Chapter 18: Letters to the Believers: First Thessalonians to Philemon
Letters to the Believers
First Thessalonians to Philemon
First Thessalonians
On his second missionary journey, Paul planted the church in Thessalonica, the capital city of Macedonia (Acts 17:1–9). In this letter, he sought to stir up their memories of his ministry and what he had taught them (1 Thess. 1:3; 2:9; 3:6). Memory is a gift from the Lord, and the way we use it makes it either a marvelous tool or a merciless weapon. Imagine what life would be like if we didn’t have our memories. We would have to keep re-learning everything from our name and address to the multiplication tables to how to drive an automobile to how to read a book. When Paul wrote these two letters, he asked the believers to use their memories and recall his ministry among them. Paul usually did things right and said things right the first time and didn’t need to keep repeating and repairing things later. The outhne of the first letter is quite simple:
From the beginning, this church was an exemplary group of people that we would do well to emulate today (1:3–10). Faith, hope, and love are basic to an effective Christian life, and so is power from the Holy Spirit. These new believers turned from the world and imitated Paul and his associates, men who were worthy of their trust. God blesses churches that have godly leaders. The Thessalonian believers received the Word of God joyfully and shared the gospel with others in a wide area around them. They abandoned their idols and centered their new lives on Jesus Christ, who promised to come again. (We don’t know when Jesus is coming for His people, so we live expectantly day after day.)
After complimenting the church on its exemplary conduct and ministry, Paul reminded them that, when he was with them, his own life and work were exemplary (ch. 2). We reproduce after our kind, and leaders must live the life they want their people to live (1 Tim. 4:12). Paul was a faithful steward of God’s Word (1 Thess. 2:1–6) and treated the people as a loving mother cares for her children (2:7–8). “Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8), and Paul’s love exemplified this. He was also like a faithful father (1 Thess. 2:9–19). Paul was a tent maker, and he earmarked some of the funds he needed for his ministry. When Paul had left Thessalonica, he was concerned about the church and sent Timothy back to see how things were going and to encourage the saints (ch. 3). Paul always prayed for the churches, and so should we. In 4:1–8, Paul warned the church to avoid the various forms of immorality that pervaded society in those days and are still with us today. Brotherly love is what he encouraged (3:9–12).
Several people in the Thessalonian church were grieving because some of their number had died, so Paul reminded them of the Lord’s return (4:13—5:11). Knowing they would see Jesus, friends, and loved ones would bring peace and comfort to their hearts. We don’t know when Jesus is coming, but the fact that He is coming again should give us a living hope. We should start each day as we wake up by saying, “Maybe today!” And we should live each day motivated by that promise. “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another” (5:11) are two very important “one another” statements in God’s Word. We must be aware of others—their needs as well as their achievements—and be ready to encourage them.
Paul closed his letter with several important admonitions, some personal requests, and a benediction. He emphasized God’s faithfulness to care for His people (5:24). God is faithful to forgive us our sins when we confess them (1 John 1:9), to chasten us (Ps. 119:75), to deliver us (1 Cor. 10:13), to sympathize with us and our needs (Heb. 2:17–18; 4:14–16), and to keep His Word (Heb. 10:23).
Second Thessalonians
In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, each chapter ends with a reference to Jesus Christ’s return (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13–18; 5:23). The believers were discussing their interpretations of this important doctrine but disagreed in their application. We see this because some of them had quit their jobs and become idle watchers for the Lord’s return (2 Thess. 3:6–15). Any interpretations of Bible doctrines that make us disobey clear Bible commandments are false interpretations and must be rejected. “I don’t witness,” a man told me, “because God knows who His elect are and will save them without my help.” He forgot that the same God who ordains the end (saving lost sinners) also ordains the means to the end, and we who are born-again believers are that means! Read Matthew 28:16–20 and Acts 1:8. The traps Paul warned the Thessalonians about can still ensnare us today.
Knowing that one day we shall see Jesus and that our works will be judged, we ought to faithfully walk with the Lord, study and obey God’s Word, pray, witness, and give of what we have to the Lord’s work. Our confidence of the future should make us better sons and daughters, better parents, better neighbors, better servants of the Lord, better employees, and better citizens. I’m sure you agree. Paul clearly stated that Satan today attacks the church with lies and the influence of counterfeit Christians. There are even counterfeit ministers (2 Cor. 11:13–16, 26) who teach false doctrines along with a false gospel (1 Tim. 4:1; Gal. 1:6–7). Not every fellowship that calls itself a church really is a church. Some are “a synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9). One day the “man of sin,” the “lawless one,” will arise; the Antichrist who, energized by Satan, will become a world ruler. The prefix anti- means both “against” and “instead of—counterfeit.” (As a side note, I personally am convinced that believers will be taken to heaven before the rise of Antichrist.) We must beware of false teaching and grow in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul strongly encouraged.
