shall ever be with the Lord, and clasp inseparable hands with joy and bliss in over-measure for ever.' The coming of the Master does not appear here with emphasis on its judicial aspect. It is rather intended to bring hope to the mourners, and the certainty that bands broken here may be re-knit in holier fashion hereafter. But the judicial aspect is not, as it could not be, left out, and the Apostle further tells us that that day cometh as a thief in the night.' That is a quotation of the Master's own words, which we find in the Gospels; and so again a confirmation, so far as it goes, from an independent witness, of the Gospel story. And then he goes on, in terrible language, to speak of sudden destruction, as of travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.'

These, then, are the points of this witness's testimony as to the returning Lord--a personal coming, a reunion of all believers in Him, in order to eternal felicity and mutual gladness, and the destruction that shall fall by His coming upon those who turn away from Him.

What a revelation that would be to men who had known what it was to grope in the darkness of heathendom, and to have new light upon the future!

I remember once walking in the long galleries of the Vatican, on the one side of which there are Christian inscriptions from the catacombs, and on the other heathen inscriptions from the tombs. One side is all dreamy and hopeless; one long sigh echoing along the line of white marbles--Vale! vale! in aeternum vale!' (Farewell, farewell, for ever farewell.) On the other side--In Christo, in pace, in spe.' (In Christ, in peace, in hope.) That is the witness that we have to lay to our hearts. And so death becomes a passage, and we let go the dear hands, believing that we shall clasp them again.

My brother! this witness is to a gospel that is the gospel for Manchester as well as for Thessalonica. You and I want just the same as these old heathens there wanted. We, too, need the divine Christ, the dying Christ, the risen Christ, the ascended Christ, the returning Christ. And I beseech you to take Him for your Christ, in all the fulness of His offices, the manifoldness of His power, and the sweetness of His love, so that of you it may be said, as this Apostle says about these Thessalonians,' Ye received it not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, as the word of God.'

THE END

2 Thessalonians

MHCC: 1Th 5:23-28

The apostle prays that they might be sanctified more perfectly, for the best are sanctified but in part while in this world; therefore we should pray for, and press toward, complete holiness. And as we must fall, if God did not carry on his good work in the soul, we should pray to God to perfect his work, till we are presented faultless before the throne of his glory. We should pray for one another; and brethren should thus express brotherly love. This epistle was to be read to all the brethren. Not only are the common people allowed to read the Scriptures, but it is their duty, and what they should be persuaded to do. The word of God should not be kept in an unknown tongue, but transplanted, that as all men are concerned to know the Scriptures, so they all may be able to read them. The Scriptures should be read in all public congregations, for the benefit of the unlearned especially. We need no more to make us happy, than to know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is an ever-flowing and an over-flowing fountain of grace to supply all our wants.

Matthew Henry: 1Th 5:23-28

In these words, which conclude this epistle, observe,

I. Paul's prayer for them, 1Th 5:23. He had told them, in the beginning of this epistle, that he always made mention of them in his prayers; and, now that he is writing to them, he lifts up his heart to God in prayer for them. Take notice, 1. To whom the apostle prays, namely, The very God of peace. He is the God of grace, and the God of peace and love. He is the author of peace and lover of concord; and by their peaceableness and unity, from God as the author, those things would best be obtained which he prays for. 2. The things he prays for on behalf of the Thessalonians are their sanctification, that God would sanctify them wholly; and their preservation, that they might be preserved blameless. He prays that they may be wholly sanctified, that the whole man may be sanctified, and then that the whole man, spirit, soul, and body, may be preserved: or, he prays that they may be wholly sanctified, that is, more perfectly, for the best are sanctified but in part while in this world; and therefore we should pray for and press towards complete sanctification. Where the good work of grace is begun, it shall be carried on, be protected and preserved; and all those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus shall be preserved to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And because, if God did not carry on his good work in the soul, it would miscarry, we should pray to God to perfect his work, and preserve us blameless, free from sin and impurity, till at length we are presented faultless before the throne of his glory with exceeding joy.

II. His comfortable assurance that God would hear his prayer: Faithful is he who calleth you, who will also do it, 1Th 5:24. The kindness and love of God had appeared to them in calling them to the knowledge of his truth, and the faithfulness of God was their security that they should persevere to the end; and therefore, the apostle assures them, God would do what he desired; he would effect what he had promised; he would accomplish all the good pleasure of his goodness towards them. Note, Our fidelity to God depends upon his faithfulness to us.

III. His request of their prayers: Brethren, pray for us, 1Th 5:25. We should pray for one another; and brethren should thus express brotherly love. This great apostle did not think it beneath him to call the Thessalonians brethren, nor to request their prayers. Ministers stand in need of their people's prayers; and the more people pray for their ministers the more good ministers may have from God, and the more benefit people may receive by their ministry.

IV. His salutation: Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss, 1Th 5:26. Thus the apostle sends a friendly salutation from himself, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, and would have them salute each other in their names; and thus he would have them signify their mutual love and affection to one another by the kiss of charity (1Pe 5:14), which is here called a holy kiss, to intimate how cautious they should be of all impurity in the use of this ceremony, then commonly practised; as it should not be a treacherous kiss like that of Judas, so not a lascivious kiss like that of the harlot, Pro 7:13.

V. His solemn charge for the reading of this epistle, 1Th 5:27. This is not only an exhortation, but an adjuration by the Lord. And this epistle was to be read to all the holy brethren. It is not only allowed to the common people to read the scriptures, and what none should prohibit, but it is their indispensable duty, and what they should be persuaded to do. In order to this, these holy oracles should not be kept concealed in an unknown tongue, but translated into the vulgar languages, that all men, being concerned to know the scriptures, may be able to read them, and be acquainted with them. The public reading of the law was one part of the worship of the sabbath among the Jews in their synagogues, and the scriptures should be read in the public assemblies of Christians also.

VI. The apostolical benediction that is usual in other epistles: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen, 1Th 5:28. We need no more to make us happy than to know that grace which our Lord Jesus Christ has manifested, be interested in that grace which he has purchased, and partake of that grace which dwells in him as the head of the church. This is an ever-flowing and overflowing fountain of grace to supply all our wants.

Barclay: 1Th 5:23-28

At the end of his letter Paul commends his friends to God in body, soul and spirit. But there is one very lovely saying here. "Brothers," said Paul, "pray for us." It is a wonderful thing that the greatest saint of them all should feel that he was strengthened by the prayers of the humblest Christians. Once his friends came to congratulate a great statesman who had been elected to the highest office his country could offer him. He said, "Don't give me your congratulations, but give me your prayers." For Paul prayer was a golden chain in which he prayed for others and others prayed for him.

Constable: 1Th 5:25-28

IV. CONCLUSION 5:25-28

Paul added this final postscript to encourage three more actions and to stress one basic attitude.

5:25 Paul believed that intercessory prayer would move God to do things that He would not do otherwise (cf. James 4:2).

"The ministry of prayer is the most important service that the Church of Christ can engage in."¹³⁴

5:26 The man to man and woman to woman kiss of brotherly affection in Christ was and is a customary greeting in many parts of the world. In North American culture an embrace or handshake more often communicates the same sentiments.

5:27 Paul recognized the edifying value of this letter and perhaps its divine inspiration, so he firmly charged that someone read it aloud to all the congregation of saints.

"The sudden switch from the plural to the singular of the first person is significant; the most probable explanation is that Paul took over the pen at this point and added the adjuration and the concluding benediction with his own hand . . ."¹³⁵

5:28 Finally, he expressed his longing that the unmerited favor of God would continue to be his readers' experience and source of joy. Paul typically mentioned God's grace in his farewells. It was one of his favorite themes. This benediction is identical to the ones in Romans 16:20 and 1 Corinthians 16:23.

College: 1Th 5:1-28

1 THESSALONIANS 5

2. The Suddenness of the Lord's Return (5:1-11)

¹ Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴ But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Paul's discussion of Christ's return now shifts from correcting their specific point of misunderstanding to a more general reminder and exhortation about its significance. Two key concepts stand in dynamic tension throughout New Testament teaching on the parousia: the possibility that Christ could return at any time and the prospect that his return will take longer than his people might expect or hope. Though modern scholars have attempted to reconstruct early Christian thinking as having begun with the first idea, later abandoning it for the second when the expectation of Christ's immediate return was disappointed, such a reconstruction fails to do justice to any part of the New Testament as it addresses these topics.

It is precisely because of both sides of this teaching that Paul makes the exhortation here, based on Jesus' own instruction (cf. Matt 24:1-25:46; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 12:35-46; 17:22-37; 19:11-27; 21:1-38), for enduring watchfulness. The Lord will indeed come back, and he could do so at any moment. His followers must therefore live with that expectation and reflect it in their sober behavior. But because he may not come back immediately, they must strengthen each other to remain faithful.

As in the preceding section, the eschatological teaching here is given for its practical value, not for speculation. In particular, Paul has nothing to do with conjecture or hints about the precise time of the Lord's return or signs which may precede it. In fact, the entire course of his argument depends on the time of Christ's coming being uncertain. Instead, he offers this teaching to throw into sharp contrast the attitude, lifestyle and destiny of the Christians in comparison with their pagan neighbors. Understanding how their identity with Christ will affect eternity will in turn define for them how their lives are to be different in the present.

As the emphasis of the preceding section was on the salvation that comes with the Lord's return, so here the emphasis lies on the judgment that comes with that event. Like the tension between imminence and delay, this tension is consistently presented in biblical eschatology. Paul's assurance to the readers is that judgment for them is no threat: Christ's return means condemnation only for those who have rejected him, the very people who now oppose and persecute the Christians.

5:1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,

Paul indicates with this statement that he continues the previous subject while altering the specific focus. Having shown how Christ's return provides comfort for the readers' grief, he now shifts to a reminder of the broader impact that their expectation should have on their behavior. "Times" translates the Greek crovno" ( chronos ); "dates" represents kairov" ( kairos ). Both are expressions for time with broad ranges of possible meanings. Though they can be used with distinct emphases, no possible differentiation between them has relevance in context. Likewise, the fact that Paul uses the plural does not suggest that he assumes here a specific series of "times and dates" which will be fulfilled in the future. The point lies rather with the combination of both plural terms, underscoring the readers' comprehensive grasp of the nature of the age in which they live. The combination may, in fact, be a common way of referring to the time of final judgment (cf. Acts 1:7).

The reason that Paul has no need to instruct the Thessalonians concerning these "times and dates" is clarified by the verses that follow. Paul does not assert here that they know the time or date of the Lord's return. The discussion that follows clearly depends on the time of his return being indefinite. The statement of Matt 24:26 is entirely consistent with Paul's point here. Instead, Paul emphasizes with this introductory reminder that the Thessalonians understand the character of the era in which they live. Because Christ has come and inaugurated the fulfillment of God's end-time promises, they recognize that they already live in the "last days," the age of fulfillment which is also characterized by deception, unbelief, suffering and persecution. They can therefore understand that such things are indications of the imminence of the judgment that will come for those unprepared for Christ's return (cf. 1:10; Matt 24:4-14, 32-35).

5:2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

The comparison of the Lord's return to a thief in the night is found in a wide variety of texts in the New Testament (Matt 24:43; Luke 12:39; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15). The distribution of these references through all parts of the New Testament indicates that this aspect of Jesus' teaching was widely circulated among early Christians. In this text and others the comparison stresses that for those who are not his followers, the Lord's return will be unexpected and disastrous. The thief's coming is secretive; those who are unprepared have no idea that he is coming at all. But the context does not permit the inference that he both comes and departs without being noticed, as in the eschatological view that argues for a "secret rapture." The image rather indicates that his coming is not expected prior to the event, but when the thief arrives, catastrophe comes suddenly and decisively on the unprepared.

Continuing the sentence begun in v. 1, Paul stresses that the readers already know what he offers here by way of reminder. Undoubtedly they had received this teaching as part of their larger instruction about Jesus. At a number of points, Paul's language in the following verses resembles passages of the Gospels dealing with Jesus' return.

Paul here uses the expression "day of the Lord" to refer to Christ's return. The phrase has its background in the Old Testament (e.g., Isa 13:6-16; Joel 1:15; Amos 5:18-20; Obad 15-21; Zech 14). There it can signify any great action of God bringing blessing or judgment, but especially God's final and decisive act of judgment and redemption. Only Paul in the New Testament uses this specific phrase to refer directly to the return of Christ (1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor 1:14; 2 Thess 2:2). However, the basis for his associating Christ's return with the ultimate fulfillment of God's purpose is clearly set forth in Jesus' own teaching, and the concept of a coming "day" is found throughout the New Testament. So the phrase would be familiar to the readers, as would its association with judgment for unbelievers but blessing for believers. No wonder, then, that Paul writes that the Thessalonians know this point "very well," ajkribw'" (akribôs), a word used commonly to stress that something is known accurately or thoroughly.

5:3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly,

Paul's point here is similar to the one made in Matt 24:36-39: Christ will return in a time that appears to be ordinary and comfortable to unbelievers. Paul here describes the unbeliever's general, repeated characterization of life. For such people the situation is "peace and safety." The first term is especially ironic, since from Paul's perspective real "peace" is available only through the Christ whom these have rejected (1:1; 5:23; Rom 5:1; cf. Jer 6:14-15; Ezek 13:10-16). "Safety" underscores the significance of the first term: there appears to be no threat to the peace that the unbeliever perceives. But such is emphatically not the case, for in place of this false security, indeed in the very midst of it, will come "destruction," signifying the complete ruin of their confidence and comfort (see comments on 2 Thess 1:9 below). Underlining the unexpectedness is the modifier "suddenly." This term, aijfnivdio" ( aiphnidios ) is used elsewhere in the New Testament only in Luke 21:34, where the same verb, ejfivsthmi (ephistçmi, "comes"), not a common verb for this concept, is used also. The echo of Jesus' teaching is unmistakable. The verb here is in the Greek present tense, stressing the common, repeated experience of all those unprepared.

as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

The comparison of the Lord's return to labor pains has two apparent points of comparison in context. The first looks back to the first part of the verse: like labor pains, the Lord's return will come suddenly. The second is found in the close of the verse: as with labor, there will be no escape. The verb translated "escape," ejkfeuvgw (ekpheugô), appears also in Luke 21:35, again connecting this passage to Jesus' teaching. Paul does use the figure of labor pains in a different sense than is found in Matt 24:8. There Jesus warns the disciples not to view the hardships which they will experience as indications that the end has already come but as the "beginnings of birth pangs," only the most preliminary of events that precede the end. Though Paul obviously uses the same image here to make a different point, he may still be consciously drawing upon Jesus' teachings by way of reminder for the readers.

5:4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

Paul begins this verse with an emphatic pronoun, uJmei'" ( hymeis , "you"), which draws a sharp contrast between those not prepared for Christ's return and the readers of the letter. These, again, are "brothers," those drawn into the fellowship of God's people and so prepared for his final judgment. Such people are not in darkness but light, associated with God and his truth. The dawning of the "day" is therefore for them not a catastrophe but a blessing. "Surprise" renders katalambavnw (katalambanô), literally signifying to overtake or seize, especially with hostile intent. Paul's point is not that the day of the Lord is no surprise because the readers know when it will come but that when it does come, they can welcome it rather than fear it.

