PAUL'S FIRST EPISTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS

P A R T   F I R S T

1:1-3:13

PERSONAL RELATIONS, AFFECTIONATE
DESIRES AND PRAYERS

I.

SALUTATION AND THANKS FOR THE FAITH OF
THE THESSALONIANS

1:1-10

      1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. [In this salutation Silas and Timothy are united with Paul because they had aided Paul in founding the church at Thessalonica. The account of the founding of this church will be found in Acts 17. Silas is mentioned before Timothy because he is older, both in years and in service. Compare Acts 15:22, 32, 40 with Acts 16:1-3. Silvanus is the full name, and Silas the abbreviation. The name is Roman, and Silas was a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37). Silas was now at Corinth with Paul, and Paul mentions his services there (2 Cor. 1:19). Much of the opening part of this letter embraces Silas and Timothy in its thought, but in chap. 2:18 Paul distinguishes himself from them, and from that time on the letter is wholly his. Neither in this Epistle nor in that to the Philippians does Paul speak of himself as an apostle. In other Epistles he affirms his apostleship because, in the case of the Epistle to the Romans, he wrote to strangers, and in other cases his [3] apostleship had been challenged. As to Thessalonica, see the Introduction. The church is spoken of as being in God and in Christ because in this respect it differs from all other organizations. It is its privilege to dwell in fellowship with God, so that it may be, as it were, ensphered and encircled by him. Grace was the Greek and peace the Hebrew salutation; Paul here combines them. Grace indicates the favor of God and all the gifts which flow from it, while peace represents tranquility and prosperity, either inward or outward.] 2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father [Paul thanked God for the church at Thessalonica for its evidences of Christian life mentioned in the remainder of this section. In the words before us he sets forth their relations to the three cardinal Christian graces, or faith, hope and love (1 Thess. 5:8; Col. 1:4, 5; 1 Cor. 13:13). Their faith was not formal, barren and dead (Jas. 2:20, 26); but it actively worked, bringing their wills into obedience to the will of God (Rom. 1:5; 16:26); their love was not idle, but caused them to employ themselves in heartfelt toil for the welfare of others; and their hope in Christ sustained their souls, so that they endured all trials and persecutions, and were unyielding in their conflict with temptation and doubt. Thus, each in its own way, the three graces manifested themselves, and in such a way that it was evident that these graces were centered in, inspired by, and renewed of Christ, and viewed with approval by the Father]; 4 knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election, 5 how that our gospel [ours not by right of authorship, but of proclamation] came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance; even as ye know what manner of men we showed ourselves toward you for your sake. 6 And ye became imitators of us [1 Cor. 11:1], and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction [Acts 17:4-10], with joy of the Holy [4] Spirit; 7 so that ye became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. [Continuing, Paul gives thanks that he has so much evidence of the election of the Thessalonians that it amounts to a practical knowledge of that election. This evidence is threefold: 1. The power with which he and his companions had felt endued when they preached the gospel in Thessalonica, for they had come not as vain "babblers" of empty words (Acts 17:18, 32), but as messengers of God speaking truth powerful in itself, and additionally supplemented by the power of the Spirit. 2. The undaunted way in which the Thessalonians had received the gospel, despite the swiftness with which, they had fallen a prey to persecution. 3. The prompt manner in which the gospel had brought forth fruit in their lives. But what does Paul mean by election? Not that rigid, arbitrary choice of God first promulgated by Augustine, and afterwards emphasized by Calvin, for such doctrine was not then known. Such an absolute, unchangeable thing as Calvinistic election could only have been fittingly made known to an apostle by direct revelation, but Paul knew the election here spoken of by mere sensuous evidence. To elect means to choose, and the choosings of God do not annul the free will or agency of man. Thus Israel is chosen (Deut. 7:6); yet afterwards cast off because of unbelief (Matt. 8:11, 12). Election is not made absolute by God; on the contrary, the choosing of God requires that we ourselves make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10); it does not make our salvation sure, for as supplemental to it we ourselves must still work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). We may make shipwreck of the faith to which we have been called or chosen (1 Tim. 1:19), and Paul's exhortations suggest that some of these elect in Thessalonica were in danger of doing this--Thess. 4:1-8.] 8 For from you hath sounded forth [as the sonorous, soul-stirring blast of a trumpet] the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia [after its subjection by the Romans, all Greece was divided into two parts, of which. Macedonia was the northern, and Achaia the southern], but in every place [5] your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything. [Thessalonica, being a seaport, had intercourse with all Greece, and with much of the then known world. News of the church in that place, and of the peculiar virtues that characterized it, soon spread through all Greece, and was borne by believers, and those interested in carrying such news, to the more remote parts of the earth. Though Paul had not been beyond the confines of Greece since his departure from Thessalonica, yet his experience in Greece leads him to speak by way of anticipation of parts as yet unvisited, and to represent the good news of the faith, etc., of the Thessalonians to have preceded him so that he had no need to say anything about it.] 9 For they themselves [those to whom Paul came] report concerning us what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come. [Paul had gone from Thessalonica to Athens, and from Athens to Corinth. He may have done considerable missionary work in the smaller villages about Corinth. Now, as he went about through Corinth and through these villages he found that instead of being permitted to tell of the good work which he had done at Corinth, he himself had to become a listener while strangers told him how he had preached the gospel there, and how those who had been for generations worshipers of dead idols had turned unto the living God, and those whose fathers had for centuries worshiped the imaginary gods of that Mount Olympus under whose shadow they dwelt, had suddenly become worshipers of the true God as revealed in Christ: thus becoming disciples of a religion which taught that Jesus was the Son of God, that he had been raised from the dead, that he had ascended to heaven, from whence he had promised to return to his waiting disciples, whom he keeps in a constant state of justification, so that they are delivered from every manifestation of the wrath of God, either now present or to be revealed at the last judgment.] [6]

