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PAUL'S FIRST LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS

DESCRIPTION OF PAUL'S CONDUCT AFTER LEAVING THESSALONICA

1 Thess. 2:17-3:13

INTRODUCTION

At first blush when you read this passage in 1 Thessalonians, it appears that Paul is violating a major principle Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount: "You have heard that it was said: 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist any evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." In other words, Jesus is instructing us not to defend ourselves whenever we come under attack.

Too often WE are intent on defending ourselves for our own sakes. It's taken me about 55 years to appreciate Jesus' teaching on this subject, but now that I appropriate it--a lot more often than I used to--I find myself more at peace during times of attack. The bottom line is that the Lord Jesus is a much better defender of me than I will ever be. Whenever He launches a counterattack, it really is a beauty to behold. As God's sons and daughters He wants to defend us and protect us--not necessarily though according to our timetable and in the way we think best. It can be difficult waiting for God to act; however, His timing is perfect and His way is so much more effective than ours could ever be. We will come out of that experience totally vindicated by Him.

Although what Jesus is saying is valid, it doesn't apply in this situation. The reason it does not apply is that whereas Paul is defending himself, he's not really primarily defending himself. This defense actually is not ultimately about Paul. Rather it is his message and the ministry God used him to establish in Thessalonica. The truth is that if Paul does not defend himself, the Thessalonians will reject him AND his gospel of salvation to THEIR OWN HARM.

DESCRIPTION OF PAUL'S FEELINGS AFTER LEAVING THESSALONICA (2:17-20)

So after Paul left Thessalonica, was he pleased he had gotten out of there without being beaten or scourged? Did he wipe his brow and go, "Whew! That was a close call?" No, instead he continued to feel great love and tenderness towards the Thessalonians. Earlier he had said that he had treated them like a nursing mother and a concerned father, symbols of great tenderness and love. Now he says: "Having been bereft of you." Actually a better translation would be "having been orphaned from you." In other words, he says that when he was thrust from Thessalonica, instead of feeling relieved, he actually felt like a child abandoned by his parents, an orphan. That was how traumatic leaving them felt to him.

Moreover, instead of feeling relieved, he actually was all the more eager with great desire to see them again. Look how he piles up description upon description to emphasize how much he longed to see them: "all the more eager" and "with great desire." Not only that but Paul wanted to come them not just once, but more than once (in the Greek "again and again").

So why hadn't Paul come back to Thessalonica if he was so gung-ho about seeing them again? Paul gives us now the reason: "Satan thwarted us." The image behind "thwarted" is that of cutting up a road. Whenever an army attacks a hostile nation, the first thing it does is to disrupt communications: destroy bridges, roads, radio towers, etc. If Satan can keep them break up their lines of communication by keeping Paul away from Thessalonica, then just possibly the lies he's been spreading will take hold. He fears that once they see Paul, they will immediately reject the lies and return to Paul AND his gospel.

I've seen it in my own life people who might initially believe a lie about me immediately change their minds when they actually see me face to face. In fact they were later embarrassed to be around me because of how they had responded when they initially heard the lies. When they saw my face, they remembered who I really was and not the image that person had painted of me. They had never treated me so kindly as they did AFTER they had initially believed the lies. Satan is wanting to keep that from happening by keeping Paul away from the Thessalonians.

Paul concludes this section with a rhetorical question, a question to which we already know the answer: "For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation?" The answer is obvious: "the Thessalonians were his hope and joy and crown of exultation."

Just what does Paul mean by calling the Thessalonians his hope and joy and crown of exultation? This clause is pointing to the future when Paul will stand before Christ after He returns to judge all mankind. On this day what will be the basis of his hope and joy and crown of exultation before the Lord? The fact that the Thessalonians have remained faithful to Jesus and to Paul in spite of all the persecutions they had suffered for the sake of Jesus.