The phrase “Lord Jesus Christ” is used eleven times in 2 Thessalonians, for Paul always exalted the Savior; and the phrase “as you know,” or something similar, was used nine times in his first letter to them (1:5; 2:1, 5, 10–11; 3:3–4; 4:2; 5:2). Paul was reminding his readers that he had taught them, and if they were ignorant of what he was writing, it wasn’t his fault. Paul was saying in 2 Thessalonians, “Christ is coming” (ch. 1) and “the lawless one” will be coming (2:1–12), “so stay steadfast in your faith” (2:13—3:15).
First Timothy
First and Second Timothy and Titus are known as “the pastoral epistles” because Paul wrote to men who were establishing and leading local churches. The theme for all three is given in 1 Timothy 3:15: “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God.” Paul could have called the three letters “order in the church!” The word godliness is used ten times in the pastorals, for a church becomes godly as the Lord works in and through godly people.
On Paul’s second missionary journey, he met Timothy in Lystra, where the young man had a very good reputation as a believer. Paul “adopted” and mentored him, and he became a valuable helper in Paul’s ministry. Timothy had a Jewish mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois) and a Greek father (Acts 16:1–5). Since Paul was God’s special missionary to the Gentiles, and Paul himself was a Jew, Timothy’s ancestry was an asset to the ministry.
What a privilege it was for Timothy to travel with Paul and learn from him, just as it’s a privilege today for younger believers to learn from their elders who take time to mentor them. I thank the Lord for the opportunities He has given me to mentor young men and women who today are either in training for ministry or already in service. Paul and Timothy both took 2 Timothy 2:2 seriously, and so should we. Stop now to read the verse, and take it to heart. Churches today need more people who will take the time to mentor the coming generations.
Here is a brief outhne of 1 Timothy:
In this book, Paul confronted a problem we still face today. There were people who tried to maintain the old covenant with the new covenant that every believer has in Christ (more about this when we get to Hebrews). We call them “Judaizers,” or “legalists.” They claimed to find deep truths in “fables and endless genealogies.” As we learned from Galatians 3:24, the law was not written to save the righteous but to convict the unrighteous and bring them to Jesus. The law is our tutor to bring us to Christ. The sinners Paul mentioned have been in human society a long time and are with us today. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to deal with these false teachers and keep them from dividing the church and minimizing the gospel of God’s grace. Paul’s personal testimony in chapter 1 verses 12 through 20 was enough to refute the false teachers. If anyone was a lost legalist, it was Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church!
Paul wasn’t just giving Timothy good advice; he was declaring war on the false teachers (vv. 18–20). In the Greek language, the word charge is a military term that means “to give strict orders that must be obeyed” (1:3, 5, 18; 4:11; 5:7; 6:13, 17). It’s obvious that some churches in Timothy’s sphere of ministry were following unqualified leaders and believing unbiblical theology, and Timothy had to “clean house.” We preach the grace of God, and we encourage leaders and teachers to focus on that grace.
The pastoral epistles give us the qualifications for holding office in the local church, and they were given for us to obey. I have sat on many a church nomination committee and have heard strange things from supposedly godly people. “Let’s nominate Frank. He doesn’t attend church faithfully and maybe holding an office would change that.” Ouch! Better to leave the office vacant than to fill it with an unfaithful church member. Chapters 2 and 3 tell us clearly that those who fill church offices must be the best of the flock.
Paul pictured the church as a family (“the house of God,” 3:15) in which the pastor sees the younger men as brothers, the younger women as sisters, the older men as fathers, and the older women as mothers. No family is perfect, but love accepts people (1:5), prays for them, and encourages them to mature in the faith. In Christ, we belong to each other, we need each other, and we serve each other. The leaders must make sure that the pure doctrine of God’s grace is preached and taught (1:20; 2:7, 12; 3:2; 4:1, 6, 13, 16; 5:14; 6:1–3). Paul used the phrase “sound doctrine,” which means “healthy doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:10; 2 Tim. 1:7, 13; 4:3; Titus 1:9, 13; 2:1, 2, 8).
In the final chapter, Paul dealt with a problem that has caused much trouble in the lives of God’s servants—the love of money. God’s servants have not always been adequately supported by the congregation, and this sometimes creates painful problems. Pastors have families to support, and if they are faithful in their ministry, they should be adequately supported (1 Tim. 5:17–18). “Double honor” can be translated “twice as much salary.” But God’s servants aren’t the only people tempted by money, for church members commit the same sin (Acts 5:1–11).
