Observations on 1 Thess 2:1-16

Observations on 1 Thess 2

1 Thess 2:1-16

Please turn to the book of 1 Thessalonians. We will be in chapter two this morning. As I said a couple of weeks ago, there will be some sermons in this series that will simply be observations on a section of scripture rather than a full exposition of what we have before us. One of the reasons for this is the amount of ground the writers cover, and repeat in a variety of ways from a multiplicity of perspectives. Not many of the verses in this book, or 2Thess for that matter, are in the category of memorable memory verses. Yet, a lot of them teach us very important matters. SO, I hope to bring out some of the weighty matters from these words--some of them might surprise you. In these books, and especially in a chapter like this, I find much that makes me identify with the apostolic band because there are many ways in which they identify with churches that may be small and fledgling congregations.

Let's read the text as a single unit without any attempt to outline it:

1 Thess 2:1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. ² But even^[a] after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.³ For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.

⁴ But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. ⁵ For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. ⁶ Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. ⁷ But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. ⁸ So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. ⁹ For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

¹⁰ You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe;¹¹ as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged^[b] every one of you, as a father does his own children,¹² that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Their Conversion

¹³ For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. ¹⁴ For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they didfrom the Judeans, ¹⁵ who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, ¹⁶ forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill upthe measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

Observation #1  The Thessalonians knew of the treatment experienced by the apostolic band. The writers could appeal to this knowledge.

The writers remind them of the history of their ministry just prior to and during their time in Thessalonica. We saw why this is important in the last two messages. In Acts 17, we find the Apostolic band, Paul especially, going to the synagogue on three successive Sabbaths to proclaim to them the Word of God. The people to whom this book is written is primarily those who believed on account of that apostolic witness. A number of people believed: Jews, devout Gentiles, some prominent women. This group, or those out this group became the church in Thessalonica.

Verse 4 of Acts 17 records this: And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

This was the instantaneous growth of the church in Thessalonica after three weeks of preaching. What a powerful work of God among them. The Spirit illumined their minds to what they heard. Their hearts were animated to turn from their idols to worship the one true and living God--a wonderful description of repentance without using the words.

These people were there when the rest of the events occurred. They were there when the riots were fomented against the apostles. They knew Jason, the man whose house was attacked by the mob. They mentioned him by name. The new believers saw the troubles with their own eyes, heard with their own ears and felt the tension present as the thugs from the marketplace were brought by the Jews to take care of the troublemakers--who were not making trouble at all, but proclaiming to them the fulfillment of their Jewish scriptures. They reasoned with the Jews about the coming of the messiah and explained to them that this Jesus that they preached to them was in fact the long-awaited messiah from God. He alone was the anointed one to whom all of their OT scriptures had pointed.   The Jews were full of envy. The Apostles were charged with insurrection--doing things illegal against Roman law. Security of some sort was extracted from Jason.

The apostolic Band escaped to Berea where they continued ministering, despite being followed there by the mob.

Paul can appeal to these things in a sort of historical shorthand because the Thessalonians knew the rest of the details. This book was not written in a vacuum. It was written to a real people with some shared Christian experiences with Paul, Silas, and Timothy (and others). Shared experiences of God's grace often bind people together.

Paul was still encouraged. He remembered: 1Thess 2:3 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. And, 4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 

With a clear conscience the writers recall their motivations in going to Thessalonica. Their motivation was to speak to the people about the Gospel of God and to do it in such a way that would please God. And, they appeal to God continually testing their hearts.

This is an important point for preachers to remember--our task is not so much to please men, but to please God. One of the Southern Presbyterians taught men to ask ten times, "Am I pleasing to God?, before asking once, "Will I be pleasing to man?" Yet, many preachers use techniques to accomplish the latter. There are many man-pleasers in the ministry. That is not what we need, nor is it profitable. They might make us feel good about ourselves, or make us laugh a time or two. But, that doesn't accomplish the work of God in the soul of men and women.

The Thessalonians knew this was true. Their words brought life to many, yet, stirred others up to hatred and anger.

The same words spoken to the same group brought two very different responses. The gospel continues to do this today. The preacher never knows what will set off immaturity at best and unbelief at worst in those who hear the preached word.  It will never cease to amaze me.

A number of men brought this up at the GA. Everyone just nodded our heads and found mutual comfort. In my experience, there is always something more to the situation, than what meets the eye. People aren't any more sophisticated in our day than they were at the time of Jesus. We would like to think we are.

Observation #2 Sometimes even apostles remember the difficult and contrary things of life before they call to mind the good and glorious.

The Apostolic band writes in 2:2 about their experience in another city immediately preceding their arrival in Thessalonica. The Apostles must have told the Thessalonians about these experiences. It seems they know all  about them:  But even^[a] after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi….

Acts 16 records the experiences of the Apostolic band in Philippi. It was mixed, but the first things said when writing to this sister church was that they were spitefully treated.

This reminds me that these ministers are in some ways like me and others I know. If we were to work our way through the narrative in Acts 16, we would meet Lydia, the seller of purple. Purple was a dye from mollusks used by royalty and nobles to dye their robes. To be a wearer of purple was to be a royal or noble of some importance. So, Lydia of Thyatira, nor living, or at least staying in a house in Philippi would have been well-connected and well-to-do.

Look at the text: Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. ¹⁴ Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

That's a wonderful experience for the ministers to have had. We don't know why they met by the riverside. All sorts of reasons are offered. It could be that there was no synagogue. So, the people who wanted to worship went down by the riverside. Somehow Paul and Silas knew this. The Lord worked in Her heart as she heard the preaching of Paul. She insisted on being baptized--the river was right there. Whatever "and her household" means, they were baptized, too.

