Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus to the assembly of Thessalonians in God [the] Father and [the] Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace.
Paul's opening line to Thessalonica carries its own message. Before he gives a single instruction, he tells a young, persecuted church where God has placed them. He describes no other church in the New Testament this way. Why these believers?
These two letters read differently from Paul's others. The reason is how new the readers were.
These letters of the apostle Paul have a special freshness, warmth, and simplicity that we do not find elsewhere in the same degree. The reason is easy to see. These Epistles to the Thessalonians went to very young believers. I would not say for certain, but I think Paul wrote the First Epistle only about three months after their conversion. Paul's stay in Thessalonica was short — the brief account in Acts mentions only three Sabbaths — and fierce persecution cut it off suddenly. So these Thessalonians were left, after such a little while, in the middle of fiery trial, without full teaching in the faith.
Paul names Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy beside himself, and gives himself no title. Both are unique to these two letters.
Only in the two epistles to the Thessalonians does Paul include the names of his two co-workers, Silas and Timothy, in his addressing them. Also only in these does he give himself no title at all: not "an apostle," not "a servant," not "a prisoner." So he is not here passing on the mind of God with authority (as an apostle). He is not set before them as a pattern of Christianity (as a servant). He is not appealing to godly feelings and sympathies (as a prisoner). Instead, as one on the same level with them, he takes delight in their faith, love, and hope, and encourages them in this.
Elsewhere Paul presses his apostleship hard. The difference shows what made him do it.
He asserts his apostolic title and authority in the strongest way when he writes to the Galatians and the Corinthians. False teachers were troubling those churches and attacking his apostolic calling. This trouble did not exist in Thessalonica, so he does not remind them that he is an apostle. He did not parade his title. He mentions it only when people questioned the truth he preached and had received from the Lord.
What does it mean that this church is "in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"?
Only these two epistles say that an assembly is "in God the Father." That is to say, it is planted in this relationship. Its moral existence — its way of being — lies in it. The life of the assembly grew in the communion that flowed from this relationship. The Spirit of adoption characterises it. The Thessalonians knew the Father with the affection of little children… They had just come out of idol worship, and I have no doubt the apostle is pointing to their knowledge of the one true God the Father, in contrast with their idols.
One writer guards against pushing that word "in" too far.
So we have, "the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father." That is not putting them in Deity. It is family relationship.
One writer applies these words to people whose troubles began the moment they believed.
Suppose I am a young man, very young in the faith. I am facing the persecution of the world and the hatred of men… What a comfort it is to know that I am beloved "in God the Father." This is the way the apostle Paul addressed the Thessalonians as a company, the only one that he ever addressed in this way. They faced persecution from the very start, from their conversion — not gradually, as most of the other assemblies did. This was the very first Epistle that Paul ever wrote, his first inspired writing.
The same writer links the words to the readers' stage of growth, and to God's care for the weakest.
What could suit new-born saints so well? They had just been delivered from the many gods and many lords of idol worship. They had been brought into the conscious relationship of babes who know the Father… The same comfort appears in the words of the prophet: "He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms." Those who are most needy receive special care and consolation.
Darby takes the closing words as a prayer for them.
"Grace to you and peace": that is to say, may all the energy and riches of that grace in which you stand be displayed in you.
Others describe the two words as supply and settledness: "grace the active favor of God in abundance of supply; peace the tranquility begotten by submission to and communion with Himself" (Leslie M. Grant). Kelly notes that the brevity itself fits the readers:
For the infant assembly so characterised it was enough to say the brief but pregnant words, "Grace to you and peace." To others a fuller form was becoming, here needless because of what went before.
- Occasion — Persecution drove Paul out after three Sabbaths. He left converts of only a few months behind, and wrote them his first letter.
- Company — Silvanus and Timothy stand beside Paul. He claims no title, and writes as one on their level.
- Placed — Only these two letters call an assembly "in God the Father." It is planted there, and draws its whole life and communion from it.
