Sermon Tone Analysis

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*I THESSALONIANS 1:1-4  *
Paul and Silas fled from Philippi because of persecution: “/we were shamefully entreated at Philippi/…” [2:2], and arrived in Thessalonica [Acts 17:1].
Silas was Paul’s chief missionary partner from the beginning [Acts 15:40].
Paul invited Timothy to join them [Acts 16:1-3] and so the three of them came to Thessalonica [Acts 17:1], hence the introduction to the letter: “/Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy/…” [1The.1:1].
* The Jewish population of Thessalonica was large enough to justify a synagogue and here Paul preached as his custom was [Acts 17:2].
* It was not long before opposition arose and Paul and Silas were forced to flee to Berea [Acts 17:10].
* Paul was taken fled further to Athens [Acts 17:15] where he waited for his companions, Timothy and Silas, to join him [Acts 17:16].
* Paul was reunited with Silas and Timothy finally in Corinth [Acts 18:5] and it was from here that Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonian church [1The.3:6].
* This was one of Paul’s earliest letter, written in AD50-51 – his second, on the assumption that Galatians was written just before the Jerusalem Council.
The apostle responded in this letter to the information he had received from Timothy [3:6-8; 2:2-6; 2:17-3:5].
*God’s plan for evangelism through the local church:  *
1Thessalonians opens a window on to newly planted church in the middle of the 1st century AD.
It tells us how it came into being, what the apostle taught it, what were its strengths and weaknesses, its theological and moral problems, and how it was spreading the gospel.
What is of particular interest, because it applies to Christian communities in every age and place, is the interaction which the apostle portrays between the church and the gospel.
* He shows how the gospel creates the Church [1:1-4].
* He shows how the Church spreads the gospel [1:5-10].
* He shows how the gospel shapes the Church [ ], as the Church seeks to live a life that is worthy of the Gospel.
According to John Stott, the above theme gives the following analysis of the letter:
#. *Christian evangelism*, or how the Church spreads the gospel [1:1-10].
#. *Christian ministry*, or how pastors serve both the gospel and the church [2:1-3:13].
#. *Christian behaviour*, or how the Church must live according to the gospel [4:1-12].
#. *Christian hope*, or how the gospel should inspire the Church [4:13-5:11].
#. *Christian community*, or how to be a gospel Church [5:12-28].
#.
*THE CHURCH OF GOD *
The particular assembly to which 1 Thessalonians is addressed was specified using three qualifying phrases that are both ascriptive and restrictive.
*1.        **The Church in Thessalonica  *
Paul introduces the letter with his customary salutation: “/unto the church of the Thessalonians/…” [1:1].
§  ἐκκλησίᾳ - “/church/” [1:1], from /ekkaléō/, ‘to call out’; ‘the assembly called together’;
§  Used of a variety of assemblies in the first-century world—social, political, or religious.
§  The word translates the Old Testament /qahal/, the assembly of Yahweh: “/the Lord spoke with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly/” [Deu.9:10].
§  Θεσσαλονικέων - “/Thessalonians/” [1:1], genitive plural,
At the time of writing, the Church in Thessalonica is only a few months old.
*2.        **The Identity of the Ecclesia  *
The distinctiveness of the “/called out one/” in Thessalonica is the relationship of the assembly with God.
*a.       **The Relationship *
The relationship: “/in God the Father/…” [1:1].
§  ἐν - “/in/” [1:1], preposition, ‘primary idea of withinness’;
§  The general idea is that of ‘spatial’ as being ‘located inside something’;
*b.       **The Lord Jesus Christ *
The relationship to Jesus Christ: “/and the Lord Jesus Christ/” [1:1].
§  καὶ κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ - “/Lord Jesus Christ/” [1:1],
*                                                                                                         i.
**Union With Christ *
The general Pauline idea of union with Christ: “/The churches of God in Judea are in Christ Jesus/…” [2:14].
§  Union with Christ: “/there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus/…” [Rom.8:1].
§  The metaphor taught by Paul: “/as the body is one and has many members/…” [1Cor.12:12].
§  The metaphor taught by Jesus: “/I am the vine, you are the branches/…” [Joh.15:4].
*c.        **God the Father*
The reference to the Father: “/in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ/” [1:1].
§  θεῷ πατρὶ - “/God the Father/” [1:1], ‘male parent’;
§  The second letter: “/unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ/…” [2The.1:1].
§  Jude: “/to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ/…” [Jude 1:1].
