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First Thessalonians, part 2, The Chosen Ones

1 Thessalonians 1:1 begins,

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.

Paul begins without asserting his apostleship, unlike Galatians or Romans. His authority was evidently not in question among the Thessalonians. The letter is written jointly from Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy, reflecting the close partnership that had founded the church (Acts 17:1–9). The recipients are described in an unusual way:

The Greek word ekklesia means “assembly” or “called-out congregation.” Paul defines the church not by its location (Thessalonica) but by its spiritual position—it exists “in” God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Their earthly address is Thessalonica; their true sphere of life is union with God through Christ.

Paul places “God the Father” and “the Lord Jesus Christ” side by side as the common source of the church’s existence. Even in what is probably Paul’s earliest surviving epistle, Christ shares in the divine identity and is the object of the believer's faith and allegiance.

The greeting, “Grace to you and peace,” combines the familiar Greek greeting (charis, “grace”) with the Hebrew blessing (shalom, “peace”). Paul transforms ordinary greetings into profound theological blessings: God’s grace produces true peace.

1 Thessalonians 1:2, 3 continues,

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.

Paul's letters frequently begin with thanksgiving, and here his gratitude centers not on the believers’ gifts or achievements but on the evidence of God’s work in them.

Three expressions summarize authentic Christian character: work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness (or endurance) of hope. These correspond to the familiar triad of faith, love, and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13), but each is expressed in practical terms.

Work, Labor, and Steadfastness

Faith is not merely intellectual assent. True faith produces action. James later makes the same point: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). Paul is not contradicting justification by faith; rather, genuine faith naturally manifests itself in obedient living. Paul acknowledges that the new Thessalonian church was manifesting the work of faith.

The word translated “labor” (kopos) denotes exhausting toil. Love is more than affection. Biblical love willingly expends itself for the good of others, often at personal cost.

The Greek word hypomonē, “steadfastness,” means patient endurance under difficult circumstances. Hope in Scripture is not wishful thinking but confident expectation based upon God’s promises. The Thessalonians endured persecution because they expected Christ's return and trusted God's future vindication.

Notice the order: Faith looks upward, Love reaches outward, and Hope looks forward. Together these form the visible evidence of a living church.

The Nature of the Opposition

Paul had taught in the synagogue for three Sabbaths before his life was threatened. What was it that caused such a hostile reaction?

It is likely that Paul’s teaching at the synagogue followed the same general pattern that is seen in Acts 22, when Paul gave his defense at the temple in Jerusalem. First, he introduced himself as a Jew from Tarsus who had studied under the well-known rabbi Gamaliel. He understood the law from an Old Covenant standpoint, but after being blinded by “a very bright light… from heaven” (Acts 22:6), he received a divine revelation of Jesus Christ.

Then Ananias, a well-known and respectable Jew (Acts 22:12) received revelation that confirmed Paul’s calling and healed his blindness. Later, Paul said, God told him to escape, saying in Acts 22:21, “Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles!”

It was this statement that caused the Jews to become extremely angry. Acts 22:22 says,

²² They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

What they objected to was Paul’s claim that God was now calling Gentiles directly through Christ without requiring them first to become Jews. This struck at the heart of Jewish national and religious privilege. When Paul declared that Christ had actually commissioned him to the Gentiles, many in the crowd likely saw it as confirmation that Paul sought to undermine the Temple’s distinctions between Jew and Gentile.

Recall that converted Gentiles were required to remain outside the dividing wall that separated the inner court (for Jewish men only) from the outer court (for Jewish women and Gentiles). This dividing wall served to create two tiers of citizenship. Even if a Gentile converted to Judaism, he remained a second-class citizen that was not allowed to approach God too closely—purely on genealogical (or racial) grounds.

Hence, they regarded him as a traitor to Moses. For such a man to announce that God had sent him to uncircumcised Gentiles seemed, in their minds, to be apostasy. Paul’s revelation was that they misunderstood God’s covenant with Abraham. Many first-century Jews viewed themselves as the exclusive heirs of Abraham's promises. Paul, however, understood the Abrahamic covenant differently.

