Christ in the Bible: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

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After preaching in Philippi see Acts Thessalonica was the most populous and prosperous city in the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia because of two important features.

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The city was built on the best natural harbor in the Aegean Sea, and it was located on the major highway that connected Rome and modern-day Turkey. The three men were thereafter forced out of the city by Jewish leaders see Acts The Thessalonian converts were some of the first Europeans to embrace the gospel, and they faced persecution as a result.

They also had many questions about the Second Coming, perhaps because they were looking forward to a better time with less persecution. Therefore, in his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote words of encouragement and strength, and he addressed their questions about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Paul expressed great appreciation for the Saints in Thessalonica and commended them for their efforts to spread the gospel.

He reminded his readers of his kindly ministry among them and expressed joy for their faithfulness. He reminded the Saints to grow in love toward one another and toward all men. Paul told the Saints to be holy and to sanctify themselves. He explained that when the Lord comes again, Saints who were faithful in their testimony of Christ will be resurrected and appear with the Savior at the time of His Second Coming, and the righteous living on earth at that day will meet the Lord and the risen Saints.

McConkie —85 of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:. The Word, and The Power. Anyone can have the word; the books in which it is written are universally available.

2 Thessalonians

But the power must come from God; it is and must be dispensed according to his mind and his will to those who abide the law entitling them to receive it. The word of the gospel is the spoken or written account of what men must do to be saved. The Thessalonian members were such effective missionaries that Paul and his companions did not feel a need to return to preach in the area. Finally, he noted what must have been their crowning achievement—that they were inspiring examples to all their neighbors and that from them the word of the Lord had extended to others everywhere, far beyond their boundaries.

Paul defended himself by describing the sincere and earnest manner in which he and his companions had taught and served the Saints. Oaks of the First Presidency related a personal experience that helped him learn the importance of love as we serve and minister to others:. I learned this lesson as a young man.

I was assigned to visit a less-active member, a successful professional many years older than I. Looking back on my actions, I realize that I had very little loving concern for the man I visited. One evening, close to the end of a month, I phoned to ask if my companion and I could come right over and visit him. His chastening reply taught me an unforgettable lesson. This phrase does not mean that Paul was contentious or argumentative in his preaching; instead, it implies that he taught the gospel in the face of contention and opposition.

In Thessalonica, resistance to the gospel message came from both antagonistic Jews and Gentiles see Acts Paul had not been back to Thessalonica after he was driven out during his second missionary journey see Acts He did not give any details about how Satan hindered him from returning to Thessalonica, but it is clear that persecution from Jews had already forced Paul to take many detours in his journey see Acts Nevertheless, Paul reminded the Saints that discipleship required consistent growth and improvement.

Eyring of the First Presidency spoke about the increased need for continuous spiritual growth in the latter days: And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us.

Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated: Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed.

About 2 Thessalonians

Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. Porter of the Seventy taught: The Thessalonian Christians were apparently concerned about the fate of deceased Church members. They wondered when the righteous dead would be resurrected and whether they would have part in the Second Coming.

Elsewhere in his epistles to the Thessalonians, Paul used the Greek word parousia to refer to the Second Coming. Parousia could refer to the arrival of any person, but it was often used to describe the arrival of a ruler or emperor. In the Greco-Roman world, the arrival or visit of the emperor to a community was anticipated with extensive preparation. Oaks summed up latter-day teachings about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ: In modern-day scripture, the Lord has taught: Even the angels of heaven are in the dark in regard to that great truth [see Matthew But this I know, that the signs that have been pointed out are here.

The idea is plainly that love and respect are essential in Christian relationships, and that living off the charity of others unnecessarily is unloving and disrespectful to the charitable brother s or sister s concerned. It is important to remember that work does not always mean paid work. Many forms of work—cooking, cleaning, repairing, beautifying, raising children, coaching youth, and thousands of others—meet the needs of family or community but do not receive remuneration.

Others—the arts come to mind—may be offered free of charge or at prices too low to support those who do them. Nonetheless, they are all work. Christians are not necessarily expected to earn money, but to work to support themselves, their families, and the church and community.

The mandate in Genesis 2: Paul may have the Genesis 2: Given the importance of work, Christians are to be the best workers they can be. Failure to work with excellence may bring the church into disrepute. Many Cynics in the Greco-Roman world abandoned their jobs, and this behavior was widely regarded as disgraceful. In 1 Thessalonians 4: With respect to work, Christians should be model citizens.

By placing the idlers under discipline, the church would effectively be distancing itself from their defective behavior. Mature Christians are to set an example for young Christians by modeling a good work ethos. Although Paul knew it was the right of the minister of the gospel to be financially supported 1 Tim. He saw the need to set new converts an example of what the Christian life looked like, and that meant joining them in manual labor.

Itinerant philosophers in the Greco-Roman world were often quick to burden their converts financially, but Paul did not care about having an easy life or projecting an image of superiority over his spiritual charges. Christian leadership is servant leadership, even in the arena of work. The positive view of hard work that Paul was promoting was countercultural. The Greco-Roman world had a very negative view of manual labor. However, Paul has no time for any rationalizations. He wants the idle brothers to embrace his perspective and to set an impressive, not disgraceful, example for their unbelieving contemporaries.

Eerdmans, , 8: Doubleday, , —29; idem, Paul and the Thessalonians: Fortress, , 99— Deichert, , 93; I. Paul is an advocate of social welfare and charitable giving, but only for those who are genuinely in need. Paul clearly regards the early manifestations of generous provision for the unemployed Thessalonian Christians as appropriate expressions of Christian love 1 Thess. It would have been easy for the benefactors to become disillusioned with charitable giving in general and to shy away from it in the future.

The key factor in determining whether someone unemployed was worthy of charity or welfare was a willingness to work 2 Thess. Some who are perfectly capable of working do not, simply because they do not want to—they do not merit financial or material assistance. Verse 13 assumes that there are legitimate charitable cases in the Thessalonian church. In practice, of course, it is difficult to determine who is slacking versus who is willing yet genuinely unable to work or find a job.

This reality has led to deep divisions among Christians with respect to social policy, as practiced by both the church and the state. A particularly thorny question has been support of single mothers with small children and of all persons unemployed for long periods during economic recessions. Or does it subsidize a culture of removal from working society, to the detriment of both the individual and the community?

These are difficult, challenging issues. Yet we should engage politics and social discourse with respect, kindness, a healthy humility that our views are not infallible, and an awareness that the same passages may lead other believers to contrary conclusions. The biblical insistence that Christians should work so as to be self-supporting wherever possible ultimately has in view the extension of the kingdom of God on the earth. Engaging dialogue on the theology of work Click to listen.

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The words of 2 Thessalonians 3: The intention was, of course, to induce a short, sharp shock in the offending brothers by alienating them, and thereby bring them back into line. The negative consequences of shirking work go beyond the burden placed on others. Those who evade work often end up spending their time on unwholesome pursuits. Louw and Eugene A. Medendorp and Douglas W.

Eerdmans, —93 , 3: They are most visible in several explicit passages, and especially in 2 Thessalonians. Underlying both letters is the principle that Christians are called to work to the degree they are able.

Introduction to the First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians

Work is required to put food on the table, so eaters should be workers. Not everyone has equal capacity to work, so the measure of work is not the quantity of achievement, but the attitude of service and commitment to excellence. In contrast, those who shirk their duty to work should be confronted by the church. We're grateful to God that we've accomplished many of our objectives to help people engage with the Bible's wisdom for their work.

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Based on a work at www. Finishing Up 1 Thessalonians 4: Keeping the Faith 2 Thessalonians 1:

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