At this point we come to a serious crisis. For all practical purposes Paul's response in this passage would be considered unhealthy to many today. He seems "co-dependent." He has not set up enough boundaries between him and the Thessalonians. Those who would make such claims do not understand what it is to love deeply and passionately.

The relationship in my life which is comparable to what Paul is describing is the one I have with my own children. Paul has not been describing romantic love; rather he has been describing parental love. There is probably nothing I wouldn't give up or sacrifice for my children. I don't hold back from them emotionally. I never want them to doubt for one minute that their dad loves them and cares deeply for them. That is the same dynamic operating here.

When it is all said and done, this is the kind of love we are to shower upon those we minister to. There is a good reason why the church is ineffective in today's world: it fails to love passionately like the early church did. The early church certainly had its share of faults but lack of love was not one of them. They exhibited so much love that they even called their fellowship suppers "love feasts" (Jude verse 12). When the modern church loves the way the early church did, we just might experience the same dynamic results the early church experienced.

PAUL IN ATHENS (3:1-5)

In chapter 2 Paul has described his conduct while in Thessalonica. Now he describes his conduct AFTER he left Thessalonica and went to Athens. His opponents in Thessalonica were making it seem that Paul was in cushy comfort once he had abandoned them. The exact opposite was true: he was in great turmoil and anguish after he had left Thessalonica for Athens.

How much did Paul care for the Thessalonians?

First he cared for them so much that he was willing to be left alone in Thessalonica while he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on them. Although Athens was a major city in Paul's day, it didn't have the Holiday Inn Expresses or Marriott Garden Suite Hotels. Normally he would enter a city and stay in a home provided by the local synagogue. His recent experiences though with the hostile synagogues might have caused him alarm when thinking about being housed by the local Jews. Although sending Timothy back to Thessalonica meant that Paul was going to have to be by himself in a strange city, he was willing to do it FOR THEIR SAKES!

Second he cared for them so much that he sent not just anybody to minister to them; instead he sent them Timothy. To show how valuable Timothy was to him, he describes him as "our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ." When you read Paul's letters to the churches, you discover how much he really needed his younger assistants, such as Timothy and Titus. He didn't have the internet to communicate with the churches he had established throughout the Roman empire. He had to rely heavily upon these associates. And now here he is in a strange city sending the most valuable of all his associates, Timothy. Why? Because of his love for them.

Over and over again Paul describes the incredible love he has for his converts, not just for the lost, but for the flocks he has established. His love for his flocks is one of the major reasons Jesus could use Paul to transform the Roman empire. If we are ever going to transform even just little ol' Corsicana, it's going to require nothing less than this same kind of love.

The first thing which motivated Paul to be alone in Athens and send Timothy to the Thessalonians was his love for them. There was also a second motive: "I ALSO sent to find out about your faith for FEAR that the Tempter might have tempted you and our labor should be in vain."

First fear that Satan was using this situation to destroy their faith. Paul did not personalize the situation in Thessalonica; his Jewish opponents were simply unwitting tools in the hands of Satan.
Second fear that Paul's labor should be in vain. Paul shuddered at the idea of coming to the Lord empty-handed on judgment day. Paul is not using people when he speaks like this. He is just fully aware of the mission that God has given him to the Gentile world and wants to make sure that he can stand before God fully confident he has fulfilled that mission. Look how confidently he speaks to the elders of the church at Ephesus: "Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men" (Acts 20:26). That is either arrogance or confidence.

THE THESSALONIANS' RESPONSE AND PAUL'S RESPONSE (3:1-5)

The Thessalonian's Response (3:6)

Well, Paul had sent Timothy to find out about the spiritual condition in the Thessalonian church and has returned with a report. What a report it is! It is a report filled with such good news that Paul here actually calls it "the gospel," which literally means "the good news."

