A Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians ὅ D O PN OT C Y - Christian … · 2019-04-24 · Lexicon of...

A Commentary on 1 amp 2 Thessaloniansbull DO NOT COPY bull DO NOT COPY bull DO NOT COPY bull DO NOT COPY

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iii

A Commentary on 1 amp 2 Thessalonians

David P Kuske


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All rights reserved This publication may not be copied photocopied reproduced translated or converted to any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part except for brief quotations without prior written approval from the publisher

Scripture quotations that are not the authorrsquos own translation are from the Holy Bible Evangelical Heritage Versionreg (EHVreg) copy 2017 Wartburg Project Inc All rights reserved Used by permission

ldquoEHVrdquo and ldquoEvangelical Heritage Versionrdquo are registered trademarks of Wartburg Project Inc

Northwestern Publishing HouseN16W23377 Stone Ridge Dr Suite 100 Waukesha WI 53188

wwwnphnetcopy 2019 Northwestern Publishing House

Published 2019Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

1500828 ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

9780810030107 9780810030107

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


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Contents

Works Cited With Abbreviations 11vii

1 Thessalonians 111

Introduction to 1 Thessalonians 113

1 Thessalonians 1 117





2 Thessalonians 213






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vii

Works Cited With Abbreviations

BAGD Bauer Arndt Gingrich Danker A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Chris-tian Literature 2nd Edition (Chicago The University of Chicago Press 1979)

BDAG Bauer Danker Arndt Gingrich A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Chris-tian Literature 3rd Edition (Chicago The University of Chicago Press 2000)

Blass-Debrunner Blass Friedrich and Albert Debrunner A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago University of Chicago Press 1961)

Liddell and Scott A Greek-English Lexicon compiled by Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott 8th Unabridged Edition (Oxford Clarendon Press 1901-1996)

Little Kittel Kittel Gerhard Gerhard Friedrich Geoffrey Bro-miley editors Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Abridged in One Volume (Grand Rapids William B Eerdmans 1985)

Louw and Nida Louw and Nida editors Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains 2 vols (New York United Bible Societies 1988)

Metzger Metzger Bruce A Textual Commentary on the New Testament (New York United Bible Societies 1971)

Moulton Moulton James Hope A Grammar of New Testament Greek 4 vols (Edinburgh T amp T Clark 1929)

Moulton-Millegan Moulton James Hope and George Millegan The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament Illustrated From the Papyri and Other Non-Literary Sources (London Hodder and Stoughton 1914-1929)

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Ger-hard Kittel editor Geoffrey W Bromiley translator


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viii

and editor (Grand Rapids Eerdmans Publishing Company 1964-1979)

Thayer Thayer Joseph Henry Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids Zondervan Publish-ing House 1962)

UBS United Bible SocietiesWallace Wallace Daniel B Greek Grammar Beyond the

Basics (Grand Rapids Zondervan Publishing House 1996)


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1 Thessaloniansbull DO NOT COPY bull DO NOT COPY bull DO NOT COPY bull DO NOT COPY bull

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Introduction to 1 Thessalonians

OverviewThis letter was perhaps the first1 of the many letters Paul wrote to var-

ious Christian congregations Thus it gives us a personal insight into this traveling missionary pastor early on in his ministry Here we see his deep concern for a congregation that he was able to serve for only a short time in person before he was forced to leave His pastoral concern for this group of faithful new Christians is evident as he continues to minister to them from afar in the form of a letter

AuthorAs he does in most of his other letters Paul identifies himself as the

author in the first verse of this letter However he also indicates that Silas and Timothy were coauthors Throughout the letter with only a few excep-tions (eg 218) Paul underscores this fact by using the plural pronouns ldquowerdquo and ldquousrdquo and ldquoourrdquo

Paul picked Silas to go with him on the second missionary journey when Barnabas parted from Paul and went with John Mark to Cyprus (Ac 1536ff) Silas was one of the leaders whom the Jerusalem Council had chosen to accompany Paul and Barnabas with the letter addressed to the Gentile believers (Ac 1522) Silas was also called a prophet (Ac 1532) who preached about Christ along with Paul and Timothy (2 Co 119) and he was also a Roman citizen like Paul (Ac 163738) Later Peter mentions that Silas was a faithful brother who was with him and helped him write 1 Peter (1 Pe 512) Paul and Peter called him Silvanus while Luke refers to him as Silas

Timothy is even more well-known than Silas as Paulrsquos coworker Paul met him in Lystra on his first mission journey and thereafter Timothy became a close companion whom Paul referred to as ldquomy dear sonrdquo (2 Ti 12) and ldquomy true son in theour common faithrdquo (1 Ti 12 Tit 14) Timothy was the one whom Paul and Silas later sent back to strengthen and encour-age the Thessalonians when the persecution continued after they had left

How are we to understand the plural authorship of this letter by Paul and Silas and Timothy Paul is undoubtedly the primary author but it

11The letter to the Galatians may have been written earlier but this is disputed

3


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4 1 amp 2 THESSALONIANS

seems that he uses plural pronouns in order to emphasize that Silas and Timothy who had ministered with him to the Thessalonians are also in complete agreement with everything in this letter Silas and Timothy had been with Paul when he first came to Thessalonica and had started the church there So the Thessalonians would have understood why Paul would have included his coworkers as coauthors of this letter And it is not com-pletely out of the realm of the possible to think that as Paul wrote he would have consulted with these two men They knew as much about the spiritual needs of the Thessalonian Christians as he did

Occasion Purpose Date PlaceOn his second mission journey Paul revisited the congregations in cen-

tral Asia Minor that he had established on his first mission journey He intended to go further east and north in Asia Minor but God called him instead to Macedonia There he began his ministry in a leading city of east-ern Macedonia Philippi But he left when the city magistrates asked him to do so after he had been unjustly arrested beaten and thrown into prison for healing a fortune-telling slave girl who (previous to her healing) had gained a lot of money for her owners

Paul Silas and Timothy went west to the next big city in Macedonia where there was a Jewish synagogue Thessalonica Paul usually began his preaching at a synagogue for a couple reasons (1) It provided the opportu-nity to share the gospel with people who already knew the Old Testament and (2) The Jews were forever loved by God on account of the patriarchs (Ro 112829) and were the people to whom the message of salvation was brought first before the Gentiles (Ro 116)

So Paul had visited Thessalonica prior to writing this letter But his visit had been rather brief and quite stormy (Ac 171-9) He had proclaimed the saving message about Christ for three weeks in the synagogue Some Jews had believed along with a large number of Greeks and more than a few prominent women But the majority of the Jews became jealous and stirred up a riot that led the believers to send Paul and Silas away by night to Berea where Timothy arrived a little later (Ac 1714) Were the authors of this letter in Thessalonica for only a couple weeks as some suppose The fact that Paul received at least two gifts of money from the believers in Philippi (a city about 100 miles distant) while he was in Thessalonica (Php 416) suggests that he was in Thessalonica a month or two rather just a few weeks

Paul Silas and Timothy proclaimed the Word in Berea and many Jews believed But then Jews came from Thessalonica and stirred up opposition to Paul also in Berea Paul left and went to Athens but Silas and Timothy


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INTRODUCTION TO 1 THESSALONIANS 5

stayed in Berea (Ac 1710-15) Paul had hoped to go back to Thessalonica but was prevented from doing so by Satan (1 Th 21718) He and Silas sent Timothy to encourage and strengthen the Thessalonians (1 Th 312) while Silas apparently remained in Berea In the meantime Paul moved on to Corinth where he stayed for the better part of three years and where Silas and Timothy eventually joined him again (Ac 185)

It was at this time that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians (1 Th 36) First and foremost he wanted to express his joy at the good news Timothy brought that God had kept the believers in Thessalonica faithful to Christ Paul also took this opportunity to do two other things (1) to defend him-self against some apparent accusations that his ministry was insincere and self-serving and (2) to instruct the Thessalonians regarding some things about which they were confused or about several weaknesses in their faith that had come to light

So the letter to the Thessalonians most likely was written from Corinth about ad 51 This dating of this letter is based on two facts (1) Paul appeared before the proconsul Gallio on one occasion (Ac 1817) while he was in Corinth and (2) we know from an inscription at Delphi that Gallio was a proconsul in Achaia in ad 51ndash52

RecipientsWhat kind of city was Thessalonica where the recipients of this letter

lived At the time Paul wrote this letter it was a large and important city in the Roman Empire and the population is estimated to have been about 200000 Two things that contributed to this cityrsquos size and importance were its location on the Via Egnatia and its fine harbor which afforded access to the Aegean Sea and thus also to the whole Mediterranean Sea

The Via Egnatia was the main highway that led from Rome to the east The Romans built this highway so that they could move troops quickly from the western to the eastern part of their empire and back again Thes-salonicarsquos harbor made it a place where the Romans kept quite a few naval vessels Control of the Aegean Sea was vital to Roman interests and ships stationed in Thessalonica helped maintain Romersquos grip on this important body of water Because of Thessalonicarsquos strategic location as a Roman pro-vincial capital many Roman officials lived in Thessalonica A goodly num-ber of Roman troops were regularly quartered here and quite a number of Roman soldiers chose to live here after their retirement

Another result of Thessalonicarsquos location was its importance as a trade center Storms made travel by boat around the southern shore of Greece rather dangerous So goods that were shipped from east to west or west to east went through Corinth or Thessalonica At Corinth goods would be


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unloaded from boats hauled across the isthmus and then loaded on boats to go on their way again At Thessalonica the harbor was the exchange point of goods traveling to and from the west on the Via Egnatia and to and from the east by boat

