Bible Commentaries
1 Thessalonians 3

Verse 1

1 Thessalonians 3:1

Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone;—Paul’s anxiety for the Thessalonian Christians was so great that he could endure the strain no longer while he was at Athens and preferred to be left alone.

Verse 2

1 Thessalonians 3:2

and sent Timothy,—[Immediately upon reaching Athens, Paul sent word back to Macedonia by the brethren who had escorted him “that they should come to him with all speed.” (Acts 17:15.) It is, therefore, most reasonable to suppose that Silas and Timothy joined Paul forthwith at Athens, and were almost as soon sent back into Macedonia—Silas to Berea or Philippi, and Timothy to Thessalonica. This ex­plains Paul’s being left alone. This also explains how both Tim­othy and Silas came from Macedonia to Corinth. (Acts 18:5.) “To be left behind” was a great trial to Paul’s affectionate nature. Such a sacrifice may well impress the Thessalonians with the strength of his love for them. He mentions this as if it had been a great sacrifice, and it certainly was so for him. He seems to have been in many ways dependent on the sympathy and assistance of others and of all places he ever visited Athens was the most trying to his ardent tempera­ment. It was filled with idols and exceedingly religious; yet it seemed to him more hopelessly away from God than any city he had ever visited. Never had he been left alone in a place so completely unsympathetic; never had he felt so great a gulf between the minds of others and his own; and Timothy had no sooner gone than he made his way to Corinth.]

our brother and God’s minister in the gospel of Christ,—[Paul bestows these commendatory titles on Timothy partly from his affection for his young fellow worker and partly to show still further his love for the Thessalonians which en­abled him to part with so dear and valuable a companion.]

to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith;—The Thessalonian Christians were, at the time this Epistle was written, with only partial gifts of the Spirit and the re­membrance of what Paul had taught them when he was with them. Paul knew they needed a fuller instruction in the com­pleted will of God that they might be established more strong­ly in the faith. The more complete their knowledge of God’s will, the better they knew how to walk in God’s ways: and the stronger and the more fixed their faith in him, the greater joy and comfort they had in doing his will. One's enjoyment of the assurance which faith gives depends on the strength of that faith enlightened and directed by the will of God. [Paul feared that their faith might fail under the persecution to which they were exposed. Timothy’s mission was in the in­terest of their faith to impress upon them that the troubles in which they were involved were no proof that their faith was vain and to encourage them to continue steadfast in it.]

Verse 3

1 Thessalonians 3:3

that no man be moved by these afflictions;—Their love for Paul was so great that his afflictions unduly moved and excited them and they felt discouraged and disheartened that Paul, the leader of the Christians, an inspired man of God, should so suffer. [But the afflictions to which he especially refers are most likely the persecutions which began with the establishment of the church and still continued.]

for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed.—[From the very beginning God declares to his people that they may expect to be tried and therefore when trial comes they cannot be inclined to suppose that God is forgetful of them.] The afflictions of God's children do not result from chance, but are the necessary consequence of being his chil­dren; they arise from the appointment and ordinance of God. We must be conformed to Christ in his sufferings. To his disciples Jesus said: “In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33.) When the Lord called Paul to the apostleship, he showed him how many things he must suffer for his name’s sake. (Acts 9:16.) All the apostles suffered persecution, and, concerning Christians in general, Paul asserts that “through many tribu­lations we must enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22.)

Verse 4

1 Thessalonians 3:4

For verily, when we were with you, we told you before­hand that we are to suffer affliction;—They should not have been surprised at the consequences of their acceptance of the gospel, for he did not withhold from them the inevitable con­sequences of their accepting the gospel. [There was every reason to apprehend that they would meet with opposition on account of their becoming Christians, and it was natural that Paul should prepare their minds for it beforehand.]

even as it came to pass, and ye know.—[This refers to the time when Paul, Silas, and Timothy were driven away from Thessalonica, and when the church was so much agitated by the violent opposition of the Jews. (Acts 17:5-8.)]

Verse 5

1 Thessalonians 3:5

For this cause I also, when I could no longer forbear, sent that I might know your faith,—Because of their knowing of his sufferings and the discouragement, when he could no longer restrain his anxiety about the effect of his sufferings on them, he sent Timothy that he might know their fidelity, or steadfastness in the gospel. [The word know, as it occurs here, suggests fullness of knowledge rather than progress in knowledge.]

lest by any means the tempter had tempted you,—[Paul had just referred to the hindrances to his own movements that Satan had been able to throw across his path. (2:18.) He now writes of a more serious Satanic opposition in the temp­tation of the young Thessalonian church to unfaithfulness. He is anxious lest during his absence the fierce enmity of the Jews, either by some more violent attack on the church or by the harassing of incessant persecution, may at length have broken down their fidelity and faithfulness. The dangers in which these lay besets Christians in all ages, though the form in which it presents itself varies much.]

and our labor should be in vain.—[Paul feared that Satan might have succeeded in weakening their faith, and that his labors in their behalf might therefore finally come to naught. This recognition of the dependence of his final success upon the steadfastness of those who became obedient to the faith under his labors appears particularly in the following exhorta­tion: “So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence, only, but now much more in my ab­sence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and questionings; that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life; that I may have whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain neither labor in vain.” (Philippians 2:12-16.)]

