Original Meaning
WHILE ALL BUT one (Galatians) of Paul’s letters addressed to churches have a thanksgiving/blessing section immediately following the prescript, 1 Thessalonians is distinctive in that additional expressions of thanksgiving occur in 2:13 and 3:9. Moreover, there is a clear structural unity to 1:2–3:13. These two points have led some (working from an epistolary perspective) to view the entire section as the “thanksgiving section” of the letter. The difficult-to-explain presence, however, of much nonthanksgiving material in 1:2–3:13 has prompted others to adopt a rhetorical analysis of the letter (e.g., taking 1:1–5 as the exordium or introduction, which introduces “thanksgiving” as the principal theme of the letter, and 1:6–3:10 as the narratio section, which gives the reasons for thanksgiving).1 But both approaches emphasize too much the form and not enough the actual content of what Paul says. The shift from “thanksgiving” to speaking directly to the recipients in 2:1 (“You know”) clearly marks 1:2–10 as a distinct unit, which functions as the primary “thanksgiving” section of the letter.
Thanksgiving, however, is not the only thing going on here. In the course of his prayer, Paul explains why he is thankful; thus on a second level the passage provides us with important details about the founding of the Thessalonian congregation. This thankful remembrance of the church’s early history in turn, on yet a third level, serves to praise and confirm the Thessalonians, and thus also to encourage and reinforce the behaviors Paul is praising.2 Clearly this is a complex and multifunctional (and therefore typically Pauline) prayer report.
In this opening thanksgiving, Paul characteristically touches on several themes that arise later in the letter. For example, in 1:3 “love” anticipates the discussion of philadelphia (“love for brother and sister”) in 4:9–12, and “hope” anticipates the topic of eschatology in 4:13–5:11; in 1:5, “power” and “Holy Spirit” anticipate the advice about the Spirit and prophecy in 5:19–22; in 1:5–6, the reference to imitation of the founding missionaries prepares for 2:1–12 and 5:12–13; in 1:9–10, the comments on serving God while waiting for the Son anticipate the comments on holiness (4:3–8), vigilance (5:1–10), and mutual exhortation (5:11, 14–22).
This foreshadowing of later topics in the letter, however, should not obscure what is Paul’s primary focus in this section: the Thessalonian believers themselves. In particular he focuses on their Spirit-empowered response to the gospel message that Paul and his colleagues shared with them. This focus comes out with clarity when we observe how quickly Paul’s thanksgiving for the Thessalonians turns into a description of them.
Thanksgiving, and the Reasons for It (1:2–6)
IN GIVING THANKS and praying for the Thessalonians (1:2), Paul models behavior he will later exhort them to practice (5:17–18). In 1:3 we find the first reason why he is thankful (the “immediate” basis): He “continually remembers” their “work of faith,” “labor of love,” and “steadfastness of hope” (NRSV). For Paul, there is not a great deal of difference between the “work” produced by faith and the “labor” prompted by love; indeed, in Galatians 5:6 he speaks of “faith working through love.” This indicates that his emphasis in each pair of terms is probably on the second word rather than the first; the second word indicates the origin of the first—a point the NIV’s interpretative paraphrase (“work produced by faith … labor prompted by love … endurance inspired by hope”) nicely catches. At the same time, the first word indicates something about the character of the second: Paul is giving thanks for an active faith, a hard-working love, and a patient, enduring hope.3
This familiar triad of faith, love, and hope (cf. 5:8; Rom. 5:1–5; 1 Cor. 13:13; Gal. 5:5–6; Col. 1:4–5; Heb. 10:22–24; 1 Peter 1:21–22) functions almost as a shorthand summary of the essentials of Christianity: faith as the assurance that God has acted in Christ to save his people, love (“poured … into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” Rom. 5:5) as the present expression and experience of the restored relationship between God and his people, and hope as the confidence that “he who began a good work … will carry it on to completion” (Phil. 1:6), and that the future, therefore, holds not “wrath but … salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9).
