Scripture
1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
Questions
Chapter 2
The Thessalonians’ response to Paul’s Message
13 And because of this we also give thanks to God constantly, that when you received God’s word that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.
This may be the first book of the NT to be written. The bible is still just the OT, or Hebrew bible, on scrolls in the synagogues. What status does Paul give to words from apostles [1 Thessalonians 2:7]?
What does this “word” do in the believers? How is God’s word changing you?
14 For you became imitators, brothers, of the churches of God which are in Judea [τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ] in Christ Jesus, because you also suffered the same things at the hands of your own people, just as they themselves did also at the hands of the Jews [τῶν Ἰουδαίων], 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and who persecuted us, and who are not pleasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles in order that they may be saved, so that they always fill up their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last.
Who had the Thessalonians first become imitators of [1 Thessalonians 1:6]? As a result, who are they also imitating [v14]? How were they imitating the church in Judea?
Jew is literally Judean. Identify TWO Judean groups in v14. Which group is Paul critical of? Why?
What might “fill up their sins” mean [Genesis 15:16; Daniel 8:23 LXX; 2 Maccabees 6:14; Matthew 23:31-32]? How does Romans 11, written later, fill out Paul’s theology of his people and the nations coming in to God’s kingdom [Romans 11:25]?
Paul’s Desire to Revisit the Thessalonians
17 But when we were made orphans by separation from you, brothers, for a short time (in face, not in heart), we were even more eager with great desire to see your face, 18 because we wanted to come [ἐλθεῖν] to you—I, Paul, on more than one occasion—and Satan hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming [παρουσίᾳ1]? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
Paul mentions the parousia of Jesus. What is the concern of the Thessalonians and part of Paul’s team’s purpose in writing this letter [1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11]?
Chapter 3
Paul Sends Timothy to Thessalonica
1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we determined to be left behind in Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, in order to strengthen and to encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed for this, 4 for indeed when we were with you we told you beforehand that we were about to be afflicted, just as indeed it happened, and you know. 5 Because of this, I also, when I could endure it no longer, sent in order to know your faith, lest somehow the tempter tempted you and our labor should be in vain.
How had Paul supported the persecuted church in Thessaloniki? What did he fear for them? How can we support the persecuted church?
More
BibleProject Guides: Book of 1 Thessalonians
“As Best (1986, 349–54) explains, in the Hellenistic world, parousia was often used to refer to the ceremonial arrival of “a ruler to a city where he is greeted with honors of one kind and another.” According to Best, the parousia of a ruler therefore denotes both their actual presence and the celebration of it (Best 1986, 349–54). Similarly, the noun was used to describe the coming of a divine figure to help his people (see Josephus, Ant. 3.80; 9.55). Although the term parousia and its imagery are derived from Graeco-Roman society, the notion of Christ’s parousia is also rooted in the OT idea of the coming of the Day of the Lord. As Wanamaker (1990, 24–6) points out, in the OT the Day of the Lord is often described as a time when God will “visit” Israel and its rulers to judge them (see Isa 2:10–12; Jer 5:9; Amos 5:17–18; Zech 10:3) but also bring salvation (see Isa 52:6–10).” Derek R. Brown, 1 Thessalonians, ed. Douglas Mangum, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 1 Th 2:17–3:13.