reading questions
1 thessalonians & intro to nt letters


Intro to New Testament Letters

  1. How many letters are there in the New Testament?
  2. In the NT letters, where does one find the identity of the sender(s) and the recipients?
  3. What typically follows the Greeting in NT letters?
  4. What is provided in the body of the letters?
  5. How many of the letters in the NT have been traditionally attributed to Paul?
  6. Of those, which one does not actually claim to be written by Paul?
  7. List the “Captivity Epistles.” Why are they given this name?
  8. List the “Pastoral Epistles.” Why are they given this name?
  9. How are the letters of Paul arranged in the NT?
  10. What are the letters that were not attributed to Paul called? How many are there?
  11. Three of these letters are closely related to what gospel?

1 Thessalonians: Introduction

  1. In what year did Paul probably first establish a church in Thessalonica?
  2. Why did he leave?
  3. Who did Paul send back to Thessalonica to check on the church there?
  4. When did Paul probably write 1 Thessalonians?
  5. What was the “occasion” for the letter?

1 Thess 1

  1. Who are the senders of this letter?
  2. In 1:3, Paul first mentions the three “theological virtues.” What are they?
  3. When Paul first visited Thessalonica, how did the Thessalonians “receive the word”?
  4. In1:10, Paul mentions three important things that he believes about Jesus. What are they?

1 Thess 2

  1. What happened to Paul and those who were traveling with him in Philippi?
  2. Paul says that when he and his traveling companions were in Thessalonica, they were “determined to share” not just the gospel, but what?
  3. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they have become “imitators” of what church? How are they “imitating” them?
  4. What prevented Paul from going to Thessalonica on more than one occasion?

1 Thess 3

  1. Where was Paul when he wrote this letter?
  2. Who did he send to the Thessalonians to “strengthen and encourage” them?
  3. When Paul was with the Thessalonians, what did he warn them about “in advance”?
  4. What was Paul afraid had happened in Thessalonica that necessitated this letter?
  5. What did learn about the community from the person he sent to strengthen them?

1 Thess 4

  1. Paul quotes on of Jesus’ most famous teachings in this chapter (although he credits it to God). What is it?
  2. How does Paul tell the Thessalonians to “work”? Why?
  3. Why, apparently, were some of the Thessalonians “grieving”? How does Paul respond to this?
  4. In this passages, Paul distinguishes between two groups that will “rise up” to meet the Lord. What are the two groups?
  5. Of which group did Paul consider himself to be a member?
  6. What does this tell you about when Paul believed Jesus would return to meet those who were “in Christ”?

1 Thess 5

  1. According to Paul, when(or how) will the “day of the Lord” come? What does this mean?
  2. In this chapter, Paul uses a metaphor to describe believers and non-believers. What is the metaphor? Where does it come from (what concept we have discussed in class)?
  3. In 5:8, Paul mentions those theological virtues again. What are they?
  4. What does Paul tell the Thessalonians to not “quench”?
  5. What does Paul tell the Thessalonians to not “despise”?

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The Narrow Gate
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