Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2

Paul probably wrote this letter just a few months after the first letter to the church in Thessalonica. He was still in Corinth. It was most likely 50 or 51 A.D. Evidently not much had changed. Persecution of the Thessalonian church continued, perhaps had gotten worse. The church members were still upset about when or whether Christ would return a second time. Was Christ’s return so near that they might as well give up their jobs and live in idleness?

In spite of these uncertainties, Paul begins his letter in the usual form of letters of that day. He introduces the writer and the intended readers, together with a greeting. But his greeting contains a special turn of phrase. What great hope of the Christian do Paul and his friends express right away? The believers’ union and identification with Christ.

Notice that he calls God “our Father,” rather than “the Father,” as he put it in his first letter to Thessalonica. Clearly, he wants these persecuted, suffering Christians to realize that God, their Creator, loves them so much that he wants to establish a Father-child relationship with each of them. The rest of Paul’s greeting makes it clear that God’s grace and peace have their origin not only in God our Father, but in Christ Jesus as well. This relationship is any true believer’s hope and comfort. Have I claimed it as my own?

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

“The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” Verse 24 is one of the broadest promises in the Bible. Who calls us and what will he do? The answer is in the prayer recorded in v. 23. Paul’s prayers don’t usually hit you in the face. They are tucked away in his letters, waiting for us to find them. This is no exception. The one who calls you and is faithful to do it refers to God himself. Paul calls him the “God of peace” while emphasizing that the person with whom we are privileged to deal is truly God, the one and only Sovereign over all, Creator and Ruler of the universe. What he wants to do is sanctify us. Let God work out his peace in your lives, Paul prays, producing purity of heart, holiness and perfection of motive toward God and man. Why? So we can be blameless at Christ’s coming.

Is there a hint in v. 27 that he realizes God has inspired him in this writing? He knows this letter is intended to reach a wider audience than one church in one Greek city. His benediction invokes God’s grace, his unmerited favor, revealed and mediated to us through Christ. If, as we believe, Paul’s letters are for all peoples of all generations, then claim these gracious words for yourself. Don’t lose hope. God is working, even in your impossible situation.

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

Paul wrote 2,000 years ago. Do his instructions on Christian lifestyle have any relevance to us? Notice that these verses speak about attitudes toward various groups. In v. 12 he advises us to respect those we work with, especially church leaders. We should respect even those who “admonish” us. Does that include people who “tell us off”? It may be 2,000 years later, but some things never change, do they? In vv. 14-15 he gives advice for dealing with those with whom we live and work. In v. 14 he counsels us on getting along with specific kinds of persons, the idle, the timid, the weak. Are those folks still around? “Be patient with everyone,” he advises. Have you encountered anyone this week who tried your patience? If you have not, you are probably the only person on the planet who has not. Paul is meeting us where we live, is he not?

Notice in the next two verses what he says God wants for us: be joyful, pray, give thanks in all circumstances. There’s more. Paul piles on the directions for Christian living. Although we must not hinder the Holy Spirit’s working, Paul leaves room for exercising our educated Christian judgment. Test things. Hold on to what is good. Avoid all evil. If we do all the things Paul teaches, will we have time for gossip, idleness, or quarreling with our neighbors? You know we won’t.

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

What does Paul mean by “the day of the Lord”? It is the day of Christ’s return. Will it be preceded by lots of TV advertising? Quite the opposite, the second coming will be totally unannounced, sudden destruction in the midst of supposed safety. Yet Paul says Christians should not be shocked when it happens. Why not, when in v. 1 Paul indicates we should not waste time speculating on when the Lord will return? Because as believers we should have read our Bibles and know what to expect when Christ returns. Over and over the Bible speaks of the light of the Lord. God’s light serves the same function spiritually that lights in our houses serve physically. We have God’s word, his light, to see what is going on. Darkness here means ignorance. Those who have not read the Bible have no idea what to expect when Christ returns.

Suddenly Paul changes his figure of speech. He speaks of faith, hope, and love as defensive armaments. Faith and love are our breastplates. Hope of salvation is our helmet, guarding our heads from injury, with all that implies spiritually.

Paul’s parting word here is the same as the end of chapter 4, encourage each other. Christ died for everyone. Christ wants us to wait for his reappearing in confidence, ready to live with him eternally. Now that is an encouraging word.

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Evidently the Thessalonian Christians were worried. Jesus said he would come back. Several decades had gone by since he disappeared into the sky that day at Bethany. He still hadn’t come. What about Christians who had died in this interim? Were they in heaven with Jesus? Or what? Here Paul answers their questions in one of the most glorious descriptions of resurrection morning in scripture. He’s mentioned it before. In 1:10 he says “to wait for [God’s] Son from heaven.” In 2:19 he says “we will glory in…our Lord Jesus when he comes.” The end of chapter 3 says, “when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” Then comes this burst of glory. Christ’s second coming will be hard to miss with “a loud command,” the voice of the archangel, and God’s trumpet call. Then those who die knowing Christ as Savior—“in the Lord”—as Paul puts it, will rise from the dead to meet him in the air. If we are alive on that day, says Paul, next it will be our turn. We will follow the others to meet Jesus, to be forever with the Lord. “Encourage each other with these words,” he says. That’s an understatement. What hope! Death wins no victory here. Let us be certain we truly know Christ as Lord and Savior. Then, we too, will rise in the air to meet him some day. Be ready!

