Summary of the Book of 1 Thessalonians

Summary of the Book of 1 Thessalonians

This summary of the book of 1 Thessalonians provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of 1 Thessalonians.

Background of the Thessalonian Letters

It is helpful to trace the locations of Paul and his companions that relate to the Thessalonian correspondence. The travels were as follows:

1. Paul and Silas fled from Thessalonica to Berea. Since Timothy is not mentioned (see Ac 17:10 and note), it is possible that he stayed in Thessalonica or went back to Philippi and then rejoined Paul and Silas in Berea (Ac 17:14).
2. Paul fled to Athens from Berean persecution, leaving Silas and Timothy in Berea (see Ac 17:14).
3. Paul sent word back, instructing Silas and Timothy to come to him in Athens (see Ac 17:15; see also note on 1Th 3:1-2).
4. Timothy rejoined Paul at Athens and was sent back to Thessalonica (see 3:1-5). Since Silas is not mentioned, it has been conjectured that he went back to Philippi when Timothy went to Thessalonica (see note on 3:1-2).
5. Paul moved on to Corinth (see Ac 18:1).
6. Silas and Timothy came to Paul in Corinth (see 3:6; Ac 18:5).
7. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians and sent it to the church.
8. About six months later (a.d. 51/52) he sent 2 Thessalonians in response to further information about the church there.

Author, Date and Place of Writing

Both external and internal evidence (see 1:1; 2:18) support the view that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians (from Corinth; see note on 3:1-2). Early church writers are agreed on the matter, with testimonies beginning as early as a.d. 140 (Marcion). Paul's known characteristics are apparent in the letter (3:1-2,8-11 compared with Ac 15:36; 2Co 11:28). Historical allusions in the book fit Paul's life as recounted in Acts and in his own letters (2:14-16 compared with Ac 17:5-10; 3:6 compared with Ac 17:16). In the face of such evidence, few have ever rejected authorship by Paul.

It is generally dated c. a.d. 51. Weighty support for this date was found in an inscription discovered at Delphi, Greece (see map No. 13 at the end of this study Bible), that dates Gallio's proconsulship to c. 51-52 and thus places Paul at Corinth at the same time (see Ac 18:12-17 and note on 18:12; see also chart, p. 1673). Except for the possibility of an early date for Galatians (48-49?), 1 Thessalonians is Paul's earliest canonical letter.

Thessalonica: The City and the Church

Thessalonica was a bustling seaport city at the head of the Thermaic Gulf (see map, p. 2280). It was an important communication and trade center, located at the junction of the great Egnatian Way and the road leading north to the Danube. It was the largest city in Macedonia and was also the capital of its province.

The background of the Thessalonian church is found in Ac 17:1-9. Since Paul began his ministry there in the Jewish synagogue, it is reasonable to assume that the new church included some Jews. However, 1:9-10; Ac 17:4 seem to indicate that the church was largely Gentile in membership.

Purpose

Paul had left Thessalonica abruptly (see Ac 17:5-10) after a rather brief stay. Recent converts from paganism (1:9) were thus left with little external support in the midst of persecution. Paul's purpose in writing this letter was to encourage the new converts in their trials (3:3-5), to give instruction concerning godly living (4:1-12) and to give assurance concerning the future of believers who die before Christ returns (4:13-18; see Theme below; see also notes on 4:13,15).

Theme

Although the thrust of the letter is varied (see Purpose), the subject of eschatology (doctrine of last things) seems to be predominant in both Thessalonian letters. Every chapter of 1 Thessalonians ends with a reference to the second coming of Christ, with ch. 4 giving it major consideration (1:9-10; 2:19-20; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:23-24). Thus, the second coming seems to permeate the letter and may be viewed in some sense as its theme. The two letters are often designated as the eschatological letters of Paul.

Outline

I.                  The Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians (ch. 1)

A.    The Grounds for the Thanksgiving (1:1-4)

• The Genuineness of the Grounds (1:5-10)

                       II.         The Defense of the Apostolic Actions and Absence (chs. 2-3)

• The Defense of the Apostolic Actions (2:1-16)
• The Defense of the Apostolic Absence (2:17;3:10)
• The Prayer (3:11-13)

III.         The Exhortations to the Thessalonians (4:1;5:22)

• Primarily concerning Personal Life (4:1-12)
• Concerning the Coming of Christ (4:13;5:11)
• Primarily concerning Church Life (5:12-22)

IV.         The Concluding Prayer, Greetings and Benediction (5:23-28)

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From the NIV Study Bible, Introductions to the Books of the Bible, 1 Thessalonians
Copyright 2002 © Zondervan. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

1 Thessalonians 1,2,3 NLT

Outline

I.                  The Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians (ch. 1)

A.    The Grounds for the Thanksgiving (1:1-4)

• The Genuineness of the Grounds (1:5-10)

                       II.         The Defense of the Apostolic Actions and Absence (chs. 2-3)

• The Defense of the Apostolic Actions (2:1-16)
• The Defense of the Apostolic Absence (2:17;3:10)
• The Prayer (3:11-13)

III.         The Exhortations to the Thessalonians (4:1;5:22)

• Primarily concerning Personal Life (4:1-12)
• Concerning the Coming of Christ (4:13;5:11)
• Primarily concerning Church Life (5:12-22)

IV.         The Concluding Prayer, Greetings and Benediction (5:23-28)

1 Thessalonians 1 NLT     

1 This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God give you grace and peace. 

2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 

3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

4 We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 

5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. 

6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 

7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia. 

8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 

9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.

10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

1 Thessalonians 2 NLT

1 You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. 

2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. 

3 So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery. 

4 For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. 

5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! 

6 As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else. 

7 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 

8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. 

9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 

10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. 

11 And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 

12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. 

13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. 

14 And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews. 

15 For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity 

16 as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last. 

17 Dear brothers and sisters, after we were separated from you for a little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried very hard to come back because of our intense longing to see you again.

18 We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us. 

19 After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! 

20 Yes, you are our pride and joy.

1 Thessalonians 3 NLT

1 Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens, 

2 and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, 

3 and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. 

4 Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come—and they did, as you well know. 

5 That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless. 

6 But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. 

7 So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. 

8 It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. 

9How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence. 

10 Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith. 

11 May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon. 

12 And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 

13 May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.