1 Thessalonians 3

1. 3:1-3 For what reasons did Paul send Timothy to Thessalonica?
   Class Answers:
   v. 1 – He was desperate to know how the Thessalonians were faring in his absence. He and Silas could no longer stand not knowing.
   v. 2 – To strengthen and encourage them in the faith. To encourage them in their knowledge of their Savior and to make certain they were secure in that faith.
   v. 3 – So that no one would be shaken by the persecutions. He wanted the Thessalonians to know that these current afflictions were signs that things were as they should be, rather than the reverse.
   Note: Persecution is a common theme in the New Testament. In our progressively more secular society, we shouldn’t be surprised when we are criticized or judged backward, or even hateful, because we condemn sinful practices.
   Matthew 5:10-12: Persecution is a cause of rejoicing
   John 15:12-21: If we choose not to be part of this world, we will be persecuted.
   2 Timothy 3:12: If we desire to live godly lives, we will be persecuted.
   1 Peter 4:12-14: Don’t be surprised by persecution, but rather rejoice in it.
2. 3:3-4 What were the evangelists destined (or appointed) for ?
   The question should read, What are Christians destined for?
   Class Answers: For persecution. For the very afflictions the Thessalonians were experiencing.
   Note: More warnings (promises) of persecution:
   Acts 9:15-16: God told Ananias that he would show Paul what he would suffer for God’s sake.
   James 1:2: James tells his readers to rejoice in trials.
3. 3:5 Who is the tempter? How would he cause Paul’s labor to be in vain?
   Class Answers: Satan. (See also 1 Thessalonians 2:18.) If they succumbed to temptation, they would be right back where they started. He would undo all the apostles’ teaching. See 2 Peter 2:20-22: like a dog eating its own vomit.
4. 3:6 What was the good news that Timothy brought back to Paul?
   Class Answers: Of their faith and love. That they always remembered Paul and Silas kindly and they longed to see them. That the Thessalonians wanted to see and be with Paul as much as he wanted to connect with them, that they were continuing in the faith and love that he’d shared with them.
   Note: The Greek word for “good news”  here is Euaggelizo, usually translated “gospel.”  Also note the change of Paul’s tone: From concern to joy at Timothy’s good news.
   From Morris: “The combination of faith and love is no mean summary of the whole duty of Christians.” See also Galatians 5:6.
5. 3:7-10 What responses did Paul and Silas have to this news?
   Class Answers:
   v. 7 – Comfort. Even in the apostles’ own distress and persecution, they were encouraged about them through the Thessalonians’ faith. (This is the fourth time the word faith is used in this chapter.)
   v. 8 – Life. They now “live,” if the Thessalonians stand firm. Philippians 1:21 – For Paul, to live was Christ. Their faithfulness gave him new life, new energy.
   v. 9 – Joy. They couldn’t thank God enough for the joy they felt. Note the object of their gratitude – not the Thessalonians, but God. This was God’s work.
   v. 10 – Prayer. They prayed even more intensely that they could see them in person and strengthen whatever still might be lacking (to complete them).
6. 3:11-13 What are Paul’s three prayers?
   v. 11 – That God and Jesus would direct their way to the Thessalonians, clear the pathway to them.
   v. 12 – That the Thessalonians would increase and abound in love for one another and for all.
   v. 13 – That God would strengthen their hearts in holiness, so that they would be blameless. (NIV – blameless and holy)
7. 3:13 What does Paul write about the coming of Jesus?
   Class Answers: That he will come with all his saints (NRV), or “holy ones” (NIV). Commentators disagree on whether this refers to Christians who have died or angels. Morris contends that it is both. Hendricksen (page 93) ties it to 4:14:

Not a single one of [those who have fallen asleep in Jesus] will be left behind in heaven: all those who at death went to heaven – and therefore are now with him in heaven – will leave their celestial abodes at the very moment when the Lord begins his descent. Very quickly they will reunite with their bodies, which now become gloriously resurrected bodies, and will then immediately (together with those children of God who still survive on earth, and who will be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”) ascend in order to meet the Lord.
This interpretation brings 3:13 into complete harmony with 4:13-18…. The coming is one; but it is a coming both with and for his saints.

