Journey Through 1 Thessalonians

Our journey through Scripture brings us to 1 Thessalonians, one of the last two books known as the Christian Church Epistles. Though they are the last of the Christian Church Epistles, 1 and 2 Thessalonians were likely among the first letters Paul wrote.

Listen: Journeying through 1 Thessalonians

Overview of 1 Thessalonians

We believe that 1 Thessalonians was written from Corinth, early in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Recall that Paul spent about three short weeks with these believers in Thessalonica. You can read about that in Acts 17. Paul was forced to flee from that city due to intense persecution. He later sent Timothy back to help lead them.

First Thessalonians is a very personal letter to this church. Second Thessalonians even says that Paul wrote it with his own hand. And it is a deeply personal letter to believers that he loves deeply. The majority of believers in Thessalonica were Gentiles. Accordingly, there are no Old Testament references found in 1 Thessalonians.

The Progression of Paul’s Epistles

If you examine the order of the letters of Paul as they are given to us in our New Testament, there is a fascinating progression. We began with Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Galatians. What do those books have in common? Those books primarily are about the person of Christ, Christ himself, His work, and it is through Christ alone that we are saved.

Next are the epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. What do these epistles have in common? They reveal the church to us, the body of Christ, that which the Lord Jesus is doing in and through local assemblies. The local church is that which we are placed into and become a part of through Jesus Christ.

Now we come to 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and the letters to the church at Thessalonica reveal to us the coming of Christ for His church. You move from Christ, who is always first, to Christ’s work in and through His church. Then the great climax, or conclusion of the church age, which will be, of course, in the rapture of the church, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thessalonica – The Moral Church

We move from justification to sanctification and now to glorification. That is the great message of 1 Thessalonians. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 1:1, “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.”

If you continue reading in 1 Thessalonians 1, you will find why so many people call this church the moral church. Did you know that in the letter to 1 Thessalonians, Paul condemns them for nothing? In fact, he commends them. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3, he says, “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.”

Faith, Love, and Hope

Do you see those three beautiful graces: faith, love, and hope? Do you remember he wrote to the church at Corinth and said, there are three abiding graces? Faith, hope, and charity, or love, these three things. He will repeat these things to the church in Thessalonica at least twice. In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, at the end of the letter, he says, “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”

There it is again – faith, love, and hope. I do not want to get too far ahead of myself, but if you come to 2 Thessalonians 1:3, Paul begins by talking again about their faith and their love. You see, these are the great works of grace that Christ brings into the life of a believer. They are not vague things. They are not merely things we talk about or feelings we have. No, they grow in our lives, and they produce so many beautiful fruits. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, he says, your faith has become work, your love has become labor, and your hope has become patience. They had a faith at work, they had a love that labored, and they had a hope that was patient.

That is what every one of us needs! We do not only need to say we have faith. Our faith should be demonstrated by our works. We do not just need to say we love the Lord and love others. It should be developed and it should grow out in our daily labor. We do not merely need to say that we have hope in God. All that hope should evidence itself in our patience as we wait for His return.

Theme of 1 Thessalonians

That brings us to the great theme of 1 Thessalonians in a phrase. It is this. The coming of Christ. Did you know that every chapter in the book of 1 Thessalonians gives a clear reference to the coming of Jesus Christ?

There are two phases to Christ’s return. First, there is the rapture, and then there is the revelation. You may ask, what is the difference? The rapture is when we go up. It is literally when we are “caught up” into the clouds, at Christ’s coming for His saints, coming for the church. Then that sets into motion seven years of tribulation here on this earth, at the end of which the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this earth, this time not coming in the clouds, but literally coming down to earth, coming with the saints. That is the revelation.

In the first phase, we go up, and in the second phase, He comes down, and we are coming with Him. When He comes down, friend, the Bible says that every eye shall see Him. That revelation, of course, is going to trigger the millennial reign, the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ. The letter to the Thessalonians and the Church in 1 Thessalonians emphasizes the first phase of Christ’s second coming.

1 Thessalonians is the book that helps us to understand so much about the rapture of the church. It is about His coming. He is coming literally, personally, visibly, and powerfully.

Key Verse of 1 Thessalonians

There are many key verses in this book, but I believe the key verses are found right at the beginning, in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. The Bible says, “For they themselves show 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; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

Wrath is coming. But I am not looking for the wrath. I am looking for the Lord Jesus Christ. I am looking for Christ himself. Some people would say that the key verses of this book are the more famous verses that talk about the trump sounding and the dead in Christ rising and us being called away to meet the Lord in the air. But I love these verses in chapter one because it puts it in perspective.

Jesus Christ has changed my life, and I am not looking for an event, I am looking for Him. It is not the second coming of Christ I anticipate. It is the Christ of the Second Coming. May I ask you, are you looking for Jesus today? Do you understand that today may be the day Christ returns?

If Jesus comes in the next two minutes, are you ready? Is there anything that you should care for if you knew Christ were coming in the next two minutes? Are you waiting for His Son from heaven? Are you looking every moment for the return of Jesus Christ?

Looking Behind and Ahead

1 Thessalonians begins by looking back in the first three chapters. He looks behind. He remembers their salvation, and he looks back to His ministry among them.

Then, in chapters four and five, He looks ahead to what lies before them. Jesus is coming! Do you understand that the greatest day of your life is yet ahead? I do not care who you are. If you are a believer, the greatest day you are ever going to live is the day you are going to see Jesus Christ face to face, the resurrected Christ, the returning Savior, the reigning Lord.

Today might just be that day. You know, so many people today want to talk about prophecy, but they do so for intellectual reasons, and in intellectual arrogance and pride. We know knowledge that puffeth up (1 Corinthians 8:1). My friend, if you are studying prophecy to know about events and things of that nature, you have missed the point. The Bible says the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

It is not about things or events. It is all about Jesus Christ. This is the purifying hope. Today, remind yourself that Christ may step out on that cloud. Jesus may come before the end of this day, and let that reality cause you to love Him more, to put your eyes on Christ and Christ alone, and then to share the message with others around you of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He came once, and He is coming again!

*Listen to Dr. Pauley’s series on 1 Thessalonians 5, “The Lord’s ‘To Do’ List”, by clicking HERE.

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About Scott Pauley

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Related Resource: Journey Through Scripture

Journey Through Scripture