1 Thessalonians 2.17-3.5

TRANSLATION

^2.17But we, brothers, were torn from you for a moment of time (face to face, not in heart); we worked harder than ever with great desire to see your face. ¹⁸For this reason we have determined to come to you – I, Paul again and again[1] – but we were hindered by Satan. ¹⁹For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus in his appearing?[2] Is it not you? ²⁰For you are our glory and joy.

^3.1For this reason, we could no longer endure and were pleased with being left behind in Athens alone, ²and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker of God in the gospel of Christ, in order to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith ³that no one be shaken by this affliction (for you yourselves know that we were destined for this). ⁴For indeed when we were with you, we were warning you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction and you know that it has happened as we said. ⁵For this reason, I could no longer endure, [so] I sent to learn of your faithfulness, for fear that in some way you were tempted by the Tempter and our work was done in vain.

 

NOTES

This passage can be divided into two parts: Paul’s longing to go to Thessalonica (2.17-20) and the reasons Paul sent Timothy (3.1-5). This passage gives us insight on the development of a new Pauline church and also how we can encourage one another today in the midst of trials.

We were torn from you… (2.17)

In this passage we see Paul’s method for keeping watch over his new churches: 1) personal presence (2.18; cf. Phil 1.27; 2.12), 2) writing letters (cf. 2 Cor 10.9-10, and 3) sending emissaries (3.1-3; 1 Cor 4.17; 2 Cor 8.17-24; 9.3; Eph 6.21-22; Phil 2.19-30; Col 4.7-9;  2 Tim 4.12; Titus 3.12). Paul took seriously the charge given to him and all of the church to make disciples (Matt 28.18-20). In this charge was a desire to keep in touch with his churches in order to encourage, strengthen, and rebuke them in order that they might be saved on the last day.

The verb Paul uses for being torn away (απορφανιζω, aporphanidzō) connotes the idea of a mother being ripped away from her child. Paul is being torn away from his family because of the Jews in Thessalonica (again, see Acts 17). This aggressive verb describes the forceful removal of the missionaries from Thessalonica and Berea. For Paul it was not time to leave the new believers, but the opposition was overwhelming, forcing them to leave. This separation has come to an end because of the sending of Timothy. Sending him is almost as good as Paul being there himself and in some sense he is with them “in heart.”

This untimely separation has developed a great desire and work to see the Thessalonians again. The missionaries “worked harder than ever” with “great desire” to restore the face to face relationship. The phrase translated “worked harder than ever” is περισσοτερως εσπουδασαμεν (perissoterōs espoudasamen), which literally means “doing the best beyond the regular means.” Paul and his comrades are trying the hardest they can to reunite with the Thessalonian church.

We were hindered… (2.18)

The desire of the missionaries is again stated. It is clear that Paul is trying to convey their affection in order create an environment in which gentle parent-like correction can occur. This is made clear by the zeal Paul has to see them again. The word translated “determined” is also used for the will of God in the LXX.[3]  It is not merely a “wish” as it is sometimes translated, but connotes a wish that will be resolved. This is confirmed by Paul’s interjection into the letter[4]: “I, Paul, again and again.”

In v. 18 we have the first of two references to Satan in this passage. Satan comes from the Hebrew word hasatan, or “the adversary.” Satan is the enemy of God (Rom 16.20) and the tempter of Jesus and his people (3.5; Mark 1.13; 1 Cor 7.5). It is always a danger for the Christian to be tempted or tricked by the devil (2 Cor 2.11; 11.13-15). His tempting power is not discussed here, however. Paul says Satan hindered him from coming to visit the church. How did Satan do such a thing? Some scholars think that this is Paul’s “thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan” (2 Cor 12.7). These scholars say this thorn is bodily sickness that kept Paul from doing ministry and here left him unable to visit Thessalonica. This is speculative at best, but may give some kind of insight into what kept Paul from visiting the church. The most we can say is that Paul was encouraging the church that he was not at fault for not being able to come to them; in fact, the blame belongs to Satan, the enemy of God.

