Lesson One: Overview Study[1]

(In-class Teacher Presentation)

  1. Goals:5 MINUTES
  1. To present the CFBC vision for Bible Study within the context of the local church.
  1. To understand the purpose of an overview study.
  1. To identify key features of an overview study.
  1. To determine the “big idea” of a section (selected portion of scripture that hangs together).
  1. To be prepared to do the work necessary for the next lesson.
  1. Lesson:55 MINUTES- 70 MINUTES
  1. The CFBC vision for Bible Study within the context of the local church.

It is our desire to have a church culture that is passionately committed to a God-glorifying, Gospel-centered, Bible-based approach to ministry. We believe that a strong commitment to God’s Word is essential if we are to be all that God desires for us to be as His people. We want for our people to come in contact with the living God through His Word as it is studied individually, within the family, and alongside other believers in smaller group settings within the local church context. But, we are not content with a mere study of God’s word. We want to be a people who live it out. Thus, the application of scripture is an important aspect of Bible study. It is our desire that this inductive/interactive Bible study will facilitate such a vision and we are very excited about those making a commitment to such an endeavor.

By the second gathering, everyone should have read the entire book of 1st Thessalonians. We will spend some time discussing things we learned from the book. We will then be introduced to a helpful tool when doing intensive/more detailed study through a smaller portion of scripture. This tool is called block diagramming. A modest amount of time will be given toward explaining and illustrating block diagramming. This is a tool that you might find helpful in your weekly study of God’s word. However, you are not expected to use it. It is up to you. There will be plenty of questions for you to answer through which you will learn much. Block diagramming is but a tool you might choose to implement in your efforts to get as much out of the text as possible.

By the time of our third gathering, the studies will focus on a selected portion of scripture and be very interactive. The leader’s responsibility will simply be to ask the questions and guide the discussion. The goal will be to understand and apply the text of scripture. Everyone will be given a modest amount of homework. We ask that you do what you can in preparation for the meeting. Some will be able to commit more time to the text than others. That is O.K. Do what you can and then come to the study. While those who put more into the study will naturally get more out of it, everyone will benefit. So, please come regardless of the amount of work you have put into the study for that week!

All class materials will be posted on our church’s website.

  1. The purpose of an overview study.

There are many ways to communicate the same thing. The following should help in understanding what the purpose of an overview study is:

  1. To see the book as a whole.
  1. To determine the “bigpicture”.
  1. To understand how the parts of the book make up the whole.
  1. To become familiarized with the key themes and features of the book.
  1. To engage in an exercise that will result in effective meditation of the text.
  1. To get God’s Word into the heart of His people.
  1. To be transformed by God’s Word.
  1. The key features of an overview study. These are some of the things you should do whenever embarking upon a study of a new book.

NOTE: You will accomplish this as you work through the questions (pages 5-8) that will be provided in advance of the next lesson.

  1. Begin by reading the entire text several times (at least three times).

This will help you to gain familiarity with the book.

  1. Write down keywords, phrases, topics, and main ideas.

Allow students to read through a chapter and write down key words, phrases, topics, and main ideas that they discover from the chapter. They can do this individually, or in groups.

  1. Determine “backgroundissues” related to the book. Look for internal clues found within the book when answering the following questions. Also, feel free to make use of good study bibles (The MacArthur Study Bible), commentaries (1st and 2nd Thessalonians, MacArthur NT Commentary; 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, D. Edmond Hiebert; The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, Leon Morris), and introductory books (New Testament Introduction by Donald Guthrie) in order to determine answers for some of the following questions.
  1. Who wrote the book?
  1. What do you know about the author of the book?
  1. Who was the audience?
  1. What do you know about the readers?
  1. What were the author’s concerns for his readers?
  1. When was the book written?
  1. Where was the book written from?
  1. How would you describe the relationship between the author and his readers?
  1. Write out a title/central theme for each section of the book (see addendum #2 on pages 22-26: “What’s the Big Idea?”).

Take time to go over and model this in class.

Give students time to practice this with a selected passage.

  1. Write out a title/central theme for the book as a whole (follow the same approach as before).
  1. Steps #4 and #5 can be accomplished by doing an outline (see addendum on pages 27-39: “Outlining a Book: Seeing the forest instead of the trees”). This really is an optional assignment, designed for those desiring to put a little more effort into their study in order to get a little more out of it.
  1. Take the time to read the entire book together as a class (if time permits).
  1. Close in prayer.
  1. Close in prayer and distribute homework assignment #1…

1st Thessalonians Bible Study Questions: An Overview Study (pages 5-7)…

due January 27th

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT #1

1st Thessalonians Bible Study Questions: The Overview Study (We will have two weeks in which to do this assignment.)

