1 Thessalonians 1:1 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.
The opening salutation and greetings of this letter are short and to the point compared to other letters like Romans. Paul wrote this letter along with Silvanus, another name for Silas, and Timothy. How much input these two had with the writing process or how much of their ideas are included is difficult to tell, but it is obvious that Paul is the main author. These three brothers were in ministry together on the second major missionary journey. Silas was a leader in the Jerusalem church. The Jerusalem council sent him with Paul in Acts 15:22. Timothy joined Paul and Silas after they had gone through Syria and Cilicia and had come to Derbe and Lystra.
This team was led by the Holy Spirit through Asia and then by a dream to Macedonia, what is considered part of the European continent. Along the way, Luke joined them. The first major city they went to was Philippi where Paul and Silas were imprisoned. After their release, they went to evangelize in the city of Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9).
This is possibly one of Paul’s earliest letters. He probably wrote it from Corinth near the end of his second missionary journey during his long year and a half stay there (Acts 18). Timothy had brought back a report with some questions from the Thessalonians, which prompted Paul to write this letter in response.
Paul describes this church as being in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The preposition in (en) designates relationship and identity. These believers had come to believe in Jesus as Lord and Messiah, which had put their understanding of God in a new perspective as Father. The Thessalonians had accepted a new identity that put them at odds with the morality (or immorality) of their pagan culture. Paul will highlight this change at several points in this letter.
Paul’s greeting is short and is usually how he begins his letters. His greeting of grace was similar to the common Greek greeting. Peace was the common Jewish greeting. But Paul’s greeting is not simply like saying “hello.” These words are full of theology and become a prayer blessing in behalf of the readers. Paul is essentially asking God to give the Thessalonians a deeper experience of his grace and peace. This is what they needed and it is what we need. Grace transforms us and peace guides us. The words of this letter will open us more to our need to receive these if we come with listening minds and obedient actions.
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