1–2 Thessalonians. Nijay K. Gupta
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raises relates to the timing of the coming of the Lord (5:1–11). Paul is unwilling to say more than that it will be unexpected (5:2–3). He turns their attention away from timetable theories towards faithfulness and upright behavior today. The timing doesn’t matter if, in waiting for the master, you are always at work in your duties (see Luke 12:41–48). Somewhere along the way, a fear struck them that they might not be ready. Paul comforts them by reminding them of their firmly-anchored identity in the Messiah (5:9), but challenges them to live faithfully in light of that identity.
Minor Concerns?
The above issues (persecution, sexual purity, the dead in the Messiah, the coming of the Lord) are Paul’s main concerns in 1 Thessalonians, but potentially he was also addressing other, minor matters. For example, there is some evidence that the church may have had internal divisions and communal problems; Paul seems to briefly address these (see 4:9–11; 5:12–15). Also, Paul may have had a small concern for those he calls ataktoi (“the idle troublemakers”), but his mention of them is brief enough that it is not significant at this point for him (5:14; it becomes a major problem by the time he writes 2 Thessalonians). Also, is it possible that the Thessalonian believers had been thrown into confusion by (false?) prophecies (5:20–21)? Again, this is plausible, but the brief mention offers little information.
Paul on Trial?
A final matter worth considering as a reason for 1 Thessalonians pertains to whether Paul felt the need to defend himself (especially in order to maintain the integrity of the gospel he preached). Many scholars, including myself, detect a defensive tone in Paul’s self-description in 2:1–12. Paul felt the need to say that he was not deceitful, nor did he resort to trickery. He was not a flatterer, nor motivated by greed or popularity. He did not want their money and tried to remain blameless before them. In chapter three, he communicates his relief when he heard the report from Timothy that the Thessalonians remembered him fondly and wanted to see him (3:6).46
But why would Paul feel the need to defend his integrity? Perhaps, when he had to flee spontaneously at night (see Acts 17:10a), suspicions arose about Paul’s sudden disappearance. As Michael Holmes explains, Paul was concerned
that his behavior and that of his companions might be misunderstood—or, more likely, misrepresented—in a way that would call into question the validity and integrity of the gospel itself. Religious charlatans and frauds were a dime a dozen in the ancient world, and the way Paul and Silas slipped out of town in the middle of the night would have made it only too easy to pigeonhole them as just one more pair of rip-off artists out to scam people. From there it was only a short step to the conclusion that their message was no more truthful than they were, and thus the people might reject it along with them.47
Images and Themes in 1 Thessalonians
There is no denying that Paul loved using metaphors and images to help his churches understand their identity in God through Messiah.48 He loved to use word pictures to capture what it means to serve Messiah Jesus. His letters are peppered with dozens of metaphors, but we can easily identify three key “images” that dominate 1 Thessalonians in particular: family, cult, and military.49
Family
There is no more powerful and comprehensive metaphor used in 1 Thessalonians than that of the church as family. It is easily recognized, even from the first verse, that God is called Father (1:1; cf. 1:3; 3:11, 13). More striking than that, though, is the frequency with which Paul calls the Thessalonian believers brothers and sisters (adelphoi).50 The community of Messiah Jesus is more than a club of like-minded religious people. They belong together in the most intimate kind of relationship that can be conceived.51 So well-known did this image become of early Christianity that in the second century outsiders accused Christians of being incestuous because some were married who called each other brother and sister.52
Paul does not explain why he calls the Thessalonians “brothers and sisters,” but undoubtedly this would have been explained when he first taught them about their faith. Paul would have preached about the unique sonship of Messiah Jesus, Son of God, and that all may also become children of the one God through Jesus, Gentiles receiving the blessing of being included in the unique adoption of Israel (Rom 8:29; Gal 4:5; cf. Rom 9:4; Col 1:13; Eph 1:5).
For Paul, to be “brothers and sisters” through the Messiah is not merely a term of endearment, nor simply a theological construct; Paul expected the reality of this theological truth to create an intimate community. Beginning in 4:9, Paul addresses the matter of philadelphia—sibling-love. It was encoded into their corporate life to express this kind of kinship love and Paul commends them for this. He expected—and found—deep affection within this group.
As for Paul’s own relationship with the Thessalonians, part of his purpose in writing the letter, no doubt, is to underscore his love and affection for these suffering fellow-believers. Thus, when he calls them “brothers and sisters,” not only does this remind them that they are siblings to each other, but also that he is their brother through Jesus. Yet, he is not unwilling to mix metaphors, even familial ones! He also portrays himself in comparison to a mother tenderly nourishing her beloved (2:7) and also a father encouraging his children (2:11–12).53 When Paul writes about the pain he felt having to leave them prematurely, he says that “we were made orphans by being separated from you” (2:17). Only such a profound word-picture could convey the heartbreak he felt at being removed from their presence.54 For Paul, again, the church was not like a family, it was family.55
Cult
In 1 Thessalonians, the second key image from which Paul draws comes from the Jewish cult, particularly Jewish notions of holiness, purity, and sacrifice.56 The foundation for how Jews understood holiness comes from their idea of a holy God, a God who is all-powerful, perfect in all righteousness, and yet also perfect in love and mercy.57 When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he called them to be a holy nation (Exod 19:6), a people set apart for himself. Their way of life was meant to be in contrast to that of the sinful world, and also they were intended to display the true nature of their God.58 Holiness and purity were also important when it came to temple service and sacrifice. Priests must be consecrated, and part of their priestly service was to “distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” (Lev 10:10). Very specific protocols existed for how things were to be done. Atoning animals offered in sacrifice must be without blemish (see Lev 1–9; Num 28–29). The same is used in the New Testament of Jesus, a lamb “without defect or blemish” (1 Peter 1:18); and, again, the same is used to characterize believers (Eph 5:27).
One of Paul’s favorite ways to refer to believers is “saints” or “holy people”—typically he begins his letters addressing his churches with this label (so 1 Cor 1:1–2). Though he does not use this title in 1 Thessalonians, he does refer several times to the importance of their becoming holy in view of the return of the Messiah (see 3:13; 5:23). In 4:3, he summarizes God’s will for them as hagiasmos, “consecration” (often translated “sanctification”). As James Thomson notes, while it would not have seemed strange to Gentiles to relate religion to purity or holiness, “Paul extends the sphere of holiness from the cult to include aspects of daily life, including sexual relationships.”