4. The purpose of 1 Thessalonians
4. The purpose of 1 Thessalonians
Some have held that Paul was answering a letter from the Thessalonian believers, the chief points being the following:
1. The apostle’s use of ‘now about’ (4:9, 13; 5:1), which is like the way he introduces answers to points in a letter the Corinthians wrote to him (1 Cor. 7:1, 25; 8:1, etc.).
2. Some turns of phrase are held to show that Paul was responding to what the Thessalonians had written, for example, ‘we also’ (kai hēmeis, 2:13), and the repeated ‘you know’ (1:5; 2:1, 5, 11; 3:3, 4), which are taken as meaning ‘as you said’.
3. The way Paul introduces some topics seems to show that he did not really want to deal with them (e.g. 4:9; 5:1); the implication is that he is referring to questions asked in a letter.
4. Quick changes of subject show that Paul was going through the points raised in a letter.
Rendel Harris argued the case,18 and it was accepted by Frame, Lake and others. It is possible, but the evidence is far from conclusive. If Paul had a letter from the Thessalonians, why does he not mention it somewhere (cf. 1 Cor. 7:1)? It is better to see Paul as dealing with points made in an oral report by Timothy and Silas.19 The principal points that called for attention seem to have been the following:
1. The Jewish opponents of the Christian way were maintaining a campaign in which a principal element seems to have been slander of Paul. If they could have succeeded in demonstrating that his conduct was dishonourable they might well have made it very difficult for his converts to hold their ground. They appear to have insinuated that Paul’s aim was to make a profit out of them, that he was like some of the wandering teachers of philosophy or religion who abounded at this time. So, too, they apparently made capital out of his failure to return, alleging that it showed him to have no real love for his converts. They probably suggested that there was nothing divine about Paul’s message, and that it had originated in the apostle’s own fertile mind. Paul is answering allegations of this kind throughout his first three chapters, and the fact that he thought it necessary to devote so much space to the topic may indicate that the whispering campaign was having some measure of success.
2. There was persecution by the pagans (2:14).
3. In a pagan environment pressure was always being exerted on those newly converted to revert to easy-going pagan standards in sexual matters (4:4–8).
4. Some of the Christians had apparently understood Paul to have said that Christ would come back and receive them all to himself. When some of them died they thought this meant that they would lose their share in the glory that would come with the return of Christ (4:13–18).
5. It is possible that some were worried about when Christ’s return would take place (5:1–11).
6. Some of the brothers seem to have been content to live off their fellows, instead of earning their own living (4:11–12).
7. A tension may have been present between some of the leading members and the rest of the congregation (5:12–13).
8. There may have been some difficulty about the work of the Holy Spirit and the importance to be attached to spiritual gifts (5:19–20).
Some argue for consistent opposition from one group of opponents, e.g. W. Schmithal’s view that Gnostics were in mind or R. Jewett’s discussion of ‘enthusiastic radicals’ (see Best, pp. 16–22, for a good summary). But the evidence indicates a variety of opponents and problems.
Much of this is explicable as the difficulties which a young, very enthusiastic, but as yet imperfectly instructed, church would naturally encounter as it sought to live out its faith. We meet the weak and the faint-hearted, the idlers and the workers, the visionaries and the puzzled.
So Paul the pastor wrote to meet the need of his flock. It is clear enough that, on the whole, he was well satisfied with the progress the Thessalonians had made; indeed, the news brought to him had thrilled him. But he was never the man to dwell on past achievements, whether his own or those of his converts. So he applies himself at once to the task of meeting the needs that had become apparent. The result is a moving document; while it is true that many of the important Pauline doctrines are absent, it is also true that the letter shows us something of Paul’s pastoral zeal and his intense interest in the spiritual well-being of his converts. Here we catch a glimpse of Paul the man in a way not always obvious when he is taken up with questions of more profound theological significance.