Chapter 9
Thessalonians
The History:
Paul had the vision come over to Macedonia. The first cities he came to were Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens then Corinth. The place is at the top of the Aegean Sea. The Church is addressed as the Church in God, (not the Church at Thessalonica)
Thessalonica was originally an ancient town named Thermai, meaning ‘Hot Springs.’ It became a strategic location near the Aegean Sea. In the Roman Empire, it became the capital of the province of Macedonia and its largest city with two-million people. Thessalonica was on the Roman- ‘Road to the East’, making it an important city of commerce. By Paul’s time, Thessalonica had become the Capital of this Roman Colony area, and named after the half-sister of Alexander-the-great. The town had its own coinage and produced more coins than Ephesus.
After spending a night in prison at Philippi, Paul and Silas travelled to Thessalonica. This was a new road to them.
This main Roman road from Rome to Asia (Egnation way) led up from a main port on the Aegean Sea. When they got there they found enough Jews had migrated there to form a Synagogue.172 Paul stayed about a month in Thessalonica. We are told he preached for three sabbaths in the synagogue.173 It attracted a lot of Jewish traders and a number of Samaritans. Archaeologist have found the sign for a separate ‘Synagogue’, or meeting place, for Samaritans, so it looks like old divides were still present. Many Christians today can testify to being damaged by other Christians, often in the same church fellowship. This is not a new phenomenon. Paul is trying to write so sensitively to heal obvious past hurts.
Brothers and sisters, you are no different to churches in Judea. I mean that you were treated badly by your own people, just as those believers in Christ Jesus were treated badly by other Jews, the same Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, then forced us to leave their country. They are not pleasing to God, and they are against everyone else. Now they are trying to stop us from teaching those who are not Jews. They don't want them to be saved. But they are just adding more and more sins to the ones they already have. Now the time has come for them to suffer God's anger174.
Thessalonica is the only recorded town that called its mayor a ‘Politarch’, so Luke was right and early critics of Luke’s writings were wrong175. The Politarch was senior mayor of the area.
There were some leading women of the city. There were also many idol-worshipping pagans who had repented and believed. So, when many of these responded to the message of Christ’s sufferings and resurrection, unbelieving Jews organized a gang of roughnecks to attack the house of Jason where Paul and his friends had been staying. Unable to find Paul and Barnabus, the mob dragged Jason before the magistrates, who bound him over to keep the peace. Out of concern for Jason, Paul, Barnabus. Timothy and Silas left the city by night travelling to nearby Berea where they went into the Synagogue, only to be followed by the paid-rabble (Lewd Men). None-the-less, Many Jews believed, so the team split. Silas and Timothy remained in Berea, Paul and Barnabus set off for pioneer work in Athens. Paul later sent for Silas and Timothy to join them in Athens, which they did for a while, but soon Silas went back to Berea and then on to Philippi. Meanwhile, Timothy went back to Thessalonica to collect for the famine relief in Jerusalem. They all met up again in Corinth with their collected gifts. At the reunion, Timothy reported the conditions in the Thessalonian churches. This led Paul to write the first letter, shortly after he arrived in Corinth.
Persecution from the Gentiles as well as the Jews still oppressed the believers. They were holding fast, but the sudden intensity had started the rumour that the last days were beginning. Some Thessalonians apparently believed that Jesus Christ was about to return momentarily. They had consequently given up their jobs and become disorderly. Others were worried about, what had happened to loved ones who had died before the Lord had returned. Yet others had got caught up with Greek libertarians and returned to the sexual impurities of their former days, assuming they could enjoy themselves now because their spirit was all secure in Christ.
Paul wrote one-Thessalonians to correct several things. First, he wanted to encourage those who were making good progress in their new faith. Second, to put the record straight about himself and challenge the new school of ‘Philautia-Judaizers’176. Third, he wrote to give additional guidance as to what to look for in spiritual growth.
Upon receiving back news about the Thessalonian church, Paul wrote the second letter perhaps within a few months of the first one. Some continued to grow and to remain faithful to Christ despite persecution. Unfortunately, another sect had started recruiting. A branch of the Essenes who had given up normal life to lived in the desert until Messiah came, spread the message ‘The day of the Lord is any day now’, and ‘Come and join us in the desert’. This movement caused confusion and some Christians quit their jobs in expectation of the Lord’s imminent return. Paul wrote his second letter to Thessalonians, to correct this doctrinal error, and to warn the idle to get back to work.
