Rose Murdock's Notes on The Epistles

1: Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2: We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3: constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,  4: knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; 5: for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ***  Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians with Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy. These three were the founders of the church at Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-4). Even though the account in Acts says the “reasoned” with the Jews for three Sabbaths, they must have stayed in Thessalonica for a while when they founded the church because we read that Paul work...

6: You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7: so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8: For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9: For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10: and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. ***  Paul & Co. acknowledged that after having received the gospel from them and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit through them, the Thessalonians became imitators of them and the Lord. He said because they received the Word in so much tribulation (Acts 17:5-10) with the joy of the Holy Spirit, they b...

1: For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, 2: but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. 3: For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; 4: but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. 5: For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— 6: nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. 7: But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. 8: Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. ***  Paul re...

9: For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10: You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; 11: just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, 12: so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. ***  Paul continued the account of their time with the Thessalonians. He reminded them of how hard they worked while they were there to support themselves so they would not be a burden to the Thessalonians. They worked night and day and still proclaimed the gospel to them. There could be no accusation of them using the Thessalonians for financial or personal gain, or of laziness—using others to avoid work, living a life of ease at the expense of others. Not at all. Paul, and those with him,...

13: For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. 14: For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, 15: who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, 16: hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. 17: But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. 18: For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hin...

1: Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, 2: and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, 3: so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 4: For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. 5: For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain. 6: But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7: for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8: for now we...

9: For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, 10: as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith? 11: Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12: and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13: so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. ***  Paul continued his thoughts on his response to the word Timothy brought back about how the Thessalonians were doing since their abrupt departure and the persecution the Thessalonians experienced. Timothy had brought back word of their faith and love which encouraged Paul. He wondered how they could express thanks to God for the joy they’d experienced because of them. Night and ...

1: Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. 2: For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3: For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4: that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5: not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6: and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7: For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8: So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you. 9: Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yours...

13: But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15: For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17: Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18: Therefore comfort one another with these words. ***  There was some error in the Thessalonian’s thinking regarding those who were "asleep,” meaning those believers who had died. There was no need to grieve over them as if they had no ...

1: Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2: For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3: While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4: But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5: for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6: so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7: For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8: But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9: For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10: who died for us, so that whether we are awake or ...

  12: But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, 13: and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 14: We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15: See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. ***  Paul & Co. made a request that the Thessalonians appreciate and highly esteem those who diligently labored among them—the ones who had "charge” over them in the Lord and gave them instruction. Paul’s practice seemed to have been to ordain elders in every Church not long after establishing it (Acts 14:23). Having charge over them in the Lord meant that the elders didn’t have charge over their worldly affairs, but that they labored to instruct and lead the Thessaloni...

16: Rejoice always; 17: pray without ceasing; 18: in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19: Do not quench the Spirit; 20: do not despise prophetic utterances. 21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22: abstain from every form of evil. 23: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24: Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 25: Brethren, pray for us. 26: Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27: I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. 28: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ***  Paul continued to give instruction on Christian conduct and then gave his closing thoughts. He said to always rejoice, not to stop praying, and to give thanks in everything. A joyful, prayerful, and thankful demeanor is the way God desires Hi...

1: Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3: We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; 4: therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5: This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6: For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,  7: and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,  8: dealing out retribution to those...

9: These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,  10: when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.  11: To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power,  12: so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. ***  “These” ones Paul referred to are the ones he just mentioned in verse eight who don’t know God and those who don't obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. There are those who choose not to know God (like Pharaoh in Exodus 5:2). They may know of Him but choose not to know Him, pursue Him or His ways. Then there are those who do not obey the gospel—this may primarily be referring to the unbel...

1: Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2: that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  3: Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4: who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5: Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? ***  Paul corrected an error in the Thessalonian’s thinking that the day of the Lord—His return—had come or was at hand. He didn’t want them to be shaken by anything they heard—whether a supposed prophecy saying the time had already come, or whether someone brought verbal or written ...

6: And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7: For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.  8: Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9:  that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,  10: and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11: For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12: in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. ***  Paul continued to reassure the Thessalonians that the Lord’s return had not yet come. The lawless one and apostasy must come first. The man of la...

13: But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.  14: It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 16: Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,  17: comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. ***  In contrast to the destructive end of those who chose wickedness over truth—deceived into it because they’ve not welcomed the love of the truth—Paul said they thanked God for them because He’d chosen (adopted) them from the beginning for salvation. How does God choose? The call comes to all through the gospel. God’s destiny—or ...

1: Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;  2: and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. 3: But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.  4: We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5: May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. 6: Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.  7: For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you,  8: nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any...

11: For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12: Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. 13: But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. 14: If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. 15: Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16: Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! 17: I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.  18: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. ***  Paul explained why he mentioned the unruly—those not willing to work for their own support—and described them in a bit more detail. They were “leading an un...