Category Archives: Index

2 Thess 1:7a (2 Thess. 1:5-8 ESV)  5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering — 6 since indeed God considers … Continue reading →

2 Thess 1:1-4 (2 Thess. 1:1-4 ESV) Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus … Continue reading →

I am late to the study of serious theology, and so I’d not heard of the so-called Deutero-Pauline books until the last few years. And then I saw where many fairly conservative scholars distinguish between the undisputed books of Paul … Continue reading →

Third, where I grew up, oaths and swearing were considered sinful based on the seemingly clear teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. And here we have Paul asking his readers to swear that the letter would be shared with … Continue reading →

(1 Thess. 5:27-28 ESV) 27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. These are the last two verses of … Continue reading →

1 Thess 5:25 (1 Thess. 5:25 ESV) 25 Brothers, pray for us.  This short verse is striking in its poignancy. I mean, here we have Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, who prays for so many others, who is so … Continue reading →

Now, inevitably, each reader has his own way of expressing how this works, but regardless of exactly how we connect our own efforts with God’s efforts, it’s clear that Paul is insisting on both human effort and divine effort. Now, … Continue reading →

1 Thess 5:23 (1 Thess. 5:23 ESV) 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. To “sanctify” … Continue reading →

1 Thess 5:19-22 (1 Thess. 5:19-22 ESV) 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. Quench In v. 19, the word … Continue reading →

The next and final section of the letter is a series of very brief ethical instructions. Many students of Paul find these sections uninteresting because they don’t deal with “real” theology — just how to live together in community. But … Continue reading →