The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 1
Chapter I · Vol. IV, pp. 427–428
1 The Thessalonians are given to understand both how mindful of them Saint Paul was at all times in thanksgiving and prayer: 5 and also how well he was persuaded of the truth and sincerity of their faith, and conversion to God.
1 Paul,a and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the bThessalonians which is in cGod the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: dGrace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
A.M. cir. 4058. A.D. cir. 54.
a Ac.ix.xiii.-xxviii.; 13.6; 15.22,23,40. 2 Co.1.19. 2 Th.1.1. 1 Pe.5.12. Ac.16.1-3. 1 Ti.1.2. 2 Ti.1.2. Phi.1.1. Col.1.1.
b Ac.17.1-10. Phi.4.15,16. 2 Ti.4.10.
c Ga.1.22. 1 Jn.1.3. Jn.14.23;17.21,23. 1 Co.1.2. Ep.1.1. 1 Pe.1.2. 2 Th.1.2.
d Ro.1.7. 1 Co.1.3. 2 Co.1.2. Ga.1.3. Ep.1.2. Phi.1.2. Col.1.2. 2 Th.1.2. 1 Ti.1.2. 2 Pe.1.2. Nu.6.24-26.
2 Wee give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
e See Ro. 1. 8-10. 1 Co. 1. 4-8. Ep.1.15,16. Phi.1.3-11. Col.1.3-6. 2 Th.1.3,4.
3 Remembering without ceasing gyour work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, hin the sight of God and our Father;
g Ac.17.7,10. ch.2.13,14;3.6;4.9. 2 Th.1.3,4,11. Jn.6.27,29. Ga.5.6. Ja.2.17. He.6.10,12. Ro.16.6; 8.25; 12.12. 1 Co.15.58. Ja.1.3,4. 2 Pe.1.6. Re.1.9;2.2,3
4 Knowing,f brethren beloved, your election of God.1
A.M. cir. 4058. A.D. cir. 54.
f ch.2.13; ver.5,9,10. 2 Th.2.13. 1 Pe.1.2. 2 Pe.1.10. Col.3.12. Ep.1.3-11. Ro.8.28-30; 9.6-23; 11.2-7. 2 Ti.1.9,10,15-17.
1 Or, beloved of God, your election.
5 For jour gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know kwhat manner of men we were among you for your sake.
j Is.55.11. Mar.16.20. 2 Co.10.4,5. 1 Co.1.24;2.2-4;4.20. 2 Co.6.6. Ga.3.2,5. Col.2.2. ch.2.1,13. He.2.3; 6.11. Tit.3.3-7.
k ch.2.1-11. 2 Th.3.8,9. Ac.20.18-35. 1 Co.2.2-5;4.9-13. 2 Co.1.12; 2.14-17; 3.12;4.1,2;6.3-10. 1 Ti.4.12-16. 2 Ti.3.10. 1 Co.9.1-22. 2 Co.12.4. 2 Ti.2.10.
6 And ye lbecame followers of us, and of the Lord, nhaving received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost;
8 For from you psounded out the word of the Lord qnot only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
9 For they themselves show of us rwhat manner of entering in we had unto you, and how sye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God;Cited in WSC 5, 87 · WLC 105 · WCF 2.1
A.M. cir. 4058. A.D. cir. 54.
r ver.5,6; ch.2.1,13.
s Ac.14.15. 1 Co.12.2. Ga.4.8. Is.2.3,18-20; xxxv.xlii.xliv.liv.lx.
