1 & 2 Thessalonians (WK 7, Handout 1) PDF

1 AND 2 THESSALONIANS (WK 7, HANDOUT 1) 1–2 Thessalonians are arguably our earliest New Testament Documents. As such, they would give us our first looks into pastoral situations that might be faced by the early churches, and into the dynamics of the letter-...

1 AND 2 THESSALONIANS (WK 7, HANDOUT 1) 1–2 Thessalonians are arguably our earliest New Testament Documents. As such, they would give us our first looks into pastoral situations that might be faced by the early churches, and into the dynamics of the letter-writing portion of Paul’s ministry. 1 Thessalonians relates especially to suffering that the saints faced as part of the intra-Jewish conflict of this new Jesus-following version of Judaism; and 2 Thessalonians responds to worsening problems that Paul addressed in his first letter, but which the audience failed so far to control. Contents: 1 Thessalonians – Critical Issues (especially dating) – Literary Structure and Content 2 Thessalonians – Critical Issues (especially authorship) – Literary Structure and Content Significance and Theology of the Thessalonian Correspondence 1 THESSALONIANS I. Critical Issues and Occasion A. dating for the Pauline documents: possibly vital vs. possibly un-vital scholarly minutia 1. why dating might be important (e.g. do 1–2 Thess predate Gal, written ca. ±52? or was Gal first c. 48-49, and 1 Thess later?) a. accuracy in scholarship is always worthwhile: there is always the chance that the critical piece of data might turn up at any moment! (a given emperor, a given persecution or other historical event, a given economic shift, etc.) b. more important for those who see an evolution in Paul’s thought (e.g. if someone were to argue that Paul moved from interest in salvation by grace early, to spiritual warfare later) 2. HOWEVER: in practical terms, the various areas of debate have not had in fact significant impact on interpretation (e.g. profile of Gal opponents and Paul’s response is clear, regardless of debated destination and dating) 3. 1 Thess dating – Paul, Silas and Timothy travel from Philippi to Thessolonica (Acts 16:1–4, 14; 1 Thess 1:1; 2:2) – riot instigated by unbelieving Jews again the Jesus-following Jewish movement (Act 17:1–9) – 1 Thess likely written during subsequent stay in Corinth from AD 50 onward (Acts 18) = AD 51-52 Page 1  B. occasion 1. during stay in Corinth, Paul tried to return to Thessolonica but was hindered by Satan (1 Thess 2:17f.); sent Timothy, who returned to Paul with a report 2. Timothy’s report: a. more of the same type of hostility being stirred up by the anti-Jesus movement Jews in the city (1:6; 2:14) b. young community of believers (many non-Jews who turned from idols to God) are unsettled by Paul’s sudden departure and failure(/inability) to return c. the Thessalonians’ endurance, despite persecution (1:3) 3. Paul’s purpose in writing a. to instruct/encourage audience to continue to endure in their faith (3:5) b. because he had left before he was sure of their maturity and perseverance c. to warn them of likely increased persecution d. to address divisive charges that Paul sold them on a false religion and set up their suffering (2:3–5, 2:17–3:5) II. Literary Structure and Content – 1:1: Greeting – 1:2–3-ish: Prayer and Thanksgiving A. thanks for the audience’s faithfulness in co-missioning with God; vv. 6f. re: their astounding track record B. vv. 4ff.: sort of still part of Prayer and Thanksgiving, but a soft transition into the Body – 1:4–5:11: Body A. 1:4–2:16: recounting of the past—Paul’s assessment and encouragement of how the audience’s success was not crippled by his forced absence (not abandonment!) 1. the Thessalonians’ conversion was with the Spirit’s empowerment, enabling them to be the kind of Christians that Paul’s organization are (even without Paul and his organization there; 1:4–10) 2. adjuring the audience to remember what is true (rather than be steered by their frustrations): i.e., that Paul was sincere and genuine in evangelizing them (2:1–12) a. Paul was willing to fund his work by working with his own hands (considered the most degrading way for itinerant philosophers to fund themselves, behind patronage, donations, fees, or even begging) Page 2  b. makes the gospel more credible, and thereby the audience’s devotion to the gospel