1 Thessalonians 1.1-5.
This letter, which we traditionally call 1 Thessalonians, was a team effort. Most commentators, myself included, usually talk about it as if Paul of Tarsus did all the writing, and gave co-authorship to his team members out of courtesy. Timothy gets a mention in
But the giant run-on Greek sentences are a dead giveaway: This letter, same as probably all Paul’s letters, was dictated, spoken aloud to a scribe. Probably Paul doing most of the talking; possibly the other guys added a sentence or two. We don’t know the level of their contributions. We do know they’re listed as co-authors, so it wasn’t nothing.
Still, for convenience, I’ll refer to 1 Thessalonians’s authors as “Paul.” Here they go.
1 Thessalonians 1.1-5 KWL - 1 Paul and Silas and Timothy. To the Thessalonian church, in Father God and Master Christ Jesus: Greetings. Shalom.
- 2 We always praise God for our every memory of you,
- mentioning you in our prayers,
- unceasingly 3 remembering your faith-works, love-labors,
- and enduring hope in our master Christ Jesus, before God our Father.
- 4 We know, beloved fellow Christians, you were selected by God:
- 5 Our gospel didn’t come only to you in words but in power,
- in the Holy Sprit, and in absolute certainty—
- just like we demonstrated to you, when you saw us among you.
Paul and Silas were the apostles who helped found the church of Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedon (a Greco-Roman province which is not the same as present-day Macedonia). They first proclaimed Jesus in a Thessalonian synagogue,
Because the story in Acts is so brief, we don’t know how long Paul and Silas spent there developing the church. Obviously it was long enough to really get to know the people, and see what sort of Christians they became. Seems the Thessalonians made an impact on the apostles. Paul listed three things he particularly noticed in them: Faith-works, love-labors, and hope in Jesus. I could make a three-point sermon of it, but nah. I’ll leave that to the amateur preachers.
Obviously chosen by God.
Likely the reason Paul remembered the Thessalonians most, was the fact—which he considered an obvious fact—God had chosen them to become Christian. God deliberately meant for the people of this city to enter
How did Paul know?
Churches nowadays, especially
Hey, doesn’t Acts mention big numbers of new believers more than once? Sure. But numbers prove nothing other than we have fans. Same as the thousands who came to hear Jesus preach… and
Cessationists tend to dismiss signs and wonders as a carnival sideshow, as entertainment for thrill-seekers. And yeah, we have a lot thrill-seekers in the movement. Every movement has its nutjobs. But signs do serve a legitimate purpose: They’re to draw people to Jesus. If they don’t—if they won’t do any good, and are a distraction instead of a draw—
So when a preacher comes forward to preach, and words are spoken, and people flock forward to embrace Jesus, we can’t always be sure what really brought ’em forward. Might be an especially gifted speaker. Might be an emotional response. Might be peer pressure. But when signs happen—when the sick get cured, demons get thrown out, the needy get care, the hopeless hear prophecy and get their hope back, and the Spirit’s gifts and fruit pour out of his people, it’s certainty. It’s proof God is here among us, and wants these people saved. He’s showing up in force to make it so. He wants these people. He chose them.
Certain bibles translate
That’s actually not election. It’s not part of
Paul’s team demonstrated these traits to the Thessalonians when they first arrived. Now, the Thessalonians demonstrated them back. They weren’t just converted intellectually or emotionally. The acts of the Holy Spirit could be seen among them. Sounds like a good group. Wish more of us behaved that way.
Faith-works and love-labors.
Often this gets translated, as the
When we act on faith, and do faith-works, our faith grows exponentially. First of all, the results reveal all kinds of things which were previously hidden, and we can plainly see God is behind it all. Our faith gets strengthened. We trust God more. And God gives us more: Once he finds an obedient follower, he gives us lots to obey, and lots to be blessed by. We grow in Christian maturity that much faster.
If you’ve ever wondered how Paul could spend only a few months with a church, then declare it ready to run on its own and move on, this is why. Faith-works grow and mature a church really fast. So fast, it scares the neighbors. (Which, in Acts, wasn’t always a good thing.)
In our culture, by way of comparison, we leave the training wheels on far too long. We give our ministers good works to do, and that’s important. But the Christians in our churches are too often waiting for their leaders to tell ’em what to do. We should be getting our marching orders directly from the Holy Spirit, and our leaders are there to confirm, encourage, support, and equip—not delay. Really, our churches have far too much delay built in. No surprise, the church advances slowly… and too often retreats.
