1 Thessalonians

Overview

Paul had been in Thessalonica only a few weeks before a mob ran him out of town, and he had worried ever since about the converts he left behind. Timothy came back with good news, and this letter is the relief.

It is warm, plain and practical: keep doing what you are doing, live quietly, work with your hands, and do not grieve like people with no hope — because the Lord Himself will descend, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Background

Acts 17 tells the story: three sabbaths of reasoning in the synagogue, some Jews and many Greeks persuaded, then a riot, and Paul and Silas sent away by night to Berea.

The new believers were being pressed by their own countrymen, and some had died — raising a question the young church had not thought to ask: what happens to those who die before the Lord returns?

Key themes

• The return of Christ, mentioned in every chapter.
• Hope in the face of death: those who sleep in Jesus come with Him.
• Holiness, especially in a culture where immorality was ordinary.
• Honest work and quiet lives that earn respect from outsiders.
• Thanksgiving, prayer and encouragement as a way of life together.

Outline

1. A church worth thanking God forChapter 1

   Their faith, love and patience, and how the word sounded out from them.

2. How Paul came among themChapter 2

   Gentle as a nurse, exhorting as a father, working night and day.

3. Timothy’s reportChapter 3

   Anxiety relieved, and a prayer that they would increase in love.

4. Pleasing God, and those who sleepChapter 4

   Sexual purity, brotherly love, quiet work — and the Lord descending with a shout.

5. Ready and awakeChapter 5

   The day of the Lord comes as a thief; be sober, and encourage one another.

Key passages

• 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 Turned from idols to serve the living God, and to wait for his Son.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3 This is the will of God, even your sanctification.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2 The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; in every thing give thanks.

Christ in 1 Thessalonians

Every chapter ends looking for Him. He is the Son we wait for from heaven, who delivered us from the wrath to come; the Lord who will descend with a shout and gather His people, living and dead; and the one whose coming makes present suffering bearable and present holiness urgent.

Reading it

• Read Acts 17:1-10 first — it is the backstory in ten verses.
• Note the end of each chapter; they all point to His coming.
• Read 5:12-22 as a list to keep: short commands, one after another.