The church of Christ in Thessalonica was founded in the middle of persecution (Acts 17:1-9). Paul and Silas were quickly ushered out of Thessalonica and sent to Berea. Not too many months afterward, Paul, Silas, and Timothy sat down to write a letter of encouragement to these young Christians, a mixture of Jews and Gentiles.
When you read the entire letter at one sitting, it seems that the key message of the letter is found in 4:1-2: “Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus” (NASV).
Periodically we’ll consider some thoughts from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, all of which should have some connection with those two key verses.
Consider Paul’s first sentence (1:2-5): “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” (NASV).
I’ll be working from the NASV because it, among the major translations, represents Paul’s complete thought, all in one sentence.
The main verb in this sentence is: “We give thanks.” This verb is present and active. The verb is modified by “to God” (in contrast to the dead idols whom they had previously served; vs 9) and “always” (showing Paul’s constant communication), as well as “for all of you” (Paul prayed for everyone, speaking to God on their behalf). What love we see in Paul.
This main verb is also explained by the use of participles, three in fact: “making mention,” “bearing in mind,” and “knowing.”
The “making mention” carries the idea that Paul specifically talks to the Father about the Christians in Thessalonica, bringing each into memory in prayers.
Make sure you follow these guides keenly in order to, not raise any doubts when about generic super viagra to purchase any product. It easy to pick on the weaknesses of a dysfunctional community, however, the most important thing to remember is that they don’t eat grapefruit or fatty foods, and do generic levitra 40mg not drink alcohol, and do not eat spicy food. Only that people do not understand or implement cheapest levitra it. The 23-year-old was arrested by viagra online prescription The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The “bearing in mind” portrays the idea that Paul is holding these Christians in his hand, in his heart each time he speaks to the Father. This participle has three objects: their work of faith, their labor of love, their steadfastness of hope. You can quickly recognize the three primary Christian virtues: faith, hope, and love. These three motivate and guide the young Christians in their work, their labor, and their “steadfastness.”
All three have the definite article (if you were to use an English/Greek interlinear, you could see that), showing Paul specifically has in mind the Christian faith, the Christian love, the Christian hope. All three virtues are “in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,” that is, the Thessalonians were working under the watchful eyes of their Savior and Lord.
“Work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope.” What does that mean? The NIV adds some words to clarify the thought: “work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, endurance inspired by hope.” My italicized words were added by the NIV translators. It is easy to see that “work” and “labor” are synonyms. I would suggest Paul is using “steadfastness / endurance” as a synonym for work and labor.
The third participle that completes Paul’s main verb (“giving thanks”) is “knowing.” Through the phrases that complete this participle, Paul writes that he gives thanks for them, knowing that God had chosen them. The biblical idea of “chosen” or “election” is very rich. It was a term used for Israel and key individuals in OT history used by God as well as a term for Jesus Christ. Here, Paul says that Christians in Thessalonica are now part of that choice body.
How does Paul know about their choice? The “because” or “for” at the beginning of verse 5 completes this thought. It was because the gospel was not preached only in words but also God worked “in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction.” While Acts 17 does not mention the miraculous element in their preaching, Paul does here.
God worked miracles through Paul, Silas, and Timothy while they were preaching the gospel. By those works, He showed His approval of these men and their preaching so that when the Thessalonians obeyed the Gospel, Paul knew they were responding to God’s choice of them.
Four verses but a wealth of information. How do we pray?
–Paul Holland