*                                                                                                         i.
**Colossians *
Paul writing to the church in Colossae: “/your life is hid with Christ in God/” [Col.3:3].
§  ἡ ζωὴ - “/life/” [3:3], ‘physical life and existence’;
§  κέκρυπται - “/hid/” [3:3], perfect passive, ‘to hide, conceal’; ‘to make visible’;
§  The /perfect/ tense points to the ‘ongoing and permanent effects’ of their new life.
§  σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ - “/with Christ/” [3:3], marker of ‘association’; ‘together with’; “/buried with him…quickened together with him/” [2:12-13].
§  ἐν τῷ θεῷ - “/in God/” [3:3], ‘withinness’; a focus on the /spatial/ aspect;
§  The believer’s life is “in God” because Christ himself has his being in God and those who belong to Christ have their being there too.
*d.       **The Interpretation *
The church finds its unique identity in its union or relationship with God the Father and the exalted Lord Jesus Christ.
§  *Bruce*: ‘if “in Christ” has its customary meaning here, then “in God the Father” should be understood in the same way’.
§  *Wanamaker*: ‘Paul sought to link the Christian community to both God and Christ because it had its origin in divine activity, its existence was to be determined by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and its members were to live out their lives in the presence of the divine’.
§  The spatial understanding of “in”: ‘the church that is in the presence of God’ or ‘the church that is in union with God’.
*Application*
The suggested paraphrase: “/living in, rooted in, or drawing its life from God/” [1:1].
§  First, “/the church of Thessalonica in God/…” [1:1].
§  Secondly: ‘the church of God in Thessalonica…’.
§  Both statements are true: the church is “in God” as the source from which its life comes; the church is ‘in Thessalonica’ as the sphere in which it lives in the world.
From these core distinctives radiate a multitude of other characteristics that both make the church what it is and distinguish it from its social context.
In the letter that follows, Paul instructed the believers regarding their identity, their place among the brethren, and the way in which they should interact with one another.
Such self-definition is vitally important for any faith community.
*3.
**The Salutation *
Paul sends his greeting to the church: “/grace be unto you and peace/…” [1:1].
*a.       **The Grace of God *
The grace of God: “/grace be unto you/…” [1:1].
§  χάρις - “/grace/” [1:1], from /chaírō/, ‘to rejoice’; ‘that which causes joy, pleasure, gratification, favor, acceptance, for a kindness granted or desired, a benefit, thanks, gratitude’; ‘a favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver; unearned and unmerited favor.
*                                                                                                         i.
**The Gospel *
The entire gospel is involved in this word: “/grace and truth came by Jesus Christ/” [Joh.1:17];
§  The grace of Christ: “/For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor/” [2Cor.8:9].
§  The “grace” also includes the continuous divine action by which he enables his people to do his will: “/make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia/” [2Cor.8:1].
*b.       **The Peace *
The peace of God: “/and peace from/…” [1:1].
§  εἰρήνη - “/peace/” [1:1], ‘harmony, tranquillity’; Old Testament /shalom/;
§  Shalom speaks not only of the absence of hostility but ‘the fullness of health and harmony through reconciliation with him and with each other’.
§  Points to the core of the saving relationship between God and his people: “/we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ/…” [Rom.5:1].
*Application*
Far from being a mere formality, in Paul’s hands the common letter greeting becomes a blessing that embraces the totality of the divine benefits he and his associates desire for the Christians in Thessalonica.
*4.
**The Pauline Relationship *
The main clause “/we give thanks/” [1:2] is followed by three dependent participial constructions: “/making/ /mention/…” [1:2], “/remembering/…” [1:3], and “/knowing/…” [1:4].
*a.       **The Thanks *
The thanks to god: “/we give thanks to God/…” [1:2].
§  Εὐχαριστοῦμεν - “/thanks/” [1:2], from /eucháristos/, ‘thankful, grateful, well–pleasing’; ‘to show oneself grateful, to be thankful, to give thanks’;
§  The noun comes from the root /chair-~/char-/, the main words of which ‘express the feeling of joy’; it is a derivative of /charis /(everything about which one rejoices; grace) compounded with /eu/, ‘well, rightly, properly, very’;  
§  τῷ θεῷ - “/to God/” [1:2], the object; ‘the source of the life of the church’;
*b.       **The Prayers *
The first participial clause related to the thanks: “/making mention of you all/…” [1:2].
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