1 and 2 Thessalonians

By Leon Morris

A companion series to the acclaimed Word Biblical Commentary

Finding the great themes of the books of the Bible is essential to the study of God's Word and to the preaching and teaching of its truths. These themes and ideas are often like precious gems: they lie beneath the surface and can only be discovered with some difficulty. While commentaries are useful for helping readers understand the content of a verse or chapter, they are not usually designed to help the reader to trace important subjects systematically within a given book a Scripture.

The Word Biblical Themes series helps readers discover the important themes of a book of the Bible. This series distills the theological essence of a given book of Scripture and serves it up in ways that enrich the preaching, teaching, worship, and discipleship of God's people. Volumes in this series:

• Written by top biblical scholars
• Feature authors who wrote on the same book of the Bible for the Word Biblical Commentary series
• Distill deep and focused study on a biblical book into the most important themes and practical applications of them
• Give reader’s an ability to see the "big picture" of a book of the Bible by understanding what topics and concerns were most important to the biblical writers
• Help address pressing issues in the church today by showing readers see how the biblical writers approached similar issues in their day
• Ideal for sermon preparation and for other teaching in the church Word Biblical Themes are an ideal resource for any reader who has used and benefited from the Word Biblical Commentary series, and will help pastors, bible teachers, and students as they seek to understand and apply God’s word to their ministry and learning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Dec 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9780310115748

Leon Morris

Leon Morris (Ph.D. University of Cambridge) now in his retirement, was formerly Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne, and has served as Visiting Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Book preview

Halftitle Page

General Editor

David A. Hubbard

Old Testament Editor

John D. W. Watts

New Testament Editor

Ralph P. Martin

Title Page with Zondervan logo

ZONDERVAN ACADEMIC

1 and 2 Thessalonians

Copyright © 1989 by Word, Incorporated

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition © June 2020: ISBN 978-0-310-11574-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Morris, Leon.

1 and 2 Thessalonians: Leon Morris.

p. cm.

Bibliography: p.

Included index.

ISBN 978-0-849-90797-5

1. Bible. N.T. Thessalonians—Criticism, interpretations, etc. I. Title. II. Title: first and Second Thessalonians. III. Series.

BS2725.2.M67 1989

227’.8106—dc1

89–56632

Quotations from the Scriptures in this volume are the author’s own translation unless otherwise indicated.

Any internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

1. The Living and True God

2. Jesus Christ Our Lord

3. The Last Things

4. The Defeat of Evil

5. The Christian Family

6. The Christian Life

Notes

Index of Scriptures

EDITORSʼ FOREWORD

The two Pauline letters to the church of the Thessalonians have the distinction of being among the first pieces of extant correspondence between the apostle and his congregations. They offer the modern reader a wonderfully descriptive and appealing case history of early Christianity, set in Greco-Roman society and beset by pressing problems of a doctrinal and ethical character. They also reveal Paul’s handling of those issues and the way he expected infant believers, only recently won over from Hellenistic religious culture, to adopt the Christian way of belief and behavior.

For Christians in our day, living as we do in a society which has lost a lot of the familiar landmarks of traditional doctrine and ethical standards, these short letters have a particular appeal.

Dr. Leon Morris of Melbourne, Australia, is no newcomer to the field of biblical exposition. In fact, he may be regarded as a veteran in this area, having produced an impressive array of commentaries and studies on New Testament life and literature. Nor is he unacquainted with the Thessalonian letters, since he has already released two volumes, in previous series, on these epistles.

The Word Biblical Themes project, which aims to make the results of scholarly study readily accessible to lay people and ministers of the word, is fortunate to have secured his consent and cooperation in writing the following small book. Students will still value Professor F. F. Bruce’s erudite contribution to the Word Biblical Commentary on the Thessalonian epistles (vol. 45; hereafter referred to in the text as WBC 45); to a wider audience, Dr. Morris’s distillation of theological themes carries all the marks of his own reflection and will prove a valuable companion volume and one to be used in its own right.

PREFACE

I count it a privilege to have been invited to write the Word Biblical Themes book on the Thessalonian Epistles. The series is a significant one, with its emphasis not so much on the critical questions as on the theological ideas of the letters and their permanent message for believers.

