"The Church as the Renewed Israel" -- Episode Three of the Blessed Hope Podcast Series on the Thessalonian Letters

Synopsis of Episode Three:

In the opening verses of his first Thessalonian letter, Paul sends warm greetings to those from whom he has recently departed. This departure was not of his own doing. After spending three Sabbaths in Thessalonica with this newly organized church, Paul was driven from the city by a “rentamob” organized by Jews in the city who saw the Christian missionaries, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, as a threat to the religion of Israel. But Paul does something unexpected in the opening verses, speaking of the new and largely Gentile church as the “assembly of the Lord”–which is another way of speaking of this congregation as a fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem Israel in the messianic restoration foretold by Israel’s prophets. Perhaps even more unexpected, Paul speaks of those who have turned from idol worship as “chosen by God,” another image drawn from the Old Testament. A Gentile church in Thessalonica is depicted by Paul as the “assembly of the Lord,” composed of those “chosen by God,” included in true Israel.

Links:

R. S. Clark: "Covenant Theology Is Not Replacement Theology

My reply to John MacArthur’s charge that amillennialism teaches “replacement theology.” A Reply to John MacArthur:

My essay, Jesus Christ -- The Israel of God

An Open Letter: The People of God and the Land of Israel

Frank Thielman Quote:

Paul . . .

uses a phrase similar to the term “assembly of the LORD” (ekklesia kyriou) found in Deuteronomy to designate the gathering of Hebrews at the time of the covenant’s ratification and Israel’s designation as God’s special people (Deut 23:1, 4, 9 LXX). Moreover, when Paul reminds the Thessalonians of their “election” and that they are “brothers beloved by God” (1 Thess 1:4; 2 Thess 2:13-14; compare 1 Thess 2:12; 2 Thess 1:11), he recalls the frequently repeated statement in Deuteronomy that God “loved” Israel and demonstrated his love for them by “electing” their ancestors and eventually says that God “calls” or “has called” the Thessalonians much in the same way that the second part of Isaiah refers to God’s election of Israel as his “call” to them. Just as God would call Israel from the ends of the earth (Is 41:9; compare 42:6) and had called Israel’s ancestors (Is 48:12) in order to bless them and make them a great nation (Is 51:2), so Paul tells the Thessalonians that God calls them in sanctification (1 Thess 4:7; compare 2 Thess 2:14), that he will be faithful to the Thessalonians because of his role as the One who calls them (1 Thess 5:24). From Frank Thielman, Paul and the Law (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1994), 73.

Bibliography for Season Two of the Blessed Hope Podcast, “When the Lord Jesus Is Revealed from Heaven: Paul’s Thessalonian Letters”

A History of the City of Thessalonica Important background to our series

F. F. Bruce's "Paul: The Apostle of the Heart Set Free" The Life and Times of Paul—Still the best biographical study of Paul

G, K, Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians (IVP NT Commentary) The best all around commentary on the Thessalonians letters (strong on eschatology)

F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Word) One of the better technical commentaries—Bruce is especially strong on background, setting, and historical matters

Gene Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians (Pillar) A very good scholarly evangelical commentary

John Calvin, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Crossway Classics) Calvin’s insights into this letter are still worth consideration

Music:

(Shutterstock): Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op 92m, second movement, Allegretto (A minor)