Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does 1st Thessalonians Chapter 1 mean?

Thessalonica was a major city of Greece, a hub of culture and commerce. Paul had visited this city during his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1–4), establishing groups of new believers there. That success was not without hardship, as Paul experienced significant backlash from the people of that region, most especially from Jewish critics (Acts 17:5–9). As a result of that controversy, he moved along to Berea, where he found the Jewish population to be much more receptive to his message (Acts 17:11).

Despite suffering persecution and trials, it seems that the church in Thessalonica flourished. In this, his first letter to the Christians of Thessalonica, Paul seems thrilled to hear good news about their growth. These believers are not only thriving, spiritually, they are working hard to spread the gospel to the rest of the world.

This opening chapter is relatively short, only ten verses, but it sets the tone for the rest of Paul’s letter. The primary message of this passage is that Paul has heard good things about the churches of this region. For this reason, Paul praises God—saying he “constantly” mentions them in his prayers to God. Part of the reason for this praise is given in later passages, such as chapter 2. Not all cities responded to Paul’s message as warmly as Thessalonica. This contrast between apathy—even abuse—and loving support certainly made an impression on Paul.

Paul’s introduction here also sets the stage for the rest of the content of his letter. With a general background of praise and support, Paul will address concerns expressed by the Thessalonians themselves. These include unfair attacks from outsiders, rumors about Paul himself, questions about the return of Christ, and other matters. Paul will also address a few spiritual areas in which the Thessalonians need to be corrected.

Chapter Context
The first chapter of 1 Thessalonians is mostly praise for these believers, from the apostle Paul. Paul is clearly delighted to hear that they have grown in their faith and begun to spread the gospel. Chapter two will continue reminding the Thessalonians about their prior experiences with Paul, and it includes more of his praise for their excellent efforts. Later chapters will address the questions lingering in the minds of these passionate Christians. Of particular interest, among these, are concerns related to the return of Christ. Paul will also address some areas where the church needs to improve, spiritually.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

As was customary in the first century, Paul identifies himself at the beginning of his letter. At one time Paul had tried to destroy Christianity, but the Lord converted him on the road to Damascus and commissioned him to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1–19; Galatians 1:11–23). His faithfulness to that commission had taken him to Thessalonica, where he preached the gospel and a number of people believed. Silvanus—also known as Silas—and Timothy were with Paul when he preached in Thessalonica (Acts 17:4, 10, 14) and were with him as he wrote 1 Thessalonians. Silas, Paul’s missionary companion, had been imprisoned with Paul at Philippi (Acts 16:19–40). Timothy, also Paul’s missionary companion, was from Lystra. His mother was Jewish, but his father was a Gentile. He joined Paul in missions after Paul circumcised him (Acts 16:1–3).

Paul addresses his letter to the church of the Thessalonians, believers who were joined by faith to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The term “Lord” indicates that Jesus is as much God as the Father is. The name “Jesus” is from the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning “God is salvation.” The title “Christ” translates the Old Testament term, “Messiah.” Meaning “Anointed One.”

Paul greets the Thessalonian church with a combination of Greek and Hebrew salutations. “Grace” conveys a sense of God’s favor, and “peace” conveys a sense of well-being. Well-being results from God’s grace at work in a person’s heart.

Context Summary
First Thessalonians 1:1–3 identifies the writer as Paul, along with two missionary companions, Silvanus and Timothy, as he addresses the church at Thessalonica. Paul sends his greetings and expresses his gratitude for the way his readers were responding to the gospel. He specifically mentions three excellent qualities his readers exhibited: their work of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope. The believers demonstrated the pattern of grace that Paul describes in Ephesians 2:8–10. God’s grace had saved them when they put their faith in Christ instead of endeavoring to be saved by their own efforts, and the same grace had produced in them the good works God had intended to produce in their lives.