How in the world could Paul call this good report "the gospel"? Jesus had claimed that after His death and resurrection His Spirit would be poured out upon mankind. With the Spirit working globally now, we were now in the day of reaping, harvesting souls for Jesus. Whenever souls are being harvested for Jesus, then the gospel is really fulfilling its function, a characteristic of this new age. Well, the gospel IS fulfilling its function in Thessalonica. For this reason Timothy's report does come across to Paul as the gospel!

What was contained in this report of good news, the gospel from Thessalonica?

First, the Thessalonians have continued in faith and love, faith towards God/Jesus and love towards one another. In light of all the persecution they've been experiencing, the Thessalonians could have easily turned away from Jesus, but they did not. Many times stress (like the one they were experiencing) fractures even the best relationships. Instead of love for each other, even best of friends tear at each other whenever they are under a lot of stress. But not so with the Theesalonians. They continue to trust Jesus and love one another.
Secondly, the Thessalonians were thinking kindly of Paul and were wanting to see him again. This too was gospel news for Paul. Jesus had given much authority to the apostles. In fact He had said, "He who receives whomever I send [the apostles] receives Me" (John 13:20). Receiving an apostle was for all practical purposes the same as receiving Jesus. John the loving apostle reinforces the authority of the apostles: "What WE [the apostles] have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with US, and indeed OUR fellowship is with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).
Whereas our teachings do not reach the same level of authority the apostles had, we still should speak authoritatively for Jesus. One young man in ethics class told me that he knew about the claims of Jesus Christ and yet rejected them. He wanted to know if I thought he was going to hell. I told him that I didn't judge any individual; however, also as a Christian I had no right to change what Jesus had said. Jesus claimed that no man came to the Father but through Him. I then told him that on Judgment Day I would not want to be in the shoes of any person who deliberately and knowingly rejected the claims of Jesus. We should be so close to Jesus and present Him so accurately to others that their response to us should be nothing less than their response to Jesus.

Paul's Response (3:7-10)

So how did Paul respond to this gospel from Thessalonica? First of all, Paul was "comforted." The word translated "comforted" is better translated "encouraged." It literally means "to call alongside" with the result that the person is spiritually strengthened. Even though Paul was going through hard times, this good news has strengthened and encouraged Paul.

I can relate to what Paul was saying. A little while ago I was feeling pretty down about some certain situations. I was beginning to wonder if I was effective at all in what God wanted me to do. That week out of the blue I got phone calls and emails from 2 young people I had ministered to in the past. One was the son of one of the finest families in the church I was ministering at. He has done extremely well in life (graduated from Law School at UT). He just wanted to let me know how much he had appreciated all I had done for him while I was his youth minister. Earlier I got other phone calls and emails from a young man who had been a troubled youth while I was youth minister in Lake Highlands near Dallas. He had hit rock bottom as hard as anybody could hit it. Yet he had recovered and was doing extremely well in life now. He told me that what got him through those dark days was the inspiration I had given him while I was his youth minister. After receiving such incredible bits of encouragement, I was ready to tackle the world. That's the way that Paul was feeling when he got the gospel of Thessalonica from Timothy. He had been down, but the moment he got the good news from Timothy, he was ready to conquer the world.

Second, Paul attempts to thank to God for this good news; yet as he tries to thank God, he feels he is so inadequate: "What thanks can I give to God in return for all the joy which I feel for you on your account?" This is a rhetorical question. Any thanks he gives will be inadequate; that is how much joy their faithfulness and love has brought into his life.

Throughout this letter Paul is dropping nugget after nugget after nugget describing how much he loves the Thessalonians. Here he says: "For now we really live if you stand firm in the lORD" (3:8). Paul is claiming that he enjoys life only when his converts are doing well in the Lord; however, whenever they are not doing well, he does not do well.

Again, this seems like sick co-dependence. Yet we see this same kind of "sick" co-dependence in the early Methodist ministers in America. It was said that the average life span of the first Methodist ministers in America was 30 years. They died so young because they basically worked themselves to death. Sounds unhealthy. What a waste. Maybe so. But just like Paul turned the Roman empire upside down for Jesus, they did in turn did turn a nation upside down for Jesus. Maybe it wasn't such a waste after all.

