How the Breath of God Inspired the Writing of First Thessalonians

So, we have finished the book of Ephesians and now we are switching to Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, the first letter that is, Paul wrote 2 letters to this church. In upcoming podcasts, we are going to be talking about this letter. We will do some Bible background on the book and focus on just how the gospel came to Thessaloniki in the first place. We will look at the subject of integrity from Paul’s point of view. I mean what should integrity look like in a Jesus follower? How should we conduct ourselves in these areas? Then, we’re going to jump in and talk about persecution and how we should get a handle on this if we are confronted with it. And then, of course, Paul talks about the Second Coming of Jesus. But first, let’s talk about the historical background of the book and “How the Breath of God Inspired the Writing of First Thessalonians” That’s our focus today on this week’s Light on Life.

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Podcast Notes

Thessalonians: Opening Thoughts

We are in First Thessalonians and verse one.

1 Thessalonians 1:1 (ESV) — 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

Paul was 15 years old in God when he wrote First Thessalonians.
Now I say, he wrote but there are in actuality, three authors responsible for this letter.
We will talk about that in a minute.
The question we should consider when we take a look at verse one: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians, is what would this city have looked like, as far as the gospel is concerned, if these three men had not obeyed God?
You probably know that this is the theme of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
That’s what this holiday movie is about.
The main character, George Bailey, is presented with a question: ‘What would life be like if George Bailey was never born?’
So, George realizes, as all of this unfolds, what a tremendous impact he has had on the people in his world.
Repeating this again, how many lives were affected, impacted, changed, transformed, or delivered because Paul and company obeyed the call of God on their lives?
How many people found God, came to Jesus, became new creations in Christ, and became witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus and the gospel of the grace of God because Paul obeyed the Macedonian call?
What about putting yourself in Paul’s place today and answering the George Bailey question yourself?
How many people was the Spirit of God able to minister to and help because you said yes to Jesus?
Probably way more than you realize.
You also should not discount the ripple or chain reaction effect.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy start a church, then God calls someone in that church to start another church and thus just ripples out.
One person gets saved and they witness to three others and they get saved and then it mushrooms out from there with each person compounding the effect.
All of this is just one part of obeying God.
So, if you have taken the time to ascertain the will of God, and walked in the light of that call, let me just say thank you.
Be encouraged to keep doing the good work of the gospel and know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Never doubt that your impact is way greater than you suppose.
So…

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

Thessalonians: The Three Authors

So the three amigos, two Jewish, and one part Jewish and part Gentile start this church.
Most everyone knows or at least has heard of Paul.

1 Thessalonians and Silvanus

Silvanus is another matter.
Who is this guy?
Well, the English text lets us down a little because the translators used a Latin name here instead of Greek.
Silvanus is Latin.
The name Silas is Greek.
In his heritage, Silas was Jewish.
Do you remember Paul and Silas now?

Acts 16:16–19 (ESV) As we [Paul and Silas] were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

So here’s the scene, Paul and Silas are going to pray but they get interrupted by a girl who has a fortune-telling devil.
Paul casts the devil out of this girl who happens to also be a slave.
She realizes that something is different but she can’t quite put her finger on what that something is.
So, she goes back to trying to do what her slave owner handlers are wanting her to do — tell fortunes for money.
So, here they are – the customer are all lined up.
They have paid their money to have their fortunes read.
“Tell me about my future, they pine.’
You know most people have at least some desire to know the future and a special few have an inordinate desire along these lines.
There they are — they are all lined up with expectancy to have some good thing told to them about their futures.
But, no words come — no prediction is revealed, nothing happened.
It’s almost like the girl is mute – she can’t speak — no words are coming out of her mouth.
Demon-inspired utterances that once flowed freely have all dried up.
Now, these slave owners have a problem — a really big problem.
They have a bunch of angry people on their hands who paid good money and have gotten nothing.
That’s bad for business — in fact, there is no business.
The slave owners have to give all the money they just collected back.
Because the devil has been cast out, the women’s gift is a dud.
The fortune-telling business is bankrupt.
The money tree has all dried up.
Now, you know how ugly some folk act when it comes to their money.
And, that’s what you see when you drop down to verse 20.

Acts 16:20–26 (ESV) – 16 And when they had brought them [who is them? – Paul and Silas – how do we know that? – read verse 25] to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.

Now, they lied about that because Paul and Silas weren’t disturbing the city — they were cleaning it up.

21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

Many sermons have been preached about singing at midnight — you know the midnight hour of your life.
What do you do when life has beaten you down?
Do you get down in mouth? Or do you lift your voice in thanksgiving to God?
Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God so loud everyone heard it.
The result?