What is our hope and joy… (2.19)

Paul finishes his reasoning of the desire to see the church by describing to them their value to him and his comrades. Paul mentions three things that the Thessalonian converts represent: hope, joy, and a crown of boasting. Paul’s disciples are proof of his faithfulness to the mission Christ gave him on Damascus Road: I am sending you to the gentiles “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sin and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26.18). In 1 Cor 9.2 Paul calls the believers there the “seal” of his apostleship. The seal is “a visible token of something that already exists; thus the Corinthian church does not make Paul an apostle, and his apostleship does not depend on it, but its existence is a visible sign of his apostleship.”[5] In a similar way, the hope, joy and crown Paul possesses is found in them because it is evidence that Paul is God’s messenger to the gentiles.

The believers are Paul’s hope because they have not fallen away due to affliction and tribulation. Their faithfulness proves the effectiveness of Christ’s work through Paul and gives Paul assurance that he will be saved on the last day. This is also the source of Paul’s joy. Joy in Paul is typically tied to salvation as its product (Rom 14.17; 15.13; 2 Cor 7.4; Gal 5.22; Phil 2.2; Col 1.11). Here, as well as in Phil 4.1, Paul says that the believers are his joy. “In the context of 1 Thessalonians 2, the image of the parent who speaks of his or her child as ‘my joy’ is perhaps suggested.”[6] Lastly, Paul says the believers are his crown of boasting. It is clear that Paul does not mean human boasting in the sense that God had nothing to do with the fruit of his ministry (see 1 Cor 3.7). At the same time, Paul does boast in the Lord for the ministry he has given him and the spiritual children that have come from his labor (2 Cor 8.24; 9.3). “For Paul the Thessalonians were like a victory wreath of which he could be proud at the coming of Christ. They were a proof of his toil and achievement for Christ as a missionary to the Gentiles.”[7]

These believers are Paul’s hope, joy, and crown at the appearing of Christ. Παρουσια, parousia, is a technical term for the second coming of the Lord Jesus in the NT. The biblical view of this event is that this is the time when Christ will judge the rebellious sinners and save the holy believers. This is the fulfillment of the prophetic “day of the Lord” (see Isa 2.6-22; 13; Jer 46.10; Ezek 30.2-4; Joel 2-3; Amos 5.18-20; Obad 15-21; Zeph 1.7-18; Zech 9.14-17; Mal 4.1-3). At this time Paul’s reward will be his disciples from all the churches he has founded and ministered in. This is shown in Paul’s rhetorical question, “Is it not you?” and his answer, “you are our glory and joy.”

Part one of our passage is written to encourage the Thessalonian believers to continue in the faith. They are significant to Paul’s ministry and faith; so much so, that Paul is filled with great desire to see them again before the parousia of the Lord. They are indeed his hope, joy, and crown and if they do not prove faithful, they will hurt Paul. Therefore, this exhortation and encouragement is placed before the correctives in eschatology later in the letter.

When we could bear it no longer… (3.1-5)

The “great desire” and “hard work” began to be too much for Paul, so he and his comrades decided to stay in Athens and send Timothy to receive a report of the Thessalonians’ condition in the face of affliction (see 3.6-13). One thing that is clear is that Paul’s anxiety to see the status of the Thessalonian church was great. In Acts 17 we see that Paul is sent to Athens shortly after the Thessalonian conversion while Timothy and Silas stayed in Macedonia. This shows that Paul was overwhelmed with the thought of the Thessalonians’ faithfulness to Jesus in suffering affliction.

Timothy is sent as Paul’s apostolic presence (cf. 1 Cor 4.17; 16.10; Phil 2.19). Paul says that Timothy is a “brother” and a “co-worker of God.” “Brother” was probably a technical term for a co-worker of Paul (e.g. 1 Cor 1.1; 16.12; et al). In addition to functioning as Paul’s apostolic presence, these brothers also were teachers of the word (Acts 18.24; cf. 1 Cor 16.12; 2 Tim 4.2). That Timothy was seen as God’s co-worker was controversial to the scribes of the NT. So much so that they made some adjustments to some manuscripts, either deleting “of God” or changing συνεργον (synergon, co-worker) to διακονος (diaconos, servant). The language is a bold claim for a half-gentile boy from Lystra, but is still original to Paul. In fact, Paul calls himself and Apollos God’s co-workers (1 Cor 3.9). Paul explains the nature of a co-worker of God: they are working in the gospel of Christ. That is, they are ministers of the gospel. Apostles (αποστολοι, lit. messengers) are messengers of God to the world who proclaim the gospel; they are working for God and with God through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1.6-8). The gospel that is preached is about Jesus’ death and resurrection (found in simplest form in 1 Cor 15.1-5).

