First Thessalonians,
Paul's earliest surviving letter
Thessalonica:
the city
Paul's "founding visit" to Thessalonica
Date and Place of Writing 1 Thessalonians
Purpose of 1 Thess
The tone of Epistle
Paul's Opponents, in Thessalonica
Exegetical notes
A) Address and
Greeting 1:1-2
B)
Thanksgiving 1:3-l0
C) Body of the Letter (1 Th 2:1 - 3:13):
Kindly Reminiscence
D) Exhortations (4:1-5:24)
The prevailing
mood and spirit
The ancient Macedonian city of
Thessalonica occupied (and still occupies) the plain beneath Mount
Khortiatis, overlooking the Thermaic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. The city was
founded in 315 bC, by Cassander, a general under Alexander the Great, and is
named after Thessalonike, Alexander's half‑sister. Its location favoured the city's
development and prosperity. It is the
natural commercial and cultural center for
Macedonia, as the most important port in the northern Aegean. Already a regional market center, the city
was further enriched by its position on the Via Egnatia, Rome's trans‑Macedonia
highway.
Thessalonica came under Roman control in 168 bC In 146 it became capital of the newly‑formed
province of Macedonia. A century later, in the battle of Philippi (42 bC),
the city sided with Mark Antony and Octavian ‑ the future Augustus ‑
against the republican forces of Cassius and Brutus. The victors proclaimed Thessalonica a free
city and the seat of a proconsul.
When Augustus reorganized the Roman provinces (27 bC),
jurisdiction over Macedonia was granted to the senate. When Paul visited the city, (probably in
a:D. 50) it was the capital of a secure and peaceful province, the sister
city of Corinth, which was capital of Achaia, its neighboring province to the
south. Paul, the urban missionary,
concentrated his efforts on influential centres, intending that his message
would be spread outward from the cities, by the efforts of his Christian
colleagues.
The Thessalonians were of mixed race and religion. In addition to the old Macedonian stock of
the area, Roman colonization had brought in many Italians. Hope of finding
prosperity also attracted immigrants from Syria, Judea and north Africa. This racial mix in Thessalonica entailed a
wide diversity of religious cults. Inscriptions found on the ruins of the
old city show that at least 20 different deities were honored there,
including the Roman pantheon and a host of oriental deities. Paul accurately
remarked that his converts had to "abandon the worship of false
gods" (1:9).
According to Acts (17:1‑10 )
Paul first goes to the local synagogue and argues with the Jews, employing
the Scriptures to press his arguments. He has only moderate success there,
for only some of them believed and
joined the new faith; but there was also a number of God‑fearing Gentiles, friends of the synagogue, who were
convinced by him, including some influential women (17:4). This success with
the Gentiles angered some of the Jews, who roused the crowds against Paul and
Silas, and brought them before the courts. The Roman authorities did not take the charges
seriously, and dismissed them.
Does this report in Acts accurately depict the founding of the church in
Thessalonica? Several discordances
between this account and details in the letter itself (1 Th), lead to
suspicion that Luke was writing to some sort of "formula" rather
than recording remembered fact. The discordances fall under these headings:
a) the length of Paul's stay: Acts 17:2 has Paul preaching on just three
successive Sabbaths, after which there is the Jewish outcry and his quick
departure from the city. The letter seems to imply a rather longer stay, long
enough for the Thessalonians to be impressed and taught by his personal
example (1:6). It was long enough
also for some organized leadership to be established in the community (5:12
"those who preside over you in the Lord").
At least once during this time in
Thessalonika, he received material help from Philippi (Ph 4:16). But it would
take several days at least for news of his financial need to reach the
Philippians, and as long again for them to respond with their gift. For these reasons, Murphy O'Connor holds
that Paul's founding visit must have lasted about a year (Paul, 102). He may well be right.
b) The audience: Did Paul
mainly address Jews or Gentiles in Thessalonica? Ac 17:1-10
implies that most of Paul's converts came from the synagogue and its
friends. But when he writes back to
them, the community consists of Gentile
converts, who "turned away from idols to serve the living God" (1
Th l:9). The letter also lacks the layer of OT quotations that will later feature
in his letters to communities such as Corinth and Rome, that held a high
proportion of Jewish‑Christians.
