1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Notes
Transcript
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
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The King of Macedonia founded this city around 315 BC. He named it after his wife, Thessalonica… who was a half sister of Alexander the Great.
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It was strategically built on the best natural harbor in the Aegean Sea… - which, if you were to look at a map… is the part of the Mediterranean that lies North of Crete, and between Turkey and Greece.
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It became the chief port city for the whole region of Macedonia, and in Roman times, it became for them, a very strategic position… thus, they made it a Roman provincial administrative center… - Meaning, it had a heavy presence of wealthy and powerful Romans living there…
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Rome suffered civil war after the murder of Julius Caesar… and Thessalonica was very supportive to the winning side. As a result, in 42 BC, it was made a free city. They were given local autonomy. They minted their own coins. The Roman military presence was removed. And, they were relieved of many of the Roman tax obligations that were once upon them.
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Religiously, in Paul’s day… the city had a strong Jewish presence and a stronger presence of Greco-Roman paganism.
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In Acts 17… we get the account of when the Gospel message came to this important city.
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Paul, along with Silas came to Thessalonica, and found a synagogue of the Jews. For 3 weeks, Paul would come to this place on the Sabbath, and show them, from the scriptures, how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in His suffering, death and resurrection… and how Jesus is actually THE CHRIST… the ‘anointed one’… the Messiah that they were looking for.
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Some of them were persuaded.
Many devout Greeks also believed...
And many leading women from the city believed.
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And so, the church at Thessalonica came into being.
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Acts 17 mentions 3 Sabbaths… but based on Paul’s own words about establishing his trade in the city… and the fact that support was brought to him twice from Philippi… - he was there, at least… a couple months.
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And while he was there, this new church started to make some waves.
The Jews, first and foremost, didn’t like what was happening. The Acts 17 account says that they were jealous… so they incited the city to oppose the church… and they went to the streets.
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Unlike in our own country when mobs are incited… they didn’t break into Target, or burn down car lots, or even crash their way into a Capital Building… - No, they went to Jason’s house.
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They couldn’t find these troublesome church leaders… Paul was nowhere to be found… Silas’ location was unkown… but they did know about one guy… who was a known benefactor of Paul..
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So they drug Jason, and a few others before the authorities… and here is what they accused them of:
from Acts 17:6 -…These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them… and they are acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus.
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Apparently, this free city… no longer directly under the Roman hand… still feared Rome. Caesar might have allowed them to govern themselves and mint their own coins… but Caesar also expected them to recognize that his authority was still prevalent.
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The leaders did not want Rome getting involved… so they hushed the mob by fining the men and then let them go…
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Knowing now, that mobs were being stirred up to capture Paul and Silas… they immediately sent them away from Thessalonica… and on to Berea… where Paul and Silas repeated the process.... going to the synagogues and reasoning with them about Jesus.
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The Jews from Thessalonica heard about it… and they weren’t content that Paul and Silas were out of their city… they had to pursue them to the next city also… - Paul was put on a ship to Athens… and Silas and Timothy remained, ministering to the people of Berea.
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Soon after these events… Paul ended up back in Corinth… Silas and Timothy joined him there… and they turned their thoughts back to the church they had left in Thessalonica… - So, from Corinth, these three men co-authored this letter to the church at Thessalonica.
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1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
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Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy.
That’s who this letter was from. Of course, the content of the letter will often times be directed from Paul, the individual with the use of singular pronouns.
Paul is a leader… an apostle… and is acknowledged as such amongst the churches and amongst those who minister with him.
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Paul must have been a good leader and well loved, for he was always surrounded with faithful believers helping him out with his mission. Sometimes, they were there to take care of his needs as a prisoner… bringing him food and clothing, providing for him some companionship.
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Other times, they were bringing letters and messages from the churches that Paul helped to establish… or churches that Paul simply wrote letters of encouragement and instruction to.
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Other times, they were with Paul, simply because they were his team members. They helped him in his travels, and they helped him in his letter writing. Where as the letter might come off as being from Paul, the individual… - many times other contributors are listed...
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In this case… Silas, and Timothy.
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The greeting is similar in that Paul says, “Grace to you and peace”… combining together common Gentile and Jewish greetings…
But it’s different, in that Paul isn’t mentioning his title, neither as a servant, nor as an apostle.
And it’s different, in that they include God the Father along with the Lord Jesus Christ…
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2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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