Paul has sent Timothy to the Thessalonians to strengthen (ESV: establish) and encourage (ESV: exhort) them. This strengthening and encouragement is in relation to their faith. The Thessalonians’ faith needed to be bolstered in order to endure increased persecution. The comfort and encouragement in the faith that Timothy brings may be similar to Paul’s comments in 4.1 and 4.10: something to the effect of, “You have done so well up to this point, keep going!” Paul was concerned for the new church like a father is concerned for a child who leaves for a period of time. He did not want his work to be empty, but for the Thessalonians to grow in the knowledge and confidence of the gospel.

Timothy’s twofold ministry was intended to make sure “that no one be shaken[8] by this affliction.” Jesus himself warned that people would hear the message of the gospel, accept it, and when affliction comes, would fall away (Mark 4.17). Paul does not want this to happen. It has been a staple in his proclamation to prepare new converts to face persecution: “Through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14.22). This type of statement is what Paul refers to in saying, “you know we were destined for this” and “we were warning you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction.” In 2 Thess 1.3-12, Paul actually encourages the church in claiming that the endurance of suffering is a sign of their acceptance into the Kingdom.[9] In this passage we probably find something similar to what Timothy was speaking to the Thessalonians to encourage them. As Charles Wanamaker puts it, “God has destined Christians for affliction as part of the process that leads to their salvation.”[10]

It is possible that Paul is getting his doctrine of eschatological suffering from Jesus. For instance, in Mark 13.9-13 (cf. Matt 24.1-51; Luke 21.5-36) Jesus warns his disciples:

But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Even from before the apostolic age it was known that to be a part of God’s kingdom, followers of Jesus must endure persecution before Christ’s parousia. Therefore, Paul’s words that the Thessalonians’ end time suffering has come is good news: the end of the age has come.

Along with v. 1 v. 5 functions as an inclusio,[11] setting apart his reasoning for sending Timothy (“for this reason”). The first reason Paul mentions for sending Timothy is to make sure no one is shaken from the persecution that they have had to endure. The second reason in this verse is to “learn of [your] faithfulness.”[12] Paul was concerned that the church may not have endured through the persecution they have endured. This apostasy would have been brought about by the Tempter, Satan. “Paul portrayed Satan as seeking to destroy the fruits of the Christian mission (cf. 1 Cor 7.5; 2 Cor 2.10ff; 11.13-15; 1 Thess 2.18). In the context of 1 Thess 3.5, Paul implicitly demonizes those who afflict the Thessalonians because they are by implication the agents of Satan’s temptation.”[13]

If the Tempter had succeeded, then the work of the apostles was done in vain, or literally, found empty. The phrase “in vain” is mentioned 12 times in Paul’s letters. One intriguing mention is Phil 2.14-16:

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 

If the Philippian church does not obey the command of Paul to hold fast to the gospel, Paul will not be proud and his work would be in vain. Paul’s work is his missionary task: preaching the gospel to the gentiles. This is a good comparison to Paul’s idea in v. 5. If the Tempter has been succeeded, on “the day of Christ” (cf. day of Lord above) Paul’s work would be shown to be in vain. There will be one day when Paul will no longer have to worry about his work being in vain, for “they will not labor in vain” (Is 65.23).

APPLICATION POINTS

1. Passion for making disciples.
2. Working together with God in gospel ministry.
3. Standing in the midst of affliction.
4. Persevering to the end to be saved.
5. Dwelling in the gospel as the strength and encouragement during trials.

1 Thessalonians 2.13-16

TRANSLATION

¹³And for this reason we also give thanks to God without ceasing, that you received the message you heard from us about God; you did not receive it as the message of man, but as it truly is, the message of God, which is working among you who are believing. ¹⁴For you became imitators, brothers, of the churches of God that are in Judea in Christ Jesus, that you yourselves also endured the same kind of suffering from your own country, as they did from the Jews, ¹⁵who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and who chase us away and do not please God and oppose all men, ¹⁶hindering us from speaking to the gentiles so that they might be saved, so as to fill up for all their sins. But [God’s] wrath has come upon them till the end.

