1 Thessalonians 1-2
Joy and Crown

Silas and Timothy were with Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 15:22) during which the church at Thessalonica was planted. Paul wishes them the covenantal blessings of grace and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus the Messiah. He thanks God for their visible faith, love, and hope. The NIV does a good job of translating verse 3, bringing out the force of the Genitive cases (which usually means source or possession, and is frequently translated “of”). Paul thanked God for the work “of” or sourced in their faith, their labor sourced in love, and their endurance sourced in their hope in the Messiah. Faith which believes God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6) does the work for which we are saved/justified (Eph 2:8-10). This has led some to erroneously conclude that if there are no works, there is no salvation. Forgiveness/justification is by faith and free; rewards/glorification require work. Their labor or service (from a word that means “beat up”) was sourced in love (the most likely love is that for each other, as referenced later in the epistle in 3:12 and 4:9). Their hope of future reward that they heard about in the good news of the coming Kingdom produced/inspired an endurance that enabled them to persevere through the difficulties of following Christ.

Revelation 14:13 I heard the voice from heaven saying, "Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them."

Their demonstrable faith, love, and hope were evidence that they were in the elect/chosen group that God had slated for blessing (see comments on Ephesians 1). This is not about being justified, but rather choice saints who would be blessed. Otherwise the false teaching would be that only those who labor and endure are forgiven. The good news came to them not only in mere words, but in a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit, and much basis for confidence in the truth of the message.

Knowing that Paul and his companions were sent from God gave the Thessalonians confidence to become imitators of them, and the Lord. They received the truth in the midst of much opposition from the Jews (Acts 17). The Thessalonian Jews not only caused problems in their own city, but followed Paul to Berea to cause him trouble. Yet there was joy produced by the Holy Spirit, despite the circumstances. Word of the Thessalonians' faith spread throughout the regions so Paul didn't even need to preach. Everyone talked about how they turned from idols to serve the one true, and living God. Not only that, they demonstrated works, labor, and endurance as they waited for the return of their Messiah from heaven, to set up His Millennial Kingdom. Believers not only turn from sin, but turn to God to serve Him. Jesus not only saves from the eternal penalty of sin, He delivers faithful believers from the wrath to come (see Isaiah 13:9 and comments on Mt 3:7; Lk 3:7; Rom 1:18; 5:9; Eph 5:6; Col 3:9; Rev 11:18). The coming wrath in the bracketed verses is not about being tossed into the lake of fire, but the righteous judgment of the disobedient who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (see especially comments on Rom 1:18). Most miss this truth because they fail to observe the context regarding who is subject to the wrath. In most cases it is people who had their sins forgiven by participation in the day of atonement, or those who had trusted Christ. Paul warns believers against the wrath that comes upon the sons/children of disobedience in Ephesians and Colossians, as well as in this letter (2:16; 5:9).

As in Corinth (and almost everywhere), there were Satan's agents, seeking to discredit Paul and his message of God's truth (times haven't changed). Paul must have heard some of the slander from Timothy, so he spends a little time defending his conduct among them, and sets up his exhortation to those who had perhaps abandoned their jobs to await Christ's return (4:11; also in 2Thess 3:8-10 -slow learners). After his beating and imprisonment in Philippi, Paul was bold to proclaim the truth to the Thessalonians, and it wasn't in vain; it bore fruit. He spoke the truth truthfully to please God, not holding back to please men, because He knew that God tests the hearts of apostles and believers. Paul didn't teach them for his temporal advantage, nor to seek glory from men (as the Judaizers did). Nor did he use his authority as an apostle to receive benefit from them (see comments on 2Cor 11-12).

This section gives a good snapshot of Paul's personal ministry, which is particularly relevant to present day disciple-makers who want to please God and gain eternal glory from their stay on earth. He was both mother and father to his spiritual children. He was gentle (2Tim 2:14) not hostile, and cherished them as someone does their own flesh and blood (Eph 5:29). His affection for them made him willing to not only suffer to share the truth of the gospel (to which the Jews violently objected) but also his own life/soul. He imparted to them all that he was, because they had become dear/precious to him, probably as a result of their willingness to believe and follow his Lord. Paul worked day and night so as not to be a burden to them financially (nor have his motives challenged). His behavior was above reproach. Paul modeled holiness and righteousness in his interactions with those he was helping get established in the faith. He behaved toward them in a blameless (1Thess 5:23) manner. He not only proclaimed the truth, but followed up with exhortation, encouragement and bearing witness (to future realities) so that those who believed would walk in a manner worthy of the reward to which God called/summoned/invited them in the gospel. Specifically Paul says it is to participation in the Messianic Kingdom, and future glory. This is obviously not a reference to forgiveness/justification, nor belief in Jesus dying for their sins, but the inheritance God has planned for those who are faithful to Him. Just like Israel was redeemed from Egypt by God's grace, their entrance into and possession of the Promised Land was dependent upon drawing upon God's grace to obey Him.

Because God has called/invited/summoned believers to the Messiah's Kingdom (as promised in the OT), Paul thanks God that the Thessalonians responded wholeheartedly to the truth, for that would ensure their worthy walk and consequent participation in the Kingdom. He want this for them, not just for their benefit (although he dearly loved them), but also his own, as the end of the chapter indicates. Paul is thankful that they received his messages as the word of God and not men, and that it produced changes in their lives. They became imitators of the faithful assemblies in Judea in following God and experiencing tribulation from their countrymen, as did the believers in Jerusalem and its surrounds. The demonically energized Jews killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets sent to them (like John the Baptist), drove out the apostles with persecution, and obviously didn't please God (which is essential for the righteousness God rewards). Paul describes them as antagonistic to all men, although God's purpose in constituting the Jews as a nation was to bring all men to Himself for blessing (Gen 12). Instead, the Jews who rejected the Messiah, forbid the apostles to speak to the Gentiles so they would not be blessed by God. Remember the Jews wanted the Gentiles to become Jewish before they could be accepted by God and blessed by Him. But the unrevealed mystery of the gospel is that the Gentiles would be full heirs in Christ, as Gentiles, not Jews, for in union with Christ all distinctions are irrelevant. When this point was understood, the Jews usually started riots and throwing stones, because their worth and value was not based upon pleasing God, but on being better than others. The end result of such behavior is that they filled their sin capacity to overflowing and would face the wrath of God on judgment day, and be excluded from the Kingdom, as Jesus taught (see comments on Mt 8:11-12). The Jew rebellion against God's plan and service of the dark side did not annul God's promise to forgive them on the basis of participation in the Day of Atonement, any more than His discipline of them in Babylon made them not His chosen people. They just would be facing cursing rather than blessing as the OT testified repeatedly. Thus this coming wrath is discipline upon the sons of disobedience, depriving them of blessing/dominion, and should not be equated with the fate of those cast into the lake of fire with Satan. See Romans 11, to understand how God still has a place and promises for the Jews when they will repent.

Paul was eager to see the Thessalonians so he could strengthen them so his labor would not be in vain (3:2,5). Multiple times Paul wanted to minister to them again, but Satan hindered him from visiting. The reason Paul wanted to visit them is because they were his hope (of reward), his (eternal) joy, and his crown (reward) in which he anticipated rejoicing. Crown was a symbol of the rulership or dominion (glory) Paul would receive in the Kingdom. Paul would be rewarded by God for the labor he invested in them, and the resultant fruit of their Christlikeness. Verse 20 indicates that they are his glory and joy. When Paul stands before the Lord Jesus when He returns, those who responded to his ministry would be the basis of his glory/reward, and joy. He will continue this thought in the next chapter.