The Letter:
One in every four verses deal with end times through this letter. Every chapter ends with a verse about the second coming. Thessalonica was the home of Greek gods Dionysus, Aphrodite and Osiris, all of whom were worshipped by sexual activities. Chapter-four concentrates on the subject the sanctification, which is the preparation of a Christian for the kingdom of God. Once again we see direct conflict between Greek culture and the Kingdom of God. In particular, Greek Eros has no part in the new kingdom. Eros makes slaves of the whole person, there is no separation of body and spirit. When Christ comes, ‘we shall be seized up to for a meeting with Christ in the atmosphere’177, (Body and Spirit together).
The letter was written before the desecration of the Temple at Jerusalem. Paul writes the second letter to warn, ‘this will be just the beginning’. Thessalonica became the first town where you had to stand in front of an altar declare Caesar is lord and throw pinch of incense on fire.
Paul’s first letter concentrates on Jesus Christ working in His church, with the second letter centred around the day of Jesus Christ coming as back as judge, not only to the world but also to the Church. The emphasis is the unity of the body and the spirit as Jesus will not be without a body when he returns, and the new-body, to suit the real-you, and enable you to function in the new-heaven and new-earth.
Chapter 10
Corinthians
The History:
Paul worked his way down from Athens to the little neck of land, a corridor ten-miles long and three-miles wide onto Corinth. To sail around the coast is two-hundred-and-fifty-miles of rough seas. One ancient Greek writer wrote, ‘You should have a will made out if you take that trip’.
Periander-the-second, Tyrant of Corinth, conceived the idea of digging a Corinth Canal across the three-miles. He tried and failed. Alexander-the-great tried and failed. Nero tried and failed. It was finally built in eighteen-ninety-three AD. Corinth was a key port in Paul’s day, so they came up with the idea of loading boats onto wagons to travel across that three-mile strip, then refloating the ship on the other side.
For its good qualities, Corinth hosted the Olympic-Games. For its sins, The acropolis housed the temple of Aphrodite. At least one-thousand priestesses came down from the Acropolis temple each night to apply their trade in the town. Corinth became a bye-word for all that is bad, amoral or immoral. To ‘Corinthian-ise’ was a common phrase all over the Roman world and is still used today. Even the Romans frowned at Corinth. They destroyed the first Greek city, but rebuilt a Roman one in one-fifty BC. It was re-populated by ‘freed men’ or ex-slaves who were not well-educated but self-made traders. That is what Paul is referring to when he says:
For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:178
It was Greek, it became Roman but still kept all the bad bits. It was a very self-serving and selfish town for businesses and lawyers. So, added to the list of things Paul writes about, is their culture of law-suits. Church members were taking each other to court for the slightest errors.179
Low social and moral standards abounded in church life, party-spirit was rife, primarily among the secret-trade and freed-men alliances. These split the Church over leadership choices. Greek obsession with democracy governed the Church meeting, voting had replaced the principle of Spirit-filled-leaders with popular choice. (Then as now)?
The Letter
Paul will have to address all these issues:
Now this I mean, that each one of you say, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Peter; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?180
Most of the problems in church are not spiritual but social and cultural background problems. We all have a background that we bring to the Church. Paul wrestles with two big problems, how to keep church in the world and world out of church.
Paul wrote four letters but we only have two. Paul stopped off at Corinth for year-and-a-half in fifty-one AD, staying with Aquila, (a Jew from the Roman province of Pontus in Asia Minor), and his wife Priscilla. These had recently fled from Rome when the emperor, Claudius, expelled all the Jews from the city in forty-nine AD.
Being tent-makers, like Paul, they worked together in an agora shop181. When Paul arrived at Corinth, Paul visited Jewish families first. He also visited the local synagogue every Sabbath, preaching the news of Jesus and his resurrection. When he met opposition from some Jews in the synagogue, he continued preaching next door, in the home of Titius Justus, another Gentile believer.
Silas and Timothy stopped in on their way back from working among Macedonian gentiles. On hearing about the work among the gentiles, some in the the synagogue stirred up rebellion among the Jews. So Paul left after eighteen-months. After he had gone, he continued to receive bad reports about the Church, so he wrote his first letter telling them to stop flirting with the world. We do not have a copy of this letter, but he does later acknowledge he was perhaps a bit hasty in sending it.182. Paul also received a report a little later, from Chloe, telling him things were no better. The same postman brought a letter from three elders at the Church183, asking some questions asking about spiritual gifts, marriage etc. We do not have this letter either, but it is clear Paul is answering their questions when he wrote his reply.