more credible c. the audience’s suffering of persecution [by anti-Jesus Jews]: they look like Jesus who also suffered—suffering is a mark of being a Christian in a world that is fundamentally anti-Kingdom (vv. 13–16; again next, in 3:2–4) B. 2:17–3:13: recounting the present—Paul shares the audience’s anguish over their current suffering, and sends Timothy since they all agree that it was bad that Paul’s forced absence is bad 1. Paul’s deep concern and longing to return; their christlikeness (2:17–3:5) 2. Paul’s relief at Timothy’s encouraging report: enduring christlikeness even amid persecution, and no break in their relationship with Paul (3:6–10) 3. concluding prayer that the audience remain loving, blameless, and holy, and are so when Jesus comes (vv. 11ff.) C. 4:1–5:11: gentle exhortation, and teaching 1. a more typical Pauline pattern: facts using indicative verbs (‘this is what’s true/who you are’), switching over to instruction/exhortation/command (often corrective) using imperative verbs (‘[therefore,] do this/live this way in your present context and situation’) – e.g. Rom 1:12–11:36 + 12:1–15:13 (“Therefore, I exhort you,” 12:1a) – e.g. Eph 1:3–3:21 + 4:1–6:17 (“Therefore, I exhort you,” 4:1a) 2. by contrast in 1 Thess: the sore spot of Paul’s [forced!] absence ! “Therefore, the last thing to get to, brothers, is that we request and exhort you—in the Lord—in order that [you keep doing the good things you are already doing]” (1 Thess 4:1a) " in 1 Thess, instruction using teaching, rather than imperatives NB for all Pauline letters: the Graeco-Roman ‘how you live is who you are’ – vs. – Paul’s ‘live out who you really are, which is who you are’ 3. holiness in the area of sexual fidelity reflects God’s character + sexually treating other people as things/object used for gratification reflects not knowing God = pure sexual conduct is empowered by the Spirit (4:1–8) 4. christlike community/brotherly love means working with one’s own hands [not degrading after all, but respectable!], rather than mooching or micromanaging others (vv. 9–12) 5. teaching on the death of believers (vv. 13–18) a. some have died (martyrs to persecution?); are living going to be saved but not the dead at Christ’s return? b. those who follow Christ have hope, and should not hopelessly like those apart from God in Jesus + the living have no advantage/living and dead will be together with Christ (v. 15) Page 3  [c. note on vv. 15ff.: typical ancient imagery of citizenry flooding out to meet returning victorious king/general, who is entering the city " Christ comes down (believers do not go up)] 6. ! …teaching on Christ’s [actual] return (5:1–11) – it will catch those unprepared like a thief at night – but believers live in the daylight, and so can be comforted in our preparedness – not an immediate return (not necessarily immanent), but it will be unexpected: the audience are to be watchful, but need not be anxious – 5:12–24: Final Greetings A. hortatory words about respecting leaders, not being idle (as if Christ’s return was imminent; see 2 Thess, below), and overall live as vital Jesus followers (vv. 12–22) B. peace benediction, kiss command, grace benediction (vv. 23–28) 2 THESSALONIANS I. Critical Issues and Occasion A. main issue: authorship (cf. Wright and Bird) 1. complaints of: difference in eschatology; too-close stylistic similarity; stern tone 2. sound answers re: already-but-not-yet + general open ended-ness; tone explained by occasion, etc. B. dating: shortly after 1 Thess, when some issues mentioned there (1 Thess 4:9–5:11) have gotten worse among the Thessalonian church; leads to… C. occasion 1. letter(/prophecy) supposedly from Paul that Christ has already consummated God’s Kingdom with the Day of the Lord (cf. 2:1–2) 2. worsening behavior by the “unruly” idle (cf. 1 Thess 4:9; 5:14) II. Literary Structure and Content – 1:1–2: Greeting – 1:3–12: Prayer and Thanksgiving A. vv. 3f.: thanks for the audience’s faithfulness (amid still ongoing suffering) B. vv. 5ff.: an imprecatory prayer 1. given God’s judgment upon his people’s enemies (vv. 6–9), prayer that the audience will rather continue to be God’s righteous people (vv. 11f.) Page 4  2. reminder that future judgment and salvation are certain, since God is just—emphasis on future – 2:1–3:15: Body A. ch. 2—a notoriously challenging