Imagine what this large and busy city must have been like Hundreds of shops selling goods from every part of the Roman Empire Warehouses and docks with wagons and boats constantly loading or unloading Streets filled with thousands of local shoppers Roman officials and military personnel Many travelers on their way through the city to the east or west People from all over the Roman Empire moving here and making this their home A large number of Jews making up an estimated one-third of the popu-lation And a relatively small number of Christians living among a large number of people who worshiped a variety of imaginary gods Greek gods (supposedly living on nearby Mount Olympus) Roman gods Egyptian or barbarian or Asian godsmdashor no gods at all

It is to the Christians living in this cosmopolitan city that Paul addressed a letter of encouragement and instruction

Outline11 Address

Part 1 Paul Silas and Timothy express their love for the Thessalonians

12-6 Paul Silas and Timothy give thanks to God concerning the Thes-salonians

23 as they remember the Thessaloniansrsquo faith love and hope

4-6 because they know that the Thessalonians are Godrsquos elect 45 The Holy Spirit had worked through the Word to

effect a firm faith in the Thessalonians 6 The Thessalonians were faithful to the Word in spite

of suffering

17-10 The faith of the Thessalonians was a model for other believers 8 The Word rang out from them and their faith became

known everywhere 9 Others spoke about the Thessaloniansrsquo conversion from

idols to God 10 and how they were awaiting the Saviorrsquos return


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21-7 Paul Silas and Timothy review their ministry using contrasts 12 It was not a failure but was carried out boldly in spite of

opposition 34 It was not a human appeal but was a proclamation of the

good news 5-7 It was not conducted for personal gain but unselfishly

28-12 Paul Silas and Timothy review their ministry stressing their deep love for the Thessalonians

8 They were ready to share their lives along with the good news

9 They put in long hours of work to provide for their own needs in order not to burden the Thessalonians finan-cially

10 They lived blamelessly in order not to undermine the message they proclaimed

1112 They cared for each of the Thessalonians like a father car-ing for his own children

21314 Paul Silas and Timothy again thank God for the Thessaloniansrsquo faithfulness to the Word

13 They not only received the Word initially 14 but they also imitated the churches in Judea by clinging

to the Word in spite of persecution by their own people

21516 The Jews continued their opposition to the Word 15 In the past they killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets 16a Now they opposed the Word being brought to Gentiles 16b so God hardened them in their sin

21718 Paul Silas and Timothy wanted to visit Thessalonica but Satan prevented them from coming

219ndash35 When Paul Silas and Timothy couldnrsquot stand it any longer they sent Timothy to Thessalonica

21920 If the Thessalonians would fall from faith it would rob Paul Silas and Timothy of much of their joy at Christrsquos coming

31-3a Timothy was sent to strengthen the Thessalonians even though he couldnrsquot be spared in Athens


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3b-5 Paul had warned the Thessalonians that they would be persecuted and he was concerned lest the tempter destroy their faith

36-9 Paul and Silas rejoice at Timothyrsquos report 6 Timothy told Paul and Silas that the Thessalonians long

to see them 78 Paul and Silas are encouraged in their persecution by

Timothyrsquos report that the Thessalonians are standing firm in faith

9 Paul and Silas canrsquot thank God enough for their joy con-cerning the Thessalonians

310-13 Paul Silas and Timothy pray that they might see the Thessalo-nians again to supply what is lacking in their faith

1011 They pray that God would clear the way for them to come 1213 They pray that God would increase the Thessaloniansrsquo

love and keep them faithful to the end

Part 2 Paul Silas and Timothy supply what is lacking in the Thessaloniansrsquo faith

41-8 An exhortation to sexual purity 12 The Thessalonians were leading a God-pleasing life but

Paul Silas and Timothy urge them to do this more and more

3 by avoiding all sinful sexual intercourse 4 by obtaining a wife in a sanctified way 5 by not sinning against others in obtaining a wife 6-8 since it is God who calls us to purity

49-12 An exhortation to brotherly love 910 The Thessalonians were practicing this but Paul Silas

and Timothy urge them to do it more and more 1112 by living a quiet and productive life

413-18 An exhortation not to grieve without hope 1314 God established a sure hope by Jesusrsquo resurrection 1516 Godrsquos Word assures Christians that Jesus will raise all the

dead in Christ at his coming 1718 Then wersquoll all be taken together to be with him in heaven


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51-5 The Last Day will come as an unexpected disaster on many 12 The Thessalonians knew it would come like a thief in the

night 3 The people of the world will not escape its sudden

destruction 45 The Thessalonians were brought to the light so that the

Last Day would not catch them unawares

56-11 An exhortation to be ready for the Last Day 67 Forsake the spiritual sleep of the world 8 Put on the spiritual gifts that prevent such sleep 9-11 Do these things since God gave his Son into death to

save us

51213 An exhortation to appreciate and treasure spiritual leaders

51415 An exhortation to practice Christian love toward others

516-18 An exhortation to pattern onersquos life according to Godrsquos will

519-22 An exhortation to build up the new man and drown the old man by the choices one makes

Conclusion

52324 A closing prayer that God would keep the Thessalonians until Christrsquos return along with Godrsquos promise to do just that

525-27 Three brief closing exhortations

528 Benediction

Exegesis-Based InterpretationThe Bible Is Godrsquos Inspired Word

The Bible is either all Godrsquos Word or none of it is Godrsquos Word The min-ions of Satan introduce an insidious process into Bible interpretation by saying some of it is manrsquos word Theories that try to make the Bible partly Godrsquos Word and partly manrsquos word eventually end up denying most if not all of the basic truths the Bible teaches Galatians 59 says quite simply ldquoA little yeast works through the whole batchrdquo

The theory that the Bible is partly manrsquos word also flies in the face of what Scripture says about itself First Corinthians 213 (ldquoWe also speak about these things not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spiritrdquo) and 2 Peter 121 (ldquoNo prophecy ever came by the


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will of man but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spiritrdquo) say that the biblical writers did not use any words that are manrsquos words but only words given by the Spirit Thus 2 Timothy 316 declares ldquoAll Scripture is God breathedrdquo This truth is woven throughout the warp and woof of Scripture One cannot read along in the Bible very far without coming across a declaration of an allusion to an implication about or a reference to the fact that what one is reading is Godrsquos Word (eg Ro 1216 2281216182029 3210192131 etc through Romans)

This fact has two important implications for exegesis-based interpreta-tion of Scripture The first is that every word of a verse is important since every word is God-breathed Doing an exegesis doesnrsquot mean taking a couple ldquokeyrdquo words from a verse and basing onersquos interpretation on those words Rather one needs to analyze every word so that one ends up neither saying more nor less than what God is saying in any given verse

The second implication is that one lets Scripture interpret Scripture Interpretation dare not become what the interpreter thinks a verse means but always and only what God says it means After analyzing each word of a verse in the original language each analysis is then used to interpret the other words If a word has several possible meanings the other words in the verse are used to determine which meaning fits this verse best If a word or phrase modifies another word or phrase the interpreter uses the modifier to help determine the meaning of the word or phrase it modifies If the Greek syntax makes a phrase or clause a subordinate thought in a sentence then the interpreter canrsquot make it the main thought of the sentence

Once the thought of all the words in a verse have been taken into account in determining the meaning of the verse then this meaning needs to be modified by any thoughts in the surrounding verses that are adver-bial or adjectival modifiers Also any parallel or subordinate thoughts that are tied to this verse by a conjunction are important in determining the meaning of the verse Finally any parallel verse (ie a verse talking about the same thing in the same or slightly different words) in the wider con-text of the chapter book or all of Scripture must be used in determining the final meaning of the verse at hand Exegesis-based interpretation of this kind is a time-consuming and painstaking process But it is the only way the interpreter can say when he is done with his exegesis ldquoThis is what the Lord saysrdquo

Are there times when there are two possible interpretations of a verse Yes but not very often If one of the two possible interpretations provides a meaning that is in conflict with another part of Scripture that interpreta-tion is not a valid one The Holy Spirit would not have led one of the writers to say something that would conflict with what the Spirit says elsewhere in


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Scripture When the interpreter first considers a verse he will at times see two possible valid meanings for the verse But usually one of the meanings will be eliminated by a careful study of which meaning fits best with the preceding or following context of the verse On rare occasions both mean-ings will be allowed to stand if (1) they are both in agreement with the rest of Scripture and (2) they both fit the context equally well

Special Challenges in Doing Exegesis-Based Interpretation

In many ways the Greek and English languages are alike Both have sub-jects and verbs that form the main thought of a sentence Both use adverbial and adjectival modifiers Both use conjunctions to indicate coordinate and subordinate thoughts Both have verb tenses and moods Both use frequent prepositional phrases These similarities ease the task for the interpreter when he translates Greek to English or seeks to transfer the meaning from one language to the other

Two slight differences complicate the interpreterrsquos task a little One is that a Greek writer often strings long sentences together with multiple conjunctions andor the use of many adjectival or adverbial modifiers Paulrsquos writing is a typical example For this reason each section of exege-sis in this book will begin with a diagram to help the reader picture how each of the many parts of a sentence relate to one another A dashed line ( ) indicates a tie being made by a conjunction between a clause or word that follows to one that precedes A small arrowhead with a dotted line ( ) indicates an adverbial modifier A small arrowhead with a dashed line ( ) indicates an adjectival modifier A larger arrow-head with a solid line ( ) indicates the direct or indirect object of verbal action If the diagrams serve no other purpose than to impress on the interpreter how many modifiers are used in each sentence they will have served their purpose It bears repeating that every modifier limits the meaning of words and clauses in some way and thus every modifier deserves attention in interpretation

