Digging Deeper

Monday, 1 Thessalonians 4:1 – 18

We have seen Paul as the teacher of Christian living. Now he tells the Thessalonians, “…excel still more.” ( NASB ) We never reach the goal of living 100% as God's Christ-centered representatives either to the world or to each other. There is always room for improvement—for further sanctification. The Holy Spirit never quits working on us; never says to us, “You are all that you can be as God's child.” Paul repeats his urge to excellence in verse 10.  As a Christian it is good to set a goal, to “make it your ambition…” as Paul says, to live properly.

In the last part of chapter 4 Paul turns to matters of eschatology (or the study of end times). Some of the Thessalonians had asked what would happen to those who died before Jesus returned. Would they miss the glorious arrival of Christ? Paul says that his information is according to the word of the Lord. All believers, both “sleeping” and alive will be lifted into the sky with the Lord Jesus on the last day. Jesus will not return secretly but with the shout of the angel and the “trumpet of God.”  We will not wonder if the Lord has returned; the event will fill the whole world.

Tuesday, 1 Thessalonians 5:1 – 28

Some in Thessalonica had stopped working in order to sit and wait for Jesus to return, choosing to live off the charity of the church. Some were so bored that they spent their time telling everyone else how to live the life that they had set aside.

Paul first corrects their idleness by saying that it is a waste. There is no way to tell just when Jesus will return, but until that day Christians needed to be alert and ready, but also living as though Jesus' return could be far off. Commentators say that among the wealthier Gentiles of the time manual labor was something left for slaves, and that some of the church members may have lapsed back into their old customs.

Unbelievers will be unaware and unprepared for Jesus appearing, but they will still suffer judgment. They are destined for “wrath” as Paul says in verse 9, but believers are destined by God for salvation. There is no need in Thessalonica or anywhere else for the believer to fear the last day.

Paul ends his first letter to Thessalonica with an admonition to appreciate those who have been called to be their spiritual leaders and teachers. He also, however, cites some of the responsibilities of the congregation. They are to “admonish”, “encourage”, and “be patient” with one another. They are to “seek after” good for everyone. It is the congregation that is to examine the teachings that it receives and “hold fast to that which is good.” In Paul's mind every Chris tian has a responsibility to understand his or her faith and be able to discern what is true what is false.

Wednesday, 2 Thessalonians 1:1 - 12   

Paul's second letter to Thessalonica must have been written about six months after the first, perhaps upon Timothy's return after delivering the first epistle. Things had not changed much in the congregation and Paul expands on his teaching concerning end times.

As he does whenever possible, Paul begins the letter with praise for the growing faith of the congregation. Though their suffering is constant now, when the Lord returns He will deal justice on their persecutors. Paul is not being vindictive in this, but is expressing the truth that when Jesus returns He will not come as the One offering salvation to sinful man. The time for receiving God's grace will be past for all those who have not already received Christ as Savior. At that day Jesus will come as Judge of the unsaved. Paul's words in this chapter are a strong encouragement to us as witnesses of the gospel. We must reach out to everyone in our sphere of acquaintance with the good news of salvation NOW. At the coming of our Lord it will be too late.

Thursday, 2 Thessalonians 2:1 - 3:18

Many people assume that Revelation is the only New Testament book that speaks of what will happen as Jesus' return approaches. We have already read Jesus' teachings on the end times and now Paul is quite specific as to what things will then take place. While Revelation is quite symbolic in its language, Paul is pretty direct in his words to the Thessalonians.

Apparently at least one letter claimed to be authored by Paul had been presented to the church. In this writing the forger claimed that the day of the Lord had already come. Jesus was about to appear! We have seen such claims occasionally in our own time. One guru of sorts a couple of decades ago claimed that the messiah had been reborn. Though his identity was still unknown his birthplace and birth date happened to coincide with the guru's own.

Paul has already assured the congregation that Jesus will not steal into the world undercover, but that He will come with trumpets and angelic announcements from the sky. Now he broadens his teaching to tell us of the “man of lawlessness”, the “son of destruction” who will seat himself in the temple and claim to be God. This one appears to be the ultimate of the antichrists of history. It is hard for us to understand how our modern world could fall for someone's claim to be God, but Paul believed that this will come. This one will even perform supernatural feats by the power of his guide, Satan. Paul adds that non-believers will be deceived by this antichrist because they have not received Chris t as their Savior, but have chosen to pursue their path of rebellion. As frightening as this will be, Paul assures his readers that though Antichrist will have much power in the world, Jesus will come to end his power and slay him “by the breath of His mouth”.  Those who belong to Christ have no reason to fear.

In verse 6 of chapter three, Paul commands his flock by the authority of Christ to stay away from any believer who is “unruly”. Though these were still brothers and sisters in Christ, their actions could affect the whole congregation and they must be drawn into repentance and away from their error. It appears that the unruliness was the same as that alluded to in the first letter; unwillingness to work and an appetite for gossip and laziness—all purported by them to be justified because the Lord would shortly return. Paul makes it clear in verse 15, however, that the steps of reprimand are for the purpose of admonishment, not rejection, confirming the attitude cited in 1 Thess. 5:14-15.