26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

This is that Silvanus mentioned here in 1 Thessalonians 1:1.
And now, you know who he is.
Let’s move on to Timothy, the next one in this group.

1 Thessalonians and Timothy

Timothy was the biracial or interracial soul in this group.
His Father was Greek or Gentile while His mother was Jewish.
This played a factor in Paul’s ministry as he tried to sidestep the Jews’ racial objections.
That was the whole thing with the Samaritans if you remember.
They would travel the long way around to not put their foot in Samaria.
Samaritans were Israeli people who married people from Samaria.
So, let’s look at Timothy for a minute.

Acts 16:1–3 (ESV) – 1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Paul had Timothy circumcised which means His mother didn’t follow through with this most basic piece of what it means to be Jewish.
Why not is the question?
Maybe Eunice wasn’t a practicing Jew.
Could that have been because of Lois’s Christian influence?
Timothy was a third-generation Christian.
Listen to this verse.

2 Timothy 1:5 (ESV) – 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Paul tried to turn the Christian Timothy into what he thought would be a more acceptable Jewish version by having him circumcised.
This move backfired on Paul later in a big-time way.
So, the gospel work of these three is what started the church in Thessaloniki.

The Thessalonians and the Power of We

And with that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.
This quote comes from Ben Witherington, a noted Methodist Scholar, and Gordon Fee, a noted Pentecostal Scholar.
They both state the following:

The [first] letter [to the Thessalonians] uses “we” instead of “I” 96.7 percent of the time, in stark contrast to Paul’s other letters (with the exception of 2 Thessalonians; for example, the ratio in Philippians is 8.7 percent; Witherington, Thessalonians, 9). Given the likelihood of group authorship, the few “I” references (e.g., 1 Thess 2:18; 3:5; 5:27) suggest that Paul led the composition of the letter (Fee, Thessalonians, 4; Green, Thessalonians, 58).

You will see this idea if we just take a look at chapter one.
Of course, there are five chapters of this same thing.

1 Thessalonians 1:4 (ESV) — For WE know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

Now, drop down to verse five.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 (ESV) — because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men WE proved to be among you for your sake.

Did you hear the ‘we?’

1 Thessalonians 1:8 (ESV) — For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that WE need not say anything.

One more time.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 (ESV) — For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception WE had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

Over and over, the ‘we’ pops out – Paul, Silas, and Timothy are the ‘we.’
Paul is the quarterback — Silas and Timothy are the running backs.
The letter to the Thessalonians is a joint effort.
So how did the actual letter come about?

2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV) — 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

King James has this as ‘all scripture is inspired by God.’
The word “inspiration” comes from the Greek word theopneustos which is composed of two Greek words, theos and pneustos.
And with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
Theos is the Greek word for God.
Pneustos, which is the second part of the word translated inspiration, refers to the breath of God.
Now here are these verses you should consider.

Psalm 147:18 (ESV) — 18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

Did you notice how the wind and the Word are connected?
Go over to the next Psalm and you will see it again.

Psalm 148:8 (ESV) — 8 fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!

Wind and Word.
Now jump over to Genesis three.

Genesis 3:8 (ESV) — 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

The Hebrew word ‘cool’ is the word for wind.
The Lord approached Adam in the wind of God.
How does all this work?
Well, God is so powerful and full of pure energy that when He walks He moves the air when walks.
Moses parted the Red Sea — God parts the air with such force that it turns into wind.
Wow!
Now, you can understand what happened in Acts 2.

Acts 2:1–4 (ESV) — 1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Greek word ‘rushing’ means to carry along.
Meaning, the wind in the Upper Room was so strong it carried the 120 around in the Upper Room.
But, they were indoors!
This was a wind that was inside the room and not from the elements outside.
The wind came about because God walked into the room.
So now, let’s get back to Paul, Silas, and Timothy writing this letter to the Thessalonians.

2 Peter 1:21 (ESV) For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Do you hear that ‘carried along’ by the Holy Spirit?
That’s the wind.
So here’s what probably happened, the three of these men got into a room where they knew they had to write a letter to this church.
And, the Spirit of God began to move, the Presence of God filled the place — and it was so strong until they knew what they needed to write.
That’s writing by the inspiration of the Spirit.
Think about this now — This letter was a joint effort.
Think about times of fellowship you have had where the Spirit of God hovered over you and God’s Presence was so marvelously real to you.
That’s how they wrote this letter and that’s why almost 97% of the pronouns in this letter are ‘we’ instead of all.
Because they were all there — the three of them writing by the Spirit.