(If you need to scale down the amount of work you do, consider answering the questions in bold.)

  1. [days 1-4] Read through the entire text at least three times. Be sure to read the entire text in a single sitting and to do so three or more different times.
  1. [days 5-6] Write down key words, phrases, topics, and ideas. Be sure to include the scripture reference to each of the words, phrases, topics, and ideas that you list.[2]
  1. [day 7] Using the book of 1st Thessalonians, do your best to answer the following:
  1. What does 1st Thessalonians reveal about the apostle Paul?
  1. What do you know about the people to whom Paul wrote? Who were they? What issues in their own lives did they need to address?

Please read through addendum #1, “The Epistle of 1st Thessalonians” (pages 9-21). Also, feel free to read through any additional material that you might have in order to gain a sense of “background” issues.

In what ways is it helpful for your understanding of 1st Thessalonians to know some of these “background” issues?

  1. [days 8-10] Write out a title for each of the sections in the book. You are encouraged to use addendum #2, What’s the Big Idea, as you develop your titles (pages 22-26). However, you might have your own approach to coming up with a section title. Feel free to use your own approach. The most important thing is that you are able to accurately capture what the section is about.
  1. 1:1-5
  1. 1:6-10
  1. 2:1-6
  1. 2:7-12
  1. 2:13-16
  1. 2:17-3:5
  1. 3:6-10
  1. 3:11-13
  1. 4:1-8
  1. 4:9-12
  1. 4:13-18
  1. 5:1-11
  1. 5:12-15
  1. 5:16-22
  1. 5:23-28

If you would like, go ahead and do a full outline of the book as described in addendum #3: Outlining a book: Seeing the Forest Instead of the Trees (pages 27-39). You can use what you did with a-o above in order to complete the outline assignment.

  1. [day 11] Write out a title for the entire book of 1st Thessalonians. The main point here is for you to explain, in your own words, what the book is about. Try to capture this as briefly as possible. Be prepared to share your title with others during the next bible study meeting.
  1. [day 12] What are the 2 most significant ways in which the overview study has ministered to you personally? Please be specific. Provide the passage reference(s) and explain how the point of the passage(s) intersects your life.
  1. [day 13] If you have children, what have you learned from 1st Thessalonians that might be useful for you to share with your children as you seek to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Please come up with one truth/principle for each of your children that you think would be helpful for them to learn and embrace. Be sure to minister that truth/principle to your child/children.

You might even focus on one passage for your family to memorize and apply during the time you are studying through 1st Thessalonians (just an idea!).

  1. [days 1-13] Spend some time praying in light of what you have learned through the book of 1st Thessalonians thus far. Recount some of the specific things that you have learned. Thank the Lord for what He is teaching you and ask Him to transform you accordingly. Ask the Lord to use what you have learned and applied in your efforts to be a blessing to others as well. If you would like, write out your prayer so that you might be able to refer back to it at a later time.
  1. [days 10-13] Please take time before the next bible study to share with another person (a family member, your entire family, or friend) what the Lord is teaching you in the book of 1st Thessalonians. This is something you might do within the context of family worship.[3]This is an excellent opportunity for married couples to share with each other the things being learned. Briefly write down what you shared along with the outcome.

ADDENDUM #1

"THE EPISTLE OF FIRST THESSALONIANS" by Daniel B. Wallace

I. Introduction

A. Thessalonica, the City
1. Location

Hiebert gives a nice summary as to the strategic location of Thessalonica:

The city of Thessalonica enjoyed the advantages of a strategic location. The famous Via Egnatia (Egnatian Way), spanning Macedonia from east to west, passed through the walls of the city. This important Roman highway facilitated brisk travel and commerce and put Thessalonica into ready contact with the important inland districts on either side of it. It was the principal artery of communication between Rome and her eastern provinces.

Due to its location, Thessalonica might well be called “the key to the whole of Macedonia.” The dictum of Meletius concerning it was, “So long as nature does not change, Thessalonica will remain wealthy and fortunate.”1 One of its native poets proudly called it the “mother of all Macedon.”2

2. Inhabitants

Thessalonica was the largest city of Macedonia. It has been estimated that during Paul’s time its population may have been as high as 200,000. The majority of the inhabitants were Greeks, but there was also a mixture of other ethnic groups, including Jews (according to Acts 17:1-10). Today about half of Salonica is Jewish. Several scholars (especially those of the nineteenth century such as Lightfoot) argued that this is proof that the synagogue was thriving and kept on thriving after Paul’s ministry there. But “a visit to Salonica would have saved him [Lightfoot] from this error. The Jews of Salonica speak Spanish as their language, and are descended from Spanish Jews, expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella . . . ”3 Indeed, the only ancient evidence of Jews in Thessalonica is the record of Acts 17, making it impossible to surmise how large the Jewish population was.