Genesis 12:3 had always anticipated blessing “all the families of the earth.” Paul later writes in Galatians 3:8,

⁸ The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham...

In Acts 9:15, the Lord had told Ananias concerning Paul:

¹⁵ Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

Paul's commission to the Gentiles did not replace God’s covenant with Abraham—it fulfilled its universal purpose.

Luke’s account in Acts 22 gives us the essential points that Paul made in the temple. We do not know further details, but from the people’s reaction, it is clear that they understood precisely what Paul was saying. They objected to the basic New Covenant principle that defined the Abrahamic blessing—and it made them very angry.

Ironically, after Jesus’ earthly ministry concluded, He chose Paul, the most zealous advocate of Old Covenant Judaism, to preach the New Covenant gospel given long ago to Abraham himself. Whereas many Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah, fewer were able to accept the idea of equal citizenship rights in the Kingdom.

On the other hand, Gentiles more readily accepted his teaching. So when Paul taught in the synagogue at Thessalonica, it is likely that they all listened and debated about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah. But when Paul finally presented his message of equality in Christ (Galatians 3:8, 9, 28, 29) and the elimination of the dividing wall (Ephesians 2:14) and its special privilege to genealogical Jews, that is when the synagogue in Thessalonica cast him out—along with the Gentile converts who received Paul’s gospel with gladness.

God’s Chosen Gentiles

In 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Paul says,

⁴ Knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you.

Paul expresses confidence that they are God’s chosen people. The basis of this confidence is not speculation about God's hidden decrees but observable evidence in their lives. Throughout Scripture, election becomes visible through God's calling and the fruit it produces.

Jesus taught, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). Likewise, Peter later exhorts believers, “Be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you” (2 Peter 1:10). Paul does not ask the Thessalonians to search God’s secret counsel but points them to the transformed lives that reveal God’s gracious work.

The phrase “beloved by God” echoes Old Testament descriptions of Israel, showing that the privileges formerly associated with Old Covenant practice were things that God tolerated but beliefs that were incorrect. All belong to all who are in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile.

Perhaps this is why King David’s most trusted personal guard were Gittites (from Gath). They were Philistines (2 Samuel 15:18) who were the most loyal servants of David, the type of Christ. They represented the core of David’s men when Absalom usurped the throne. Why were they so loyal? I believe it was because David treated them as equals in accordance with the Abrahamic blessing. This foreshadowed Paul’s gospel in the first century.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 says,

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 explains why he knows they are God's chosen people. The gospel arrived in four ways.

1. Not in Word Only

Christianity is not merely a philosophy or collection of ideas. The gospel certainly includes words, but it is more than verbal instruction.

2. In Power

The message carried divine effectiveness. This likely includes both the transforming power of the Spirit and the signs that accompanied the apostolic ministry. The gospel changed lives.

3. In the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit opened hearts, produced repentance, and created genuine faith. No one becomes part of God’s kingdom by persuasion alone. Conversion is ultimately the work of the Spirit.

4. With Full Conviction

The phrase may refer both to the confidence of the preachers and to the deep assurance produced in the hearers. Paul preached with certainty because he knew the truth of the gospel. The Thessalonians received it with wholehearted conviction, because the Spirit bore witness within them.

Finally, Paul appeals to his own example: “you know what kind of men we proved to be.” The messenger and the message were consistent. Paul did not merely proclaim truth. He embodied it. This becomes one of the recurring themes throughout the letter. The Thessalonians became imitators of Paul, because Paul himself was an imitator of Christ.

These opening verses therefore serve as an introduction to the entire epistle. Paul immediately commends the Thessalonian believers for the spiritual fruit that demonstrates God's work among them and lays the foundation for his later exhortations to continue walking in faith, love, holiness, and hopeful expectation of the Lord's return.