Some critics even wish
to dispute (based on the agreed division of ministries reported in Ga 2:7)
whether in his missionary travels Paul ever
preached to the Jews after the Jerusalem meeting; but this is to
over-interpret Paul's schematic division of the mission-field into "the
circumcised" and "the uncircumcised", and it would minimise
the import of his statement about him becoming "as a Jew, in order to
win Jews" (1 Co 9:20).
c) The Message: What themes
did Paul speak about? Acts' description of his preaching (Christ suffering and rising from the dead; Ac 17:2-3)
does not really reflect the themes that Paul himself says he spoke about:
conversion from paganism, and expecting the coming of Jesus in Parousia (1 Th
1:10).
Luke's presentation of the visit seems influenced by his
literary agenda. We must agree with
Haenchen (Acts p:510) that in the
Lucan version, Paul's visits to the various towns take a stereotyped form:
"the founding of the community and then the persecution which forces the
Apostle away to his next goal".
Luke may have had only a minimal report of that visit, as his source,
and fleshed it out from his imagination.
The tone suggests the letter was
written soon after Paul's visit to
that city; Corinth is the most likely place of writing. According to Acts 18:12, the apostle's
18-month visit to Corinth reaches into the proconsulship of Gallio, which can
be dated 52-53 A:D. *Opponents may
have used the arrival of the new proconsul as the occasion for bringing Paul
to trial.
Paul would have been working in Corinth for 18
months before his arrest, which gives us a date of early 51 for his arrival
in the city, followed by the writing of 1 Thess within the few following
months. (See Fitzmyer, NJBC Paul p:1335). For the view that 1
Thess is a compilation of what were originally two letters, see
Murphy-O:Connor, Paul, a Critical Life,
105. In this schema, 2:13 - 4:2 is understood as a second letter, written to
strengthen the community in time of persecution, and later inserted (by some
anonymous copyist) into the middle of the text of letter A.
A. Congratulations:
Paul worried about the young church ever since he had been compelled to leave
it in haste, and had not been able to return to visit it (2:17ff). Therefore
he sent Timothy to check on the survival of that little church, and encourage
them to bear up under the pressure of persecution. After a period of anxious waiting, Paul is relieved to hear
good news of the Thessalonian Church brought back by young Timothy. He thanks
God for their perseverance, their mutual love and their faith. He is especially pleased that they have:
1. stood firm in persecution (2:14)
2. given example to others by their love (1:3, 4:9-12)
3. remembered Paul himself, with affection (3:6).
B. Problem solving: Paul
also must address himself to some questions raised by the Thessalonians
during Timothy's visit. Moreover,
drawing on his pastoral experience, he discusses some problems and issues
which he knows would come up in a community like that of Thessalonica. His instructions fall into three main
categories:
-faith in the return of Jesus
-exercise of mutual love within the community
-need for personal
moral integrity or holiness in order to share in the glory of Jesus at his
return (3:9-13).
This first letter of Paul is
very pastoral and friendly, encouraging them both with praise and by
reminding them of the high ideals to which as Christians they have been
called. Clearly he feels a close relationship with them. At the same time the questions raised show
that he did not have the time to finish off the basic doctrinal and moral
instructions that these former pagans needed to adopt a total christian
lifestyle.
We find in 1 Thess
none of the sharp rebukes that will later be part of the Corinthian and
Galatian letters. The Thessalonians have not yet departed in any serious way
from the Christian way, though as one always in search of excellence, Paul
may suggest that something is still lacking in their faith (3:10). But they
are on the right path; they only need additional encouragement and direction
(3:12, 4:1, 10), given in the tone of a father to his children (2:11-12),
aware of the problems they face.