NOTES

2.13-16 seems like an awkward injection in to the letter. Some more “liberal” scholars have even suggested that this section is an interpolation, something placed in the letter later by an editor, and therefore, un-Pauline. We have already stated that Paul wrote the letter (see “Who Wrote 1 & 2 Thessalonians?”); therefore, we must reject this. However, we are still left with the awkwardness of the verses.

The solution is to view the verses as a transition from 2.1-12 to 2.17-3.10. Paul has written of how the Thessalonians had received the gospel in much affliction and described how the apostles conducted their ministry among them. Now we move towards 2.17-3.10 and read how Paul has attempted to visit them again and about Timothy’s visit and report.

We give thanks to God constantly… (13)

Paul is the missionary of prayerful thanksgiving. In many of his letters he begins the thanksgiving portion encouraging his spiritual children that he never stops praying for them.[1] However, it is unusual for the thanksgiving to come so late in his letters. In our outline we saw that his introduction is the majority of the letter (1.1-3.10).

Paul and his comrades thank God that the Thessalonians have “received the message” they heard from the apostles. The word for received (παραλαμβανω, paralambanō) is the same word used in 1 Cor 15.1, 3. This word is technical for the passing on of Christian tradition. In 1 Cor 15 it is the gospel that Paul received from Christians before him[2] and it is the same tradition that he passed on to the new believers.

This tradition is the “message…of God.” Logos (λογος) is usually translated “word” (KJV, NKJV, NASB, TNIV, NIV). In orthodox, Protestant Christianity the “word of God” is seen as the Bible – the 39 books of the OT and the 27 of the NT. Paul does not mean here that the Thessalonians received the Bible, but the message of God about Jesus Christ, the gospel. Logos (“word” or “message”) in Paul usually means the gospel. For example Colossians 1.5 equates “word of truth” with “the gospel.” Later in Colossians, Paul exhorts the believers there to “let the word of Christ dwell in you” (3.17). This “word” is the gospel, the tradition handed down to Paul in 1 Cor 15.3ff.

The message of God is the content of Paul’s preaching (see NOTES on 1.4-10). It is the message that is heard (ακοης, akoēs, from which we get the word “acoustic”) from Paul and his comrades. As we have already said, the message of God did not originate from Paul or any other apostle, but it is “of God.” It is from him and about what he has done through his son, Jesus. The Thessalonians accepted (εδεξασθε, edexasthe, a synonym for “received”) this gospel not because it was from impressive men who used their rhetorical skills, but because the origin of the message is divine – it is the message “of God.” This is one of the facets of Paul’s statement in Romans that the gospel is the “power of God unto salvation” (1.16). This power is because of its author, God himself. When the gospel message is preached its effectiveness is not wrapped in the persuasive or manipulative skills of the herald, but is in the message of God itself. Thus, God is the creator, subject, and empowering agent of the gospel.

One of the reasons Paul is assured that the Thessalonians have not believed in vain (2.1) is because the gospel is now at work among the church. The gospel is not only a list of data about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but is a power, the very power of God, in the life of the believer. This is why Paul can command the Colossians to let the word of Christ dwell in them. The gospel is not simply the front door to the Christian life, but the gospel is the house; it is the Christian life; the gospel is not the ABCs for the Christian; it is the A to Z for the Christian. The gospel tells us how to live, how to function in our relationships, and how to carry on holy lives in devotion to Christ. This view of the gospel flies in the face of the gospel that is only concerned with how we get “to heaven when we die.” The gospel focuses on Christ, not me; the gospel focuses on who God is and how and why I need him to save me from the wrath to come. It is not so much about heaven as it is about being in relationship and devotion to Christ.

For you, brothers became imitators… (14)

Again, Paul speaks of imitation.[3] In 1 Thessalonians imitation is mentioned twice (here and 1.6-8). Both passages are in the context of suffering. The Thessalonians have functioned as a model for all believers in Macedonia and Achaia and are now following the model of Judea.

What persecution of Judea is Paul referring to? Simply put, we don’t know. Some scholars have argued that they must have suffered some kind of pressure from Palestinian Jews around the time of the writing of Thessalonians. This is due to the fact that Paul assumes the church knows what he is talking about. The persecution of the Judeans is comparable to their suffering in that it is at the hands of their own people. The Jewish people persecuted the Judean Christians; the Roman people punished the Thessalonian Christians.

