by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 1 Study # 7 January 31, 2024 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Introduction.
A. According to the general scholarship, this book was the second of Paul's letters, following Galatians, written about A.D. 51, though there is some debate because of a difference of opinion as to where the Galatian letter was sent.
B. In any case, the general thrust of the Thessalonian letters has to do with the "hope" that believers are to live under.
C. Paul's identification of himself, Silvanus, and Timothy and those who sent this letter to the Thessalonians.
D. Paul's identification of his readers.
E. Paul's "salutation".
1. In this text, the expanded form of Paul's "salutations" in other of his letters (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; (Colossians 1:2 has part of the expanded form); 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2 is expanded even more with the addition of "mercy" as is also 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4 is the expanded form without "mercy"; and Philemon 1:3 returns to the "norm") is abbreviated.
2. In this text, the focus is upon "Grace" and "Peace", not whence they come.
a. The "whence" issue is simply assumed, but not pushed to the fore.
b. The focus upon "Grace" and "Peace".
1) The "Grace" Issue.
a) Is extraordinarily distorted once we put our Bibles down. Almost everywhere, we run smack into the notion that God is "gracious" to the "good".
i. It begins in Genesis 6:8 with 6:9 being turned on its head. Instead of Noah's identity as a "just" man, "perfect" in his generations", and who "walked with God" being a result of having "found grace in the eyes of the Lord", it is made the cause.
ii. In our generations, "Butterfly Kisses" reveals how deep is this distortion ("O with all that I've done wrong I must have done something right to deserve a hug every morning and butterfly kisses at night") as does the Sound of Music's "I must have done something good".
b) At its roots, "grace" is "favor shown in the face of not only the absence of merit, but, especially, in the face of the presence of severedemerit" (1 Timothy 1:16;Ephesians 2:4-10; and Titus 2:11-14).
c) The focus of "grace" is upon God's actions unto "Life" and this focus is significantly corrupted when "Life" is demeaned by the substitution of "life" for "Life" -- i.e., "grace" is not ever supposed to be understood as a basis for our ability to go our own way because God has "opened the door" for us to satisfy destructive impulses.
d) "Grace to you" is a statement by Paul of his deep desire that God act for the true "good" of his readers because of the overwhelming pressure of the circumstances to dissuade them from walking with Him (3:1-5).
2) The "peace" issue.
a) This, also, is significantly distorted by the definition of "peace" being "that which eliminates the conflicts of 'life'".
i. "Conflict" is inevitable in the experiences of those who live in a fallen universe so that those who expect God to bring "peace" into our experience by eliminating it are making it very difficult to experience true "peace".
ii. "Peace" is the presence of harmony with God so that we can endure "conflicts with other issues" (physical conflicts of our bodies with our material universe; relational conflicts of our souls with those who inhabit our world without God; and spiritual conflicts of our spirits with the divine agenda which puts "love" at the forefront of all).
b) "Peace" to you, therefore, means that Paul strongly desires that God, in Grace, may bring his readers to ready yieldedness to God in the face of conflicts all around.