II.

HOW THE WORD WAS PREACHED
AND HOW RECEIVED.

2:1-16.

      [In this section, Paul amplifies two statements made in the previous section. In verses 1-13, he enlarges upon the facts set forth in verse 5 above, and verses 13-16 are a similar enlargement of the matter contained in verse 6.] 1 For yourselves [as distinguished from those above mentioned who carried or repeated the news of the work at Thessalonica], brethren, know our entering in unto you, that it hath not been found vain [that Paul's coming to Thessalonica had not been vain or fruitless was proved by the fact that in this pagan city a church of Christ was now found]: 2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as ye know, at Philippi, we waxed bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God in much conflict. [The Thessalonians remembered how Paul and Silas had come to them fresh from Philippi, with the evidences of persecution yet apparent on their bodies--a persecution which was indeed shameful because it was wholly undeserved and contrary to law--but they also remembered that they were in no way terrified or deterred either by these present tokens of past suffering, or by the storm of persecution which threatened their speedy repetition, from preaching the gospel boldly.] 3 For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile [The word "exhortation" has a double significance--it includes the idea of rousing the slothful, and also that of comforting the sorrowful. Paul here begins to contrast his teaching with that of false teachers with whom the world abounded, and with whom the Thessalonians had been long familiar. The instruction of these teachers, being founded on myths, fables and delusions, was full of error. The purpose of the instruction was to introduce lascivious mysteries and unhallowed rites [7] such as the Bacchic, Isiac, Mythraic, etc.; the manner of the instruction was full of trickery and guile (Acts 8:9; 13:6-10). Paul had not roused the indifferent by proclaiming false dangers, nor comforted the despairing by wakening vain hopes]: 4 but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts. [Instead of preaching the old falsehoods which had so long pleased the wicked of Thessalonica, Paul had come as a trustee of God commissioned to preach the gospel, and he had preached it realizing his accountability as to the trust imposed upon him.] 5 For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness [As to his outward conduct (that it was without flattery) he calls the Thessalonians to witness, and as to his inward desires (that they were without covetousness) he calls God to witness. Self-seeking and flattery were the besetting sins of false teachers (Rom. 16:18). Paul had spoken plainly of the sins of his hearers, and had demanded immediate and thorough repentance]; 6 nor seeking glory of men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ. [As the apostle had not preached for money, neither had he preached for fame. Though he might have stood upon his dignity, and magnified his office as an ambassador of God, yet he had not done even this. He had not preached the gospel because he held high office in the kingdom, and so would be exalted by its enlargement; but he had preached to save souls. Not only at Thessalonica had he done this, but everywhere else.] 7 But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse [nourisher; i. e., nursing mother] cherisheth her own children: 8 even so, being affectionately desirous of you [not yours, but you], we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only [as the sincere milk of the Word], but also [as mothers often do for their new-born babes] our own souls [lives--1 John 3:16], because ye were become very [8] dear to us. 9 For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail: working night and day [the Hebrew order--Gen. 1:5], that we might not burden any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. [The apostle was so intent upon blessing the Thessalonians with the gospel of God that he toiled at night to make up the time spent in teaching them by day.] 10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily [toward God] and righteously [toward man] and unblamably [either toward God or man] we behaved ourselves toward you that believe [Paul here claims not perfection, but consistency of life]: 11 as ye know how we dealt with each one of you [individually, and without partiality], as a father [as patiently, tenderly and earnestly as a father] with his own children, exhorting you, and encouraging you, and testifying, 12 to the end that ye should walk worthily of God, who calleth you into his own kingdom and glory. [As those who are called to an honor owe it to the one calling them to walk worthy of the honor, so the Thessalonians, being called to have part in the present kingdom and future glory of God, needed to walk circumspectly. Having thus rehearsed the ministry at Thessalonica, step by step, from the day he entered the city until he departed from it, Paul now turns to tell the effects of that ministry upon the Thessalonians.] 