I Thessalonians Introduction

Thessalonica (today called Salonika) was, in Paul's day, a prominent city of Macedonia (now northern Greece), located as a busy seaport city on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. It was a key city for the spread of the gospel because of its geographical location. Paul's proclamation of "the gospel of the grace of God" was having a powerful impact, carrying Christianity from Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) into Europe, on to Rome and probably Spain, in his own life-time, and then to northern Europe - and finally to America!

The Apostle had traveled to Macedonia in response to a vision he had received at Troas, in which a Macedonian had prayed him, saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). Thessalonica was the second city in Macedonia where Paul and Silas had ministered; Philippi being the first city where they preached the Gospel.

Paul says they were "shamefully entreated" at Philippi (I Thes. 2:2; Acts 16:19-24) so they made their way to Thessalonica, and "as his manner was,” went first to the synagogue, where for "three sabbath days” he reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, proving to them that the Jesus who had been crucified was indeed the Messiah of prophecy (Acts 17:3; I Pet. 1:11). The Jews at Thessalonica, unlike those at Berea, did not, as a whole, receive the Word with open hearts and minds. Unlike the “many" Jews who believed at Berea, only "some” among the Thessalonian Jews believed and again, in contrast to "some" of the Jews who believed, we read the words: "and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief [distinguished] women, not a few" (Acts 17:4).

The "devout Greeks" referred to here, were God-fearing Gentiles. The assembly at Thessalonica was overwhelmingly Gentile when Paul wrote, but also that their number was made up overwhelmingly of those who had "turned to God from idols," not from Judaism (I Thess. 1:8,9). This is further confirmed by the fact that there is not even one quotation from the Old Testament to be found in the letters to the Thessalonians.

The “Jews which believed not” were so vicious in their hatred of Paul and his co-workers that they got together with some of "the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar,” nor did they hesitate to bring charges against Paul in Roman courts---charging them with sedition and treason (Acts 17:5-7). They even followed Paul to Berea to stir up the people there against Paul and against Christ (Acts 17:13). The believers at Thessalonica were introduced to persecution and suffering (I Thes. 1:6) from the outset and this, in turn, contributed to their spiritual growth (II Thes. 1:3,4).

At least twice Paul had tried to revisit the Thessalonian believers without success (I Thess. 2:17,18). The Thessalonian epistles are the earliest of Paul's letters and the beginnings of Christian literature. Evidently both epistles were written from Corinth in about 52 AD on his second missionary journey, for Paul had stopped only briefly at Berea and Athens, but spent a year and a half at Corinth (Acts 18:11).

The Thessalonian epistles reveal the earliest distinction between Israel’s program of “Prophecy” (the hope of believing Jews who expected Messiah to return to earth to reign after the Great Tribulation) and the Church’s program of “Mystery” (the hope of Christians that they would be raptured out of the earth to rule with Christ in a heavenly kingdom). Here in Paul’s first epistle there is the explanation of an interruption in the program of prophecy, for we, God's ambassadors of "grace and peace," are to be recalled before He declares war on this Christ-rejecting world (II Cor. 5:20; I Thes. 4:16 - 5:11).

The Thessalonian epistles should be referred to as "The Letters of the Blessed Hope," for in them we find the mystery truth of the rapture of the members of the Body of Christ before the day of wrath (dispensation of Tribulation) begins. This mystery truth of “The Rapture” is not found in the Book of Acts perhaps because Acts is primarily focused on the transition from the “fall” of Israel and Paul’s “provocation ministry to the Jews” and the rise of the Body of Christ---The Christian Church. (Rom. 11:11; Acts 28:25-28).

This dispensation is to be ushered out just as it was ushered in. The Lord unexpectedly returned from heaven and raised up Paul as a brand-new apostle. Rather than beginning the Lord’s Day, He instead began the mystery and committed the revelation of it and all the doctrine pertaining to it to Paul. In Paul’s epistles alone, Romans through Philemon, we have the unfolding of the mystery of Christ, the dispensation of Gentile grace and the one new man who is being formed out of both Jew and Gentile during this time.

In Acts 9 there is a secret return of the Lord to usher in a new program. Christ makes a return that was not prophesied or according to the prophetic program. He appears only to Paul for the purpose of making him the apostle of the Gentiles, the doctrinal chief of this new dispensation and program that He was ushering in. When He appears to Paul, even the men around Paul do not see Christ. Furthermore, the Lord talks with Paul, and while the other men hear a noise or sound, they cannot understand what is being said.

Paul calls two teacher’s names in II Tim. 2:15-26 because they were undermining the doctrine of the rapture of the church and overthrowing the faith of some.

The order of Paul’s letters

It is understandable that the book of Romans would precede the Thessalonian epistles because Romans sets forth the great doctrines of the Christian faith and the Thessalonian epistles the last thing that will happen to the “Church”---the rapture. On the other hand, the Thessalonian epistles being written first chronologically, prove that the "blessed hope" of the rapture was most important and not an after thought in the mind of God.

Vs. 1…According to prophecy the Father was to avenge the rejection of His Son (See 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, even "the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

Vs. 2-4… 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.