Here, at the dawn of church history, we glimpse the fervor with which
they faced those early combats, and the enthusiasm of their first progress.
The tone of 1 Th
2:1-12 certainly sounds like some kind of self-defence, or apologia. Paul appeals to the Thessalonians' memory
of him during his stay among them:
a.
He maintained himself so that no financial
burden fell on the local Christian community. b. He had never been insincere
or used flattery, so as to win them over to himself. c. He made no effort to win a reputation among them. d. He always treated them affectionately, as a nurse or as a
father toward children.
If 2:1-12 was a self defence, to whom was it
directed? What kind of critics has
Paul in mind? It is unlikely he was
confronting a determined group of opponents like the ones he would later in
Galatia. It is probably better not to look for one group to blame for all the
difficulties. There were in
Thessalonica various ideas from the Hellenistic atmosphere which were foreign
to christianity's ethos and which Paul had to reject; but "we need not
suppose that one single group consciously held together all these ideas and
advocated them. The ideas have comes
from the prevailing culture and not from a definite set of people:" (E.
Best, 1 Thessalonians 22).
Paul's Jewish critics probably continued their campaign
against him, even after his hurried departure from the city. How could they
better undermine his work than by making accusations against his honesty and
sincerity? There were at the time
many wandering preachers, teachers and magicians who made their living by
teaching or lecturing; and some of these seemed more intent on the money they
received and gaining a feeling of self-importance, than on the truth of what
they taught. If Paul's critics could
classify him among these then his influence would quickly wane.
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Ekklesia (assembly; church) This was an important term in Paul's vocabulary. In the Greek-speaking world it was the term
used for the official assembly of
the citizens of a city, who had the right and duty to gather for discussion
and cast their votes concerning matters of importance for the whole city.
By the time that the Christians adopted it, it also had a
long history of religious usage. It had been used by the Greek translator
of the OT to render the Hebrew Qahal,
the assembly of the people of God. The Hebrew word is etymologically
connected to the Hebrew qol,
"voice". Ekklesia was an apt Greek translation
for qahal, since ekklesia comes from the verb kaleo, "to call". Both terms suggested an action of God,
"gathering, calling together, summoning to meet:" Both the Hebrew and its Greek rendering imply
the divine initiative and the
active response of those who have been addressed.
The term is variously used by Paul to refer to the
world-wide Christian community (1 Co 10:34, 12:28), the Christian community
in a certain town (Rm 16:1, 1 Cor 1:2), and even the community meeting in a
certain house (Rm 16:5, 1 Co 16:19).
Ernest Best remarks that the usage of one term for all these levels of
community indicates that "the whole is not regarded merely as the sum
total of its components, but rather that the whole appears as smaller units in particular places, the whole being
the basic conception" (61).
Paul addresses the
community. His apostolic activity was directed not just to the
conversion of individuals but to the founding of churches, groups of
believers. The quality of Christian existence, for him, was more than just
the purely private adherence of the individual to Jesus Christ.
"in God the Father, and
the Lord Jesus Christ": Paul links together God the Father and the Lord
Jesus without distinguishing their functions in mankind's salvation. The
preposition in is here to be
understood in an instrumental, causative sense. The assembly is IN God, because it comes from God's initiative
and authority.
"Father"- The OT
sometimes uses "Father" of God (e:g. Dt 32:6, 2 Sam 7:14, Is
63:16), but not with the simplicity or frequency of the NT, which derives from the practice of Jesus
himself (see Joachim Jeremias, The Prayers of Jesus, London, 1967.
11-65).
Grace to you, and peace: In a Greek letter the
normal opening would simply have been a form of chairein, "greetings".
Paul has transformed a customary greeting into one with theological
meaning. He adds to it the normal Jewish Shalom
of greeting, "peace".
Fitzmyer (JBC 47:8) notes
how this opening formula "uses the two notions
of charis (covenant favor) and eirene (peace) that are rooted in the
old priestly blessing of Nm 6:24-26.