As to their moral standards, the Thessalonians were hardly any different from the citizens of any other large Greek city. Presumably, most were idolaters, though it is certain that some were seeking a different kind of religious experience than polytheism could provide; hence, they attached themselves (loosely) to the local synagogue.

3. History

In c. 315 BCE Cassander, the son-in-law of Philip of Macedon (who fathered Alexander the Great) gathered and organized the area villages into a new metropolis, Thessalonica. He gave the city its name in honor of his wife, the half-sister of Alexander.

Thessalonica remained in Greek hands until 168 BCE, when the Romans took possession after winning the battle of Pydna. At that time:

…the Romans divided the conquered territory into four districts, Thessalonica [being] named the capital of the second district. In 146 B.C. Macedonia was united into one Roman province with Thessalonica as the natural choice for its capital. In 42 B.C. Thessalonica was made a “free city” by Anthony and Octavian, the future Augustus, as a reward for the help given in the struggle against Brutus and Cassius.

The Roman proconsul, the governor of Macedonia, had his residence in Thessalonica, but because it was a “free city” he did not control its internal affairs. No Roman garrison was stationed there, and in spirit and atmosphere it was a Greek rather than a Roman city. Enjoying local autonomy, the city was apparently governed by a board of magistrates…

Furthermore, according to Acts 17, the city also had a senate and a public assembly.

B. The Author

First Thessalonians is accepted by virtually all NT scholars. The radical criticism of the Tübingen and Dutch schools of last century is now considered pass (A. Q. Morton and his flawed computer-based linguistic analysis being an anomaly). Still, it is helpful to rehearse the reasons why it is so well accepted.

1. External Evidence

Not only is 1 Thessalonians found in Marcion’s canon and the Muratorian canon, but it is also quoted by name by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. Perhaps even Polycarp alludes to it when he speaks of Paul’s letters to the Philippians.4 Further, it is found in the most ancient MSS (including the old Latin, old Syriac, and 46), suggesting its full acceptance from a very early period. Although not as strong as the evidence for the Hauptbriefe (in terms of frequency of citation), 1 Thessalonians has nevertheless enjoyed universal acceptance.

2. Internal Evidence
a. Arguments Against Pauline Authorship

There are essentially two arguments that are sometimes used against authenticity: historical problems and a literary problem.

1) Historical Problems. Essentially there are two historical problems, both related to the record in Acts 17: (1) in Acts 17:2 Paul’s stay in Thessalonica is said to be “three sabbaths,” but the impression given in 1 Thessalonians is that he must have stayed much longer; (2) Acts 17:4 seems to indicate that the make-up of the church was primarily Jews and “God-fearers,” while 1 Thess 1:9 indicates that most had come out of paganism. These discrepancies have caused some scholars to doubt the authenticity of 1 Thessalonians, though the majority, if they are to question anything, usually doubt the historical accuracy of the Acts record.

In response, see our later discussions on the historical reconstruction and the make-up of the recipients. Suffice it to say here that these historical problems are by no means insurmountable: in the least, if Luke is giving a selective account (as is his custom for much of his narrative), it is quite possible to suppose that Paul had stayed in Thessalonica much longer than three weeks and that, therefore, the make-up of the church was altered as more and more Gentiles joined the ranks.5

2) Literary Problem: An Alleged Interpolation. In 1 Thess. 2:13-16 the apostle engages in an anti-Jewish polemic. Several scholars have argued that Paul could not have written such a diatribe. However, not only is there no MS evidence that this was ever not a part of this letter, but 2:13-16 seems to form an inclusio with 1:2-10, finishing off that section in a literarily tight fashion.6 Further, even if this were an interpolation, this would not deny authenticity for the rest of the epistle.

In sum, these arguments are not very convincing against authenticity. Even if we were to grant a discrepancy between Acts and 1 Thessalonians, as well as an interpolation for 2:13-16, neither of these arguments could overthrow Pauline authorship: most scholars value Paul’s autobiographical remarks above the more detached comments mentioned in Acts, and an interpolation of four verses does not negate authorship of the rest of the letter. But, as we have seen, there is probably no discrepancy between Acts and this letter, and there is almost certainly no interpolation of 2:13-16.

b. Arguments for Authenticity

Although hardly necessary even to mention any positive arguments,7 three stand out as especially significant.

1) Ecclesiology. The church structure is obviously primitive, since in 5:12 the apostle calls the leaders merely “those who are over you.”