1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

¹²Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.

Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica to have respect for those that are called to watch over the rest of the assembly (pastors, shephards, leaders, deacons) because they work hard to admonish, and lead (over you), in Christ and in the things regarding their spiritual growth.

Acts 14:23 “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”

1 Timothy 3:1-7 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”

¹³Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

Here Paul states the amount of work that is needed in order to be a leader in the church, therefore he tells the Thessalonians to hold them in the highest regard. He also encourages them to be at peace with one another (or to be at peace with the leaders and elders of the church).

¹⁴And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

In verse 14 Paul starts to talk about those who are apart of the assembly, rather than the leaders as he was in the pervious verses. He encrouages them to warn their fellow brothers and sisters about being idle and timid in their faith and walk with God, and to help the believers who consider themselves weak in faith.

2 Chronicles 19:10 “In every case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities—whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or ordinances—you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not sin.”

Ecclesiastes 10:18 “If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

Psalm 41:1 “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.”

Lastly he tells them to be patient with everyone so that those who are in the process of learning spiritual teachings won’t feel discouraged or pressured.

Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”

1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

¹⁵Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

Paul insists that they always be kind to those around them, not just the believers but those who don’t believe (everyone else).

Matthew 5:38-42 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

¹⁶Be joyful always;

Paul instructs the Thessalonians to always be joyful. Joy is more than a feeling of happiness, it is rather an outcome of following Christ.

Nehemiah 8:10 “Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

John 15:9-11 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

1 Thessalonians 1:6 “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹Do not put out the Spirit’s fire;

To pray continually or without ceasing can be as simple as speaking with God as you go about your business during the day, to making requests and fervent prayer on specific things or people. Either way Paul tells the Thessalonians to pray to God continually (in their hearts or audibly).

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.”

²⁰do not treat prophecies with contempt. ²¹Test everything. Hold on to the good. ²²Avoid every kind of evil.

In this passage Paul tells the Thessalonians to test the prophesies that are being said, but not to treat them with contempt, mainly becuase it is a gift from God and when used correctly is for the benefit (edifies the church) of the listener and the speaker. To treat a prophesy with contempt would be to “put out” the Spirit’s fire, which Paul mentions previously not to do. This is why Paul indicates to test everything, so that you can hold on to the good and avoid evil.

1 Corinthians 14:29-33 “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.”

Acts 17 :11 “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Deuteronomy 18:17-22 “The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.  If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?”  If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

²³May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Paul ends his letter with prayer requests to God to help the Thessalonians fulfill their duties and the instructions laid out to them so that they will be blameless, holy and pure. He makes this request not only for their spirit, but also their souls and bodies, which all three must be made obedient to Christ. Note how he mentions that it is by God’s faithfulness that this will be accomplished rather than the faith of the believer. This is because the faith of God is complete and full, and will not fail.

²⁵Brothers, pray for us. ²⁶Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. ²⁷I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. ²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Paul lastly requests for their prayers to help in their apostleship, and to spread the instructions in his letter to the rest of the Thessalonians so that they all may be encouraged to do what is holy and pleasing to God.

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus

1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:28

¹³Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

In verse 3 the apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians not to be ignorant about the people who have died, and not to grieve about them as if there was no hope for them.

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

¹⁴We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

Rather Paul reminds them about the resurrection of Christ and the power of God who rose him up, and so to believe that God will also bring up with Jesus those who had fallen asleep in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:12-19 “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.”

¹⁵According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

Paul lets the Thessalonians know the order that those who believe in Christ will be resurrected on the day of the Lord. Those who have died in Christ will rise first, then those who are still alive. Paul assures the Thessalonians who were worried about their loved ones who had died that they too will be with the Lord when he comes.

John 14:1-4 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 6:53-54 “Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 5:28-29 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Here Paul starts to tell the Thessalonians what is going to happen when the Lord comes to gather the believers at the end times. This is to encourage them that those who had died will also rise with Christ just as those who are living will rise to meet with Christ. This is also known as the ‘rapture’.