The persecution that the church endured is depicted in Acts 17. The Christians in Thessalonica, huddled at the home of Jason were taken to the civil authorities and they were robbed. It is interesting to note the reason the Jews gave as to why the civil authorities should arrest them: “these men who have turned the world upside down…and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus” (17.6-7). The reason the Thessalonians were persecuted by their fellow Romans was because they proclaimed the Kingdom of God. The reason the Judeans were persecuted was probably due to their belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Both aspects of Jesus’ person and work were controversial within their own context.

Who killed both the Lord and the prophets… (15-16)

The persecution of the Thessalonians was by the Roman civil authorities (in robbing them), but was begun by Jews. This is where Paul’s frustration is directed most. Beginning in v. 15 we see an almost anti-Judaism rant. Paul is obviously agitated by the Jews who are preventing him from proclaiming the gospel. This is seen in Acts 17 when Paul is sent elsewhere and the Jews follow him to prevent him from sharing his message in Berea (13).

The first description of the Jews is that they have killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets. The idea that the Jewish people killed God’s prophets was not Paul’s creation. It was clearly taught in the OT:

For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away (1 Kgs 19.10; cf. v.14; 2 Chron 36.15-16; Jer 2.30).

Jesus also speaks of the Jews as killers of the prophets (Matt 23.29-36):

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

In the above passage, Jesus says that some of the prophets will be killed and crucified. This is an obvious statement of his upcoming death. There is no doubt that Paul is claiming that Israel is still unrepentant, still killing the prophets, and will eventually kill Jesus and his ambassadors as well.

 

One of the most moving passages about Israel’s killing of prophets and continuous sin is in Nehemiah 9.

Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies.  And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Here in this passage we see that even though the Israelites had disobeyed God repeatedly by killing the prophets and ignoring the saviors, God did not make an end of them or forsake them because God is merciful and gracious. God still had a plan for his people. According to Paul, this plan has worked out in a mysterious way where gentiles are also included in the covenant community as well (Eph 3). God has not forsaken his people, but will save them in the end if they indeed repent.

Additionally, Paul says the Jews are those who chase them away and hinder them from speaking to the gentiles. Both of these echo Acts 17. When Paul and Silas (and Timothy) fled to Berea they were chased out of the synagogues and the Jews “agitated and stirred up the crowds” (v. 13). The brothers immediately sent Paul away to Athens to escape the Jews. The Jews chased them away from Thessalonica and have now hindered their preaching to the Bereans. The Jews have attempted to wreck Paul’s mission and are building up wrath upon themselves (2.16).

In this the Jews do not please God (v.15). This probably refers both to their rejection of Jesus as Messiah – God’s agent of salvation in the world, and their adamant attempts to frustrates God’s will to bring the gospel to the gentiles.

In the times of Paul many people groups saw the Jews as those who “oppose all men” (v.16). Tacitus, a Roman historian who wrote the famous Annals of Imperial Rome, wrote of the Jews, “among themselves there is unswerving loyalty, ready compassion, but hostility and hatred towards all others.”[4] Paul probably doesn’t have this in mind, however. The primary way that Jews show their opposition to humanity is by hindering Paul and his comrades from heralding the gospel to all nations. In fact, Paul says that they are essentially hindering the salvation of the gentiles (v.16).

The Jews did not only hinder Paul’s mission to Thessalonica and Berea, but were a constant hindrance to his work. In Acts 13 the Jews begin publicly contradicting the preaching of Paul and Barnabas in order to pervert their message. Their efforts failed after Paul quotes Is. 49.6; then the gentiles “began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (v.38). In Acts 14 the Jews created a division among the people at Iconium to the point that the lives of the apostles were threatened and Paul was eventually dragged off and stoned (v.19). IN Acts 18 the Jews brought Paul before the tribunal and charged them with teaching against Torah. Gallio, proconsul at the time, dismissed the case, letting Paul go. Charles Wanamaker is probably right in saying that some of these afflictions are what fuel the description of his mistreatment by the Jews in 2 Cor 11.24ff.