5:5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.

From the contrast between light and darkness, Paul will now draw out the exhortation that forms the main thrust of this discussion. As God's people, the readers belong to the light, a common metaphor for God's truth (cf. Ps 27:1; 112:4; Prov 4:18-19; Isa 9:2; 5:20; Matt 5:14; Luke 2:32; John 1:4-9; 1 John 2:8). According to the common turn of phrase in Semitic languages, Paul here calls those characterized by an object as "sons of" that object (cf. Luke 16:8; Eph 5:8). The second expression, "sons of the day" probably connects both backward to the "day of the Lord" (v. 2), indicating that the believers can anticipate that day in confidence, and forward to the contrast with the evil behavior that characterizes the night (v. 7).

We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

The whole image is reinforced and developed with the negative statement about the night and darkness that follows. As those characterized by light, the people of God have nothing to fear from something that comes as a thief for those in the darkness. As a corollary, their behavior should fit the light to which they belong. And so Paul next sets forth two behavioral implications of belonging to God's light.

5:6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

This verse begins with two Greek particles (a[ra ou , ara oun , "so then") combined for emphasis, indicating that the statement which follows is a direct consequence of what precedes. This Paul states as an exhortation, identifying himself along with the readers as under the obligation to act in the way he describes. Because Christians belong to the light, to be "asleep" for them is inappropriate. The comparison here is with the self-sufficient insensibility that characterizes those who do not expect Christ to return.

By contrast Christians are to "be alert." This phrase translates grhgorevw (grçgoreô), which has the literal meaning "to be awake" but often takes the sense of being watchful. This verb is again found in Jesus' teaching on his return (Matt 24:42-43; 25:13; Mark 13:34-35, 37; Luke 12:36-38; cf. Rev 3:2-3; 16:15), stressing the necessity of the disciple to be faithful in the Lord's absence, expecting the Lord's return at any time and so busy in faithful service at all times. The specific way in which Paul urges faithfulness here first is implied by the contrast with those who sleep: the readers are to resist the pressure from their pagan society to conform to its immoral and self-indulgent habits.

That point is further underlined with the addition of "self-controlled," the Greek nhvfw (nçphô), which literally means to be sober as opposed to drunk. Though Paul's point partly relates to literal soberness, his point is much broader, as the following verses show: he has in mind the keen grasp of spiritual reality that comes from knowing God truly through Christ. Both verbs are in the present tense, stressing that the actions are to be continuing.

5:7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

At the very least, this verse continues and amplifies the comparisons of vv. 5-6. Both sleep and drunkenness were associated with the night (the latter is less confined to the night in our culture than in Paul's). But clearly, as in v. 6, the expressions here are figurative, suggesting the spiritual insensitivity and absence of clear thinking which result from unbelief. Paul's point may also go further, however. Since drunkenness was associated with revels honoring the Greek god Dionysus, and sometimes in that setting seen as a medium of receiving enlightenment from the god, Paul may here set the Christian's position in sharp contrast with those practices. The implication of the revelation of God received by the Christians is different from such pagan practices, as the following verse emphasizes. There also may be another echo here of Jesus' teaching, since drunkenness is one vice of the unfaithful servants in Luke 12:45.

5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled,

Paul now amplifies the meaning of "self-controlled" or "sober" with the figure of a soldier or sentry, perhaps suggested by the idea of watchfulness. Reiterating the foundational point, that Christians belong to God and his truth, Paul stresses that they must put that identity and truth into practice, using the blessings which they have received in Christ as a means of protection against the ungodly influences that surround them. Grammatically "putting on" supports "be self-controlled," setting forth the means by which that self-control is accomplished.

putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

As in Rom 13:12 and Eph 6:10-18, Paul compares God's provision for the Christian to armor, and in common with the latter passage, he elaborates by discussing specific pieces of armor. But his point is less on the identification of specific parts of armor with specific ideas than on the concept that God has equipped the Christian with all that is needed for the battle with evil. In this text, even the idea of battle itself is not directly stated. In light of the preceding context, however, it is clear that Paul implies that the readers must continue to struggle against the dominant pagan culture.

In this text Paul highlights God's provision in the three cardinal virtues of 1:3, climaxing with hope as the helmet at the apex of the image. Paul's comparison of the breastplate to faith and love is different from Eph 6:14, which alludes more precisely to Isa 59:17 in connecting righteousness to the breastplate. "Hope of salvation" is an ambiguous phrase here: it may mean either "the hope that comes from salvation" or "the hope that looks forward to salvation." Since the following verse refers to salvation as something yet to be received, the second alternative is probably Paul's specific sense. However, in light of the common misuse of this phrase among some modern Christians, it must be stressed that "hope of salvation" means not just "a chance of being saved" but "a confident expectation of being saved." Paul's point, then, is that by practicing faith, love and hope the readers can overcome the pressures of their environment to conform to pagan standards, thereby proving faithful to the Lord who returns for their salvation.

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

Paul now makes explicit the basis for the confidence in salvation expressed in the preceding phrase. He has noted already that Jesus delivers his people from God's wrath (1:10). The contrast here further stresses that point as a source of confidence in the readers' ongoing struggle with their surroundings. "Wrath," God's holy anger against sin, belongs not to the Christians but to those who continue to live in deliberate ignorance of God. God's purpose in extending his call to the readers is to receive (peripoivhsi", peripoie-sis ) salvation (cf. 2 Thess 2:14), made possible through the work of Jesus. If the behavior of the unbelievers reflects their ignorance of God and ultimately brings God's wrath, those who know God and have been delivered from wrath will want to have nothing to do with such conduct. Confidence in salvation, then, should not lead to indifference about how one lives but should motivate the watchful, sober, faithful obedience which Paul encourages here.

The use of "appoint" here raises the question of God's activity in salvation in relation to human response. Reformed exegetes have traditionally taken such expressions to mean that God has appointed some to salvation apart from their fulfilling any condition of salvation. God then causes those people to have faith and practice obedience, including the watchful faithfulness discussed in this section. However, Marshall rightly points out that this concept is nowhere articulated in this passage; Paul does not say that a failure to be watchful indicates that one was never a Christian in the first place. Rather, as Marshall expresses it:

At this point in the letter Paul is dealing with the fear of his readers that the day of the Lord may overtake them unprepared for it. He is assuring them that they do not need to know the date and specially prepare for it, because if they are Christians they will be in such a state of preparedness that the day will not come as a day of judgment on their sin. There is certainly a danger that Christians could fall asleep and the final day will surprise them like it will the non-believers; let them beware lest that happens. But God intends for them to be saved, and he has given them many guarantees for this. Let them therefore trust in him, remain faithful and watchful.

5:10 He died for us

The discussion of the previous verse continues, still in support of the admonition of v. 8, but specifically developing the concept of the end of v. 9. Salvation has been made possible specifically through Jesus' death. Paul's understanding of the means by which the cross brings salvation, his "theory of the atonement," is probably expressed most clearly in Rom 3:25: Christ died as a "propitiation," a substitutionary sacrifice satisfying the wrath of God which, according to his justice, must exact a penalty for sin. Hence, "for us" here probably expresses that idea in brief: Jesus died in place of us, as our substitute, taking our penalty. By his death, deliverance from God's wrath is effected.

so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

But the positive side of salvation is effected as well, as is expressed at the end of the verse. Salvation means not only escaping the penalty of sin but also union with Christ in his resurrection and consequent fellowship with him in the present and the future (Rom 6; 2 Cor 4-5; Gal 2:20). Paul combines terms to make this point emphatically: "together with" translates a{ma suvn ( hama syn ; cf. 4:17), which in combination stress that the believers are with Christ under all circumstances.

The images of wakefulness and sleep are now compared to different objects than in vv. 6-8. Clearly, in light of the earlier discussion, Paul does not here equivocate about whether Christians should remain alert. Instead, he shifts these images back to the comparison found in 4:13-15, where sleep refers to death. This comparison makes Paul's point here all the more clear and serves to tie the larger discussion of 4:13-5:11 together. Nothing can separate the believer from Christ's love and fellowship, not even death itself. Whether alive or dead, Christians can be assured that they belong to God through Christ in every respect. As they look forward to the culmination of that relationship when Christ returns, they live out an alert and faithful life by demonstrating their union with Christ through Christlike behavior.

5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

As in 4:18, so here Paul concludes his eschatological discussion by reminding the readers to recognize the value of the message as a source of encouragement. In both verses Paul uses parakalevw (parakaleô, "encouragement") as the verb, though with a slightly different emphasis. In 4:18 the emphasis was on the encouragement that ameliorates grief. Here it is encouragement to positive Christian behavior and resistance to temptation. That point is made clear by the addition of "build up," (oijkodomevw, oikodomeô). Paul often uses this term and related ones, picturing the church and its members as a building under construction by God, a building which will ultimately conform to God's design.

To "build up" one another, then, implies that by practicing and encouraging watchfulness, the Thessalonian Christians will move into closer conformity with God's intention for them. Again, if the particular concern of the context is that the readers not succumb to the pressures of pagan society, the need for encouragement and edification is clear. These responsibilities are to be discharged by each member of the church for the other, as Paul expresses that idea with distinct objects for each verb. And they are to be done continually, as indicated by the Greek present tense with both verbs. Closing the discussion on a note of confidence, Paul indicates that the readers are already following these instructions, as they have received them before (cf. v. 2).

C. GENERAL EXHORTATIONS (5:12-22)

Paul's letters commonly include a loosely organized series of general exhortations near the conclusion, as is found here. Unlike the contents of the previous section, these instructions are not so much aimed at specific issues or problems in the church as at the broader life of the believers. Because of the similarities between this passage and Rom 12:11-18, it has been suggested that Paul has inserted a traditional Jewish-Christian exhortation. However, in the topics addressed, one can still see Paul's concern for the Thessalonian church's particular situation. Even these general instructions are especially fitting for a church in its early stages of development, still acutely vulnerable to confusion about the content of its faith, to internal strife and to pressure from a hostile environment.

1. Behavior in the Christian Community (5:12-15)

¹² Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

The first section of general exhortations deals with responsibilities of Christians toward others in the church. The section divides itself into two subsections, each introduced with a first-person, plural verb: "we ask" (ejrwtw'men, erôtômen, v. 12) and "we urge" (parakalou'men, parakaloumen , v. 14). The first of these is the instruction to respect and submit to leaders (vv. 12-13a), a reminder which may have been especially important for a church still so young in the faith. This concludes with a general command to peace (v. 13b), leading in turn to another series of exhortations about mutual responsibilities in serving one another (vv. 14-15). Prominent here are instructions which seem to address issues indicated elsewhere in the letter, especially the responsibility to support oneself by working (4:11-12), to remain firm in persecution (1:6; 2:13-14; 3:3-5, 8) and to exercise love for each other (1:3; 4:9-10).

Respect for Christian Leaders (5:12-13)

5:12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.

Paul's instructions here clearly focus attention on those who function as leaders in the Thessalonian church. In critical study of the New Testament for the last two centuries, it has become a commonplace to assert that leadership in the early church evolved from an informal, dynamic, "charismatic" approach, in which those gifted for leadership simply exercised their function, to a formal, static, "hierarchical" approach in which leaders were more deliberately appointed to specific offices, powers and responsibilities. In large measure this model is supported by a comparison of Paul's earlier letters, where terms such as "elders," "overseers" or "deacons" are absent but discussion of gifts and functions are prominent, with 1 Timothy and Titus, widely regarded as post-Pauline pseudepigraphs, or Acts, again taken as a late-first-century work, where titles appear prominently.

While the whole of this issue cannot be addressed here, several observations are in order. First, the fact that Paul's letters are written for specific circumstances strongly argues against reading too much into their silences. The fact that he describes leadership by function instead of title here, for example, does not mean that terms like "elder" or "overseer" were not used in the Thessalonian church. Likewise, the focus on gifts as opposed to titles in 1 Corinthians arises very specifically out of the problems which Paul addresses in ch. 12-14, as the more prominent place of titles in 1 Timothy and Titus arises out of the threat of false teaching addressed in those letters.

Secondly, one cannot assume that the use of a title indicates a shift from functional dynamism to static hierarchy in leadership. "Elder" (presbuvtero", presbyteros ) and "overseer" (ejpivskopo", episkopos ) were both widely used in the first century outside the church; adoption of those terms early in the early years of the church to refer to those who exercised leadership would hardly be surprising.

Thirdly, whatever the value of the evidence of Acts or the Pastoral Epistles, other uses of titles for leaders cannot be easily dismissed as late developments. Specifically Phil 1:1 and 1 Pet 5:1-4 argue strongly for the early use of such titles.

Finally, the distinction between functional and official leadership appears to be more a consequence of the hypothesis that church leadership evolved along the lines described by the theory than of what the text actually says. Is the command to respect leaders here genuinely less "official" than the instructions of 1 Tim 3, or are those instructions any less "functional" than these?

Still it must be recognized that Paul's emphasis on leadership, in 1 Tim 3:1, 5, 10, 13 and Titus 1:9 no less than other passages, is on the function of leadership rather than titles, offices or powers. That function can broadly be termed pastoral, centering on the protection and nurture of fellow Christians in their faith and leading to their maturity. Paul describes that function with three participles here, all governed by one definite article to indicate that he speaks of one group of persons who do all three activities, and all in the present tense to stress continuing action. "Work hard" translates literally and accurately the Greek kopiavw (kopiaô), which indicates laboring to the point of weariness. "Are over you" renders proi?sthmi (proistçmi). This term is ambiguous in this context: it could suggest either the exercise of leadership and direction (cf. 1 Tim 3:4, 5, 12; 5:17) or of care and assistance (cf. Rom 12:8). However, there is little distinction between those two senses in Paul's lexicon, since according to Christ's model authority is always exercised in self-sacrificial service which seeks others' benefit (cf. 1 Cor 9:1-23; Phil 2:1-11; Mark 10:35-45; John 13:1-20). No wonder, then, that Paul describes this function as being "in the Lord": leaders function in this way because of the union with Christ shared by the entire church. The third term, nouqetevw (noutheteô, "admonish") indicates instruction in correct belief and behavior, especially as it addresses some problem or deficiency (cf. v. 14; 2 Thess 3:15).

The readers are told first of all to "respect" these leaders. Literally the Greek term oida ( oida ) here means "to know," but in context it implies a recognition of the vital function for which these leaders have been gifted and, consequently, cooperation with and submission to their nurturing work. Possible but less likely are the meanings "take an interest in" or "care for," particularly in light of the complementary instruction of the next verse.

5:13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.

This sentence in the NIV is actually a continuation of the sentence in the previous verse, naming an action coordinated with "respect." The action is expressed in the Greek present tense, indicating a continuing action. Paul uses an emphatic adverb, uJperekperissw'" (hyperekperissôs) to describe the regard that the church should have for its leaders. This regard is based, however, not on submission to power but self-giving love (ajgavph, agapç) and respect for the vital nature of the work which these leaders perform.

