2 Thessalonians 1:1–2 introduces the reader to the authors and recipients of the letter. Both the authors and recipients hold particular importance for the trustworthiness of what is written and the application of Scripture to the modern Christian. I will treat the recipients first, then the authors, then the importance of the authors.
2 Thessalonians 1:1–2
“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 1:1–2
The Recipients of 2 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians is written to the church at Thessalonica (2 Thess 1:1). Thus, the recipients are the believers who lived in Thessalonica. Two points bear mentioning at this stage. First, 2 Thessalonians is written to a group of Christians, those who have repented of their sin and believe in Jesus for salvation (see 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10). It is not written to unbelievers.
Second, you, the 21st-century Christian, are not the stated recipient, even though I affirm that all of Scripture is written by God and is for all of God’s people of every generation. It is important to remember who the original recipients are for accurate interpretation and application.
The Authors of 2 Thessalonians
The authors are Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy (2 Thess 1:1). It is important to remember that Paul is not the only author of this letter. Frequently, the authors will use the first-person plural pronoun “we.” If the multiple authorship of 2 Thessalonians is forgotten, then many of the first-person plural pronouns will become confusing to the reader and the antecedent (to whom they refer) may be attributed to the wrong group of people.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy note the following important identifiers about themselves in 2 Thessalonians:
- They were the ones who proclaimed the gospel to the Thessalonians and evangelized them (1:10; 2:14–15; 3:1).
- They taught the Thessalonians how to live as Christians (2:15; 3:1, 4, 10).
- They taught the Thessalonians about the return of Jesus (2:1, 5).
According to the letter of 2 Thessalonians, the three men who are writing are the ones who proclaimed the saving gospel of Jesus Christ in Thessalonica, led the recipients of the letter to Christ, and taught the recipients how to live as followers of Jesus, that is, how to live as Christians.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy note the following important identifiers about themselves in 1 Thessalonians:
- They were the ones who proclaimed the gospel to the Thessalonians and evangelized them (2:1–2, 9).
- God entrusted them with the gospel because he tested and approved them (2:4).
- They are “apostles of Christ” (2:6; some versions, such as the NET, have this claim in 2:7).
- They taught the Thessalonians how to live in a manner that pleases God (2:11–12; 4:1).
- Timothy is God’s co-worker in the gospel of Christ whom Paul can send in his stead (3:1–2, 5).
According to the letter of 1 Thessalonians, the three men who are writing are the ones who proclaimed the saving gospel of Jesus Christ in Thessalonica, led the recipients of the letter to Christ, and taught the recipients how to live lives that please God, that is, how to live as Christians. God is the one who gave them the authority to do all of this because God entrusted Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy with the gospel, and Christ commissioned the three of them as apostles (“apostles of Christ”).
I will return to the meaning of “apostles of Christ” in the last section of this article. For now, it is important to note that all three authors are called “apostles of Christ.”
Paul
The apostle Paul wrote a fair amount of the New Testament (13 letters), features prominently in the book of Acts, and is even mentioned by Peter in one of his letters (2 Pet 3:15–16). Further, much has been written on the apostle Paul over the past two millennia. In order to fully understand 2 Thessalonians and to discern proper application, a brief review of the apostle Paul is necessary. The best way to learn about a person in the Bible is to do a concordance search of that person’s name, then read every passage that contains the name. If you don’t have a concordance, you can do a search on an internet search engine. Since a lot has been written about Paul in the Bible and since Paul has written a lot of the New Testament, I have selected a few passages that quickly help us learn about him.
Jesus is the one who calls and commissions Saul, later called Paul (Acts 9:4–5). Jesus commissions Saul to carry the name of Jesus (i.e., proclaim the gospel) before the Gentiles, kings, and Israel (9:15).
Paul calls himself a servant (or “slave”) of Christ Jesus, “called to be an apostle” (Rom 1:1). The purpose of Paul’s apostleship is “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations [or ‘Gentiles’]” (Rom 1:5). Thus, Paul serves Jesus who commissioned him as an apostle whose job is to bring Gentiles to faith in Jesus.
Paul is clearly an apostle of Jesus because Jesus is the one who commissioned him as an apostle. As an apostle of Jesus, Paul is to bring the gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews) for the purpose of bringing Gentiles to faith in Jesus and to live lives of obedience to Jesus.
Silvanus
Silvanus also goes by the name Silas (see 2 Thess 1:1 in the NIV). He ministered with the apostle Paul on various occasions, including in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1–15), and with the apostle Peter (1 Pet 5:12). In order to fully understand 2 Thessalonians and to discern proper application, a brief review of Silvanus is necessary. Again, the best way to learn about Silvanus/Silas is to do a concordance search of every place in the Bible that his name appears.
In Acts 15, the Jerusalem council concludes that Gentile Christians do not need to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses (Acts 15:5, 10–11, 19–20). They then write a letter informing the Gentile Christians in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of their decision and choose men to accompany the delivery of the letter with Paul and Barnabas. Silas/Silvanus was chosen because he was considered a leading man amongst the brothers (Acts 15:22). Thus, Silvanus is an outstanding Christian amongst the Christians at Jerusalem and is a leader amongst the Christians.
