Reference: Thessalonians, First Epistle To The
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THESSALONIANS, FIRST EPISTLE TO THE
1.Occasion and date.
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But, having commanded them to go aside out of the Sanhedrin, they consulted with one another, saying: What shall we do with these men? For that an evident sign has been done by them, is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem, and we can not deny it. read more. But that it may spread no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, so that they speak no more to any man in this name.
And on the next sabbath-day, almost the whole city met together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and reviling. read more. But Paul and Barnabas, speaking boldly, said: It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first: but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo! we turn to tho Gentiles.
And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
And some of them believed, and associated themselves with Paul and Silas; of the devout Greeks, a great multitude, and of the chief women, not a few.
And some of them believed, and associated themselves with Paul and Silas; of the devout Greeks, a great multitude, and of the chief women, not a few.
And some of them believed, and associated themselves with Paul and Silas; of the devout Greeks, a great multitude, and of the chief women, not a few.
And those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens: and having received a commandment for Silas and Timothy, that they should come to him as soon as possible, they departed. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred within him, when he saw the city full of idols.
And when Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul was roused in spirit, and earnestly testified to the Jews, that-the Christ was Jesus.
For we know that if our earthly house, which is but a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if this, my life in the flesh, would be profitable for my work in the ministry, verily, what I should choose I know not. read more. I am in a strait between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better: yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
But our citizenship is in heaven, whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our humbled body, and make it like his glorious body, according to that power by which he is able to subdue all things to himself.
Let your gentleness be known to all men: the Lord is at hand.
For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent once and again to aid me in my need.
in consequence of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for a portion of the inheritance of the saints in light: who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,
PAUL and Sylvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
For they themselves declare concerning us what kind of entrance we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, even Jesus, whom he raised from the dead, and who delivers us from the coming wrath.
But we were gentle among you. As a nurse nourishes her children, so, having a strong affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives also, because you had become dear to us. read more. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for, laboring night and day, that we might not be burdensome to any one of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, in how holy and just and blameless a manner we conducted our selves among you that believe, as indeed you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father his children, that you should walk in a manner worthy of God, who has called you to his own kingdom and glory.
For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea which are in Christ Jesus; for you, also, have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, that they have suffered from the Jews,
For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea which are in Christ Jesus; for you, also, have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, that they have suffered from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and have persecuted us, and do not please God, and are opposed to all men,
who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and have persecuted us, and do not please God, and are opposed to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, in order that they may fill up their sins at all times: but the wrath is coming upon them to the full.
forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, in order that they may fill up their sins at all times: but the wrath is coming upon them to the full.
forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, in order that they may fill up their sins at all times: but the wrath is coming upon them to the full. But we, brethren, having been taken from you for a short time, in person, not in heart, did, with great desire, endeavor the more earnestly to see your face. read more. For this reason, we intended to go to you, (I Paul) both once and again, but Satan hindered us.
Wherefore, being no longer able to contain ourselves, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
Wherefore, being no longer able to contain ourselves, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; and we sent Timothy our brother and minister of God in the gospel of the Christ, in order that he might strengthen and comfort you with respect to your faith,
and we sent Timothy our brother and minister of God in the gospel of the Christ, in order that he might strengthen and comfort you with respect to your faith,
For this reason, when I could no longer contain my self, I sent to know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain. But now, since Timothy has come to us from you, and has told us the good news of your faith and love, and that you have a good remembrance of us at all times, greatly desiring to see us, as indeed we desire to see you,
But now, since Timothy has come to us from you, and has told us the good news of your faith and love, and that you have a good remembrance of us at all times, greatly desiring to see us, as indeed we desire to see you, for this reason we are comforted concerning you, brethren, in all our distress and affliction, by your faith: read more. for now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
Now, may God himself, even our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love to one another and to all, even as we toward you, read more. in order that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness, in the presence of our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Finally, then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you, by our Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to walk and please God, you would abound more and more. For you know what commandments we gave you by our Lord Jesus. read more. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you keep yourselves from lewdness; That each one of you know how to keep his vessel in sanctification and in honor, not in passionate desire, as the Gentiles do, who know not God; That no one take advantage of or injure his brother in this matter; because the Lord takes vengeance for all such things, as we also told you before, and fully testified: for God has not called us for uncleanness, but for holiness. Therefore, he that despises, despises not man, but God, who has given us his Holy Spirit. But with respect to brotherly love, you have no need that I write to you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another; and indeed you do this to all the brethren that are in all Macedonia. But we exhort you, brethren, that you abound in love more and more, and that you earnestly endeavor to live quietly, and that you attend to your own business, and work with your own hands, as we commanded you; in order that you may walk with propriety toward those who are without, and may have need of nothing. But concerning those who have fallen asleep, I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that you may not grieve, as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also should we believe that God will, through Jesus, bring with him those who sleep. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain till the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who are asleep
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain till the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who are asleep for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall arise first; read more. then we, the living who remain, shall, together with them, be caught up in clouds into the air to meet the Lord, and so shall we be ever with the Lord. So, then, comfort one another with these words.