1 Thessalonians 2

1. 2:1-2 What had Paul and his companions endured prior to coming to Thessalonica? What was their attitude when they arrived?
   Class Answers: They had suffered and been shamefully mistreated in Philippi (Acts 16:11-40). Still, they were courageous in preaching the gospel to the Thessalonians. Hendriksen’s explanation of “our coming to you was not in vain” (NRSV): Our message was not empty. When we came to you, our hands were not empty. We came to give, not to take. Shogren: “not without good results.”
2. 2:3-6a The appeal (urging) they made was not from error (deceit) or impure motives (uncleanness). (v. 3)
   They were not trying to trick them (or use cunning). (3)
   They spoke as men approved (tested) by God and entrusted with the gospel. (4)
   They were not trying to please mortals (men) but God (who tests our hearts). (4)
   They never used flattery, nor did they cover up greed (put on a mask). (5)
   They were not looking for praise from men. (6) (Quotes from NIV.)
   Note the use of antithesis: Not this, but that. In this list, Paul exposes the characteristics of false teachers: their motives are not pure, they use deception and flattery to persuade people, they are motivated by the praise of men, not the approval of God.
3. 2:6b-9 In what ways did the evangelists show their affection and love for the Thessalonians?
   Class Answers: 1) Though as apostles they could have made demands, they didn’t ask for praise; 2) they were gentle, as a nurse with her children; 3) they shared not only the gospel but themselves; 4) they worked night and day so they wouldn’t be a burden to the Thessalonians.
   Note on the word “apostles”: Though not of the Twelve, Silas (2:7), Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7), and James (Galatians 1:19), are referred to as apostles in the literal meaning of “messengers from God.“
   Note on the word “gentle”: According to Shogren, there’s a textual variant in the Greek word usually translated gentle. He chooses to translate this phrase, “we were as children.”
4. 2:10 What did the Thessalonians (and God) witness about their behavior?
   Class Answers: They were pure, upright, and blameless in conduct.
5. 2:11-12 What did the Christians know about how the evangelists dealt with them?
   Class Answers: They dealt with each of them as a father with his children: urging, encouraging, and pleading (imploring) for them to lead a life worthy of God – worthy of the death of Christ, being holy as God is holy. Hendriksen: “in harmony with their relationship to God.”
   Note: In verse 7, they were “gentle, like a nurse caring for her children.” In verse 11 and 12, they were more like fathers “admonishing” their children.
6. 2:13 Who was the source of the word they preached? What does the word do for those who believe?
   Class Answers: God. The word works in believers. See also Romans 1:16 and Philippians 2:13.
7. 2:14 What did the Thessalonian Christians have in common with their brothers and sisters in Judea?
   Class Answers: They suffered the same things from their compatriots that the Christians in Judea suffered from the Jews. See Acts 4:1-4; Acts 5:26; Acts 8:1; 1 Peter 4:4; and Jesus’ prediction that this would happen, in Matthew 10:16-25. Of this, Shogren writes, “When Jews or Gentiles receive Christ, they find themselves cut off from their former people and persecuted by them.”
8. 2:15-16 List the accusations Paul makes against the Jews.
   Class Answers: 1) They killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets (Matthew 23:37; Acts 7:52,53. 2) They drove out the apostles (Acts 17:5-9; Acts 9:29-30. 3) They displease God and hinder the Gentiles from hearing the gospel. 4) They constantly fill up the measure of their sins, or “always heap up their sins to the limit” (NIV). Hendriksen: God’s wrath had come; the woes would come later (1 Thessalonians 1:10). 
9. 2:17-18 What had hindered Paul from seeing the Thessalonians as he wished to?
   Class Answers: Satan blocked their way. Hendriksen: How? We do not know. But Satan exerts powerful influence over the affairs of men (Job 1:6-12; Daniel 10), and (from the class), God allows him this power for reasons we can’t always comprehend. It’s possible that Paul would not have written this impassioned letter to the Thessalonians if he had been able to see them in person.
10. 2:19-20 How were the Thessalonians Paul’s hope, joy, or crown?
    Class Answers: Because of their faith, they would receive their reward. They were children of faith who had exceeded Paul’s expectations. Their walking with the Lord is a reward of his walking with the Lord. A crown is a prize to boast about.
11. 2:19 What does Paul write about the coming of Jesus?
    Class Answers: Paul will be rejoicing when Jesus comes again. Shogren: “At Jesus’ coming, the Thessalonian converts will redound [contribute greatly] to the team’s credit.”