Verse 6

1 Thessalonians 3:6

But when Timothy came even now unto us from you,—Timothy in company with Silas joined Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:5), and gave him information concerning the condition of the Thessalonian Church. The word now qualifies came, and denotes just now. Timothy’s return had been anxiously awaited, and no sooner had he arrived and given his report than Paul writes this affectionate and grateful Epistle.

and brought us glad tidings of your faith and love,—[The report that Timothy brought from Thessalonica comforted Paul in all his distress and affliction, and brought him new life and indescribable joy. Timothy was a coworker with Paul from the beginning of the Thessalonian Church; he was greatly devoted to it and came at once into close contact with its real condition and found it full of faith and love. They were standing fast in the Lord. Their common faith had its most signal manifestation in love; it separated them from the world, and bound them close to each other. Faith in God and love to him and to man are the very life of the Christian. It is good news to faithful Christians to hear that they exist in a congregation.]

and that ye have good remembrance of us always,—They remembered Paul and his teaching in love, and cherished an affectionate regard for him, notwithstanding the efforts which had been made to alienate their affections from him.

longing to see us, even as we also to see you;—There was no disposition to blame him for having left them or because he did not return to them. They were as anxious to see him as he was to see them. [Titus brought a similar message from Corinth to Paul while he was in Macedonia, and that after he had written his severe first Epistle to them. (2 Corinthians 7:7.) Writing from Rome, Paul expressed his longing to see again the beloved saints at Philippi (Philippians 1:8), a longing in which Epaphroditus, his fellow worker, shared (2:25). “For in faith ye stand.” (2 Corinthians 1:24.)]

Verse 7

1 Thessalonians 3:7

for this cause, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith:—Paul was much comforted in his affliction with the assurance of their strong and active faith. [Their faith was the es­sential point concerning which Timothy was sent to inquire (verse 5); if this was steadfast, all would he well. So the Lord Jesus prayed for Peter: “But I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not.” (Luke 22:32.)]

Verse 8

1 Thessalonians 3:8

for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.—[When Timothy came from Thessalonica he found Paul in great need of comforting words. So extreme was his distress that he spoke of it by implication as death. But the good report of the faith and love of the Thessalonians and their joy and gladness brought life to him. This passage shows that Paul was a man of a high and ardent nature, sensitive in his affec­tions to a high degree. His whole soul was bound up with the churches he had founded. (2:8.) They were his spiritual “children” (1 Corinthians 4:14-15), his “beloved and longed for,” his “joy and crown” (Philippians 4:1). He lived for nothing else.]

Verse 9

1 Thessalonians 3:9

For what thanksgiving can we render again unto God for you,—Paul puts this question in proof of the strong declara­tion he had just made; the news that Timothy brought from them was new life to him, so much so that he could find no words sufficient to express his gratitude to God for the abounding joy which filled his heart in thinking of them.

for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;—It was a pure, holy joy which was not hindered, but heightened, because it was in God’s presence; standing in full view of God, his exultation only swelled to a higher, stronger degree of thanksgiving for all the joy he had received from their steadfastness. [The condition of alarm and depression which Paul had previously experienced made the rebound of joy the more vivid. Only those who have suffered much know joy in its full capacity, “as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” (2 Corinthians 6:9-10.)]

Verse 10

1 Thessalonians 3:10

night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face,—His rejoicing issued in prayer all the more constant and earnest that he might again be with them, not in heart only, but in person.

and may perfect—[Since perfect means the attainment of its ends and entire completeness in all its parts, the suffering believer should seek to be perfect in the development of char­acter, and entire in the discharge of the duties allotted to his several spheres of life. When this end should be attained, he would be lacking in nothing in Christian conduct.]

that which is lacking in your faith?—[The things that were lacking to attain this end were not so much what was lacking in their faith, but that which was lacking to perfect their faith. Their faith in itself was steadfast and vigorous. Of their faith Paul says: “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ... For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything.” (1:3, 8; see also 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 1:3.)] The things that were lacking were the things unrevealed. Paul had not, at the time he preached at Thessalonica, received the fullness of the will of God, or they were not capable of under­standing it when he was with them. So their faith was de­ficient on account of the lack of knowledge. Paul was anxious to supply the lack lest they fall from their steadfastness. [The principal things lacking apparently concerned their con­duct, their hope, and their mutual relationship in the church, for instruction on these points occupies the remainder of the Epistle.]

Verse 11

1 Thessalonians 3:11

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus,—Paul had earnestly endeavored to visit them, but in vain. Satan had successfully opposed him. But Paul made his appeal to God who is over all, and to the Lord Jesus, their Lord and his. God is mightier and wiser than Satan and his servants, so all is well.

direct our way unto you:—[The petition is that God would remove all obstacles so that he could come direct to them. This prayer, though deferred, in about five years afterwards was fulfilled in his return to Macedonia. (Acts 20:1; Acts 20:3.)]

Verse 12

1 Thessalonians 3:12

and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another,—Paul so loved them that he could not rest until he had made known the full will of God to them. [Taken together the words may be understood as increase in love so as to abound.]

and toward all men, even as we also do toward you;—If such earnest love that others should know the truth and be saved was proper for the Thessalonian Christians, it is right for Christians now. Christians then inspired with the true spirit cannot rest without making an earnest effort to make known the wilt of God to alt men. [The Christian obligation to love and to serve is not to be limited in its objects to other Christians, nor does it in any way depend on the love or hate that others may show. (Matthew 5:44-48.) There is no limit to the heart’s capacity for love nor to the opportunities af­forded for its exercise in daily life; hence, these repeated exhortations. (4:1, 10; 2 Thessalonians 3:5.)]

Verse 13

1 Thessalonians 3:13

to the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father,—The prayer that God would make them to increase in love toward one another and toward all men was to the end that he might thereby establish their hearts unblamable in holiness before God.

at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.—This carries the thought that the heart cannot be established un­blamable in holiness before God—cannot be prepared to meet the Lord at his coming—without a heart abounding in love toward both God and man. “Love worketh no ill to his neigh­bor; love therefore is the fulfilment of the law.” (Romans 13:10.) He who abounds in love must do what the law requires him to do, both toward God and man.