But, brethren, you have no need that I write to you of - the times and seasons; for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night: read more. for when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as the pains of birth upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light, and sons of day: we are not of night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, having on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation: for God has not appointed us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we might live together with him. Wherefore, exhort one another, and edify one another, as you also do. Now we beseech you, brethren, to have regard for those who labor among you, and preside over you in the Lord, and admonish you,
Now we beseech you, brethren, to have regard for those who labor among you, and preside over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and that you esteem them very highly in love on account of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. read more. We exhort you, brethren, admonish the unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, earnestly care for the weak-minded, be of a long-suffering disposition toward all. See that no one render evil for evil to any, but always pursue that which is good toward one another and toward all. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from every appearance of evil. Now the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calls you; and he will do what he has promised. Brethren, pray for us. Salute all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord, that this letter be read to all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Smith
Thessalo'nians, First Epistle to the,
was written by the apostle Paul at Corinth, a few months after he had founded the church at Thessalonica, at the close of the year A.D. 62 or the beginning of 53. The Epistles to the Thessalonians, then (for the second followed the first after no long interval), are the earliest of St. Paul's writings --perhaps the earliest written records of Christianity. It is interesting, therefore, to compare the Thessalonian epistles with the later letters, and to note the points of These differences are mainly
1. In the general style of these earlier letters there is greater simplicity and less exuberance of language.
2. The antagonism to St. Paul is not the same. Here the opposition comes from Jews. A period of five years changes the aspect of the controversy. The opponents of St. Paul are then no longer Jews so much as Judaizing Christians.
3. Many of the distinctive doctrines of Christianity were yet not evolved and distinctly enunciated till the needs of the Church drew them out into prominence at a later date. It has often been observed, for instance, that there is in the Epistles to the Thessalonians no mention of the characteristic contrast of "faith and works;" that the word "justification" does not once occur; that the idea of dying with Christ and living with Christ, so frequent in St. Paul's later writings, is absent in these. In the Epistles to the Thessalonians, the gospel preached is that of the coming of Christ, rather than of the cross of Christ. The occasion of this epistle was as follows: St. Paul had twice attempted to re-visit Thessalonica, and both times had been disappointed. Thus prevented from seeing them in person, he had sent Timothy to inquire and report to him as to their condition.
Timothy returned with more favorable tidings, reporting not only their progress in Christian faith and practice, but also their strong attachment to their old teacher.
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians is the outpouring of the apostle's gratitude on receiving this welcome news. At the same time there report of Timothy was not unmixed with alloy. There were certain features in the condition of the Thessalonian church which called for St. Paul's interference and to which he addresses himself in his letter.
1. The very intensity of their Christian faith, dwelling too exclusively on the day of the Lord's coming, had been attended with evil consequences. On the other hand, a theoretical difficulty had been felt. Certain members of the church had died, and there was great anxiety lest they should be excluded from any share in the glories of the Lord's advent. ch.
2. The Thessalonians needed consolation and encouragement under persecution. ch.
3. An unhealthy state of feeling with regard to spiritual gifts was manifesting itself. ch.
4. There was the danger of relapsing into their old heathen profligacy. ch.
Yet notwithstanding all these drawbacks, the condition of the Thessalonian church was highly satisfactory, and the most cordial relations existed between St. Paul and his converts there. This honorable distinction it shares with the other great church of Macedonia, that of Philippi. The epistle is rather practical than doctrinal. The external evidence in favor of the genuineness of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians is chiefly negative, but this is important enough. There is no trace that it was ever disputed at any age or in any section of the Church, or even by any individual till the present century. Toward the close of the second century from Irenaeus downward. we find this epistle directly quoted and ascribed to Paul. The evidence derived from the character of the epistle itself is so strong that it may fairly be called irresistible.
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For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea which are in Christ Jesus; for you, also, have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, that they have suffered from the Jews,
Wherefore, being no longer able to contain ourselves, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; and we sent Timothy our brother and minister of God in the gospel of the Christ, in order that he might strengthen and comfort you with respect to your faith,
and we sent Timothy our brother and minister of God in the gospel of the Christ, in order that he might strengthen and comfort you with respect to your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this:
that no one be moved by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this: for even when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were about to be afflicted, as it also came to pass, and as you know.
for even when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were about to be afflicted, as it also came to pass, and as you know. For this reason, when I could no longer contain my self, I sent to know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain.
For this reason, when I could no longer contain my self, I sent to know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain. But now, since Timothy has come to us from you, and has told us the good news of your faith and love, and that you have a good remembrance of us at all times, greatly desiring to see us, as indeed we desire to see you,
But now, since Timothy has come to us from you, and has told us the good news of your faith and love, and that you have a good remembrance of us at all times, greatly desiring to see us, as indeed we desire to see you,
But now, since Timothy has come to us from you, and has told us the good news of your faith and love, and that you have a good remembrance of us at all times, greatly desiring to see us, as indeed we desire to see you, for this reason we are comforted concerning you, brethren, in all our distress and affliction, by your faith:
for this reason we are comforted concerning you, brethren, in all our distress and affliction, by your faith: for now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
for now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God for you, for the great joy with which we rejoice on your account before our God,
For what thanks can we render to God for you, for the great joy with which we rejoice on your account before our God, night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now, may God himself, even our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. read more. And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love to one another and to all, even as we toward you, in order that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness, in the presence of our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
That each one of you know how to keep his vessel in sanctification and in honor, not in passionate desire, as the Gentiles do, who know not God; read more. That no one take advantage of or injure his brother in this matter; because the Lord takes vengeance for all such things, as we also told you before, and fully testified: for God has not called us for uncleanness, but for holiness. Therefore, he that despises, despises not man, but God, who has given us his Holy Spirit.
But concerning those who have fallen asleep, I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that you may not grieve, as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also should we believe that God will, through Jesus, bring with him those who sleep. read more. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain till the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who are asleep for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall arise first; then we, the living who remain, shall, together with them, be caught up in clouds into the air to meet the Lord, and so shall we be ever with the Lord. So, then, comfort one another with these words.