The Thessalonians: Who Are These People?

The City of the Thessalonians
So, Paul and company are writing a letter to a church they helped found.
Who are these people?
What’s peculiar about this group?
Framing the background first helps us to ‘walk in the shoes’ of the characters involved or gives perspective to the concepts that these men of God shared.
So, what’s up with this place?
The first significant piece you would know about this city is that Thessalonica ranks up among the top ten most important cities in the ancient world in the Roman Empire.¹
The city was erected to succeed.
Prosperity and longevity were its foundations.
It was a city built to last.
This was no ‘flash in the pan’ metropolis.
Thessaloniki had a major Roman road running east and west through its borders.
That means traffic — that means trade — that means money.
It had a harbor – that means shipping — that means more traffic — more trade — more money.
The harbor had deep waters.
Now, that takes some explanation.
The harbor at Ephesus, for example, was so shallow when it would rain, the dirt would run off into the harbor.
Eventually, there was more dirt than there was water in the harbor and it became unusable for shipping.
If you are too shallow for ships, there is no traffic — there is no trade — there is no money.
Thessaloniki though, with its deep waters, was built to last.
One Greek scholar said Thessaloniki is the only seaboard city of contemporary Greece that has never, from its foundation (316 bc) till today, lost its commercial importance.²
Geographically, the city of the Thessalonians was located in the region known as Macedonia.
Well, that doesn’t tell me much — where is Macedonia at?
So if you look at a Bible map or atlas, you will see that Macedonia is northwest of Ephesus.
The travel from Ephesus to Thessaloniki was about 350 miles by land.
Together we spent a great amount of time, a whole year in fact, going through the book of Ephesians in our last series.
You can find those podcasts on the website.
I will give you a link in the show notes that will help you to navigate to these lessons.
To further frame where everything is, Rome is about 600 miles west of Thessaloniki and about 825 miles northwest of Nazareth where Jesus was born.
The straight line distance from Nazareth to Rome is about 1400 miles which are about the distance from New York to Dallas Texas for those of you living in the States — just to give you a frame of reference of the Biblical world.
So, the entire Biblical world easily fits within one-half of the United States.
Again Thessaloniki is in Macedonia.
The book of Acts and the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul call attention to this area.

Acts 16:6–10 (ESV) — 6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The word ‘region’ means district, place, or country.
So, we have the region of Phrygia, the region of Galatia, and the region of Macedonia.
This region or country is where Thessaloniki is.
So the city of the Thessalonians had money and was built to last.
Politically, it was hooked up with Rome.
The city had favored status meaning there weren’t any Roman troops stationed there.
The taxes were not as severe.
Financially, they were good — politically they were good.
Things were really looking up in this place from the natural standpoint.
But the good news is that the Good News came to Thessaloniki as well.
Now, the citizens of this city have the most vital of all connections — they are linked to God, they are joined with Jesus.
Financially, they are good — politically they are good. Spiritually, they are the best they have ever been.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 (ESV) — 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

The Breath of God: The Road to Thessaloniki

We’ve already read that the church was established in this city in verse one.
Let’s read it again.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…

But, how did this church come into being?
Acts seventeen has the details.

Acts 17:1–10 (ESV) — Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

Paul’s evangelistic method was to visit the local Jewish synagogue of whatever town or area that he traveled into.
We will pick this up in next’s week podcast.

So Father God, thank you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives — thank your for the power of ‘we.’ We thank you because of the Great moving of your Spirit, we have this letter to the Thessalonians — a letter that is straight from your heart. We thank you for all these things in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

The Truth About the Enormous Problem of Itching Ears

__________
References:

Jeffery Wiema NT350 Book Study First and Second Thessalonians ↩
ibid ↩

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How the Breath of God Inspired the Writing of First Thessalonians

Podcast: Light on Life Season Ten Episode Seventeen

by Emery Horvath

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Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We have finished teaching the series on Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

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Podcast Notes

Thessalonians: Opening Thoughts

Thessalonians: The Three Authors

1 Thessalonians and Silvanus

1 Thessalonians and Timothy

The Thessalonians and the Power of We

The Thessalonians: Who Are These People?

The Breath of God: The Road to Thessaloniki

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We have finished teaching the series on Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Thessalonians: Opening Thoughts

Thessalonians: The Three Authors

1 Thessalonians and Silvanus

1 Thessalonians and Timothy

The Thessalonians and the Power of We

The Thessalonians: Who Are These People?

The Breath of God: The Road to Thessaloniki

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