Bible Commentaries
1 Thessalonians

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

A Commentary On

THE BOOK OF FIRST THESSALONIANS

By TAYLOR JOYCE

Publisher Charles Allen Bailey

Editor

Executive Editor - Joe L. Norton, Ph.D.

Copyright © 1998
Contending for the Faith Publications
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All Rights Reserved

All scripture quotations,
unless otherwise indicated, are taken from
The King James Version, KJV

Introduction

Thessalonica was a thriving commercial metropolis when the gospel heralds first arrived there. Named for a half-sister of Alexander the Great, its location enabled it to capitalize on commerce by land and sea. Caravans traveling the Via Egnatia, the primary east-west road connecting Rome with its Eastern provinces, would stop there. Ships plying the Mediterranean Sea came to her harbor carrying buyers and sellers.

Its strategic location and the constant coming and going of so many traders accounted for the success of the church in evangelizing the world. "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..." (1:8).

The numerous visitors to Thessalonica offered unparalleled opportunities to make converts from many nations. Those who were converted became missionaries to their own native lands and to other countries where their business trips might take them.

The apostle uses the analogy of a trumpet to describe the process, the words sounded out literally meaning "to sound forth as a trumpet or thunder" (Vine, Vol. IV 9). The preaching was public and presented in such a way as to attract the attention of the intended audience. It could not be ignored anymore than the sounding of a trumpet can be ignored.

The process and the effectiveness of it make one wonder how many similar opportunities have been overlooked by modern congregations of the Lord’s people. When we think about doing missionary work, we think about sending preachers abroad. The Thessalonians concentrated their efforts on the foreigners in their midst.

This book, believed by many scholars to be the first of all the New Testament books to have been written, seems to address seminally all the great themes the Apostle Paul developed more fully in his subsequent writings. The issues then were not greatly different from the issues faced in Christendom today--false teaching generally, errors regarding the second coming of Christ, immorality, sloth.

Additionally, the Thessalonian church is held up as a paradigm for churches in other places and other times ("Ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia" [1:7]). This book can be read and analyzed with great profit by individuals and groups who are concerned with knowing how God wants Christians and churches to deport themselves in every age.

WORKS CITED

Barclay, William. The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975.

Barclay, William. The Letter to the Romans. Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 1975.

Barclay, William. The Mind of Jesus. New York: Harper & Row, 1976.

Clarke, Adam. Commentary on the Whole Bible. Vol. VI. London: Carlton & Porter, 1829.

Coffman, James Burton. Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians , 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, & Philemon. Austin: Firm Foundation Publishing House, 1978.

Crouch, Leon. Commentary On I & II Thessalonians. Abilene: Quality Publications, 1992.

Fields, Wilbur. Thinking Through Thessalonians. Joplin: College Press, 1963.

Gloag, P. J. Pulpit Commentary. Vol. 21. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950.

Hendriksen, William. A New Testament Commentary, 1 Thessalonians. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1955.

Hogg, C. F., and W. E. Vine. The Epistles to the Thessalonians. Fincastle, VA: Scripture Truth Book Company, 1959.

Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. Vol. II.

Lightfoot, J. B. Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.

Lipscomb, David. Commentary on 1 Thessalonians. Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1976.

McGarvey, J. W., and Philip Y. Pendleton. Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians and Romans. Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Company, n.d.

Morris, Leon. 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1984.

Ogilvie, Lloyd John. Life As It Was Meant To Be. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1980.

Robertson, A. T. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Vol. 6. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1933.

Stott, John R. W. The Gospel and the End of Time. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1991.

Swindoll, Charles. Contagious Christianity. Fullerton: Insight for Living, 1985.

Vincent, Marvin R. Word Studies in the New Testament. 4 Volumes. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1957.

Vine, W. E. Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Oliphants Ltd., 1940.