English: The map of First Epistle to the Thessalonians Polski: Mapa miejsc związanych z 1 Listem do Tesaloniczan (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In
the first entry in the 1 Thessalonians Bible Junkies Commentary I began by
looking at introductory matters, which were comprised of comments on the nature
of a Greco-Roman letter, and the background of Paul’s activity in Thessalonica,
that we know primarily from Acts of the Apostles and partially from Paul’s
letters. In this entry, I want to give a basic overview of the content found in
the whole letter and then begin commenting on the letter itself more specifically.
As
with Jude, the study of 1 Thessalonians will be in the form of a more
traditional commentary, though the introductory questions of authorship, date
and the location are not as difficult as with the letter of Jude. We know who
wrote the letter, we know basically when it was written and we know to whom it
was written. The introductory matters in this case will involve more a breaking
down of the situation in Thessalonica, as we know it from Acts of the Apostles,
and that of Paul and his companions. The basic Greco-Roman form of the letter
will also be given, as with Jude, and then the bulk of the comments will center
on the meaning and the purpose of this letter. Finally, comments at the end will
concentrate on the message of the letter for the 21st century Church
and Christian. Since there are no questions regarding the Pauline authorship of
1 Thessalonians, these issues will be dealt with when we come to letters in the
Pauline corpus for which many scholars have raised issues of authorship. The
problems concerning whether a letter is written by Paul are all best dealt with
concretely and not abstractly. In the case of 1 Thessalonians, we can get right
down to business.
"Christ our Pelican." Byzantine Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece. Photo taken by John W. Martens, January 2006. |
3.
Overview of 1 Thessalonians:
Content:
There
are three basic issues that Paul deals with in his first letter to the
Thessalonians:
(1) The personal relationship between
Paul (and his co-workers) and the Thessalonians. Paul speaks of how much he
cares and worries for them and their Christian faith in light of their
persecution and suffering. He also describes himself as the spiritual mother
and father of the Thessalonians and names them as his spiritual children
(chapters 1-3);
(2) Instructions about Christian
conduct, especially sexuality and personal relationships (chapter 4);
(3) Anxiety about what will happen to
Christians who die before the return of Christ and questions regarding when the
End will come (parts of chapters 4-5).
In
1 Thessalonians we also get glimpses of Paul's “style” of ministry and his
relations with his new church members. When you read the letter carefully you
will see examples of his personal life and behavior, especially with respect to
his spiritual “children” in Thessalonica:
(1) His early work among the
Thessalonians and their conversion (chap.1);
(2) In chapter 2 his sense of tenderness
and love for them, seen in his hard work on their behalf;
(3) In 2:17-3:10, his emotional and
anxiety- filled explanation of why he has not been able to get back to
Thessalonica personally and how he feels about this.
Moreover,
even in a short letter such as 1 Thessalonians, you can pick up little pieces
of information about the people addressed and even general church
practices. For example, from 1:9-10 you
can detect that the addressees were Gentiles of a pagan religious background (“you
turned to God from idols”). And in 5:26
you will find a reference to the early Christian practice known as the “holy
kiss”, a greeting shared among Christians as a sign of their fellowship at
their meetings. Also, 1 Thessalonians
(typical of Paul's letters) gives several glimpses of early Christian prayer
practices, which we will discuss in the context of each occurrence within the
letter.
Here
is a breakdown of the letter, with an outline of the general content for each
section:
a) Salutation (1:1): a) Paul, Silvanus and Timothy; b) to the church
in Thessalonica; c) grace.
b) Thanksgiving (1:2-10):
i) Thanksgiving for their steadfastness
and faith, love, and hope (1:3)
ii) Paul's great affection for the
Thessalonians (1:4-10) à because they
received the word even in the midst of suffering and persecution and became
"imitators" of Paul (1:6-7) à
they turned from "idols" to serve God and await the return of Jesus,
"his Son from heaven" (1:9-10).
c) Body of the
Letter (2:1-5:11):
i) Theological
Teaching (2:1-3:13): Persecution and Love
1) Paul's Affection for the Community
(2:1-20) à The theological
teaching here seems subsumed beneath Paul's love and affection for the
community; this love manifests itself though in the context of the suffering
they are now undergoing. He is like a nurse (2:8), a father (2:11,12), and like an orphan (2:17) when separated from them! But
they stayed the course when persecuted (2:14).
Why? Because of the hope of their salvation.
2) "We could bear it no
longer" (3:1-13) à In light of the
reality of persecution, Paul and Timothy and Silvanus want to see how the
Thessalonians are doing. Timothy goes and brings back good news of the
community (3:6). Paul believes that somehow his salvation is linked to that of
his churches: "for now we live, if you continue to stand firm in the
Lord" (3:8); Paul's goal is to see them strengthened "in holiness
that you may be blameless before our God and father at the coming of the Lord
Jesus with all his holy ones" (3:13).
ii) Ethical Exhortation (4:1-5:22):
Ethical exhortation here takes three
forms: to moral living; to remain firm in hope of the resurrection; and lists
of ethical maxims.
1) "Control your own Body" (4:1-12):
Paul states that the sanctification (holiness) of the Christians is dependent,
partly, on their ability not to use each other sexually; it is not clear if
there is a problem in this church, or if Paul simply wants to warn/encourage
them. For elsewhere he speaks fondly of their love for one another (4:9-12) and
their relations with others.
2) The Coming of the Lord (4:13-5:11):
The first problem is this: some in the community seem to think that because
some have died, the resurrection is in doubt. Paul encourages them to see that
both the living and the dead will share in the resurrection (4:15-18).
Secondly, when will it take place? Paul
says that no one knows, but to be ready and prepared for it always. How? By
grasping that there is a spiritual battle. What are the weapons? Faith, hope,
and love (5:8).
3) A List of Moral Maxims
(5:12-22).
d) Closing (5:23-28):
Benediction (5:23-24)
Greetings and Holy Kiss (5:26)
Grace (5:28).
4.
Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians:
a) Salutation (1:1):
1 Paul, Silas
and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. (NRSV)
This
is a very simple Salutation, which makes sense since it is the earliest of Paul’s
letters, which we know of at any rate, to one of his churches. There are,
nevertheless, things to consider even in this verse. For one thing, Paul
addresses the church along with Silas and Timothy. What role do they play in
the writing of this letter? Does Paul mention their names because of their
dealings with the Thessalonians? Or do they have a role to play in the shaping
of the letter itself? There is more work being done on scribes (Greek: amanuensis) and their role as letter
writers now than there has been previously, but it is still unclear if named
co-authors refers to their actual function as co-authors, scribes or as a polite
formality based on their previous relationships with the church.
The
reference to the church (ekklêsia) in
Thessalonica is simple and unadorned, something which will change in later
letters of Paul. So, too, will the greeting become more complex than this
simple greeting of grace (charis) and
peace (eirênê). One thing that will
not change, however, is that Paul will begin his letters with charis as his regular opening, which is behind
Calvin Roetzel’s insight that from “grace” (at the beginning of the letter) to “grace”
(at the end of the letter), we must understand that Paul gives us his authoritative
apostolic teaching.
Next
entry, the Thanksgiving.
John
W. Martens
I invite you to
follow me on Twitter @Biblejunkies
0 comments:
Post a Comment