Again charis has the Pauline
connotation of the merciful bounty of God manifested in Christ Jesus (cf. Rm
5:1-11). The two words are Paul's
summation of the blessings of the Christian era. Its solemnity suggests that it may even be a liturgical formula
that has been adapted to epistolary introduction. These are the spiritual gifts that Paul normally sends to his
readers.
This thanksgiving is longer than any other in the Pauline
letters. In it, Paul compliments the
people and hints at the topics to be dealt with in the letter. The whole thanksgiving is one rambling,
untidily constructed sentence, difficult to punctuate but easy to understand.
v2 about all of
you He keeps both the individuals and their community in mind, and so
expresses concern for and interest in all of them.
v.3 the "triad" of faith, love and
hope also appears in 1 Co 13:13,
Rm 5:1-5, Gal 5:5f, 1 Thess 5:8. See
also Col 1:4f, Eph 4:2-5, Heb 6:10-12, 10:22-24, 1 Pt 1:3-8, Barnabas 1:4,
9:8. Probably this triad is not
original to St. Paul, but was a common heritage, a sort of compendium of the
Christian virtues, in current use in the early apostolic church.
Each member of the triad is qualified with an action-word. Work of faith is the
person's total response to the
goodness of God seen in the death and resurrection of Christ through which we
are redeemed. Such a total response includes obedience to God and must therefore result in activity
(achievement) on the part of the human person.
kopos tes agapes ("labor of love") underlines the demanding, fatiguing
nature of what true love requires.
Paul used agape in preference
to other Greek words for "love" because previously it had not been
greatly used, and was not overloaded with specific connotations. Therefore, Christians were free to pour
into the term their own specific meaning.
This term is primarily used to describe Christ's love for us; secondarily for the love that human beings
ought to show toward one another; and thirdly (rarely) as in Rm 8:28, for the
love that we direct towards God.
hypomone (endurance) was vital for the survival of the
faith in a hostile environment. It
means steadfast perseverance in
face of trials and afflictions. A good parallel is in Rm 12:12 ("Rejoice
in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer"), and Lk
21:19 ("by your endurance, you wil gain your lives").
elpis, (hope) for Paul is not the off chance that
things just might work out, but the confident
expectation of salvation that results from what God has done in Christ
(Rm 5:1-5, 1 Co 15:19f). It is the
eager longing for eschatological salvation (Rm 8:18ff, Ph 1:20).
v.4 continues his
thanksgiving, but adds another motive; their election by God. Paul
insists that their adherence to Christ does not ultimately rest on any virtue
on their part. Being part of God's
church is due to divine "election". This derives from Paul's teaching on justification by faith;
no one can be a Christian through his own achievement but only because a
gracious God enables us, through the death and resurrection of Christ. Election is therefore the first act of the
grace of God towards us. Problem:
does the election of some to receive divine grace, not imply the rejection of
others? It is doubtful that Paul ever taught the doctrine of positive
damnation, though he comes close to it in Rm 9:13 (Esau) and 9:22
("vessels of wrath"); and
it is found elsewhere in the NT (1 Pt 2:8, Jude 4, Rev l3:8, 17:8).
v. 5 egenethe ("the
Good News was unto you"): the strange use of the impersonal verb is a
way of stressing that it was not the preachers who really brought the Gospel,
but God himself.
not in:.
Sometimes Paul likes to emphasize the positive by preceding it with
the negative. Among the Thessalonians
the Gospel has been present not just by words, but with the power of God's
Holy Spirit and with full conviction.
This Gospel is not a philosophical opinion or a merely human message
but divine activity. So contrasts his
human words with the power of the Spirit and inner conviction.
en dynamei ("in power"): this word, in the plural, sometimes refers
to miracles, but here it is better taken together with en pneumati hagio, to mean something like "in the power of
the Spirit", a phrase found in Lk 4:14 to describe the energetic
beginnings of Jesus' own ministry.
