1 Thessalonians – All Believers

It hadn’t been an easy visit. Following a stop in Philippi where Paul and his companions had been “shamefully treated,” they had come to the grand city of Thessalonica, home to more than 200,000 inhabitants. There, the apostles found greater acceptance as many Gentiles responded to the gospel and formed a church to carry on God’s work. However, members of the Jewish community still hostile to Christianity stirred up a rebellion against Paul’s teaching, and believers were forced to secretly steal Paul and his friends away from public view and send them to Berea where conditions were safer.

So Paul wrote the growing church in Thessalonica from Corinth, saddened that he had to leave so abruptly and before he felt his work there was complete. But Timothy had brought him good reports about their continued faith in spite of the interruption and opposition, news that encouraged Paul’s heart and spurred him to write about the greater hope that lay ahead.

1 Thessalonians encouraged believers to press on in the faith, knowing that their work in the Lord held eternal reward. Paul called the believers to live lives of total purity—not in order to attain God’s favor, but because they already had it. Knowing God’s great love for them, they were to live as Christ, loving others well in return.

Paul knew his instructions were easier said than done. Obedience amid persecution was a difficult calling. So Paul reminded them that Jesus will return to destroy the evil. One day will come when the pain ends and eternal life in perfection and joy with the Father and God’s people will begin. Sin and death need not lead us to despair. The day of the Lord is coming, and all that is wrong will be made right in Christ.

Because of sin in the world and in us, life today hasn’t gotten any easier. Trials, persecutions, sickness, pain, and death can dim our outlook, too, if we lose sight of the truth. 1 Thessalonians takes our gaze from life’s turmoil and turns it upward to the incredible hope and blessing that belong to each of God’s children. It is only a matter of time until Christ returns and all is made right. So speak boldly, urgently, and encourage one another with that hope!

What does the word rapture mean and what is Paul describing in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18?

Why is the 1 Thessalonians letter so important to believers?

Where is your hope in life?

Do you ever feel that your faith is at a standstill?

How do you encourage others in the hope that we have in Jesus?