Gospel as Letter: A Commentary on 1 Thessalonians

Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians enacts a historical paradigm shift by unfolding in written form that which was previously only performed orally in early Christianity. This media revolution in Christianity begins about 50 CE and will lead successively to the collection of twenty-seven writings in the New Testament. Beginning and ending characteristics of the epistle show that it is a semi-official letter from the church founders to the confessional church in Thessalonica. Since Paul stipulates that his letter should be read out in a general assembly of the congregation, artificial speech is mixed with a calculated rhetorical form--that is, narratio, propositio, argumentatio, and peroratio. The rhetorical genre of 1 Thessalonians is deliberative eulogy that seeks to encourage the community eagerly awaiting the return of Christ in their practice of the virtues of faith, love, and hope. The goal is complete holiness to prepare a befitting reception for the Parousia Christ descending from heaven.

Mell pays special attention to the ethical instructions on marriage, business relationships, sibling love, and household management made in the letter's argumentatio. Paul resolves the difficult question of how deceased church members can participate in the future, earthly salvation by inferring from the gospel itself that the resurrection of Christ ensures the resurrection of all. In this way, for the first time in early Christianity, the meaning of Christ as a mediator of salvation is unfolded so that the congregation, consisting of those who are alive and those who will become alive again, participates in the future victory of God's rule over the end-time power.