1st Thessalonians Chapter 1
Originally posted Wednesday September 10, 2008
General Comment: This letter holds a
very special place among all the writings included in the New Testament. It is
the oldest document that has survived the initial process of creating the
Canon as received. It is also the earliest of Paul's authentic letters -
written from Corinth in 50/51 CE several months after the church was
established. Therefore it gives us an excellent view of his writing
and the issues that faced the Gentile Christians of mid first
century. Although some writers propose the church was a mixture of Jews and
Gentiles, the Jews would have certainly been a distinctly small minority. Acts 17:1-9 presents a situation
in which the Jewish Synagogue initiated a riot in opposition to Paul's
preaching, eventually dragging "Jason and some of the believers before the
city magistrates." In this abbreviated version of the story, Paul and
Silas were encouraged to leave the city the very same night. This does not
do justice to the reality of Paul's visit as he reports it. In this letter he
mentions as a word of praise and thanksgiving that they became believers
"in spite of persecution." We should keep in mind that one of the
major themes that Luke develops in Acts is the fierce resistance to
Christianity by essentially all Hellenistic Jews. The resistance was
surely there but it was from the Thessalonians' "fellow countrymen"
(Gentles) and not from the Jews. The letter before us is a testimony
to Paul's presence in Thessalonica for a period of time sufficient to establish
a lasting community.
1st Thessalonians Chapter 1
Salutation/The Thessalonians' Faith and Example
Paul
does not identify himself as an apostle chosen by God as he does in his later
letters, perhaps because he has just recently been with the recipients who do
not require an introduction. He is, as he often was, with Silvanus and
Timothy, one of his most effective and important disciples (Acts 16:1-2). The three evangelists
were also co-workers in the establishment of the church in Corinth (2 Cor. 1:19). The address is not to the
church inThessalonica but "of the Thessalonians who are in God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ," to whom Paul extends the grace of God and Christ, Thus Paul
establishes the centering point of the community - not on the evangelists but
on and in God and Christ. As the Church they are more than just a
gathering of people which the word can imply. They are
the "people called out." They are the ones who have
been chosen by God to receive the Gospel.
Paul
offers his prayer of thanksgiving to God for the community's faith, love and
steadfastness of hope. These are not indicators of specific acts among the
members but serve as complimentary terms of endearment which, at the same time,
express Paul's own hope that such qualities remain strong among the members.
These Thessalonians are chosen by God. Paul knows this to be so because of the
manner in which his preaching was received - in power and in the Holy Spirit
and with full conviction. Perhaps their acceptance of Paul and of the
Gospel was more than Paul had expected for this very pagan city. He attributes
the convincing nature of the success to the power of God through the
Spirit which he sees as already at work among the Thessalonians (God's
prevenient grace).
We
have no information on how long Paul stayed in Thessalonica. It was long enough
for him to gauge how well they had grasped the basic tenets of the
Gospel, for he notes how quickly they became imitators of the evangelists and
Christ in spite of the rejection they experienced from fellow citizens. The
"imitation" may be understood as their "steadfastness of
hope" in God's promise even when that hope was being assailed as
absurd by their detractors. From Paul's vantage point in Corinth and his
further evangelistic efforts after leaving Thessalonica, he can offer them
praise for the exceptional example of their faith in God which has
impressed others who are hearing the Gospel for the first time. Indeed, the
word of their faith example, their turning away from worshipping of idols to
serving God has preceded Paul and is known without his mentioning. This is
a testimony to the influence the good work of one community can have in other
places. Those who were yet to offer up their faith in Christ, more readily did
so on evidence of the experience of others.
The
closing vs. 10 is
important in its introduction of several defining factors of Paul's Gospel
message. The act of faith which brings one within the family of God is not
static. One does not become a believer and then ignore the future. Faith gives
rise to hope and hope is always directed to the future. In Paul's message the
future for which the Thessalonians were waiting was seen in apocalyptic
terms. It was the end of the age, the dividing point in history. It was a
time of God's intervening wrath against the evil of the world. It would be initiated
by the return (Parousia) of "[God's] Son from heaven, the one whom God has
raised and who will rescue the believers from the coming wrath [of
judgment]." The Christian life was oriented toward waiting and being
prepared for that event. As we will read later in the letter there is more to
know of this waiting time which will define the "interim ethics," the
believer's ongoing life in Christ.
Why
would Greek Gentiles accept such a message? The answer is too complex for
this commentary but we can consider a few basic possibilities. Gentiles had
been drawn to Synagogues because of Jewish monotheism and ethical
law. This offered a significant relief from the panoply of deities,
spirits, lords, demons and a host of cosmic powers which were capriciously indifferent,
selfishly demanding and with no quality of justice or compassion. They
were in general ethically challenged egotists who had to be appeased.
Any passage through their powers which would eventually bring one to
the Elysium Fields was as daunting as perfectly following the Law of
Moses. The Christian message of one Lord under whose feet all of these
powers and principalities had been subdued and the access to the heavenly
places through one's faith in this one Lord must have been a welcomed
alternative. Add to this the stress on family, moral rectitude and a social
egalitarianism rooted in love and the impartiality of the one God and we have a
fair view of why the Gentiles were so easily drawn to Christ. Christianity was,
by contrast to what the Gentiles had known, a hopeful faith.
These
reasons may sound far removed from the 21st century in
which empirical evidence is more important than emotion. We live in a
world not unlike the one experienced by 1st century pagans. The perceived
forces arrayed against humanity today are both the same and yet more
complex in the masks they wear. There are still many gods and lords that demand
our allegiance but we do not look upon religion as a means of escape, a sop
to comfort our disquieted lives. Instead, we embrace the ambiguities of
life in a "nevertheless" pronouncement of hope. Not hope of
discarding reality but of changing it. Our faith is in the one who came to
change our minds by speaking to our hearts. So we do not despair at the evil
of injustice and indifference to the oppressive suffering of others. We
leave our prayers at the altar and express our hope as co-workers with
God through action to make the world as God intended it to be. It is this
absurd hope that invites us to the battle field where the only effective
ammunition is love - a Christ-like love which sets aside grasping after
personal divinity and embraces the likeness of mankind.
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