Forgiven Once For All
Forgiven Once For All
EP16 Timothy's Report and Paul's Joyful Response
Uncover the profound impact of one of Christianity's earliest letters and learn how it shaped the burgeoning church in Thessaloniki. Journey with us as we explore the vibrant historical backdrop of 1 Thessalonians, penned by Paul around 50 AD—only 17 years after the resurrection of Jesus. The city of Thessaloniki, rich in cultural diversity, became a pivotal center for early Christian teachings, despite the fierce opposition faced by Paul and Silas. We'll discuss the dynamics of this emerging congregation, composed of both Jews and Gentiles, and how the message of Christ as king both united and divided the people.
Feel the palpable relief in Paul's words as we reflect on his response to Timothy's heartening report from the Thessalonian church. Discover the spiritual blessings and divine favor that Paul extends to these steadfast believers, highlighting their faith and perseverance. Through the first four verses of 1 Thessalonians, particularly in the amplified version of the Bible, we'll immerse ourselves in the joy and gratitude of Paul’s message. This episode promises to deepen your understanding of the power of the gospel that transformed lives and left an indelible legacy in Thessaloniki. Join me, Shannon, as we continue this compelling exploration of our series, "The First Letter.
Welcome to the Forgiven Once For All podcast. My name is Shannon and thank you for joining me. Today we're going to continue a series that I've called the First Letter, continue a series that I've called the First Letter, and this is where we look at what is most probably the first letter of the New Testament ever written. Most scholars believe that 1 Thessalonians was the first letter that Paul wrote, so we continue to look at the history of this, of this first letter. Last episode we seen that it was written somewhere around 50, 80, somewhere roughly 17 years after the resurrection of Jesus. So something interesting as I was researching this, the proper way to pronounce the town's name in Greek is Thessaloniki. Now in English, the English word the way it's pronounced, thessalonica. So either way you're used to pronouncing it. I just thought that was fun. So here we have in. We covered the first four verses last episode and this episode. I just kind of wanted to give some history of what was going down here. We also see a name in the first verse here where Paul references Silvanus. This is actually Silas referenced in the book of Acts. So we have Paul and Silas pioneered the church at Thessaloniki, go and start at the synagogue, so, wherever they would, whatever city they would come to, they would find this local synagogue and they would begin teaching. Now, what is interesting is this is actually a Gentile city. It's a Greek city, not a Jewish city, but there are Jews there and there's a synagogue. And so they go to the synagogue here at Thessaloniki and they began teaching, and there's both Jews and Greeks that are converted. They're persuaded by the message that Paul and Silas are giving. There were some Jews that were converted, but many Gentiles also were believing. So the gospel that Paul was preaching was one that included the message that Christ was king, and the Jews, not liking this message, began to form a resistance. Paul and Silas began to be persecuted and resisted by a group of Jews that also incited the local Gentile rulers. They began saying that Paul was teaching that there was another king besides Caesar.
Speaker 1:Now you can follow this story and I encourage you to look in Acts, chapter 17, verses 1 through 9. It tells the story of how they were persecuted as they were preaching the gospel in Thessaloniki. Now this resistance, this persecution, was so severe that Paul and Silas had to cut their missionary journey short in Thessaloniki. They had to leave, but the church had been formed, the word of God had gone out, the power of the gospel had gotten into hearts and, even though they had to leave in a hurry hearts, and even though they had to leave in a hurry there was a core of believers that were gathering together in Thessaloniki. Now this is where we find Paul. He has a little bit of concern for the church because he didn't get to finish, he didn't get to impart all that he wanted to impart and he began to be worried about the church in Thessaloniki. That's why he sent Timothy to go check on them. Timothy returns with a good report and this is what inspired Paul to write.
Speaker 1:1 Thessalonians. Paul was writing out of relief and excitement for what God was doing. Okay, I'm going to read the first four verses again and, as I mentioned last episode, I like to read it in different translations. This time I'm going to read it in the amplified version of the Bible, starting in verse 1, chapter 1, verse 1,. It says Paul, silas and Timothy to the assembly church of the Thessalonians, in God, the Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, grace, spiritual blessing. Grace, spiritual blessing and divine favor to you and heart peace. We are ever giving thanks to God for all of you, continually mentioning you when engaged in our prayers, recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by so. This gives us just a little bit clearer picture of what Paul is saying here. You can sense the joy in the, in the relief that he has, the excitement that he has for what's going on. The word grace I like how it's translated as spiritual blessing, divine, divine favor. And I like how they say heart peace, because that's what they needed during this time of persecution peace that, no matter what happens, they are right in their heart with God. And it says that their work was energized by faith, service that was motivated by love and unwavering hope.
Speaker 1:See, the real miracle here was that the church survived. They were being persecuted and see, paul and silas had to leave, but these people couldn't leave. They lived here. This was their home and their community, and they didn't just go with the flow and make everybody happy. That was resisting them, but they continued with their church plant. They continued with their church plant. They continued with their vision in the face of opposition and to their own personal risk. This was the miracle they had faith. They didn't have a long time to cultivate this faith, but it was a strong faith.
Speaker 1:So Paul sends Timothy, just like a parent would send someone to go check on their child. And Paul and Silas. They couldn't return themselves. That's why they sent Timothy, because if Paul and Silas would have went back to Thessaloniki it would have caused probably more hardship for the church. But they sent somebody that the local authorities didn't know. He sent Timothy to check up on them.
Speaker 1:So let's look at verse 5. It says For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. Just as you know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sakes. So we see here that when Paul and Silas came, that God moved by the Holy Spirit and the word came with power. It wasn't just words, but they saw what kind of people. They saw the belief and the conviction and the faith that Paul had and Silas had, and they wanted that.
Speaker 1:That's what kind of people we need to be In this world. There's people that are starving. They're looking for someone who's not just playing church or not just going through the motions, but they have that heart peace. They have that fervent faith that prevails that is verified by power of the Holy Spirit. That's what we need today is men and women of God who will stand up and be examples examples who will have a heart for people that will stop looking for their own pleasure and comforts and will begin to put other people first. This is what Paul did, and this is what the early believers in Thessaloniki seen. This is what made them stick. This is what made the church stay is that they believed in the gospel that Paul brought, because they seen in his life that he was living it. I hope this helped you today, and I want you to remember that God is madly in love with you Until next time. Thank you you.