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

^5:1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ²for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Paul informs the Thessalonians that the specific time and date that the Lord will come back should be considered as if he were to come back that day. This is why Paul mentions that the day the Lord comes back will be like a thief in the night. It is just to keep the Thessalonians awake in the Lord and not fall asleep and give satan a foothold.

Matthew 24:36-44 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

³While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Paul gives a warning that there will be people, specifically in context with what he has been saying, these people will be those who fall asleep in their faith  and walk away from their first love, who will be saying “peace and safety” but then that will be the day the Lord comes, and it won’t be pleasant for some or great tribulation.

Matthew 24:7 “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Matthew 24:21-22 “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”

Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

⁴But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

Now to the believers Paul says that because they walk in the light and know the truth, the day of the Lord shouldn’t surprise them. They should know what to expect and be prepared for his arrival. Just as the parable of the ten virgins and their preparedness for the Lord.

Matthew 25:1-13 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.”At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ” ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

⁵You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

Paul gives us the image of light and darkness, which is often used in the Bible where the light is God, and the darkness is the evil one. Here Paul calls the children of God, the children of light and reminds them that they don’t belong to the devil or to the ways of darkness.

Similarly in Ephesians 5:8-14 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

⁶So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. ⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to stay awake and alert. To keep growing and moving in the faith and not to fall asleep. In verse 7 he compares those who are asleep in the Lord to those who get drunk at night. The intention is to paint a detestable picture of the ways of darkness so that the Thessalonians will continue walking in the light. He ends by saying in verse 8 to stay with their first love – ‘faith, hope, and love’ in Christ.

Just as is written to the church in Ephesus in Revelations 2:4 “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

⁹For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Paul gives them the solution that Jesus would save those who believe (alive or dead) in him and therefore they won’t suffer the coming wrath of God.

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

¹Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

In verse 1 Paul calls the Thessalonians to “live” meaning to literally ‘walk in and behave in a way’ that is pleasing to God, meaning that their motivation should be to please God not man. In case the Thessalonians fall away or become stagnant Paul writes to encourage the Thessalonians to continue on pleasing God by growing ‘more and more’, which focuses on continual growth.

²For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

While Paul and his companions were in Thessalonica they had given them instructions to follow in the Lord’s way. Not only did they preach the Word of God to them but they were able to give them practical and applicable ways to live out their faith. Paul makes it clear that it is the Lord Jesus who has authority over the disciples, whom they are able to give their instructions for Holy living.

³It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

In verse 3 Paul begins his exhortation that it is God’s will that believers should be sanctified, or to be holy/live holy lives. In particular he mentions avoiding sexual immorality, which is contrary to God’s will and therefore cannot please God. Since we know that Timothy, Paul’s companion had just come from Thessalonica and had come to meet Paul to inform him of the state of the church, we can deduce that sexual immorality would have been one of the greater problems the Thessalonians were facing.

⁴that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,

Paul makes it evident that God has given us the ability to control our own body so that we can live holy according to his will. This is something that is learned by continual practice. Just as it says in Matthew 12:24 “…, For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” whatever is in our heart comes out of our mouth, so it is similar in our actions, if we make our mind/heart obedient to Christ, the overflow will come out in our actions also.

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”

Titus 2:6 “Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.”

⁵not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;

A heathen is a pagan who does not believe in the true God but believes in false gods/idols. Paul states that the heathen who don’t know the true God live in what he describes as ‘passionate lust’, which is a desire of the flesh and not of love.

Proverbs 6:25-26 “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.”

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

⁶and 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.

In verse 6 Paul concludes that if you are living a sexually moral life, you will not wrong your brother or take advantage of him. This is in regards to sexual immorality such as adultery or causing someone to stumble and sin against God. The Lord Jesus will punish those who cause someone else to sin or does wrong to their neighbor.

Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

Proverbs 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

⁷For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Paul mentions here that God calls us to live pure holy lives. This means purity in our thoughts, words, and actions, so that they are obedient and pleasing to God. In this way, it will go well with the believer and their conscience will be right with God. If anyone rejects the instruction that Paul has given them in regards to sexual immorality, they are in fact rejecting God’s instruction as it is written about Paul in Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”.

