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1 and 2 Thessalonians

  1. Lesson One
    Overview of 1 and 2 Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1–3)
    20 Activities
  2. Lesson Two
    Christ's Return (1 Thessalonians 4–5)
    22 Activities
  3. Lesson Three
    The Man of Lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 1–2)
    19 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Work (2 Thessalonians 3)
    17 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  5. Lesson Five
    Author and Audience (Review 1 and 2 Thessalonians)
    17 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

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Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

Neither of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians quotes directly from the Old Testament, but there are plenty of allusions to it. Paul’s themes in 1 and 2 Thessalonians will recall the Hebrew Scriptures. Read the passages below. 

Old Testament1 and 2 Thessalonians
(God) put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. Isaiah 59:17 NIVBut since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 NIV
  1. What virtues has Paul added in his letter alongside the “breastplate of righteousness” and “helmet of salvation,” and why do you think he does this?

Paul references “faith,” “hope” and “love” as he applies the armor of God from Isaiah to Christian believers. These are the virtues they will need in order to combat the immorality and idolatry surrounding them in Thessalonica. The breastplate and helmet are the armor God wears in combating evil in the world. Paul is saying, in effect, “If this armor is what our Lord wears—and we have taken up his cause in the world—then we should wear it too.”