In 1:4 (a continuation of the sentence begun in 1:2) Paul gives a second reason (the “ultimate” basis) for thanksgiving: The believers in Thessalonica are “beloved” and have been “chosen” by God. The language here is reminiscent of Deuteronomy 7:7–8 (“The LORD did not … choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples…. But it was because the LORD loved you”), and Paul is likely thinking of God’s people as a whole rather than of individual election.4
When speaking directly to the Thessalonians, as he does in verse 4, Paul frequently addresses them as adelphoi, a term traditionally translated as “brothers.” The word, however, is in fact inclusive of the whole community, men and women alike. In terms of current English usage it is more accurately translated as “brothers and sisters” (NRSV; NIVILE) or perhaps “siblings.” Such a translation reminds us that this is a powerful family metaphor (a point lost in the “dear friends” of the REB and CEV), rooted in the understanding of the one God as “Father,”5 whose followers are therefore to be viewed as “brothers and sisters,” members of a single family. Its use symbolically linked together a community of people, some of whom likely had little if any previous contact, and thus it both functioned to create cohesion within the community and implied a standard of behavior towards one another.6
The connecting word (hoti) with which verse 5 opens (“because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction”) can be taken in an explanatory sense (“namely, that …), but is more likely causal (“because,” cf. NIV, NRSV). But the primary reasons why Paul “knows” of their election are not given until verse 6. The focus of verse 5 is on how Paul and his colleagues presented the gospel message to the Thessalonians: It was not simply a matter of carefully chosen words, but (1) of a thoughtful message accompanied by7 both divine confirmation (i.e., “with power” and “with the Holy Spirit”) and human corroboration (i.e., “deep conviction” on the part of those preaching the message, not those hearing it), and (2) of a lifestyle consistent with the message being preached (1:5b, which anticipates 2:1–12).
In 1:5a, the phrase “with power and with the Holy Spirit” should probably be understood in light of (and as an instance of) what Paul describes in Romans 15:18–19, where the preposition before both “power” and “Spirit” (Gk. en) is exactly the same as the repeated preposition in this verse translated “with”: “what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.”8
In 1:6 Paul finally states two reasons why he “knows” that the Thessalonians have been “chosen by God.” (1) They “welcomed the message”—that is, they accepted the gospel preaching and converted to Christianity (cf. 2:13). (2) They then “became imitators” both of the missionaries and, more importantly, of the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1), in that “in spite of severe suffering,” they experienced a supernatural “joy given by the Holy Spirit”9 (cf. Gal. 5:22).
“Suffering” (Gk. thlipsis; NRSV, “persecution”; see also 3:3, 7; 2 Thess. 1:4, 6) indicates the socio-religious dislocation, conflict, persecution, and/or ostracization experienced by the new converts as a result of their turning to a new and socially suspect religion.10 The refusal of new Christian converts to participate in “normal” social and cultic activities and the exclusivity of their claim to worship the only “living and true God” (1:9) would have left non-Christian friends feeling offended, resentful, or betrayed; similarly, family members would have viewed a refusal to maintain ancestral traditions as evidence of an appalling lack of concern for family responsibilities. Moreover, since civic peace, agricultural success, and freedom from natural catastrophe were thought to lie in the hands of the traditional gods, it was considered extremely dangerous to ignore or offend them.
It is not difficult, therefore, to imagine how conversion to Christianity could result in conflict, persecution, and ostracization. Paul takes it for granted that as a result of this social dislocation believers will “suffer” (a point he develops in 3:2–4; see also 2 Thess. 1:4); he also takes it for granted that the benefits of being a believer, both short-term (the present experience of the Spirit, membership in God’s people) and long-term (vindication, salvation, the presence of the Lord; cf. 2:19; 4:13–18; 5:9–10; 2 Thess. 1:5–10; 2:13–14), far outweigh any suffering that might be experienced (cf. Rom. 8:18, “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”).
Further Description of the Thessalonians (vv. 7–10)
A CONSEQUENCE OF the Thessalonians’ becoming imitators of the missionaries and of the Lord was that they in turn became a “model” to believers elsewhere, not just in the two Greek provinces of “Macedonia and Achaia” (1:7), but “everywhere” (1:8). Whether the news “sounded forth”—the image is one of a sound, perhaps that of a trumpet, spreading like stone-caused ripples on a pond—as a result of the efforts of the Thessalonians or of others is not clear. Either way, so well known was the report of the dramatic events in Thessalonica that Paul and his companions did “not need to say anything” (that this is a bit of a rhetorical overstatement is clear from 2 Thess. 1:4).
