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January 22, 1995
Can a letter written in the first century provide encouragement and direction for our modern lives? Alistair Begg shows us how by summarizing the themes and context of Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians. Paul’s tender letter emphasizes the importance of the local church and the Gospel and provides important instruction for those exercising or submitting to church leadership—issues that shape believers’ lives in every time and place.
1Paul, aSilvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the bThessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
cGrace to you and peace.
2dWe give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly1 ementioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before four God and Father gyour work of faith and labor of hlove and isteadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, jbrothers2 loved by God, kthat he has chosen you, 5because lour gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and min the Holy Spirit and with full nconviction. You know owhat kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And pyou became imitators of us qand of the Lord, for ryou received the word in much affliction, swith the tjoy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord usounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth veverywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of wreception we had among you, and how xyou turned to God yfrom idols to serve the living and ztrue God, 10and ato wait for his Son bfrom heaven, cwhom he raised from the dead, Jesus dwho delivers us from ethe wrath to come.
1For you yourselves know, brothers,1 that our fcoming to you gwas not in vain. 2But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated hat Philippi, as you know, iwe had boldness in our God jto declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much kconflict. 3For lour appeal does not spring from merror or nimpurity or oany attempt to deceive, 4but just as we have been approved by God pto be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not qto please man, but to please God rwho tests our hearts. 5sFor we never came with words of flattery,2 as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—tGod is witness. 6uNor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, vthough we could have made wdemands as xapostles of Christ. 7But we were ygentle3 among you, zlike a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God abut also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9For you remember, brothers, bour labor and toil: we cworked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10You are witnesses, and dGod also, ehow holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11For you know how, flike a father with his children, 12we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and gcharged hyou to walk in a manner worthy of God, iwho calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13And jwe also thank God constantly4 for this, that when you received kthe word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it lnot as the word of men5 but as what it really is, the word of God, mwhich is at work in you believers. 14For you, brothers, nbecame imitators of othe churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For pyou suffered the same things from your own countrymen qas they did from the Jews,6 15rwho killed both the Lord Jesus and sthe prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and toppose all mankind 16uby hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always vto fill up the measure of their sins. But wwrath has come upon them at last!7
17But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, xin person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire yto see you face to face, 18because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan zhindered us. 19For what is our hope or ajoy or crown of boasting bbefore our Lord Jesus at his ccoming? Is it not you? 20For you are our glory and joy.
1Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing dto be left behind at Athens alone, 2and we esent Timothy, four brother and God's coworker1 in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that gwe are destined for this. 4For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, hjust as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5For this reason, iwhen I could bear it no longer, iI sent to learn about your faith, jfor fear that somehow kthe tempter had tempted you and lour labor would be in vain.
6But mnow that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of nyour faith and love and reported othat you always remember us kindly and plong to see us, as we long to see you— 7for this reason, brothers,2 in all our distress and affliction qwe have been comforted about you through your faith. 8For now we live, if you rare standing fast in the Lord. 9For swhat thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10as we pray most earnestly tnight and day uthat we may see you face to face and vsupply what is lacking in your faith?
11Now may wour God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, xdirect our way to you, 12and may the Lord ymake you increase and abound in love zfor one another and for all, as we do for you, 13so that he may aestablish your hearts blameless in holiness before wour God and Father, at bthe coming of our Lord Jesus cwith all his saints.
1Finally, then, brothers,1 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you dreceived from us ehow you ought to walk and fto please God, just as you are doing, that you gdo so more and more. 2For hyou know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, iyour sanctification:2 jthat you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own kbody3 in holiness and lhonor, 5not in mthe passion of lust nlike the Gentiles owho do not know God; 6that no one transgress and pwrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is qan avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7For rGod has not called us for simpurity, but in holiness. 8Therefore twhoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, uwho gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9Now concerning vbrotherly love wyou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been xtaught by God yto love one another, 10for that indeed is what zyou are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ado this more and more, 11and to aspire bto live quietly, and cto mind your own affairs, and dto work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12so that you may ewalk properly before foutsiders and be dependent on no one.
13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, gthat you may not grieve as others do hwho have no hope. 14For isince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him jthose who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you kby a word from the Lord,4 that lwe who are alive, who are left until mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For nthe Lord himself will descend ofrom heaven pwith a cry of command, with the voice of qan archangel, and rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And sthe dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be tcaught up together with them uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so vwe will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1Now concerning wthe times and the seasons, brothers,1 xyou have no need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves are fully aware that ythe day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then zsudden destruction will come upon them aas labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you bare not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all cchildren2 of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6So then dlet us not sleep, as others do, but let us ekeep awake and fbe sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, gare drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, hhaving put on the breastplate of ifaith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for jwrath, but kto obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10lwho died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
12We ask you, brothers, mto respect those who labor among you and nare over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. oBe at peace among yourselves. 14And we urge you, brothers, admonish pthe idle,3 qencourage the fainthearted, rhelp the weak, sbe patient with them all. 15See that tno one repays anyone evil for evil, but always useek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16vRejoice always, 17wpray without ceasing, 18xgive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19yDo not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise zprophecies, 21but atest everything; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.
23Now may bthe God of peace himself csanctify you completely, and may your dwhole espirit and soul and body be kept blameless at fthe coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24gHe who calls you is faithful; hhe will surely do it.
25iBrothers, pray for us.
26jGreet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27I put you under oath before the Lord to have kthis letter read to all the brothers.
28lThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