Paul’s final words to Timothy reveal the dangers we must confront in ministry: “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” (6:20–21). We are stewards of God’s Word, and the enemy would like to rob us of that. To lose focus on the Word of God is to empty the ministry of power and truth.
It’s worth noting that Paul cautioned Timothy against being oversensitive (2 Tim. 1:4), timid (vv. 7–8), and inattentive to his health (1 Tim 5:23).
Second Timothy
I don’t know how many letters I have written during these many years of ministry. As far as we know, 2 Timothy was Paul’s last inspired letter, sent to his beloved co-laborer Timothy, his “true son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2) and his “beloved son” (2 Tim. 1:2). Paul filled this letter with admonitions relating to Timothy’s ministry, for Paul was more concerned with the future of the churches than he was his own life. He was “ready to be offered,” (see 4:6) for he knew he was going to meet the Lord in heaven. He saw his death as the pouring out of a drink offering to the glory of God. Let’s consider some of the admonitions he wrote to Timothy and apply them to our own lives and ministries.
Stir Up Your Gift and Hold Fast to Sound Words
When Timothy devoted himself to the ministry of the Word of God, the Lord gave him the spiritual gifts he needed for the work God had for him to do. How important it is that we walk with the Lord daily and keep our gifts in working order! This means spending time in the Word of God and being filled with the Spirit of God. Paul had written in his first letter, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you” (1 Tim. 4:14). Now he added, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6). The Holy Spirit does not leave us when we fail (John 14:16), but He cannot fill us, empower us, and use us if we neglect our spiritual lives. Sometimes, the Lord must put us into difficult circumstances so we will realize how much we need to be stirred up! With the Spirit’s help, we must “hold fast” to what the Lord has given us and use our gifts to glorify Him, build the church, and extend the kingdom. We must feed on “healthy words” and not permit lies to infect our system. We see an example of this in 1 and 2 Timothy. The Lord gave the living, healthy words to Paul (1 Tim. 1:11), and Paul gave them to Timothy (v. 18) and told him to guard them (6:20). Timothy was to give these words to others (2 Tim. 2:2), and the blessed result is that the church grows in holiness and power.
Be Strong and Be Diligent
The grace of God is the source of the believer’s power. We may feel weak and inadequate, but our weakness becomes strength if we are trusting in the Lord—“My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9). Note that Paul compares God’s people to soldiers (2 Tim. 2:3–4) and athletes (v. 5), and both demand discipline and determination. Conquering soldiers and winning athletes give themselves to their calling and willingly accept discipline and hardship, and so must God’s people. Paul also compares us to farmers who must sow the seed into prepared soil, care for it, and know when to reap the harvest. Farmers also need patience (James 5:7), as do soldiers and athletes.
Turn Away!
Paul wrote this letter centuries ago, yet his description of the apostates (those who turn from the true faith) is quite contemporary. God’s servants must not jeopardize their testimony by being influenced by apostate professed believers. Apostates have a form of godliness but have no connection with divine power. Take time now to read 2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1, and ask the Lord to give you wisdom and strength to obey. The emphasis in the local church must be on the doctrines given by the Lord and preached by the early church. There are people always seeking “some new thing” (Acts 17:21) who fail to hold on to the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89).
Be Watchful
The day is here when congregations have no appetite for the Word of God. They seem to want carnal entertainment rather than spiritual enlightenment and enrichment. Keep your eyes open! Satan is a counterfeiter and knows how to plant fake Christians in solid evangelical churches. God’s people must obey what Paul commanded in 2 Timothy 4:1–5 and stay focused on sound doctrine.
Paul’s “farewell speech” in 4:6–8 is a masterful expression of separation in the believer’s life. We are not obligated to “fellowship” with every professed Christian. We need not become enemies, but we must be careful to maintain a clear testimony lest we lead others astray by our compromise. The Lord has a ministry designed for each of us, and we must fulfill that ministry. It is possible to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) even as our Lord spoke to those who hated Him.
The Lord wants us to be good ministers of Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 4:6), no matter what vocation we have chosen. Paul pointed this out to Timothy in his first letter. A good servant of Jesus Christ will have a good conscience (1:5), fight a good warfare (1:18), pray for others (2:1–3), desire good works (3:1), and maintain a good testimony (3:7). We should be good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3) and fight a good fight against the enemy (4:7–8).
