1 & 2 Thessalonians
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians to comfort and encourage them He urged these new believers to watch for their Lord’s return and so live a life of committed holiness. In his commentary on the Thessalonian epistles, D. Edmond Hiebert assumes Paul’s concern for his own readers and makes his commentary practical for today’s believers. Hiebert maintains a tone of commentary with a pastoral insight for making Paul’s love and concern for the church come alive.
Top Highlights
“Paul is calling the Thessalonian believers not to uninterrupted prayer, but rather to the practice of constantly recurring prayer in all circumstances.” (Page 259)
“It is a recognition of the fact that the gospel produces both a positive and a negative reaction when preached in power.” (Page 362)
“Their fate is the just and deserved punishment for their deliberate rejection of the divine offer of salvation” (Page 343)
“Our identification of the Restrainer must ultimately be determined by the question, What person is able to hold back the efforts of Satan? To effectively counteract and restrain the personal activities of Satan demands a person, and one who is more than human. Only a supernatural person can truly frustrate the supernatural workings of Satan. This would at once rule out human agencies as well as all evil supernatural agents. Only a superhuman restrainer can do the work.” (Page 339)
“They did not simply become the missionaries’ ‘followers’ (KJV) in the sense of being adherents to their teaching. Rather, as believers in their message the Thessalonians began to pattern their lives after the example set by the missionaries. It was his observance of this fact that rejoiced the heart of Paul; it was open evidence of the reality of the Thessalonian believers’ conversion, and therefore of their divine election.” (Pages 59–60)