1Thessalonians, Chapter 3
Copyright © 1999 Darroll Evans-All rights
reserved
1Thessalonians 3:1-3
1 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left
at Athens alone;
2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of
God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ,
to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:
3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that
we are appointed thereunto.
Because of the circumstances of their stay in
Thessalonica, Paul went to
At
Paul then moved on to
It seems interesting to me that Silas and
Timothy stayed in
Apparently they did not present the same
threat to Orthodox Jews as did Paul.
Upon their joining forces again in
That was done so that the opponents of the
gospel would not find the flock there unattended.
1Thessalonians 3:4 For verily, when we
were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it
came to pass, and ye know.
Paul explained that while he, Silas, and
Timothy were there, They told them about the things
they must endure.
Enduring things for the sake of Christ is not
a popular subject.
1Thessalonians 3:5 For this cause, when I
could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the
tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.
Paul expressed deep concern about the welfare
of the
He had left during a time of great turmoil
and wanted to know how they were.
Let's look at the story.
Acts 17:1-15
1 When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a
Jewish synagogue.
2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he
reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.
"This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said.
4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large
number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.
5 But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the
marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to
Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the
crowd.
6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers
before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble
all over the world have now come here,
7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's
decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus."
8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into
turmoil.
9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to
11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than
the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and
examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and
many Greek men.
13 When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of
God at
14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy
stayed at
15 The men who escorted Paul brought him to
As you can see success in evangelism may not
translate to popularity.
Paul was successful, and that was an irritant
to many in that day.
Things have not changed.
Evangelists are not looked on in all quarters
as welcome.
Even Paul wanted to know if he had been
successful or had worked in vain.
With our view, it is difficult to understand
that Paul the great writer of much of the New Testament would have any doubts
as to his work, and yet he did.
1Thessalonians 3:6-8
6 But now when Timotheus came from you unto us,
and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good
remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:
7 Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and
distress by your faith:
8 For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
Timothy was sent to see what effect the
persecution had on the new believers in Thessalonica.
He brought back good news. They were
remaining in the faith.
We must remember that the Thessalonians had
but a few weeks training in the foundations of the Christian faith.
Timothy's report brought great joy and
comfort to Paul and the others in his party.
The eighth verse is interesting to me.
It says, "For now we live, if ye
stand fast in the Lord."
Evidently Paul considered that his very life,
or reason for living, depended on his presentation of the gospel.
That is intense!
1Thessalonians 3:9-10
9 For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy
wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;
10 Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might
perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
Here we see the proper response to success in
Christ.
It is rejoicing in prayer.
Many years ago, I served on a committee in
charge of a large citywide crusade.
I recall one meeting, a prayer meeting for
the Pastors and committee chairmen.
The reason that meeting in so etched in my
mind is that during that "prayer" meeting, that just 45 seconds of
prayer was actually offered to God.
I was so disappointed that while the others
bowed their heads at the close of the meeting (no prayer was offered at the
opening), I timed the closing prayer.
On the flip side of that coin, George Mueller
started an orphanage in
The orphanage is still in business today.
The citywide crusade was a flop.
Prayer is the key to success.
1Thessalonians 3:11-13
11 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way
unto you.
12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another,
and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Instead of commentary, let me offer you my
personal translation of Paul's prayer:
"May our God and Father and our Lord
Jesus guide our way to you.
May the Lord cause you to increase to the
point of superabundance in love for each other and for all others as well, just
as we love you.
When we acknowledge Christ Jesus, He
establishes our hearts as unblameable and holy before
our God and Father [as you stand in grace] in the presence of our Lord Jesus
with all His saints.