EMMAUS SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES

We see a new side of Paul in this 1st letter to the Thessalonians as he uses particular language to get across a much needed message to the church in Thessalonica. Paul uses words such a beloved, brothers and sisters, and a few similes that depicted a very close relationship with those in Thessalonica. From Acts 17 we know that Paul was probably only in Thessalonica for about 3 Sabbaths so this was a very short time to be with these Christians. But from this letter we see that Paul has been encouraged by their faith and standing firm in the midst of persecution. Even though Paul cant be with them knows and loves and shares in the persecution that comes with being identified with Gospel. He encourages them to continue to stand strong and to continue to be known for their love for one another and for the great church in Macedonia. Paul also writes to correct and encourage them to be more set apart and have a eternal perspective. One big issue Paul addresses is this question from the Thessalonians about if the dead in Christ had missed the second coming? Paul assures them in 4:13-18 that they will all be together and with the Lord forever and this list of events that we find in this passage is assuring the Thessalonians of this aspect. The Lord hasn’t and will never forget them. This would be so assuring and of great comfort to Thessalonians and they were living through hardship and persecution. The 2nd coming who give them HOPE when they felt hopeless.

There is so much more to say about this book but I will leave you with this. This is Paul’s prayer and encouragement to these young in the Faith Thessalonians.

“May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this!” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

The book of 1st Thessalonians was an interesting one… I have never deeply studied it before. Paul obviously had a great affection for the Thessalonians, which he had only been with for about three weeks. They were undergoing persecution, so Paul wrote to encourage them in their new faith and to give some direction. Paul addresses sexual ethics, work ethics, and he answers their question about the 2nd Coming of Christ. They seemed to be worried about whether those that had already died would miss the Second Coming, and Paul elaborately explains what will happen- that there is hope for the dead and the living. Paul then puts in perspective how to live, becoming sanctified, while waiting for the Second Coming- a fine balance that we struggle with even today.

One truth I learned from this book is reassurance that as believers, when one of our brothers or sisters in Christ pass away, we have the hope and promise that they will be risen from the dead and we will spend eternity together with Christ. They have the same hope and promise that we have while we are alive- and what a reassurance that is! This is why we should not grieve as unbelievers do.

The First Letter to the church in Thessalonica. Paul was pumped when he wrote this letter. Timothy his friend and co-worker went to visit this church (several hundred miles away) while Paul they were in Athens. Paul was hoping to visit them himself, but their may have been a warrant out for his arrest or some other issue, but Paul was prevented from going himself. One of the reasons for Timothy going to visit the church in Thessalonica was that they were a baby church, Paul and his buddies had just planted the church probably less than a year before and only spent a few weeks with them before he was kicked out of the area. The reason for Paul getting kicked out of the region was because of persecutions. So in fact this baby church only received a very little amount of teaching and was immediately thrust into persecutions and suffering. Paul braced for the worst: believers abandoning the faith whole sale. The result: Timothy reports that the church has been growing! Like I said earlier Paul is pumped! He still can’t visit them though, so he writes a heart felt letter.

Paul is an emotional basket case in this letter, for all the right reasons. He pours his heart of love, care and sympathy for the Thessalonians onto the pages of this letter. He compares himself to a loving father and a concerned nurse. He wants the church to know that he can’t stop thinking about them and worrying over them. Paul has this loving heart because God has this heart for the church there. They have a long way to go yet, many areas of sin and problems exist, but Paul is not shy to show his love for this church.

One of the main teachings of the book is about the second coming. The Thessalonians have two main questions for Paul: (1) Will the dead believers miss out on anything in the second coming? and (2) When is the second coming? To the first Paul responds that the second coming will not really be that much different for dead believers compared to living believers. The dead believers will simply get to be with the Lord first, right before the living believers will meet him. Next Paul explains (again, he seems to have told them this already) that the time of the second coming is unknown. He encourages them instead to focus on living out their identity as holy and blameless children of God. All believers will be with the Lord at the second coming, no exceptions! this is our blessed hope.

In this book Paul is writing to the new believers in Thessalonica.  He was recently there and a number of people had become believers.  Unfortunately due to persecution he was forced to leave the city probably before he felt he had laid a firm foundation for the church.

In this letter he shows a softer side as his affection for the believers is woven throughout.  He refers to them constantly as beloved and brothers and sisters.  He even likens himself to a father caring for his kids as he gives them instructions. 

It seems that the Thessalonians have some questions about the 2nd coming of Jesus because Paul addresses this issue extensively but his main point to them is that all believers, whether living or dead at the time of the 2nd coming, will be with Jesus forever.  What an encouragement to a church which faced strong persecution from it’s formation.