Paul also mentions the Holy Spirit because of the fact that Christ gives his Holy Spirit to those who believe and the believer becomes a temple/houses the Holy Spirit. When someone who houses the Holy Spirit commits a sin, then they grieve the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

⁹Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. ¹⁰And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.

Paul makes note that God himself teaches the believers how to live a life that is holy, and that Paul doesn’t need to write about what they are already doing, but rather he writes to them about things that they may be having a difficulties with such as the aforementioned sexual immorality. However Paul makes a plea that they continue to love far more than what they expect of themselves.

¹¹Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, ¹²so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Lastly Paul encourages them to work just as he has done when he visited them, so that they won’t be a burden to anyone by having to depend on them for everything. By doing this they win respect from unbelievers because of their hard efforts and endurance.

1 Thessalonians 2:9 “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”

2 Thessalonians 3:11 “We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.”

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

⁶But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.

Timothy gives the apostle Paul a confirmation that the new believers are in fact growing in faith and love, relieving Paul of his notions that their work in preaching to the gentiles in Thessalonica may have been useless.

⁷Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. ⁸For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

We also notice in this letter how the apostle Paul and his companions felt discouraged about their work because of the persecution they received in the name of God. Until they find out that God is in fact causing the Thessalonians to grow in the Lord by the fruit of their faith, are they once again encouraged to continue on their work despite persecution.

Mark 4:26-29 “He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

1 Corinthians 3:5-9 “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

⁹How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? ¹⁰Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

In verse 9 Paul makes a statement of an abundant joy the disciples receive from God because of their love and long-suffering work they endure for the people in Thessalonica despite persecution and hard times.  We see their passion and desire to continue their work by their constant prayers and eagerness to share their gifts with the new believers.

Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

¹¹Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. ¹²May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. ¹³May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

In these last verses Paul writes a few requests from God to be able to reach out to the Thessalonians because of their short departure when they first arrived. They ask God to make their paths clear, without disruption, so that they may be able to return to them.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

In the mean time Paul also makes a request that their love would overflow for each other, just as Paul’s love for the Thessalonians has overflown, as is evident in his letter.

Isaiah 54:10 “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

1 Timothy 1:14 “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Paul also makes a request that their hearts be strengthened. This to withstand the arrows of the enemy, and to keep their faith and belief in Christ strong so that they would be blameless and holy in the presence of God.

Isaiah 12:2 “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

¹⁷But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. ¹⁸For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.

Continuing Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians we read in verse 17 about Paul’s intense longing to be with his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This doesn’t mean that Paul just wanted to see them with a casualness, but rather that he had a deep love for them, and a deep love for God, which moves him to continue in his efforts to see them. Remember also that Paul and his companions were driven away from Thessalonica early so they have been eagerly anticipating the news of how they are growing/not-growing in the faith.

Luke 10:27 “He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We can also derive a parallel between what is shown here with the longing of Paul to be with the Thessalonians, and how Jesus longs for those who are lost.

Revelation 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Luke 15:3-7 “Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Paul also mentions that the reason that they were not able to see the Thessalonians was because Satan had stopped them somehow. Though we are not told how, we know that the apostles were expecting opposition based on what Jesus had taught them, whether the opposition came through men (the Jews in Thessalonica who were persecuting them), or through other means, Jesus had already warned the disciples of such things.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

¹⁹For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? ²⁰Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

Paul asks them a question about what their hope and joy is at the Lords presence. And he answers them that they in fact are their hope and joy. This is because they will also know the true God and his presence will also be in them. It is like a selfless love that one would find joy in the uplifting of others rather than themselves. It is also a joy knowing that their labor has produced fruit for God.

¹So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.

Paul is talking about the persecution they were receiving that was so great a disturbance that they had decided to leave Thessalonica so early in their mission.

²We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

However, Paul sends Timothy, who is one of Paul’s companions in Christ, and is also Greek, to speak to the people in Thessalonica to check on the believers, just as a shepherd checks on the flock.

Luke 10:1-3 “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”

³so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. ⁴In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. ⁵For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

Paul continues to mention persecution and how inevitable it is for a Christian. He does this so that when the time comes for them to endure trials and temptation that they will know that it comes with the territory of being a believer, not because God intends to harm them but because the devil doesn not want them to know God.

