1 Thessalonians 1:1, The Church in God the Father

^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 church at Thessalonica was founded in an atmosphere of persecution.

^{Acts 17:1} Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. ³ He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” ⁴ Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. ⁵ But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

Paul and his team (only Silas is mentioned but there were others, Timothy being one of them) only spent three weeks there before they were forced to leave the city because of the severe opposition. Timothy may have remained in Thessalonica while Paul and Silas moved to Berea and then Paul moved to Athens, but Timothy had also moved on to Berea when Paul asked him to join him in Athens. Suffice it to say, this young church had very little instruction in their new life.

Despite this, the church was quite healthy, as Paul will explain. Paul is writing this letter to them from Corinth, where he moved after Athens. He is seeking to add to their instruction in the faith and encourage them, as they are still experiencing persecution. He mentions Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy as co-writers of this letter because they were very important to the church in this town.

It is easy to imagine the excitement with which this letter was received. They had received some communication through Paul’s team members and messengers, but this was a formal, data-heavy communication from the apostle himself. He did not identify himself as an apostle because that was not something the Thessalonians ever questioned. But he identifies the church as being “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” They were in personal connection to God the Father and God the Son. They were in relationship to Him as those rescued from the world and made children of God. Paul blessed them with grace and peace.

What would Paul have to say to them at this crucial time?