Category: Bible Study

Like a standard NT epistle, we open with the authors. It’s represented as coming from Paul, Timothy and Silvanus (Silas) and generally uses “we” instead of “I” throughout the letter. That said, the language is pretty consistent with other letters Paul has written so he’s likely the primary author.

As Paul and the bros pray for the Thessalonican church, they retell the cool stuff that has gone on tied to the faith of this church. They know God was working to reach this group of folks by how the good news demonstrated itself to them through Paul and the bros, not just through word but also in some ways through clear demonstrations of power, presence of the Holy Spirit and how it all impacted those who witnessed this good news. And, Paul et al. obviously conducted themselves with integrity and as good examples for the sake of the Thessalonican church (because what you do matters and influences how people hear your words. Still applies today.)

v.6 hits a favorite theme of mine as the Thessalonians followed them as they followed Christ. We should be careful when we attempt humility by cutting our opportunity off as only proclaimers in word of the good news when Paul seems to think it’s completely acceptable to have people trying to imitate him and the bros. Paul, elsewhere, will proclaim himself the chief of all sinners, however that doesn’t stop him from being comfortable with people imitating him as he pursues Jesus (and as they both try to imitate Jesus). And it’s working, the Thessalonicans took that example and have influenced people in the rest of Macedonia and in Achaia and are reaching even beyond that. Other places the bros go are telling stories about the Thessalonican church.

And it sounds like their story is an interesting one, involving turning from idols (implied false and dead) to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven who will deliver us from the wrath to come. This wait thing is important as we’ll see later in the letter that the Thessalonicans may be getting a wee impatient and worried about the yet-to-return Jesus.

Paul continues his discussion of the circumstances in which he initially engaged with the Thessalonican church. They came from Philippi where they indeed were treated rough (brought in front of the town leaders, jailed, etc.) but they also had great success with the conversion of the jailer, the casting of the demon out of the little girl, and hanging out with the ladies of Philippi (all documented in Acts 16.) Even so, despite the risk of landing in more trouble when they arrived, Paul and the bros still spread the true good news to the Thess. church. Paul and the bros work for God, their job is to spread good news even knowing men can and will react poorly to it at times. In that perspective, it certainly wasn’t to their benefit, they were doing so, in fact at a personal risk, yet they continued. And even though they carried with them important work and could have asked for special treatment, they did not, but instead were freely giving of their time and wisdom and service.

Paul also reasserts the context of their behavior among the Thess. church, being blameless, righteous, holy, etc. and how they encouraged them to “…walk in a manner worthy of God”. Again, actions set the context for the words. Tighten up on your job, homey.

And Paul is excited that the Thess. church received all of this so well and saw it for what it was, not just a competing claim among men, but good news from the true God. That said, not everyone reacted that same way, as just in Judea, the Jews did not take kindly to this Christian movement and caused trouble for those bringing that good news in. Details in Acts 17, but basically Paul and the bros hung out in Thess. for 3 weeks, Gentiles, Greeks and ladies were brought to Jesus, Jews got upset and accused them of proclaiming a king other than Caesar. Ultimately, they paid off the town leaders and were let go.

Paul doesn’t mince words here, the Jews killed Jesus and the prophets, chucked Jesus’ followers, displeased God and have attempted to hinder that which is to the benefit of all mankind – that’s quite a laundry list of poor behavior. In response, Paul says God’s wrath has come upon them at last. Given when this was written, this could be referring to a relatively recent famine in Jerusalem or other poor treatment of them by the Romans. However, it’s also written in such a way where this could be something that is yet to happen but is so certain it can be spoken of in the present tense.

Then the discussion shifts as Paul tries to describe why he has not yet returned to them even though he wanted to. Paul does reveal himself as the author of the letter in this section. Even though they wanted to come back it seems that Satan hindered them (not exactly sure what the deal was or why this was attributed to Satan as opposed to sinful humans, manhandling Jews, sickness, or whatever else he has expressed issues with in other letters.)

Don’t miss the last sentence here, which points out that what they expect to show Jesus at his return, the thing that will show that they have been faithful is the faith of others through their work. Whatever our aims in life as Christians, if it doesn’t include this understanding of what Jesus values, it will fall short of fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives.

Paul continues on the explanation of why he hasn’t been back to Thessalonica (it appears this was a point of contention with them.) After Paul and the bros left Thess. they went to Berea, where the Jews from Thessalonica followed them and caused trouble for them there. The bros (Timmy and Silas) stayed behind while Paul was taken to Athens by himself. Despite being alone, Paul of course engages the Jews in the synagogues and then further goes to the Areopagus to have it out with them fellas. In the meantime, Timothy went back to Thess. to check on them and to bring word to Paul who was worried about them.

Timmy brings back good news that the Thess. church is doing well and that they think kindly of Paul and the bros. Paul is encouraged that, despite the reaction to the Good News he keeps running into, there are still people meeting Jesus, persisting in the face of temptation and persecution, and doing the work that Paul left behind for them to do (follow Jesus and take people with them.) Again, where we are not doing this kind of work we are missing out on being part of God’s fulfilling rescue mission and the joy and peace that comes along with it, which helps as a healing salve when we find our message brings trouble. If our message brings neither trouble nor peace, we are doing it wrong.

Paul ends this with a request from God that Paul and the bros may yet return to Thessalonica and continue to bless the work that church is doing, focusing on love for one another and staying righteous and holy as they await the return of Jesus.

The final chapter is interesting in its relative lack of the fantastic compared to the discussion in chapter 2. If you watch closely, you’ll notice that in the New Testament that all prophecy that is for the future is meant to inform how Christians live in the here and now. The reason Paul points out all he does about what is to come is so that folks stop worrying about it and go about the business of the Kingdom. It’s a long, detailed way of saying, “Be faithful in the means, let God handle the ends.”

Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for the work that he and the bros are up to, that it may be as effective where they are yet to go as it was with the Thessalonians. And as they encounter those who would stop the good news being spread, may God deliver them. As for the Thessalonians, the more they trust in God and His faithfulness, the better the chance that what they will remain obedient, faithful, and protected from the temptations that would throw them off their work. God provides, they need to lean on him and trust him to do so.

The warning that follows is similar to Paul’s encouragement back in chapter 4 of his first letter. In a nutshell, don’t be lazy; hanging around not doing work is a breeding ground for trouble. So, keep busy, mind your own affairs, and don’t be a burden on other folk. Paul uses him and the bros as an example of folks who could have very well asked for support but instead, in order to set a good example, worked hard and weren’t a financial burden upon those who they serve.

The theme continues, “…do not grow weary of doing good.” Here’s the deal, it’s often tiresome work with little tangible reward. It’s not relevant, though. Stay active, don’t tire of doing the good work created for you. Some of that means you have to take care of yourself, quit eating/drinking like a fool and only getting a few hours of sleep. You need to be a good, hard-working example at your job and have some in the tank left to serve your family, community and strangers with love and good news. You can’t sustain living like a fraternity pledge and not run out of steam. When you do, the first thing that will go is the doing good. You do all of that so that you may keep to doing good for others.

Paul takes not doing this as a serious breach of obedience. He calls for shame on the man who grows weary of doing good (dang, Kingdom standards are high as Snoop Dog on any given Tuesday.) I love this, though, “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” We’ve seen that before. We don’t bail on the idler, just as God hasn’t bailed on him. But he’s living a life that is less than what he is meant for and generally he’ll feel it.

Paul ends with a peace and grace fest. The double peace in the last part makes sense, because again, the reason for the letter seems to be their unrest around this Day of the Lord business. Ultimately Paul attempts to ease their concern while rightly pointing them back to trusting in God and going about their daily life in faithfulness.

Paul continues to hit on the thought that what we do matters in a call to stay holy and loving. He encourages the church to continue to behave in a way that pleases God, specifically in reference to sexual immorality. (As long as there have been private parts there have been folks peeping at them, thinking about them, and using them indiscriminately when they shouldn’t. 6th century BC problems are the same as 1st century AD problems that are the same as 21st Century CE problems.) Specifically, get it under control. This means don’t chase every urge your body was designed to use for good and follow it onto the internet or to a situation you don’t belong in or to an emotional/physical connection that belongs to someone else. There is no middle ground on this stuff; in all situations you pull a Joseph in Potiphar’s house: at the first sign of trouble you haul ass as far away as possible without explanation or excuse. It’s that hard, but it is that simple.

I’m not entirely sure what kind of situation is causing a brother to be wronged in regards to someone’s sexual immorality. Yes, I can think of a few options, but further pursuit is not particularly healthy and I’m not sure it’s necessary. Whatever it is, I’m assuming it can be avoided by minding your own sexual business and doing things God’s way. God has not called us for impurity but holiness, to ignore is is disregarding God, who Paul reminds us is who gives us the Holy Spirit.
On that note, though, although Paul is impressed with how they show love to each other, he wants more. Part of that is not taking advantage of other bros, not starting trouble, keeping to your own business, doing something that is tangible for society (I work in the business of financial promises, I’m not sure this qualifies) and conducting yourself with integrity and being dependent on no one. If we can summarize, don’t get caught up in a bunch other stuff, walk with God, love others and mind your business. On the final one, it’s not that you can’t accept charity when it is offered/needed, it’s just that you shouldn’t make a living off of someone else’s living, do what you can to add to the community around you and care for yourselves so that charity goes where it is needed.

In v.13, the conversation shifts as Paul wishes to set straight some either uninformed or wrongly informed thinking that he’s been made aware of by the Thessalonican church. They seem to be concerned that Jesus has not returned yet and that those who die prior to Jesus coming back are hosed. But Paul reminds them that we’re Christians, we don’t mourn death the way others do because death (sleep) is just the passing into eternal life with Jesus. He also says that those who are living will not meet Jesus prior to those who have already died, in fact the dead will rise to meet the living and they both will meet Jesus in the air upon his return that establishes his forever kingdom.

v.16 is most likely apocalyptic language, meaning that is more likely than not figurative (cry of command, voice of an archangel, with the sound of the trumpet of God). Trumpets in the Bible traditionally are associated with the presence of God and also battle (this makes sense, Jesus’ return will coincide with the dispatching of all enemies). On the trumpet, suffice to say this description of a loud, battle-crying, archangel-shouting Jesus return action just doesn’t jive with the thought of this happening as a “secret” rapture where the dead are taken up but the living are left. I’m open to other interpretations of this section, but secret rapture is just flat out off the table, regardless of whether the language is figurative/apocalyptic or not.

Further Paul says the living and dead will get caught up together in the clouds to meet Jesus and will then always be with the Lord. That Greek word “to meet” is an important one, apantesis. It’s the word used elsewhere to describe when folks leave the city to meet an important person on the outside and then they all enter the city together. This is what we’re seeing here, everyone meets Jesus in the air, he refines the world with fire and judgment, and then we all return back to the restored creation to be with Jesus forever.

Paul expects this description to be an encouragement to the Thessalonican church. Chill out, Jesus will return, the living and the dead will meet him together, and all will be well.