Another slight difference is the constant use of the genitive case as an adjectival modifier in Greek It is easy to translate such genitives with a prepositional phrase beginning with ldquoofrdquo in English But doing so does not always make the meaning clear since ldquoofrdquo phrases in English can mean many different things ldquoStreets of goldrdquo indicates what the streets were made of but ldquosoldiers of fortunerdquo gives a reason why a person might become a soldier ldquoSpoils of victoryrdquo tells what the results of victory are but ldquohope of victoryrdquo suggests what a person looks forward to when entering a battle or during the battle The many adjectival genitives in Greek pose the same problem as interpreting ldquoofrdquo prepositional phrases in English


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Three major differences between Greek and English require special attention by the interpreter

1 The three tenses of the verb used most often in Greek stress dif-ferent types of action more than the time of the action The present tense in Greek could more properly be called the ldquocontinuing action tenserdquo the aorist tense more properly the ldquoit happened tenserdquo1 and the perfect tense the ldquocompleted action with continuing result tenserdquo Since the meaning of tenses is a key difference of Greek from English in this book a comment will be made on the significance of the tense of almost every verbal form Though in some verses these comments may not be critical to the meaning it is helpful to see that the use of tenses is consistent in meaning Then when one bases a conclusion on the use of a Greek tense it will be clear that this is what the word really means rather than just being a whim of the interpreter

2 Both the use of an article with a noun and the lack of an article are significant Though there are other meanings of an article used with a noun in Greek (eg generic or indicating that two nouns form one idea) most often the article stresses that the noun is specificdefinite (ie the one and only the well-known the aforementioned a possessive idea such as ldquohisrdquo or ldquohersrdquo) Though the lack of the article may indicate a noun is nonspecificindefinite (ie some kind of ) most often it is qualitative This is true when no article is used with a noun but the noun is made specificdefinite by the context (most often by an adjectival modifier) Then the writer or speaker is stressing the quality (the essence the vocable meaning) of the noun We might do the same thing in English by underlining a word put-ting it in bold type putting it in italics or all three An example would be χάρις With the article (ἡ χάρις) the meaning is ldquothe one and only the well-known undeserved kindness (of God)rdquo Without the article but modified by an adjectival genitive (χάρις θεοῦ) the emphasis shifts to the quality of χάρις ldquothe kindness of God that is totally undeservedrdquo The meaning is not radically different but there is a clear difference in what is being emphasized In this book a comment will be made often about the use or nonuse of the article Again though the difference in emphasis may not always be critical it is important to see that the meaning of the use or nonuse of the

11 Some grammars still say the aorist is the ldquoonetime action tenserdquo It is true that when something hap-pens it usually happens only once But there are so many examples of the aorist not being a onetime happening that this is not the best way to begin to interpret the aorist tense


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article is consistent Then when a conclusion is based on this aspect of Greek grammar it will establish that the interpretation is not a whim of the interpreter

3 The Greek language uses participles in almost every sentencemdashoften multiple participles of different kinds Some participles com-plete the idea of the verb (supplementary) some modify a noun in the sentence even though the participle is a verbal form (adjectivalattributive) and some participles modify a verbal action (adverbialcircumstantial) How does one sort through this problem and inter-pret properly Probably the best way is to try English translations that help determine what kind of participle each is a supplemen-tary participle can be translated by a phrase that indicates how it completes the main verb ( ldquohe began to speakrdquo or ldquohe said that he is comingrdquo) an adjectivalattributive participle can be translated by a relative clause (ldquothe Lord who sent his sonrdquo) an adverbialcircum-stantial participle can be translated by an adverbial clause (ldquowhile he spoke rdquo or ldquobecause he spoke rdquo or ldquoalthough he spoke rdquo etc) But determining the kind of participle is only the beginning of interpretation The next step is to spell out especially in the case of the adjectivalattributive or adverbialcircumstantial participles exactly how this participial modifier contributes to the meaning of the verse Not surprisingly then in this book a good deal of time will be devoted to interpreting participles

Establishing Which Variant Is to Be Used in Interpreting a Verse

When the printing press enabled ldquomass productionrdquo of the Greek New Testament starting in the 16th century the only witnesses of the Greek New Testament used to produce a Greek text were minuscules that had been copied in Byzantium from the 10th to the 15th centuries along with a few early translations This text became known as the Textus Receptus but the various editions were not a uniform text There were various forms of the Textus Receptus (eg one in England another in continental Europe) The editors in each case used the copies they had at hand so there were variants from one form of the Textus Receptus to another

In the 17th 18th and 19th centuries many more minuscules and early translations as well as quotations from the church fathers lectionaries and copies of the Greek New Testament going back to the 4th to 6th centuries (uncials) were found and used by editors in producing Greek New Testa-ment texts Unfortunately rationalistic influence led to a theory that said the


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New Testament text was not a result of the Holy Spiritrsquos inspiration Instead rationalists viewed the New Testament as having evolved over four or five centuries as humans chose to add to or subtract from the text Westcott and Hortrsquos theory said that uncials Aleph and B were the purest result of this evolution and that other witnesses were more tainted This theory held sway at the end of the 19th century into the first half of the 20th century

The discovery of the papyri at the end of 19th century clearly indicated that there was no evolutionary process at work during the first centuries of the New Testament era Early copies of the papyri dating back to the second and third centuries were so similar to New Testament copies in the fourth to sixth centuries that it was acknowledged by any unbiased observer that there could not have been an evolutionary process

Today there are still some who adhere to the Textus Receptus text or the Westcott-Hort text But the former text is based only on New Testa-ment witnesses of the 10th to 15th centuries Those who hold to the Textus Receptus theory do so mainly because they want to uphold the KJV or some derivative of the KJV text The Westcott-Hort text is based on only a small number of uncials from the early centuries Those who uphold this theory do so mainly because they approach Scripture from a rationalistic view-point Both theories are faulty approaches because each for a subjective reason uses only a portion of the total number of extant witnesses to the New Testament text

Letrsquos use a simple example to illustrate the proper approach to textual criticism A teacher of 30 high school students asks them to copy three pages of text while he dictates Then he burns the original copy he had in his hands Can the original text be restored with any accuracy Yes How By collecting all the copies the students made and comparing them with one another The teacher canrsquot just use three or four of the copies from one side of the room or three or four copies from the other side of the room He might come pretty close to restoring the original if he takes only a portion of the copies but he could be far more sure if he uses them all Here and there one or two students might have misspelled a word inverted words omitted a word or changed a word But in the particular sentence where one of these things happens the copy or two with such a ldquovariantrdquo could be ignored and the other 27 or 28 copies that have the same wording could confidently be declared the original

In the same way the only objective way to work with the New Testament variants is to use all the witnesses of the text that God has preserved for us taking into account the date of each witness and the geographical region it represents When one variant is recorded in copies that are early and rep-resent many regions while the other variant is in copies that are either later


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PY


or represent only one or two regions the former can safely be considered the original This will be the approach used in this book in considering variants in a verse

It must be added that the consideration of variants is never a critical part of exegesis-based interpretation This is true because less than one tenth of one percent of the text has variants that are of any real significance for interpretation (an observation made by Westcott and Hort) And none of these few variants of Textus Receptus significance have any doctrinal importance For these reasons though the Textus Receptus text and the Westcott-Hort text each use only a select portion of all the witnesses one will not end up with differing doctrines solely because one used either of these texts Having said this it must also be stated that all variants of any significance should be given careful consideration on the basis of all the witnesses God has preserved for us We are dealing with Godrsquos words and we do not want to treat even one of those words lightly


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17

1 Thessalonians 1

Schema of 1 essalonians 11

1 Thessalonians 11a Παῦλος καὶ Σιλουανὸς καὶ Τιμόθεος τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Θεσσαλονικέων ἐν θεῷ πατρὶ καὶ κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷmiddot = ldquoPaul Silas and Timothy to the congregation of Thessalonians who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christrdquo

bull As he begins Paul follows the usual pattern of letter writing in his day the person writing the letter identifies himself (nominative case) fol-lowed by the identity of the person to whom the letter is being written (dative case)

bull Paul includes Silvanus (also known as Silas) and Timothy as authors of this letter See the comments in the Author section of the Introduction (pages 34) for some possible explanations of why Paul includes his two companions as coauthors of this letter

bull The people to whom this letter was written was a specific group as the article (τῇ) with ἐκκλησίᾳ indicates The word ἐκκλησία refers to a group of people who gather together for some purpose or who share


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PY


a common belief It was a term from the Septuagint that the early Christians used to speak about a church or congregation in a given place (cf Bauer Danker Arndt Gingrich A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament)

NB Some commentaries point to the root in Greek from which ἐκκλησίᾳ is derived namely καλ (ldquoto callrdquo) εκ (ldquooutrdquo) On this basis they suggest that the word ἐκκλησίᾳ refers to people whom God called out of the unbe-lieving world to faith in Christ While this thought may be appealing it doesnrsquot reflect Greek usage Originally ἐκκλησίᾳ was used to refer to the voting assembly in Athens that met when men were called out of the mar-ketplace to the place of assembly However by Paulrsquos time this word lost the idea of people being called out of someplace and it simply referred to a gathering of people or an assembly

bull The descriptive genitive Θεσσαλονικέων identifies the people who make up this ἐκκλησίᾳ namely the Christians in Thessalonica Paul Silas and Timothy are writing to these Christians whom they had gathered into a congregation during their visit to Thessalonica not too long before they wrote this letter (cf Introduction Occasion Pur-pose Date Place)

bull The prepositional phrase ἐν θεῷ modifies ἐκκλησίᾳ further The preposition ἐν places a person or thing within a specific circle or sphere So Paul Silas and Timothy are describing the Thessalonian Christians as being in Godrsquos sphere They belong to him are united with one another through him and are constantly within his protect-ing care

bull The appositive πατρὶ (ldquoFatherrdquo) underscores the blessed relationship believers have with God A personrsquos relationship to God is completely changed by faith in Jesus as Romans 815 says ldquoFor you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out lsquoAbba Fatherrsquo rdquo Just as a Christian human father loves and cares for his children so God loves and cares for those who are his children by faith Matthew 711 tells us ldquoThen if you know how to give good gifts to your children even though you are evil how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask himrdquo

bull The second sphere (coordinate καὶ) the Thessalonians are in (ἐν κυρίῳ ldquoin the Lordrdquo) points to the one who made the Thessaloniansrsquo blessed relationship with God possible He is the ldquoLord our God the


