1 Thessalonians 1 | Holy Bible

Catholic Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 1

"You became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia." (1 Thessalonians 1:7)

The Earliest Letter

First Thessalonians is almost certainly the earliest of Paul's preserved letters, written around 50 AD from Corinth, making it the oldest document in the New Testament. Paul had founded the Thessalonian church on his second missionary journey but was forced to leave prematurely by a riot. Anxious about the young community's welfare, he had sent Timothy back to check on them. Timothy's encouraging report prompts this letter of thanksgiving, instruction, and pastoral comfort. It is a window into the Church at its youngest, the raw material of the faith before the great doctrinal letters had been written.

Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonians' faith, love, and hope, the earliest occurrence of this triad that will culminate in 1 Corinthians 13. He recalls how the Gospel came to them not simply with words but with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. They welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. The result: You became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Their faith had become known everywhere. They had turned from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath. The Catechism identifies conversion from idols as the foundational act that inaugurates the Christian life, the turning from what is created to the Creator (CCC 2113).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the Thessalonians became a model not by trying to be one but by receiving the Gospel with such conviction and joy that their faith was visible to everyone around them. Faith that is inward only, that makes no visible difference to how a person lives, is not the faith Paul praises. Let your faith be the kind that others notice, not through performance but through the quality of joy and conviction that can only come from the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Lord God, let our faith, love, and hope be so evident that they become a model to those around us. We turned from idols to serve you, the living and true God. We wait for your Son from heaven. Keep us faithful in the waiting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

1 Thessalonians

Greetings to the Thessalonians

(2 Thessalonians 1:1–4)

1 Paul, Silvanus,* and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace to you.†

2 We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers 3 and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

4 Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.

7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more. 9 For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.

*1:1 1:1 That is, Silas

†1:1 1:1 BYZ and TR include from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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