Return Paul’s Letters to Thessalonica

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chapter 14

Unity, Freedom, and Christ’s Return Paul’s Letters to Thessalonica and Corinth

The time we live in will not last long. . . . For the whole frame of this world is passing away. 1 Corinthians 7:29, 31

Paul’s early letters are dominated by his escha- tology. Convinced that the Messiah’s death and resurrection have inaugurated End time, Paul strives to achieve several related goals. Traveling from city to city, he establishes small cells of be- lievers whom he calls to a “new life in Christ.” He argues that Jesus’ crucifi xion has brought free- dom from both Torah observance and the power of sin, and he emphasizes the necessity of leading an ethically pure life while awaiting Christ’s return. In his letters to the young Greek churches at Thessalonica and Corinth, Paul un- derscores the nearness of the Parousia —the

Second Coming—an event that he believes to be imminent. Much of Paul’s advice to these congregations is based on his desire that they achieve unity and purity before Christ reappears. While he is attempting to keep believers faithful to the high ideals of Christian practice, Paul also fi nds himself battling opponents who question the correctness of his teaching and/or his apostolic authority. According to Luke, an apostle was one whom Jesus had personally called to follow him and who had witnessed the Resurrection (Acts 1:21–22). Not only had Paul not known the earthly Jesus; he had cruelly

Key Topics/Themes The dominant theme of Paul’s letters to Thessalonica and Corinth is that the eschaton is near: Paul expects to witness Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the dead in his lifetime (1 Thess . 4:13–18). However, believers must not waste time speculating about the projected date of the Parousia (1 Thess . 5:1–3). Paul’s letters to Corinth are aimed at healing serious divisions in the newly founded church there. Paul urges members to give up their destructive competitiveness and work toward unity of belief and purpose. Their cooperation is essential because the remaining

time is so short. His most important topics include (1) differences between human and divinely revealed wisdom (1:10–3:23), (2) Christian ethics and responsibilities (5:1–11:1), (3) behavior at the communion meal (11:17–34), valuing gifts of the Spirit ( chs . 12–14), and (4) the resurrection of the dead ( ch . 15). A composite work composed of several letters or letter fragments, 2 Corinthians shows Paul defending his apostolic authority (2  Cor . 10–13); chapters 1–9, apparently written after chapters 10–13, describe his reconciliation with the church at Corinth.

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Paul makes the imminence of Jesus’ return his central message (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13–18; 5:1–11). The Thessalonians, he says, have become a shining example to other Greek churches because they have

turned from idols to be servants of the true and living God, . . . to wait expectantly for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the retribution to come.

(1 Thess. 1:10)

This passage may, in fact, epitomize the princi- pal themes of Paul’s oral gospel, the kerygma he preached in urban marketplaces, shops, and pri- vate homes. In general content, it resembles the more elaborate proclamation that Luke placed on Paul’s lips when he spoke to the Athenians (Acts 17: 22–31). Urging the Greeks to forsake lifeless idols for the “living God” of Judaism, Paul presents Jesus’ resurrection from the dead as in- troducing history’s climactic moment: his im- pending descent from heaven to rescue his followers from catastrophic divine judgment. For Paul, the implications of the coming apocalypse are clear: The Thessalonians must reform their typically lenient Gentile attitudes toward sexual activity. They have already made progress in living “to please God,” but they can do better, abstaining from “fornication,” be- coming “holy,” living “quietly,” and showing love to all (4:1–12). Although the Thessalonians do not exhibit the kind of opposition Paul describes in letters to the Corinthians and Galatians, he devotes considerable space to self-justifi cation, empha- sizing how nurturing, altruistic, and hard- working he was when in their company (2:1–12). In particular, he emphasizes the fact that he re- mained fi nancially independent of the people

persecuted the disciples. Paul’s sole claim to ap- ostolic status was his private revelation of the risen Lord, a claim others repeatedly challenged. To achieve the goal of guiding his fl ock through End time, Paul must ensure that his apostolic credentials are fully recognized (1 Cor . 15:9–10; 2 Cor . 11:1–13:10). To appreciate the urgency of Paul’s fi rst letters, we must approach them from the writ- er’s historical perspective: The Messiah’s com- ing spelled an end to the old world. The New Age—entailing the Final Judgment on all na- tions, a universal resurrection of the dead, and the ultimate fulfi llment of God’s purpose—was then in the process of materializing. Paul writes as a parent anxious that those in his care survive the apocalyptic ordeal just ahead and attain the saints’ reward of eternal life.

