by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 12 May 1, 2024 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Overall Paragraph In Terms Of Its Focus.
A. Paul's prayers because of the response the Thessalonians gave to the message of the Gospel.
B. The "coming" of "our Gospel" to the Thessalonians.
1. The historical reality is given in Acts 16-17.
a. They were in Macedonia because of Paul's vision in 16:9.
b. After "many days" (16:18) they ran into persecution in Philippi because of Paul's exorcism of a demon-possessed woman and were imprisoned.
c. The next day they were released and left shortly afterwards.
d. In 17:1 we are told that they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica.
e. Luke wrote that they were in the synagogue for three sabbaths before they ran into a buzz saw and were sent away by the brethren to Berea (17:10) and from there they went to Athens (17:15) because some Jews from Thessalonica went to Berea and stirred up the crowds so that the brethren sent Paul away.
f. Because it was Jews from Thessalonica, we can see why Paul wrote of the Thessalonian believers that they were under the gun as he had been (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
2. The spiritual reality is emphasized by Paul in 1:5.
a. The message of "our gospel" came by means of a word (message: logos) of men.
b. The message also was attended by "power" (dunamis).
1) This term is used by Paul once here in this first letter, but is used in three places in his second letter where we get the strong impression of "powerful actions".
a) 2 Thessalonians 1:7 ties "power" to the "mighty angels" who will attend Jesus when He comes with "flaming fire".
b) 2 Thessalonians 1:11 ties "power" to God's use of the Thessalonians when they are producing "the work of faith".
c) 2 Thessalonians 2:9 ties "power" to the working of Satan in terms of "signs and false wonders".
2) These uses may indicate some phenomenal actions of power, but the brevity of their stay in Thessalonica may, rather, fall back upon the "message as the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16), which is a greater "power" than any "phenomenal actions" because it overcomes far greater oppositions in the minds and hearts of people who are "in darkness" than any "miracle" can do (as "c)") above indicates.
c. The message was also attended by "the Holy Spirit".
1) This, for Paul, is the greatest element in the message because without His ministry of both "conviction" and "illumination", words and miracles and signs and wonders have a deleterious impact in that "faith" is not rooted firmly in "the Word of God" when it is rooted rather in persuasive words (Note: 1 Corinthians 2:4 and Colossians 2:4) and "phenomenal" events (Note: 2 Thessalonians 2:9 above as well as the Old Testament record of Elijah's confrontation on Mt. Carmel after which the people said "Yahweh is God", but nothing of any "staying power" was accomplished).
2) It takes the power of God to bring the "illumination" required to yield the impact of salvation (Note: 2 Corinthians 4:6).