An Interpretive Journey Through 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Depending on how one was brought up and raised to read and understand the Bible, this will inevitably determine how they may interpret God’s Word. Human beings who are fallen in nature bring an enormous amount of baggage when they approach the Word of God (Duvall & Hays, 2012). Experiences, pre-taught theological concepts, familiarity with the text, one’s culture, socioeconomic status, and even one’s relationships in life can give a person a default false interpretation of the Word of God (Duvall & Hays, 2012). People often bring preconceived notions, understandings, and influences with them when they approach the text; this is called preunderstanding (Duvall & Hays, 2012; Klein, Blomberg, & Hubbard, 2004). When one does this, Duvall and Hays (2012) paint a picture of what this reflects about a person: “they as readers stand over the Word of God and determine what it means, rather than placing themselves under that Word, seeking diligently to determine what God means in the text” (p. 140). Preunderstanding is also known as eisegesis, reading meaning into the text which is not there (Klein, Blomberg, & Hubbard, 2004).

The goal in this setting is not to practice eisegesis, but rather a proper exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. To accomplish this, a model called the interpretive journey will be used. Duvall and Hays (2012) describe the interpretive journey as: grasping the text, measuring the width to cross, crossing the bridge, consulting a biblical map, and finalizing it with correlating the previous steps to our own time. Each step will go into detail about the proper way to use this method as the journey continues throughout this essay. In addition, one will discover the vital importance of context; both literal and historical context.

Context, Context, Context

Before diving into the interpretive journey, one needs to have a good understanding of context; both literary context and historical context are vital. Many theologians proclaim context is the champion when determining the interpretation of a word or passage (Duvall & Hays, 2012; “Grand Canyon University,” 2019; Klein, Blomberg, & Hubbard, 2004; Plummer, 2010). One theologian rightfully says context is the 500-pound gorilla that one must not ignore (Barrick, 2008). It has been said that if one reads what comes before and after a passage, they will eliminate about 75% of all interpretive mistakes (Duvall & Hays, 2012, p. 160; “Grand Canyon University,” 2019). Context is crucial, but what are the differences between historical and literary context?

Historical and Literary Context

Historical context is normally referred to as the background of the text (i.e., contextualization; Duvall & Hays, 2012; Klein, Blomberg, & Hubbard, 2004). God chose to dictate His words to us during a specific time, with a particular set of people, under a specific culture, through a specific language (Duvall & Hays, 2012). It is due to these reasons that it makes it rather crucial to understand who these people are, where they came from, and under what circumstances they lived under during the time the Biblical letters were penned (Duvall & Hays, 2012; “Grand Canyon University,” 2019). Fee and Stuart (2003) rightly emphasize that “the true meaning of the biblical text for us is what God originally intended it to mean when it was first spoken” (p. 30). Historical context often involves the Biblical writer, the audience, geography, social customs, economic/religious/political elements, and any other cultural ideas within the passage of study (Duvall & Hays, 2012; “Grand Canyon University,” 2019).

Literary context “relates to the particular form a passage takes (the literary genre) and to the words, sentences, and paragraphs that surround the passage one is studying” (Duvall & Hays, 2012, p. 150). A simple observation of the immediate context and the surrounding context of the passage is what the literary context focuses on. Figuring out the meaning using the surrounding context while also considering the historical context helps one understand the true meaning of the text (Duvall & Hays, 2012). In addition to this, the genre is vital when reflecting on the literary context. Is the text genre narrative, law, poetry, prophecy, wisdom, gospel, history, letter, or apocalyptic literature? There are even subgenres to consider like: parables, riddles, and sermons (Duvall & Hays, 2012; Klein, Blomberg, & Hubbard, 2004). All of these things need considered when looking at the literary context of a passage. Duvall and Hays (2012) sum up historical and literary context this way:

What exactly do we mean by historical-cultural context? Generally speaking, this kind of context involves the biblical writer, the biblical audience, and any historical-cultural elements touched on by the passage itself. Historical-cultural context relates to just about anything outside the text that will help you understand the text itself… Literary context, relates to the context within the book, e.g., the form a passage takes, the flow of argument within the book, and the meaning of the words and sentences that surround the passage you are studying. (p. 118)