The aim of their opposition of humanity is to prevent others from believing in the message of God. As we know from the example of our own conversion, the Jews did not succeed, as Paul exhorts, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” (2 Tim 2.8).

In hindering the mission of God the Jews have filled up the measure of their sins. Matthew 23.29-36, a passage mentioned earlier, is a fantastic parallel to these verses:

1 Thess 2.15-16	Matt 23.29-36
“killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets” (15)	“I will send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify…” (34)
“so as to fill up for all their sins” (16)	“Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.” (32)
“the fullness of wrath has come upon them” (16)	“How are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” (33)

What is the wrath that has come upon them? God’s eschatological (end-time) wrath. This idea is repeating later in Romans 2.5-11:

Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day or wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

After criticizing pagan idolaters, Paul turns his attention toward Israelites who judge gentiles. He tells them that judgment is coming for every person according to deeds: wrath and fury for the unfaithful; glory, honor, peace, and eternal life for the faithful.

The time is coming and in a sense is already here[5] when those who reject God and his son Jesus Christ will finally be judged. The agitators will be judged because of their rejection of the Messiah and their persecution of the church.

APPLICATION POINTS

1. The truth of the gospel in our lives and worldview.
2. The origin of the gospel and how we must be faithful to the biblical gospel.
3. The gospel is working in us (e.g. How is the gospel working in your life?).
4. Enduring suffering for the sake of the gospel.
5. The future for those who reject Christ and persecute his church.

1 Thessalonians 2.1-12

¹For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. ²But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. ³For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, ⁴but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. ⁵For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. ⁶Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. ⁷But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. ⁸So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

⁹For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. ¹¹For you know how, like a father with his children, ¹²we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (ESV)

NOTES

For you yourselves know…

With this sentence, Paul begins to write a defense of their missionary efforts in coming to the Thessalonians, including the purity of their gospel message, the gentle nature of their pastoral care, and also the purity of their conduct.

Paul knows that their mission to Thessalonica (Acts 17) was not in vain because of their ongoing relationship with them. They have become their parental figures in the faith, bringing nurture and discipline.

The Pure Nature of Paul’s Message (2-8)

But though we had already suffered…

This is a flashback of Acts 16, which depicts the troubles and affliction the missionaries experienced. The following is the flow of events told of in Acts 16:

• Paul and Silas meet Timothy in Lystra
• In Troas, Paul experiences a night vision where a man from Macedonia, where Thessalonica is located, asks Paul to come and help him.
• Paul determines this is the Lord’s calling and had them immediately move toward Macedonia
• They arrive in Philippi and remain there for a time
• Lydia, a wealthy woman who sold purple goods, probably working in the Emperor’s court (Phil 4.22), was converted along with the servants in her household.
• The missionaries stay with Lydia for some time in her home, which would later become the house church in Philippi (v. 40)
• They encounter a slave girl who was possessed by an evil spirit who could predict the future; she made her masters wealthy
• Paul was annoyed at her after many days and performed an exorcism
• Her owners got upset and took them before the magistrates to have them beaten by rods and imprisoned
• While in prison, Paul and Silas begin singing and an earthquake occurs, opening all the doors and loosening all the chains of the prisoners
• The jailer begins to commit suicide, thinking that everyone has escaped, but Paul prevented him from doing so
• The jailer is filled with awe and trembling at what had happened and asks how he might be saved.
• The jailer is converted and baptized along with his family and house-servants
• Paul and Silas are freed by the magistrates and they complain to them that they were beaten as Roman citizens. Apologies are given and the magistrates asked them to leave the city
• The missionaries visit Lydia and the believers there before heading out toward Thessalonica

Paul says, “though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.”

Paul and Silas suffered public shame when they were beaten by rods and imprisoned. In spite of this they preached the gospel to the people to which God called them to go.

Paul says they had boldness in God. This obviously stems from the Macedonian call. Paul received this vision to go to Macedonia and because of this Paul and his companions could have boldness in preaching the gospel because they trusted in God’s plan. Because of their confidence they were able to preach the gospel that is from God and about God in the middle of persecution. The persecution Paul refers to here could be a specific time of suffering like Philippi (Acts 16) or Thessalonica (Acts 17) or it could be his entire ministry. The word Paul uses for “conflict” is the word αγων (agon), from which we get our word “agony.” This word was used to describe the effort and struggle involved in the athletic contests of his day. Paul saw h what happened in Philippi and Thessalonica as part of the agonizing struggle that characterized his ministry.

