Thessalonica: the Confused Church

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Thessalonica: the Confused Church

When the apostle Paul left the city of Philippi on his second missionary journey, he travelled next to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1). There, he preached to his fellow Jews in the local synagogue, where he had much success in evangelism (Acts 17:2-4). But the Jews that would not obey the gospel caused an uproar in the city and Paul and Silas were forced to leave and go to Berea, a short distance away (Acts 17:5-10). Paul did not get to spend as much with the newly formed church in Thessalonica, as he would have liked. From Berea, he went to Athens and from Athens he went to Corinth. From there, he wrote his first epistle to the church in Thessalonica, which may have been his very first inspired letter to anyone. Soon after that, he wrote a second epistle, while he was still in Corinth.

In his first epistle, Paul dealt with some issues that had arisen among the brethren, because of their incomplete training. First of all, the brethren there did not have a proper view of the second coming of Christ, so Paul explained it to them in more detail. Second, persecution had broken out and Paul needed to encourage the brethren to be strong in their faith. Third, they were in danger of backsliding into their old heathen ways and Paul wanted to stop them from going in the wrong direction. In his second epistle, it is evident that the brethren in Thessalonica were confused about what Paul had told them about the second coming of Christ and needed to be reminded that, while they needed to be ready for Jesus to come at any time, they also needed to take care of their families and live their daily lives in faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that ye were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.” – 1 Thessalonians 1:5-8