13 And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing [without ever failing to mention it in our prayers], that, when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe. [The word is the good seed of the kingdom which the heart receives, and from which it brings forth fruit with patience--Luke 8:11-15.] 14 For ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus: for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews [their countrymen]; 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, [9] and drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men; 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always [Gen. 15:16; Matt. 23:32]: but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. [While narrating the course of events at Thessalonica, Paul notes the similarity between the history of the Thessalonian church and that of the Judæan churches, and reviews the latter history for the encouragement of the Thessalonians. Surely the opposition of their pagan countrymen ought not to cause these Thessalonian Christians to doubt that God favored or approved them, for such opposition was to be expected. Even the Jews, though professedly the people of God, had killed God's prophets and Christ their Lord, and had driven out the apostles and evangelists. Though the Jews were God's people, their conduct in rejecting God's Son showed that they did not please God; and that they were haters of their fellow-men was very apparent, for they even forbade Christ's apostles to attempt to save the Gentiles by preaching the gospel to them. Their opposition to churches either in Judæea or Greece was therefore no evidence that God disapproved these churches: on the contrary, God patiently permitted them to do all this, that their wickedness might be fully ripened and exposed, so that a full and notable punishment might be meted out to them--punishment which began just before the siege of Jerusalem, and continues to this day. Wrath unto the uttermost, or unto the end, signifies a wrath which fully expends itself in executing judgment. It does not mean wrath unto the end of the world--Rom. 11:15, 25, 26.] [10]

III.

REASONS FOR SENDING TIMOTHY, AND JOY
OVER THE REPORT HE BROUGHT.

2:17-20; 3:1-13.

      17 But we, brethren, being bereaved of you for a short season [about six months], in presence not in heart [Col. 2:5], endeavored the more exceedingly to see your face with great desire [Paul had been torn rudely from the Thessalonians by the hand of persecution, so he speaks of being "bereaved" of them, thus using a strong word which indicates both the separation and the sense of desolation which arose from it. Though he had been but about six months absent from them, his heart was filled with desires to return to them]: 18 because we would fain have come unto you, I Paul once and again [emphatic way of saying twice]; and Satan hindered us. [How Satan hindered, we are not told, but we find that his emissaries had so little disposition to let Paul return that they drove him from Beroea onward to Athens.] 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glorying? Are not even ye, before our Lord Jesus at his coming? 20 For ye are our glory and our joy. [Paul also calls the Philippians his joy and crown (Phil. 4:1), and expresses, as here, a hope of glorying hereafter both in them and in the Corinthians (Phil. 2:16; 2 Cor. 1:14). Paul usually employs the word "crown" in a figurative sense, the figure being derived from the wreath or chaplets worn by athletes in the Grecian games (1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8), and it is fair to suppose that he does so here. The full thought, then, is this: As an athlete, who, in the absence of his king, had entered the contest, competed for, and won the crown, would, on the king's appearing, rejoice to lay his trophy at the king's feet; so Paul, having won the Thessalonians for Christ, hoped that he might joyfully present them to Christ at his coming. The passage is a [11] beautiful but effectual rebuke to the idle fears of some Christians that they will not recognize their friends in the hereafter. If Paul could not recognize the Thessalonians, how could he present them as his crown, or glory in them ?]