- Family — The words mark family relationship, not a place inside Deity. Former idol-worshippers now knew the Father with a child's affection.
- Supply — For such a company, "grace to you and peace" was enough. God's active favour, and calm rest in Him, right where trial was fiercest.
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you at our prayers,
Paul's first letter opens with thanks, not correction, and the thanks come before any request. He is writing to people who had been believers only a few months, and verse 2 shows what he does with their blessing before God.
Paul thanks God for them before he asks God for anything. One writer treats this as a habit worth copying, and notes how easily we drop it.
In verse 2 notice carefully the apostle's habit of expressing his thankfulness for all believers when he writes his letters. We may remember to pray for believers, and yet may easily neglect this healthy practice of thanking God for them. To the apostle it was of first importance. Thanksgiving first with prayer following is the wise and godly order.
When Paul prays, he names these people rather than sweeping over all Christians at once. His thanks also travel back up to the source of the blessing.
The joy in the worker's heart overflows in constant thanksgiving to God for them all. This is not vague thanks, but thanks that names them when he prays. It matched the joy of people who had only just been brought out of darkness into the wonderful light of God. Yet it went deeper: it rose from the blessing up to the Blesser, because the blessing itself had the taste of fellowship with that source of blessing. Paul had worked with God like this in Thessalonica — not only among some of the Jews who were persuaded and joined him and Silas, but especially among a great many devout Greeks: a mighty and lasting work in a short time.
Paul's thanks rest on something he can see in them. One writer marks the difference between that and flattery.
He encourages them by assuring them that he always gives thanks to God for them and remembers them in his prayers. He also recognises the fruit of the Spirit in them. By drawing attention to these happy Christian qualities, the apostle is not flattering them. He is glad to recognise in them the evidence of a real work of God.
The people he thanks God for were new to the faith. That is part of the encouragement of this letter.
The Thessalonians had been believers for only a few months — they were young converts. That gives this letter a special interest. It is most encouraging to see how many things are true even of the youngest believers in Christ. It is also encouraging to see how much grace and devotion may mark them, if their simplicity stays unspoiled.
Set Paul's letters beside the story of his life, and a striking combination appears.
To get an idea of the intensity of Paul's spiritual life, and of his ceaseless activity, it is worth mentioning that his two letters to the Thessalonians were written while he was living at Corinth. They show us how constant his prayers were for the believers in that city. "We give thanks to God always for all of you," he says, "constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering ... your work of faith," and so on. Read his letters, and you might almost conclude that he did nothing but pray. Read his life story, and it would almost seem that he did nothing but work. In fact both were found in him — that blessed combination of prayer and labour which made him such a devoted servant.
Praying for people in trouble is familiar. Thanking God for what He has already done in people is rarer. One writer turns the verse into a set of direct questions.
Do we know thanksgiving to God like this? Do we name people in the same personal way when we pray? Do we never stop remembering the fruit of the Spirit's blessing in fellow believers? We know what it is to pray for believers in sorrow, shame, danger and need. But are we drawn out in joy before God at the working of His grace in those He has saved and gathered to the name of Jesus? … We are quick to put out, to cut off, to withdraw, to avoid, and to push people away in every form. We are slow and powerless in the grace that sees and enjoys grace in others, the grace that wins, helps, welcomes and restores. It was not so with the apostle and his companions. No doubt great grace is needed to value a little grace in others. That is Christ-like.
- See — Paul's thanks start with what he can see in them: not flattery, but the fruit of the Spirit and the evidence of a real work of God.
- Thank — thanksgiving comes first, and prayer follows. That order is the wise and godly one, and the one we drop most easily.
- Name — he names them in prayer instead of praying vaguely, and his thanks rise from the blessing up to the Blesser.
- Include — these were converts of only a few months, which shows how much is already true of the youngest believers.