Elsewhere, Paul often associates "power" and
"Spirit", as in 1 Co 2:4 ("demonstration of the Spirit and of
power", 1 Co 15:43-44 ("raised in power... raised a spiritual
body"), Rm 15:13 ("by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound
in hope").
This is the earliest textual example of Paul's
attributing an inner, divine power to the Gospel message. This is something he has learnt from
personal experience, and in which he deeply believes. It helps explain his amazing energy as an
apostle, this feeling that his ministry was directly upheld by the Lord. In the opening chapter of Romans he will
write, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel;
it is the power of God for salvation, to every one who has faith"
(Rm 1:16). In his Gospel work, Paul
felt in touch with God's own power at work, the power of Israel's God
directing history, which had also raised Jesus from the dead. Gospel
preaching can call faith into existence; and no human power is able to
produce faith: it is uniquely the work of God and of His Word.
v.6 Paradoxically,
"affliction" is included among the grounds for thanksgiving. He sees thlipsis (tribulation) as a normal condition for Christians, in
an unbelieving world not yet fully redeemed.
Often he mentions the paradox of joy
in the midst of suffering (Rm 5:3 has the chain-reaction of "we rejoice
in our sufferings:. endurance:. character:. hope"; see also, 2 Co 7:4
"with all our affliction, I am overjoyed"; Ph 4:11 "I have
learnt, in whatever state I am, to be content". This is not just the human joy that may
come from the sense of a duty carried to fruition, but a joy which originates
in God and is mediated by his Spirit to those who suffer for his sake.
Imitation is one of Paul's favorite pastoral
themes. The apostolic person teaches
by example as well as by word, especially by courage and endurance. Later he urges the Corinthians "Be
imitators of me" (1 Co 4:16) "as I am of Christ" (11:1); and
the Philippians "join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you
have an example in us" (Ph 3:17); and the Galatians "become as I
am, for I also have become as you are" (Ga 4:12). This was especially important as a motive
for perseverance in those early days, to counter the temptation to fall away
from the faith, under the stress of rejection by family or society for being
a Christian.
vv.7-8 The idea of imitation continues, but now it is
the Thessalonian converts themselves who provide the example (typos) to Christians in other
places. Everywhere may well be an exaggeration, but their situation on
the Via Egnatia would certainly help in spreading the news of their
conversion. Possibly he is also
visualizing what joy will be felt in the churches in Palestine and Syria, on
hearing how the faith has spread to Macedonia.
v.9 He has no
need to tell other churches about his mission to the Thessalonians and their
great response of faith: these
others, autoi, already spread the
news of what has happened. "My
friends", he seems to say, "your faith is an inspiring
example!"
He then uses what
sounds like a credal formula to describe their conversion. In contrast to their previous worship of
useless idols, they have turned to the
living and true God, the author of life.
Their new relationship to the one true God is described as service, doulein. The term implies obedience in every area of life, for the kyrios has total domain over the doulos. They now belong fully to God.
v.
10 Converted from idolatry, serving the true God, they
wait eagerly for God's Son from heaven
- the return of Jesus, to bring them full and final deliverance. In their new faith, they expect to be
saved from the approaching wrath of God.
Obviously,
it was Paul himself who planted among his converts that excited hope of Parousia, which he further encourages
later in this letter (4:17; 5:6), but which he tries to calm down into a more
sober outlook in 2 Thessalonians.
How
are we to understand Paul's talk of God's "wrath", orge? It is a difficult idea, not
easily reconciled with the abundant love and mercy which the NT, following
Jesus, attributes to the Father. Fitzmyer (JBC 53:18) describes it as "God's reaction to man's sin and
evil ways :. an OT anthropomorphic image. (see Is 30:27-33). It is neither a malicious hatred nor a
jealous caprice, but the living God's steadfast reaction to Israel's breach
of the covenant relationship (Ez 5:13, Hos 5:10, Is 9:8-12), or to the
nations oppression of his people (Is 10:5ff, Jer 50:11-17, Ez 36:5-6).