Paul also drops a few hints for godly living in this book.  Apparently the Greek believers were used to worshipping their gods through drunken, drug induced, sex parties.    Paul is encouraging them to live their lives in a way which is loving to one another.  Is taking advantage of one another sexually the most loving thing to do?  He is encouraging them to control their bodies and live their lives in such a way that they are wanting what is best for the other person.

All in all it is an encouragement to continue to pursue God and allow him to daily work out the process of making us more holy.    God is calling us to be people whose lives as different, set apart and have something to offer to non believers.  Because of Jesus we know we have a hope and future!

I didn’t know what 1 Thessalonians was about until I read it this past week. I don’t know if I’d ever read the whole book, but I definitely didn’t know what it was all about. I am surprised. It is a small book with good truths packed in it like a can of sardines.
The main theme of the book was holiness. Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica to encourage them and urge them to keep up their faith and live holy lives. They are a persecuted church, but also a strong church as far as their faithfulness, and the strong bond between Paul and the church becomes evident as you read through it. Paul uses words such as, “beloved”, “brothers and sisters”, and “so deeply do we care for you..”. Paul is pleased w/them and writes to encourage them even more in their faith.
This book was a motivation for me to encourage people. The Thessalonians are going through rough times of persecution so Paul is trying to urge and encourage them. He discusses the second coming, and eternal life with God in order to give them comfort and hope. He is gentle and loving towards them; I can see how the Thessalonians would’ve been so encouraged and inspired by Paul’s letter. It shows the importance of encouraging fellow believers in the faith. We all get worn down with life and hard times, and we need people to constantly remind us of an eternal perspective and the hope we have in Jesus. God has given us so much through his Son, and it is so easy to forget these basic truths, yet so important to remind ourselves and each other of them. Life is short, and God desires that we live holy lives. So, as it says in Galatians 6:9, “let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up”. Ultimately though, it is God who sanctifies us, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.”

I didn’t really know what this book first book of Thessalonians was going to teach me the most. Now looking over all the firm timeless truths, I can see that this book has such a different feel to it, and is really a small book, but it chock full of some basic theology for the every day Christian life.

I love how Paul is so passionate about this church in the beginning, and is so very encouraging, and he just lifts their spirits. Paul is so positive in the beginning, and is pretty much throughout the rest of the book, but he gives light to one huge aspect of society that the Thessalonian church is dealing with, and that is sexuality. Learning the historical background of this culure is crucial to understand fully the messages between these lines. Thessalonica worshipped this Greek god called Dionysus, and ones that worshipped him believed that no sexual act is wrong, because they believed in this idea of “dualism” which was basically like your body and your spirit are not intertwined, and they don’t affect each other. Paul addresses this issue of fornication, and tells them clearly that they should abstain from any type of it.

Now that word is shocking, but after reading this book, and seeing exactly what Paul was trying to get through to the Thessalonians, was that they have become Christians, and just because their culture is still doing crazy, absurd acts of sexual worship, that should not affect them. I think this is vital for today because it made the students here, and I get a perspective on how this is very similar to our society. We, in the U.S. are not far from the acts of fornication that the city of Thessalonica were committing. I believe it very true, that Christians have lowered our standard of sexuality, to better fit in with the culture, slowly by slowly swerving, and justifying around the truths that the Bible is below the culture.

This book showed me the ways I have lowered my sexual standards below the bible in the past, and to come back to the truth that it is not right at all. I admire my teacher that taught this lecture, how passionate she is about now stooping down to recklessly abandoning our faith to better fit “the norm” that society, and other Christians are telling us.

This book has taught me to prepare for a life, where God will keep me far from swaying in and falling into the easy way of living a un-holy sexual lifestyle. It sounds harsh, and very blunt. But these things do need addressed, because they are so necessary for Christians, and our society to hear, because frankly it is getting worse and worse. Lastly, I love how Paul says this “For God did not call us into impurity, but holiness”

            The major theme of the book of 1 Thessalonians was sanctification until Christ’s coming. The definition of sanctification is God’s grace working in us to make us more like Jesus.  Paul uses this theme by encouraging the church of Thessalonica to live lives that are worthy of Christ that will prepare them for his 2^nd coming.  Because they are under the influence of a Greek culture saturated in sexual promiscuity and laziness, Paul specifically calls the Christians in Thessalonica to press hard against this and to be steadfast in their pure actions and thoughts.  For me the thing that really struck a cord was that our impure actions can exploit our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Even though we may think the things we do in public or private are our business, we have to remember that as part of the body of Christ, what we do affects others and we should always keep that in mind when we are struggling with sins.  The society we live in is much like the society of Thessalonica, where not giving into sexual temptation is almost unheard of.  It is because of this, we as Christians should want evenmore to stand firm and prove that the approval of God is much more important than that of any human.

