1 Thessalonians 1-3
Possibly, the earliest writing of the New Testament. Was written very shortly after this church was formed and was written from Corinth around A.D. 50-51.
Timothy, having been sent back to check on the situation at Thessalonica, met Paul in Corinth and delivered his report (Acts 18:5; 1 Thess. 3:6)….Paul’s stay in Corinth can be correlated with Gallio’s term as proconsul (Acts 18:12). An inscription found at Delphi, not far from Corinth, refers to Gallio as proconsul at Corinth in early a.d. 52. Since proconsuls took office during the summer, Gallio would have commenced his term in the summer of A.D. 51. Paul’s trial before Gallio (Acts 18:12–17) probably took place shortly after he assumed office. Since Paul had apparently been in Corinth for some time before Gallio arrived, and wrote 1 Thessalonians shortly after his arrival in Corinth, the epistle was probably written late in A.D. 50 or early in A.D. 51.
MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians Copyright © 2002 by John MacArthur, Jr. All rights reserved.
Located at the head of the Thermaic Gulf, which was a branch of the Aegean Sea, Thessalonica was a thriving seaport located on the famous Egnatian Way. Founded in 315 B.C. by Cassander, son-in-law of Philip of Macedon and one of Alexander The Great’s four key generals, who named the city after his wife Thessalonike, the half-sister of Alexander the Great.
For Background: Cf. Acts 17
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Chapter 1
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you – Silas, probably a Hellenistic Jew, was a prominent member of the Jerusalem church who first accompanied Paul on the apostle’s second missionary journey (Acts 15:40) and later was a scribe for Peter (cf. 1 Peter 5:12). He was set free with Paul in the Philippian jail (Acts 16:19-24). When Paul first came to Thessalonica, Silas came with him (Acts 17:1-9).
Timothy was a native of Lystra in Galatia (Acts 16:1–3), in Asia Minor. He was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor. 4:17; Phil. 2:22; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; 2:1). He was the son of a Greek father (Acts 16:2), and a Jewish mother named Eunice (2 Timothy 2:5). From his youth, he had been taught in the Scriptures by his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15).
3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ – Faith, love, and hope always seem to be connected in the N.T.: 5:8; 1 Cor 13:13; Gal 5:5f; Col 1:4f; Heb 6:10-12, 10:22-24; 1 Pet 1:21f.
7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia – “model” tupon, is the mark left by a blow, as when a die strikes an image on a coin.
9 They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God – From Thessalonica, Mt. Olympus was about 50 miles southwest of their city. In Greek mythology the mountain was regarded as the “home of the gods”, specifically of the Twelve Olympians, the twelve principal gods of the ancient Hellenistic world: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hades, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia. The Roman counterparts are: Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Ceres, Mars, Mercury, Vulcan, Venus, Minerva, Apollo, Diana and Vesta.
10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath – At the end of each of the first four chapters, Paul mentions the second coming of Jesus.
The clear implication of this verse is that Paul hoped in the Lord’s imminent return. Otherwise Paul would have told his readers to prepare for the Tribulation. Woolvard
Chapter 2
1 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition – They chased after him (Acts 17:5-6 and 17:13).
Chapter 3
1-2 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith – Paul initially came to Athens without Timothy and Silas (Acts 17:14), but they eventually joined him there (v. 15). After a short period of time, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica (Acts 18:5) to determine their condition (1 Thess. 3:5), and he apparently sent Silas somewhere else in Macedonia, perhaps Philippi (18:5; cf. 2 Cor. 11:9; Phil. 4:15).
5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless – Paul could have been concerned about the Thessalonians ease of just accepting things at face value: Cf. Acts 17:11.
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