The introduction of email, instant messaging, texts and Skype means that letter writing as an art form is slowly but surely disappearing. It is also little used as a method of communication. Yet the predominant literary form in the New Testament is the letter. Of the 27 documents constituting the New Testament, seven-ninths of them have the format of a letter or epistle, the majority of which were written by Paul.
In antiquity, people sometimes wrote letters personally but often dictated the content to a scribe. In the case of the letter to the Romans, we know Paul had a secretary called Tertius, who added his own greeting among those Paul was sending (Rom. 16:22). In three other letters, the apostle mentioned explicitly that he wrote the final greeting with his own hand, presumably as a guarantee of genuineness (see 2 Thessalonians 3:17).
The ancient Greco-Roman letter’s form is notably different from the modern letter. At its beginning, one finds the sender’s name, the recipient’s name and a short greeting. The message in the body is often introduced by an appeal to the “gods” in gratitude and thanksgiving or for the recipient’s welfare. At the end comes the conveyance of greetings.
Paul’s letters demonstrate significant development of this form. Identification of the writer and recipients are followed by expanded descriptions of both parties in terms of their standing in relation to God through Christ. Specifically the stereotyped Greek “Greetings!” is replaced by “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul’s letters generally expand the element of thanksgiving for the addressees. The body is usually divided into two parts: one primarily doctrinal in content and the other primarily hortatory, giving instructions for Christian conduct. The conclusion often contains personal news and a final greeting. This is never the ordinary Greek “farewell” but something like “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
Paul’s letters are real letters, arising out of situations in his life or the lives of those to whom he wrote. They were written to deal with urgent difficulties experienced by the recipients, such as persecution, heresy and religious or moral laxity. Some are more akin to the form and style of a theological treatise (Romans), while others are very informal and personal (Philemon). Whatever their original context, though, they are also documents inspired by the Holy Spirit. Their theological instruction and moral guidelines remain as applicable to us as they were to the churches that received them initially.
Like the Gospels, the New Testament letters represent something startlingly original in the literature of their time. Never before had the world seen anything quite like these rather lengthy letters. They were concerned with personal details and matters of Christian doctrine and conduct. Their ultimate purpose was to lead these young Christians into a life of discipleship. Paul’s letters linked theology and discipleship together.
First Thessalonians may be the earliest of his letters. The city of Thessalonica was located in the region of Macedonia, in what we now know as Greece. Paul’s second missionary journey, which took place somewhere between A.D. 48 and 51, took him through this area. His ministry in Thessalonica, where he founded a church, seems to have lasted several months, beginning in the Jewish synagogue and including the Gentiles.
After a few months in the city, Paul and his friends had to leave because of opposition. Their continued presence would, he thought, have caused more difficulty for the young church. He spoke in the letter of the anxiety he felt for it as they traveled to Athens (3:1–2). Although he attempted to return to the city, he eventually sent Timothy (3:2–3), who brought good news that the church had remained faithful in its discipleship (3:7). By the time Timothy returned from Thessalonica, Paul was in Corinth. It was there that he wrote the letter, reminding the believers of his ministry and the message he had preached to them and addressing theological and practical aspects of their faith.
The church in Thessalonica was a source of great encouragement to Paul. His affection for it in Chapter 1 is genuine. Its faithfulness, which arose out of a spiritual transformation in believers’ lives, became an inspiring example to believers everywhere in the region (1:4–10). The believers’ faith in God enabled them to be consistent in their discipleship, and their love to one another led Paul to thank God “for all the joy that we feel before God because of you.” Their spiritual growth developed from a genuine conversion when they “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1:9). Although Paul was a pastor of these young converts for only a few months, his heart was touched by the reality of their faith.
Paul also reminded them of the way he acted as an evangelist and a pastor during the months he was in the city. He preached courageously in the face of persecution (2:2); unlike other religious teachers of the time, he was not motivated by any “impure motives or trickery” (2:3). He spoke of being like a parent, demonstrating tenderness and gentleness as a nursing mother would care for her young child and, at other times, offering fatherly advice and encouragement (2:7, 11). The affection he felt toward this church is seen in the way he used the term “brothers and sisters” on 15 occasions in a relatively short letter. He reminds us that pastoral relationships, which are the foundation of a healthy church, should be grounded in loving concern and mutual respect. His relationship with the church became the model for its imitation of him as it shared the gospel with others.
Paul also indicated that discipleship involves cleansing and holiness. In Chapter 4, holiness is the prominent theme of his description of the Christian life. As well as the words “holy” and “make holy,” he used a number of other expressions that suggest that holiness is one of the letter’s key themes. So he prayed that “the Lord [may] establish your hearts blameless in holiness” (3:13).
In Chapter 4, Paul specified one particular area in the context of Thessalonica where he believed the issue of holiness was particularly vital. He spoke about sexual purity within the context of a Greco-Roman culture that had a very tolerant attitude toward sexual misconduct, particularly prior to and outside of marriage. Marriages in a city like Thessalonica were usually family arrangements. It was expected that married men would have sexual relations with other women, such as prostitutes, female slaves or mistresses from various social classes. Sexual activity was frequently part of pagan religious practices; temples often had a reputation for immorality. When Paul said the converts at Thessalonica had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,” abandoning sexual immorality was one aspect of that turning.
The Bible is quite clear that sexual love is a gift of God, full of dignity and delight. However, it can be abused. Sex is meant to strengthen marriage and belongs only in marriage. We do not live in Thessalonica, but as we come under the authority of God’s Word, we begin to discover the relevance of Scripture to the sexual confusion of the 21st century. It enables us to know a sexuality that is “worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
One other practical matter Paul addressed is the issue of work. In his ministry, he had not only preached the gospel but also worked with his hands, making tents to support himself financially (2:9). The Greek culture of Thessalonica looked down on manual labor, thinking it was only for slaves. Some believers in the church were expecting Christ’s Second Coming to occur so quickly that they quit their jobs. Paul urged the church to admonish the idlers and work for a living (5:14). He was not talking about a social context in which people could not find employment but about people who were not willing to work to provide for their daily necessities.
One theological matter causing the Thessalonians some concern was that some of their fellow believers had died and would “miss out” at Christ’s Second Coming. In Chapter 4, Paul makes it clear that death is not something Christians take lightly. It causes them “grief” and pain. Yet that grief should be accompanied by hope. It seems that although Paul had addressed the issue of the Second Coming (1:10), he had not given detailed instruction during the time he was with the Thessalonians. This left them with some unanswered questions in their minds. So Paul indicated that when Jesus comes again, those who had died would actually rise first to meet the Lord in the air (4:17).
Many people still have a vague notion that at death, the “spirit” or “soul” leaves the body to go to be with God and the body is discarded in the tomb or through cremation. This is more of a Platonic concept than a biblical one. According to Plato, the body is essentially excess baggage that weighs the soul down and prevents it from ascending to its proper place. The Greeks thought of the body as a type of tomb, and thus death was the moment of release. Even today, some Christians have this idea about death. Yet Christian hope is always related to the resurrection of the body. The Apostles’ Creed states that we “believe in the resurrection of the flesh,” because the physical world is also God’s creation and is also good. Thus the resurrection of the body brings hope in the pain and grief surrounding bereavement.
Paul’s letters continue to inform as well as challenge us about what it means to be a community of faith and faithfulness, living lives of discipleship, presenting the message of God’s love in the midst of a lost world.
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