Our appeal does not spring from error…

Paul has just explained in what manner he preached, but now he defends his motive for preaching and the content of his preaching. He could not have preached with such boldness in the midst of conflict if his message were not true or in some way deceptive. This boldness was “in God” and therefore could not produce a false message. This boldness in preaching was from God himself as was Paul’s message. The perseverance through affliction proved the correct motive in his preaching.

V. 4 is bookended by the Greek word δοκιμαζω, which means to test or approve. It is notable that God is the subject of the approval/testing each time. Paul’s point is clear: we did not come to you with impure motives or with the aim to deceive you; that would not be pleasing to God; our aim in ministry is not to please man, but to please God, the one who approved us to be entrusted with the gospel.

For we never came…

The message Paul spoke was not with flattering words or for greedy gain. In this statement we see parallels to other Pauline letters. 1 Cor 2.1: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.” 1 Tim 3.2-3: ”An overseer must not be…a lover of money.”  In the same manner, Paul condemned greed as idolatry (Col 3.5).This is proof that Paul did not come to please man, but God alone. His motive was not to extort the Thessalonians, for that would not please God either. In fact, God himself bears witness for Paul[1] and his comrades that they were not greedy for gain, but were sincere in their missionary efforts.

Nor did we seek glory…

“Nor did we seek glory from people” is a reinforcement of “we speak, not to please man.” Most literal translations translate the Greek word δοξα (doxa – glory, fame, praise), “glory” (ESV, HCSB, NASB, KJV, NKJV). The NIV, TNIV, and even my least favorite, NLT translate it properly: praise. This isn’t glory in a religious sense, but in a more secular or common usage. Famous people (movie stars, sports stars, musicians, politicians, etc.) are praised by men.

The Thessalonians probably encountered many secular philosophers who were counted successful based upon the praise of their audience. Paul was not like the sophists and philosophers of his day and was on mission for no man, but solely for God.

But were gentle among you…

Despite his apostolic authority[2] Paul did not act toward the new converts in a domineering way, but gently, like a nursing mother. The parental illustration begins with Paul telling them that the missionaries were like their spiritual mothers, nursing them along. This willingness to forego apostolic rights is not foreign to Paul. In 1 Cor 9 Paul argues that he has foregone the right to payment from the churches for his ministry. His motivation for doing so is probably the same motivation for not using his apostolic authority toward the church at Thessalonica: not hindering anyone from coming to Christ – “we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (1 Cor 9.12).[3]

Paul’s illustration of a nursing mother is detailed in v. 8. As a mother is desirous of her child, so also the apostles desired their spiritual children. Just as a mother gives her body to her child (in the act of breastfeeding) so also the apostles gave their souls (ψυχη – psyche, soul, life) in love to them. This giving up of the body is probably a reference to their willingness to endure affliction in order to share the gospel with them. This fits nicely with the overarching message of v.2-8 that the apostles brought their message to the Thessalonians through persecution because of their desire to please God and because of their love for the church. This loving nature of Paul goes miles in reassuring them in his love for God and for their church.

The Pure Conduct of Paul’s Ministry (9-12)

For you remember, brothers…

vv. 9-12 affirm Paul’s purity in conduct among the Thessalonians. Paul did not take compensation from the church while doing ministry there.[4] It was a characteristic of Paul’s apostleship that he was bi-vocational. When needed, Paul would work a second job to support himself in starting new assemblies.[5] Paul describes this work as “toil” and “labor.” He probably uses these words to show the degree of perseverance he showed in working day and night. The hard work of Paul and his comrades will later be seen as a model for the Thessalonians, of whom some have a tendency to be lazy (2 Thess 3.6ff).

