1 THE COMING OF THE LORD July 27, 2020 Week 1 Faithfulness of God 1 Thessalonians 1 Purpose: To see how our words and deeds witness to our Christian commitment. Background: Thessalonica was the capital and largest city (approx. 200,000) of the Roman providence of Macedonia. The most important Roman highway (the Egnatian Way which was an extension of the Appian Way) extended from Rome all the way to the Orient and went through Thessalonica. This highway, along with the city’s thriving seaport, made Thessalonica one of the wealthiest and most flourishing trade centers in the Roman Empire. Recognized as a free city, Thessalonica was allowed self-rule and was exempted from most of the restrictions placed by Rome on other cities in the empire. However, with its international flavor came many pagan religions and cultural influences that challenged the faith of the young Christian there. (Young - as in new to the faith.) Because of these outside influences, Paul knew that it was very important that he remain in touch with the church and try to help them keep the faith. 1 Thessalonians is a letter written by Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the members of the church Paul had established in Thessalonica in the early summer of AD 50. This letter may be the earliest of the letters of Paul that we have. Paul and his friends wrote it in late AD 50. That is about 20 years after Jesus died and rose again to life. Paul was on his second main journey in which he spread the good news about Jesus. He and his friends were in the city of Corinth when they wrote the letter. Although this letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy, we can see that Paul is the main author because the style is so much like that of his other letters. Silas and Timothy may have helped Paul write the letter. Or they may have read and approved what he wrote or dictated. These three men had started the first church in Thessalonica but were only able to be there for a short period of time, approximately three weeks, before their lives were threatened and they had to leave in a hurry. At the first opportunity, after a stop in Athens and then on to Corinth, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to see how the new believers were doing. Timothy came back to Corinth with news about the church at Thessalonica. He told Paul and Silas that the church was strong but that there was much persecution. Some people 2 were saying bad things about Paul and his friends. These people claimed that Paul’s intentions were false. Then the Christians had many questions and were in need of more teaching. So Paul wrote this letter to answer their questions and to commend them on their faithfulness to Christ. 1 Thessalonians is broken down into 5 Chapters and we will be studying them over the next 5 weeks. Our lesson today focuses on Chapter 1. Read Verse 1 The Greeks call the church ‘the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’. This means that the church, which is the company of those who believe in Christ, belongs to God and to the Lord Jesus. God started that church by the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul and his friends brought the message about Jesus Christ but the power was from God. The greeting is a request that God will give to them grace and peace. Grace is the blessing of God, for his people. He gives it because he is kind. They do not deserve it. But God gives them his blessing because he loves them; just like he does for Christians today. God extends his love to us as a free gift through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Grace can also refer to the strength that God gives us to remain faithful to Him and fulfill His will and purposes in our lives. This peace has to do with no longer being at odds with God, resisting or rebelling against God’s will. It is a sense of inner health and of being at one with God. Peace means living in a right relationship with God and understanding that He is the greatest resource we have in life. Read Verse 2 Paul, Silas, and Timothy thank God for the Thessalonians. They thank God for what he has done. God has saved them from their sins and given them a new life with Him. Since the time when they first trusted in God, he has helped them to grow as Christians. So, every time that Paul and his friends pray, they always ask God to bless and help the Christians at Thessalonica. Read Verse 3 When Paul and his friends pray, they remember three things about these Christians. These are their faith, their love, and their hope. What they believed had an effect on how they lived. They did good things because they loved other people. They were strong because they had a hope in the Lord Jesus. When Paul and his friends spoke about the good news of Jesus, these Thessalonians accepted it as true. They gave themselves to God and trusted him for their lives. The result of this was that they changed the way that they lived. All the people could see that 3 they had changed. They were different from what they had been before. This change was sure evidence of the faith that they had in God. They loved God for what he, in his love, had done for them by Jesus. Their love for God showed itself in love for other people. Because of this, they wanted to share the love of God with them. So they worked hard. They spread the good news about Jesus. And they did all that they could to help those in need. All that they did was evidence of their love both for God and for other people. We often use the word ‘hope’ where there is a doubt. We do not know whether what we hope for will happen. The Christian hope is not like that. Christian hope is to be certain about something. God has said that something will happen. And we are certain that it will happen. He has promised that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth. The Christian hope looks forward to that time. This hope gives us strength, courage and patience to live while we wait for Christ to come. Those who did not believe in the Lord Jesus attacked these Christians. But they overcame troubles because their hope in the Lord was firm. Faith, love, and hope are characteristics that mark effective Christians in any age. (Then and now.) Read Verse 4 Paul and his friends know that God chose these Christians at Thessalonica to be his own people. They are sure about this because these Thessalonians believed the message and trusted in the Jesus. The writers could see the change in them. The new life that comes from God caused this change. Salvation is something that only God can give. Nobody can earn it by what he or she does. This is why Paul and his friends are thanking God for these brothers and sisters (other Christians). God loved them and chose them. God gave to them the new life that can never die. God had chosen them to be his own people, just as he has chosen you and me. Read Verse 5 Paul and his friends preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people at Thessalonica. But they insisted that the effect that the message had was not the result of their words. No matter how clever the words were, they could not have caused such a great change in the lives of those who believed. There was a power in the message that was much greater than the words. The Holy Spirit worked, both in those who declared the good news and in those who heard it. When Paul, Silas, and Timothy spoke the good news, the power of God was working. The Holy Spirit took what they said; and applied it to the hearts and minds of the 4 listeners. The Holy Spirit showed them that they should repent of their sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. As they did this, God forgave their sins. And he gave them the new life that will never end. Their faith came by the power of God and not by human work. The Holy Spirit gave them the confidence to believe the gospel. And he helped them to believe that God had given them new life. Those who were against the good news accused Paul and his friends of false intentions. They said that Paul himself might have believed a false message. They claimed that he came and preached a lie for personal gain. What Paul and his friends said was false; they had made it up themselves. There was also talk that Paul and his friends behaved badly as well. So, Paul, Silas, and Timothy had to reply and deny all these false stories. They had to show that their intentions were good. And they had to show that they had done nothing wrong. If Paul and his friends had not lived good lives, the people would not have accepted what they said. They preached the good news not only in words but also in their lives. How they lived agreed with the message that they spoke.