Scripture
Questions
Paul’s team’s ministry in Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:1–12)
1 For [γάρ] you yourselves know, brothers, our reception with you, that it was not in vain,
1. The γάρ is often not translated. What does the conjunction link together?[1]
A. How they did not behave in Thessalonica[2]
2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, just as you know, we had the courage in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.
2. What sort of persecution had Paul and his team suffered at Thessalonica [Acts 17:5]?[3]
3 For our exhortation is not from error or from impurity or with deceit, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, thus we speak, not as pleasing people but God, who examines our hearts.
3. Why does Paul so want to vindicate himself and the team [see 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16 [in context of Acts 17:1-9]?[4]
Paul wants to be clear that…
5 …never did we come with a word of flattery, just as you know, nor with a pretext of greediness (God is witness), 6 nor seeking glory from people, neither from you nor from others.
4. Is there criticism of Christian leaders in our days? Is it valid? Do we need transparency and accountability?
7 Although we could have insisted on our own importance as apostles of Christ, yet we became infants [alt. gentle] in your midst, like a nursing mother [τροφός] cherishes her own children.
There is a textual variant here[5].
5. How do you respond to these occasional textual variants? Do they trouble you? How do we respond to those who raise them an objection of the trustworthiness of the Scripture?
B. How they did behave in Thessalonica.
8 Longing for you in this way we determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you had become dear to us.
6. Who does this remind us of [John 15:13]?
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and hardship: working by night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and righteously and blamelessly we became to you who believe, 11 just as you know how we treated each one of you, like a father his own children, 12 exhorting and consoling you and insisting that you live in a manner worthy of God, who calls you to his own kingdom and glory.
In 1:4a they wrote that the Christians were τὴν ἐκλογὴν [“the chosen” or, to use more old-fashioned English, “the elect”]. Here, again, the church has been called by God.
7. Paul is Jewish. How has he redefined “election” [see also 1 Thessalonians 1:4]
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BibleProject Guides: Book of 1 Thessalonians
[1] The beautiful things that were said of the Thessalonian church [chapter 1] are the result of the way the team had ministered amongst them [chapter 2]. Their effort was “not in vain” [v1]. Paul will lay out what they did NOT do [vv2-7] and what they did do [vv8-12].
[2] Derek R. Brown, 1 Thessalonians, ed. Douglas Mangum, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).
[3] Angry Jews and “worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace” [τῶν ἀγοραίων ⸂ἄνδρας τινὰς⸃ πονηροὺς καὶ ὀχλοποιήσαντε] [Acts 17:5].
[4] Firstly, there probably had been criticism of Paul after his sudden departure [Acts 17:1-9]. The harsh words against “the Jews” [vv15-16], which sound very antisemitic in our context, are likely in response to Jewish or Judaizing attacks on Paul’s apostleship. You may remember that we call this mirror reading. When we read the NT letters, we often must take an informed guess at some of the issues being addressed. We don’t have the whole story. We just have one side, i.e. the letter that is inspired and preserved for us. Secondly, there is something else going on that 2000 years later we might miss. Paul and his team may well be referencing Greek philosophy, specifically, the travelling Cynic philosophers of the day [Best, Ernest. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians. Baker Academic, 1993. Malherbe, Abraham J. The Letters to the Thessalonians. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004]. Itinerant philosophers were the social media of the first century Greco-Roman world. They travelled from city to city speaking in the public forums. They shaped peoples thinking. They were influencers. The Cynics were a “Graeco-Roman philosophical movement that believed a virtuous life should be free of excessive material goods and social standards” [Derek R. Brown, 1 Thessalonians, ed. Douglas Mangum, Lexham Research Commentaries, Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012]. They questioned men’s motivations and sincerity.
[5] . Ἤπιος = gentle or νἤπιος = infant. The uncial would have been ΕΓΕΝΗΘΗΜΕΝΗΠΙΟΙ or ΕΓΕΝΗΘΗΜΕΝNΗΠΙΟΙ. The LEB goes for νἤπιος [it has more support from earlier manuscripts, e.g. LEB ] but ἤπιος does seem to read much better [e.g. ESV]. “Gentle” does read better and has some scholarly support [Malherbe, Abraham J. The Letters to the Thessalonians. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.].