What specific purpose did Paul have for these instructions? It may be that a particular faction of the Thessalonian church, perhaps the "idle" of v. 14, was not in submission to the leaders. But the broad terms in which the instructions are given may indicate less a problem in respect for leaders than the importance that it had for the situation. As an infant church whose nurture had been cut short by Paul's hasty departure and which faced ongoing persecution, the congregation's stability and growth depended largely on its loving submission to those with the gifts and maturity to lead it. The work of leadership, always important, carried a special premium under these circumstances.

Live in peace with each other.

Coming at the end of the instructions about the relationship to church leaders and before the "we urge you" that marks off the next section, these words probably are intended by Paul to address further the leadership issue. "Peace" is, of course, a primary consequence of being a Christian (1:1) and belonging to "the God of peace" (5:23). It must be put into practice continually (the verb is again in the Greek present tense) in all aspects of the church's life. But Paul's placing the instruction here may reflect his recognition that maintaining genuine harmony and cooperation is especially crucial in relationships between spiritual leaders and those in their care.

Service and Forgiveness (5:14-15)

5:14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle,

"We urge you, brothers" parallels the beginning of v. 12 and signals a new set of instructions for life in the church. Here the focus is on mutual responsibilities of all Christians toward each other. Four brief commands, all in the present tense to emphasize continuing action, follow in quick succession. Paul has structured this statement as a sharp and memorable reminder of how responsible Christian brotherhood will be lived out in the circumstances faced by the Thessalonian church.

The first command raises an interpretive problem. "Warn" here translates nouqetevw (noutheteô), rendered as "admonish" in v. 12, but here with the same sense of offering correction, a mutual responsibility here given to all the Thessalonian Christians, not just the leaders. The difficulty comes with the term translated "idle," a[takto" ( ataktos ). Literally the term means "disorderly," but its specific sense, as is the case with all words, varies with its context. The immediately surrounding discourse gives little reason to take the word in anything other than its broadest sense.

However, the cognate words ajtaktevw (atakteô) and ajtavktw" (ataktôs) appear in 2 Thess 3:7 and 2 Thess 3:6, 11 respectively, where they clearly refer to those in the church who do not support themselves. On that basis, the word here should almost certainly be taken with the sense reflected in the NIV (cf. 4:11-12), a meaning attested in some uses of the word outside the New Testament also. This idleness should be understood as not so much laziness but rebellious irresponsibility or willful idleness: those who do not work are abandoning the charge that is theirs as Christians.

encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

The following commands are straightforward in meaning, though still related to the circumstances of the Thessalonian church. The "timid" are ojligovyuco" ( oligopsychos ), a word which probably points to a state of discouragement. They are to be "encouraged"; paramuqevomai ( paramytheomai ) indicates especially the comfort or encouragement given to those in grief or pain. In the next command "weak" could refer to those suffering physical illness, but in light of the preceding almost certainly indicates those who are weak in faith. Taken together, these two commands suggest the kind of response especially necessary in the face of persecution.

The fourth command rounds out the series. "Be patient" translates makroqumevw (makrothymeô), which indicates particularly the restraint of anger, in the New Testament especially enjoined on believers because God has offered forgiveness in place of wrath. The readers must extend such patience to all because God has extended his patience to all. This instruction is, of course, applicable under all circumstances, but it may have had special relevance for Christians facing the pressures of persecution.

5:15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

The same pressures and the same compelling truths underlying the command for patience also support this command. Seeking retribution is excluded here as elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g., Matt 5:38-48) both because of God's offer of forgiveness noted above and because of his promise of judgment on the unrepentant (cf. 2 Thess 1:6-10). So in imitation of God's forgiveness and with consideration for his role as ultimate judge, Christians are to shun retribution under all circumstances.

Several features of this verse underline this point. Both imperatives, "make sure" and "try," are in the present tense, implying continuing action. The first is from oJravw (horaô), "watch," suggesting a constant vigilance against this temptation. "Pay back" quite literally translates ajpodivdwmi (apodidômi), which is used to indicate repayment of an obligation. Though it might be seen as such from other vantages, from the perspective of the gospel vengeance is never an obligation. "Try" translates diwvkw (diôkô), a strong expression often meaning "pursue" and so implying here an active, ardent effort to do good in place of evil. This responsibility belongs first to the community of faith, but because God has forgiven those hostile to him, Christians must extend this attitude to those outside their fellowship as well - even, by implication, to persecutors.

2. Constants of Christian Behavior (5:16-18)

¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

This brief section sets forth in terse and memorable fashion three imperatives which are to characterize the Christian's life at all times. The short, parallel imperatives here are similar to other Pauline exhortations (cf. Rom 12:9-13). In tone, and in some respects in content, these brief instructions reflect what Paul has shown of his own behavior in 1:2-3:10.

The three commands in these verses are expressed in parallel form: each begins with a different adverb or adverbial prepositional phrase emphasizing that the action is to be constant, and in each the command is expressed with a single verb in the present tense, indicating a continuing action. "Be joyful" is literally "rejoice" (caivrw, chairô), the consequence of having received God's salvation and therefore an attitude unaffected by outward circumstances (cf. 2 Cor 4:16-18; Phil 3:1; 4:4; Col 1:24). Constant prayer is likewise a feature of Christian life as it expresses confident dependence on God's provision (cf. Phil 4:13). The reality of salvation as both a present and a future experience yields the constant thanksgiving enjoined here; in all things the person of faith can have assurance that God's purpose is being achieved (cf. Rom 8:28-39).

3. Responding to Christian Prophecy (5:19-22)

¹⁹ Do not put out the Spirit's fire; ²⁰ do not treat prophecies with contempt. ²¹ Test everything. Hold on to the good. ²² Avoid every kind of evil.

The exercise of the gift of prophecy is a distinguishing feature of the early church. Acts identifies prophecy as the consequence of the pouring out of the Spirit promised in Joel (Acts 2:17-18) and draws attention to the exercise of the prophetic gift at critical points in the church's development (Acts 11:27-30; 13:1-3; 15:32; 21:8-14). Paul indicates that prophecy is the most crucial gift to be exercised for the edification of the Corinthian church (1 Cor 14:1-4, 39), though this gift is partial and temporary (1 Cor 13:8-12). In Ephesians Paul links prophets to apostles as the "foundation" of the church (Eph 2:20; 3:5; 4:11).

For Paul and other New Testament writers "prophecy" refers to speech which has been directly inspired by God. Though it could involve prediction of the future, any divinely-inspired message could be called prophecy. The explicit examples of prophecy in Acts all involve specific, practical instructions or warnings to the church at a particular place and time (see references above). Paul's discussion of prophecy probably includes such "occasional" oracles, but his statements that prophets stand at the church's foundation and that the mystery of Christ has been revealed to them (Eph 2:20; 3:5) indicate that Christian prophets delivered doctrinal as well as practical messages.

At this point controversy arises as to the modern relevance of Christian prophecy. Should Christians expect to prophesy today as did the first-century prophets? If so, should they expect to receive additional doctrinal revelation? Despite the attempts of some exegetes to limit early Christian prophecy to non-doctrinal, occasional matters only, the use of "prophet" in Ephesians almost certainly indicates that the gift involved some doctrinal revelation. But if doctrinal revelation is seen as continuing in every generation of the church, Paul's statement about the foundation is clearly compromised. The central concept of the gospel, that in Jesus Christ the purpose of God in history has been uniquely and fully accomplished, carries with it the implication that the message of Christ, revealed to those first "apostles and prophets" closely associated with Christ's appearance in history, is likewise unique and full.

It therefore appears that Paul's statement that prophecy would "cease" (1 Cor 13:8-10) has in fact been fulfilled with the close of the apostolic age. Pentecostals and Charismatics may argue this point with "cessationists," but the foundational, apostolic and prophetic deposit of doctrine must in no way be obscured by any exercise of modern-day "prophecy," whether genuine or otherwise.

This section briefly reminds the Thessalonian Christians of the imperatives for the proper exercise of this gift. It stresses, on the one hand, that prophecy be exercised fully and accepted readily. Certainly this gift would have been important for a young church still digesting the basics of the gospel message. But at the same time Paul cautions against merely accepting any utterance claiming to be prophetic as a genuine message of God. Donfried has suggested that the Thessalonian Christians may have easily confused genuine Spirit-inspired utterances with the claims to divine enlightenment in the Dionysian revels. Whether this is the case or not, a credulous church could easily have been deceived by a false claim to prophetic inspiration. In fact, such a thing appears to underlie Paul's discussion in 2 Thess 2:1-12.

In place of naive acceptance of everything claiming to be prophecy, Paul calls for the testing of prophecy. In this respect his words are no less applicable today, even among Christians who do not believe that the gift of prophecy still operates in the church as it did then. The need to test all kinds of ideas from all kinds of sources - including claims to modern-day miraculous gifts of the Spirit - is just as necessary now as it was then, and the stakes are just as serious. And the standard by which the test is made, now as then, can be nothing other than the apostolic gospel, delivered to us through the New Testament itself.

Yielding to the Spirit's Work (5:19-20)

5:19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 5:20 do not treat prophecies with contempt.

These twin imperatives express Paul's encouragement to heed the prophecies received by the church. The first focuses particularly on the Spirit's role in inspiring the prophet. Paul's expression is literally, "Do not quench the Spirit," by implication comparing the Spirit's work to a fire that could be doused with water. That Paul has the Spirit's work in prophecy in mind is made clear with the next command. "Treat with contempt" translates ejcouqenevw (exoutheneô), which implies disdain and utter rejection. To ignore or disobey God's inspired instruction would be most perilous for this young congregation. Both commands are expressed in the Greek present tense, indicating continuing action.

Testing Prophecy (5:21-22)

5:21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 5:22 Avoid every kind of evil.

These words, like v. 19, could be taken in a general sense, but combined with v. 20 they appear to address again the specific issue of prophecy. "Test" here translates dokimavzw (dokimazô), which implies in particular a test to prove genuineness. How prophecies are to be tested is something that Paul does not articulate here; he apparently assumes that the readers have already been instructed in this matter. But we can infer that the test would involve at least a comparison of the prophecy's content to what the readers had already received in the gospel (cf. Matt 24:4-5, 11, 23-27; Mark 13:5-6, 21-23; Luke 17:23; 21:8-11; 1 Cor 12:1-3, 10; 14:29; 1 John 4:1-3). Paul's own "test" in 2 Thess 2:1-12 of a supposed prophecy about the Lord's return having already occurred is of this kind, based on the gospel's affirmation that Christ's return will mean the end of every manifestation of evil (see discussion below).

The results of the test are expressed in the two commands that follow. These are expressed in parallel fashion. "Hold on" translates katevcw (katechô), literally "hold fast to"; "avoid" renders ajpevcw (apechô), literally "hold away." As if to underline the importance of the negative command, Paul adds the phrase "every kind," subtly suggesting the broad range of threats to the believers' faith.

V. CONCLUSION (5:23-28)

²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

²⁵ Brothers, pray for us. ²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Paul's letters generally end with a combination of the elements seen here: a benediction or prayer for God's blessing (a "wish-prayer"; cf. discussion of 3:11-13 above), a request for prayer for himself, a word of greeting, instructions about the reading of the letter, and a pronouncement of blessing. Though such conclusions are loosely structured and contain stock elements, they nevertheless express the close relationship which Paul has with the churches and his confidence in God's protection and blessing for them and for him while they are separated.

A. BENEDICTION (5:23-24)

5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

Paul's prayer highlights the connection between God's peace and his work in making his people holy. For Paul this was apparently a significant connection: to be at peace with God and others could come only through holiness. Holiness is, of course, already an attribute of the readers, as they have been made God's people through Christ (3:13). It is also their ongoing responsibility to live in holiness (4:3-4, 7). Here, then, is the final assurance that God will indeed bring to completion the work which he began at their conversion and continues as they live their lives as Christians. Paul stresses this idea with the adverb oJlotelhv" (holotelçs, "through and through"), a compound word which emphasizes the utter completion of the process.

A controversial theological issue hinges on the interpretation of this statement, namely the idea of "entire sanctification," that God gives to some a second act of grace by which they are made incapable of sinning. Exegetically this conclusion is drawn from the use of the aorist tense here, which, it is argued, indicates a single, momentary action. Even if this were the case, Paul could be referring to the moment of the Lord's return, as the end of the verse shows. However, it is simply not true that the aorist tense alone indicates a one-time action, as many counter-examples demonstrate. The aorist tense leaves the specific manner of action to the context; Paul elsewhere envisages an ongoing process of God's work in the believer's life, climaxing at the return of Jesus (e.g., Phil 1:6, 9-11).

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

The connection of this prayer with the last one (the two clauses are joined with a coordinating conjunction kai in the Greek text, untranslated in the NIV) clarifies that Paul sees both these actions as belonging to Christ's coming. The final result of the "entire sanctification" of the preceding clause is something to be anticipated by all Christians when the Lord returns, not an experience received by a few Christians in this life.

The assurance that God will complete his sanctifying purpose is coupled to the assurance that he will protect and preserve believers comprehensively through the trials of this age, bringing them safe and whole to the goal which the Lord has for them. Paul's language here emphasizes that God protects and preserves believers in every aspect of their being. "Whole" translates oJlovklhro" (holoklçros), used here as an adverb at the beginning of the clause to stress that God's protective work is absolutely thorough. This word obviously is a compound sharing the same initial root word found in oJlotelhv" (holotelçs, "through and through"), further strengthening the emphasis in both clauses.

That idea is further underlined with the combination "spirit, soul and body." Much discussion of this phrase has concerned whether it indicates that human beings are trichotomous, consisting of three distinct aspects described by these terms, or dichotomous, really consisting of two aspects, body and spirit. In favor of the former interpretation is the fact that all three terms are used here; in favor of the latter is the difficulty in distinguishing clearly between the meaning of "spirit" (pneu'ma, pneuma ) and "soul" (yuchv, psychç). However, it must be conceded that Paul is not discussing the precise nature of humanity but is offering assurance of God's protection. The combination of three terms here is probably only intended as a means of underlining the comprehensive nature of that protection; it is no more a systematic presentation of human nature than is the combination "heart, soul, mind and strength" in Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27. Paul, like the other New Testament writers, repeatedly indicates that God's purpose is to save the whole person, not just some part.

The nature of that salvation and preservation is expressed with "blameless" (ajmevmptw", amemptôs), connected earlier in this letter to the concept of holiness or sanctification (2:10; 3:13). God's work in both removing the penalty of sin, complete at conversion, and its power in the Christian's life, an ongoing process of growth, will ultimately lead to the fulfillment of his purpose, the elimination of every aspect of sin and its effects from his people. Regardless of the circumstances faced by the readers, they can be assured that God's love and power will not fail them in this regard.