1 Thessalonians 1

Read Acts 17:1-15; 1 Thessalonians 1

1. 1:1 Who was with Paul when he wrote this epistle?
   Class Answers: Silvanus (Roman name for Silas) and Timothy. See also 2 Corinthians 1:19; Acts 15:22; Acts 15:40 and Acts 16:1,2. Note: I’m not sure of the significance, but it’s interesting to note that Paul addresses this letter not to the church in Thessalonica, but the “church of the Thessalonians,” which is in keeping with the personal nature of the rest of the letter. Note also his common greeting: Grace (Hebrew hesed) and Peace (Hebrew shalom).
2. 1:2-3 When Paul mentioned the Thessalonians in his prayers, what did he remember about them?
   Class Answers: Their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. The words work, labor, and steadfastness, indicate a progression: from activities of work to exhaustive labor to persevering. Faith, love, and hope are also reflective of the closing verse of 1 Corinthians 13. Hope as the last word in the series indicates Paul’s theme for the letter. Note also the words constantly and always.
3. 1:4 What did Paul know about the Thessalonians?
   Class Answers: That God had chosen them, as shown in verses 6-9. It was the general consensus of the discussion that God does not choose us against our free will. If he did, what would be the use of all the instructions in the New Testament? It may be like one of us “choosing” all those with brown hair. Likewise, God chooses all those who choose to accept his offer of salvation. For more about election, or how God has chosen followers, see 2 Peter 1:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Romans 9:11; 11:5,7,28; and my favorite, Ephesians 1:4.
4. 1:5 How had the gospel come to the Thessalonians?
   Class Answers: In word, in power (See Romans 1:16), in the Holy Spirit, with full conviction.
   Note: Another question might be asked here: What did the Thessalonians know? Answer: What kind of people the evangelists were.
5. 1:6 How did the Thessalonians receive the word? (What is the word?)
   Class Answers: With joy (in spite of persecution), inspired by the Holy Spirit. Persecution is temporary; joy is eternal. See also Acts 16:25; 5:41; Galatians 5:22.
6. 1:7 What was the result of the way they received the word?
   Class Answer: They became an example (NIV: model) to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Greek word for example, or model, is tupoß (tupos), which is defined as “the pattern in conformity to which a thing must be made” (NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon).
7. 1:8 What two things had sounded forth, or gone out, from the Thessalonians? How are these two things different?
   Class Answers: 1) The word of the Lord (that comes from the Lord) – the Truth. 2) Their faith in God – Living the Truth.
8. 1:9 From whom had Paul and his companions heard of the success of the Thessalonians?
   Class Answers: From the people in Macedonia and Achaia. Apparently, the Gentiles in the region were talking about changes the Gentiles in Thessalonica had made in their pagan lifestyles.
9. 1:9 What kind of change did the gospel make in the lives of the Thessalonians?
   Class Answers: They had turned away from idols to serve a living and true God. They hadn’t just added another god to their worship. Also note that this was a conscious desire to serve only one God – which resulted in their abandoning idol worship. They weren’t just running away from paganism; they were drawn to God.
10. 1:10 For what were the Thessalonians waiting?
    Class Answers: For Jesus, for God’s Son from heaven. See Romans 8:25; this waiting is a “sustained expectation.”
11. 1:10 What does Paul write about the coming of Jesus?
    Class Answers: That he will come from heaven and that he will rescue us from the wrath that is coming. See Romans 1:18; Ephesians 5:6. Thus we are motivated by both fear and gratitude.