Paul
is quite clear that the personal God does not condone sin and will bring
judgement. To oversimplify a bit, we
could say that anger or wrath inevitably follow sin as effect follows cause.
Certainly it serves to highlight the serious consequences of human actions,
and God's hatred for sin. However its usefulness as a term of religious discourse
for today is questionable, since it can too easily evoke a serious
misconception about Christian morality.
Contrary
to what we normally find in Paul's letters, after the thanksgiving he does
not pass into doctrinal considerations, but continues on the theme of his
relationship with the Thessalonian community. He dwells, almost obsessively, on how well he has gotten on
with them, and how blameless his conduct has been. The best explanation for
this is surely that, along with good news, Timothy also reported some hints
of criticism in that church, which could lead to disaffection from Paul, if
he did not set the record straight.
In the process of painting an edifying picture of the
work done in Thessalonica by Silas, Timothy and himself, he provides more
detailed information on this than in any other of his epistles. The note of thanksgiving recurs in 2:13,
because of the perfect reception accorded to the apostolic preaching as
"Word of God, not the word of men". This is an important doctrinal
point for Paul, though only lightly touched upon here. Likewise, he gives a hint of his central moral insight in the fact that he
urged them to "lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own
kingdom and glory" (2:12).
Insistence on daily work
What criticism was levelled at Paul,
to provoke his insistence on "laboring day and night, that we might not
burden any of you" (2:9)? Did some
object to his prescription about ordinary daily work (4:11 "to work with
your hands, as we charged you"), and accuse him of not following it
himself? Though Paul did continue to
do manual work (as a tent-maker, according to Ac 18:3), his working hours may
well have been so curtailed by preaching activities as to make some
supplementary income necessary. It is certain that he twice received a gift
of money while at Thessalonica (Ph 4:16) - and this could have prompted the
suspicion on the part of some "enthusiast" Christians that Paul
practiced the very lifestyle (prayer and ministry, without any admixture of
humdrum manual work) which he expressly forbade for them (4:11; 2 Th
3:12). Their unwillingness to follow
his advice on this matter was the main motive for 2 Thess.
Letter as substitute for a visit (3:10) Evidently Paul's preferred form of
contact with the community would be a personal visit (prayed for in
3:11). His letter is just a
preliminary means of maintaining communication - and of assuring them of that
spiritual contact which he continually
maintained through prayer on their behalf.
Prayer for their holiness (3:12-13) This fervent plea shows what he hoped
for his young communities: increase
of their mutual love (agape) establishment
of their holiness (hagiosyne), i:e.
positive practice of good deeds,
and abstinence from evil; blameless
life. Both aspects are developed in the next section.
"Finally brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord
Jesus..." This persuasive genre will be the usual quality of the
second half of each Pauline letter.
He prefaces his exhortations with three vital moral principles:
i. In the Lord Jesus: Christian moral appeal is not centered on
Law, but on the people's loyalty to Christ.
He also implies that Christ is the source
of his moral teaching, whether this came to Paul directly (by inspiration and reflection), or indirectly (by the mediation of those who had been with Jesus).
ii. more and more: typical
of the Apostle, to see the task of pleasing God as an ongoing process,
continuing to challenge our generosity until the very end of life. This
reflects his personal experience, as he later professes in Ph 3:12 "Not
that I have yet obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make
it my own"
iii. the will of God, your
sanctification: He sees morality
not in terms of natural law, but as the will of God. This accords with the
attitude of Jesus, reflected in the Gospels (Mt 6:10 etc:)
Practical Moral Guidelines
These are focussed on what,
(expanding Flanagan's suggestion in Friend Paul 44), I would call the Six
C's: Chastity, Charity and Common sense, Consolation and
the Coming of Jesus, Community Ideal.
i. Chastity:
This would distinguish them from the promiscuity of the
pagan society from which they had converted.