The two parallel phrases, “the Lord’s message” (lit., “the word of the Lord”; cf. 2 Thess. 3:1) and “your faith in God,” suggest that the spreading report focused not just on the gospel message, but also its impact on its hearers. Elements of the report are summarized in 1:9–10: It covered (as in 1:5–6) both the activity of the missionaries (“what sort of visit we had with you”11) and (more important) how the Thessalonians responded in “turning” (a standard term for conversion, as in Acts 9:35; 11:21; 15:19; 26:18, 20) to God and away from the idols of their pagan heritage (cf. 14:15: the Lycaonians were urged “to turn from these worthless things to the living God”).
In language unusual for Paul (perhaps because it borrows from or echoes what is being reported by others), he spells out what this conversion involved. (1) It involved a commitment “to serve12 the living and true God” (1:9b, a description that echoes Old Testament language; e.g., Jer. 10:10). (2) It included a commitment “to wait for his Son from heaven” (1:10a)—that is, Jesus, here described as the risen and delivering one. (For the linkage of “Son of God” and resurrection, cf. Rom. 1:4; for “deliver” [which in Pauline usage is virtually the equivalent of “save”], cf. Rom. 11:26, citing Isa. 59:20.)
Thus Paul explicates conversion in terms of both present activity (a wholehearted commitment or devotion that expresses itself in active service to God, not merely acknowledgment of him) and future hope (trust in Jesus the Risen One as the agent of God’s deliverance at the time of judgment). Both of these elements anticipate later sections of the letter (present behavior, 4:1–12; Jesus as the Risen One, 4:13–18, who delivers, 5:1–11). The reference to the “true and living God” emphasizes the monotheistic nature of Christianity (a characteristic it shared with Judaism) in contrast to the syncretistic polytheism of much of Greco-Roman culture, while the reference to Jesus, “his Son from heaven,” once again distinguishes Christianity from Judaism (cf. 1:1).
What Jesus delivers from is “the coming wrath.” “Wrath” is not so much a matter of emotion as it is an expression of God’s righteous judgment against sin (cf. Rom. 2:5, 8). Though already “being revealed … against all ungodliness and wickedness” (1:18), it is primarily associated, as here (cf. also 1 Thess. 5:9), with a future time of judgment (cf. Rom. 5:9), which will occur on the Day of the Lord (cf. 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2), an event also known as the “coming” (Gk. parousia) of Jesus (cf. 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8–9). Although the point is not developed here, in Paul’s thought the “rescue” or deliverance of believers from the coming wrath is specifically grounded in Jesus’ atoning death on their behalf (1 Thess. 5:9–10; cf. Rom. 3:21–26; 5:9–10).13
To recapitulate: This section begins as a thanksgiving prayer for the Thessalonians. In the course of his thanksgiving, however, Paul explains why he is thankful, and thus the passage also offers a rich description of the Thessalonians and their response to the gospel message.
Bridging Contexts
THERE ARE A number of ways one might approach the challenge of building a bridge to the twentieth century when confronted by a passage as complex as this one. One way would be to begin with the form of this section of the letter. Observing that this section opens with a prayer, one might then seek to identify typical features of Paul’s prayer that could serve as a pattern or model for ours (e.g., one writer suggests that Paul’s prayer here is “characterized by four qualities: universality, frequency, concreteness, and mutuality”14). But since the prayer for the Thessalonians comprises only a small part of this section, a form-based approach leaves much of the section out of account. I would prefer to utilize a form-based approach for a section more completely devoted to prayer (e.g., 3:9–13).
A second way would be to investigate what Paul was trying to accomplish or achieve in this section of his letter. The Original Meaning section is essentially an attempt to answer the question, “What did Paul say?” Here we can ask two additional questions: “Why did he say it?” and, “What was he trying to do or accomplish?” In this section of the letter, for example, Paul could be seen as doing at least three things:
(1) He praises the Thessalonians for what they have been doing.
(2) By praising what they have been doing, he implicitly encourages them to continue doing it.
(3) He reinforces the boundaries that define the Thessalonian congregation as a distinctive group.