5:24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Reiterating the focus on God's preserving work, Paul points to the nature of God as the final source of assurance. God's faithfulness is a basic assumption of everything that the gospel teaches; he is true to his promises and utterly able to fulfill them. By focusing on the believers' call from God, Paul reminds them of their ongoing relationship with God and established by his power. "Calls" translates a present participle and so stresses that God continually calls Christians as his people. And so that ongoing process he will certainly complete for eternity (cf. Phil 1:6). Therefore, the readers' confidence in difficulty is based supremely on the utterly certain faithfulness of God.

B. FINAL WORDS (5:25-28)

5:25 Brothers, pray for us.

Paul asks for prayers on his behalf at the end of other letters, sometimes expressing concerns that arise out of the specific circumstances of his ministry (2 Thess 3:1; Rom 15:30-32; Eph 6:19-20; Col 4:3). Just as Paul prays for the readers (cf. 1:2-3; 3:11-13; 5:23), so he asks them to pray for him. To do so is a necessary consequence of the brotherhood expressed with the familiar noun of direct address here. And it voices the faith expressed in the previous verse: the assurance of God's faithfulness carries with it the responsibility to depend on God in all things and to confess that dependence through prayer.

5:26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

Brotherhood expressed to God in prayer for others is also to be expressed to one another directly. The significance of the kiss in the Greco-Roman world is not entirely clear; it appears to have been practiced more widely and openly in some circles than in others. What is clear is that outside the New Testament, we have no examples of ethical teachers who specifically commanded or encouraged the people of a community to greet one another with a kiss. It may well be, then, that this repeated New Testament command (Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Pet 5:14) attests to an innovative and striking practice among early Christians, one that expressed a bond that stretches beyond the usual social boundaries. There is evidence to suggest that the kiss was a regular part of Christian worship, incorporated into the observance of the Lord's Supper, at least as early as the second century and perhaps before. Since "brothers" (generically including "sisters" also) are particularly those to be so greeted, it appears that Paul uses the modifier "holy" to indicate that the kiss expresses the mutual relationship of believers as those who belong to God.

In modern western culture the kiss may not be an appropriate means of expressing Christian fellowship as it is generally confined to family or sexual relationships. Marshall's remark about the application of this verse is trenchant:

What is important is that the members of the church should have some way of expressing visibly and concretely the love which they have for one another as fellow-members of the body of Christ. The manner of expression may vary in different cultures; but it is doubtful whether doing nothing at all, as modern western Christians tend to do, really fulfills the spirit of the injunction.

5:27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

Paul's self-consciousness of his apostolic authority is very much in evidence with this instruction. As one who speaks under the inspiration of God, his words carry an import and authority which makes them relevant to the entire Thessalonian church and, by implication, to other churches as well. Because his teachings as an apostle carry the authority of the Lord himself, they are to be heard and followed by Christians generally, not only those who first received the letter. Similar authority is reflected in, among other things, the remark which Paul makes about the circulation of his letters in Col 4:16 (cf. 2 Pet 3:15-16), the wide scope of the address in 1 Cor 1:2 ("with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ") and the apparent counterfeiting of his letters by opponents (2 Thess 2:2; 3:17).

The issue of the "canonization" of the New Testament, the delineation of what constituted Scripture for the church, is complex, involving a series of historical developments in the early centuries of Christianity. But the core of the later developments is to be found here in Paul's consciousness that his words carried divine authority. Certainly he may have had in mind a specific issue in the Thessalonian church that made the reading of this letter important for all; the suggestion that he wanted the "idle" (v. 14) to hear it has some merit. But whatever its proximate cause, the dramatic expression here points to Paul's consciousness of authority for the document: "charge" literally indicates a call for the recipients of the letter to swear by the Lord's own authority to read the letter to all. Such reading would, of course, be aloud, so directing that it be read "to all" would point to a reading in the Lord's Day assembly of the entire church, another formative factor in the early foundation of the canon. It is especially notable that these points are articulated in what may be Paul's earliest extant letter.

The shift from first-person plural to singular here is noteworthy. It may indicate that at this point Paul took up the pen from his amanuensis and wrote the words himself (cf. 2 Thess 3:17).

5:28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

As Paul begins with a word about grace (1:1), so he concludes with it here (cf. 2 Thess 3:16; Rom 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor 13:11; Phil 4:9). While it would be wrong to put too much weight on what was for Paul a standard closing formula, the fact that he begins and ends with this theme no doubt reflects the supreme importance of grace to Paul's experience and doctrine.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 1Th 5:27

I adjure you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the brethren . [The importance of the Epistle is shown by the solemnity of the adjuration. The command in this, the first of the Epistles, is fittingly echoed in the last written of the New Testament books. See Rev 1:3 . They suggest that the New Testament writings were to be read in the churches, and by all the people, just as the Old Testament was read in the synagogues. "What Paul commands with an adjuration," says Bengel, "Rome forbids under a curse."]

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

First Thessalonians

From Corinth a.d. 50-51

By Way of Introduction

We cannot say that this is Paul’s first letter to a church, for in 2Th_2:2 he speaks of some as palming off letters as his and in 2Th_3:17 he says that he appends his own signature to every letter after dictating it to an amanuensis (Rom_16:22). We know of one lost letter (1Co_5:11) and perhaps another (2Co_2:3). But this is the earliest one that has come down to us and it may even be the earliest New Testament book, unless the Epistle of James antedates it or even Mark’s Gospel. We know, as already shown, that Paul was in Corinth and that Timothy and Silas had just arrived from Thessalonica (1Th_3:6; Act_18:5). They had brought supplies from the Macedonian churches to supply Paul’s need (2Co_11:9), as the church in Philippi did once and again while Paul was in Thessalonica (Phi_4:15.). Before Timothy and Silas came to Corinth Paul had to work steadily at his trade as tent-maker with Aquila and Priscilla (Act_18:3) and could only preach in the synagogue on sabbaths, but the rich stores from Macedonia released his hands and " Paul devoted himself to the word" ( suneicheto tōi logōi Paulos ). He gave himself wholly to preaching now. But Timothy and Silas brought news of serious trouble in the church in Thessalonica. Some of the disciples there had misunderstood Paul’s preaching about the second coming of Christ and had quit work and were making a decided disturbance on the subject. Undoubtedly Paul had touched upon eschatological matters while in Thessalonica. The Jewish leaders at Thessalonica charged it against Paul and Silas to the politarchs that they had preached another king, Jesus, in place of Caesar. Paul had preached Jesus as King of the spiritual kingdom which the Jews misrepresented to the politarchs as treason against Caesar as the Sanhedrin had done to Pilate about Jesus. Clearly Paul had said also that Jesus was going to come again according to his own promise before his ascension. Some asserted that Paul said Jesus was going to come right away and drew their own inferences for idleness and fanaticism as some do today. Strange as it may seem, there are scholars today who say that Paul did believe and say that Jesus was going to come back right away. They say this in spite of 2Th_2:1. where Paul denies having ever said it. Undoubtedly Paul hoped for the early return of Jesus as most of the early Christians did, but that is a very different thing from setting a time for his coming. It is open to us all to hope for the speedy return of Christ, but times and seasons are with God and not with us. It is not open to us to excuse our negligence and idleness as Christians because of such a hope. That hope should serve as a spur to increased activity for Christ in order to hasten his coming. So Paul writes this group of Epistles to correct gross misapprehension and misrepresentation of his preaching about last things (eschatology). It is a rare preacher who has never been misunderstood or misrepresented.

JFB: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

The AUTHENTICITY of this Epistle is attested by IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 5.6.1], quoting 1Th 5:23; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [The Instructor, 1.88], quoting 1Th 2:7; TERTULLIAN [On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 24], quoting 1Th 5:1; CAIUS in EUSEBIUS' Ecclesiastical History [6.20]; ORIGEN [Against Celsus, 3].

The OBJECT OF THE EPISTLE.--Thessalonica was at this time capital of the Roman second district of Macedonia [LIVY, Histories, 45.29]. It lay on the bay of Therme, and has always been, and still is, under its modern name Saloniki, a place of considerable commerce. After his imprisonment and scourging at Philippi, Paul (1Th 2:2) passed on to Thessalonica; and in company with Silas (Act 17:1-9) and Timotheus (Act 16:3; Act 17:14, compare with 1Th 1:1; 1Th 3:1-6; 2Th 1:1) founded the Church there. The Jews, as a body, rejected the Gospel when preached for three successive sabbaths (Act 17:2); but some few "believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout (that is, proselytes to Judaism) Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few." The believers received the word joyfully, notwithstanding trials and persecutions (1Th 1:6; 1Th 2:13) from their own countrymen and from the Jews (1Th 2:14-16). His stay at Thessalonica was doubtless not limited to the three weeks in which were the three sabbaths specified in Act 17:2; for his laboring there with his hands for his support (1Th 2:9; 2Th 3:8), his receiving supplies there more than once from Philippi (Phi 4:16), his making many converts from the Gentiles (1Th 1:9; and as two oldest manuscripts read, Act 17:4, "of the devout and of the Greeks a great multitude," Act 17:4), and his appointing ministers--all imply a longer residence. Probably as at Pisidian Antioch (Act 13:46), at Corinth (Act 18:6-7), and at Ephesus (Act 19:8-9), having preached the Gospel to the Jews, when they rejected it, he turned to the Gentiles. He probably thenceforth held the Christian meetings in the house of Jason (Act 17:5), perhaps "the kinsman" of Paul mentioned in Rom 16:21. His great subject of teaching to them seems to have been the coming and kingdom of Christ, as we may infer from 1Th 1:10; 1Th 2:12, 1Th 2:19; 1Th 3:13; 1Th 4:13-18; 1Th 5:1-11, 1Th 5:23-24; and that they should walk worthy of it (1Th 2:12; 1Th 4:1). And it is an undesigned coincidence between the two Epistles and Act 17:5, Act 17:9, that the very charge which the assailants of Jason's house brought against him and other brethren was, "These do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus." As in the case of the Lord Jesus Himself (Joh 18:33-37; Joh 19:12; compare Mat 26:64), they perverted the doctrine of the coming kingdom of Christ into a ground for the charge of treason against Cæsar. The result was, Paul and Silas were obliged to flee under the cover of night to Berea; Timothy had probably preceded him (Act 17:10, Act 17:14). But the Church had been planted, and ministers appointed; nay, more, they virtually became missionaries themselves for which they possessed facilities in the extensive commerce of their city, and both by word and example were extending the Gospel in Macedonia, Achaia, and elsewhere (1Th 1:7-8). From Berea, also. Paul, after having planted a Scripture-loving Church, was obliged to flee by the Thessalonian Jews who followed him thither. Timothy (who seems to have come to Berea separately from Paul and Silas, compare Act 17:10, with Act 17:14) and Silas remained there still, when Paul proceeded by sea to Athens. While there he more than once longed to visit the Thessalonians again, and see personally their spiritual state, and "perfect that which was lacking in their faith" (1Th 3:10); but (probably using the Thessalonian Jews as his instruments, Joh 13:27) "Satan hindered" him (1Th 2:18; compare Act 17:13). He therefore sent Timotheus, who seems to have followed him to Athens from Berea (Act 17:15), immediately on his arrival to Thessalonica (1Th 3:1); glad as he would have been of Timothy's help in the midst of the cavils of Athenian opponents, he felt he must forego that help for the sake of the Thessalonian Church. Silas does not seem to have come to Paul at Athens at all, though Paul had desired him and Timothy to "come to him with all speed" (Act 17:15); but seems with Timothy (who from Thessalonica called for him at Berea) to have joined Paul at Corinth first; compare Act 18:1, Act 18:5, "When Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia." The Epistle makes no mention of Silas at Athens, as it does of Timothy (1Th 3:1).

Timothy's account of the Thessalonian Church was highly favorable. They abounded in faith and charity and reciprocated his desire to see them (1Th 3:6-10). Still, as nothing human on earth is perfect, there were some defects. Some had too exclusively dwelt on the doctrine of Christ's coming kingdom, so as to neglect the sober-minded discharge of present duties (1Th 4:11-12). Some who had lost relatives by death, needed comfort and instruction in their doubts as to whether they who died before Christ's coming would have a share with those found alive in His kingdom then to be revealed. Moreover, also, there had been committed among them sins against chastity and sobriety (1Th 5:5-7), as also against charity (1Th 4:3-10; 1Th 5:13, 1Th 5:15). There were, too, symptoms in some of want of respectful love and subordination to their ministers; others treated slightingly the manifestations of the Spirit in those possessing His gifts (1Th 5:19). To give spiritual admonition on these subjects, and at the same time commend what deserved commendation, and to testify his love to them, was the object of the Epistle.

The PLACE OF WRITING IT was doubtless Corinth, where Timothy and Silas rejoined him (Act 18:5) soon after he arrived there (compare 1Th 2:17) in the autumn of A.D. 52.

The TIME OF WRITING was evidently immediately after having received from Timothy the tidings of their state (1Th 3:6) in the winter of A.D. 52, or early in 53. For it was written not long after the conversion of the Thessalonians (1Th 1:8-9), while Paul could speak of himself as only taken from them for a short season (1Th 2:17). Thus this Epistle was first in date of all Paul's extant Epistles. The Epistle is written in the joint names of Paul, Silas, and Timothy, the three founders of the Thessalonian Church. The plural first person "we," is used everywhere, except in 1Th 2:18; 1Th 3:5; 1Th 5:27. "We" is the true reading, 1Th 4:13. The English Version "I," in 1Th 4:9 1Th 5:1, 1Th 5:23, is not supported by the original [EDMUNDS].

The STYLE is calm and equable, in accordance with the subject matter, which deals only with Christian duties in general, taking for granted the great doctrinal truths which were not as yet disputed. There was no deadly error as yet to call forth his more vehement bursts of feeling and impassioned argument. The earlier Epistles, as we should expect, are moral and practical. It was not until Judaistic and legalizing errors arose at a later period that he wrote those Epistles (for example, Romans and Galatians) which unfold the cardinal doctrines of grace and justification by faith. Still, later the Epistles from his Roman prison confirm the same truths. And last of all, the Pastoral Epistles are suited to the more developed ecclesiastical constitution of the Church, and give directions as to bishops and deacons, and correct abuses and errors of later growth.

The prevalence of the Gentile element in this Church is shown by the fact that these two Epistles are among the very few of Paul's writings in which no quotation occurs from the Old Testament.