The author of Acts labels Silvanus/Silas a prophet (Acts 15:32). A prophet is one who speaks the words of God and represents God to the people. It should also be noted that Paul distinguishes between apostles and prophets (see Eph 4:11).
As a leader amongst the Christians, Silvanus is someone to be trusted. Indeed, he was trusted with the important task of clarifying the gospel to Gentile Christians, both what was needed to get right with God and how to live a life that pleases God. As a prophet of God, God speaks directly with Silvanus, telling him what to say to God’s people. As a prophet of God, it should not surprise us that he was a leader amongst the Christians in Jerusalem and that he co-wrote 2 Thessalonians.
Timothy
The apostle Paul chose Timothy to be his co-worker in the gospel (Acts 16:1–5). Timothy ministered with Paul at Thessalonica (Acts 17:14–15), and held a special place in Paul’s heart as evidenced by the two letters written to him (1 Timothy and 2 Timothy). In order to fully understand 2 Thessalonians and to discern proper application, a brief review of Timothy is necessary.
Paul calls Timothy his true child in the faith (1 Tim 1:2). This means that Timothy is dear to Paul, but also that Timothy has continued in the same faith as Paul. By charging Timothy to remain at Ephesus and teach correct doctrine, Paul is giving Timothy his apostolic authority. Paul charges Timothy to remain over the church at Ephesus in accordance with the prophecy made about Timothy (1 Tim 1:18).
In 2 Timothy 3:10–11, Paul says that Timothy has followed his (Paul’s) teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, and sufferings. That the letter of 2 Timothy was written after the letter of 2 Thessalonians should give the reader of 2 Thessalonians great confidence that what Timothy says in 2 Thessalonians is correct and in line with what the apostle Paul teaches because according to 2 Timothy 3:10–11, Timothy has perfectly taught right doctrine.
The Importance of Authorship and Recipients to 2 Thessalonians
The authorship of 2 Thessalonians is important for two primary reasons. First, the authorship makes the letter trustworthy. All three authors are called “apostles of Christ” (1 Thess 2:6). An apostle of Christ is someone who has been commissioned and sent by Jesus himself. Acts 9 clearly attests to Jesus’ commissioning of Paul, and Paul refers to himself as an apostle in all of his letters. However, there is no biblical witness to Jesus commissioning Silvanus and Timothy. It is possible that Silvanus and Timothy obtained their apostleship through association with Paul, but it is equally possible that Jesus directly commissioned Silvanus because he was a prophet and Jesus commissioned Timothy through prophecy (1 Tim 1:18). Regardless, the claim that all three authors are apostles of Christ must be taken seriously. As such, I will at times refer to Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy as apostles throughout this study to save on space and repetition.
Apostles of Christ are commissioned by Jesus to make disciples by baptizing people in the name of the trinity and by teaching people to observe/obey all that Jesus commanded (Matt 28:18–20). Further, Jesus tells his apostles (who are apostles of Christ) that they will receive the Holy Spirit who will guide them into all the truth (John 16:13). As apostles of Christ, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are commissioned by Jesus and given the Spirit to teach the truth and to have authority to teach all of Jesus’ disciples how to obey Jesus and live lives that please him. Thus, the letter of 2 Thessalonians is trustworthy because it is written by apostles of Christ who are guided by the Holy Spirit.
Further strengthening the trustworthiness of 2 Thessalonians is that Silvanus is a prophet and Timothy is a true child of the faith. As a prophet, Silvanus is in communication with God and, thus, has the authority to speak in the name of God. Timothy has proven himself long after the writing of 2 Thessalonians to be a true child of the faith and one who mirrors Paul’s teaching, way of life, and faith. For the above reasons, you the reader should have faith that what is written in 2 Thessalonians is an accurate account of events recounted and that what is commanded is the will of God.
Second, the authorship and stated recipients help the contemporary reader discern how to accurately apply 2 Thessalonians to himself or herself. When the authors give commands to the Thessalonians, who are disciples of Jesus, such as “keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness” (2 Thess 3:6), they are telling the Thessalonians how to live as disciples of Jesus who are part of Jesus’ church. Because we Christians today in the 21st century are part of Jesus’ church and are Jesus’ disciples, what is commanded of the Thessalonians is also commanded of us, unless there is something explicit in the biblical text that limits the command to the first-century Thessalonian believers. As will become evident throughout this study, there is nothing in 2 Thessalonians that limits the commands to the first-century Thessalonian believers.
Further, because the authors are apostles of Christ and the recipients are disciples of Christ, what the authors commend as good conduct can be imitated by all 21st-century Christians because it is good conduct for disciples of Jesus who are members of Jesus’ church. In a similar vein, because the authors are apostles of Christ who emulate Jesus and how a disciple of Jesus should live and conduct his/her life, all 21st-century Christians can imitate the authors of 2 Thessalonians to a large extent. Thus, when the authors say they always ought give thanks to God, boast in the Thessalonians and God, and pray (2 Thess 1:3–4, 11), we 21st-century Christians should imitate this behaviour and always give thanks to God, boast in other Christians and God, and pray. Thus, the authorship and recipients of 2 Thessalonians enables the modern reader to have biblically accurate principles of application, which they can trust will ensure they are living as mature disciples of Jesus.
