Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians during his stay in Corinth. This location can be inferred from his mention of Athens in 3:1 – 2. According to Acts 18:11, Corinth is the city visited, where he resided for a lengthy period of time. In addition, Paul wrote the letter upon Timothy’s return from Thessalonica. Paul sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage the church as their missionary work was abruptly disrupted when the Jewish officials evicted them from the city. Timothy’s report brought good news to Paul and this letter details Paul’s heartfelt response to the church. Paul begins the letter with a standard Greco-Roman period structure. This structure includes a threefold salutation: writer, addressee, greetings, and includes a wish or prayer for health or well-being of the addressee. In verses 1 – 10, Paul writes an opening greeting and opening thanksgiving, which includes a prayer report.
Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians not only follows his usual pattern found in his letters of greeting, remembrance in prayer, and giving thanks, but also identifies the gospel and its effects. Paul defines the gospel as the word of God that possesses power, the Holy Spirit, and full conviction. The characteristics used to identify the gospel represent nouns that equate to God and Christ. The noun δύναμις or power occurs one hundred and sixteen times in the New Testament. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT) denotes that in the message of Christ, the power of God resides as the power of salvation. In the gospel, the power of God consists in the fact that it mediates salvation. The Holy Spirit depicts the third person of the triune God and coequal, coeternal with the Father and Son. The TDNT denotes that Paul’s usage of the Spirit in relation to the gospel as the miraculous power of God, which gives man the ability to live by this power that is not his own. The TDNT continues to assert that for Paul, he understands the Spirit as the power which summons to faith. It summons the believer to live. The last characteristic of the gospel is defined by the term, πληροφορίᾳ or conviction, which occurs only four times in the New Testament. Col 2:2, Heb 6:11 and 10:22 possess the other three occurrences. Subsequently in these passages, the term means the understanding of God, hope in remaining faithful to the gospel of Christ, and faith in the atoning work of Christ. In relation to this passage, the TDNT denotes the term to mean fullness of divine working. The fullness of divine working also encapsulates the understanding of God, faithfulness to the gospel, and the atoning work of Christ. Therefore the gospel not only represents the power of God and Christ, the Spirit as the power of God in man, but also the fullness of God’s and Christ’s divine working.
Continue Reading: The Gospel has Power Pt. II
