The Thessalonians

[kwikphilly]

I would like to start a Study on both 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and I'm going to try YET another way since it seems lately everything spirals off Topic -so here I'm going to begin with questions and one question will be answered at a time,by you- if anyone starts to go off into their own direction we can simply ignore that,stay on point or we can end our question) answer process and skip it!

To do a proper study we must set the stage first ... In order to do that we must know who is speaking,what time period we are in,where are we,who is the audience,their culture/ background and what is the main them- what is going on,this is called full context

Shall we begin? I think we all probably know that the place is Thessalonica & the person who wrote this letter( the person speaking) is the Apostle Paul- he addressed the Thessalonians in the 1st Book,WHEN?What was happening at that time and what was the culture like there- who were these " Thessalonians"

Who would like to begin?

[Mr. M]

12 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

Shall we begin? I think we all probably know that the place is Thessalonica & the person who wrote this letter( the person speaking) is the Apostle Paul- he addressed the Thessalonians in the 1st Book,WHEN?What was happening at that time and what was the culture like there- who were these " Thessalonians"

Who would like to begin?

Rough time line.

Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas in Jerusalem to discuss legal matters

pertaining to the Gentiles.

Acts 16 Paul and Silas imprisoned in Philippi.

Acts 17:

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia,

they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days

reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again

from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout

Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd

fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar,

and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers

of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar,

saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea:

who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

[kwikphilly]

4 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

Rough time line.

Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas in Jerusalem to discuss legal matters

pertaining to the Gentiles.

Acts 16 Paul and Silas imprisoned in Philippi.

Acts 17:

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia,

they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days

reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again

from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout

Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd

fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar,

and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers

of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar,

saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea:

who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Excellent reference!

Blessings MrM,Brother I'm delighted to see you here.  

So,it's hard to determine a time line,isn't it! Lol But what we do know is that it's was under Roman Empirical jurisdiction and these were very turbulent times.There was great civil unrest .Paul had begun a Ministry at Thessalonica and now some of the Brethren were being accused,in fear of persecution - &:why,because they were continuing in the Unity of their Faith,they had a MISSION- didn't they? And now Paul,being in Prison was not there with them

So we see a mixture of people's in the city,don't we,we see the Gentile Believers and the unbelieving Jews.Of course the Jews hated those of the WAY,they did not believe Jesus was the Messiah who came in the flesh,died &:rose again on the 3rd day

So what was the threat to them by these witnesses?

[Mr. M]

21 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

So what was the threat to them by these witnesses?

If I understand your question, you are asking why the new sect was seen

as a threat by the Establishment, right?

A tale as old as time.

36 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd

fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar,

and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

I would think that a type of envy would arise from anything that diminished the status quo

for what was likely a well established and respected synagogue,

attended by many preeminent Greek/Roman citizens.

38 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout

Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

Of course, the way the household of Jason was attacked would have been a direct threat to the new

believers as well!

 

[Mr. M]

31 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

There was great civil unrest .Paul had begun a Ministry at Thessalonica and now some of the Brethren were being accused,in fear of persecution -

 

50 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

 

1 Thessalonians 1:

5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit 

and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, 

with joy of the Holy Spirit.

Here we see the ever recurring formula. A congregation is birthed in the fires of affliction 

to become Witnesses to the Truth.  And what is this power, with a blessed assurance?

The Joy of the Holy Spirit!!!

The Comforter comes in power and brings great Joy to the hearts of believers.

This brings the edification that overcomes in the face of trials.

[kwikphilly]

20 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

If I understand your question, you are asking why the new sect was seen

as a threat by the Establishment, right?

A tale as old as time.

I would think that a type of envy would arise from anything that diminished the status quo

for what was likely a well established and respected synagogue,

attended by many preeminent Greek/Roman citizens.

Of course, the way the household of Jason was attacked would have been a direct threat to the new

believers as well!

 

Yes Brother,that is exactly what the question was in reference to......thank you

So in fact there was much civil unrest and the Brethren was living under looming  threat from those that envied them.....hmmm.......what do you suppose they envied?

But now we know who the Thessalonians are,that Paul has set up this "church"to continue walking their Faith & carry on preaching and spreading the Gospel while he is away......now the times there are chaotic and they Receive Word from the Apostle Paul...

 

Quote

1 Thess 1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

³ Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

⁴ Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

⁵ For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

⁶ And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.

⁷ So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

⁸ For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

⁹ For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;

¹⁰ And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Paul is reminding them of their Mission,how they are to SErve our Lord.....with patience & love.....this is their ELECTION,it is a vocational election ,Service-correct?

 

[Mr. M]

5 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

Paul is reminding them of their Mission,how they are to SErve our Lord.....with patience & love.....this is their ELECTION,it is a vocational election ,Service-correct?

 

5 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

³ Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

When you say a vocational election, there is a service to the community that brings a True Witness,

but without citing every place it comes up in the epistles, the greater vocation described in verse 3 

pertains to the testimony of how the church ministers to one another in the Agape Charity of the Lord.

This verse also invites comparisons to statements made to existing churches by the Lord in Rev 2/3 as

a testimony of what the Lord approves and disapproves.

 

[kwikphilly]

35 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

 

When you say a vocational election, there is a service to the community that brings a True Witness,

but without citing every place it comes up in the epistles, the greater vocation described in verse 3 

pertains to the testimony of how the church ministers to one another in the Agape Charity of the Lord.

This verse also invites comparisons to statements made to existing churches by the Lord in Rev 2/3 as

a testimony of what the Lord approves and disapproves.

 

Dont stop there Brorher.......I'm actually a little tied up at the moment,I would be thrilled if youd like to continue on with the Study of 1 Thess.......I can catch up later on,confident in Holy Spirit I trust you will take the reins as our Lord Directs ......

[Mr. M]

12 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

Dont stop there Brorher.......I'm actually a little tied up at the moment,I would be thrilled if youd like to continue on with the Study of 1 Thess.......I can catch up later on,confident in Holy Spirit I trust you will take the reins as our Lord Directs ......

With Acts 17 and 1 Thes 1 out there, I would say the ship has launched. I am going to hit pause and wait for some others

to hopefully get involved. I was just now wondering if the fact that the city was a center of Roman government, 

did it provide some sort of political backdrop for those receiving the letters. Something I will be looking into, along 

with the comparison to the 7 messages in Rev 2/3.

[Mr. M]

10 hours ago, kwikphilly said:

I would like to start a Study on both 1st and 2nd Thessalonians

Something new to share. I was in Acts 16, where we are told

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him,

saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 

10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia,

concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Paul and companions take this journey to Macedonia, arriving in its foremost city

Philippi, where he and Silas are promptly thrown in jail. So I am left wondering, 

what about the vision of the guy from Macedonia? We find the answer in 1 Thes 1:

6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much

affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia

and Achaia who believe. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth,

not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has

gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.

The Holy Spirit used the testimony of the Thessalonians to lift up the believers

in Macedonia and Achaia, to teach them that they are all part of one body.