The Interpretive Journey – Step 1

The literary and historical context of 1 Thessalonians will now be observed using the first principle of the interpretive journey; grasping the text in the original audience’s town. In this mode, one would scrutinize the words of the text, check out historical and literary context, and write out what the text meant to the original Biblical audience. Usually if one documents the main themes that are spoken of throughout the book, this will help formulate a good main idea about the book. Using a good Bible dictionary or commentary will also help one find answers to good questions: who is the author, what is his background, when was this book written, what is the relationship between the author and the audience, why was that particular letter written, who is the Biblical audience, and what were their circumstances (Duvall & Hays, 2012)? All of these questions will be answered in the first step of the interpretive journey of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 including the genre of the text.

Genre

The genre of a book is the literary style the author chooses to write in; it could be narrative, poetic, wisdom, apocalyptic, gospel, or epistle. Depending on the genre, there are different rules of interpretation. The particular genre of 1 Thessalonians is an epistle or letter (Duvall and Hays, 2012). A New Testament (N.T.) letter at its basic level has an introduction, body, and conclusion (Carson & Moo, 2005; Duvall & Hays, 2012; Plummer, 2010). Inside the introduction, the writer usually introduces himself, who the letter is for, a greeting of some form, and then writes an introductory prayer (Duvall & Hays, 2012; Klein, Blomberg, & Hubbard, 2004; Plummer, 2010). Inside the body of an N.T. letter, one will find instruction, persuasion, rebuke, exhortation, theology, Gospel, and answers to tough questions that the Church was facing at that particular time (Duvall & Hays, 2012). The conclusion will usually sum up the letter, give final instructions, include a benediction or doxology or even may address future travel plans (Duvall & Hays, 2012).

Each N.T. letter is an authoritative representative of the Apostles; they are substitutes for the Apostles themselves (Duvall & Hays, 2012). All the N.T. letters are also situational, meaning “they were written to address specific situations or problems related to the author or (usually) to the readers” (Duvall & Hays, 2012, p. 253). Each letter was carefully written, hand-delivered, and intended to be read in a community; often read out loud (1 Cor. 16:21; 1 Thess. 5:27; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:17; Col. 4:16, 18; Rev. 1:3). Now that one understands the genre of 1 Thessalonians, one can now move onto the historical context of that letter.

Historical Context

Paul, the author of this letter (1 Thess. 1:1; 2:18), wrote this directly to the Church in Thessalonica in A.D. 51 (Carson & Moo, 2005; MacArthur, 2003). MacArthur (2003), regarding the confidence in the dating of this book says, “this date has been archeologically verified by an inscription in the temple of Apollos at Delphi [near Corinth], which dates Gallio’s service as proconsul in Achaia to a.d. 51–52” (p. 423; cf. Acts 18:12–17; Hiebert, 1996). Paul during his second missionary journey was able to start the Church in Thessalonica by God’s grace and saw God do a mighty work in the people’s hearts (Acts 16:1–18:22; Carson & Moo, 2005). Paul wrote to the Church of Thessalonica for several reasons: (1) Paul wanted to encourage them in the faith (1:2-10; 2:13-16). (2) Paul wanted to respond to false allegations (2:1-12). (3) Paul wanted to express the joy he has in them over their faith (2:17-3:13). (4) Paul wanted to remind them of the importance of moral purity (4:1-8). (5) Paul wanted to encourage them in their love for the brethren and to be dependent on no one (4:9-12).(6) Paul wanted to adequately explain prophetic events (4:13-5:11). (7) Finally, Paul wanted to diffuse tension within the Church and instruct them on the basics of Christian living (5:16-22). Knowing the basic historical context is vital to continue the journey of the proper exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

