The two Letters of Paul to the Thessalonians are probably some of his earliest Letters, along with the Galatians Letter. These 2 Letters are insightful to read, because they reveal how Paul mentored a local church that was predominantly Gentile in its makeup, and which didn’t have a strong knowledge of the Jewish Old Testament Scriptures.
In Acts 17:1-9, we read of the founding of the Thessalonian Church by Paul and Silas. Many of the Jews in Thessalonica rejected the preaching of Paul that the crucified and risen Jesus was the long-expected Jewish Messiah. A few Thessalonian Jews believed, but many Thessalonian Gentiles accepted the Gospel message.
Birthed In The Furnace Of Affliction
When the Thessalonian Church was founded, it occurred at a very difficult time in the life of Paul and Silas. In the previous place that they ministered, Philippi, they had been severely beaten and jailed, when they had exorcised a demon from a slave-girl. The girl had made much money for her owners through fortune-telling. The owners were livid when she was delivered, and they lost their source of income. They took out their wrath on Paul and Silas, with the help of a mob and the magistrates of Philippi (Acts 16:16-24). And then when Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica, there was great resistance to their sharing the Gospel (1 Thess. 2:1-2, 14-16).
But despite the opposition, the Lord was able to work powerfully through Paul and Silas. They ministered in the power of God’s Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5), and out of a pure heart, with no ulterior motives (1 Thess. 2:3-6). As a result, these former idolatrous pagans turned from their useless idols to the true and living God, despite their own sufferings from their fellow countrymen. The testimony of their transformation rang out to the surrounding provinces (1 Thess. 1:6-10).
The Focus Of Paul’s Instruction
The focus of Paul’s teaching for new Gentile Christians was different than the focus for new Jewish Christians. It seems like Jewish Christians had to be weaned from tendencies towards legalism (see Paul’s Letter to the Galatians). But for Gentile converts, who had no prior teaching from the Mosaic Law, Paul had to focus on biblical teaching regarding the God-honoring practice of one’s sexuality.
Pagan Greek and Roman society often encouraged sexual immorality for its male citizens. It was alright for a man to have a wife, plus a mistress or two, on the side. The wife would bear him his children, and his mistresses would provide some extra pleasure and fun. These were male-chauvinistic cultures.
It is not surprising, therefore, that Paul has an extended teaching on biblical sexual ethics in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-10. Paul writes in verses 3-7 these words:
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
Paul is warning them not to defraud or take advantage of a fellow Christian by committing adultery with his wife. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, so we are to honor the Lord and others, by how we use our bodies. We are not to grieve God’s Spirit through sexual immorality (1 Thess. 4:8).
Both 1 & 2 Thessalonians have significant teachings on the Second Coming of Christ (1 Thess. 1:10; 2:19-20; 4:13-18; 5:1-11; 2 Thess. 1:6-10; 2:1-12). These teachings are meant encourage the Thessalonian Christians in their sufferings, as well as answer their specific questions regarding the end of this present age. Paul encourages the Thessalonian believers that family and friends, who have died in the Lord, will come back with the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming. They will participate, with those still alive at Christ’s Second Coming, in the rapture or transformation of this present creation (1 Thess. 4:13-18).
Paul also addresses some questions regarding the timing of the Second Coming. Some people, possibly in a forged letter with Paul’s name attached to it, claimed that the Day of the Lord had already come (2 Thess. 2:1-2). Paul says the Day of Christ’s Second Coming will not occur until the great apostasy (i.e. falling away) has occurred, and the man of lawlessness (the anti-Christ) is revealed (2 Thess. 2:3-12). So Paul encourages the Thessalonian believers to stand firm in the apostolic teachings that they have received, to love each other more and more, and to keep busy with their hands (2 Thess. 2:13-17; 3:6-15).
QOTD: Are you standing firm in sound biblical teaching, loving others more and more, and keeping busy with your hands?