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1 THESSALONIANS 1 19

Almightyrdquo (Rev 196) whom God appointed to rule over all things in the interest of everyone who belongs to him (Eph 122 ldquoGod made him head over everything for the churchrdquo) The appositives clearly identify who this is He is Jesus ( Ἰησοῦ) the one who saves ldquohis peo-ple from their sinsrdquo (Mt 121) He is Christ (Χριστῷ) the one ldquoGod anointedrdquo (Ac 1038) to reconcile ldquothe world to himselfrdquo (2 Co 519)

bull These words remind us of the blessed position we have in our rela-tionship to God It is this relationship that is the basis of the unity we share in a congregation as well as in the church at large

1 Thessalonians 11b χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη = ldquoMay undeserved kind-ness and peace be yoursrdquo

bull Now Paul Silas and Timothy move on to the last obligatory part that begins a Greek letter a brief but meaningful prayer for the Thessa-lonians This suggests that the verb to be supplied here would be a subjunctive rather than an indicative form of εἰμί Together with the dative ὑμῖν (dative of possession with εἰμί) the subjunctive asks that a blessing from God would be given to the recipients Rather than being a statement of fact that they have this blessing Paul is praying that it might continue to be theirs

bull The authorsrsquo prayer for the Thessalonian Christians is one with which Paul begins quite a number of his epistles The suggestion that these words are meant to simulate the usual friendly greetings used by Greeks (χαῖρε = ldquoHellordquo) and Jews (ldquoShalomrdquo = ldquoPeacerdquo) would seem to detract a bit from the fact that this is a prayer from Paul Silas and Timothy Rather than using this prayer to make a play on words they are solemnly asking that God give the Thessalonians two of his greatest blessings

bull The first blessing is χάρις In the past this was commonly translated as ldquogracerdquo but the word ldquogracerdquo has become a technical religious term It is a word that needs to be explained to children those not brought up in the Christian faith and those for whom English is a second language It means to show someone an undeserved favor or to give someone an undeserved unmerited gift Perhaps the translation ldquoundeserved kindnessrdquo covers both meanings The lack of the article indicates that Paul wants to put stress on the undeserved nature of this gift This word gives the cause of our salvation It is only because of Godrsquos undeserved kindness in Christ to sinners that we are saved


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Paul prays that the Thessalonians might continue to have this pre-cious gift as an ongoing blessing

bull The second blessing (coordinate καὶ) is εἰρήνη God and the Thessalo-nians had been at odds with each other The Thessalonians deserved eternal damnation for their sins But as Paul Silas and Timothy stated in the first part of this verse they had Godrsquos love instead of his anger because they were made his dear children through Christ With their sins removed they were no longer at odds with God The lack of the article stresses the lack of any kind of anger on Godrsquos part over against them This is the result of our salvation Paul prays that the Thessalonians would also continue to have this precious gift as an ongoing blessing

NB Some early witnesses add ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς [ἡμῶν] καὶ κυρίου [ἡμῶν] Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ after εἰρήνη The witnesses for both the omission and inclusion of these words are basically of equal weight both com-ing from three areas Egypt Syria and GaulItaly Three reasons argue for omission (1) the witnesses for omission are a bit earlier (2) these words are used in 2 Thessalonians 12 and may have been copied from there and (3) if these words were original there doesnrsquot seem to be any reason for omission whereas number 2 above could indicate why they were added

Summary and Application of 1 Thessalonians 11 The letter begins by identifying the authors and recipients of this letter Then Paul reminds the Thessalonians what unites them and prays that Godrsquos two great gifts of his grace and peace might always be theirs

Paul Silas and Timothyrsquos description of the Thessalonian congregation reminds us what it is that unites us as members of a congregation also today It is very simply this we belong to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ

In the not too distant past many pastors greeted their congregation at the beginning of a sermon with Paulrsquos greeting In this way each ser-mon began with a prayer that two of Godrsquos greatest blessings might continue to be for the hearers as their pastor presented a message from Godrsquos Word


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Schema of 1 essalonians 12-3

1 Thessalonians 12 Εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ πάντοτε περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν μνείαν ποιούμενοι ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν ἡμῶν ἀδιαλείπτως = ldquoWe give thanks to God continually concerning all of you by making mention of you at the time of our prayers without exception (or every time we pray)rdquo bull Εὐχαριστοῦμεν is the only finite verb in this complex sentence (cf

Schema above) that runs from verse 2 to verse 7 Therefore everything Paul Silas and Timothy say in these verses is an expansion of this thought The verb εὐχαριστέω means ldquoto express onersquos thankfulness to someone for somethingrdquo The person to whom Paul Silas and Timothy give thanks is God (τῷ θεῷ = dative case indirect object) The article


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(τῷ) used with a proper noun (θεῷ) has no significance in Greek The verb is present tense indicating that this is an ongoing action on Paul Silas and Timothyrsquos part This idea is underscored even more by the adverb πάντοτε (ldquoalways at all timesrdquo) It wasnrsquot just now and then that they gave thanks nor was it most of the time No it was continuously

bull The preposition περὶ (ldquoabout concerningrdquo) spells out what the authors are thanking God for namely the Thessalonian Christians (ὑμῶν ldquoyourdquo) Paul Silas and Timothy will give two reasons (v3 and vv4-7) why their thanks for these believers is continual But even more strik-ing than this fact (ie that the Thessalonians are a continual object of their thanks) is the added comment that Paul Silas and Timothy give thanks for each and every member of this congregation (πάντων ldquoalleveryeachrdquo expressing totality)

bull Later in verse 7 the authors will say that the Thessalonians served as a model for the believers throughout Macedonia and Achaia The Thes-saloniansrsquo knowledge wasnrsquot perfect the authors will address gaps in their knowledge later in this letter (eg 413ff) Nor was their sanctified life without any need for improvement (eg 410b-12) But it was their active and joyful faith which each and every one of the Thessalonians displayed in the face of severe persecution (vv3-7) that prompted the authorsrsquo constant thanks to God

bull With the adverbial manner participle ποιούμενοι Paul Silas and Tim-othy express the way in which they gave thanks to God The expres-sion ποιούμενοι μνείαν literally means ldquodoing a remembrancerdquo But it became an expression meaning to mention someone by name (Ro 19 Eph 116 Php 13) As the authors gave thanks to God for the Thessalo-nians they didnrsquot just think about these believers but they spoke their names Note that the participle is present tense underscoring that this was an ongoing action on the part of the authors

bull The preposition ἐπὶ (ldquoat the time ofrdquo) introduces a phrase that designates when this action took place The article τῶν makes the noun προσευχῶν definite The possessive pronoun ἡμῶν (ldquoourrdquo) shows which specific prayers are meant namely those of the authors of this letter The noun προσευχή refers to a prayer in which one speaks to a deity If there is any reason why the authors use this term for ldquoprayerrdquo in this context it would be because the prayer they are referring to is not a request for something they need (δέησις) but a prayer of thanksgiving

bull There isnrsquot any agreement among interpreters whether the adverb ἀδιαλείπτως (ldquowithout fail unceasinglyrdquo) belongs with the foregoing


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or with the following participle μνημονεύοντες Some editors place a comma before ἀδιαλείπτως others place it after The latter argue that it would be redundant to have this adverb in the same clause as πάντοτε and that its placement right before the participle suggests that it belongs with what follows But adverbs donrsquot normally appear in front of the ver-bal idea they modify and the meaning of ἀδιαλείπτως does fit well with the temporal prepositional phrase that it follows In this latter case Paul Silas and Timothy would be making the point that at the time of their prayers they never fail to include the Thessalonians as they speak to God

Summary and Application of 1 Thessalonians 12 These words along with similar expressions in other Pauline epistles demonstrate a number of things about the authorsrsquo prayer lives regular times were set apart for prayer (ldquoat the time of our prayersrdquo) prayers were prayed frequently (ldquoat all timesrdquo) and the souls committed to Paul Silas and Timothyrsquos care were objects of their prayers every time they prayed (ldquowithout failrdquo) This serves as a wonderful pattern for all our pastors and us to follow in a planned frequent and member-oriented prayer life1 Thessalonians 13a μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ = ldquoWe remember the activity of your faith and your toil prompted by love and the patient endurance you had as a result of your hope which is based on our Lord Jesus Christrdquo

bull The participle μνημονεύοντες (ldquoremember recallrdquo) is an accompanying circumstance modifying the main verb εὐχαριστοῦμεν (ldquogive thanksrdquo) At the same time as Paul Silas and Timothy give thanks to God they also recall three things about the Thessalonians Μνημονεύοντες is pres-ent tense like the main verb So the mental action of remembering is ongoing as they continue to speak to God with words of thanks

bull The first thing the authors recall about the Thessalonians is their ἔργου (ldquowork laborrdquo) The special emphasis of this word is that something is accomplished as a result of what a person does The article (τοῦ) makes this work specific namely work that is the result of their faith (πίστεως descriptive genitive = ldquofaith-workrdquo) The article (τῆς) with πίστεως also makes the faith specific namely the Thessaloniansrsquo (ὑμῶν ldquoyourrdquo) faith in Jesus

bull The Holy Spirit had worked faith in the hearts of the Thessaloniansmdash a faith that accepted the fact that God had forgiven all their sins for Jesusrsquo sake This faith moved these believers to be ready to thank God not only with their lips but also with their actions


