Exploring… The Epistles to the Thessalonians

“We give thanks to God for you all.” “For ye are our glory and joy.” “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.” Never did Paul write more warmly than he did to the church at Thessalonica. The church was so new, the people in it were so precious, and persecution and deception threatened. He wrote of “night and day praying exceedingly” on their behalf.

Paul also wrote of some basics that a fledgling church should know. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” “Study to be quiet, and to do your own business.” “Edify one another, even as also ye do.” “Be not soon shaken.”

The letters to the Thessalonians are known for their information about the Lord’s return. Especially precious are the promises, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout: … and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

These are letters, not only to the Thessalonians, but also to us. They relate to issues that are as old as human nature and as modern as tomorrow.