The First Letter to the Thessalonians

THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL  Read 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

   Power . . . dunamis . . . dynamite . . . is the theme of Paul's greeting as he opens his letter to the Christians of Thessalonica. We sense God's power in the warmth of Paul's prayerful affection; power showing through their own faith, hope and love; power, as Paul puts it, in the way his gospel was given to them in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance.

YOU ARE TYPES TO BE COPIED  Read 1:6-10

   You Thessalonians [he continues] became types for Christians all over Macedonia and Greece to copy. You haven't needed anyone to publicize you at all. Wherever Timothy, Silas [Silvanus] and I go, we hear people telling how you gave up your idols to serve a God living and true, and to wait for his Son from heaven.

YOU KNOW HOW WE WERE WITH YOU  Read 2:1-6

   You know yourselves how it happened. Even after all the insulting treatment we got at Philippi, we still came and preached

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the glad tidings to you without fear, albeit in some agony. But we spoke to please God, not men; we did not trade on our reputations — and we got results.

WE CHEERED AND ENCOURAGED YOU  Read 2:7-12

   We were gentle with you, and yearned so for you that we were willing to impart to you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us. We worked long hours to avoid imposing on any of you while we preached. You know how we encouraged and cheered you in your Christian life.

YOU TOOK GOD AT HIS WORD  Read 2:13-20

   We are everlastingly grateful to God that you took him at his word. You have had to suffer at the hands of your own countrymen exactly what the Hebrew Christians suffered in Judea, where the Jews killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out. They tried, too, to restrain us from evangelizing the Gentiles, but now they are paying for their mistakes.

   Meanwhile we have genuinely longed to see you. Twice we tried to get to Thessalonica, but each time Satan hindered us.

WE SENT TIMOTHY TO YOU Read 3:1-5

   When we couldn't stand it any longer, we sent Timothy to encourage you in your faith, and to find out how you were getting along. We told you beforehand that you would be put under pressure for your beliefs, and that is just what has come to pass.

AND HE BROUGHT GREAT NEWS  Read 3:6-13

   Now Timothy has come back with the most wonderful news of your faith and love, and your loyal affection for us. So it is our turn to be encouraged, even if we do find ourselves in pain and distress; for now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord. We are so grateful to God for you. May he direct our way so that we might see your faces, and may the same God establish your hearts in love and purity and ready them for the coming of our Lord.

WHAT SANCTIFICATION MEANS  Read 4:1-12

   The will of God, brethren, is your sanctification. It means abstaining from sexual license and it means square dealing with each other, as we have taught you. He who breaks faith in these matters breaks faith not with men but with God. I would encourage you to excel even more in love, and to maintain your witness before men while you work prudently and quietly.

THE DEAD WILL RISE FIRST  Read 4:13-18

   As for the dead, don't grieve over them; when the Lord comes, the living will most certainly not precede those who sleep in Jesus. On the contrary, the dead in Christ shall rise first at the trumpet of God, and then those of us who remain alive shall be snatched away to meet the Lord in the air and to be with him forever.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT DATES  Read 5:1-11

   I don't need to say anything about the time of our Lord's return, for you know quite well it will be sudden, unexpected, as a thief in the night. You are not to be caught napping, therefore, but are to stay on guard, clad in your spiritual armor. God's purpose is nothing less than our salvation through Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Keep building up each other with this hope.

SOME PARTING SUGGESTIONS  Read 5:12-22

   Honor your spiritual leaders for the work they are doing among you. Warn the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, sustain the weak. Show patience, render good for evil, stay joyful and thankful. Pray without ceasing . . . . quench not the Spirit and don't minimize prophecy. Test everything, then hold to the good and right, and shun what you see to be evil.

A REQUEST FOR PRAYER  Read 5:23-28

   I pray God will sanctify you thoroughly and watch over you until the Lord's advent. Don't forget to pray for us. Greet all the

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brethren with a holy kiss and read this letter to them. May God's grace be with you.

   On the cliffs of Dover, England, may be seen the sturdy shell of a stone lighthouse built in 45 A.D. by the Roman invaders. That lighthouse was five years old when Paul wrote First Thessalonians, the earliest of all his letters to come down to us. In a way, the apostle was building a lighthouse even more enduring as he inscribed this testament of faith to the little group of Christians in a Macedonian seaport, known today as Salonika.

   As you study this brief but important letter, bear in mind that it was written only a dozen years or so after the crucifixion of Jesus. The Christ he speaks of as "Lord" had walked the earth but a short time before. This is of tremendous significance in establishing what the early church really thought of the Man from Nazareth.

   This letter is not only the first of Paul's extant writings, it was the first New Testament document to be penned. A good way to master it is to look through the letter for references to matters that were often on Paul's mind in later years, such as: (1) the cross, (2) the resurrection, (3) the second advent of Christ, (4) persecution, (5) Satan, (6) the Holy Spirit, (7) false teaching, (8) church order.

   Key verses to an understanding of 1 Thessalonians are 1:5, 1:10, 3:6, 4:16-17, 5:10, 5:19. See if you can tell why.

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