First Letter to the Thessalonians

The oldest surviving Christian document, 1 Thessalonians preserves our earliest glimpse of  how the new religion was established in Gentile territory. Capital of the Roman prov- ince of  Macedonia, Thessalonica (now called Thessaloniki ) (see Fig ure 14.1) was a bustling port city located on the Via Egnatia , the major highway linking Rome with the East. According to the Book of Acts, Paul spent only three weeks there, preaching mainly in the local synagogue to generally unreceptive Jews, who soon drove him out of town (17:1–18:5). Paul’s letter to the newly founded Thessa- lonian congregation, however, paints a different picture, making no reference to a synagogue ministry and implying that his converts were largely Gentile (1 Thess . 1:9). Probably written in Corinth about 50 ce, a scant twenty years after the Crucifi xion, 1 Thessalonians is remarkable in showing how quickly essential Christian ideas had developed and how thoroughly apocalyptic Paul’s message was. Referring to the Parousia in no fewer than six different passages, at least once in each of the letter’s fi ve brief chapters,

First Thessalonians

Author: Paul, missionary Apostle to the Gentiles. Date: About 50 ce. Place of composition: Probably Corinth. Audience: Mostly Gentile members of a newly founded congregation in Thessalonica, Greece.

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less than “the breath of life” to him, Paul offers a fervent prayer that the Thessalonians remain “holy and faultless,” acceptable to “our God and Father” at Jesus’ return (3:7–13).

The Parousia and the Resurrection

Having demonstrated the importance—to both the congregation collectively and the apostle individually—of their leading ethically unblem- ished lives until the Parousia , Paul then previews events that will take place when Jesus reappears in glory. Apparently, some Thessalonians be- lieved that Jesus’ return would occur so swiftly that all persons converted to Christianity would live to see the Second Coming. That belief was shaken when some believers died before Jesus had reappeared. What would become of them? Had the dead missed their opportunity to join Christ in ruling over the world?

he taught, working “night and day” to be self-sup- porting (2:9). Some commentators have sug- gested that Paul set up a leather goods shop, where he preached to customers and passersby. The passage in which he suddenly departs from praising his healthy relationship with the Thessalonians to castigate his fellow Jews, refer- ring to the “retribution” infl icted on them, may have been inserted by a later copyist after Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce (2:13–16). Chapter 2 concludes with an insight into the source of Paul’s concern for the Thessalonians’ good behavior: Their ethical purity will provide validation for him when “we stand before our Lord Jesus at his coming.” If they maintain their righteous conduct until the Parousia , their loyalty to his teaching will be a “crown of pride” for him, showing that Paul has properly discharged his ob- ligation to God, his patron and divine benefactor (2:19–20). Declaring that their faithfulness is no

figure 14.1 Paul’s churches. Paul established largely Gentile churches in the northeastern Mediterranean region at Philippi, Thessalonica, Beroea , and Corinth. Paul’s teaching was also infl uential in the Asia Minor city of Ephesus, where he lived for at least two years. The sites of some other Christian centers are also given.

M E D I T E R R A N E A N

S E A

CRETE

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Corinth Athens

Beroea PhilippiThessalonica

Ephesus

Troas

Miletus

� Church locations 0 100 200 Miles

0 100 200 Kilometers

Sardis Smyrna

Thyatira

Pergamum

Myra

Attalia Perga

Patara

Mitylene