Paul and his young associate could have struggled with a “generation gap” and created all sorts of problems, but they worked harmoniously and happily. It’s been a great experience to serve the Lord together with younger men and women, and God has blessed us. I wish that every mature believer could mentor the younger generation as Paul commanded in 2 Timothy 2:2. What a difference that would make in families and churches!
Titus
For biographical data on Titus, read 1:1–5 and 3:12–15, plus 2 Corinthians 2:13 and 7:13–16, Galatians 2:3, and 2 Timothy 4:10. These verses indicate that Paul had led Titus to Christ, trained him, and sent him to minister in some difficult situations. You will find that Paul gave the same instructions and admonitions to Titus that he wrote to Timothy. In 1:5–9, Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders to direct the work of the church, and in 1:10–16, he instructed him to deal with the troublemakers in the church. Notice that church officers do not hold an office or fill it but use it to serve the Lord and His people. In 2:1–10, Paul cautioned Titus to preach sound, “healthy” doctrine to men and women, old and young, and make sure no false teachers crept into the church.
Verses 11–15 in chapter 2 are very important because they emphasize the grace of God. Nobody can be saved apart from the grace of God; nor can anyone serve the Lord without His grace. Grace not only brings salvation; it gives us the wisdom and knowledge we need to serve the Lord and help His people mature in the faith. Titus 1:9 and 2:1 stress the preaching of sound doctrine, and this means spiritual enrichment and not religious entertainment. The leaders are to encourage spiritual growth by being examples (2:7–8). When I was a young pastor, the example of the experienced ministers in our city encouraged me tremendously.
Paul wisely advised us to treat the church members according to their needs as members of the church family. Some people might be critical, but you should treat them as if they were your own family and love them and listen to them (1 Tim. 5:1–2). Newer Christians may have a lot to learn, but supporting their imaginative yet godly ideas might usher a fresh sense of God’s work. First Timothy 4:12 clearly states: “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” We need God’s grace working in our own hearts to be able to deal with the problems (and problem people) that are a part of every local church. We must take Paul’s words about grace (Titus 2:11—3:11) seriously and let the grace of God teach us to build and strengthen the people of God.
Paul’s final words (3:12–15) tell us that he had several associates who assisted him in the ministry in different places. Paul was not a loner; he believed in teamwork. Paul didn’t issue orders and insist on his own plans. He sought God’s will, he had basic principles of ministry that he would not change, and he worked together with his fellow servants. He depended on the Lord, he recognized and appreciated the assistance of others, and he gave the Lord all the glory.
Philemon
The apostle Paul was a prisoner in Rome when he wrote the letter to Philemon, but the roles he played in the particular event he related are most interesting. Paul knew how to utilize every opportunity to win the lost and encourage the saved. First, we meet Paul the soul-winner, who had led Philemon, his wife, and his son to faith in Jesus Christ. This resulted in their starting a church in their house (v. 2). We get the impression that Philemon was well-off and had assisted Paul in the past. Onesimus, one of Philemon’s slaves, had robbed his master and fled to Rome. In the Lord’s providence, Onesimus (“profitable”) met Paul in prison, and Paul led him to faith in Christ.
This leads us to Paul the intercessor. God had brought Paul and Onesimus together, but it appears that both men expected to be released soon (vv. 12, 22). Paul considered Philemon his “partner” in ministry (v. 17) and expected him to be concerned for the welfare of his disobedient slave, now a child of God. Being an apostle of the Lord, Paul could have commanded his friend Philemon, but he preferred to appeal to him in love (vv. 8–9). He asked his friend to receive Onesimus and forgive him for what he had done. Paul set a good example here for all of us to follow. Remember Jesus and the woman taken in adultery? He said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Never underestimate the power of prayer and personal forgiveness.
But there is more, for we have Paul the insurer. He made it clear to Philemon that, if Onesimus owed him anything, Paul would pay the debt (vv. 17–20). Note that Paul wrote this letter personally, so it was like a promissory note that guaranteed payment. This reminds us of our Lord Jesus Christ’s relationship to us in salvation: God the Father put the guilt of our sins on His Son when Jesus died for us on the cross. The Father credited it to His account! Each time we observe the Lord’s Supper, we are being reminded that we are too poor to pay the price of our salvation but that Jesus paid it for us! Take time to read carefully Isaiah 53:4–6, and thank the Lord for paying our debt.
Paul didn’t consider Onesimus just another convert because, in verse 10, he called him “my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten.” Because of his faith in Jesus, Onesimus went from a slave to a beloved brother in Christ. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
ADVENTURE ASSIGNMENT #18
Select a portion of a chapter from one of the books we just covered and, using a reference Bible or the New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, trace the cross references. See how the different verses contribute to a better understanding of your chosen text.