These observations might then be utilized as a basis for further reflection about their contemporary application or relevance, or for formulating general principles that might then be applied to the church today.15
A third approach to bridging a complex passage like this—and the one I will develop here—takes as its starting point the observation that while this section of the letter begins as a prayer for the Thessalonian congregation, it soon becomes in many respects a narrative account of its origins. One difficulty in bridging contexts when dealing with narrative material is that the order in which material is presented in the narrative is not always the most useful or functional order in which to use or apply it. Thus, we may need to reorganize the material from its narrative order to a more topical or logical order. If we do this with 1:2–10, we can formulate a number of observations about the Thessalonian congregation (which is, as we noted earlier, the primary focus and topic of this section) that arise out of Paul’s description of it.
It was a community rooted in God’s grace, love, and election. Paul established this point in 1:1 (by his use of the phrase “in God the Father” and his mention of “grace”). Here he carries forward the point with reference to God’s love (cf. Rom. 5:8) and election. Election, as Klyne Snodgrass reminds us, is primarily about God.16 It is God’s grace, love, and mercy in action; it is not so much a matter of some arbitrary atemporal decision (a common caricature), but of a means to an end (cf. Rom. 11:32, “For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all” [NIVILE]). It demonstrates how much God values human beings and reminds us that God is in control. The church exists because God wants it to.
It was a community committed to Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death and resurrection (1:10; cf. 4:14; 5:10) is the foundation upon which the church is based (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11); he is the focus of our faith (1 Thess. 1:3); his life is the model by which the church now lives (1:6); and his coming from heaven (1:10) defines the future for which the church waits.
It was a community empowered by the Holy Spirit. It was due to the evident power of the Holy Spirit in the preaching and lives of the missionaries (1:5) that the Thessalonians became convinced that the gospel was not merely a human message, but was in fact what “it actually is, the word of God” (2:13). In turn, the same Spirit (and word, 2:13) is at work in the Thessalonians, giving them (even in the midst of difficult circumstances) joy (1:6) and empowering their own witness to others (cf. 1:7–8).
It was a community that bore witness to the gospel. It is clear that the Thessalonian congregation was actively bearing witness to the gospel they had received (1:8). What is important to notice is both what they were bearing witness to and how they were doing it. Paul notes that not only the “Lord’s message”—that is, the good news about Jesus—had “sounded forth,” but also the Thessalonians’ “faith in God”—that is, their response to the good news—had “become known.” In short, they were sharing both the good news about Jesus and the impact of that good news on their own lives.
As for the “how,” Paul notes (1:9) that others were talking about what the Thessalonians did: They turned from idols and served the true God. That is, their behavior was consistent with, and testified to the reality of, their message. Following the example of Jesus (1:6) and the missionaries (1:5–6; cf. 2:3–10), they practiced what they preached.
It was a community characterized by faith, love, and hope. Paul was not the only one impressed by the Thessalonians’ active faith (expressing their trust in what God has done), hard-working love (responding to what the Holy Spirit was doing), and patient, enduring hope (looking forward to what Jesus would do) (1:3). He specifically mentions that others (1:9) also were talking about their faith in God and their expectation of Jesus’ coming (1:8–10), and it seems likely that their love for the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia (4:10) was discussed as well.
It was a community clearly differentiated from other religions. By turning away from idols (1:9), the Thessalonian church differentiated itself from paganism; by proclaiming its allegiance to Jesus as resurrected Messiah, Lord, and Son of God (1:3, 6, 10; cf. 1:1), it distinguished itself from Judaism.
These observations about the Thessalonian congregation arise out of Paul’s description of it. None of these characteristics appear to be in any way unique or limited to that particular congregation. This suggests that they may offer a yardstick or set of guidelines against which to evaluate our own churches today; indeed, Paul himself observes in 1:7 that the Thessalonians had become a model for others.
Contemporary Significance
ONE WAY TO apply this passage to our contemporary situation is to take the six observations about the Thessalonian congregation and turn them into a set of questions to ask about our churches (and, for that matter, ourselves).
Are we a community rooted in God’s grace, love, and election? This question has implications in two directions. On the one hand, the fact that God loved us so much that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8) reminds us how highly God loves and values his church and the believers who comprise it, despite our sin and failures. This rules out on the congregational level defeatist attitudes, for example, and on an individual level negative self-perceptions. We have worth and value because God loves us. On the other hand, the fact that the church is rooted in God’s grace reminds us that the church does not even exist, and certainly has no life, apart from God and his saving work in Christ. This leaves no room for triumphalism or for arrogance or pride, because grace is entirely God’s doing. We had nothing to do with it, and have nothing for which to take credit or boast; all we can do is offer praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God for what he has done.