Paul's expression of this in male-dominated categories reflects the
attitude of his times. "Holiness
and honor" describes the ideal of mutual respect and affection within
marriage.
ii. Charity and Commonsense:
They are distinguished by the warmth
of their philadelphia (brotherly
love) - a virtue "taught by God", with which the community is
gifted. Reminiscent of the new age
promised in Jer 31:33-34 ("I will write my law upon their hearts").
Still, in some of them an excessive religious enthusiasm has displaced the
sense responsibility and good citizenship. Even in this period of excited
expectation, Christians must work for their living, and not expect others to
support them.
The stern admonition in 2 Th 3:10-13 about working
quietly and steadily, rather than living in idleness, shows how big a problem
this was. It would also explain why
Paul adopts the notion that signs
will precede the Lord's Return; this would cool the ardent excitement, and
allow the enthusiasm to settle into the humdrum duties of work and family
life.
iii. Consolation and the Coming
of the Lord
Paul offers a motive of hope and
consolation (4:13-18) about those Christians who have "fallen
asleep" (= died). He considers it a most important point ("We would
not have you ignorant about.." cf:Rm 1:13), that they will have equal
share in the joyful encounter with Christ, in the Parousia. Resurrection is
their hope; just as Paul expects himself and his readers to be still alive to
enjoy their transit from earth to paradise. The imagery describing the
Parousia (command, angel, trumpet of God, clouds) is that of the OT
theophanies, and of apocalyptic
literature; yet the faith-insight it embodies is vital to the Church: Christ will come, to gather his people
(cf. Mt 24-25).
The date of the
Parousia is, however, secret (5:1-11): this should counter the temptation
to complacency or to slipping back into the more comfortable ethics of paganism.
Paul urges alertness and high moral vigilance, playing on the contrast
between light and darkness - a popular image in Judaism, related to "the
day of the Lord" (Am 5:18; Is 5:20; Joel 4:14), and of great
significance in the Qumran sect ("Sons of Light" versus "Sons
of Darkness").
iv. Ideals for Community Living
(5:12-22)
As though conscious of running short
of space on his scroll, Paul packs a wealth of exhortation into these eleven
verses, which are directed initially (but not exclusively) to the church
leaders, the Pro-istamenoi
"who are over you in the Lord".
It is a wonderful and challenging vision of what a vibrant community
could be, with its ministry focussed upon encouragement and up-building;
joyful, prayerful, respectful; open
to the gifts of the Spirit, but also able to discern the genuine from false
claims to inspiration.
Some commentators see this whole paragraph as addressed
only to the recognized Church-leaders (who have the task of labouring,
caring, admonishing), it is difficult to avoid the impression that Paul
intends all members of the community to share in a sense of responsibility
for each other's welfare. Certainly,
verses 15-20 (calling for non-retaliation, rejoicing in spirit, prayer and
thankfulness, openness to the Spirit's promptings) seem to apply equally to
the "ordinary faithful" as to the Pro-istmenoi. Surely Paul also wished to involve every
adult Christian in the process of discerning good from evil (vv.21-22; cf Ph
4:8ff).
Final Greetings (5:23-28)
These are in Paul's warm and hearty style,
calling on the "God of peace" (Rm 15:33; 1 Co 14:33; 2 Co 13:11; Ph
4:9) to fill them with the blessing of holiness. "Spirit, soul and body" - the
total person, in Paul's vocabulary, for whom psyche is the body's animating principle, while pneuma is the divine spark especially
given as Christ's gift to those who receive him in faith.
He will do it: after all the exhorting to high moral ideals,
in the end Paul returns attention to the source of all good.
The holy kiss, sign of acceptance and affection within the Christian
community, was probably given at liturgy; which was also the context for the
public reading of Paul's letters.
The prevailing mood and spirit of this first of Paul's
letters is an enthusiastic, joyful expectation of salvation, at the coming of
the Lord. In the brief intervening
period, Paul expects his Christians to distinguish themselves by a life
worthy of their high calling. The
ideals are high, but are deemed possible with the guaranteed help of God,
poured out on all who have living faith.
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