I and II Thessalonians are the only two letters in which Paul addresses himself to his readers merely as "Paul," with no descriptive title of any kind. There are probably several reasons for this. Apparently there were no serious problems at Thessalonica to complicate matters, and he did not need to be cautious about the way he addressed them. No one, evidently, questioned his apostolic authority, as some did later at Corinth and the Galatian assemblies. There was no heresy to combat as at Colosse, nor any division as at Philippi.
Vs. 1-4…These words are not only a salutation; they are an official declaration by Paul as an ambassador, from the rejected Father and His rejected Son. This was the theme of the message he was sent to proclaim.
According to prophecy the Father was to avenge the rejection of His Son (Psa. 2:1-5; 110:1), but in infinite grace He interrupted the prophetic program, delaying the judgment and ushering in "the dispensation of the grace of God," offering to His enemies everywhere an amnesty and "the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). This proclamation, "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ,” appears in the opening words of every one of Paul's epistles signed by his name. And it is grace and peace we are still to proclaim to all men.
The Thessalonian believers had given Paul great cause for thanksgiving. They had suffered much persecution and had remained true. And the Philippian saints deserve credit for their encouragement of the young believers at Thessalonica, for while Paul was still with the Thessalonians, the Philippians, having heard of the persecution which they were called upon to endure, sent delegations "once and again" to help Paul, and them, in the work they were seeking to accomplish (Phil. 4:16).
The Thessalonian epistles emphasize "the abiding trinity" of Christian graces. In I Cor. 13:8 we read that with the passing away of the sign gifts three things were to "abide," or remain: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” It was these three graces that the Apostle looked for in each one of the assemblies. He never asked, "How many baptized converts do you have?" or “How many of you have the sign gifts?" The program was no longer that of the so-called "great commission" with its water baptism and miraculous signs. These were gradually giving way to greater values. Faith, hope and love are a trinity. While Paul may speak of any one or two, or of all three together, yet they are so interrelated that one cannot exist without the other two. Furthermore, each is equally important in its way. As the sign gifts were already disappearing he wanted believers to see the enduring importance of "faith, hope and charity." In the opening words of his first letter to the Thessalonians (1:3) Paul recalls their "work of faith," their "labor of love," and their "patience of hope".
Then he recalls how they had “turned to God from idols"--- there is faith; "to serve the living and true God"---there is charity"; and to “wait for His Son from heaven"---there is hope (1:9,10). The whole first chapter could be divided into three parts: the first having to do with their faith (vs. 1-5), the second with their charity (vs.6-8) and the third with their hope (vs. 9,10). There is more as we go through the epistle, but 5:8 urges them to "put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”
Vs. 5-10… Take note that there is no word here about any miracles performed among the Thessalonians. Rather, the power manifested was that associated with the preaching of the Word, or more specifically, "the gospel of the grace of God," which Paul proclaimed. In vs. 5 he emphasizes that it was his gospel that had been proclaimed to them "in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." This is clear evidence that Acts 17:2-3 does not teach that Paul then, or ever, preached "the gospel of the kingdom." He merely proved to them that the crucified Jesus was the promised Messiah, for how could they trust Him as their Savior if they did not believe that He was Messiah?
Verse 5 through 2:11 Paul uses seven phrases in which he reminds them that they know how he conducted himself among them. The Apostle could challenge them as sincerely as he later did the Corinthian believers, when he asked them: 'Did I make a gain of you? Did Titus make a gain of you?” (II Cor. 12:17,18). "I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me” (Acts 20:33,34).
Paul often warned Timothy and Titus about the dangers of using the ministry for personal gain. Besides our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul is the only disciple or Apostle of the Lord to say repeatedly, "Follow me” (See I Cor. 4:16; 11:1; Phil. 3:17). This is because, unlike the twelve, he represented the glorified Lord in proclaiming a new program and a new message, namely "the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2), and "the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). These were committed to him "by revelation" to proclaim to others (Eph. 3:1-3). The Thessalonian believers had become followers of Paul, and therefore of the glorified Lord, in three respects, as shown in vs. 6-8.
1. They "received the Word" which Paul proclaimed (See "our gospel" in vs. 5).
2. They endured "much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost."
3. They in turn became examples of Christian faith and conduct to all the believers in Macedonia, Achaia and beyond. Of the Roman believers Paul could say, "Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Rom. 1:8), and here, to the Thessalonian saints, he could already say, "For from you sounded out the Word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad, so that we need not to speak anything” (vs. 8). Paul did not need to tell others the news about Thessalonica; others were telling him! Believing in Christ and witnessing for Him was dangerous in Thessalonica in those days. (vs. 6). And referring to the persecutions in Judaea, the Apostle says, "ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen” (2:14), and then goes on to describe the intensity of the hatred being dished out against true believers in Christ.
What are you doing to reach others with the riches of God's grace? Is the message of grace being "sounded out" through you?
Vs. 9-10… Here find the three marks of true salvation: faith, hope and love. The Thessalonians had "turned to God from idols” (This is faith); "to serve the living and true God” (This is love); "and to wait for His Son from heaven” (This is hope). Beautiful combination: believing, serving and waiting!