JFB: 1 Thessalonians (Outline)

• ADDRESS: SALUTATION: HIS PRAYERFUL THANKSGIVING FOR THEIR FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE. THEIR FIRST RECEPTION OF THE GOSPEL, AND THEIR GOOD INFLUENCE ON ALL AROUND. (1Th 1:1-10)
• HIS MANNER OF PREACHING, AND THEIRS OF RECEIVING, THE GOSPEL; HIS DESIRE TO HAVE REVISITED THEM FRUSTRATED BY SATAN. (1Th. 2:1-20)
• PROOF OF HIS DESIRE AFTER THEM IN HIS HAVING SENT TIMOTHY: HIS JOY AT THE TIDINGS BROUGHT BACK CONCERNING THEIR FAITH AND CHARITY: PRAYERS FOR THEM. (1Th 3:1-13)
• EXHORTATIONS TO CHASTITY; BROTHERLY LOVE; QUIET INDUSTRY; ABSTINENCE FROM UNDUE SORROW FOR DEPARTED FRIENDS, FOR AT CHRIST'S COMING ALL HIS SAINTS SHALL BE GLORIFIED. (1Th. 4:1-18)
• THE SUDDENNESS OF CHRIST'S COMING A MOTIVE FOR WATCHFULNESS; VARIOUS PRECEPTS: PRAYER FOR THEIR BEING FOUND BLAMELESS, BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT, AT CHRIST'S COMING: CONCLUSION. (1Th. 5:1-28)

TSK: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Th 5:1, He proceeds in the former description of Christ’s coming to judgment; 1Th 5:16, and gives divers precepts; 1Th 5:23, and so concludes the epistle.

Poole: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 5

MHCC: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

This epistle is generally considered to have been the first of those written by St. Paul. The occasion seems to have been the good report of the stedfastness of the church at Thessalonica in the faith of the gospel. It is full of affection and confidence, and more consolatory and practical, and less doctrinal, than some of the other epistles.

MHCC: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Th 5:1-11) The apostle exhorts to be always ready for the coming of Christ to judgment, which will be with suddenness and surprise.

(1Th 5:12-22) He directs to several particular duties.

(1Th 5:23-28) And concludes with prayer, greetings, and a blessing.

Matthew Henry: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Epistle of st. Paul to the Thessalonians

Thessalonica was formerly the metropolis of Macedonia; it is now called Salonichi, and is the best peopled, and one of the best towns for commerce, in the Levant. The apostle Paul, being diverted from his design of going into the provinces of Asia, properly so called, and directed after an extraordinary manner to preach the gospel in Macedonia (Act 16:9, Act 16:10), in obedience to the call of God went from Troas to Samothracia, thence to Neapolis, and thence to Philippi, where he had good success in his ministry, but met with hard usage, being cast into prison with Silas his companion in travel and labour, from which being wonderfully delivered, they comforted the brethren there, and departed. Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where the apostle planted a church that consisted of some believing Jews and many converted Gentiles, Act 17:1-4. But a tumult being raised in the city by the unbelieving Jews, and the lewd and baser sort of the inhabitants, Paul and Silas, for their safety, were sent away by night unto Berea, and afterwards Paul was conducted to Athens, leaving Silas and Timotheus behind him, but sent directions that they should come to him with all speed. When they came, Timotheus was sent to Thessalonica, to enquire after their welfare and to establish them in the faith (1Th 3:2), and, returning to Paul while he tarried at Athens, was sent again, together with Silas, to visit the churches in Macedonia. So that Paul, being left at Athens alone (1Th 3:1), departed thence to Corinth, where he continued a year and a half, in which time Silas and Timotheus returned to him from Macedonia (Act 18:5), and then he wrote this epistle to the church of Christ at Thessalonica, which, though it is placed after the other epistles of this apostle, is supposed to be first in time of all Paul's epistles, and to be written about a.d. 51. The main scope of it is to express the thankfulness of this apostle for the good success his preaching had among them, to establish them in the faith, and persuade them to a holy conversation.

Matthew Henry: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

The apostle, having spoken in the end of the foregoing chapter concerning the resurrection, and the second coming of Christ, proceeds to speak concerning the uselessness of enquiring after the particular time of Christ's coming, which would be sudden and terrible to the wicked, but comfortable to the saints (1Th 5:1-5). He then exhorts them to the duties of watchfulness, sobriety, and the exercise of faith, love, and hope, as being suitable to their state (1Th 5:6-10). In the next words he exhorts them to several duties they owed to others, or to one another (1Th 5:11-15), afterwards to several other Christian duties of great importance (1Th 5:16-22), and then concludes this epistle (1Th 5:23-28).

Barclay: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL

The Letters Of Paul

There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letters of Paul. That is because of all forms of literature a letter is most personal. Demetrius, one of the old Greek literary critics, once wrote, "Every one reveals his own soul in his letters. In every other form of composition it is possible to discern the writercharacter, but in none so clearly as the epistolary." (Demetrius, On Style, 227). It is just because he left us so many letters that we feel we know Paul so well. In them he opened his mind and heart to the folk he loved so much; and in them, to this day, we can see that great mind grappling with the problems of the early church, and feel that great heart throbbing with love for men, even when they were misguided and mistaken.

The Difficulty Of Letters

At the same time, there is often nothing so difficult to understand as a letter. Demetrius (On Style, 223) quotes a saying of Artemon, who edited the letters of Aristotle. Artemon said that a letter ought to be written in the same manner as a dialogue, because it was one of the two sides of a dialogue. In other words, to read a letter is like listening to one side of a telephone conversation. So when we read the letters of Paul we are often in a difficulty. We do not possess the letter which he was answering; we do not fully know the circumstances with which he was dealing; it is only from the letter itself that we can deduce the situation which prompted it. Before we can hope to understand fully any letter Paul wrote, we must try to reconstruct the situation which produced it.

The Ancient Letters

It is a great pity that Paulletters were ever called epistles. They are in the most literal sense letters. One of the great lights shed on the interpretation of the New Testament has been the discovery and the publication of the papyri. In the ancient world, papyrus was the substance on which most documents were written. It was composed of strips of the pith of a certain bulrush that grew on the banks of the Nile. These strips were laid one on top of the other to form a substance very like brown paper. The sands of the Egyptian desert were ideal for preservation, for papyrus, although very brittle, will last forever so long as moisture does not get at it. As a result, from the Egyptian rubbish heaps, archaeologists have rescued hundreds of documents, marriage contracts, legal agreements, government forms, and, most interesting of all, private letters. When we read these private letters we find that there was a pattern to which nearly all conformed; and we find that Paulletters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage.

"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are

going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.

I thank my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe when I was

in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey

money from Caesar--three gold pieces. And things are going fine

with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let

me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that

I may kiss your hand, because you brought me up well, and because

of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted. Give Capito my

heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends.

I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My

military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health.

Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimonboy, and Turbo,

Galloniuson." (G. Milligan, Selections from the Greek Papyri,

36.)

Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little human nature changes. The lad is hoping for promotion quickly. Who would Serenilla be but the girl he left behind him? He sends the ancient equivalent of a photograph to the folk at home. Now that letter falls into certain sections. (i) There is a greeting. (ii) There is a prayer for the health of the recipients. (iii) There is a thanksgiving to the gods. (iv) There are the special contents. (v) Finally, there are the special salutations and the personal greetings. Practically every one of Paulletters shows exactly the same sections, as we now demonstrate.

(i) The Greeting: Rom_1:1 ; 1Co_1:1 ; 2Co_1:1 ; Gal_1:1 ; Eph_1:1 ; Phi_1:1 ; Col_1:1-2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:1 .

(ii) The Prayer: in every case Paul prays for the grace of God on the people to whom he writes: Rom_1:7 ; 1Co_1:3 ; 2Co_1:2 ; Gal_1:3 ; Eph_1:2 ; Phi_1:3 ; Col_1:2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:2 .

(iii) The Thanksgiving: Rom_1:8 ; 1Co_1:4 ; 2Co_1:3 ; Eph_1:3 ; Phi_1:3 ; 1Th_1:3 ; 2Th_1:3 .

(iv) The Special Contents: the main body of the letters.

(v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings: Rom 16 ; 1Co_16:19 ; 2Co_13:13 ; Phi_4:21-22 ; Col_4:12-15 ; 1Th_5:26 .

When Paul wrote letters, he wrote them on the pattern which everyone used. Deissmann says of them, "They differ from the messages of the homely papyrus leaves of Egypt, not as letters but only as the letters of Paul." When we read Paulletters we are not reading things which were meant to be academic exercises and theological treatises, but human documents written by a friend to his friends.

The Immediate Situation

With a very few exceptions, all Paulletters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, "Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation.... He had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in existence in the next generation, far less that one day people would look at them as Holy Scripture." We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paulletters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.

The Spoken Word

One other thing we must note about these letters. Paul did what most people did in his day. He did not normally pen his own letters but dictated them to a secretary, and then added Ws own authenticating signature. (We actually know the name of one of the people who did the writing for him. In Rom_16:22 Tertius, the secretary, slips in his own greeting before the letter draws to an end). In 1Co_16:21 Paul says, "This is my own signature, my autograph, so that you can be sure this letter comes from me." (compare Col_4:18 ; 2Th_3:17 .)

This explains a great deal. Sometimes Paul is hard to understand, because his sentences begin and never finish; his grammar breaks down and the construction becomes involved. We must not think of him sitting quietly at a desk, carefully polishing each sentence as he writes. We must think of him striding up and down some little room, pouring out a torrent of words, while his secretary races to get them down. When Paul composed his letters, he had in his mindeye a vision of the folk to whom he was writing, and he was pouring out his heart to them in words that fell over each other in his eagerness to help.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS

Paul Comes To Macedonia

For anyone who can read between the lines the story of Paulcoming to Macedonia is one of the most dramatic in the book of Acts. Luke, with supreme economy of words, tells it in Act_16:6-10 . Short as that narrative is, it gives the impression of a chain of circumstances inescapably culminating in one supreme event. Paul had passed through Phrygia and Galatia and ahead of him lay the Hellespont. To the left lay the teeming province of Asia, to the right stretched the great province of Bithynia; but the Spirit would allow him to enter neither. There was something driving him relentlessly on to the Aegean Sea. So he came to Alexandrian Troas, still uncertain where he ought to go; and then there came to him a vision in the night of a man who cried, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." Paul set sail, and for the first time the gospel came to Europe.

One World

At that moment Paul must have seen much more than a continent for Christ. It was in Macedonia that he landed; and Macedonia was the kingdom of Alexander the Great, who had conquered the world and wept because there were no more worlds left to conquer. But Alexander was much more than a military conqueror. He was almost the first universalist. He was more a missionary than a soldier; and he dreamed of one world dominated and enlightened by the culture of Greece. Even so great a thinker as Aristotle had said that it was a plain duty to treat Greeks as free men and orientals as slaves; but Alexander declared that he had been sent by God "to unite, to pacify and to reconcile the whole world." Deliberately he had said that it was his aim "to marry the East to the West." He had dreamed of an Empire in which there was neither Greek nor Jew, barbarian or Scythian, bond or free (Col_3:11 ). It is hard to see how Alexander could have failed to be in Paulthoughts. Paul left from Alexandrian Troas which was called after Alexander; he came to Macedonia which was Alexanderoriginal kingdom; he worked at Philippi which was called after Philip, Alexanderfather; he went on to Thessalonica which was called after Alexanderhalf-sister. The whole territory was saturated with memories of Alexander; and Paul must surely have thought, not of a country nor of a continent, but of a world for Christ.

Paul Comes To Thessalonica

This sense of the wide-stretching arms of Christianity must have been accentuated when Paul came to Thessalonica. It was a great city. Its original name was Thermal, which means The Hot Springs, and it gave its name to the Thermaic Gulf on which it stood. Six hundred years ago Herodotus had described it as a great city. It has always been a famous harbour. It was there that Xerxes the Persian had his naval base when he invaded Europe; and even in Roman times it was one of the worldgreat dockyards. In 315 B.C. Cassander had rebuilt the city and renamed it Thessalonica, the name of his wife, who was a daughter of Philip of Macedon and a half-sister of Alexander the Great. It was a free city; that is to say it had never suffered the indignity of having Roman troops quartered within it. It had its own popular assembly and its own magistrates. Its population rose to 200,000 and for a time it was a question whether it or Constantinople would be recognized as the capital of the world. Even today, under the name Salonika, it has 70,000 inhabitants.

But the supreme importance of Thessalonica lay in this--it straddled the Via Egnatia, the Egnatian Road, which stretched from Dyrrachium on the Adriatic to Constantinople on the Bosphorus and thence away to Asia Minor and the East. Its main street was part of the very road which linked Rome with the East. East and West converged on Thessalonica; it was said to be "in the lap of the Roman Empire." Trade poured into her from East and West, so that it was said, "So long as nature does not change, Thessalonica will remain wealthy and prosperous."

It is impossible to overstress the importance of the arrival of Christianity in Thessalonica. If Christianity was settled there, it was bound to spread East along the Egnatian Road until all Asia was conquered and West until it stormed even the city of Rome. The coming of Christianity to Thessalonica was crucial in the making of it into a world religion.

PaulStay At Thessalonica

The story of Paulstay at Thessalonica is in Act_17:1-10 . Now, for Paul, what happened at Thessalonica was of supreme importance. He preached in the synagogue for three Sabbaths (Act_17:2 ) which means that his stay there could not have been much more than three weeks in length. He had such tremendous success that the Jews were enraged and raised so much trouble that Paul had to be smuggled out, in peril of his life, to Beroea. The same thing happened in Beroea (Act_17:10-12 ) and Paul had to leave Timothy and Silas behind and make his escape to Athens. What exercised his mind was this. He had been in Thessalonica only three weeks. Was it possible to make such an impression on a place in three weeksime that Christianity was planted so deeply that it could never again be uprooted? If so, it was by no means an idle dream that the Roman Empire might yet be won for Christ. Or was it necessary to settle down and work for months, even years, before an impression could be made? In that event, no man could even dimly foresee when Christianity would penetrate all over the world. Thessalonica was a test case; and Paul was torn with anxiety to know how it would turn out.

News From Thessalonica

So anxious was Paul that, when Timothy joined him at Athens, he sent him back to Thessalonica to get the information without which he could not rest (1Th_3:1-2 , 1Th_3:5 ; 1Th_2:17 ). What news did Timothy bring back? There was good news. The affection of the Thessalonians for Paul was as strong as ever; and they were standing fast in the faith (1Th_2:14 ; 1Th_3:4-6 ; 1Th_4:9-10 ). They were indeed "his glory and Ws joy" (1Th_2:20 ). But there was worrying news.

(i) The preaching of the Second Coming had produced an unhealthy situation in which people had stopped working and had abandoned all ordinary pursuits to await the Second Coming with a kind of hysterical expectancy. So Paul tells them to be quiet and to get on with their work (1Th_4:11 ).

(ii) They were worried about what was to happen to those who died before the Second Coming arrived. Paul explains that those who fall asleep in Jesus will miss none of the glory (1Th_4:13-18 ).

(iii) There was a tendency to despise all lawful authority; the argumentative Greek was always in danger of producing a democracy run mad (1Th_5:12-14 ).

(iv) There was the ever-present danger that they would relapse into immorality. It was hard to unlearn the point of view of generations and to escape the contagion of the heathen world (1Th_4:3-8 ).

(v) There was at least a section who slandered Paul. They hinted that he preached the gospel for what he could get out of it (1Th_2:5 , 1Th_2:9 ); and that he was something of a dictator (1Th_2:6-7 , 1Th_2:11 ).

(vi) There was a certain amount of division in the Church (1Th_4:9 ; 1Th_5:13 ).