There is a particular significance in studying the Thessalonian correspondence because the two letters to the church in Thessalonica must have been written by about

A.D

. 50. Most people hold them to have been the earliest letters of the great apostle (although some think Galatians was earlier). Whatever opinion may be favored on that question, there seems little doubt that these letters were written less than twenty years after the crucifixion. It is fascinating to see how many of the great Christian doctrines had already made their appearance by that time.

The Thessalonian church had no great history of earlier believers to inspire them such as we have with our stories of great Christians throughout the ages. We learn a good deal about these early believers from what Paul says, and we find that they have much to teach us. They made their mistakes, and there was much that they did not understand, but they stood firm in difficult circumstances. Of course, the counsel the great apostle gave them is still full of interest and inspiration to Christian people. We can all profit from a close study of the great ideas expounded in these two letters.

Leon Morris

Melbourne, Australia

INTRODUCTION

Thessalonica and its church

Thessalonica was situated at the head of the Thermaic Gulf (now called the Gulf of Salonika), with a fine harbor in front of it and a fertile plain behind it. These facts, taken with the additional fact that the Via Egnatia, the main highway from Rome to places east, passed through it, meant that the city was an important trading center (as it still is). It was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and its largest city.

Paul came to this city on his second missionary journey. Together with Silas and Timothy he had preached at Philippi, but he and Silas had been put in jail, and on their release they had left that city (Acts 16:40). When he came to Thessalonica Paul went to the synagogue, according to his custom. He preached there on three (apparently successive) sabbaths (Acts 17:2). This might mean that his stay in the city was something just short of a month, in which case he engaged in a short, intense campaign. This is not impossible, although most people hold that when he was no longer welcome in the synagogue, Paul preached else-where in the city for a further period, so that he may have been there for several months.

Abraham J. Malherbe thinks that Paul continued to evangelize, perhaps using Jason’s home as his base. He draws attention to the insula, a type of apartment house frequently found in first-century cities, which would contain a row of shops on the ground floor, facing the street, and provide living accommodations for the owners and their families over the shop or in the rear. They would also have living quarters for visitors, employees, and servants or slaves.¹ Jason, who received Paul and his company (Acts 17:7), was apparently well-to-do, and he may well have been the proprietor of such an insula. If so, it would have provided lodgings for the preachers, a place where they could earn their living (1 Thess 2:9), and a base for their evangelistic work. Whether this was what happened or not, we do not know. What we do know is that Paul centered his preaching on the necessity for the Christ to suffer and rise and on the fact that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 17:3).

The result was a number of conversions from among the Jews, together with a great multitude of the devout Greeks and no small number of the chief women (Acts 17:4). This success, however, aroused opposition led by some Thessalonian Jews (doubtless angry at losing some of their adherents), and there was a riot. Unable to find Paul, angry men dragged Jason, Paul’s host, and other believers before the city authorities. They gave a notable description of the preachers as These that have turned the world upside down (KJV) and complained that they were acting against Caesar’s decrees (Acts 17:6–7). The authorities took security from Jason and the others, then let them go (Acts 17:9). Luke does not say what form this security took, but it would seem that Jason and the others agreed to keep the peace.

The riot and subsequent events made it impossible for Paul and his companions to continue with their mission in Thessalonica, so the new believers sent them off by night (Acts 17:10; this points to continuing danger and a need for secrecy). Now the new little church was left to build up its life without the presence of its founders. Paul had been with them for only a short period. Whether we see that period as a few weeks or a few months, it might seem all too short a time for firmly establishing a new church. Thus, being on their own was quite a test for the new believers. There was no long history of the Christian church and not many examples for the fledgling church to appeal to, and they had not had the time or the opportunity to be given instruction in all aspects of Christian teaching.

That the church did stand firm is made clear from Paulʹs subsequent history. He went on to Berea, where his preaching resulted in conversions (Acts 17:12), but Thessalonian Jews followed him and stirred up such opposition that he had to leave. He went on to the intellectual center of Athens, a city where some believed but where Paul was mocked and where his successes were apparently limited. That meant that the apostle had had setbacks in four successive cities. In Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, some very promising beginnings had been ended when fanatical opponents had run him out of town, and he was ridiculed in Athens. Small wonder, then, that when he got to Corinth he described himself as in weakness and in fear and in much trembling (1 Cor 2:3; J. B. Phillips renders, I was feeling far from strong, I was nervous and rather shaky). A very human Paul was clearly a very discouraged man at this point in his career.

We do not have a full account