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Human beings don’t naturally love each other. Born with a bent toward sinning, we begin life selfish and self-centered. Each of us thinks, “I am the most important person in the world.” Jesus started the ball rolling in a new direction at the Last Supper. “I love you enough to die for you,” he said. “Now you must love each other. It’s my new commandment.” Loving others, putting them first, is a hallmark of Jesus’ disciples. “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another,” Jesus said (John 13:34-35).

Making it clear that he speaks from God’s viewpoint, Paul’s first instruction was a warning against sexual sin. It undermines society. It must be dealt with. His second admonition is to love others. He commends the Thessalonians for reaching out to everyone around them in love. He lists the practical outworking of love in the Christian’s life. Lead quiet lives, mind your own business, do your own work. If the neighbors see you getting up, going to work, coming home again, playing ball with the kids, treating your spouse with love and respect, maybe they will want your secret of a happy life. Does Paul’s parting instruction not to be dependent mean Christians should handle money responsibly? Pay your tithe, stay out of debt, help others in need. It may not sound exciting, but it builds a happiness that endures for a lifetime.

Read 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

The Bible gives many names to the one transcendent God. Shaddai, the Almighty and Adonai, Lord, come to mind. “The God of all comfort” Paul calls him, 2 Cor. 1:3. We know well Jesus’ “I Am” names for himself which John records. “I am the good shepherd,” he says, among others, John 10:11, 14. Yet is any more precious than the name Paul uses here? The Lord of peace. What a broad application Paul makes, asking that the Lord of peace give us “peace at all times and in every way,” v. 16. Can we really have the peace of God in death of loved ones, in financial difficulties, in divorce, in our own sicknesses and quandaries? If Paul had not thought that possible, he would not have written it. Our living Lord can meet the needs of all who will call upon him. The Bible repeatedly teaches that only God can speak true peace to the human spirit.

Paul takes pains to authenticate this letter. Even at this early date, as he says in 2:2, possible counterfeit letters, claiming to be from Paul, were circulating. If it did not have a final benediction in Paul’s own distinctive handwriting, it wasn’t his. It’s been a tempestuous epistle, with references to “eternal destruction” and the satanic “man of lawlessness” interspersed with Paul’s prayers for his much-loved Thessalonians. Now comes the peaceful close, written to us just as much as to them.

Read 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Did the good news Timothy brought prompt Paul to write his first letter to a church he founded? Whatever the answer to that question, these paragraphs are a joyous song of praise. Paul is so relieved to hear the Thessalonian church is holding true to Christ he can hardly contain himself. After all, it would not have been surprising if these people, amidst the outrages of persecution and probably torture, renounced their faith in Christ.

Chapter 3 ends in a prayer. Paul begins by giving thanks, but with a twist. He sounds as if he and the Lord rejoice together over the lives of these Christians, v. 9. He prays for three things. First, to get to visit the Thessalonians. He prays that their love for others will increase. He prays that God’s presence will be so real in their lives that they may be blameless and holy, vv. 10-13. God’s love is itself strengthening. We can become perfect in motive, holy before God. The chapter closes, as each chapter in the letter does, except the last, with a reference to the second coming of Christ. Paul talks about three things in his prayer: holiness, love, and Christ’s second coming. These topics form the basis of his message in chapter 4. The Bible records prayers for several reasons. One is to serve as models for our own prayers. This one is a good place to start, don’t you think?

Read 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5

“When we could stand it no longer.” Paul repeats it twice in this brief reading. When he could stand what no longer? Whether the Thessalonians were still standing firm in their faith. Paul is afraid the persecutions have unsettled them. He wanted a report so badly that he follows up at individual sacrifice. Although it left him alone in Athens, Paul sent Timothy, his young personal assistant, to find out about them. Was it a surprise that both Paul and the Thessalonian Christians suffered extreme opposition? Paul says not. In fact, he reminds his friends that he kept warning them this was not going to be easy. He predicted it. It happened. They were persecuted. Notice that Paul believes Satan to be the source of their sufferings, v. 5. Did they hang in there? Paul just has to know. He wanted more than a report. He instructed Timothy to strengthen them, encourage them in the faith, and teach them, v 2.

Paul sounds really worried. He knows Christian friendships are priceless. Am I that concerned for a friend who is in difficult circumstances? Do I know someone who is the only Christian in his or her family? Someone who works with people with no interest in God? If we never express our support, how can those we love ever know what we think? Would a letter or call of encouragement from me make it easier for someone today?

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

Paul says that he and his fellow missionaries dealt with the Thessalonians like parents. They were gentle as a mother, while encouraging, comforting, and urging them forward like a good father. He says he taught them one by one (2:7, 11-12). In these verses he celebrates the handsome reward of that individual counseling. These persons whom he taught about the Lord he calls his hope, joy, and crown.

So much of the world’s progress involves individual actions. One by one we are born, grow up, live, achieve, and finally die. God does not see us as a faceless mass of humanity. He sees each of us as an individual, his unique and much-loved creation. In fact, Jesus went out of his way to emphasize how he valued each of us separately. He even has the hairs of our heads numbered (Matt. 10:30; Luke 12:7). One by one we will stand before God. When those Thessalonian Christians came before God, one by one, can’t you imagine Paul standing somewhere in heaven watching, so proud of his children in the Lord? Do I have anyone in my life whom I introduced to new life in God? If I can become a channel through which God’s message has flowed to a single person, then my life will not be in vain. Do not be ashamed if you have only one person to present to God as your hope, joy, and crown.