1 Thessalonians 2:13–16: Interpretation, Application, and Prayer

In this article, I will first interpret 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, including discerning the main point and providing an outline of the passage. Then I will show how the passage can be applied to modern Christians, while concluding with a prayer that is based on the passage.

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16

“¹³And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. ¹⁴For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, ¹⁵who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind ¹⁶by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!”
1 Thessalonians 2:13–16

Interpretation of 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16

Topic and Main Point

The topic of 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 is Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy’s thanksgiving. The topic in this passage should be quite easy to identify for two reasons. First, everything in the passage is centred around the apostles’ thanksgiving, which is mentioned at the beginning of the passage. Second, this passage is very similar to 1 Thessalonians 1:2–10, which had thanksgiving as its topic (I will address this in more detail below).

The main point of 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 is “we [Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy] also thank God constantly for this” (v 13). If we were to put the main point in the third person, we would say Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy constantly give thanks to God. We know that the apostles’ thanksgiving is the main point because everything else in the passage modifies the thanksgiving. That is, everything in the passage tells us something about the thanksgiving.

In the previous article of this study, we mentioned that 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 picks back up the apostles’ main thought because 2:1–12 was an aside expanding upon their coming to Thessalonica. The similarities between 2:13–16 and Paul’s first thanksgiving in 1:2–10 confirm that the apostles have resumed their main thought. Note the following similarities.

1 Thessalonians 1:2–10	1 Thessalonians 2:13–16
“We give thanks to God always” (1:2)	“we also thank God constantly” (2:13)
“you became imitators of us and of the Lord” (1:6)	“you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God” (2:14)
The Thessalonians’ imitation involved suffering (1:6)	The Thessalonians’ imitation involved suffering (2:14)

Similarities between 1 Thess 1:2–10 and 1 Thess 2:13–16

1 Thessalonians 2:13

The reason that the apostles constantly give thanks to God is because the Thessalonians received/accepted their word/message as the Word/Message of God, not as the word/message of men (v 13). The reason for the apostles’ thanksgiving is not entirely clear in some translations. For example, some translations have the apostles giving thanks “for this” or something similar to “for this.” Note the following translations:

“This is why we constantly thank God” (CSB)
“And we also thank God constantly for this” (ESV)
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing” (KJV)
“For this reason we also constantly thank God” (NASB)
“We also constantly give thanks to God for this” (NRSV)

The question that needs to be answered is to what does “this” refer? (i.e., what is the antecedent of “this”). It is possible that “this” refers to something the apostles said in the previous passage (2:1–12). However, it is also possible that it refers to what is about to be said, specifically, “that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God” (v 13).

All of the above translations understand “this” as looking forward to the next clause. Both the NET and NIV remove the ambiguity altogether.

“And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message . . .” (NET)
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God . . .” (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 2:14

The topic of 1 Thessalonians 2:14 is imitation. The main point is that the Thessalonian believers are imitating the churches that are in Judea. We know this is the main point because everything else in the verse modifies and expands upon the Thessalonian imitation.

Verse 14 is the evidence supporting the claim in verse 13 that the Thessalonians received/accepted the Word of God. The Thessalonian imitation of the Judean churches is the evidence that the Thessalonians received/accepted the apostles’ word/message as the Word/Message of God.

The presence of “for” at the beginning of verse 14 indicates that it is closely related to the preceding verse and that there is not a completely new topic. Although “for” can indicate cause, it is unlikely that it states a second reason for the apostles’ thanksgiving because this is not how the apostles stated the multiple reasons for their thanksgiving in 1:2–10. The term “for” can also indicate implication or inference, which is what it seems to be doing here. The implication following the Thessalonians’ reception/acceptance of the Word of God has resulted in their imitation of the Judean churches and Christians. Thus, it seems that the apostles are using this implication as evidence that the Thessalonians truly did receive/accept the apostolic word/message as the Word/Message of God.

