1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. ² We always give thanks to God for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; ³ constantly keeping in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfast hope of our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, ⁴ knowing, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, His choice of you; ⁵ for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sakes. ⁶ You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word during great affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report about us ^[c]as to the kind of reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for His Son from the heavens, whom He raised from the dead, that is, Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. (1Thes1:1-10)

And so to Thessalonians, and as ever I have highlighted the aspects to be commented on that are key to the broader benign providence being presented. Firstly and briefly (for it was covered in the previous post) the distinction Paul invariably makes between “God” the Father and His only begotten Son who is “Lord” (vv1&3). This distinction is crucial to making sense of the “the fellowship/administration of the secret/mystery hidden in God who created all things by Jesus Christ” (Eph3:9*), the outworking of which is key to my thesis.

Secondly, yet again Paul refers to the fact that the believers he was addressing became believers because they had been chosen by God (v4). This truth concerning election is inescapable, though many might wish it to be otherwise, as the providential implications in the context of traditional dualistic (saved/damned) theology are at best inscrutable, at worst barbaric. Not so once the three soteriological categories I am delineating are accepted – God is seen to be both gracious and fair to all. [As any good parent will know, it is impossible to be loving towards one’s children yet unfair; likewise God the Father towards those created in His image].

Thirdly, note how (typically) Paul exhorts the Thessalonian believers not so much to “look forward to going to heaven when they die” but to await the second coming (v10). As to why that has been so delayed, there will be aspects concerning timings and epochs that even Paul may not have been enlightened about (cf. Acts1:7) which I have elucidated upon in an earlier post.

Finally, though it touches on the second point, Paul refers to the “wrath to come” (v10) and the fact that faithful believers will be delivered from it. Notwithstanding the broader benign providence I am outlining, the bible indicates that in terms of those alive when Christ returns, only the elect will entirely escape God’s awesome Day of Judgement. For they will have been raptured and will come with the Lord and His angels to judge the earth (1Thes3:13 and especially 1Thes4:14).

But note very carefully what the gospels say about the matter – it again infers the three categories to which I have referred. For the wicked shall be separated from the midst of the righteous (Mt13:49 cf. Greek), the elect having been raptured. Likewise in the M25 passage, “sheep” and “goats” are separated whereas in the previous chapter, Jesus teaches that the elect will have been raptured (Mt 24:40-41).  Paul alludes to this rapture in 1Thes4:17 (cf. v14) – for a later post. Admittedly, these issues are infrequently referred to in Scripture and even then, somewhat veiled. But that is the nature of “mysteries”, especially those that were intended to be sustained until the very last days  (cf. Rev10).

NOTE

*”by Jesus Christ” missing from some manuscripts in Eph3:9 and therefore some bible versions

The LITTLE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE: a seven-part synopsis of the bible: – available as a paperback from Amazon or FREELY as a PDF file HERE. Author’s Facebook page HERE