Verse 2. We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,

In this verse Paul assures his readers that he, Silvanus, and Timothy were praying for them. They were praying for all the Thessalonian Christians with thanksgiving as they mentioned them constantly in their prayers. They were a source of joy to Paul and his team members. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19–20 he asks, “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?” He answers his question by citing the Thessalonian believers: “Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” The apostle John, too, was filled with joy upon hearing that believers, whom he called “his children,” were “walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4).

Paul’s New Testament letters reveal that he prayed for believers consistently, with thanksgiving. He specifically asked God to empower them to know and do His will. Paul thanked God for the Corinthians because they had received the grace of God (1 Corinthians 1:4). He gave thanks constantly for the Ephesians because of their faith and love for all their fellow Christians (Ephesians 1:15–16) He gave thanks for the Philippians because of their ongoing partnership in the gospel (Philippians 1:3–5). And he gave thanks for the Colossians because of their faith and love for all their fellow believers (Colossians 1:3–4).

Verse 3. remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul remembered the Thessalonian believers as he prayed to God the Father. Jesus taught us to address God as “Father” (Luke 11:2). The name “Father” reflects God’s love and care, and encourages us to trust Him. Paul remembered three supreme qualities his readers exhibited. They were faith, love, and hope, and are cited in 1 Corinthians 13:13 as enduring and highly commendable. The Christians at Thessalonica demonstrated faith that worked. It had resulted in repentance (see 1 Thessalonians 1:9). Their love for Jesus had caused them to toil for Him. Their hope in Christ’s return had produced steadfast endurance of persecution.

Verse 4. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

Paul refers to the believers at Thessalonica as “brothers.” He and his readers had believed in Jesus as Savior and thereby had become members of God’s family. God was their Father, and they were brothers. God loved the Thessalonian Christians and had selected them to belong to Him.

In the New Testament, the term “brothers” is a common designation for believers. When Jesus was teaching a crowd, a man told Him His mother and brothers wanted to speak to Him. He asked: “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” (Matthew 12:48). Then He gestured toward His disciples and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:49–50).

When the Twelve addressed their fellow believers to elect seven administrators of the daily distribution, they called the believers “brothers” (Acts 6:3). The believers in Judea who were recipients of a relief offering are called “brothers” (Acts 11:29). Paul addressed the believers at Rome as “brothers” (Romans 1:13; 7:1; 8:12; 10:1; 12:1; 15:30; 16:17). He called the Corinthian believers, Galatian believers, Ephesian believers, and Colossian believers “brothers” (1 Corinthians 1:26; Galatians 4:12; Ephesians 6:23; Colossians 1:2).

Context Summary
First Thessalonians 1:4–10 expresses Paul’s confidence in the fact that God had saved his readers. He presents convincing evidence that they belong to God. He recalls how they had responded when they first heard the gospel, what kind of individuals they had become as a result of believing the gospel, and how effectively they had spread the gospel. He sums up their experience as having left paganism behind to serve God and to look forward to Jesus’ return.

Verse 5. because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

When the good news of salvation first reached the Thessalonians, they received it as God’s message for them and not merely as human philosophy. The Holy Spirit powerfully drove home the gospel to their hearts, and the holy conduct of the messengers strengthened the conviction that the gospel was true.

Paul likewise testified to the Corinthians that his conduct, and that of his coworkers, was above reproach and passed the test of God’s sight. Their preaching delivered the unadulterated Word of God (2 Corinthians 4:1–2). This pattern of receiving God’s grace and reflecting its transforming power is consistent with what the Holy Spirit does in the heart of everyone who believes on Christ. He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and He glorifies the Lord in the lives of those who believe (John 16:8–11, 14; 2 Corinthians 3:18). The Spirit uses the inspired Word of God to make believers the illustrated Word (Galatians 5:16, 22–23; Ephesians 5:18–21; Philippians 2:12–13; 1 Thessalonians 5:19–23).