We also are revealed to Paul’s fear that the tempter may have tempted the Thessalonians to sin and that his efforts to them would have been useless. Yet when Timothy comes back with a good report (1 Thessalonians 3:6) we see that Paul himself is also encouraged. This tells us that as a church family the people of God whether they are new to the faith or have been in the faith for a longer time, are there to encourage one another, and build each other up in Christ, so that we don’t lose hope.

This verse also tells us to trust in God’s plan, and that nothing can stop God from doing his will even though from our limited view we can only see as far as God shows us, that God can see further ahead and holds everything in his hand.

Revelation 2:10 “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

¹You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.

Due to strong opposition Paul and his companions had to leave the Thessalonians earlier than expected as mentioned in (intro to 1 Thessalonians). This is why Paul is saying that the visit wasn’t a failure. He is trying to encourage the Thessalonian believers in their faith by insisting that God is working with them despite their short departure.

²We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

Paul mentions to them about the suffering they endured in their presence while they had visited, however God was still able to let his gospel be known to them. Opposition as Jesus talks about in John 15:20 is something that is to be expected for a Christian because of the spiritual forces of darkness that don’t want the truth to come to the children of God.

John 15:20 “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Hebrews 12:3 “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

³For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.

There are three accusations listed in verse 3 that have come against Paul’s preaching. They are: error, impure motives, and trickery. The reason why Paul has to mention this is due to the Jewish opposition that had come upon them (Acts 17:5-9). The Thessalonians were then left to decide between the accusations made against the disciples or whether to believe the gospel. Paul is trying to set things straight.

Acts 17:5-9 “But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.”

⁴On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. ⁶We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, ⁷but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.

In these verses (4-7) Paul demonstrates how they are telling the truth, how their motives are pure, and how they aren’t trying to trick them, by reminding the Thessalonians with examples. In regards to being truthful Paul states they were there to try and please God rather than man, hence why in spite of opposition, they didn’t back down from their belief. This is because God tests their hearts to see if his disciples are genuine in their love for God. In regards to pure motives and trickery, Paul mentions that they never used flattery, which means that their intentions weren’t to make themselves appear to be greater, but to bring the truth about God and also the truth about themselves to them.

1 Corinthians 9:17 “If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.”

Romans 16:17-18 “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

⁸We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. ⁹Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

Paul continues his letter by reminding the Thessalonians of their love for them so that they might see that they were there also to commune with them and be in unity as a family. This is why he mentions that the disciples had also shared their personal lives with them as well. He reminds them of the amount of work they did in order to present the gospel to them in peace. That what they did wasn’t just a passing comment nor was it out of vanity, but they made an extra effort to preach the gospel without being a burden to anyone. They did this by working with their own hands so as to earn their keep so that they were well fed without depending on the Thessalonians.

¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹²encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Paul continues to remind the Thessalonians of their innocence despite the accusations of the Jews towards them. He makes mention of how he and his companions had dealt with each of them, not by condemnation, or guilt, or accusing, but rather how the Father deals with each of us, by encouraging them, comforting them, and urging them to live holy lives for their benefit.

¹³And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”

This is why the Bible is considered truth, because it is the word of God himself not by man though it was written by man, it was God-breathed. And this is what the believers in Thessalonians accepted.

¹⁴For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, ¹⁵who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men ¹⁶in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

Lastly Paul reminds them of how much they have changed and endured for God, that they would suffer in the same footsteps as Christ. Paul also mentions that those who don’t believe are heaping up in sin and not only that but try to stop the word of God from reaching the Gentiles.

Isaiah 43:13 “Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

¹Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  Grace and peace to you.

This letter as opposed to several of the other letters written by Paul, begins with mention of his accompaniments Silas and Timothy who joined Paul in his ministry in Acts 16 to preach the word of God to the gentiles.

In regards to Timothy: Acts 16:1-5 “He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. ³Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. ⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”

In regards to Silas: Acts 15:22 “Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.”

Acts 15:32 “Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.”