The Thessalonian Christians imitated the Judean churches in their suffering: “For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews” (v 14b). The conjunction “for” in 1 Thessalonians 2:14b is causal stating what caused the Thessalonians to become imitators of the Judean churches. The causal aspect of “for” is brought out explicitly in translations such as the CSB and NET:

“since you have also suffered the same things . . .” (CSB)
“because you too suffered the same things . . .” (NET)

The agents in the Thessalonian suffering were their fellow “countrymen” (v 14b). The agents in the Judean Christian suffering were “the Jews” (v 14b). Evidence suggests that the Thessalonian Christians were not Jews. Thus, the reference to “your own countrymen” most likely refers to the inhabitants of Thessalonica and possibly Macedonia, who were predominantly Gentile (non-Jewish people) like the Thessalonian Christians.

1 Thessalonians 2:15–16

The topic of verses 15–16 is the Jews who were mentioned at the end of verse 14, evidenced by the relative pronoun “who” at the beginning of verse 15 and evidenced by the fact that the content of verses 15–16 is about the Jews (i.e., everything stated is related to the Jews). As such, verses 15–16 expand upon the identity of the Jews who were mentioned at the end of verse 14. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are giving the readers important information about the Jews.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy make the following claims about the Jews:

The Jews killed the Lord Jesus (v 15).
The Jews killed the prophets (v 15).
The Jews persecuted or drove out “us” (Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy) (v 15). The Greek verb ἐκδιώκω can be translated“persecute” (CSB, KJV, NET) or “drive out” (ESV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). The reference is most likely to the Jews persecuting and forcing Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy out of Thessalonica and other cities, such as Berea, as recorded in Acts 17:1–15.
The Jews displease God (v 15).
The Jews oppose all people (v 15) by hindering the apostles from speaking to the Gentiles so that “they” (the Gentiles) may be saved (v 16a). Some translations such as the CSB, ESV, NIV, and NRSV understand the hindering as indicating how the Jews are opposed to all people (manner), while other translation such as the NET understand the hindering as indicating the reason the apostles state the Jews oppose all people (causal). The difference arises because “hindering” is another adverbial participle (as clearly noted by the KJV and NASB which do not interpret the participle, but simply leave it as “hindering”). In the end, the difference in meaning is not significant.

There are two consequences of the Jews’ actions as described in 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16a.

The result of the Jews’ actions is that the Jews always “fill up the measure of their sins” (v 16b). Another way to understand what the apostles are saying here is that the Jews as a collective whole are making the quantity of their sins complete through their actions described in verses 15–16a. Think of a scale and the sins of the Jews are being placed on the scale until the correct weight is obtained. The mention of the Jews killing the prophets suggests that this weighing of the Jews’ sins began prior to the coming of Jesus, but has continued in their opposition to Jesus and his church. The weighing of the Jews’ sins leads naturally into the second consequence of their actions, which is judgment.
The result of the Jews’ actions is that God’s wrath has come upon them (v 16c).

The exact meaning of 1 Thessalonians 2:16c (“But wrath has come upon them at last!”) has proven notoriously difficult for biblical scholars for a number of reasons:

Is the wrath mentioned God’s eschatological (end times) wrath or does it refer to an actual first-century event?
What is the exact meaning of the verb? Does it mean “to arrive,” “to come upon” (ESV, KJV, NASB, NET, NIV), “to overtake” (CSB, NRSV), or something else?
Is the final clause temporal (“in the end,” “at last”) or does it indicate a state (“completely,” “totally”)?

The present study is not the place to go into the complexity of solving each issue regarding 2:16c. So, allow me to make a brief comment on each of the three points mentioned above.

Whenever the wrath of God is mentioned throughout 1 Thessalonians, it refers to God’s future eschatological (end times) wrath (1:10; 5:9). Thus, the wrath in 2:16 is most likely God’s future eschatological wrath.
The most common meaning of the verb used in 2:16 (φθάνω) throughout the New Testament and the Greek Old Testament is “to arrive, reach.” Thus, the verb most likely means “to arrive, reach” in 2:16.
In light of the wrath of God being eschatological wrath, it seems best to understand the final prepositional phrase of 1 Thessalonians 2:16 as temporal (“in the end,” “until the end,” “at last,” “finally”).

Based on (1) the wrath of God referring to God’s eschatological wrath, (2) the verb taking on the most common meaning, which is “to reach/arrive,” and (3) the prepositional phrase taking on a temporal meaning, I propose the following as the most likely understanding of 1 Thessalonians 2:16c: the apostles claim that on account of the Jews filling up the measure of their sins, God’s eschatological wrath has arrived upon them now in part and will remain on them until the end when God’s full wrath will be poured out upon them.