Literary Context – Word Studies

Moving along in the first step of the interpretive journey, another vital step to undergo when looking at the literary context is to perform word studies on carefully selected words (Duvall and Hays, 2012). New Testament scholar Gordon Fee (2002), says the aim of word study “is to try to understand as precisely as possible what the author was trying to convey by his use of this word in this context (p. 79). To accomplish this, four basic steps need to be looked at: choose the word carefully, determine the semantic range, perform some concordance work, and look at the surrounding context (Duvall & Hays, 2012). As one reads through 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, one of the first words that are crucial to interpreting the text is the Greek word loipon, which in English translates to finally. Normally Paul uses this to conclude his letters (e.g., 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 6:10; 2 Thess. 3:1), but in this instance we see Paul use this as a transition in thought rather than concluding the letter (Constable, 1985; Dockery, 1992). We find another example of this in Philippians 3:1. Hiebert (1996) rightfully says the Greek word loipon in context “implies that much has already been said and contemplates all that yet remains to be dealt with, which need not be brief” (p. 173). Paul is moving from a defensive position to a gentle treatment of the deficiencies of the readers acting as a father to his beloved children (Hiebert, 1996). The focus in these eight verses will be his plea for their sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3; MacArthur, 2003). 

To emphasize this transition of thought, Paul uses two Greek words to give the readers an idea of the tone he is about to apply for the rest of his exhortations. These words are the Greek words erotao and parakaleo. These words are translated in English to ask and to urge. Erotao is an important concept to grasp in context because Paul’s choice of words here describes his footing of equality that he has with his readers (Vine, Unger, & White, 1996). Paul is putting himself in the same place of instruction that he is giving to himself and also to the believers in Thessalonica. Erotao also describes a sense of intimacy instead of using a forceful request which would continue to support the idea of a father speaking to his child (Mangum, Brown, Klippenstein, & Hurst, 2014). Parakaleo is another word of strong tone communicating the sense of urging, pleading, begging, appealing, imploring, or exhorting (Vine, Unger, & White, 1996). Paul here like a father is not exhorting these believers on things that he is exempt from; instead, he is urging everyone who is a believer in Christ to do these things that are pleasing to God in a posture of humility.

Perhaps the last Greek word to dive into within this context is the Greek word hagiasmos translated to sanctification in English. Sanctification at its basic level means to be set apart to holiness by the work and power of the Holy Spirit (Aaron, 2012; Barry et al., 2016; MacDonald, 1995). Sanctification has three tenses described by theologians: past-tense, future-tense, and present-tense sanctification (Aaron, 2012; Elwell & Beitzel, 1988). In past-tense sanctification or positional sanctification, Christians are declared holy by virtue of being in Christ; they are completely free from the penalty of sin (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Heb. 10:10; Pettit, 2008). Future-tense sanctification will come to its final fruition during a believer’s glorification where Christians will be completely free from the presence of sin; and God who started a good work in a believer will finally complete it, and they will be like Him (1 John 3:2; Phil. 1:6; Rom. 8:29-30). It is the present-tense sanctification that is known as progressive sanctification or spiritual formation, that the Holy Spirit continues to participate in making believers holy, and helps one remain free from the power of sin (MacDonald, 1995; Pettit, 2008). It is in this present tense mode that believers are to continually separate themselves from sin and be set apart from the world. This is the exact idea Paul has in mind when communicating these truths to the believers in Thessalonica (MacDonald, 1995). McGee (1997) sums up these three models of sanctification beautifully,

Positional sanctification means that Christ has been made unto us sanctification. We are accepted in the Beloved, and we will never be more saved than at the moment we put our trust in Christ. We are never accepted because of who we are, but because of what Christ has done. This positional sanctification is perfection in Christ. Practicalsanctification is the Holy Spirit working in our lives to produce a holiness in our walk. This practical sanctification will never be perfect so long as we are in these bodies with our old sinful flesh. Totalsanctification will occur in the future when we are conformed to the image of Christ Jesus. Then both the position andthe practice of sanctification will be perfect.

Having a good understanding of certain Greek words will unfold the mystery of the text and help the interpreter move forward to discover the true meaning of the text. 

