Pastor's Bible Study

As Paul wraps up his first letter to the Thessalonians, he ends by reminding those at Thessalonica to do the basics (fundamentals) when it comes to respecting spiritual leaders, loving brothers and sisters in the church, and glorifying God.

Paul had assured the Thessalonians in 4:13-18 that the dead in Christ will rise and we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet Jesus. Now in 5:1, Paul continues to talk about end time events but his focus shifts from the rapture of the church to the “day of the Lord.” The subject is similar but different. The key difference in what he has to say here is not so much "when" these events take place but the "whom" that is involved. The big difference here is that the rapture deals with the saved and the “day of the Lord” is going to impact the lost.

Paul seeks in this section to contrast the differences between the saved and lost in terms of how we view the second coming of Christ. How Christians view the second coming and how the lost world views the second coming are totally different. How each group will be impacted by the second coming will be totally different. There is great contrast.

The Christian life can be compared to a walk. Paul often used this picture: “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Eph. 4:1); “walk not as other Gentiles walk” (Eph. 4:17); “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2); “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).
The Christian life begins as a step of faith and then turns into a walk of faith. (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7) “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Walking suggest making progress. Our Christian walk should show us progressing in our faith, in our love, in our holiness, in our maturity, etc.
Paul teaches the Thessalonians about a threefold walk: we are to walk in holiness, harmony, and honesty.

The return of Christ was something that the Thessalonian believers were looking for. They believed it could happen at any moment and they had questions in regards to their loved ones that had passed on: what if the Lord should return? Would their deceased loved one be handicapped in any way? Would they be left out of the rapture all together, i.e. did they miss it and its presumed blessings? Will those who are alive at His coming have an advantage over the believers who have died?
So Paul writes to say, “Hey, I don’t want you to be ignorant, misinformed, uninformed…”
Paul took time to answer these questions. He based his encouragement and comfort on five fundamental facts.
1) We have God's Word
2) Christ is coming
3) The dead in Christ will rise
4) Living believers will be raptured
5) Christians will forever be with the Lord

In chapter 3 Paul explains three ministries that he performed to help the Thessalonican believers become more firmly established in their new found faith. He sent them a helper. He wrote them a letter. And He prayed for them.

Paul shares with the believers at Thessalonica the resources they have to draw upon when they find themselves in the midst of suffering and persecution. These resources are available to us also: God's Word in us, God's people around us, and God's glory before us.

Paul's heart was for the believers at Thessalonica. He had established the church, and he wanted to see the believers growing in their faith and walk with God. In chapter 2:1-12 we see three pictures of Paul that show how Paul was invested in seeing these believers grow. We see him act as a faithful steward, a loving mother, and a concerned father.

El Shaddai is translated in our English bibles as "Almighty God." God is all powerful, and He uses His power to bless and bring bountifulness into our lives. We see this name introduced to Abraham in Genesis 17. God needed no help in fulfilling His promise to Abraham that he would be a father of a son and more than that, a father of many nations. At 100 years of age, Abraham saw El Shaddai bless him and Sarah by giving a son to two people who were as "good as dead."

In life we can look before us and see problems and obstacles and difficulties and feel hopeless or hopeful. Know God as El Elyon, the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth, will lead us to be hopeful. Because God is El Elyon, He has the final say. He can rule and overrule anything.

In Genesis 14, we find Abram responding to what appears to be a great difficulty with great hope. God (El Elyon) delivers his enemy into his hand, and Abram gives all the glory and credit to El Elyon.

El Roi is "the God who sees me." The LORD revealed that He is the God who sees us in our crises when He revealed Himself to Hagar in the wilderness. When she was at the end of rope and didn't know what to do or had any belief that anyone even cared about her, she found out that God cared. He wanted to direct her path and give her promises about her future and the future of her child.

God sees us, our condition, and our future as it could be. He not only sees us, but He hears us. He hears our cries for help. He hears us in our affliction. God is faithful.