These were the problems with which Paul had to deal; and they show that human nature has not changed so very much.

Why Two Letters?

We must ask why there are two letters. They art, very much alike and they must have been written within weeks, perhaps days of each other. The second letter was written mainly to clear up a misconception about the Second Coming. The first letter insists that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and urges watchfulness (1Th_5:2 ; 1Th_5:6 ). But this produced the unhealthy situation where men did nothing but watch and wait; and in the second letter Paul explains what signs must come first before the Second Coming should come (2Th_2:3-12 ). The Thessalonians had got their ideas about the Second Coming out of proportion. As so often happens to a preacher, Paulpreaching had been misunderstood, and certain phrases had been taken out of context and over-emphasized; and the second letter seeks to put things back in their proper balance and to correct the thoughts of the excited Thessalonians regarding the Second Coming. Of course, Paul takes occasion in the second letter to repeat and to stress much of the good advice and rebuke he had given in the first, but its main aim is to tell them certain things which will calm their hysteria and make them wait, not in excited idleness, but in patient and diligent attendance to the daywork. In these two letters we see Paul solving the day to day problems which arose in the expanding Church.

FURTHER READINGS

Thessalonians

J. E. Frame, Thessalonians (ICC; G)

G. Milligan, St. PaulEpistles to the Thessalonians (MmC; G)

W. Neil, The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians (MC; E)

Abbreviations

CGT: Cambridge Greek Testament

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

MmC: Macmillan Commentary

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Like A Thief In The Night (1Th_5:1-11)

Advice To A Church (1Th_5:12-22)

The Grace Of Christ Be With You (1Th_5:23-28)

Constable: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

Thessalonica was an important city. Cassander, the Macedonian king, founded it in 315 B.C. and named it for his wife, who was a half-sister of Alexander the Great. It was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, and it stood on the Via Egnatia, the Roman highway to the East. It was a self-governing community with enough Jews in residence to warrant a synagogue (Acts 17:1).

Paul first visited Thessalonica during his second missionary journey with Silas and Timothy. They had just left prison in Philippi and 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 (e.g., 1 Thess. 2:9; cf. Phil. 4:15-16).¹ Those who responded to the message of Christ's sufferings and resurrection (Acts 17:3, 7) were Jews (Acts 17:4) and God-fearing proselytes to Judaism. There were also some leading women of the city and many idol-worshipping pagans (Acts 17:4-5).

"If Macedonia produced perhaps the most competent group of men the world had yet seen, the women were in all respects the men's counterparts; they played a large part in affairs, received envoys and obtained concessions from them for their husbands, built temples, founded cities, engaged mercenaries, commanded armies, held fortresses, and acted on occasion as regents or even co-rulers."²

When the unbelieving Jews heard of the conversion of the proselytes, whom they were discipling, they stirred up a gang of roughnecks who attacked the house of Jason. Paul had been staying with him. Unable to find the missionaries the mob dragged Jason before the magistrates who simply charged him to keep the peace. Convinced of the danger for 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). The Berean Christians sent Paul away to Athens, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea (Acts 17:14). 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 Timothy back to Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:1-3; Acts 17:15). 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 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 had 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 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).

It seems clear that Paul wrote this epistle shortly after he arrived in Corinth (1:7-9; 2:17; 3:1, 6; Acts 18:5, 12), about 51 A.D. If one follows the early dating of Galatians, as I have suggested, this epistle would have been Paul's second inspired writing. If Paul penned Galatians after the second missionary journey, 1 Thessalonians could have been his first inspired epistle.³ However the first option seems more probable.⁴

A few scholars have suggested that Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians before he wrote 1 Thessalonians.⁵ This is not as improbable as may appear at first since the traditional sequence of Pauline letters to churches rests on length rather than date. Nonetheless this theory has not convinced most scholars.⁶

Purpose

In view of this epistle's contents, Paul had at least three purposes in mind when he wrote it. 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).

"Far and away the largest theological contribution of the Epistles [1 and 2 Thessalonians] lies in what they say about eschatology."⁷

". . . over a quarter of 1 Thessalonians and nearly half of 2 Thessalonians deal with problems and issues regarding the parousia or coming of Christ from heaven."⁸

"The Thessalonian letters present the first literary evidence for the use of parousia . . . in the sense of the future Advent of Christ: it occurs in this sense six times in the two letters. The event is depicted repeatedly in language borrowed from portrayals of OT theophanies. But it is the ethical implications that are chiefly stressed: the writers look forward to the Parousia especially as the time when their service will be reviewed and rewarded by the Lord who commissioned them, and they will be content, they say, to have it assessed by the quality of their converts."⁹

Message¹⁰

In this epistle there is evidence that Paul had conflicting emotions regarding the new church in Thessalonica. On the one hand he was joyful and satisfied with what God had accomplished. On the other hand he felt concern about the perils in which the new Christians lived.

This letter differs from most of Paul's others in that it does not deal primarily with a doctrinal issue or a departure in belief or behavior. While the teaching on the Rapture of the church is definitely a doctrinal contribution, Paul did not write primarily to expound that truth or to defend it. He simply clarified the events he had previously taught them. The new revelation is in a sense secondary to Paul's argument. Nevertheless it is obvious that the Lord's return was prominent in Paul's mind from beginning to end of this letter. He referred to it in every chapter.

Paul wrote this epistle primarily to comfort and to encourage those who were suffering for their Lord. Their hope was an essential emphasis in view of this purpose (cf. 1 Pet.).

The epistle deals with the hope of the Lord's return as this relates to Christian experience.

Paul took the fact of the Lord's return for granted. He did not feel compelled to try to prove it. His belief that Jesus would return for His own is obvious to anyone who reads this letter regardless of his or her eschatology. Paul believed in a real return of the same Jesus who had lived on the earth, died, was buried, arose from the dead, and ascended into heaven (cf. 4:16). First Thessalonians deals with when the Lord will return. The larger emphasis in 1 Thessalonians, however, is that He will return.

In relation to Christian experience the return of Christ is the final argument that produces faith. When Paul preached the gospel in Thessalonica, he proclaimed that the Christ who had come would come again (1:9-10). His converts were to wait for Him. They had turned from belief in visible idols to an invisible God. Paul urged them to wait with the assurance that they would see their God visibly soon. They turned from disorder to the hope of divine rule, from spiritual anarchy to the hope of an orderly kingdom. Christians trust in Christ's first coming and wait for His return. Without the hope of Christ's vindication the message of His death is incomplete. I do not mean that the return of Christ is part of the gospel message. However without the hope of Christ's return the gospel message is harder to accept. The return of Christ is the final argument that produces faith in this sense. It is an apologetic for Christianity.

In relation to Christian experience the return of Christ is, second, the abiding confidence that inspires labor (1:9). The Thessalonians turned from idols to serve the living God. Their reward for service would come at His return. That would be their payday. Paul referred to his readers as his own reward for service at Christ's return (2:19-20). A little of our reward comes to us here and now, but the great bulk of it awaits the judgment seat of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 15:58). When those we have led to Christ and discipled experience glorification, our reward will be full. This prospect is what so forcefully motivated Paul in his tireless missionary service.

Third, in relation to Christian experience the return of Christ is the ultimate victory that creates patience (3:13). The conviction that we will experience ultimate victory at the Rapture produces patience in the believer (cf. 5:14b). We can be patient about our own slow growth knowing that eventual glorification will take place. Furthermore we can be patient with God knowing that God will balance the scales of justice and vindicate Himself. One day Christ will return just as one day He was born. Both events are crises in history. They are high points not built up to gradually but introduced as cataclysms.

Thus the return of Christ is the final argument producing faith, the abiding confidence inspiring labor, and the ultimate victory creating patience. In the introduction to this epistle Paul said he remembered his readers' work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope (1:3). Faith, hope, and love are the three greatest attributes of the Christian life, and they are possible because Christ will return.

This epistle also helps us understand how we should respond to the truth that Christ will return.

First, in our own life we should respond with godly behavior: personal purity, love for the brethren, and honesty in the world. Christ's return should have a purifying effect in every one of these areas of our life (ch. 4).

Second, in the face of death there is a two-fold response. There is comfort for the bereaved in particular (4:14).

Also there is comfort for all the living (4:18).

Third, in view of judgment to come our response should be confidence. We will not experience God's wrath, but He will deliver us from it in all its manifestations.

Failure to accept the truth of the Lord's return results in unbelief and a return to idols.

It results in indolence that leads to strife.

Furthermore it results in impatience that leads to sin. These are the very opposite of the work of faith, the labor of love, and the patience of hope.

The light of this great doctrine underwent an eclipse during the history of the church. It only came out into prominence again in the nineteenth century. We at Dallas Seminary follow in the train of those dispensational writers and teachers who through careful study of the whole Word of God have brought this doctrine back out into public view. Satan would like to silence this emphasis because the hope of Christ's return is one of the greatest motivations for Christian service and sacrifice. The sanctification of the whole person (spirit, soul, and body) consists in active waiting for Jesus to return (5:23). I pray that as a result of this study of 1 Thessalonians we may all live with a greater conscious awareness of Christ's return.

Outline¹¹

I. Salutation and greeting 1:1

II. Personal commendations and explanations 1:2-3:13

A. Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians 1:2-10

1. Summary statement 1:2-3

2. Specific reasons 1:4-10

B. Reminders for the Thessalonians 2:1-16

1. How the gospel was delivered 2:1-12

2. How the gospel was received 2:13-16

C. Concerns for the Thessalonians 2:17-3:13

1. Desires to see them again 2:17-3:5

2. Joy on hearing about them 3:6-13

III. Practical instructions and exhortations 4:1-5:24

A. Christian living 4:1-12

1. Continued growth 4:1-2

2. Sexual purity 4:3-8

3. Brotherly love 4:9-12

B. The Rapture 4:13-18

C. Personal watchfulness 5:1-11

D. Church life 5:12-15

1. Attitudes toward leaders 5:12-13

2. Relationships among themselves 5:14-15

E. Individual behavior 5:16-24

1. Personal actions and attitudes 5:16-18

2. Actions and attitudes in corporate living 5:19-22

3. Divine enablement 5:23-24

IV. Conclusion 5:25-28

Constable: 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE THESSALONIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

St. Paul having preached with success at Thessalonica, the chief city of Macedonia, wrote to the this letter, to confirm them in the Christian faith and in the practice of virtue. This, in order, is the first epistle of St. Paul. He wrote it about the year fifty-two, as it is thought, from Corinth. (Witham) --- St. Paul having preached the gospel in this place, converted some Jews and a great number of Gentiles; but the unbelieving Jews, envying his success, raised such a commotion against him, that he and his companion Silvanus were obliged to quit the city. Afterwards he went to Athens, where he had heard that the converts in Thessalonica were under severe persecution ever since his departure; and lest they should lose their fortitude, he sent Timothy to strengthen and comfort them in their sufferings. In the mean time St. Paul came to Corinth, where he wrote this first epistle and also the second to the Thessalonians, both in the same year, being the nineteenth after our Lord's ascension. (Challoner) --- St. Paul preached the faith in this city, assisted by Silas and Silvanus, whose name is joined with the apostle's in this letter. See Acts xvii. Being driven away from this city by the violence of the Jews, he left Timothy and Silas in Macedonia, to confirm the new converts in their faith. But having afterwards called them to him, and hearing of their constancy and perseverance, he writes this epistle to encourage them and praise them. It is the first in time of all St. Paul's epistles, and filled with the most affectionate expressions of love and tenderness for his spiritual children in Jesus Christ. In the latter part of the epistle, he gives some short instructions concerning the state of souls after death, and the coming of the last day; as his companions had informed him that strange reports concerning these two articles were in circulation at Thessalonica, to the disturbance of the faithful. (Calmet, Estius, and others.) --- The first three chapters are to confirm and comfort the Thessalonians against the temptations of persecution; the other two are to exhort them to live up to the precepts he delivers them.

====================

Gill: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 THESSALONIANS

Thessalonica was a very large, populous, and flourishing city, it was "liberae conditionis", as Pliny says ^a, a free city, and the metropolis of Macedonia; it was formerly called Halis ^b, and had the name of Thessalonica given it by Philip king of Macedon, on account of his conquest of Thessalia, which this name signifies; and some say he gave this name to a daughter of his on that occasion, who was afterwards the wife of Cassander; who, others say, called this place by his wife's name ^c, which before was Therme: its name with the Italians is Salonichi, and is now in the hands of the Turks, as all Greece is: here the Apostle Paul came after he had been at Philippi, and stayed about three weeks, and preached every sabbath day, and his ministry was blessed to the conversion of some Jews, a multitude of devout Greeks, and many of the chief women of the place, which laid the foundation of a Gospel church; to which the apostle wrote this epistle, and is the first of all the epistles he wrote: the occasion of it was this; the unbelieving Jews, vexed to see the apostle's success, raised a mob of the baser sort of people, and assaulted the house of Jason, where the apostle and his companions were; but Paul and Silas were sent away by night to Berea, which the rabble understanding, followed them thither; when Paul was sent as if he was going to the sea, but was conducted by the brethren to Athens, who gave orders that Silas and Timothy should come to him with all speed, as they did; and Timothy was sent back to Thessalonica to establish and comfort the young converts there; and returning with good news of their faith, and charity, to the apostle at Corinth, he sent them from thence this epistle, and not from Athens, as some have thought: the design of which is to encourage them under their afflictions and sufferings; to exhort them to stand fast in the Lord, to abide by his truths and ordinances, and to live an holy life and conversation, and to regard the several duties of religion, towards God and one another, and those that were set over them; and in it he instructs them concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the coming of Christ, articles of very great importance and concern: the writing of this epistle is placed by Dr. Lightfoot in the 51st year of Christ, and in the 11th of Claudius Caesar.

Gill: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 THESSALONIANS 5

In this chapter the apostle discourses concerning the suddenness of Christ's coming, and the necessity of sobriety and watchfulness, and being on our guard with respect unto it, and then proceeds to exhort to several duties of religion, and closes the epistle with prayers for the saints, salutations of them, advice unto them, and with his usual benediction. Having spoken of the coming of Christ in the preceding chapter, the apostle signifies he had no need to write of the time and season of it; since it was a well known thing that it would be sudden, and at an unawares, like the coming of a thief in the night, and the travail of a woman with child, though certain and inevitable; and would bring sure destruction on wicked men, unthought of by them, 1Th 5:1 but such was the state and condition of the saints, being not in the night of nature's darkness and unregeneracy, but enlightened by the spirit of God, that they were not ignorant of these things, nor liable to be surprised unawares hereby, 1Th 5:4, however, in consideration of their being in the light, and not in darkness, it became them to behave accordingly, and not indulge themselves in sleep and sloth, but be watchful and sober, and on their guard, having on their spiritual armour, 1Th 5:6 and the rather, since they were not appointed to the wrath they deserved, but to salvation by Christ; whose end in dying for them was, that they might live together with him, and therefore should exhort and comfort, and edify one another, 1Th 5:9 and then follow various exhortations, some, which respect their ministers, their knowledge of them, love to them, and esteem for them, on account of their dignity, office, work, and usefulness, 1Th 5:12 others, which concern themselves and one another, as church members, 1Th 5:13 others, which regard also them that are without, 1Th 5:14 and others which relate to joy and thanksgiving, to prayer and praise; to the gifts of the spirit, and the ministry of the word; and to a trial and examination of what is good, and an abiding by it, and an abstinence from all evil, and every appearance of it, 1Th 5:16 and the whole is concluded with prayers for them, for their perfect sanctification, and entire preservation to the coming of Christ; which were put up in faith, grounded upon the faithfulness of God who had called them to grace and glory, 1Th 5:23 and with a request to them to pray for him, and other ministers of the Gospel, and to salute all the brethren, 1Th 5:25 and with a charge to read this letter to them all, 1Th 5:27 and with his usual benediction, 1Th 5:28.