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bull What then are Paul Silas and Timothy referring to when they speak about the Thessaloniansrsquo faith-work that is something they were doing as a result of their faith in Christ Two things come readily to mind as we read the rest of this letter the Thessaloniansrsquo obedience to Godrsquos will and the kindness they showed to one another

bull A second thing (coordinate καὶ) the authors continually recall about the Thessalonians is their κόπου (ldquotoilrdquo) The special emphasis of this word is that what a person is doing is difficult tiring work The article (τοῦ) makes this toil specific namely toil that is motivated by their love (ἀγάπης descriptive genitive = ldquolove-toilrdquo) The article (τῆς) with ἀγάπης also makes the love specific namely the Thessaloniansrsquo (repeat ὑμῶν ldquoyourrdquo) love for Jesus

bull When Paul Silas and Timothy speak about the Thessaloniansrsquo love-toil they are referring to how the believers in Thessalonica are holding on to Godrsquos Word and are sharing it with others in spite of severe per-secution Much more will be said about this in verse 6 of this chapter and in verses 13 and 14 of chapter 2

bull A third thing (coordinate καὶ) Paul Silas and Timothy remember fondly as they thank God is the Thessaloniansrsquo ὑπομονῆς (ldquopatient endur-ancerdquo) This word means not just to endure a difficulty but to do so with great patience that is without grumbling and complaining The article (τῆς) with ὑπομονῆς makes it specific namely patient endurance based on their sure hope (ἐλπίδος descriptive genitive = ldquohope-endurancerdquo) Christian hope is not a stab in the dark but it is the certainty a believer has that God keeps all his promises about the future The article (τῆς) with ὑπομονῆς also makes it specific namely the Thessaloniansrsquo (repeat ὑμῶν ldquoyourrdquo) looking forward with confident expectation to the bless-ings that would be theirs at Jesusrsquo second coming

bull Tοῦ κυρίου (ldquothe Lordrdquo) is an objective genitive that is the Lord is the object of the Thessaloniansrsquo faith love and hope Some say that because of this wordrsquos position in the sentence it is only the object of the Thessaloniansrsquo hope but it seems best to take it as the object of all three of the preceding phrases

bull The article τοῦ has no significance because κυρίου (ldquoLordrdquo) is a proper noun but the genitive pronoun ἡμῶν (ldquoourrdquo) makes κυρίου personal The thought that God made Jesus the Lord over everything (Eph 121-23a) is comforting Add to this the fact that Christ guides and directs everything for the good of his church (Eph 122) By faith therefore all believers gladly claim Jesus as their own personal Lord


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gladly submitting themselves to his will and using all they have to serve him (Ro 613 ldquoOffer yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and offer the members of your body to God as tools of righteousnessrdquo)

bull Ἰησοῦ (ldquoJesusrdquo) and Χριστοῦ (ldquoChristrdquo) are appositives to τοῦ κυρίου identifying the Lord as the one who saves ldquohis people from their sinsrdquo (Mt 121) and the one whom ldquoGod anointedrdquo (Ac 1038) to be Prophet Priest and King Not only do these appositives identify the Lord but they also give the reason why Christians gladly call him ldquoourrdquo Lord

1 Thessalonians 13b ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν = ldquobefore God our Fatherrdquo

bull This adverbial prepositional phrase modifies the participle μνημονεύον-τες spelling out where Paul Silas and Timothy constantly remem-ber the three blessings as they give thanks to God The world will not take much note of believersrsquo faith-work love-toil or hope-endurance but Paul Silas and Timothy assure the Thessalonians that God does These believers and their Christian traits are always ldquoright in front ofrdquo (ἔμπροσθεν) him

bull The article τοῦ used with two nouns joined by καὶ indicates that these two nouns are to be taken as a unit idea In this Greek construction the καὶ becomes explanatory (ldquothat is ierdquo) Thus πατρὸς (ldquoFatherrdquo) is explaining which person of the Godhead (θεοῦ ldquoGodrdquo) is meant Just as the possessive pronoun ἡμῶν (ldquoourrdquo) claimed Jesus as the believersrsquo personal Lord in the preceding phrase so now this word also claims God as their personal loving Father

Summary and Application of 1 Thessalonians 13 Every time the authors of this letter gave thanks to God they recalled three things about all the members of the Thessalonian congregation things which were well-known by God the Thessaloniansrsquo faith in Jesusrsquo redeeming work that showed itself in their actions their love for the Savior that motivated them to put forth great effort to share the good news with others and their confidence in the glory of heaven someday being theirs that motivated them to persevere in spite of bitter persecution

May all of us remember that every pastor rejoices and thanks God as he sees these three blessings in the members committed to his care It is our pastorrsquos God-given goal to have us share in these blessings and his goal will be realized as we hear learn and inwardly digest the Word of God that our spiritual shepherd shares with us


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1 Thessalonians 14 εἰδότες ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ θεοῦ τὴν ἐκλογὴν ὑμῶν = ldquoat the same time knowing brothers who are loved by God your electionrdquo bull The participle εἰδότες is another accompanying circumstance parti-

ciple modifying either the main verb εὐχαριστοῦμεν (cf Schema of 1 Th 123) or the participle ποιούμενοι In either case it states another thing that was on Paul Silas and Timothyrsquos minds as they prayed in regard to the Thessalonians

bull Εἰδότες is from the verb οἶδα which though it is perfect in tense has a present meaning It means ldquoto know somethingrdquo as a mental percep-tion rather than as the result of personal experience (cf γινώσκω in Thayer Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) What they know about the Thessalonians is stated with the object τὴν ἐκλογὴν ὑμῶν (ldquoyour electionrdquo)

bull The noun ἐκλογή refers to God in his grace choosing believers in eter-nity to be holy and blameless in his sight (Eph 145 ldquoHe chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christrdquo) The subsequent act of Godrsquos calling believers to faith is expressed in the New Testament with a different word κλῆσις The article τὴν with ἐκλογὴν makes the elec-tion referred to here specific and the objective genitive ὑμῶν (ldquoyourdquo) indicates specifically whom God elected in this case

bull As Paul Silas and Timothy thanked God in regard to the Thessalo-nians they did so with the knowledge that these believers were Godrsquos elect Verses 5-7 spell out just how the authors knew this to be true

bull The way Paul Silas and Timothy address the Thessalonian congrega-tion in this verse is also significant They refer to the Thessalonians as ldquobrothersrdquo (ἀδελφοὶ) Christians use this word to refer to one another as members joined together in one family by faith The fact that Paul Silas and Timothy use this word no less than 21 times in the two letters they wrote to this congregation indicates how closely they felt them-selves joined to these believers

bull But the authors not only express their closeness to the Thessalo-nians They also remind these believers of Godrsquos closeness to them They describe the Thessalonians as ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ θεοῦ (attributive parti ciple = ldquoloved by Godrdquo) The particular kind of love expressed by the verb ἀγαπάω is properly described as a ldquolove of choicerdquo There is no reason why God should love the Thessalonians except that as with Godrsquos Old Testament people Israel he chose to do so (Dt 778a)


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bull The use of this verb in the context of Godrsquos election is also important to note Scripture makes it clear that there is nothing in us that moved God to elect us it is purely a result of his gracious love (Eph 14-6 ldquoIn love he predestined us for the praise of his glorious gracerdquo) And just as significant as Paul Silas and Timothyrsquos use of the verb ἀγαπάω is their use of the perfect tense In Greek this tense expresses an action completed in the past with ongoing results God loved the Thessalonians in eternity with the ongoing result stated in Romans 830 God ldquopredestined called justified glorifiedrdquo them

1 Thessalonians 15a ὅτι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐγενήθη εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν λόγῳ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν δυνάμει καὶ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ [ἐν] πληροφορίᾳ πολλῇ = ldquobecause the good news we proclaimed didnrsquot come to you in words only but also with power and with the Holy Spiritmdashand so with complete confidencerdquo

bull This ὅτι (ldquobecauserdquo) clause has two verbs (ἐγενήθη in v5 ἐγενήθητε in v6) that express two reasons why Paul Silas and Timothy know that the Thessalonians are Godrsquos elect The first reason is what happened when these people heard the gospelgood news (τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ldquoproclamation of good newsrdquo) The article τὸ makes εὐαγγέλιον specific and the subjective genitive ἡμῶν (ldquoby usrdquo) spec-ifies that here it is the good news Paul Silas and Timothy proclaimed to the Thessalonians

bull The verb γίνομαι used with the preposition εἰς means ldquoa change of locationrdquo (BDAG 6a) Here it is usually translated ldquocome tordquo The verb form here is aorist passive (ἐγενήθη) The aorist used with οὐκ (ldquonotrdquo) indicates that this is something that didnrsquot happen The form is depo-nent so it has an active sense rather than passive Paul Silas and Tim-othy are stating what didnrsquot happen when the Thessalonians heard the good news

bull The preposition ἐν (ldquoin the sphere ofrdquo) is used three times in this con-text to express in what manner the good news came to the Thessalonian congregation It wasnrsquot only (οὐκ μόνον) words that they heard The lack of an article with λόγῳ makes this word qualitative that is stressing the idea of a message made up of words

bull The next two (ἀλλὰ καὶ καὶ ldquobut also andrdquo) ἐν phrases express why what the congregation heard was not just a bunch of words These two additional manner phrases describe the way in which the gospel came to the Thessalonians


