These small group studies of 1 Thessalonians 1 contain outlines, cross-references, Bible study discussion questions, and applications. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
1 Thessalonians 1 Bible Study Commentary and Discussion Questions – The Thessalonians Zeal
Outline
I. Greeting (1)
II. Paul’s positive comments about the Thessalonians (2-10)
I. Greeting (1)
Discussion Questions
• Who was this letter written to?
• Where is Thessalonica?
• What do we know about Thessalonica? What is the background and history there?
• What do we know of Paul’s time ministering there? Who went with him?
• What is the main content and/or main themes of this epistle?
• What was the condition of the Thessalonian church?
• How would you describe the tenor of Paul’s letter to them?
Cross-References
Acts 17:1-10 – This passage tells us the background of Paul working in Thessalonica.
Intro
The ancient city of Thessalonica is the same city that is now called Thessaloniki. This is currently the second largest and second most important cities in Greece. It was founded roughly 300-400 years B.C. By the time of Paul’s missionary journey, it was an important regional capital for the Roman province of Macedonia. The city was strategic because of its location at the intersection of two major Roman highways and its harbor, which was a busy port for shipping and trading.
Paul visited this city on his second missionary journey, on which Silas and Timothy accompanied him. In the Acts account, we see that Paul may have been in this city as short as three weeks since he is mentioned as teaching on the Sabbath three times. Some of the Jews in the local synagogue, but even more Greeks and a number of the leading women, believed Paul’s message and were converted.
The Jews were jealous and stirred up a mob, which rioted. Paul’s host, Jason, was forcibly taken from his house along with some of the other brethren. Jason somehow made peace with them, and Paul and his companions were forced to leave the city, so he went to Berea. This was not enough for the Thessalonian Jews, who followed Paul to Berea and kept causing trouble until he was forced to leave that place as well.
Evidence suggests Paul wrote this letter from Corinth and based on an inscription showing that Gallio was consul at 51-52 A.D., this would date 1 Thessalonians as the earliest epistle.
You can read more about this entire account in Acts 17:1-9.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Paul mentioned Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy by name in his greeting because the Thessalonians would have been familiar with them. Both of these brothers accompanied Paul during his time of ministry in Thessalonica. Therefore, they certainly had friends there and wanted to pass their greetings on.
2. Timothy was sent back to the church there after Paul left, but before this book was written. See 1 Thessalonians 3:1-2.
3. Paul begins this letter, as usual, with a declaration of authorship, a clear recipient, an acknowledgment of his position as God’s servant, and a blessing.
II. Paul’s commendations to the Thessalonians (2-10)
Discussion Questions
• What is the main theme from verses 2-10?
• What can learn from Paul in these verses?
• How was the Thessalonian church doing after Paul’s departure?
• What was Paul’s attitude toward the Thessalonians?
• What can we learn from Paul about doing ministry?
• What can we learn from Paul about how to treat brothers and sisters in Christ?
• What does “work of faith” mean? How about “labor of love”? And “steadfastness of hope”?
• What doctrines are revealed in verses 4-5?
• What lessons can we learn from verse 5 which are helpful for sharing the gospel?
• Should we ask others to imitate us (see verse 6)?
• What were the Thessalonians commended for in verse 8?
• How did their lives change after their belief in Christ?
• Are your lives marked by the same change?
• What important theme of this epistle is revealed in verse 10?
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Paul is a very superlative kind of guy – He does not take half-measures. In these verses, we see such superlatives as “always” and “constantly.” You can see that Paul does not just pray for the Thessalonians now and then or when he thinks about it. He intentionally comes before the Lord on a regular and even frequent basis. He is constantly thinking about them, their growth, and their relationship to the Lord.
In fact, Paul did not know most of them very closely. It appears that he was only in that area for about three weeks. And yet, he cared deeply for them. Paul knew they were spiritual babies when he left them and would face many persecutions, temptations, and spiritual attacks. He couldn’t be with them personally, so he was left doing the only thing he could do for them: continually come before God’s throne and beseech the Father directly on their behalf. We are all acquainted with the idea of prayer. Praying for others is not a new concept. But here, Paul shows a clear example of just how important prayer is and how crucial it is to dedicate ourselves to be faithful and constant prayer warriors.
Application:
When you promise to pray for others, do you pray for them just once? Perhaps when it comes to mind? A minute here or a minute there? This is not the model of prayer which Paul has set for us. Prayer is our direct link with God. Only He can change people’s hearts and bring about spiritual growth. While we should be men and women of the Word who place a heavy emphasis on the Word, we should not do it to the exclusion of prayer. Prayer needs to be a major part of our Christian lives, something we dedicate ourselves to, not just an afterthought.
2. Paul sets a model of gratitude and optimism– You can see Paul’s positive outlook toward the Thessalonians in this chapter. Of course, they were not a perfect church, but he chose to focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses. As we know, in the case of the Corinthian church, Paul doesn’t ignore sins and weaknesses, but at the same time, most of the epistles are overwhelmingly positive as he chooses to focus on the good rather than the bad.
Why does he do this? Why is this important? What lessons can we learn from this?
In fact, there is a gift of encouragement (sometimes referred to as exhortation) found in Romans 12:7-8.
Barnabas seemed to have this gift (Acts 4:36). Perhaps Paul also learned the importance of encouraging others from him. I have been around brothers and sisters who are wonderful at encouraging. They could sense when others were getting discouraged and would always try to remind them of the positive things God had done in and through them. They used their words to lift up others’ spirits and help the people around them focus on God’s goodness and the many gifts He has bestowed upon us.
The example they set was really significant to me. By nature, I am not a very good encourager. It is easy for me to focus on people’s failures or shortcomings. I tend to slide more easily into criticizing or rebuking rather than encouraging. So, like these friends, Paul’s model is an important reminder to me to always look for the good in others (1 Corinthians 13:7) and be very verbal in expressing words of affirmation and appreciation.
How about you? Do you tend to criticize others easily or look at the shortcomings they have or the mistakes they have made? How can you be more of an encourager? Who specifically would you like to encourage in the next week?
3. Work of faith – This is an interesting phrase. A lot of times, people consider faith as passive. Sometimes unbelievers look at Christians and accuse us of being passive or lazy while we wait for God to do things for us. But this phrase shows us that this idea of passivity is clearly wrong. In fact, genuine faith is quite the opposite. Faith drives us to work. It causes us to serve God wholeheartedly. What does faith in God drive you to do? It drives us to try to reach God’s standards. Faith drives us to “don’t waste your life,” as John Piper puts it. True belief in God will push us to work for Him during our brief days on the earth before we enter eternity.
4. Labor of love – Here is another intriguing phrase that we often wouldn’t think about. Most of the time, people think that love is natural. They believe it is an emotion, a feeling. Once people reach the point where they have to work at it, and it doesn’t come easily (like it might during the honeymoon phase of a relationship), they think that they have “fallen” out of love, and it is not even worth continuing the relationship. This idea of love is completely false.
Real love is not easy, and it does NOT come naturally. Our natural inclinations are all selfish. It takes hard work to support your family properly. It takes hard work to take care of the household and deal with all the problems your kids face. It takes hard work for a couple to show proper respect and care for each other after t