Chapter 1

1 Thessalonians 1:3 - In Paul's prologue, there is a great point. He commends their "patience of hope" (or "expectation", Gk. elpidos). In our modern Christianity, we do not have longevity in our hope or expectations. If we pray for something, we expect it soon. If we do not receive it, we may become frustrated or angry at God. George Muller waited, in some cases, years before seeing an answer to his prayers. But he never gave up. He asked the Lord to encourage his faith along the way. He continued to pray for his main request, but he also broke the request down into smaller requests. For example, one prayer was for another orphanage. He broke down this request into, "Lord, please provide land." Then it was for an architect. And so forth. We must learn to have longevity on our prayers.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 - "our Gospel did not come to you..." That word "come to you" is in the passive form. Paul did not claim that he brought the power. If he were, he would have used an active form, "We brought to you..." The connotation is that the Gospel power and the Holy Spirit happened there, and it was not the direct result of any human being (indirect, yes, through Paul and his group). The action of the Lord in this verse contrasts with the action describing what happened to John the Baptist: The "word of God came upon John in the wilderness" (Luke 3:2). The Lord brought the Gospel to the Thessalonians, but the word came upon John. John's experience was anointing for ministry. The Thessalonians experienced salvation. The same word "came" and "come" is used in these two verses, though the morphology (or form of the word) is different. The differing connotations are contextual and not related to morphology (word form).

1 Thessalonians 1:5 - Three things characterized the work of God among the Thessalonians: (1) power, (2) the Holy Spirit, (3) great conviction. Notice that power and the Holy Spirit are separate entities. They are not linked together, as we commonly expect. We tend to connect any power with the Holy Spirit, but Paul saw them as distinct. We do not know to what he was referring when he spoke of power, however. Then also, he said there was great conviction. Conviction is contagious. If the speaker is convicted about the message, then the hearers will be too. Conviction in this case was probably descriptive of the whole assembly, both speakers/ministers and hearers/congregation, and not necessarily only describing the manner in which Paul and his group spoke to the people.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 - "...imitators of us and of the Lord." It is possible that Paul is using the conjunctive "and" in this case not in an additive sense, but in a resulting sense. For example, "You became imitators of us and consequently of the Lord too" [i.e., because we follow the Lord, you imitate the Lord because you imitate us.] In another place, Paul says, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1, NASB).

If we were to diagram this sentence, part (b) would be under the clause of "imitating." Thus, part (b) describes the manner in which they imitate Paul and Christ: by enduring suffering with joy. As such, they became examples to the rest of the churches on account of their endurance of these trials (vs. 7). Therefore, Paul commends them in the following verses (7-10).

1 Thessalonians 1:7 - Everyone is an example to someone. For the Thessalonians, they were a good example to Macedonia and Achaia. Eli was set as an example of what would happen for those who disobey the Lord (see 1 Samuel 3:11). His whole family line was wiped out in one day to warn people not to adulterate the sacred things.

1 Thessalonians 1:8 - Our faithful endurance in obedience to the will of God sets an example that does not just speak out but "sounds forth" the word of the Lord. You have heard it said, "Actions speak louder than words." This is the power of a testimony, a witness, and an example.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 - Those who see the "God of the OT" as different from the "God of the NT" are quite mistaken. There is no discontinuity between the two, as evidenced by this verse, "...Jesus, the one delivering us from the wrath of [His] coming." Christianity today over-emphasizes the mercy of God and will not tolerate anything like judgment or punishment in the character of God. Those who will not accept this aspect of the Lord break the second commandment. They have created a god to suit their sins. They have fashioned an idol of the mind.