By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
Authentic Joy
1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
When we read the early chapters of the book of Acts, we could easily be lulled into the sense that early Christianity moved from one success to another in the days after Pentecost. In Acts 2 we read that 3,000 souls came to faith in response to Peter’s first sermon. In Acts 4 another 5,000 respond after Peter and John heal the lame man and preach to the crowd. Samaritans respond (Acts 8), then Gentiles follow suit (Acts 10), and the gospel steadily begins to spread through the Roman world.
Interspersed among these high notes of success are much more somber notes of difficulty and trouble. Apostles are arrested (Acts 5). Stephen is stoned (Acts 7). Saul, later Paul, leads a great persecution of the Church (Acts 8). James is killed (Acts 12). Opponents of Christianity riot against Paul and his message in Ephesus (Acts 19). Paul is imprisoned (Acts 21). The early spread of the message of Jesus was accompanied by great suffering on the part of the apostles who carried that message.
The birth of Christianity in the town of Thessalonica was no exception to this pattern. In other places, it would be Gentiles who would oppose the spread of the gospel. Luke tells us that in Thessalonica, it would be members of the local Jewish synagogue who would do so. The result was that those who came to faith in Thessalonica would do so in the face of significant persecution.
Faith and love drive what we do. (1–3)
When Paul reaches out to the Thessalonians, it’s against this backdrop of persecution that he writes. Knowing the challenges and difficulties that the Thessalonian believers have faced, Paul writes to tell them how thankful he is for their fidelity. Along with his fellow workers, Silvanus and Timothy, Paul reassures the Thessalonian Christians that they do not stand alone in the midst of their isolation and persecution. Paul and his companions are in constant prayer for them, appealing to God on their behalf with reminders of the Thessalonians’ faith, love and hope in the Lord Jesus.
Joy flows from our salvation. (4–6)
To this message of reassurance that the Thessalonians are being constantly supported by the prayers of the apostles, Paul adds another word of encouragement. He reminds the Thessalonian Christians that ultimately their confidence should lie in the fact that God Himself has chosen these believers and called them to be His own. They are both loved and chosen by God. In times when they might be prone to doubt their choice to follow Jesus, Paul urges them that their calling was one in which the Holy Spirit’s work was powerfully manifest in their lives. Here, Paul reminds the Thessalonians of another important truth: while they received the message of Jesus in difficult circumstances of affliction, they also received that message with joy. These believers had experienced that unique gift from God that allowed them to have joy in their hearts even in the midst of the most trying circumstances.
Love and joy flow out of us as a witness and example. (7–10)
Paul goes on to encourage the Thessalonian Christians that their testimony of joy in the face of affliction was one that had moved far beyond the town of Thessalonica. The entire region of Macedonia and Achaia had heard their story. Turning away from their former idolatrous practices to follow the risen Jesus had been a powerful demonstration of God’s grace. Holding onto faith even as others had begun to persecute them for that faith was even more powerful. Now, enduring persecution with divinely inspired joy in their hearts had set an example for all the world to follow.
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