帖撒罗尼迦前书 1章1节 到 1章1节     上一笔  下一笔
 {Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy} (Paulos kai Silouanos kai
Timotheos). Nominative absolute as customary in letters. Paul
associates with himself Silvanus (Silas of Acts, spelled
Silbanos in D and the papyri), a Jew and Roman citizen, and
Timothy, son of Jewish mother and Greek father, one of Paul's
converts at Lystra on the first tour. They had both been with
Paul at Thessalonica, though Timothy is not mentioned by Luke in
Acts in Macedonia till Beroea ( Ac 17:14f. ). Timothy had joined
Paul in Athens ( 1Th 3:1f. ), had been sent back to Thessalonica,
and with Silas had rejoined Paul in Corinth ( 1Th 3:5  Ac 18:5,
2Co 1:19 ). Silas is the elder and is mentioned first, but
neither is in any sense the author of the Epistle any more than
Sosthenes is co-author of I Corinthians or Timothy of II
Corinthians, though Paul may sometimes have them in mind when he
uses "we" in the Epistle. Paul does not here call himself
"apostle" as in the later Epistles, perhaps because his position
has not been so vigorously attacked as it was later. Ellicott
sees in the absence of the word here a mark of the affectionate
relations existing between Paul and the Thessalonians. {Unto the
church of the Thessalonians} (	(8869) ekkl(8873)i(8369) Thessalonike(936e)).
The dative case in address. Note absence of the article with
Thessalonike(936e) because a proper name and so definite without
it. This is the common use of ekkl(8873)ia for a local body
(church). The word originally meant "assembly" as in  Ac 19:39 ,
but it came to mean an organization for worship whether assembled
or unassembled (cf.  Ac 8:3 ). The only superscription in the
oldest Greek manuscripts (Aleph B A) is Pros Thessalonikeis A
({To the Thessalonians First}). But probably Paul wrote no
superscription and certainly he would not write A to it before he
had written II Thessalonians (B). His signature at the close was
the proof of genuineness ( 2Th 3:17 ) against all spurious
claimants ( 2Th 2:2 ). Unfortunately the brittle papyrus on which
he wrote easily perished outside of the sand heaps and tombs of
Egypt or the lava covered ruins of Herculaneum. What a treasure
that autograph would be! {In God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ} (en the(9369) patri kai kuri(9369) J(8873)ou Christ(9369)). This church
is grounded in (en, with the locative case) and exists in the
sphere and power of {God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ}.
No article in the Greek, for both 	he(9369) patri and kuri(9369) J(8873)ou
Christ(9369) are treated as proper names. In the very beginning of
this first Epistle of Paul we meet his Christology. He at once
uses the full title, "Lord Jesus Christ," with all the
theological content of each word. The name "Jesus" (Saviour,  Mt
1:21 ) he knew, as the "Jesus of history," the personal name of
the Man of Galilee, whom he had once persecuted ( Ac 9:5 ), but
whom he at once, after his conversion, proclaimed to be "the
Messiah," (ho Christos,  Ac 9:22 ). This position Paul never
changed. In the great sermon at Antioch in Pisidia which Luke has
preserved ( Ac 13:23 ) Paul proved that God fulfilled his promise
to Israel by raising up "Jesus as Saviour" (s(9374)(8872)a I(8873)oun). Now
Paul follows the Christian custom by adding Christos (verbal
from chri(935c), to anoint) as a proper name to Jesus (Jesus Christ)
as later he will often say "Christ Jesus" ( Col 1:1 ). And he
dares also to apply kurios (Lord) to "Jesus Christ," the word
appropriated by Claudius (_Dominus_, Kurios) and other emperors
in the emperor-worship, and also common in the Septuagint for God
as in  Ps 32:1f.  (quoted by Paul in  Ro 4:8 ). Paul uses
Kurios of God ( 1Co 3:5 ) or of Jesus Christ as here. In fact,
he more frequently applies it to Christ when not quoting the Old
Testament as in  Ro 4:8 . And here he places "the Lord Jesus
Christ" in the same category and on the same plane with "God the
father." There will be growth in Paul's Christology and he will
never attain all the knowledge of Christ for which he longs ( Php
3:10-12 ), but it is patent that here in his first Epistle there
is no "reduced Christ" for Paul. He took Jesus as "Lord" when he
surrendered to Jesus on the Damascus Road: "And I said, What
shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me" ( Ac 22:10 ). It is
impossible to understand Paul without seeing clearly this first
and final stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul did not get this
view of Jesus from current views of Mithra or of Isis or any
other alien faith. The Risen Christ became at once for Paul the
Lord of his life. {Grace to you and peace} (charis humin kai
eir(886e)(885c)). These words, common in Paul's Epistles, bear "the stamp
of Paul's experience" (Milligan). They are not commonplace
salutations, but the old words "deepened and spiritualised"
(Frame). The infinitive (chairein) so common in the papyri
letters and seen in the New Testament also ( Ac 15:23  23:26  Jas
1:1 ) here gives place to charis, one of the great words of the
New Testament (cf.  Joh 1:16f. ) and particularly of the Pauline
Epistles. Perhaps no one word carries more meaning for Paul's
messages than this word charis (from chair(935c), rejoice) from
which charizomai comes. {Peace} (eir(886e)(885c)) is more than the
Hebrew _shal(936d)_ so common in salutations. One recalls the "peace"
that Christ leaves to us ( Joh 14:27 ) and the peace of God that
passes all understanding ( Php 4:7 ). This introduction is brief,
but rich and gracious and pitches the letter at once on a high
plane.

重新查询 专卷研经 帖撒罗尼迦前书系列
错误回报,请联系comm[@]fhl.net