passage: the Day of the Lord and the “man of lawlessness” 1. the timing of the Day of the Lord: a. future/has not yet happened (as Paul has taught before, v.5) b. cannot come before prerequisite events, like “the rebellion” and revelation of “the lawless one” (v. 3) c. non-apocalyptic apocalyptic language: describing eschatological cosmic conflict between Jesus and God’s Kingdom vs. Satan and anti-Kingdom forces, but in theological terms (rather than early Jewish conventional ‘sky darkened/earthquakes/heavenly armies destroying’ terms; vv. 8b–12) 2. the man of lawlessness a. seeks to supplant God b. sets himself up in the Temple(/the heart of institutional, organized religion that purports devotion to Yhwh) c. performs illusory and/or real but misleading deeds of power, enticing people to believe that his claimed position is deserved " however, has not been revealed yet (and is being held back until “the proper time” (v. 6), and then will be destroyed at Christ’s yet-to-happen return (vv. 3, 8) 3. the upshot for the occasion of 2 Thess (and modern day application): the Day of the Lord with Christ’s return is yet to happen, and will be recognizable ! in the meantime, (vv. 13–16) believers are to be encouraged, because… a. God has chosen the audience (them and us) for salvation—conditioned us for salvation by the Spirit’s sanctification and by our trust in the truth of the gospel b. God’ has cared for them by sending Paul to evangelize, and they can hold to that teaching " preventing their deception (at e.g. a future revelation of the lawless one) ! vv. 15, 17: stand firm in established teaching, and presently live according to that teaching by good works appropriate to saved people B. 3:1–5: given how the above teaching came from Paul’s organization, a request for prayer that Paul would be enabled to continue evangelization Page 5  C. 3:6–15: the “unruly idle” within(!) the church (brothers who are the akatoi, v. 6; cf. 1 Thess 4:9ff.) 1. profile of the akatoi/unruly idle: – the Day of the Lord is imminent, and so everything else can be ignored as they prepare – and/or the Day of the Lord has already happened(?!), and so they can stop living in accordance with apostolic teaching " incorporating cultural values into Christian praxis, in this case that working with one’s hands is degrading—so they are creating problems by sponging off of those who are working 2. Paul’s direction (in sandwich format): a. disassociate from the idle: do not allow them to sponge, do not condone their theology or rationalized behavior (v. 6) b. the idle are to imitate Paul and his companions, who—despite how it would have been appropriate if they demanded patronage—worked with their hands in order to make the gospel unconditioned (vv. 7–13) " those willfully refusing to work shall not eat at the church’s expense c. again, everyone else is to disassociate from the idle (vv. 14f.) – 3:16f.: Final Greetings SIGNIFICANCE AND THEOLOGY OF 1–2 THESSALONIANS the earliest compositions in the NT correlate to the conditions faced by the earliest Christians in a non-Jewish setting (cf. various episodes in Acts) – earliest Christians = Jews and non-Jews, together, who have converted to Jesus-following Judaism, as devoted Jesus disciples – an intra-religious conflict: Christianity still within the larger tent of Judaism(s), but facing opposition/persecution from fellow Judaism-ists (i.e., those who reject Jesus) within that tent – the Thessalonian saints: Hellenistic Christians out in a Hellenistic/non-Jewish context, outside of Judea/Palestine and Jerusalem(/the Temple) " first instance of a rather complex setting; requires understanding and nuance on our part now for sound interpretation and application details some of the kinds of problems faced by the early church Page 6  various sidelong references to deep theology that was taken for granted by Paul and other Christians—Paul does not have to spell out shared theology (that we work hard to reconstruct), but the early church was theologically sophisticated/respectable, e.g.: ◦ the transformational power of the gospel ◦ salvation in Christ ◦ Jesus’ lorship/Yhwh-ship and messianism ◦ centrality of trusting God in Jesus ◦ the fact of empowerment by the eschatological Spirit of promise ◦ certainty of God’s character, and of future salvation and judgment Page 7