College: 1 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

FOREWORD

This commentary has been produced through a full schedule of college and seminary teaching and church-based ministry. In the current climate of biblical studies, that schedule has necessitated some compromises. Journal articles, scholarly monographs and commentaries are today so numerous that the person who wants to keep current in the study of a biblical book must have the leisure to devote almost full time to the task. Therefore, I have not been able to consider all the issues as thoroughly as I might have liked. For most readers, however, this is probably a relief. I have tried to discuss only those matters which significantly affect our understanding of the text and have sufficient supporting evidence to warrant a hearing. So to those who find that an issue has been ignored, too briefly summarized, or too fully discussed, I offer my apologies. It is my hope that the setting in which I have written the book, having taught and preached on it in churches and a church-based college and seminary, will ensure a greater degree of relevance than might be found in some scholarly works and a greater degree of accuracy than in some popular ones.

Thanks for assistance with this project go to several people. I am grateful to the publishers and editors of the series for their invaluable help in bringing this work to publication. To my former professor and present colleague Dr. Jack Cottrell, who first offered the invitation, and to Mr. John Hunter of College Press, who graciously worked with me for its completion, I give special thanks. Another former professor and present colleague, Mr. Tom Friskney, first stimulated my study of the Thessalonian letters. His influence is felt on every page, but he should not be blamed for my mistakes. In particular I thank my family - my wife, Tammie, and our children, Cale and Allison - for their patience with me as I spent too many evenings, weekends and vacation times working on this project.

My parents, Chet and Millie Weatherly, more than anyone have provided the example for me of the integrity, love, discipline, hard work, generosity, endurance and expectancy which these letters teach. I dedicate this book to them with heartfelt gratitude.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

INTRODUCTION

Though it is a relatively brief letter, 1 Thessalonians provides the modern Christian with a challenging glimpse into the life and thought of the first generation of Christianity. Its presentation of the ministry of Paul, the trials of the persecuted church, the ethical demands of the new life in Christ, and especially of the vivid expectation of Christ's return provides some of the foundational elements for genuine Christian experience in every era.

Major critical problems with 1 Thessalonians are fewer than with some other Pauline letters; the bulk of modern scholarship is largely agreed about the general circumstances under which the letter was written. But knowing those circumstances provides a necessary touchstone for the interpretation of the letter, so they will be briefly summarized below.

THE CITY OF THESSALONICA

Founded by Cassander, a general of Alexander the Great, around 315 B.C., Thessalonica was a city of size and influence. Located at the head of the Thermatic Gulf, now called the Gulf of Salonika, a natural harbor on the Aegean coast of Macedonia, the northern part of the Greece, it was an important port city, providing a gateway to the Macedonian interior. Its prominence as a transportation center was augmented when the Romans constructed the Via Egnatia or Egnatian Way, a highway crossing the Greek peninsula from east to west and ultimately connecting Asia in the east with Italy and Rome in the west. Inland from Thessalonica lay a fertile plain, which provided abundant agricultural resources for the city and the region.

It is little wonder, then, that in 146 B.C. the Romans designated Thessalonica as the capital of the province of Macedonia. The city itself had an independent government with magistrates known as "politarchs" (Acts 17:6, 8), providing a degree of autonomy from the imperial government and its taxes. The religious climate was dominated by paganism; the cults of Dionysus and the Cabirus appear to have been especially prominent. According to Acts 17:1 there was also a colony of Jews large enough to constitute at least one synagogue.

Altogether, then, Thessalonica appears to us as a busy, prosperous, cosmopolitan city, a place where the gospel could readily take root but also meet significant resistance. That image is confirmed to us by the description of Paul's mission in Acts and the corresponding elements of 1 Thessalonians.

PAUL'S MINISTRY IN THESSALONICA

AND THE WRITING OF 1 THESSALONIANS

According to Acts, Paul visited Thessalonica with Timothy and Silas on what we call his second missionary journey (17:1). Having left Philippi after being jailed overnight, Paul traveled to the neighboring city on the Egnatian Way, perhaps pursuing a strategy of planting churches in cities on major transportation arteries so that the gospel could spread out from those centers. There, as was his custom, Paul preached in the synagogue as long as he was able (17:2-3). Acts indicates that his converts included Jews, God-fearers (Gentiles who acknowledged the God of Israel but had not converted fully to Judaism), and some of the principal women (17:4). According to Acts these conversions prompted a jealous response from non-Christian Jews, presumably synagogue leaders, who incited a mob against the Christians (17:5-7). The magistrates appear to have recognized that the mob's anger was not prompted by any offense against the civil order and required only that Jason, apparently a prominent Christian convert, post a bond pledging no further trouble (17:8-9). The violence did, however, prompt Paul to leave the city, perhaps sooner than he had planned (17:10).

From Thessalonica Paul went to Berea. But the fervor of his Thessalonian opponents was intense, for they followed him there and incited similar opposition (17:13). Paul then went on alone to Athens, leaving Silas and Timothy behind (17:14-15). After Paul had preached in Athens with mixed results (17:16-34), he went on to Corinth (18:1). There Silas and Timothy rejoined him (18:5).

The text of 1 Thessalonians confirms and supplements this outline. Though Paul focuses on the conversion of Gentiles in 1:9 (see comments below), says little about the conversion of Jews, and does not quote the Old Testament, themes from the Jewish Scriptures and Judaism appear throughout the letter (cf. 1:4, 6, 10; 2:4, 10, 12, 15-16, 18; 3:3, 5; 4:3, 5-8, 16; 5:3, 5, 8-9, 23-24), implying an audience familiar with them. The letter acknowledges the opposition to Paul (2:2) and the ongoing problem of persecution in Thessalonica (1:6; 2:14; 3:3-4), elements entirely consistent with the anti-Christian violence which Acts depicts. It indicates that Paul left the city prematurely and under duress (2:17) and was prevented from returning (2:18). In particular it makes clear that from Athens Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica as a substitute for his own presence (3:1-3; see comments below) to strengthen the church and report about its progress to Paul. Timothy's return and report are recounted also (3:6).

It appears, then, that Timothy's report prompts the writing of this first letter. We can infer from the letter's contents that the report was mostly positive but did note some areas of serious concern. The letter serves to reassure the readers about their status as Christians (1:3-10; 3:11-13) and about Paul's concern for them despite his absence (2:1-12; 2:17-3:10), to strengthen them in the persecution which they endure (2:13-16; 3:4-5), and to reiterate instruction which they had already received about the standards by which they are to live as people in Christ surrounded by an immoral pagan culture (4:1-12). In particular Paul is concerned about their misunderstanding of the significance of Christ's return, especially regarding the status of those who have died as Christians (4:13-18), but also more generally (5:1-11). He also expresses specific concern about the need for Christians to support themselves responsibly (4:11-12; 5:14; cf. 2:6b-9), and to have proper respect for leaders (5:12) and for the spiritual gift of prophecy (5:19-22). In essence, then, this letter is a substitute for Paul's actual presence, containing the teaching which he would have delivered had it been possible for him to return to Thessalonica immediately. While a couple of specific problems had arisen, Paul's primary concern is to strengthen the young church in its commitment and the consistency of its practice.

DATE

If the reconstruction above is correct, then 1 Thessalonians was written during Paul's stay in Corinth on his second missionary journey. It is conceivable that Paul could have written this letter on his third journey after his second visit to Thessalonica, but since the letter itself refers to only one visit, the obvious explanation is that Paul had made only one. Some have denied the accuracy of the sequence of events in Acts altogether, but the numerous points of confirmation between 1 Thessalonians and Acts as noted above make such a denial highly questionable.

Paul's stay in Corinth can be dated with an exceptional degree of precision. According to Acts 18:12-17, Gallio served as proconsul of Achaia during Paul's Corinthian mission. An inscription at Delphi puts Gallio as proconsul during the twelfth year of Claudius' imperial power, after the Roman senate's twenty-sixth proclamation of Claudius as emperor. Since the twenty-seventh proclamation was made in August of A.D. 52 and proconsuls took office usually in midsummer, Gallio can be assumed to have taken office in the summer of A.D. 50 or 51. The Acts account makes it appear that Paul was brought before Gallio not long after he took office and near the end of Paul's eighteen-month sojourn in the city. Therefore, a date of 50-51 is likely for this letter.

Relative to Paul's other letters, 1 Thessalonians is very early. Unless Galatians was written earlier, as is plausible, between the first and second missionary journeys, or 2 Thessalonians was written first (see the introduction to 2 Thessalonians below), this letter is Paul's earliest. If so, it is also likely to be the earliest book of the New Testament, unless, as we have no way to confirm, one of the Gospels or the letter of James was penned sometime in the forties of the first century. For students of Paul and of early Christianity generally, then, this letter has special import.

AUTHORSHIP

Few critical scholars have doubted that Paul composed this letter himself. The internal claim of the letter is clear and unequivocal, including not only the salutation (1:1), but the repeated personal references in the middle section of the letter (2:1-3:10). Likewise, the external evidence is clear. The letter was quoted in some of the earliest Christian literature outside the New Testament (Ign. Eph. 10:1; Ign. Rom. 2:1; Did. 16:6-7), attributed to Paul as early as Marcion (c. A.D. 140), and never questioned in the early centuries of Christianity.

Those who have contended that 1 Thessalonians is not an authentic letter of Paul have largely based their arguments on alleged discrepancies with Acts. As implied above, it has been argued that this letter indicates that Paul's Thessalonian converts were pagans (1:9; 4:1-5) while Acts asserts that they were Jews and God-fearers (17:4). However, as noted in the comments below, Paul may have a particular reason for emphasizing converts from paganism, and Acts certainly emphasizes Jewish converts in Thessalonica as a part of a larger theme in Paul's ministry. Neither book, however, should be understood to be deliberately specifying the precise composition of the Thessalonian church.

Likewise, it has been argued that the movements of Timothy and Silas in 1 Thessalonians do not match those in Acts. In particular, Acts 18:5 shows them rejoining Paul in Corinth, whereas 1 Thessalonians 3:1-6 may show Timothy rejoining Paul in Athens. Several reconstructions of their specific movements can be offered which account for the material in both books. Paul may have initially left Timothy and Silas behind in Macedonia, and they may have returned to him briefly in Athens only to be sent back to Macedonia a second time. Alternately, Paul may have sent his associates back to Thessalonica after arriving in Athens, and Acts may simply condense their movements, giving the result that they were "left behind" while focusing attention on Paul. But most important is the observation that the use of "Athens" instead of "here" in 1 Thess 3:1 indicates that Paul probably wrote from a place other than Athens and so was reunited with Timothy at that place. Corinth clearly fits the details here, precisely in accord with the description in Acts.

A third argument based on alleged tensions with Acts concerns the length of Paul's stay. It is argued that Acts 17:2 indicates a stay of three weeks, whereas this letter presumes a longer stay with its discussion of Paul's self-support and preaching. However, all that Acts 17:2 asserts is that Paul preached in the synagogue for three sabbaths, not that those three weeks comprised his entire stay. And if only three weeks were involved, Paul still could have preached, taught and worked with his hands.

Another challenge to authorship is found in hypotheses which argue that the letter is a compilation of several authentic or pseudepigraphical letters, edited together by a later follower of Paul. Elaborate arguments for compilation are entirely conjectural and have found little support. Some have argued that 5:1-11 is a later, non-Pauline interpolation based on its vocabulary and content. The differences with the rest of Paul's letters are in fact few, however, and so this hypothesis has little support either. More prominent has been the hypothesis that 2:13-16 are a later interpolation of non-Pauline material. Specific discussion of this issue can be found in the comments on the passage below.

ORGANIZATION

Most of Paul's letters follow a rather set pattern of salutation, thanksgiving, letter body, and closing greetings. This pattern is apparent in a wide variety of letters from the Greco-Roman world, indicating that Paul adapted the standard letter form for his own purposes.

1 Thessalonians follows this pattern approximately, as the outline below indicates. One variation comes at 2:13-16, where Paul appears to offer a second thanksgiving. Such formal irregularities are not surprising, however, if Paul felt free to adapt standard forms as the occasion demanded.

Recently Paul's letters have been analyzed according to the patterns of Greek rhetoric. Several recent works have employed this approach in understanding 1 Thessalonians, with the beneficial result of stressing that the letter is a unified composition with a specific purpose of communication. Opinions vary, however, on where the precise rhetorical divisions lie, probably because Paul did not compose his letters strictly according to the canons of rhetoric, though he was probably influenced by them. In this commentary, therefore, no direct attention will be given to specifying the precise rhetorical contours of the letter.

THEOLOGICAL VALUE

As a small, young church in big, pagan city, the Thessalonian Christians faced challenges to their faith at every turn. Persecution, social pressure, temptations of the old lifestyle, conflict with new brothers and sisters in Christ, and surrender to despair were constant threats. Whatever the confidence with which they began their Christian pilgrimage, these believers were now faced with the daily ordeals of life in Christ in hostile surroundings.

Paul's answers to these problems are varied and significant. He confirms the truth of the gospel in the face of the doubts and struggles which they face, reminding them of the change which the gospel has brought to their lives and of the warnings which they had already received about the difficulties to come. He reminds them of his own manner of life with them, itself a confirmation of the truth of his message and an example of the self-sacrificial love and Christ-glorifying integrity which comprise the core of the Christian lifestyle. That love expressed to one another will in turn draw the church together to stand up to the pressure of the hostile culture which surrounds it. Perhaps most importantly, Paul reminds the readers repeatedly that the work of God begun in them in Christ will not be complete until Christ returns. They can therefore look forward to his return with great expectancy, remembering that even death itself will then be utterly defeated, and living each moment in faithfulness as they await the fulfillment of their relationship with Christ.

The situation for Christians near the beginning of the third millennium is not much different from the one that Paul addressed. And so his reminders remain timely. The truth and power of the gospel, the love and integrity which characterize Christ's people, and the living hope of Christ's return are especially relevant to a people confronted with the contemporary diseases of relativism, hatred, selfishness, and despair. The conviction that this universe will end with God's eternal triumph is as foreign to modern thinking as is the idea that it began by God's command. But apart from such a conviction, which stands at the center of 1 Thessalonians, can humanity find meaning in what seems to be chaos? Without it, can humanity find a basis for moral decisions? Faced with such questions, today's reader will not have to read far in 1 Thessalonians to find both blessing and challenge.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1 & 2 THESSALONIANS

COMMENTARIES

Commentaries are cited in the notes by author's last name alone.