DOING WELL BUT NOT COMPLETE (3:11-13)

Paul finishes the first 3 chapters of 1 Thessalonians with a prayer. What is interesting about the prayer is that it seems to contradict all the good things he had said earlier about the Thessalonians. He had been saying earlier that they were faithful to God and loving towards other Christians. Here he prays that their love may increase and abound in love towards one another. In verse 10 he had even said that he had wanted to come to Thessalonica to complete what was lacking in their faith. Paul appears to be contradicting himself here.

The clause behind completing what was lacking has the idea of a fisherman who is mending his nets which have holes in them. Paul has heard about their faith, and although the Thessalonians have nets of faith, these nets have holes which he needs to mend.

Is there a contradiction? No. The truth is that they were being faithful to the Lord Jesus and they were loving towards other Christians; however, they were by no means perfect in faith and perfect in love. On this side of heaven perfection is impossible. Paul admits as much when he writes: "I keep pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14). He still has to press on in the faith, he still has to continue to grow in love EVEN THOUGH HE HAS BEEN A DYNAMIC CHRISTIAN FOR 40 YEARS at the time he writes Philippians! Well, if the great apostle Paul was not perfect after 40 years of following Jesus, then I should not be surprised that I am not perfect after following Jesus for 35 years!

Some react wrongly to the truth that we will never be perfect until Christ returns or we go to heaven. They say: "Why even try since I can never be perfect?" Well, one of 3 things is true about us, not FOUR, but THREE.

We are moving forward in our relationship with God
We are going downhill in our relationship with Christ
We are stagnant in our relationship with God, and as the stagnant pool begins to stink after a while, so we too begin to stink spiritually.

Naturally, we want to be like the person in #1; if we are not, then it is better to be #2 than #3. Why? Because at least #2 realizes he's got a problem. #3 smelt OK at first when he got stagnant; however, he did SLOWLY stark to smell after a while. The only problem is that he got used to the bad smell as it gradually came over him. There's probably not much hope for this person.

Now most of us want a fourth option: remain stagant AND smell good spiritually. In fact we are determined to make this fourth option work; the only problem is that it does NOT work and never will. The stagnant pool and the stagnant Christian will always have one thing in common, the foul odor they eventually put off, the first physically and the second spiritually.

Well Paul wants us to experience a blameless, holy life. At this point we think about watching only G-rated movies or turning off the TV before the kids have gone to bed. All those are good things to do to produce a holy life; however, they are not the ingredients to the recipe Paul is giving us regarding the blameless, holy life. Right before he speaks about the holy, blameless life, Paul tells us to increase in love for other Christians and for non-Christians. Then and only then will we experience a blameless, holy life. In fact the way to produce a blameless, holy life is to live a life of love.

Why does love produce a holy, blameless life? First, our lives are lived in relationships: relationship with the Father and Jesus, relationship with other people (spouse, children, parents, co-workers, neighbors), etc. You can't really live life apart from relationships. Second, if I sincerely love others, then I will treat them the way Jesus wants me to treat them. I will respect them instead of lust after them; I will protect them and their property instead of violating them and stealing their property; I will speak well of them rather than slander or lie about them. All these acts are actually holy acts. It's just that these acts of holiness proceed out of love and not out of self-righteousness.

We find the principle that holiness comes out of love in the writings and sayings of Peter, Paul, AND Jesus:

Peter: "Since you have in obedience to the truth
PURIFIED yourself for a sincere LOVE of the brethren,
fervently love one another from the heart" (1 Pet. 1:22).

Paul: "LOVE does no wrong to a neighbor;
love therefore is the fulfillment of THE LAW" (Rom. 13:10).

Jesus: "LOVE your neighbor as yourself;
This is THE LAW and the Prophets" (Matt. 22:39-40).

You can be holy without loving others; however, you can never genuinely love and not be holy.