The reply is one-Corinthians. In it, we see the cunning mind of Paul. He weaves what he wants to say around replies to their questions. They asked about Marriage and Divorce.184 They ask about meat sacrificed to idols.185 They ask about Spiritual Gifts.186 Paul answers ‘Hold your horses’, get your foundations right and these things will fall into place. Added to this, Chloe’s letter had highlighted: Division, Immorality, Litigation, Idolatry, Transsexualism and Bad behaviour at communion services.
We cannot understand this passage without reminding ourselves of the difference between Hebrew and Greek thinking which we discussed in the introduction. Paul list all the subjects above looking for the foundational errors to address. One fundamental error on the part of the Church, and one fundamental error on the part of the leadership teaching, stood out. First they were thinking Greek not Hebrew. Second the teaching had tried to accommodate the behaviour of the people.187
Paul starts at the Cross because it gives him the base for unifying the body and the spirit which Greeks had separated. Paul finishes the book with teaching on the Resurrection of the dead. Greeks had disconnected the eternal consequences of their human behaviour on the body and the resurrected body. In between, he illustrates with example of how these basic understandings are affecting their lives.
Division, immorality and litigation problems arise when we cannot see the wisdom of God in uniting the body and spirit. The cross makes no sense if you cannot see the unity of body and spirit. If your soul is disembodied why did Christ need to die bodily? We need to die for the spirit to be resurrected into a new body.
But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this because they look for miracles. Greeks think it is foolish because they regard themselves wiser in treating the body and the spirit as independent. But the resurrection will house the spirit in a new body.188
For who can know the mind of God, that he may instruct him except it is given by the mind of a bodily Christ 189
Having established the need for a unity of body and spirit Paul is free to apply that to church unity. Regarding divisions, God is not divided and the leaders are not divided. God used each leader to bring you to a unity in Christ. You are baptized into Christ not the leader. You are not saved by a leader but Christ.
Regarding sexual immorality, have you not been taught that your bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit? If you abuse you body, you abuse your spirit. But more than that, you give leave to fornication, covetousness, adultery, drunkenness, extortion or any other destructive principalities to destroy your spirit. Remember, thieves, extortioners, and sexual perverts, none of these can inherit the kingdom of heaven as you know.190 Some of you were like that before you repented and accepted the grace gift of Jesus Christ191
Regarding litigation, has not the cross of Christ freed you of litigation of God against you? Earthly judges could not free you of the crimes you committed against God, so why should you have them judge between you and your brethren?192
Now, says Paul let me address the issue of marriage and divorce you raised in your letter. To marry or not to marry is not a matter for church ruling. There are good arguments for and against so best live as you are called to live by God through His Spirit and not try to legislate for others193.
Regarding your question about meat offered to idols, let me first talk about idols. Idols are no more than pieces of wood, provided it is not you offering the food to an idol it is of no consequence. But if you are still concerned for your own conscience sake, then abstain.
We have only one God, and he is the Father. He created everything, and we live for him. Jesus Christ is our only Lord. Everything was made by him, and by him life was given to us194.
You ask about spiritual gifts, writes Paul.195 These should be used decently and in order not causing chaos. But neither should general behaviour. Some of you are turning up early and scoffing the best food at communion meal, leaving the poorer among you without anything. To stop that sort of behaviour, eat at home and just come together to share a sample of bread and wine.
Paul then hits at the root of their problem, Greek-Thinking, separating Body from Soul. So he concludes his letter with the issue of the resurrection of the body. Paul starts with providing eyewitness evidence for the resurrection of the body then ties it together. Understand that how you behave in the body affects the soul and how your new body will house your soul. ‘When this mortality puts on immortality, it will be in a body, and will be shaped to suit the soul you have cultivated’. ‘Don’t you know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit’
Paul sent this letter back with Timothy. But Timothy was too nice and the leadership ran rings round him. A report came back they are worse than ever. Now they were insulting Paul. After Paul left last time, things were good for a while. They had good leaders, Apollos very intelligent and very good speaker, (not a stutterer like Paul). Peter, working-class, but one of the twelve, held their attention. But, gossip in the ranks began to compare and divide. People began to reminisce, stunting growth in the Church.
After this, Judaizers caught up with church, and on the back of division they ripped Paul apart. The accused him of fickleness, changing plans, cowardly timid not having any testimonial certificates. Oh! And Paul doesn’t charge a fee either! Even today this Greek idea has crept into the pay structure of some churches. Pay depends on the number of people you can hold in the congregation196.
The second book of Corinthians is very different to his first, It is a Journal, it is compassionate and Paul wears his heart on his sleeve. In chapter-one he talks of his despairing of life, in chapter-four, he feels weary which he expresses as hard-pressed and perplexed. In Chapter-six he is distressed.
172 There mus be at least 10 men over the age of 30 years to start a synagogue.