This burden was removed so that the primary reason for Paul’s mission could be fulfilled – to proclaim the gospel of God. This gospel (also, v.2) is the good news that God has come to save his people in the person of Jesus Christ through his death, burial, and resurrection and through the gift of his Spirit. This is God’s gospel and it is the gospel about God.[6]

Why would Paul think it would be an obstacle, burden, or stumbling block for him to receive compensation for his ministry? 1) “Potential converts might think twice about accepting the Gospel if they saw that it would lead to financial commitments on behalf of the missionaries”, 2) Paul wishes “there be no misrepresentation in regard to the collection”, and 3) “most important of all, that the Gospel, which turned upon the love and self-sacrifice of Jesus, could not fitly be presented by preachers who insisted on their rights, delighted in the exercise of authority, and made what profit they could out of the work of evangelism.”[7]

You are witnesses and God also…

The work of the apostles was exemplary as well as their pure behavior. He calls them to be witnesses to fact and again, calls God to bear witness (v.5). Paul claims that the apostles behavior was holy, righteous, and blameless. “Holy” is the word used in Israel for being marked out as God’s people. “Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11.40). The Levitical laws were to “set apart” the Israelites as God’s chosen people, different from all other nations.[8] “Righteous” is living in an upright manner. The character of God is righteousness[9] and should be imitated by his people’s behavior. “Blameless” is somewhat of a junk-drawer category emphasizing that their character and conduct was above reproach. This is best expressed in Proverbs 11.20, “Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight.” Later in Ephesians Paul says that God chose his people so that they would “be holy and blameless before him” (Eph 1.4).

This is how the apostles conducted their lives toward and among the believers. This is the reason Paul can call them to bear witness of their pure conduct in Thessalonica.

For you know how…

The second paternal illustration is that of a father. Mothers are gentle and nurturing, while fathers bring discipline and advice.[10] They performed this paternal task through exhortation, encouragement, and testimony. The first two are very similar and may be a way to emphasize the importance of godly advice and comforting words in the life of a new believer. This is magnified by the affliction that the Thessalonians experienced. Paul and his comrades brought advice and encouragement in light of the end. They knew Jesus Christ would be coming back to get them and that believers should be patient in enduring trials because the Lord will judge their enemies and save them from the wrath to come.

The missionaries also charged (lit. “bear witness”, “testify”) them to live godly lives. This third participle is the strongest of the three connoting the idea that the missionaries insisted on a certain way of life for the Thessalonian converts. It is not unlike Paul to enforce a strict code of conduct among his converts (cf. 1 Cor 6.9-11). The aim of their paternal care (exhortation, encouragement, and testifying) was to bring about pure conduct among the new believers.

Their character is to be “worthy of God.” It would seem theologically impossible for this to mean that the Thessalonians must live lives that demand reward from God, namely, eternal life, because in other places Paul says salvation is purely grace, not reward (Eph 2.8-9; cf. Rom 4.4-8). “Paul understood the behavior that he demanded of his converts as a response to God’s offer of salvation.”[11] Godly lives are the overflow of true repentance and faith. Paul gives the idea of walking in godly character. He uses the word περιπατειν, (peripatein) “to walk around”.  This shows us that Christians are not those that make a decision and fall away from grace, but are those who are chosen by God (v. 4) to live lives “in a manner worthy of God.”[12]

This flies in the face of so-called “easy-believism.” Easy believism teaches that salvation is a gift based on a decision made by a person with no strings attached. These “strings” would be things like a godly life and fruits of repentance. It is the responsibility of the Christian to live according to what God has called them. Paul, in Ephesians, tells us that God has already prepared good works for his people to do (Eph 2.10). This shows us that being a Christian is not a one-time decision, but a life-long journey that includes pure conduct.

God’s response to people he has chosen to live godly lives is to call them into his kingdom and glory. Paul doesn’t speak of the Kingdom of God much,[13] but when he does it is always eschatological, or in light of the end. The goal of salvation is glorification (Rom 8.30) and the inheritance of God’s kingdom (2 Tim 4.18). So-called Christians who do not live in a manner worthy of God will not inherit the Kingdom, but will be judged harshly (1 Cor 6.9-10; Gal 5.21; Eph 5.5).

APPLICATION POINTS

 

1. Boldness in sharing the gospel, despite the possibility of persecution/suffering.

2. Being man-pleasers instead of God-pleasers.

3. The simplicity of the gospel message.

4. Patiently nurturing new believers in the gospel.

5. Working hard in order to avoid bringing shame upon the gospel.

6. Being holy, righteous, and blameless in our conduct towards believers and unbelievers.

7. Exhorting, encouraging, and charging one another to live godly lives.

8. Walking in a manner worthy of God’s calling.