I would also like to offer one more possible interpretation that is not commonly held, but I think has merit and fits the context of what the apostles are saying quite well. The verb φθάνω is frequently interpreted and translated as something happening at the time of Paul’s writing: God’s wrath has now reached the Jews. Although certainly a possible interpretation, it should be noted that the form of the verb φθάνω in 2:16c does not indicate time. What it indicates is perfective aspect, meaning completed action. As such, it is possible to interpret φθάνω as future, referring to the certainty of God’s future wrath. Thus, one could translate 1 Thessalonians 2:16c as follows: “then the wrath (of God) will come upon them in the end.” I believe this interpretation fits the context of what Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are saying quite well. The Jews have sinned grievous sins in the past and present (v 15–16a); their sins are piling up (v 16b); thus, God’s wrath will certainly come upon them in the end (v 16c).

Summary of 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy constantly give thanks to God because the Thessalonian Christians received their word as the Word of God, not as the word of man. The Thessalonians’ reception of the apostles’ word as the Word of God is evidenced in their persecution from their countrymen like the Judean churches who were persecuted by the Jews.

Another helpful way of summarizing a passage is by producing an outline. An outline can help you remember the main points and the argument of a passage at a glance and is a useful tool for teaching a passage.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy constantly give thanks to God for the Thessalonians (v 13)

A. Because they did not receive the word from the apostles as the word of men (v 13)

B. Because they received the word from the apostles as the word of God, evidenced by their suffering persecution (v 13–14)

1. The Thessalonians were persecuted by their countrymen (v 14)

2. The Thessalonians were persecuted like the Judean churches by the Jews (v 14)

a. The Jews killed the Lord Jesus (v 15)

b. The Jews killed the prophets (v 15)

c. The Jews persecuted Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy (v 15)

d. The Jews displease God (v 15)

e. The Jews oppose all people (v 15–16a)

f. The Jews fill up the measure of their sins (v 16b)

g. The Jews invite the wrath of God upon themselves (v 16c)

Application of 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 to Modern Christians

Much like in 1 Thessalonians 1:2–10, we want to identify what the Thessalonians did that gave rise to the apostles’ constant thanksgiving to God and emulate that behaviour. 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 states that the apostles gave constant thanks to God because the Thessalonians received the apostolic word as the Word of God. Thus, to apply this passage to modern Christians, we need to accept and receive the apostles’ word as the Word of God, not as the word of men.

Since the apostles’ word or message is preserved for us in the New Testament, we need to view, accept, and receive the New Testament as the Word of God. Receiving the apostles’ word as the Word of God means believing it is the Word of God and also acting upon what it says. This has become very difficult for the church in recent years as contemporary Western culture has turned away from biblical values and ethics. Once we get to 1 Thessalonians 4–5, we will encounter many commands from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy on how Christians are to live their lives. If you accept the apostles’ word/message as the Word of God, then you will have to obey all that the apostles command in 1 Thessalonians 4–5 unless they explicitly relegate it to the first century or the Thessalonian church.

A second way to apply this passage is to imitate the apostles’ thanksgiving. Give constant thanks to God for those who receive the New Testament as the Word of God and live according to it. One could include the Old Testament as the Word of God, but that is stretching too far what Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are saying in this passage. Other passages in the NT and OT make it clear that the OT is the Word of God, so we do not need to force that interpretation onto 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16.

Prayer Based on 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16

There are two ways to pray this passage. The first is to pray a thanksgiving like the apostles do. The second is to pray that we receive and, thus, obey the Word of God. Let’s pray both of these prayers.

Prayer #1

Dear God, thank you that [insert name here] has received the New Testament for what it truly is, the Word of God. Thank you that there is evidence in the life of [insert name here] that he/she truly believes the New Testament is the Word of God. Thank you that [insert name here] obeys your Word and seeks to live his/her life by it. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Prayer #2

Dear God, please help me and my fellow Christians accept the New Testament as the Word of God. May our reception of the New Testament as the Word of God be evidenced in our lives to all those around us. When we encounter a command that is counter-cultural, please give us the strength and fortitude to obey your Word and not succumb to the pressures of the world, which are great at times. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.