Verse 6. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

After receiving the gospel, the Thessalonian believers patterned their lives after the lives of Paul and his fellow missionaries. They also patterned their lives after the life of the Lord. Just as Paul, his companions, and the Lord knew firsthand what suffering was, so the believers at Thessalonica experienced firsthand what it meant to suffer at the hands of unbelievers.

When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He did not hide from them the fact that they would suffer trials and persecution. He told them: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). Later, He told them: “… In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit imparted His supernatural joy to them.

After being stoned at Lystra and left for dead there, Paul revived and later returned to the city, where he strengthened the believers and told them that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The Thessalonians believers were suffering persecution, but maintained a resolute hope for a better time when Jesus would return.

Verse 7. so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

The Christians at Thessalonica lived such exemplary lives that they set the standard for believers in other parts of Macedonia. This was despite their persecution and the challenges they faced. Their transformed lives also set the standard for the believers in Achaia, the neighboring province to the south. This echoes a theme common in Paul’s instructions, as shown in his letters.

A transformed life is the norm for all who believe in Jesus as their Savior, as well as the ability to find joy, even in the midst of affliction. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul declared. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul similarly explained, to the Colossian Christians, that the Christian life involves even a new way of thinking. He exhorted: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1–2).

The Christian life includes not only a transformed thought life but also transformed speech. Paul also exhorted the Colossian believers to put away “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). In Colossians 4:6 Paul added a positive instruction about a transformed believer’s speech. He exhorted: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Verse 8. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

In this verse, Paul writes further about the example set by the Thessalonian Christians. They had become missionaries by sharing with others the good news they had received. Likely, they shared the good news with sailors at the seaport and with travelers on the major land route that passed alongside their city. As they traveled throughout Macedonia, Achaia, and beyond, they spread the gospel so effectively that their reputation as effective believers was known widely, so much so that Paul did not have to inform anyone about what had transpired at Thessalonica.

As shown in prior verses, this refers to a pattern, to which we’re called by Christ. His final instructions before ascending into heaven were to make disciples throughout the world (Matthew 28:18–20). Even on a personal level, believers are expected to live in such a way that others see the influence of God in us (Matthew 5:16). The Thessalonian Christians were taking these ideas seriously, and their efforts were being rewarded with great success.

Verse 9. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

Paul has been hearing good news about the Thessalonian Christians from many people. Perhaps the Thessalonian Christians had visited their seaport and shared the gospel with sailors. Likely they had also shared the gospel with travelers on the highway that ran through their city. As a result of their faithful sharing the good news about Christ, a number of sailors and travelers had trusted in Christ and had subsequently spread the gospel to near and far destinations. In doing so they must have spoken about the faith of the Thessalonians.

After their conversion to Christ, these Thessalonians abandoned their pagan ways. They no longer worshiped idols. Now they worshiped and served the true God who lives eternally. The practice of idolatry stands in stark contrast to the worship of the living and true God, but was prevalent in the first century. The apostle John issued a clear warning to Christians: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).

Verse 10. and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Paul reports that the Thessalonian Christians had turned to God, from idols (1 Thessalonians 1:9). They not only worked to serve the living and true God, but also “to wait for his Son from heaven.”

Forty days after rising from the dead Jesus ascended to heaven, where He sits on the right side of the Father (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9–11; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20). The Thessalonians were aware that He promised to return, and they were eagerly anticipating that day.

Before He died on the cross, rose again, and returned to heaven, Jesus urged His disciples not to be troubled. He described heaven as His Father’s house with many rooms and assured them He was going there to prepare a place for them. Then He added the bright prospect of His return: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

This same Jesus rescues us from the wrath of God that will fall on all who reject His Son (John 3:36; Revelation 20:10–15). In addition, He will pour out His wrath on the earth during the tribulation, the seven-year period that follows Jesus’ return for the church (Revelation 6:16–17). Later in this same letter, Paul will expound on the way this eventual return will play out.

End of Chapter 1.

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