The Interpretive Journey – Step 2

Now that most of the work has been done discovering what Paul was communicating to the original audience, one can now journey to step 2 in the interpretive journey and seek to measure the width of the river to cross. When one goes down this road, it is helpful to ask questions about the difference in culture, language, time, covenant, and the audiences’ current situation (Duvall & Hays, 2012). Having the answers to these critical questions will help one formulate principles to cross this river. Measuring the depth and width of a N.T. letter thankfully is not that difficult. The Church of Thessalonica was under the same N.T. covenant that Christians are all under today. Despite this similarity, Thessalonica was under a different culture, spoke a different language, suffered much more persecution, and they did not have the full revelation of God like believers hold in their hands today. In addition to this, they were struggling with the idea that salvation was not only for the Jews but also the Gentiles. 

Understanding the culture during this time is perhaps the most important thing to identify. Paul, when writing to these believers, had to defend his apostleship since he used to persecute Christians. The culture of Paul’s time was mixed with many different religions and different authority figures. The culture that these N.T. believers were transitioning away from was high in practice, tradition, and obedience to the Law. Judaism was a very legalistic religion, and it created pride in the people who had them think that salvation was only for the Jew. Paul now is combating not only their culture and way of thinking but also their very purpose for living. Thankfully the interpretive journey helps us walk through these differences to formulate principles that one can take with them out of the text.

The Interpretive Journey – Step 3

Step three of the interpretive journey is called crossing the principlizing bridge. Step 3 is perhaps one of the most crucial steps to complete the mission of Biblical discovery. A good question to ask in this stage is what are some good theological principles that one can extract from the text? During this step, creating the meaning is not the goal but instead discovering the meaning is the goal. Duvall and Hays (2012) rightly point out, “in essence; the theological principle is the same as the ‘theological message’ or the ‘main theological point’ of the passage” (p. 44). The point of this step is to discover a timeless, non-cultural, relevant, Biblical, and theological point that is communicated at this point of the text. As Duvall and Hays (2012) say, “theological principles provide a bridge across the river of historical and cultural barriers that separate the ancient text and the contemporary audience” (p. 262).

The discovery of the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 thus far has been a beautiful journey. We have seen Paul shift from the point of defense of his apostleship (2:1-12) to a position of humility (1 Thess. 4:1). Paul is pleading with the believers to have on their heart a sense of urgency to please God. In order to accomplish this, Paul then urges them to abstain from sexual immorality (v. 3). Doing this is one of the first steps in their continual walk of sanctification. God’s will for Christians is that they be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15). Believers are not to participate and indulge themselves in the same manner as the rest of the world who promotes and engages in such things, but instead, they need to set themselves apart, being utterly distinct from the world. With this context in mind, below are some theological principles that can be used to cross the river with.

1. Christians are urged to please God all of their days while on Earth. No matter how far you have come, there is always room for improvement to press forward to holiness (v. 1)

2. All Christians need to set themselves apart for holiness so that they can continue to progress in their sanctification (v. 2-3).

3. The Words of God, not of man are what believers need to set their hearts upon. Meditating, obeying, and pursuing them will continue to transform believers more into the image of Chris (v. 8). 

Now that three theological principles have been identified, one can move on to the next step of the interpretive journey.

The Interpretive Journey – Step 4

            The fourth step in the interpretive journey is to consult the Biblical map. What this means is to evaluate the theological principles to see if these are confirmed, accepted, or elaborated on through the rest of Scripture. There may be principles that one is unable to confirm in Scripture and even worse perhaps find a contradictory truth that opposes Scripture. It is in this moment where one should evaluate the principles they discovered within the text and perhaps start over if no other supporting Biblical evidence can be found. As one surveys the Scriptures when identifying the principles that were laid out for 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, one can quickly see that these principles do in fact agree with Scripture (1 Cor. 3:2-8; 1 John 2:15-16; 1 Sam. 2:26; 1 Peter 2:2-3; 2 Cor. 6:17; 2 Peter 1:5-8; 3:18; Col. 1:9-10; Deut. 14:2; Eph. 4:11-16, 20-24; Heb. 5:12-14; 6:1; 10:10-12; Luke 8:14-15; Ps. 4:3; Rom. 5:20-21; 8:30-39). Confirming the Scriptures brings the journey to a close with the last interpretive step. 