      III. 1 Wherefore when we [by this plural Paul means himself only] could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone; 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and God's minister in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith [fearful lest the infant church should succumb to temptation or to persecution, and unable longer to endure his want of information concerning it, Paul had sent Timothy, from Athens, that he might visit the Thessalonians, and bring him word as to their spiritual condition; though in so doing he had deprived himself of all brotherly fellowship and ministerial assistance in Athens, the seat of idolatry and vain philosophy]; 3 that no man [of you] be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed. ["We" refers to all Christians, and Theophylact sagely remarks, "Let all Christians hear this." As to the doctrine, see Matt. 13:21; Mark 10:30; John 15:18; 16:33; Acts 4:22.] 4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction; even as it came to pass, and ye know. [As to the affliction which Paul foretold and which came upon them, see Acts 17:5-9.] 5 For this cause [because he feared that persecution might cause them to apostatize] I also, when I could no longer forbear [resuming the thought of verse 1], sent that I might know your faith, lest by any means [and Satan has many] the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain. [It is sad to lose spiritual labor, but sadder still to lose the souls which are the results of it. But we should not leave this passage without observing that if Paul had had Calvinism in mind, and had wished to assert that the elect might fall from grace and be lost despite their election, he could hardly have stated his point more clearly, for these [12] words are addressed to those whom he has just pronounced elect.] 6 But when Timothy came even now [suggesting that Paul wrote on the day of Timothy's arrival, or very soon after] unto us from you, and brought us glad tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, longing to see us, even as we, also to see you; 7 for this cause, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith [Since Paul would be comforted as to the Thessalonians by the good news of their condition brought by Timothy, the "distress and affliction" must have referred to other matters which disturbed the apostle's rest. These were doubtless the failure at Athens, and the troubles which he had at Corinth before the negative protection afforded him by Gallio, when that official refused to interfere, either to aid or hinder him (Acts 18:6-12). Thus the good news from Thessalonica lightened the apostle's burdens at Corinth]: 8 for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. [The good news made Paul relish and enjoy life, just as his afflictions and distress had been to him a kind of death. Comp. 1 Cor. 15:31] 9 For what thanksgiving can we render again unto God for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God. [Paul felt that he could not be thankful enough for the joy which the faith of the Thessalonians gave him; not a joy arising from worldly or personal pride in them, but a joy so pure and holy that it could be displayed before the searching eye of God]; 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith? ["Night," says Joseph de Maistre, "is a great chapter in the Psalms, to which David often recurs." Paul, like David, employed much of the night in meditation and prayer. At such times he remembered the brevity and sudden termination of his ministry in Thessalonica, and realized that his converts were not fully instructed in many items of faith and doctrine; he therefore prayed that he might return and complete his instruction. After three or [13] four years his prayer was answered (Acts 20:1, 2), and some ten years after that it was again answered--1 Tim. 1:3.] 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way unto you: 12 and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you; 13 to the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. [The "you" of verse 12 is emphatic, and stands in contrast with "our" of verse 11, as though Paul said "the Lord direct our way to you, but whether he does so or not, may he prosper you, causing your love to grow and abound, even as we grow in love toward you, that by love (though ye may lack somewhat of instruction) ye may be so established that no one can lay anything to your charge when the Lord Jesus comes." The Epistles to the Thessalonians have many such brief prayers (1 Thess. 3:11; 5:23; 2 Thess. 1:11; 2:16; 3:5-16). In verse 11, and also at 2 Thess. 2:16, 17, while we have God and Jesus for nominatives, yet the accompanying verb is in the singular, thus showing the oneness or unity of God. The love which Paul here asks for is Christian love. "This," says Theophylact, "is the character of divine love to comprehend all; whereas human love hath respect to one man, and not to another." Since the word "saints" (literally, holy ones) is used in the Old Testament to include angels, it is likely that they are included here, for Paul's words are, no doubt, an indirect quotation of Zech. 14:5.] [14]