Notes
Ver. 1. Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, his assistants in preaching the gospel— to you Christians at Thessalonica who believe in God as the only true God, and in Jesus Christ as the only true Messiah—wish all the rich manifestations and fruits of divine favour, and the most abundant peace and prosperity, temporal, and especially spiritual and eternal, from these divine Persons, according to their different stations in the work of our redemption. 2. And in our stated and occasional addresses to God, we daily, and in the most express manner, offer up our most solemn thanksgivings to God for his mercy bestowed upon you, and our most fervent supplications that he would perfect his work of grace which he has begun in you; 3. Being animated hereunto by the affecting and constant remembrance which we have of that lively and operative faith manifesting itself in all holy obedience, and of that ardent love to Jesus Christ, his oracles, ordinances, and people, and the manifold exertions thereof towards us and towards one another, and of that patient continuance in well-doing under all your tribulations, and waiting for God to crown your lively hopes of eternal life, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with full enjoyment—which he has wrought in you, through the living and constant faith which, as his children, ye exercise with all uprightness and sincerity, as in his sight: 4. By which manifest fruits of holiness ye and we justly conclude that ye have graciously led to accept eternal salvation. 5. For the gospel preached by me and my assistants did not merely reach your ears; but while it was attested by miracles, the almighty influence of the Holy Ghost brought it home to your hearts, and produced in your souls an unshaken assurance of the truth and importance of it, and of your personal interest in the blessings thereby conveyed; God thus owning our plain, patient, and faithful preaching of the gospel among you, in order to promote your eternal salvation. 6. And by this powerful influence of the gospel on your hearts ye immediately became imitators of us preachers, and of Christ our glorious Master, in faith, obedience, and patience, having, amidst all your severe persecutions, firmly believed the truths of the gospel, and thereby received such inward consolations of the Holy Ghost as sweetly supported you under your sufferings; 7. So that ye became eminent, encouraging, and exemplary patterns of faith, patience, and holiness, to all those who in Greece were afterwards turned to the Lord. 8. For the gospel of Jesus Christ, having had such glorious success among you, was thenceforward published far and near with great reputation and advantage—the fame of your faith in God through Jesus Christ, manifested by remarkable fruits of holiness, having so spread abroad that we have no occasion to speak of it; 9. For wherever we travel we meet with persons who are disposed, with wonder and joy, to mention to us what happy effects our ministrations had among you; with what sincerity ye embraced the gospel which we preached; and how, by its powerful influence, ye voluntarily and quickly renounced your heathen idols, and with indignation turned from them, to believe in, adore, and obey that God who alone has all life, glory, and blessedness in himself, and is the fountain of all created life, natural, temporal, spiritual, or eternal; 10. And to wait with faith, preparation, patience, desire, and hope, under all your present sufferings, for the glorious appearance of his eternal Son, whom he hath raised from the dead to judge the world—even Jesus Christ, who, by his obedience and suffering, secured, and by his loving sacrifice seeks, our deliverance from his dreadful wrath, which will be for ever coming, like a perpetual torrent of deep displeasure, to the wicked.
Ver. 1. In God the Father, because dwelling in his love, 1 Jn. 4. 16. 'In God' the Son, as a living member in a living body, 1 Co. 12. 27. C.
Ver. 5. As ye know, &c. More accurately—'Even as ye know (ye yourselves from personal observation and experience) what manner of men we proved to be (i.e. were shown by our acts, and the authority and power with which we proclaimed the gospel) among you, on your account' (so as thus to promote your eternal interests by pressing gospel truth on your acceptance). P.
Ver. 8. Thessalonica being a sea-port, the news of the conversion of so many of the inhabitants would readily obtain a wide circulation—so graciously does God overrule all local circumstances to the advancement of the kingdom of his Son! O that Britain, the great sea-port of the world, would combine the gospel with all her commerce, and supply the nations with that merchandise which is better than gold, and enrich them with that gain which is better than fine gold! C.
Ver. 9. They themselves—that is, 'all that believed in Macedonia and Achaia.' ver. 7. C.
Ver. 10. Hope—the hope especially of Christ's second coming—is the chief subject of this epistle. It is the pole-star of the church on earth; for then, and only then, will be consummated the church's happiness. The Greek word does not convey the idea of immediate expectation, but rather of deep, abiding, patient faith and expectation. P.
Reflections.—Thrice happy is it when the gospel is really accepted in the hearers' hearts; and when they, by their conversion from idols to God, and a holy imitation of Christ and his servants, in love, patience, and purity, prove their active faith in him! They are a credit to their religion who receive the gospel with full assurance of its divine truth, excellence, and importance, and with joy in the Holy Ghost, amidst manifold tribulations. With great pleasure should faithful ministers assist one another, and reflect on the success of their labours, regard their spiritual children, pray for them, and labour to promote their edification. And nothing is more endearing, comforting, or animating to holiness, than saving views of Jesus Christ the Son of God and his everlasting salvation.