            In Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians, he is writing to tell this church to live their lives with an eternal perspective and a hope in Jesus’ second return. In studying more about this “hope”, it is evident that this truth should permeate every area of our lives. If we live in expectancy of Jesus’ return, we would not wait until later to get right with him or to honor him in how we live.

            Because the Thessalonians had an incorrect view of Jesus’ return and thus it was affecting every area of how they lived, Paul addresses specifically their ways of grieving – a major issue when persecution is rampant. They were mourning the loss of their loved ones in an attitude of despair because they thought they had to be alive when Jesus came back. He encourages them that they are to grieve with hope, not with despair, because those who are believers will one day live forever with God, as will we.

            I love how those truths are still relevant today. When we grieve, there is still a temptation to slip into despair. However, if we believe the truth that there is eternal life with God, then we should grieve with hope, knowing that one day all things will be redeemed – even death. In the midst of pain and mourning, the promise of redeemed eternal life with God should be refreshing to our souls. We know that death is not the end; Jesus’ death and resurrection conquered death forever. This life is merely a shadow of what is to come.

The book of 1 Thessalonians was written by Paul to the church in Thessalonica, shortly after he was driven out of town by some jealous Jews in their synagogue. Paul loved the church of Thessalonica very dearly, and in his letter to them, he tenderly speaks of how he longs to see them and wishes he could be with them. The whole book stems from the theme of discipleship, and how much Paul loves this particular church.

Paul himself takes great encouragement from hearing of the Thessalonians’ continual faith in Christ, even when great persecutions arise against them. Thus, even though he is their discipler, he also receives encouragement from just hearing about their lives, and that they are continuing to live blameless, just as he had taught them. Thus, he rejoices throughout the book, of their continuous faith and love that is so evident to all around them. He also seeks to encourage them, in light of their persecutions, and represent God’s heart of love towards them, in the midst of their sufferings.

There were several things that stood out to me, in this book, and one of them is the whole idea of discipleship. Paul has been discipling the church in Thessalonica, and shows us through this letter to them, what the relationship of a teacher and their disciple, should look like.

First of all, we clearly see that Paul is not afraid to express his genuine love and praise for the Thessalonians, as well as some pretty serious commands for them, to live blameless lives, in their immoral culture. The heart of true discipleship is captured in this book, because Paul is able to love and correct at the same time. This is so cool to me, because that is exactly how I see God treating his disciples, or believers. Whenever we need to be corrected, God does not criticize or condemn us; rather, he lovingly praises the growth he does see in us, and then gently points out some areas in our lives that he wants to correct and conform to his image.

Therefore, when God disciplines us, it is never a hurtful thing, because even in the areas of our lives that are ugly with sin, we know that God loves us. Despite these imperfections, God is going to help us change and walk out of our sin.

Again, it is only through God’s grace that we are able to change in the first place, but praise God for the love and tenderness with which he shows us our need to be changed in the first place! The uncondemning nature and loving heart of God, causes us to respond so much better, and with a strong desire to change, then if he was condemning and accusing towards us. Thus, we are able to receive correction from God, because we know that he loves us and will give us the grace to change, as his disciples; and that is what the relationship of discipleship should look like.

It is easy to often feel like I should be doing more for God and feel disappointed in myself because I let myself down a lot by not accomplishing goals or things I said I was going to do. This relates back to how well I know the gospel and how much I let it affect my life. This letter has encouraged me to want to work hard for the right reasons and stop wanting to work for myself, which constantly seems to disappoint me and let me down. God doesn’t want me to feel like crap when I haven’t followed through with something because that doesn’t motivate me to want to try harder next time. It’s a vicious cycle of always being disappointed with no improvement in sight.

 

My problem was that I was looking inward all the time to accomplish my efforts. I tried to make motivation from myself, which never worked. Being on this school, my motivation for doing work has drastically changed from how I used to be. It is a switch in concepts feeling like I have to do something to feeling like I want to do something. This want comes from the Holy Spirit inside me, driving me, giving me desires that allow me to actually accomplish what I say I am going to do. It is a wonderful feeling to rely on God for what I accomplish and it is easy to drive toward giving myself credit for what I have accomplished, which is where everything starts getting messy. May I always look to Jesus to help me with my patience and love for others etc and when these things are so, may I not applaud myself for the great things I have done because God who is doing these wonderful things.

