Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Comment: The way they wrote a letter in Paul’s day meant that you didn’t have to look at the end to see who wrote it. In addition the greeting had a lot more meaning than ‘hello’ or ‘dear Sir/Madam’! I am sure that immediately as they read or had the ‘epistle’ read to them they would have remembered much about these authors. In Acts 17 we read about the tempestuous reaction of the local community to the arrival of Paul and his party in Thessalonica. (NB Silvanus when shortened became Silas, as in Acts). Paul, the main target of the people’s anger, had been hustled by his followers from Thessalonica because of rioting, and Silvanus and Timothy had remained to establish those who had become believers! Shalom (the word translated here as peace) is rich in that it means something like ‘may your life be enriched in every way and you be at peace’. And ‘grace’ is so much more than a short prayer before a meal! God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense is a good way to remember what a rich word grace is in Christian usage! In spite of persecution the gospel had been received enthusiastically so much so that the then-known-world soon got to hear of their commitment and enthusiasm for their new found faith! They had indeed ‘turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God‘! It will be very interesting what and why Paul wrote!
Prayer: Help me to be enthusiastic in my living and speaking for You, Jesus. I don’t want to be obnoxious, but I do want people to hear about You, my Lord.
As I read it! 