The Interpretive Journey – Step 5

The final step in the interpretive journey is to grasp the text in our own town (Duvall and Hays, 2012). The main question one needs to ask themselves is how Christians should live in light of the theological truths that were discovered? In this step, one identifies the application portion of Christian living. Even though none of the Scriptures were written directly to us, all of Scripture is still applicable in principle despite the time period. In light of the passages that were expounded on, one can bring to mind some application questions as follows:

1. Is there ever a point in my mind where I think that I have obtained enough knowledge in a particular portion of Scripture that I think I no longer need to work at? This would be in direct opposition of Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:1. 

2. Paul’s instructions to abstain for sexual immorality extends to us today. Is there an area in my life that I continue to rebel in and sin against the Lord in regard to this broad Greek word porneia? It not only relates to sex outside of marriage, but can relate to the lust of another, pornography, and other gross sexual sins.

3. What am I doing to grow in my sanctification while I am here on Earth? Am I participating in all the spiritual disciplines God has given me (i.e., God’s Word, prayer, community, fasting, worship, solitude, communion, baptism, meditation, self-examination)?

What a journey this has been! The goal of this entire process is to discover what God was communicating to His people during that specific time and then pull out principles that are timeless for Christians to observe, follow, or practice today. Duvall and Hays (2012) draw this whole experience up beautifully in the image below.

(Duvall, & Hays, 2012, p. 46)

Conclusion

When one decides to pick up the living Word of God, one must be prepared to apply proper Biblical hermeneutics if they desire to discover the meaning of the text. Finding the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 was a beautiful journey and the interpretive journey proposed by Duvall and Hays (2012) was used to master this discovery. Step one took us through discovering what the text meant to the Biblical audience by evaluating the historical and literary context. Step two helped us identify how deep and wide the river was that one must cross before (step three) identifying principles that would bridge the gap between their culture and the present culture. Step four championed the point of making sure the principles pulled out of the text are confirmed throughout Scripture. Lastly, step five was to bring that all home in our current language, culture, and time to find application for the modern reader. Context, genre, and Biblical word studies were used to help discover the meaning in which convicting principles and application was presented for Christians to follow today. One of the Christian’s goal in life is to be continually sanctified to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ. This was the heart of heart’s message that Paul was proclaiming in the passage that was observed. 

References

Aaron, D. (2012). Understanding theology in 15 minutes a day. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.

Barrick, W. D. (2008). Exegetical fallacies: Common interpretive mistakes every student must avoid. The Master’s Seminary Journal, 19(1), 15–27. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001655123&site=eds-live&scope=site

Barry, J. D., Bomar, D., Brown, D. R., Klippenstein, R., Mangum, D., Sinclair Wolcott, C., … Widder, W. (Eds.). (2016). In The Lexham Bible dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

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Ellingworth, P., & Nida, E. A. (1976). A handbook on Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians(p. 86). New York: United Bible Societies.

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Fee, G.D., & Stuart, D. (2003) How to read the Bible for all its worth, (Third Edition). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Grand Canyon University. (2019). Topic 2 overview: Context and application in Biblical interpretation[HTML Document]. Retrieved from http://lc.gcu.edu/

Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians(p. 206). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

Hiebert, D. E. (1996). 1 & 2 Thessalonians(Revised Edition). Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books.

Klein, W. W., Blomberg, C., & Hubbard, R. L. (2004). Introduction to Biblical interpretation. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

MacArthur, J. (2003). The MacArthur Bible handbook. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 2036). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Klippenstein, R., & Hurst, R. (Eds.). (2014). Lexham theological wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Martin, D. M. (1995). 1, 2 Thessalonians(Vol. 33, p. 133). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Pettit, P. (Ed.). (2008). Foundations of spiritual formation: A community approach to becoming like Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Plummer, R. L. (2010). 40 Questions about interpreting the Bible. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.

Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.