 

It is also so obvious how much being encouraged by others encourages them when it is made known to them. I desire to be bold with encouragements because in the past, I have kept them to myself quite a bit. I have seen the beauty in encouraging words and how much it affects people.

I can see that God has called us to be faithful and obedient in the word that has been taught us through the Holy Spirit and through Christ. We are all brothers and sisters and are therefore to treat each other with respect and lift each other up. As imitators of God and as Christians whose goal is to try and become more Christ like our life is meant to be a model for those who are searching for the truth. When people see us as Christians living a certain way they will naturally become interested in what is different about our life. Then we are to proclaim the word to them in a way that glorifies God not man. Jesus is coming back and we don’t know the hour or day but if we encourage our family in Christ we may not be caught sleeping but alert and awake and doing the works of Christ living in the spirit and influencing one another towards good. I have also learned that Christians suffer persecution and it comes in many shapes and forms, but if we stand firm in the faith, the spirit can conquer any obstacles that stand in our way. The Thessalonians heard the word and acknowledged it as Gods word from the beginning and began to model their lives around it, as much as I would like to believe I am much like them the truth is that I have questioned many times and made my own interpretations of what the word means to better suit my Goals.   I pray that the lord will give me a willingness to be subject to the word and let it filter into to me and change my perception. I pray that god make me an example and allow my maturity in the faith to grow so that when the time comes I am ready to go with him.

Thessalonians was such an encouraging letter. I think Paul was so relieved to finally see fruit of his labor. I think Paul touched a few more things for the church to keep in mind and to continue to pursue after Christ.  Christ wants and deserves our best. Sanctification is a part of that. It shows to the Jews and some of the culture there that they can’t add to anything because Christ as already done it. He has sanctified us rather, made us clean and righteous. Man, that should change our stinkin’ lives! We are clean, our slate is clear of all sin and we can stand with the robe of righteouness in freedom. Christ is worthy of our best above and beyond.

Paul wrote a letter to encourage believers, who are actively perusing God, to give them practical wisdom in how to live the Christian life.

 
After reading the first letter to the Thessalonians I was overwhelmed by the feelings that Paul had for the Thessalonian church. He was so excited to see the Thessalonian church accept the gospel and grow in their knowledge of Christ. I feel the excitement flowing from his hand as he pens the words of this epistle. I see a daddy who loved his children in the faith and gets giddy at the thought of them coming to the freedom and knowledge that has become the very foundation of his life. This brought to mind different men in my life that have spoken words of wisdom into my spirit, and who I know get excited when they hear I am doing well in my pursuit of Jesus.

As I thought about these different individuals I began to wonder if they were able to experience the same excitement over me that Paul felt when Timothy brought him news from Thessalonica.

I have the ability to give back to those who have given so selflessly. And all it cost me is 40¢, a piece of paper, a little time and some words.

The first man to whom I want to write is somebody who is a continual encouragement, he never gets sick of telling me how well I have done, or speaking into my life the truth of God’s call. I would not be where I am today if he did not love me the way he has.

The second is another man who isn’t quite there yet with verbal praise, but I know he loves me more than life. I know he sees the call of God on my life and I know he believes in what I am doing.  

Overall Timeless Truth:
Gods will for us as believers is Sanctification. (4:3)

Final Application:
Gods will for my life is sanctification! I am often confused and bogged down about where God is calling me to go and what God is calling me to do. These questions I have are very real and valid. I absolutely believe God has a specific call for my life but above where I should be and what I should do specifically, God has called me to be sanctified.
The word sanctified in 1 Thessalonians is Gods call and purpose in calling us. It must be learned from God as he teaches it through his word. And we as believers must pursue it (Vines Complete Expository Dictionary p. 545)
God has called me to be set apart as a believer and to turn from all evil things of this world and lusts of my flesh. I must pursue it in my life, I must desire it wholeheartedly and chose to turn away from my flesh and walk in the Spirit. Which can only come through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in my life.
So my prayer is that my heart would be opened to receive and that the Holy Spirit would control my life. I thank God for setting me apart and calling me and I ask that he would enable me to do that; To turn from my fleshly desires and to be sanctified before God. I am thankful that God is faithful and that he will do this!

We need to live with the hope that Jesus will come back for us.We need to live today as if God is going to take us up tomorrow.Then we will never miss the coming of Christ.This application can influence us by the assurance that is in the bible of Christ coming back for us.