- Work — in Paul, prayer and labour ran together. Read his letters and you would think he did nothing but pray. Read his life story and you would think he did nothing but work.
remembering unceasingly your work of faith, and labour of love, and enduring constancy of hope, of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;
Paul remembers the Thessalonians before God. What he names is three pairs: work joined to faith, labour joined to love, endurance joined to hope. The verse asks every serving Christian a question — not what am I doing, but what is driving it, and who is watching?
Paul names the inward character first. It showed itself in what they did:
It is worth noticing that first place goes to the character produced in them. Three words sum up that character: faith, hope, love. But we can only recognise character as it expresses itself in our actions and ways. So we read of their work, labour and patient endurance. Their "work of faith" was clear to everyone, in keeping with what James writes in his letter, "I will show you my faith by my works." Note that both here and in James 2 the works spoken of are the works of faith. In Romans 4 the works spoken of are "the works of the law" — a completely different thing. Many think that chapter contradicts James, but it does not.
The three pairs are not interchangeable. Faith acts, love sustains the work, and hope waits for the reward:
Faith is always active; without works it is dead. It can do much, for it knows a God with whom nothing is impossible — a God who never stops working. "My Father is working until now, and I am working." And so faith works. But to be of much value it must be a labour of love. Love must be behind it all and in it all… The more it is a work of faith, the less people will probably understand it. But if it is also a labour of love, we will keep going, for love is its own reward… And the patience of hope crowns all. The work of faith may not always get its due here. But we wait for the time when everything receives its true value.
Writers often set this verse beside the church at Ephesus. There the same three activities appear, but the three springs are missing:
Take the Thessalonians. In this they stand in direct contrast to the Ephesian saints, and they were in the freshness of their "first love." What do we notice in them? Their work of faith, labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ — the very same things commended at Ephesus. So what was the difference? Ephesus did have works. But the true spring of them was gone, while in the Thessalonians the spring of it all was in full play… The faith that marked their "work" kept them walking in communion with God. The love that marked their "labour" linked them with the source of power. And in the "hope" that marked their patience we get the coming of the Lord as the object before their souls.
The warning is uncomfortable. The outward record can stay intact long after the motive has died:
May we too continue the outward service of the Lord — preaching, teaching, pastoring — and yet lack the true motive? The service outwardly correct, the motives inwardly corrupt?… We may well ask: are faith, love and hope the springs of our service? — qualities only the Lord can discern, and very precious in His sight. Or is the motive for service self in some form: self-exaltation, self-advancement, or the hope of gain?
This patience is not general toughness. It fixes on a Person who is coming:
There is a difference between the patience in 2 Peter 1:6 and hope-patience. The one means enduring much for Christ, as a soldier expects to endure hardship. He does not expect an easy path to glory, but a path through much tribulation. But in the other — hope-patience — when your heart is bowed down, how the troubles drop off as soon as you turn your eye to Christ and say, He is coming.
Commentators differ over whose patience is meant. Some read it as the believer's endurance under affliction; others hear an echo of Christ's own waiting:
The patience is the patience of hope in the Lord (1 Thess. 1:3), Who speaks not of our patience but of His own. He is waiting in patience on high, and those who wait here for the same moment are keeping the word of His patience.
The closing phrase names where all this service takes place:
"In the sight of God and our Father." In the presence of God we find the exercise of conscience. These two blessings are the two sides of the Christian life: life kept up in Christ, and conscience active before God. When the soul is in a good state, there is always an exercise of conscience before God. It is true that after a season of blessing, a person may walk for a while with some measure of life but with little activity of conscience. Yet if conscience does not wake up again, the time comes when that person slips away and goes downhill fast.
- Spring. Work, labour and patience are the visible half; faith, love and hope are the hidden half that gives them worth.
- Faith works. Believing God is never idle — faith shows itself in works, and these are works of faith, not works of law.
- Love labours. Love keeps the work going when it costs more than it returns and nobody notices.
- Hope endures. The object is a Person: troubles loosen their grip the moment the eye turns to Christ and says, He is coming.
- Before God. All of it happens in His sight, where conscience stays awake and where activity without its spring, as at Ephesus, shows up for what it is.