1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13

1 Thess. 2:17-20 Paul longs to visit the Thessalonians

In this section of the letter, Paul describes what has been happening since he left the Thessalonians and how much he longs to see them again.

When have you been separated – as Paul put it, “in person, not in heart” (2:17) – from someone you cared greatly about?  How did you feel at the time and how did you feel when you received news about them or were reunited with them?

How do you feel when you see signs of progress in the faith of someone whose spiritual welfare you have been concerned about?

In verse 18, Paul says that Satan “thwarted” him (NABRE) or “blocked” him (NRSV) when he desired to return to Thessalonica.  He does not specifically describe the obstacle.  When the things you want to do are blocked, do you tend to interpret it as Satan thwarting you or as other people making choices that get in the way, or both?  Explain.

In verse 19, Paul describes the Thessalonians as his crown and joy.  The word he uses for “crown” is not the word for the crown of royalty but rather for what an athlete receives after having won a race or other competition – for example, a laurel wreath.  He uses similar language years later to describe the Philippians (Phil. 4:1).  He is not saying he will get a crown for something he did.  He is saying that they are the affirmation that his life was not lived in vain.

In verse 20, Paul says the Thessalonians are his glory and joy.  In verse 19, he says that their faith is an affirmation that his efforts were worthwhile.  When your life is over and you come before God, what aspects of your life will you be joyful about or see as an affirmation of how you lived your life?

How does thinking about what might matter to you when you come into the presence of the Lord affect how you want to live your life now?

Notice how Paul frequently sees a bigger picture.  Nothing ever matters to him only for the moment or only for itself.  He is always evaluating everything in the light of what it will look like when we are fully in the presence of God.

1 Thess. 3:1-8 Paul sends Timothy, who brings back good news about the Thessalonians

In verse 2, the phrase Paul literally says Timothy is a “co-worker of God.”  Many translations soften this to co-worker for God, but scholars suggest the best translation may be “God’s co-worker” (see Collins, “1 Thessalonians,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, par. 26, p. 776, and Cousins, “1 Thessalonians.” The International Bible Commentary, p. 1463).

In what ways are you God’s co-worker, working with God to help bring about God’s purposes in your sphere of influence?

Paul says that Christians should expect persecution (3:3).  Do we live our lives with that expectation?  Why or why not?

What is Paul’s worst fear regarding the Thessalonians, the thing he most fears might happen as they are persecuted (3:5)?

In 2:18, Paul referred to the devil as “Satan,” a word that comes from the Hebrew word for “adversary.”  Satan is God’s chief adversary in the spiritual world.  In 3:5, Paul uses the word “tempter” – another reference to the devil.  In what ways is the devil a “tempter”?

How does temptation work in our lives today?

What can we do so that our initial openness to the gospel is not in vain?

In verses 6-8, what good news does Timothy bring back from his visit to the Thessalonians?  Specifically:

• How do the Thessalonians feel about Paul?

• How are they handling the persecution?

In verse 8, Paul says that “we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord” (1 Thess. 3:8, NRSV).  What does he mean?

What do you need to do to keep standing firm in the Lord?

1 Thess. 3:9-13 Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonians and prays that he may see them again

Why is Paul so full of joy?

In verse 10, what is the additional reason he now wants to visit the Thessalonians?

Paul says that he would like to “restore whatever is lacking” (1 Thess. 3:10, NRSV) or “remedy the deficiencies” (1 Thess. 3:10, NABRE) in their faith.  Many scholars think the meaning is probably that he wants to give them further instruction in the faith, since he may have spent less than a month with them.  He might want to address individual gaps in understanding that individual members have, but he is probably thinking about what the community still needs to be taught collectively, as a community.

In what areas might you need additional understanding, to be stronger in your faith?

What things might be lacking in your local church, and how could you help fill the gaps?

Parts of the doctrine of the Trinity are embedded in Paul’s letter

In verse 11, Paul prays that he may be able to return to the Thessalonians.  There is a significant theological point buried in that prayer.  When Paul refers to God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the verb he uses (the word “direct”) is in the third person singular.  In English, we sometimes can’t tell the different between the third person singular and the third person plural (“he will direct,” “they will direct”), but the Greek language does a better job of making that distinction.  The difference matters here.  It’s the difference between saying of two directors of a play, “Sue and Bob direct it” (third person plural) or “Sue and Bob directs it” (third person singular).  You would only use the singular if Sue and Bob were in such total union with each other that they always act as one.  Otherwise, you would use the plural “are.”  Paul uses the singular.  He chooses the verb form that treats God the Father and the Lord Jesus as a union that acts as one.

This was written a mere 20 years after Jesus rose from the dead. We find that Paul already had in his head two key parts of what was eventually worked out fully in our doctrine of the Trinity: the divinity of Jesus (that he was God) and the oneness of the Father and the Son (that the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father were one God, not two gods). In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30), but that was not written down until perhaps 40 or 50 years after Paul wrote this letter.  Paul’s language suggests that, from the early days of Christianity, Christians accepted that the Father and the Son were one God. The idea was not the creation of the Council at Nicaea in 325, although that is where some key language explaining it was nailed down.

In verse 12, we see another theological development.  Paul prays that the Lord Jesus will help the Thessalonians abound in love.  That is not a request one would make of a mere human. God is the one who can answer prayer. This indicates that, 20 years after the Resurrection, Paul sees Jesus was as having the power of God. So, to sum up, Paul is implicitly showing that Christians, very early on, believed that Jesus was one with God and was God.

Some skeptics like to suggest that the doctrine of the Trinity did not take shape until the Council of Nicaea. That is not true.  Paul was not concerned with writing formal doctrine, and it took time to work out the language, but the basic idea was there from the beginning: that Jesus was God – not merely a human – and that Jesus was one with the Father.

How is the doctrine of the Trinity important to your understanding of the faith?

In verses 12-13 what does Paul pray for the Thessalonians?

He prays (1) that the Lord may make them abound in love for each other and for all people; and (2) that the Lord may strengthen their hearts so that they will be blameless and holy before God when the Lord returns.

In his prayer for the Thessalonians in verse 12, Paul asks that they may abound in love not just for one another but for all.  How is your Christian community doing in abounding in love not just for each other but for all people?

What could your church do better in order to abound in love for all?  What could you do?

What does blamelessness look like?

What does holiness look like?

Why is it important to have our hearts be strengthened in order to be blameless and holy?

To what extend are the two parts of this prayer related?  Can you actually be blameless and holy if you are not abounding in love for all people?  Explain.

Compare Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians with your own prayers for those you care about.  When you pray for those you love, do you pray that they may abound in love for each other and for all people, and that they may be strengthened in order to be blameless and holy?  (Or do you confine your prayers to more mundane concerns?)  How might Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians guide your own prayers for those you care about?

Take a step back and consider this:

We see in this letter that Paul is constantly looking at everything that happens around him from the perspective of what it looks like in the presence of God.  The things he hopes will happen now are the things that he believes will have value when we are with God forever.  In that sense, Paul is always playing the long game – considering the present in the light of eternity.

How might you focus a little less on how things look from your own perspective now, and a little more on how things look from God’s perspective?

How would routinely seeing our time in the light of eternity affect how you think and act in everyday life now?