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bull The word δύναμις refers to ldquoraw powerrdquo Romans 116 says that the good news is nothing less than Godrsquos power at work to save people (ldquoThe gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believesrdquo) So with the phrase ἐν δυνάμει (ldquoin the sphere of powerrdquo) Paul Silas and Timothy are saying that as the Thessalonians heard the good news proclaimed to them Godrsquos power in those words was at work in their hearts The lack of the article puts stress on the idea of the great power that was involved in this action

bull The last of the three phrases (ἐν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι ldquoin the sphere of the Holy Spiritrdquo) adds the third manner in which the good news came to the Thessalonians It was Godrsquos power at work in their hearts but it was specifically the third person of the Godhead the Holy Spirit who did this The lack of an article isnrsquot significant since this is a proper noun

bull With a fourth καὶ (ldquoandrdquo) the authors add one more dative (πληρο-φορίᾳ) to this clause It is preceded in the text by ἐν in brackets but this preposition doesnrsquot belong in the text Only a few Egyptian witnesses include ἐν (Aleph A C) all the rest of the early witnesses from Egypt and other areas omit it

bull Since πληροφορίᾳ (ldquoassurance certaintyrdquo) isnrsquot introduced with an ἐν (cf textual note in the preceding paragraph) and since Paul Silas and Timothy did use this preposition before each of three previous datives itrsquos obvious this word is not simply a continuation of the preceding three Itrsquos also a dative of manner (without ἐν) expressing a manner (ldquowith complete confidencerdquo) that is the result of the previous three manners in which the good news came to these believers The lack of the article makes this word qualitative putting stress on the firm con-viction that the Thessalonians had as a result of the Spiritrsquos working with power through the Word So that no one would miss this point the authors add the adjective πολλῇ (ldquomuch abundantrdquo) to underscore the depth of the conviction the Thessalonians had as a result of the Spiritrsquos work

Summary and Application of 1 Thessalonians 145a Paul Silas and Timothy state something they know about the Thessalonians and the first reason why they know this They know that God elected the Thessalonians from eternity The deep conviction these believers have as a result of the Spirit working through the powerful good news that Paul Silas and Timo-thy proclaimed to them convinced the authors that this was true

Scripture tells us about Godrsquos election to humble and encourage us It humbles us because our coming to faith was something God chose to do


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in eternity purely out of his undeserved kindness It wasnrsquot something he was moved to do because of anything good he saw in us And this fact also encourages us because it assures us that God in his love will carry through on what his election was intended to do namely to bring us to share forever the joy of heaven with him The first thing God did as a result of electing us was to have the good news the message of Jesusrsquo saving work proclaimed to us Working through that powerful Word the Holy Spirit created a deep-seated faith in us leading us to put our whole hope of salvation completely in Jesus We trust in Jesusrsquo sacrifice of himself to pay for our sins and in Godrsquos declaration of the worldrsquos acquittal as a result of that sacrifice

1 Thessalonians 15b καθὼς οἴδατε οἷοι ἐγενήθημεν ἐν ὑμῖν δι ὑμᾶςmiddot = ldquo(just as you know what sort of people we were among you for your sake)rdquo

bull Paul Silas and Timothy had said earlier that they knew something about the Thessalonians (v4) Now they say that the very same thing (καθὼς ldquothe same asrdquo) was true in reversemdashthe Thessalonians knew (οἴδατε cf comments on οἴδα in v4) something about the authors These words are an aside placed here in order not to interrupt the flow of thought from the participle εἰδότες to the ὅτι clause (cf Schema of 1 Th 14-7)

bull What the Thessalonian congregation knew about Paul Silas and Timothy was what kind of people (οἷοι ldquoof what sortrdquo) they were (ἐγενήθημεν aorist passive deponent cf comments on γίνομαι in v5a) when the authors were in Thessalonica

bull The preposition ἐν indicates where Paul Silas and Timothy were when the Thessalonians learned what kind of people the authors were It was when they proclaimed the good news in Thessalonica (ἐν ὑμῖν ldquopresent among yourdquo)

bull The prepositional phrase δι ὑμᾶςmiddot (ldquobecause of youfor your sakerdquo) indicates that the authors acted as they did while they were in Thessa-lonica for the benefit of the believers there They were entirely different from the sophists who traveled around teaching people only for per-sonal gain As is often true in Paulrsquos letters a brief clause is inserted which is explained in more detail later in the letter In this case this is done in verses 1-12 of chapter 2

1 Thessalonians 16 καὶ ὑμεῖς μιμηταὶ ἡμῶν ἐγενήθητε καὶ τοῦ

κυρίου δεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον ἐν θλίψει πολλῇ μετὰ χαρᾶς πνεύματος ἁγίου = ldquoand you became imitators of us and of the Lord by receiving the Word at a time of great suffering with joy from the Holy Spiritrdquo


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bull After the aside in verse 5b Paul Silas and Timothy continue with the second (coordinate καὶ) part of the ὅτι causal clause that began in verse 5a (cf Schema above)mdashthe second reason why they were sure that the Thessalonians were Godrsquos elect The authors use the aorist tense of the verb γίνομαι (ἐγενήθητε)mdashas they did in the first part of this clausemdashto state a fact that happened (cf the comments about γίνομαι in v5a) This time however the authors arenrsquot talking about what happened in the hearts of the Thessalonians but rather about one of the God-pleasing results in these believersrsquo lives

bull In this verse ἐγενήθητε means ldquoto experience a change in naturerdquo (BDAG 5) as it does in Matthew 43 where the devil spoke about stones becoming bread The Thessalonians became something new namely μιμηταὶ (predicate nominative) that is people who imitated others by doing what those people did The authors put special emphasis on this thought by placing this predicate nominative ahead of the verb (cf UBS text) and using the pronoun ὑμεῖς (ldquoyourdquo) with the verb If as in this case the pronoun is not used to emphasize a contrast (eg ldquoYou but werdquo) then its use underscores the vocable meaning of the verb So the authors marvel at what the Thessalonians have become and this in turn is additional evidence that God had elected these people from eternity (v4)

bull The last part of our present verse indicates that Paul Silas and Timo-thy were thinking especially of the Thessalonians imitating the pattern of others in the way they bore persecution Who the Thessalonians are imitating is expressed with two (coordinate καὶ) objective genitives ἡμῶν (ldquousrdquo) and τοῦ κυρίου (ldquothe Lordrdquo) In 223 the authors will cite the pattern they left by boldly proclaiming the good news to the Thessalonians in spite of the persecution Paul Silas and Timothy had undergone just before coming to Thessalonica First Peter 221 (ldquoChrist also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you would follow in his stepsrdquo) and Hebrews 122ff tell us that the Lord Jesus left a pattern in his passion for believers to follow in times of persecution Later in verse 14 of chapter 2 the authors will also say that the Thessalonians were imitators of the Christian congregations in Judea who underwent constant persecution from the unbelieving Jews there

bull The adverbial manner participle δεξάμενοι (ldquoby receiving accept-ingrdquo) indicates in what way the Thessalonians had imitated Paul Silas Timothy and the Lord Jesus They embraced a specific (article


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PY


τὸν) ldquomessagerdquo (λόγον) namely the good news the authors had pro-claimed to them (v5a)

bull It was both the circumstance (ἐν) and the manner (μετὰ) in which the Thessalonians had accepted the authorsrsquo message that made this action so striking The Thessalonians were in the midst (ἐν ldquoin the sphererdquo) of severe (πολλῇ ldquomuch abundantrdquo) θλίψει (ldquodistressoppressionsufferingrdquo) The basic meaning of this word is ldquoto press down hardrdquo and the lack of the article together with the addition of the adjective πολλῇ give special emphasis to this idea In verses 14-16 of chapter 2 Paul Silas and Timothy will identify this oppression as persecution by the Jews in Thessalonica The vehemence of those Jews in opposing the good news was evident from the time the authors first proclaimed this message in Thessalonica (Ac 175-9)

bull Equally striking as their acceptance of the good news was that in the midst of a severe persecution the believers in Thessalonica accepted it ldquowith joyrdquo (μετὰ χαρᾶς) The assurance of the forgiveness of all their sins and the guarantee of life forever in heaven filled the Thessalonians with joy so deep that nothing could affect it in any way Scripture reminds us elsewhere that the trials and sufferings of life donrsquot rob us of our joy as Christians (Ac 541 ldquoThe apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoic-ing that they were considered worthy to suffer shame for the Namerdquo Jas 12 ldquoConsider it complete joy my brothers whenever you fall into various kinds of trialsrdquo Ro 53 ldquoWe also rejoice confidently in our suf-feringsrdquo) Rather our sufferings as all three passages just cited indicate even give us joy because they lead us to look forward more than ever to what God promises us after this life

bull But the joy we have as Christians is not something we produce in our hearts It is a gift of the Holy Spirit to us The authors remind the Thes-salonians of this with the genitive of source πνεύματος ἁγίου (ldquofrom the Holy Spiritrdquo) In Galatians 522 Paul speaks of joy as a ldquofruit of the spiritrdquo This thought doesnrsquot surprise us because if faith is worked in us by the Spirit (1 Co 123b ldquoNo one can say lsquoJesus is Lordrsquo except by the Holy Spiritrdquo) and if joy is a result of faith (Ro 1513a ldquoNow may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believerdquo) then our joy is a gift of the Spirit to us

1 Thessalonians 17 ὥστε γενέσθαι ὑμᾶς τύπον πᾶσιν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀχαΐᾳ = ldquoAs a result you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaiardquo


DO N

OT CO

PY


bull A textual note Some witnesses (B D itd vg syrp copsa bo) read τύπον while others (Aleph A Byz syrh) read τύπους The former has a little more widespread evidence And while either the singular or the plural makes sense here it seems some scribes may have changed the reading to the plural to correspond to the plural ὑμᾶς

bull The Thessalonians imitated Paul Silas Timothy and the Lord Jesus This in turn led to (ὥστε ldquowith the result thatrdquo) the congregation in Thessalonica becoming a model that other congregations imitated The word τύπους refers to exact impressions made one after the other by a die for example coins made by our government The lack of an article puts stress on the idea that others were exact copies of the Thessalo-niansrsquo example

bull The accusative subject ὑμᾶς (ldquoyourdquo) of the aorist middle infinitive γενέσθαι (ACI = accusative cum with infinitive) is the usual construc-tion in a ὥστε clause Here as in verse 6a the verb γίνομαι means ldquoto becomerdquo The aorist indicates that what is said in this clause has hap-pened itrsquos a fact

bull The dative present participle τοῖς πιστεύουσιν expresses for whom the Thessalonians have become a model The article with the participle makes it an attributive participle stating a key characteristic of these people They have an unwavering (present tense = ongoing action) faith (πιστεύω ldquoto accept as true put onersquos trust inrdquo) in the saving work of Christ

bull These believers who are modeling themselves after the Thessalo-nians are the neighbors of the Thessalonian congregation in (ἐν) the province of Macedonia (τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ) and (καὶ) in (ἐν) the province to the south Achaia (τῇ Ἀχαΐᾳ) Two other congregations in Macedo-nia that we know about from Paulrsquos missionary journeys are Philippi and Berea And the two in Achaia that we know about are Corinth and Athens

Summary and Application of 1 Thessalonians 15b-7 The authors add a second evidence that tells them the Thessalonians are Godrsquos elect This evidence is the fact that the Thessalonians accepted the good news about Jesus joyfully and remained faithful to it in spite of the fact they underwent a severe persecution as a result In this way they were imitating the example of Paul Silas Timothy and the Lord Jesus himself The other congregations were greatly encouraged by the Thessaloniansrsquo example In fact they were following exactly the pattern set by the Thessalonians


DO N

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PY


Scripture urges us to follow the example of Jesus and other faithful Christians in our sanctified lives Itrsquos good for us to hear then especially about others who are remaining faithful to Christ in spite of the trials and tribulations of lifemdashand not only remaining faithful but doing so joyfully Their example is a powerful encouragement for us to do the same and also is an exact pattern for us to follow with Godrsquos help



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1 Thessalonians 18a ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν γὰρ ἐξήχηται ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ καὶ [ἐν τῇ] Ἀχαΐᾳ = ldquoBecause the Word of the Lord has sounded out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaiardquo

bull The conjunction γὰρ (ldquobecauserdquo) indicates that what follows in this verse (8a and 8b) will give two reasons why verse 7 is true The Thes-salonians were a model for other Christians because of two things that were true of them

bull The first is that when Paul Silas and Timothy brought the good news to Thessalonica the Thessalonians were active in spreading that mes-sage to places in every direction from them The article (ὁ) with λόγος indicates that the authors have a specific message in mind The genitive of source τοῦ κυρίου (ldquofrom the Lordrdquo) spells out exactly which mes-sage was meant What Paul Silas and Timothy told the Thessalonians was not something they had dreamed up or something that was the product of their brilliant minds Rather it was a message the Lord gave them through the Holy Spirit (1 Co 213 ldquo not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spiritrdquo)

bull The verb ἐξήχηται refers to a sound that spreads out in every direction from its source one might think of the penetrating sound of a bell or of thunder Paul Silas and Timothy use the perfect tense of this verb (ἐξήχηται = completed action with a continuing result) to emphasize that when the sound of the good news spread from the Thessalonians (ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν ldquofrom yourdquo) it had an effect on those who heard the ringing of this ldquobellrdquo

bull It was quite natural because of the strategic location of Thessalonica on the Aegean Sea and the Via Egnatia (see comments on this in the Introduction Recipients) that the first place the good news would spread from this city would be into the surrounding province of Mace-donia (ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ) But what is striking is that the spread was not limited (οὐ μόνον ldquonot onlyrdquo) to Macedonia but also (coordinate καὶ) included Achaia ([ἐν τῇ] Ἀχαΐᾳ) Achaia is basically another name for Greece and so included the two cities that Paul visited after he left Thessalonica Athens and Corinth

bull Did the Thessalonians spread the good news by personal visits to places in Macedonia and Achaia Some argue that ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν could mean ldquoby yourdquo instead of ldquofrom yourdquo since the preposition ἀπό with the geni-tive can be agent as well as source While this is a possibility verses 9 and 10 that follow seem to suggest that news about the Christians in


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PY


Thessalonica was spread by people traveling from one place to another rather than by personal evangelism visits on the part of the Thessalo-nians This doesnrsquot lessen Paulrsquos point that the Thessalonian congre-gation served as a model for other congregations Whether it was the result of personal visits or of reports carried to other places by people traveling in these regions what had taken place in Thessalonica was a striking example that other Christians were moved to follow The next clause makes this point even more evident

1 Thessalonians 18b ἀλλ᾽ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐξελήλυθεν ὥστε μὴ χρείαν ἔχειν ἡμᾶς λαλεῖν τι = ldquobut even more in every place your trust namely your trust in God has circulated with the result that we donrsquot have to say anything about itrdquo

bull The conjunction ἀλλ᾽ here does not indicate a contrast something entirely different from the foregoing Rather it indicates something that is even more striking than what preceded Not only did the Word of the Lord sound out like a bell from the Thessalonians in a couple places but another even more amazing fact about them had ldquocircu-latedrdquo (ἐξελήλυθεν) everywhere (ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ ldquoin every placerdquo) The verb ἐξελήλυθεν like ἐξήχηται in the previous clause is perfect tense indicating that when people heard about this it had an effect on them

bull When Paul Silas and Timothy went to other places in the Roman Empire they were ready to tell Christians everywhere about the faith of the Thessalonians (ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ldquothe trust of yoursrdquo) The authors add an appositional phrase ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν to explain what had circulated everywhere about the Thessaloniansrsquo faith The repetition of the article ἡ before the prepositional phrase πρὸς τὸν θεὸν indicates that this phrase is essential to the point the authors are making

bull The use of πίστις with the preposition πρὸς denotes a personrsquos com-plete reliance on another person More often in Greek the preposition εἰς or ἐπί is used with πίστις or the verb πιστεύω to express such a relationship with God (cf BDAG πιστεύω subpoint 2) While εἰς and ἐπί are often used to refer to a believerrsquos complete trust in the truth of Godrsquos gracious promises perhaps Paul Silas and Timothy used πρὸς (ldquotowardrdquo) in this verse to lay the emphasis more on the Thessaloniansrsquo trust that God would take care of them in their present situation

bull Wherever Paul Silas and Timothy went word had circulated about the intense persecution the Thessalonians were undergoing and about their complete reliance on God in spite of their suffering The authors


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were eager to add some details to what people already knew but the report other congregations had received about the Thessalonians was quite thorough So thorough in fact that (ὥστε = result clause) Paul Silas and Timothy felt no compulsion (μὴ χρείαν ἔχειν ἡμᾶς ldquowe didnrsquot have a needrdquo) to add anything whatsoever (λαλεῖν τι ldquoto say anythingrdquo) to what people had already been told

bull Perhaps someone might think that this could hardly be the case since Paul Silas and Timothy were personally acquainted with the situation in Thessalonica So the authors go on in verses 9 and 10 to summarize how complete the reports that preceded them to the other Christian congregations had been

1 Thessalonians 19a αὐτοὶ γὰρ περὶ ἡμῶν ἀπαγγέλλουσιν ὁποίαν εἴσοδον ἔσχομεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς = ldquoYes these very people inform us about what kind of entrance we had [when we came] to yourdquo

bull The explanatory γὰρ (ldquoyes indeed to be surerdquo) introduces the first item that shows how complete the reports about the Thessalonians were everywhere (cf ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ v8b) in the Roman Empire If Paul Silas and Timothy wrote this letter from Corinth they had not gone many places after leaving Thessalonica However since Thessalonica was a crossroads city Christians passing through that city might well stop for a day or two What they learned about the congregation during this short visit left such a deep impression on them that they would talk about it wherever they went Itrsquos not hard to imagine that the people the authors referred to in verse 8 as ldquoin every placerdquo were such travelers passing through Corinth

bull If anyone was aware of how the Thessalonians received the authors when they came to Thessalonica it was Paul Silas and Timothy Yet when the subject of the Thessalonians came up the travelers who came to Corinth (αὐτοὶ ldquothey themselvesrdquo) spoke at length (ἀπαγγέλλουσιν present tense = ongoing action) regarding what they had been told about Paul Silas and Timothy (περὶ ἡμῶν ldquoabout usrdquo) The emphatic αὐτοὶ stresses the idea that Paul Silas and Timothy should have been telling these people about what happened but instead these people were doing the telling

bull The verb ἀπαγγέλλω means ldquoto give an account about some event informrdquo The authors didnrsquot need to be informed about this event since they had lived it but these people had to tell Paul Silas and Timo-thy what they knew about them anyway The particular event in this


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instance was the notable welcome the Thessalonians had given Paul Silas and Timothy

bull The correlative pronoun ὁποῖος adds the idea of something out of the ordinary either good or bad for example in Galatians 26 it refers to men who were considered to be quite important The Thessaloniansrsquo warm welcome of Paul Silas and Timothy was striking because it was not something that happened only after the authors had become well acquainted with the Thessalonians but instead was something that happened when the authors came to Thessalonica (πρὸς ὑμᾶς ldquoto yourdquo) It happened at the time of their ldquoentrancerdquo (εἴσοδον) to this city Acts 1714 reports that from the authorsrsquo very first Sabbath in Thessalonica some people welcomed the good news with open arms

