Jensens survey of the old testament adam 517

(4) The apostle made at least two other
visits to the area on his third
missionary journey (Acts 20:1-4; 2 Cor.
2:12-13). Also, he may have visited the
Thessalonian church after his first
Roman imprisonment.
2 . Founding and constituency of the church.
The church at Thessalonica was only an
infant when Paul wrote the letters, but its
fame was widespread because of the
miraculous transformation of lives from
idolatry to Christianity. From the very
beginning, the newborn believers banded
together in a Christian fellowship. What
evidences of such a fellowship do you see
implied in Acts 17:4, 6, 10? When Paul
wrote to the group only a few months later,
he addressed them as “the church of the
Thessalonians” (1 Thess. 1:1). No doubt, the
organization of the local church was simple
at rst. We do know the church had leaders,


however, as shown by 1 Thessalonians 5:12.
Most of the church’s members were
Gentiles, converted from idolatry (cf. Acts
17:4; 1 Thess. 1:9). Some were Jews (Acts
17:4). From 1 Thessalonians 4:11, it has
been concluded that for the most part, the
people were of the common working class.
(See Acts 17:46 for a notable exception.) As

young
converts,
the
Christians
at
Thessalonica were a real joy and inspiration
to Paul, and were reliable and devoted
followers of Christ. The bright tone of the
two epistles confirms this.
III. BACKGROUND OF 1 THESSALONIANS
A. AUTHOR
Twice, Paul identi es himself by name in
the epistle: at 1:1 and 2:18. The title apostle


does not appear in this letter or in 2
Thessalonians, Philippians, or Philemon.
Some have suggested the reason for this is
that any question of Paul’s authority does
not enter into the discussions of these
epistles.
Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy are included
in the opening salutation (1:1). Both were
intimate co-workers with Paul. Read the
following verses concerning each man:
1. Silas: Acts 15:22, 27, 32, 40; 16:19-20;
1 Peter 5:12
2. Timothy: Acts 16:1-3; Philippians 2:1922; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 4:9, 21.
B. PLACE AND DATE WRITTEN
Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians from Corinth,

where the apostle spent eighteen months on
the second missionary journey, soon after


leaving Thessalonica (Acts 18:1, 11). (Refer
to Appendix B, pages 518-19, and x in your
mind the chronology of Paul’s life and
ministry. Note, among other things, when
and where the apostle wrote each of his
epistles.)
The date of writing 1 Thessalonians was
around A.D. 52.4 The epistle was among the
earliest of Paul’s inspired writings.5 About
how old was Paul when he wrote this letter?
How old was he when he was saved? (See
Appendix B.)
C. OCCASION AND PURPOSES
We have already observed that when Paul
was
hindered
from
visiting
the
Thessalonians (2:17-18), he partly made up
for this by doing two things: sending
Timothy to minister to them in his place