Overview of 1 Thessalonians

From Colossians, which is possibly one of the last letters that Paul wrote, we now turn to 1 Thessalonians, which is considered one of Paul’s earliest letters. It was likely written around 50-51 CE and is well accepted as written by Paul.

In Acts 17:1-9 we read as Paul visited Thessalonica with the gospel for maybe a total of a month before he was chased out by the heavy persecution from the Jews there.

Then later, while Paul was in Athens (Acts 17:16-34), he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to encourage the believers there. Timothy reports back that, despite the persecution, the believers in Thessalonica have continued to grow.

At this point, Paul is likely in Corinth (Acts 18:1-17) where he writes to the Thessalonians to praise and encourage them.

1 Thessalonians 1 - Greetings and thanks for the Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 - Paul defends his actions

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 - Paul’s gratitude for the Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13 - Paul is comforted by the good report he has heard about them

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 - Live a life pleasing to God

1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 - Jesus’ return

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 - Closing encouragements and greetings

The first half of the letter is focused on praising the Thessalonians for persevering in the face of persecution and then encouraging them as they continue to do so.

This then leads into the second half, where Paul encourages them more generally in how they should live.

Being one of Paul’s earlier letters, there is still a high expectation that Jesus’ return would come any day now. This should shape their living so that they don’t grow slack and unprepared for when Jesus returns.

That and the Thessalonians seemed particularly distraught over some who had died, and so Paul wanted to encourage them in the hope of the resurrection.

1 Thessalonians 1-2

Paul opens with greetings, but has no title for himself yet. He doesn’t introduce himself as an ‘apostle’ or ‘servant’ of Christ as he does in his other letters. As this is one of Paul’s earliest letters, it may just be a practice he hasn’t started yet.

Paul then encourages the Thessalonians in how he regularly gives thanks to God for them, and mentions them in his prayers. They have been faithful in their work, love, and hope in Jesus.

Paul describes the Thessalonians as chosen. Some translations, such as the KJV, use the word election, and it’s from this passage, and others, that people have drawn the idea of election. That God elects some to be saved and other to be not. But that’s not the point of chosen here.

In the Old Testament, it was the Israelites who were chosen (see Deuteronomy 4:37; 1 Kings 3:8; Isaiah 41:8-10, Nehemiah 9:7). And we know from Genesis 12:1-3 that they were chosen to be a blessing to the world. To live according to God’s ways and guide the rest of the world back to God.

In the same way, the Thessalonians have been chosen by God to live according to his ways and guide the rest of the world back to him. For Paul, the importance is that the gospel he first brought them was from God, and he points out that they know that because it came in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Thessalonians accepted that gospel and chose to follow the ways of God that Paul and his team modelled. In doing so, they have become an example to all of Macedonia and Greece of what it is to follow God, which was the very mission God has called them to.

In fact, the churches in these regions all talk about the example that the Thessalonians set. About how welcoming they were and how they turned from their false idols towards God. Others could see the dramatic change in the Thessalonians, who now serve God and wait in hope for Jesus’ return.

Paul then addresses his time with them. It had been short and Paul knows that with all those who persecute and oppose him, eventually there will be some that try to persuade the Thessalonians that he was false in what he brought them.

He reminds them that he’d been to Philippi first and had been persecuted there. But that persecution didn’t cause him to stop. Instead, in courage, he came to Thessalonica to spread the gospel to them there.

There was no deceit or trickery in Paul’s motives to bring them the gospel. It clearly wasn’t to please humans because he faced serious backlash for what he said. Paul and his team brought the gospel to Thessalonica because they had been approved by God to take his message there.

While there, Paul’s team did not flatter them with nice words, nor did he try to get any money from them. They was gentle with the Thessalonians, caring for them as children. They were willing to share both the gospel and their very selves with the Thessalonians.

Paul’s team worked night and day so they could support themselves while also sharing the gospel, so that they didn’t need to ask the Thessalonians for support.

The Thessalonians themselves will be able to remember that Paul’s team were pure and blameless in how they handled themselves. Because of all this, if anyone did come and discredited Paul and his team, the Thessalonians could remind themselves how ridiculous that is and ignore it.

Paul then turns back to gratitude, praising the Thessalonians for recognising that this gospel was from God and accepting it. For how they quickly started imitating other believers, and persevered in the face of suffering.

He contrasts this with the unbelieving Jews who have been persecuting the church. He accuses them as being the ones responsible for Jesus’ death, just as their ancestors were for killing the prophets of the Old Testament. Not only that, but they have been working against Paul and his team to stop them from spending the gospel to the gentiles so they can be saved.

Paul encourages the Thessalonians that his desire is to visit them again. He wanted to earlier, but Satan stopped them. But even if Paul is never able to return to see them, he still celebrates that, when Jesus returns, he can point to the Thessalonians as examples of the work he has been able to achieve.

Psalm 13

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of lament psalm. It opens with perhaps the most common question asked by those who are suffering. “How long Lord?” Being a short psalm, Psalm 13 is one of the clearest examples of the key steps involved in biblical lament.

Psalm 13:1-2 - Brings complaint before God

Psalm 13:3-4 - Asks God to intervene

Psalm 13:5-6 - Declares trust in God

The psalmist begins with a real sense that God is distant. It feels like God has forgotten them, or is hiding from them, and they’re not hiding these feelings from God. Without God, they’ve been left to ruminate through this problem on their own. Anyone who has been in this position knows how dangerous it is to just be left with your own thoughts. How quickly that can begin to spiral.

The psalmist is filled with sorrow, and it feels like their enemy is looming. The psalm doesn’t explicitly say, but many think that the ‘enemy’ is death. When the writer makes his request of God, he asks that God “light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death” (Psalm 13:3). To have bright eyes meant being healthy, while having dim eyes meant you were wasting away (see Deuteronomy 34:7; Job 17:7).

Having made their complaint, and asked God to intervene, the psalmist ends by lifting their own spirit and placing their trust in God. They remind themselves of God’s faithfulness and his love. Though now they mourn, there will come a time when they can rejoice in God. And so the psalmist will continue to sing and praise God. God has been faithful in the past, and he will continue to be faithful.