1 Thessalonians 19b καὶ πῶς ἐπεστρέψατε πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων δουλεύειν θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ = ldquothat is how you turned away from idols to God to serve the living and true Godrdquo

bull Instead of adding another point the conjunction καὶ seems to be explanatory (ldquothat isrdquo)mdashwhat follows elaborates on what was meant in the first part of the verse by the unusual welcome the Thessalonians gave Paul Silas and Timothy

bull Πῶς like ὁποίαν in the previous clause calls attention to the unusual nature of what is being said For the Thessalonians to turn completely away from (ἀπὸ ldquoseparate fromrdquo) idols to complete reliance on God (v8b ἡ πίστις ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν) was something that Christians every-where noted with joy

bull The verb ἐπεστρέψατε is aorist stating what is a fact The verb means ldquoto turn aroundrdquo or ldquoto change onersquos attitude or belief rdquo (eg in Mt 183 Jesus tells the disciples to change to be like children) The complete turnabout the Thessalonians made is underscored by the prepositions ἀπὸ (ldquoaway fromrdquo) and πρὸς (ldquotowardrdquo) They had been devoted to the Greek gods whose supposed home was near Thessalo-nica on Mount Olympus and whose images appeared in the form of stone statues (εἰδώλων ldquoidolsrdquo) in every Greek city Now they aban-doned those idols to worship the God whom Paul Silas and Timothy had told them about

bull The root δουλ- (noun δοῦλος verb δουλεύω) basically means ldquoto sub-mit onersquos will to the will of a masterrdquo (κύριος) The infinitive δουλεύειν expresses purpose the goal the Thessalonians had in mind in turning to God was that they would continually serve him (present tense =


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ongoing action) rather than be enslaved to idols The latter was a slav-ery that filled them with fear the former was a ldquoslaveryrdquo they entered gladly and willingly because of the loving ldquomasterrdquo whom they would be serving

bull The two adjectives modifying θεῷ (dative with the verb) explain why the Thessalonians would gladly submit their will to this master The God whom Paul Silas and Timothy proclaimed was a ldquolivingrdquo (ζῶντι) God He was not made of wood or stone like the dead idols but he was alive He was able to carry out both his threats and his promises They knew he was their Creator who required that they be holy but they also knew that he was their Savior who in love had saved them by paying for all their sins

bull In addition (coordinate καὶ) this God was also ἀληθινῷ a God who was the ldquogenuine thingrdquo He is a God who is truly an all-powerful omniscient omnipresent beingmdashnot just a representation of some extraordinary human being

1 Thessalonians 110a καὶ ἀναμένειν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ [τῶν] νεκρῶν = ldquoand to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from the deadrdquo

bull There was also a second goal (coordinate καὶ) the Thessalonians had in mind in turning away from idols to God The present infinitive ἀναμένειν states an ongoing action of ldquolooking forwardrdquo to the arrival of Godrsquos Son (τὸν υἱὸν) Αὐτοῦ is a possessive genitive (ldquoof himrdquo) referring back to θεός in verse 9 Where Godrsquos Son would come from is indicated by the genitive of source ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν (ldquofrom the heav-ensrdquo) This is a clear reference to Jesusrsquo return in glory at the end of time (Mt 2531 ldquoWhen the Son of Man comes in his glory )

bull The Thessaloniansrsquo turning in faith to God had a meaning that went beyond their serving him in this lifetime (v9b) It also meant that they kept an eye turned toward the sky knowing that their Savior could come at any time to take them to their eternal home in heaven

bull How could they be so sure of Jesusrsquo return that they would constantly be looking heavenward in expectation It was because Godrsquos Son was the one whom (ὃν = accusative direct object) God had raised (ἤγειρεν = aorist tense a fact) ldquofrom the deadrdquo (ἐκ [τῶν] νεκρῶν) By raising Jesus after he died to pay for the sins of the world God made it clear that Jesusrsquo death had done all that was required to bring about their acquittal (Ro 425 ldquoHe was raised to life because of our justificationrdquo)


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1 Thessalonians 110b Ἰησοῦν τὸν ῥυόμενον ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς ὀργῆς τῆς ἐρχομένης = ldquoJesus the one who rescues us from the anger that is comingrdquo

bull The authors go on to add one more important truth about Godrsquos Son whose return the Thessalonians were eagerly awaiting His name is Jesus ( Ἰησοῦν) which means ldquohe will save his people from their sinsrdquo (Mt 121)

bull The attributive participle τὸν ῥυόμενον gives a title to Jesus Hersquos ldquoThe Rescuerrdquo The verb ῥύομαι pictures one person rescuing another per-son from a dangerous situation from which the latter is unable to extri-cate himselfmdashfor example a firefighter putting up a ladder to rescue people trapped on the fifth floor of a burning building

bull In this case the authors state the situation from which Jesus rescued believers (ἡμᾶς ldquousrdquo) with the preposition ἐκ meaning ldquoout of away fromrdquo The article (τῆς) with the noun ὀργῆς indicates that this is a definite well-known ldquoangerragerdquo It is Godrsquos anger that will be shown in all its fury on the Last Day against all who have rejected him and the Savior whom he in love provided for them (Ro 2589) The attributive participle τῆς ἐρχομένης (present tense = ongoing action) reminds us that this anger of God is on its way The verb ἔρχομαι means ldquoto comemove towardrdquo God said there would be a day of judgment and noth-ing will stop it once Godrsquos chosen day has arrived

bull In spite of the terror this coming day will provide for many the Thes-salonians could eagerly look forward to its arrival Jesus had rescued them from Godrsquos anger toward sin by taking all their sins away and making them holy in Godrsquos sight

Summary and Application of 1 Thessalonians 18-10 Paul Silas and Timothy recount with joy how the story of the Thessaloniansrsquo becoming believers was being talked about everywhere they went But more than that the Thessaloniansrsquo turning from idols to serve God and to wait for Jesusrsquo return also provided other believers with an example to follow

Turning from idols to serve God and to wait for Jesusmdashthis is a beautiful description of what a Christianrsquos life is all about We may not be worshiping the Greek gods as the Thessalonians once did but there are still many idols in our day that tempt us to worship themmdashthings such as money posses-sions pleasure and so on Setting all these aside to serve God with our lives isnrsquot easy but the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to give us the strength and the willingness to do so


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May we also follow the example of the Thessalonians by making Godrsquos Word the center of our lives and sharing it with others This will inevitably also lead us to lift our eyes everyday in eager anticipation of our Saviorrsquos return We know that he has rescued us from the punishment that is com-ing on unrepentant sinners and so in response to his declaration ldquoI am coming soonrdquo we say ldquoAmen Come Lord Jesusrdquo (Rev 2220)


DO N

OT CO

PY


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PY

iii


David P Kuske


DO N

OT CO

PY







ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

1500828 ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

9780810030107 9780810030107

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


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Contents


1 Thessalonians 111







2 Thessalonians 213






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vii













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viii






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3


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Outline11 Address






of suffering





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DO N

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PY



















DO N

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PY







save us





Conclusion



528 Benediction





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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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PY










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PY










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PY




DO N

OT CO

PY

iii


David P Kuske


DO N

OT CO

PY







ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

1500828 ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

9780810030107 9780810030107

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


DO N

OT CO

PY

Contents


1 Thessalonians 111







2 Thessalonians 213






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PY


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PY

vii













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viii






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PY


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PY


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PY










3


DO N

OT CO

PY









DO N

OT CO

PY










DO N

OT CO

PY





Outline11 Address






of suffering





DO N

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PY



















DO N

OT CO

PY



















DO N

OT CO

PY







save us





Conclusion



528 Benediction





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PY








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PY







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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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PY









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PY










DO N

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PY










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PY










DO N

OT CO

PY




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PY







ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

1500828 ISBN 978-0-8100-3010-7

9780810030107 9780810030107

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


DO N

OT CO

PY

Contents


1 Thessalonians 111







2 Thessalonians 213






DO N

OT CO

PY


DO N

OT CO

PY

vii













DO N

OT CO

PY

viii






DO N

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PY


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OT CO

PY


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OT CO

PY










3


DO N

OT CO

PY









DO N

OT CO

PY










DO N

OT CO

PY





Outline11 Address






of suffering





DO N

OT CO

PY



















DO N

OT CO

PY



















DO N

OT CO

PY







save us





Conclusion



528 Benediction





DO N

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PY








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PY








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PY







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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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Contents


1 Thessalonians 111







2 Thessalonians 213






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vii













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viii






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3


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Outline11 Address






of suffering





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PY



















DO N

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PY



















DO N

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save us





Conclusion



528 Benediction





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vii













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viii






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3


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Outline11 Address






of suffering





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save us





Conclusion



528 Benediction





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1 Thessalonians 1







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vii













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viii






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3


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Outline11 Address






of suffering





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save us





Conclusion



528 Benediction





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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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viii






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3


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Outline11 Address






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save us





Conclusion



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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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Outline11 Address






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save us





Conclusion



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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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Outline11 Address






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save us





Conclusion



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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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Outline11 Address






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save us





Conclusion



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Outline11 Address






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save us





Conclusion



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Outline11 Address






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save us





Conclusion



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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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Outline11 Address






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save us





Conclusion



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1 Thessalonians 1







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save us





Conclusion



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17

1 Thessalonians 1







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save us





Conclusion



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save us





Conclusion



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17

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17

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17

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17

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A Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians ὅ D O PN OT C Y - Christian … · 2019-04-24 · Lexicon of...

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Transcript of A Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians ὅ D O PN OT C Y - Christian … · 2019-04-24 · Lexicon of...