In verse 13, Paul leaves us a thought to keep in mind throughout our busy days, “And as for you, brothers [and sisters], never tire of doing what is right.” ( NIV )

Friday, 1 Timothy 1:1 - 20 

First Timothy begins what are called Paul's “pastoral epistles”. Timothy was a young man who was very special to Paul and traveled extensively with him. It is thought that Paul may have led Timothy into the faith. The great theologian grew to depend on the young man to carry letters and even to oversee churches which Paul had to leave behind in order to travel on to new towns and cities with the gospel.

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy during the young man's time at the church in Ephesus . In it we read direction and encouragement for the minister, but Timothy was more than a pastor. He seems to have been an appointed advisor to the elders of the church. Paul probably wrote 1st Timothy sometime between 62 and 65 A.D.

Though there is no specific story in the New Testament concerning Paul's later years, It is generally accepted that the imprisonment in Rome ending the book of Acts culminated in his release around 62 A.D. He probably then continued his anticipated journey to Spain . Upon completing his ministry there, he returned to the area of either Rome or Asia Minor to continue preaching and teaching. By that time (around 65 A.D.) Emperor Nero was quite insane and strongly persecuting Chris tians for the 64 A.D. burning of Rome . As the prime suspect among his own people, Nero desperately needed a scapegoat. Since Christians were considered an odd group they proved easy marks for the emperor. ( See also The Burning of Rome, 64 AD   ( the story of the fire by an eyewitness, the Roman historian Tacitus. )) In the midst of this persecution, around 66 or 67 A.D., Paul was again arrested. His second letter to Timothy is thought to have been written while in prison shortly before his death.

The first verses of chapter one confirm that at this time Timothy was not the pastor of Ephesus, but a personal representative of Paul, authorized to speak for him and with the same authority. There were false teachers in the church there and Timothy was instructed to deal with them. Again it was those who held the law above the grace of God who were making trouble, as they had in town after town. Paul uses himself as an example to demonstrate that though works cannot save anyone, even the most vile of sinners can be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ.

At the end of the chapter Paul may be sharing news that Timothy had not yet heard. Some who had been trusted comrades in the faith had turned from the truth.

Saturday, 1 Timothy 2:1 – 15

At the first reading of chapter 2 one is led to believe that Paul condemns virtually any action within the church by any member of the female gender. But that interpretation doesn't fit well with God's word in general or even with most of Paul's writing. So, we look to other passages and the possible situations that may have prompted his words.

First, we consider again some of the women in God's word. There was Huldah, the Old Testament prophetess called by God; Debra the Old Testament judge called by God; Lydia who began a home-church; Pricilla, a New Testament missionary; the unnamed Samaritan woman who spread the news of Jesus to the men in her town; the women whom God chose to be the first to see the empty tomb and run to tell the apostles; Phoebe, Paul's choice to deliver his very important epistle to the Romans. So it is no wonder that we seek to better understand Paul's words to Timothy.

Paul wrote sound instructions to Timothy in a specific situation. That is not to say that his instructions would not be valid in the same situation today. They would, but what they said to the Ephesians may not have been meant as specific steps to be taken by every church and all women.

Rather than condemning jewelry, fancy hair, makeup, and flashy clothes, Paul contrasts this source of worthless pride with the great value of service to God in the congregation. Apparently, the way a woman looked had become more important than it should be in Ephesus . Some think that the women may have even been adopting the same styles as the local prostitutes serving the false goddess Diana. Over the years, how much service to the Christian community would have resulted if people had read verse 10 along with verse 9 instead of using Paul's words to direct what a woman should or should not wear? Paul also seems to have been addressing a problem of women in the congregation who were using their new freedom in Christ to try to override the sound teaching of the church elders. That seems to be indicated in verses 11-14. Paul wanted those women to pursue godliness instead of trying to usurp the place of the called church leaders.

Paul's instructions are valid for all time, but it is important to view them in the historical context of the moment AND in their eternal spiritual truth. In this case we might cite the following truths: women should not seek to be noticed due to their physical beauty or wealth above the holy beauty of serving God; no woman (or man for that matter) should set herself above the called leaders of the congregation; she should always listen to and properly digest teaching and resist the temptation to deliver indignant replies in public.

While some women find the command to listen more and to speak less somehow demeaning, we shouldn't. Remember when we read the first couple of chapters of Genesis? In the beginning, God was clear that He wanted men and women, especially in the bond of marriage, to be partners. In fact, the word translated there as "helper" was almost always used in the Old Testament to refer to our Helper, God! He sees the abilities of both men and women as indispensable aids to the other.

Copyright © 2004 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church