I Thessalonians 1

You're now ready to dig into the first chapter of this personal letter from Paul. First, read it through. Then read it again. Imagine yourself in the Thessalonian church … the letter has just been received from Paul and is addressed to you, your family and your friends. Read the chapter 3 to 5 times, until you have its contents well in mind.

You may find it helpful to read it once or twice in another translation. Reading another translation often increases your grasp of the ideas the Holy Spirit is teaching. Some of the translations you could use are:
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The Authorized Version (King James Version—1611) — 16th & 17th Century English
The American Standard Bible, New Testament (1963) — Accurate modern English
The Berkeley Version in Modern English (1945-59)—Zondervan Publishing House — Whole Bible in reliable modern English
The Revised Standard Version (1946-52) — Smooth modern English
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(These are available at Bible bookstores, or can be ordered by any bookstore.)

Knowing the meanings of the words listed below (from the King James Version) will help you understand the chapter. Sometimes another translation will clear up the meanings of words that are new to you. An ordinary dictionary is also helpful, or a Bible dictionary. Here are some definitions of words in I Thessalonians 1:

Verse 1 — Grace — God's favor and blessings given freely to those who don't deserve them.
Verse 4 — Election — Choosing by God.
Verse 6 — Affliction — Suffering (in this case inflicted by Jews antagonistic to the Gospel).
Verse 7 — Ensamples — Examples.
Verses 7, 8 — Macedonia & Achaia — See map on page 5.

Before deciding what a passage of Scripture means, you must know and understand what it says. One way to grasp what it says is simply to paraphrase the passage (to restate it in your own words). In paraphrasing, be careful not to change the meaning of a passage, but merely to rephrase it in new words.

Compare the following paraphrase of I Thessalonians 1:1-5 with your Bible.

Verse 1 I, Paul, with Silvanus and Timothy, am writing to you believers in Thessalonica. You have your spiritual standing in God and in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are praying that Their grace and peace may be yours.

Verse 2 We continually thank God for all of you as we pray for you.

Verse 3 We constantly remember the practical outworking of your faith, your loving service and your patient, confident expectation in Christ—as you live your lives in God's sight.

Verse 4 We're assured, dearly loved fellow-believers, that God has chosen you.

Verse 5 For we remember that as we preached the good news to you, it wasn't preached with mere words, but the message was preached and received in the Holy Spirit's power and with great certainty. Also remember what kind of lives we lived among you in order to be of the greatest help to you.

Read over each of your paraphrases and compare them with your Bible. Have you included the complete thought?

Read over the paraphrase or the chapter, pray about it, and write a sentence on what proved to be the greatest blessing or challenge to you as you studied the chapter.