At the end of the chapter, we have another unexpected and sudden conversion. Paul and Silas were thrown in Jail--we will look at this in a few moments. They were singing and praying late into the night. An earthquake struck. The jail was opened. Paul steps forward to control the prisoners. The jailer who was going to kill himself does not, but instead asks the Apostle, "What must I do to be saved?" He is given the answer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

How did the Jailer know to ask that question? It is presumed that the content of the prayers and hymns were such that the jailer understood some content of the Christian Faith. He must have known there was something different about these men. They came to his aid. The Philippian Jailer believed and was baptized.

The first chapter of Philippians is a joy to read. ****

If we had experiences like these, would the salvation of a few people be so important to us that it would be the first things we would mention in a letter to others? We might want to think so, but I would likely be like Paul and Silas. I find great comfort that they remember the difficult times before the wonderful ones--not so about Thessalonica, but these contrary experiences were in their minds when it came to Philippi. What was the contrary experience in that city?

Turn to Acts 16:16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she did for many days.

Let me ask you a question. Was this slave girl telling the truth? She was. How did she know these things? It is likely through false religion and fortune-telling. It was the truth in all of its detail.  Yet, her advertising what unwanted.

I enjoy the next words in the narrative…..

But Paul, greatly annoyed,

Do ministers ever get annoyed at people? Let me ask it another way, if Paul was justly annoyed, can faithful ministers, be likewise annoyed at people and what they say?

Some people have a view that ministers ought to be perfect in all ways and at all times. That can't be the case. If Paul can be annoyed, and I would go even further, if Jesus can be annoyed at the money-changers and his own disciples, ministers in our day can be also. You get annoyed--we are more like you than Jesus.

Being annoyed, this is what Paul did…. Paul

…turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. ¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

These are the problems in Philippi that define their visit to the city:

²⁰ And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; ²¹ and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”

They appeal to their Roman citizenship.

 ²² Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

Rather ignoble treatment of visitors who brought the Christian gospel--the words of life and death from God and his Son Jesus Christ.

 ²³ And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. ²⁴ Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Then the earthquake hit. You know the rest of the story.

I find it very interesting that when Paul and Silas think of Philippi, the first things that come to mind are not the marvelous conversion of a handful of people--that was a profound manifestation of power. But, what they mention is how they were spitefully treated. Perhaps, it was because this part of their experience was most similar to what they had experienced in Thessalonica.

Observation #1  The Thessalonians knew of the treatment experienced by the apostolic band. The writers could appeal to this knowledge.

Observation #2 Sometimes even apostles remember the difficult and contrary things of life before they call to mind the good and glorious.

Observation #3 The Ministry was a fulltime job in the apostolic age and throughout all of time it remains the same.

They use the language of child-rearing to describe the ministry towards the Thessalonians:

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. ⁸ So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. ⁹ For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

Labor and toil, night and day. There is a fals view of the ministry that thinks pastors work only one day a week. Hey come on Sunday, stand up and speak and then have a leisurely existence the rest of the week. That's not true. The ministry is a seven day a week calling. But it only requires half days--you just don't know which 12 hours it is going to be.

As a pastor lays on his pillow, his thought often turn to the church and her people. It is a time for quiet reflection and prayer. Not all night are full of rest. Sometimes pastors are annoyed at what some are doing. The some can be from within the congregation or from outside as people try to influence his sheep in one way or another.

Yet, to all he must act as a nurturing mother. To care for you and to bring you to maturity--even if you don't want to go there.

The band continues:

¹⁰ You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe;¹¹ as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged^[b] every one of you, as a father does his own children,¹² that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

A pastor not only functions in some ways as a mother, but also as a father toward his own children. Why?

That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Observation #4 You can walk worthy of God

It is a lie that diminishes the joy of Christians so they don't see who they are as the children of God and under the care of the overshepherd who provides undershepherds to care for his fold. The doctrine of sin, especially remaining sin, can sometimes be distorted beyond the shape it is given in the scriptures. We are sinners, and in this life we never stop being sinners, yet, in Christ we are worthy to be called the sons and daughters of God. But, our worthiness does not end there. We are made worthy to partake of the Lord's Supper as we remember Jesus and all he has done for his people. It goes beyond that--we are made worthy of God through the Lord Jesus Christ--we are worthy of the most intimate union man can experience as we are united to him. He gives us his own Spirit to come and work in us unto his glory. Over the years, he effectively works in us conforming us into the image of God's own Son.

We can walk worthy of God because he has called us into his own kingdom, to share in his glory.

Even when we remember the contrary experiences first, we are worthy of God.

Even when I am annoyed with others, he is at work doing things above and beyond what I could imagine.

Even when I feel worthless and weak, then is his strength made perfect in weakness. Such was the poser of God manifest in Philippi and Thessalonica. It can be found at work, again today.

Obersvation #5 Its all about Jesus

Be comforted and exhorted at this Lord who suffered inhis person that the likes of us will never know the torment of it all.

The worst of our experiences as believers here are the closest experiences we will ever have to what Hell is like. For the unbeliever, the only taste of heaven they will ever have is a taste of the good things in this life. They will never know the glories of life with Christ fully realized. We will never know a life without Christ from the point of our regeneration onward. It is this Christ, the one preached in Thessalonica and Philippi, the one through whom the churches came to be and Lydia and the Jailer believed. It is this one who alone makes us worthy. He comes to work in us making us his very own and then preparing us for heaven where we shall be glorified with Him.

He takes us on a marvelous journey from being dead in Sin, to glory, where we will be dead to sin. We should be overwhelmed with praise for such a gracious, undeserved work in us.