They did not accept God as one of their gods, or even as the greatest of them. They "turned to" God -"the living and true God"- "from idols." As they turned to Him they left their idols. The earliest believers were fiercely persecuted by the pagan world about them - and it did them good, spiritually. It made them pray more earnestly and lean more heavily upon God. It gave them a deeper appreciation of what they had in Christ. It kept them separate from the world. But suddenly, in the fourth century, under the Roman Emperor Constantine, the persecution stopped. With the emperor's professed conversion to Christ, paganism was only tolerated and the law commanded the propagation of the “Christian religion”. Thus Christianity, now popular, prevailed on every hand. Constantine showered the Christians with valuable gifts. He employed leading Christians in government service, he gave the Christians magnificent Roman basilicas and great heathen temples with ample revenues, as meeting places. Removing the statues of Roman deities from the basilicas, he replaced them with statues of Christ and His apostles. Indeed, he favored the Christians in so many ways that it became a very popular thing to be a Christian. But merely favoring Christianity by no means put an end to pagan idolatry and superstition. To this day, paganism persists in the "Church," especially in the Roman Catholic Church. Under Constantine the Christians could not speak out with the same conviction and thus lost much of the power of the Spirit in their preaching. Few indeed were the exceptions who dared to stand for the truth as representatives of God.
Chronologically this is the first written statement from the pen of Paul regarding the imminent coming of Christ for his own, and it demonstrates the fact that the rapture of the Church is part of the special message committed to him (I Cor. 15:51,52) and proclaimed by him even during his earliest ministry. The prophets of old had predicted the return of Christ to judge and reign. We will not be here when the bowls of God's wrath are poured out upon the earth, for before that time we will have been "caught up" to be with Christ who “delivered us from the wrath to come” (vs. 10). It is this "blessed hope" we are told to "wait for" and to "look for" (Phil. 3:20; Tit. 2:13), even as we keep "serving the living and true God."
Since chronologically I Thess. 1:10 represents Paul's first written statement concerning the rapture of the Church to be with Christ, a further word should be said with regard to the post-tribulation view, the teaching that the rapture of the Body will not take place until after the Great Tribulation of prophecy.
This teaching is largely the result of a misinterpretation and misapplication of certain verses from the “Gospel" records and the book of Acts:
Matt. 24:40-42 ("the one shall be taken and the other left.")
Matt. 25:1-13 (the parable of the ten virgins.)
John 14:3 ("If I go . . . I will come again, and receive you unto Myself”).
Acts 1:11 ("This same Jesus . . . shall so come…)
Paul distinctly declares that the truth of the Rapture was a "mystery," or secret, until revealed through him.
First it should be noted that it is in connection with the Rapture that the Apostle refers to our Lord as the One who has "delivered us from the wrath to come” (I Thes. 1:10). What is this "wrath to come" of which he speaks? Is it the Great White Throne, or the Lake of Fire? No. (Rev. 20:11-15) The emphasis there is not upon wrath, but upon the carrying out of justice. But the Great Tribulation of prophecy is consistently and repeatedly associated with the wrath of God in such phrases as "the day of His wrath," "the time of His wrath," His "fierceness and wrath," "the wrath to come," etc. (See Psa. 2:5; Isa. 9:19; 13:9; Jer. 10:10; Zeph. 1:14,15; Rev. 6:15-17; 14:10; 15:1, 16:1,19; 19:15).
The members of the Body of Christ will be "caught up" to be with Him before the prophesied Tribulation takes place, and it is with this fact in mind that the Apostle penned the words: "And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
Four Facts to Consider about the Rapture:
1. Throughout Scripture Israel's hope and calling are presented as earthly in nature, while the hope and calling of the Body of Christ are heavenly (See Gen. 12:1-3,7; Isa. 11:1-9; Jer. 23:5; Matt. 5:5; 6:10 and cf. Eph. 1:3; 2:5,6; Phil. 3:20; Col. 1:5; 3:1-3).
2. Our Lord, while on earth, was sent to none but "the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (See Matt. 15:24; Rom. 15:8).
3. If our Lord, in His earthly ministry, spoke to His disciples about the rapture of the Body, then the truths of the Body and its rapture to be with Christ were NOT secrets first made known to Paul - as he says they were (See Eph. 3:1-11; Col. 1:24-26; I Cor. 15:51,52; I Thes. 4:15).
4. If our Lord, in His earthly ministry, urged His disciples to be watching and waiting for the Rapture, then the Rapture must take place after the Great Tribulation, for He also prepared them for this time of trouble (Matt. 24:3-21)
Bible teachers who have used Scripture passages from the four Gospels and early Acts to teach the Rapture have failed to rightly divide the Word of truth. What results is teaching that frightens sincere Christian people rather than "comforting one another" with the blessed truth that we shall be "delivered from the wrath to come" by the coming of Christ to take the members of His body out of this world (I Thes. 1:10; 4:16-18; 5:9-11).
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