Bruce, F.F. 1 & 2 Thessalonians . WBC 45. Waco, TX: Word, 1982.

Best, Ernest. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians . BNTC. 1972. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1986.

Frame, James Everett. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians . ICC. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1979 (reprint).

Marshall, I. Howard. 1 and 2 Thessalonians . NCB. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Morris, Leon. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians . NICNT. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.

Wanamaker, Charles A. The Epistles to the Thessalonians . NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

OTHER WORKS

Allison, Dale C. "The Pauline Epistles and the Synoptic Gospels: the Pattern of the Parallels," NTS 28 (1982)1-31.

Aus, Roger D. "God's Plan and God's Power: Isaiah 66 and the Restraining Factors of 2 Thess 2:6-7," JBL 96 (1977) 537-553.

. "The Liturgical Background of the Necessity and Propriety of Giving Thanks According to 2 Thes 1:3," JBL 92 (1973) 432-438.

Bammel, Ernst. "Preparation for the Perils of the Last Days: 1 Thessalonians 3:3." In Suffering and Martyrdom in the New Testament: Studies Presented to G. M. Styler by the Cambridge New Testament Seminar . Ed. William Horbury and Brian McNeil. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981.

Bassler, Jouette M. "The Enigmatic Sign: 2 Thessalonians 1:5," CBQ 46 (1984) 498-510.

Boers, Hendrikus. "The Form Critical Study of Paul's Letters. I Thessalonians as a Case Study," NTS 22 (1976) 140-158.

Collins, R.F. Studies on the First Letter to the Thessalonians . BETL 66. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1984.

Cottrell, Jack. What the Bible Says About God the Ruler . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.

Donfried, Karl P. The Theology of the Shorter Pauline Letters . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Ellis, E. Earle. Prophecy and Hermeneutic in Early Christianity . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.

Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.

Friskney, Tom. Thirteen Lessons on First and Second Thessalonians . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1982.

Funk, Robert W. Parables and Presence: Forms of the New Testament Tradition . Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982.

Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction . 4th ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1990.

Harris, Murray J. Raised Immortal: Resurrection and Immortality in the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Hengel, Martin. The Pre-Christian Paul . Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1991.

Hewett, James A. "1 Thessalonians 3:11," ExpTim 87 (1975-76) 54-55.

Hock, Ronald F. The Social Context of Paul's Ministry: Tentmaking and Apostleship . Minneapolis: Fortress, 1980.

Holland, Glenn S. The Tradition that You Received from Us: 2 Thessalonians in the Pauline Tradition . HUT 24. Tübingen: Mohr, 1988.

Jewett, Robert. The Thessalonian Correspondence: Pauline Rhetoric and Millenarian Piety . FFNT. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986.

Johnson, Luke T. "The New Testament's Anti-Jewish Slander and the Conventions of Ancient Polemic," JBL 108 (1989) 419-441.

Klijn, A.F.J. "1 Thessalonians 4.13-18 and Its Background in Apocalyptic Literature." In Paul and Paulinism: Essays in Honour of C. K. Barrett . Ed. M.D. Hooker and S.G. Wilson. London: SPCK, 1982, pp. 67-73.

Ladd, G.E. A Theology of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

Lightfoot, J.B. Notes on Epistles of St. Paul . 1885. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980.

Malherbe, Abraham J. "Exhortations in First Thessalonians," NovT 25 (1983) 238-256.

. "'Gentle as a Nurse': The Stoic Background to 1 Thess. II," NovT 12 (1970) 203-217.

. Moral Exhortation, A Greco-Roman Sourcebook . Library of Early Christianity. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986.

. Paul and the Thessalonians: The Philosophic Tradition of Pastoral Care . Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987.

Marshall, I. Howard. "Pauline Theology in the Thessalonian Correspondence." In Paul and Paulinism: Essays in Honour of C.K. Barrett . Ed. M.D. Hooker and S.G. Wilson. London: SPCK, 1982, pp. 173-183.

Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983.

Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross . 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965.

Moule, C.F.D. The Origin of Christology . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977.

Pauline Theology, Volume I: Thessalonians, Philippians, Galatians, Philemon . Ed. Jouette M. Bassler. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.

Pate, C. Marvin. The End of the Age Has Come: The Theology of Paul . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

Pearson, Birger A. "I Thessalonians 2:13-16: A Deutero-Pauline Interpolation," HTR 64 (1971) 79-94.

Plevnik, Joseph. "1 Thess 5,1-11: Its Authenticity, Intention and Message," Bib 60 (1979) 71-90.

. "The Taking Up of the Faithful and the Resurrection of the Dead in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18," CBQ 46 (1984) 274-283.

Poythress, Vern S. "2 Thessalonians 1 Supports Amillennialism," JETS 37 (1994) 529-538.

Russell, R. "The Idle in 2 Thess 3.6-12: An Eschatological or a Social Problem," NTS 34 (1988) 105-119.

Schlueter, Carol J. Filling Up the Measure: Polemical Hyperbole in 1 Thessalonians 2.14-16 . JSNTSup 98. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994.

Schmidt, Daryl. "1 Thess 2:13-16: Linguistic Evidence for an Interpolation," JBL 102 (1983) 269-279.

Schmithals, Walter. Paul and the Gnostics . Trans. J.E. Steely. Nashville: Abingdon, 1972.

Stowers, Stanley K. "Social Status, Public Speaking and Private Teaching: The Circumstances of Paul's Preaching Activity," NovT 26 (1984) 68-82.

The Thessalonian Correspondence . Raymond F. Collins, ed. BETL 87. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1990.

Walton, Steve "What Has Aristotle to Do with Paul? Rhetorical Criticism and 1 Thessalonians," TynBul 46 (1995) 229-249.

Warfield, B.B. "The Prophecies of St. Paul." In Biblical and Theological Studies . 1886. Ed. Samuel G. Craig. Reprint, Philadelphia: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1952, pp. 463-475.

Weatherly, Jon A. "The Authenticity of 1 Thessalonians 2.13-16: Additional Evidence," JSNT 42 (1991) 79-98.

. Jewish Responsibility for the Death of Jesus in Luke-Acts . JSNTSup 106. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994.

Wenham, David. Gospel Perspectives 4: The Rediscovery of Jesus' Eschatological Discourse . Sheffield: JSOT, 1984.

. Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

Winter, Bruce W. "The Entries and Ethics of Orators and Paul (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12)," TynBul 44 (1993) 55-74.

Witton, J. "A Neglected Meaning for Skeuos in 1 Thessalonians 4.4," NTS 28 (1982) 142-143.

Wright, N.T. The Climax of the Covenant . Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.

COMMENTARIES

Commentaries are cited in the notes by author's last name alone.

Bruce, F.F. 1 & 2 Thessalonians . WBC 45. Waco, TX: Word, 1982.

Best, Ernest. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians . BNTC. 1972. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1986.

Frame, James Everett. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians . ICC. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1979 (reprint).

Marshall, I. Howard. 1 and 2 Thessalonians . NCB. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Morris, Leon. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians . NICNT. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.

Wanamaker, Charles A. The Epistles to the Thessalonians . NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

OTHER WORKS

Allison, Dale C. "The Pauline Epistles and the Synoptic Gospels: the Pattern of the Parallels," NTS 28 (1982)1-31.

Aus, Roger D. "God's Plan and God's Power: Isaiah 66 and the Restraining Factors of 2 Thess 2:6-7," JBL 96 (1977) 537-553.

. "The Liturgical Background of the Necessity and Propriety of Giving Thanks According to 2 Thes 1:3," JBL 92 (1973) 432-438.

Bammel, Ernst. "Preparation for the Perils of the Last Days: 1 Thessalonians 3:3." In Suffering and Martyrdom in the New Testament: Studies Presented to G. M. Styler by the Cambridge New Testament Seminar . Ed. William Horbury and Brian McNeil. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981.

Bassler, Jouette M. "The Enigmatic Sign: 2 Thessalonians 1:5," CBQ 46 (1984) 498-510.

Boers, Hendrikus. "The Form Critical Study of Paul's Letters. I Thessalonians as a Case Study," NTS 22 (1976) 140-158.

Collins, R.F. Studies on the First Letter to the Thessalonians . BETL 66. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1984.

Cottrell, Jack. What the Bible Says About God the Ruler . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.

Donfried, Karl P. The Theology of the Shorter Pauline Letters . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Ellis, E. Earle. Prophecy and Hermeneutic in Early Christianity . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.

Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.

Friskney, Tom. Thirteen Lessons on First and Second Thessalonians . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1982.

Funk, Robert W. Parables and Presence: Forms of the New Testament Tradition . Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982.

Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction . 4th ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1990.

Harris, Murray J. Raised Immortal: Resurrection and Immortality in the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Hengel, Martin. The Pre-Christian Paul . Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1991.

Hewett, James A. "1 Thessalonians 3:11," ExpTim 87 (1975-76) 54-55.

Hock, Ronald F. The Social Context of Paul's Ministry: Tentmaking and Apostleship . Minneapolis: Fortress, 1980.

Holland, Glenn S. The Tradition that You Received from Us: 2 Thessalonians in the Pauline Tradition . HUT 24. Tübingen: Mohr, 1988.

Jewett, Robert. The Thessalonian Correspondence: Pauline Rhetoric and Millenarian Piety . FFNT. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986.

Johnson, Luke T. "The New Testament's Anti-Jewish Slander and the Conventions of Ancient Polemic," JBL 108 (1989) 419-441.

Klijn, A.F.J. "1 Thessalonians 4.13-18 and Its Background in Apocalyptic Literature." In Paul and Paulinism: Essays in Honour of C. K. Barrett . Ed. M.D. Hooker and S.G. Wilson. London: SPCK, 1982, pp. 67-73.

Ladd, G.E. A Theology of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

Lightfoot, J.B. Notes on Epistles of St. Paul . 1885. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980.

Malherbe, Abraham J. "Exhortations in First Thessalonians," NovT 25 (1983) 238-256.

. "'Gentle as a Nurse': The Stoic Background to 1 Thess. II," NovT 12 (1970) 203-217.

. Moral Exhortation, A Greco-Roman Sourcebook . Library of Early Christianity. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986.

. Paul and the Thessalonians: The Philosophic Tradition of Pastoral Care . Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987.

Marshall, I. Howard. "Pauline Theology in the Thessalonian Correspondence." In Paul and Paulinism: Essays in Honour of C.K. Barrett . Ed. M.D. Hooker and S.G. Wilson. London: SPCK, 1982, pp. 173-183.

Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983.

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ABBREVIATIONS

ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. by David Noel Freedman

ASNU Acta seminarii neotestamentici upsaliensis

ASV American Standard Version

AV Authorized (King James) Version

BAGD Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker Greek Lexicon, 1979

BDF Blass-Debrunner-Funk Greek Grammar

BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium

Bib Biblica

BNTC Black's New Testament Commentary

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. by Gerald F.

Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin and Daniel G. Reid

EDNT Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. by Horst

Balz and Gerhard Schneider

ET English Translation

ExpTim Expository Times

FFNT Foundations and Facets: New Testament

GELNTBSD Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on

Semantic Domains (2nd ed.), ed. by Johannes P. Louw,

Eugene A. Nida, Rondal B. Smith and Karen A. Munson

HCNT Hellenistic Commentary to the New Testament, ed. by

M. Eugene Boring, Klaus Berger and Carsten Colpe

HTR Harvard Theological Review

HUT Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie

ICC International Critical Commentary

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament

Supplement Series

LSJ Liddell-Scott-Jones-McKenzie Greek Lexicon (9th ed.)

MHT Moulton-Howard-Turner Grammar of

New Testament Greek

MM Moulton-Milligan Vocabulary of the Greek Testament

NASB New American Standard Bible

NCB New Century Bible Commentary

NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament

Theology, ed. by Colin Brown

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary

NIV New International Version

NovT Novum Testamentum

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

RSV Revised Standard Version

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. by

Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich

TEV Today's English Version

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

UBS United Bible Societies

UBSGNT United Bible Societies Greek New Testament

WBC Word Biblical Commentary

ZPEB Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. by

Merrill Tenney

ZTK Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 1 Thessalonians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. GREETING - 1:1

II. THANKSGIVING - 1:2-10

A. The Initial Thanksgiving - 1:2-5

1. Paul's Constant Prayers for the Readers - 1:2

2. Their Exercise of Faith, Love and Hope - 1:3

3. Their Election - 1:4

4. The Power of the Gospel in Thessalonica - 1:5

B. Reiteration and Further Specification - 1:6-10

1. The Readers' Imitation of Paul and His Associates - 1:6a

2. Their Endurance of Suffering - 1:6b

3. Their Example to Other Churches - 1:7-8

4. Reports of Their Conversion - 1:9-10

a. Forsaking Idols to Serve the Living God - 1:9

b. Awaiting the Return of Jesus - 1:10

III. PAUL'S RELATIONSHIP TO THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH - 2:1-3:13

A. Paul's Behavior in Thessalonica - 2:1-12

1. Paul's Motives - 2:1-6a

2. Paul's Activity - 2:6b-12

B. The Thessalonians' Endurance of Persecution - 2:13-16

1. Their Genuine Reception of the Word - 2:13

2. Their Imitation of the Judean Christians - 2:14

3. The Continuity of Persecution Age to Age - 2:15-16

C. Paul's Continuing Concern for the Church - 2:17-3:10

1. His Desire to See the Thessalonians - 2:17-20

2. Timothy's Visit on Paul's Behalf - 3:1-5

3. Timothy's Report and Paul's Response - 3:6-10

D. Paul's Prayer for the Thessalonians - 3:11-13

1. That He Might Return to Them - 3:11

2. That They Might Abound in Love, and Be Blameless at the Lord's Return - 3:12-13

IV. EXHORTATION - 4:1-5:22

A. Exhortation Concerning Christian Living - 4:1-12

1. To Continue in Current Behavior - 4:1-2

2. To Remain Sexually Pure - 4:3-8

3. To Exercise Brotherly Love - 4:9-10

4. To Lead a Quiet, Honest Life - 4:11-12

B. Exhortation Concerning the Lord's Return - 4:13-5:11

1. The Dead in Christ and the Lord's Return - 4:13-18

2. The Suddenness of the Lord's Return - 5:1-11

C. General Exhortations - 5:12-22

1. Behavior in the Christian Community - 5:12-15

a. Respect for Christian Leaders - 5:12-13

b. Service and Forgiveness - 5:14-15

2. Constants of Christian Behavior - 5:16-18

3. Responding to Christian Prophecy - 5:19-22

a. Yielding to the Spirit's Work - 5:19-20

b. Testing Prophecy - 5:21-22

V. CONCLUSION - 5:23-28

A. Benediction - 5:23-24

B. Final Words - 5:25-28

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV