1 Thessalonians 1 Study Notes

1:1 Paul used the Latin version Silvanus (2Co 1:19; 2Th 1:1) for the person whom Luke referred to using the Greek name Silas (Ac 15:22). Silas was chosen by Paul to accompany him on his second missionary journey, replacing Barnabas (Ac 15:40). Silas participated in the work of planting the Thessalonian church (Ac 17:4) and was with Paul in Corinth at the time of the writing of this letter. Paul may have encountered Timothy at Lystra on his first missionary journey (Ac 14:8-18). On the second visit Timothy is described as a disciple who was ready to assist Paul in the missionary efforts (Ac 16:1-3). Timothy is not explicitly mentioned as participating in the founding of the Thessalonian church (Ac 17:1-9), but Paul sent him from Athens to assist the newly formed and persecuted church when Paul realized he could not return to the Thessalonians (1Th 3:1-2). Timothy’s encouraging report on the state of the Thessalonian church prompted Paul to write this epistle (3:6). The reference to church (Gk ekklesia) in NT times could refer generically to any gathering or assembly, but Paul specified it here as the local assembly at Thessalonica in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:2 In his epistles Paul normally thanked God for those people to whom he was sending the letter and mentioned that they were in his prayers or offered a prayer for them. The only exception to this is Galatians, where he issued a strong rebuke.

1:3 Paul commended the Thessalonians for their work produced by faith, their labor motivated by love, and endurance inspired by hope. Their work and labor were evident in that the gospel had gone throughout not only their province of Macedonia but into the neighboring province of Achaia (vv. 7-8). Endurance was especially needed in the midst of persecution.

1:4 While the Thessalonians were commended for their work, Paul reminded them that God is the one who had chosen them and that they were loved by him. “Chosen” (Gk eklogon) carries the idea of God’s choice or selection.

1:5-6 The gospel is more than a message of words. It is a message that comes in power and in the Holy Spirit. The basic meaning of “gospel” (Gk euangelion) is “good news.” Paul further specified that it was not just any good news but the good news that came from God (2:2,8,13). Even though the church at Thessalonica was founded in the midst of severe persecution, the message was warmly received with joy that came from the Holy Spirit. That God was working there was also evident since Paul and Silas were able to stay only for a short time before they were forced to leave and yet the church started and flourished anyway (Ac 17:1-9). How we lived among you is further explained in 2:1-12.

1:7-9 The Thessalonians’ faith and gospel message spread throughout Macedonia and Achaia. These two Roman provinces—Macedonia in the north and Achaia in the south—make up a large part of modern-day Greece. In NT times, these provinces included major cities such as Philippi, Athens, and Corinth. Thessalonica was the capital of Macedonia. It appears that Paul’s missionary strategy worked. He evangelized the major cities with the expectation that the gospel would spread from there into the surrounding areas. The Thessalonians’ predominantly Gentile background is evident from the false worship of lifeless idols, from which they turned to serve the living and true God.

1:10 While the Thessalonians were enduring persecution, they were also waiting for the coming Son from heaven—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. The “coming wrath” was not a persecution that Paul and the Thessalonians were experiencing or would experience from the unbelieving world, but a future time of God’s wrath against the unbelieving world. Christians will be rescued from this (5:9). Paul introduced the fact of Jesus’s resurrection here and later expressed the hope of the resurrection for Christians who had died (4:16).