Are we a community committed to Jesus Christ? Have we counted up the cost of following Jesus and decided that it really is worth bearing the cross (i.e., suffering) in order to be his disciple (see Luke 14:25–33)? Do we acknowledge his death and resurrection as the only basis of our salvation? Are his life and teachings the model by which we live, or have we (consciously or unconsciously) imported into our life and thinking some other model or values? Do we seek to minister as his disciples? Do we genuinely believe that the future will be defined by his return in glory? Is he the Lord of all creation (Phil. 2:10–11), or do we view him as merely one more prophet or exalted master or spiritual guide of some sort?
Are we a community empowered by the Holy Spirit? Are the power and gifts of the Spirit evident in our preaching, our evangelism, our ministering? Are the joy and other fruits of the Spirit apparent in our fellowship? Are we open to the leading of the Spirit? It is important to note that the answer to this question is not as simple as charismatic versus noncharismatic, as if the exercise of a few particular spiritual gifts, or their corresponding absence, can indicate whether we are open to the power and leading of the Spirit. It is just as possible for a church that exalts speaking in tongues and prophecy to miss the leading of the Spirit as it is for a church that thinks all the “sign” gifts ceased in the first century. A more reliable indicator is the presence of the fruit of the Spirit and the exercise of those spiritual gifts intended for the building up of the body of Christ.17
Are we a community that bears witness to the gospel? Some congregations pride themselves on the way they consistently proclaim the gospel, but they undercut their witness by failing to live it as well. Others say they evangelize by the way they live the gospel, but they undercut their witness by failing to identify what is it they believe in and live for. Here it is not a matter of either-or, but of both-and. The Thessalonians are our model in this regard: They were sharing both the good news about Jesus and also demonstrating the impact of that good news in their own lives. As John R. W. Stott notes, “No church can spread the gospel with any degree of integrity, let alone credibility, unless it has been visibly changed by the gospel it preaches.”18 At the same time, a congregation that claims that living the gospel excuses them from needing to proclaim it verbally runs the risk of being confused with other non-Christian groups that have similar lifestyles (e.g., the Mormons).
As the Heaven’s Gate cult mass suicide at Easter 1997 revealed, our neighbors—for that is what those people, who came from ordinary backgrounds and states across the United States, were—are desperate for hope, so desperate that they are willing to believe virtually anything in order to get it. We who have found a real hope in Jesus must share that hope with our desperately seeking neighbors, both by what we say and by how we live. If that is not happening in our churches, then we need to reflect on why that is the case.
Are we a community characterized by faith, hope, and love? As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 13:13, these are the things that endure for the long haul. In view of the current political and cultural climate, with its concentration on winning political battles and cultural wars, it may be that love requires the most attention. As John Ortberg observes, the first casualty of the culture wars is not truth but love.19 Important as it is to promote or contend for biblical values in the so-called culture wars, it is even more important to live them. As Jesus himself said, “everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:35, NRSV). There is an obvious and close connection between this point and the previous one: Without love, our proclamation of the gospel will be little more than “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1).
Are we a community clearly differentiated from other religions? The widespread contemporary interest in New Age religions (in many respects merely modern forms of ancient Gnosticism) and various other cults and movements is well known. Many of these “religions” are more than happy to incorporate elements of Christianity into their teachings. Often this takes the form of some loosely defined ideas about Jesus as some sort of “exalted master” or a vague concept of some kind of “Christ consciousness.” If nothing else, this kind of eclectic syncretism is a matter of “smart marketing” on their part, and it sometimes succeeds in deceiving Christians. But these movements refuse to acknowledge Jesus as the resurrected Messiah, Son of God, and Lord; this is one of the defining differences between them and authentic Christianity.
For the sake of the gospel it is critical that we affirm, maintain, and teach one another what makes Christianity different from any other religion or religious movement. It is equally critical that we identify and repent of the idols of power, ideology, and materialism. To the extent that we worship these in place of Jesus, we are in danger of becoming just another political movement, lobbying organization, or consumer group, scarcely distinguishable from the rest of society.