A common thread to Paul’s letters is that he acknowledges God the Father and Jesus Christ at the beginning and ending of his letters, which we can see in verse 1. To speak in the name of  Jesus, is for the purpose of relying on God’s power and authority and enabling God to speak/work through the disciple. For example in Ephesians 6:19 Paul asks the church of Ephesus “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,” This was to rely on God to help him speak rather than rely on his own knowledge.

John 14:13-14 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him”

²We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.

Paul makes mention of the fact that he keeps them in his prayers. This tells us the importance of prayer not just for oneself but for the church at large, whether in the local community or in another country. In Ephesians the last instruction Paul gives after naming the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) is to pray on all occasions. This was because he talks about Christians being in a spiritual battle, and prayer is one of the most effective powerful ways of demolishing negative/evil strongholds. Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

³We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 13 the entire passage is about love. Specifically in verse 13:13 faith, hope, and love are mentioned together. This is the ‘first love’ of a Christian. It is love for Jesus Christ, hope in what cannot be seen but can be seen in the heart of someone who believes that Christ will fulfill his promises, and faith in Christ to bring the believer to the goal.’ 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

In verse 3 Paul speaks about the Thessalonians work produced by faith. It is because of their faith in Christ that they are prompted to do good works. This doesn’t mean that if someone did good works, they had faith. Nor does it mean that in order to show that they are practicing faith is by doing good works. Rather it is because they have faith in Christ that they are prompted to do good works. i.e. It is more of an overflow of love in the believers heart that they will do good works without so much as thinking about it.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

For example in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 it talks about having love (being prompted by love) in order to do works of faith amongst other things. The point of it is saying that if you had faith to move mountains (or doing amazing works in Christ), but when you did these works you did it more because someone taught you to do it, or you felt like you had to just to show that you were faithful, it really means nothing if you didn’t do it out of love for God and love for your neighbor.

James 2:17 “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Similarly in James 2:17 it is faith that prompts action rather than the other way around. And without action, faith on its own is dead. Both faith and action work together.

Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

⁴For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

Note in verse 4-5 Paul makes a statement that characterizes a true follower of God.  It is with a deep conviction of the Holy Spirit of God that a person knows deep down that he is the truth. I.e. not 80% or 99% sure of Jesus Christ, but a full 100% certainty. It wasn’t a ‘weak’ revelation of the truth either, but a powerful force that revealed the truth about him. This means that they would have seen some dramatic changes in the lives and mentalities of the people in Thessalonica. Their spiritual hearts, ears, and eyes would have been opened to the truth. All this by the power of the Holy Spirit given to those who believe in Christ Jesus.

⁶You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁷And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

Verse 6 demonstrates the various authorities of the church. In that the disciples act as ‘leaders / shepherds’ that live by example of the Lord, and then the people in Thessalonica follow in the same footsteps ‘the herd’. It was through their severe suffering yet having joy at the same time, that pretty much became a testimony to the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. It encouraged the other cities to live as Christ lived and not to be afraid of suffering for Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:6 “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.”

⁸The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, ⁹for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

The Thessalonians had such a powerful impact that their faith in Christ became renowned to even the cities around them. This is the power of the Holy Spirit being displayed where the gospel, and testimony of Thessalonica is now spreading from city to city.

¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Jesus died on the cross, descended to the dead, and resurrected after three days. Now he sits in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. Verse 10 talks about Jesus being in heaven and that as believers now we wait for him to return. Not only this but Jesus who rescues the believers of the coming wrath of God.

Isaiah 13:9 “See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.”

Romans 5:9-11 “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus

Intro to 1 Thessalonians

In Acts 17:1-9 Paul and his companions visit Thessalonica (Greece) just after getting out of prison, to preach the word of God to the Gentiles. Successfully they were able to plant a church although the Jewish leaders became jealous and sought after them with accusations of going against Ceasar and proclaiming Jesus Christ as king. In Acts 16:1-5 we see that Timothy joins Paul and Silas and makes mention that he is half-Greek  After leaving Thessalonica for a time, Paul sends Timothy back to check up on their progress and the state of the church.

Filed under: 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Bible study, God, Jesus