Wherefore, being no longer able to refrain ourselves, we thought good to be left alone in Athens,
Paul was in Athens, and a group of new believers in Thessalonica weighed on his mind. Verse 1 records his choice: he would rather stand alone in a hostile city than leave those young converts without help.
The loneliness in this verse was not chosen in calm circumstances. Paul had been chased from one city to the next, and Athens was no refuge.
To Paul, visiting Athens, it was no small trial to give up the company of his true and beloved child in the faith. But there was no other way to satisfy his affectionate concern for the Thessalonians. He knew they were only babes in the faith. He knew too that they faced enemies, both Jewish and Gentile, as subtle as they were determined and unscrupulous. He himself was about to face Satan in a stronghold of his religious influence and philosophical thinking. No one had yet preached the name of Jesus there. And he did not even have fellow believers with whom to pray and take counsel.
Love did two things at once here, and the second one cost Paul. One writer also notes what Timothy was not sent to do.
With the urgency of love he could no longer hold back from getting in touch with them. With the unselfishness of love he gave up, for a time, the company and help of Timothy, his fellow worker at Athens. He sent him to Thessalonica to establish and comfort these tried saints about their faith. Timothy was not sent to try to remove the trial, but to support their faith in the trial.
How new in the faith were these Christians? One writer works it out from the timing of Timothy's visit and this letter.
It is hard to imagine that Paul waited long before sending Timothy ("we could bear it no longer": 3:1). It is just as hard to think much time passed between Timothy's return and the writing of this letter. So the Thessalonians were still young converts when Paul wrote. Most likely only a few months had gone by since their conversion.
So what steadies a shaken believer? One writer asks that question, then looks at the young man Paul sent.
What is it that really establishes people? The ministry of the truth. Timothy was a very remarkable young man, though perhaps a little timid. So the apostle says, "Let no one despise you for your youth." Do you know what the apostle says about Timothy? "I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare." He was a very devoted young man… The church of God today would be all the better for a legion of Timothys. The Thessalonians were much established by that visit.
Paul sent, Timothy went, and the Thessalonians took comfort. One writer sees God at work through every link in that chain.
Grace alone could call people into such a path. Grace alone can sustain them in it, and grace does not fail. Still the Lord works by means — by Paul's sending, by Timothy's going and comforting the saints, and by their joy in the comfort, whatever the pressure of affliction.
The afflictions had an author, and he had an aim of his own.
If the desire of the apostle was to establish and comfort them in the trial, the effort of the enemy was to move them (v. 3) and to tempt them (v. 5). Satan would try to use these afflictions to move them off the path of faith their feet had been set in. He would tempt them to leave the circle of God's people by drawing them back into the world.
Timothy's report came back — and it did something to Paul himself.
Sorrows surrounded him, and so did the opposition of men — in a word, the afflictions of the gospel. In the middle of it this news refreshes the apostle's spirit. He is himself strengthened. The faith of the labourer is the means of blessing to souls, and it generally measures the outward character of the work. In return, the faith of the Christians who are the fruit of his labours is a source of strength and encouragement to him.
- Pressure. "We could bear it no longer" is the language of love under strain. Paul acted fast because his converts were only months old and under fire.
- Cost. Love gave away what it most wanted to keep. Paul let Timothy go and stayed alone in a hostile city so that his friends would get help.
- Errand. Timothy came not to end the trouble but to steady faith inside it — and what steadies people is the ministry of the truth.
- Enemy. Behind the afflictions stood a tempter. His aim was to shift young believers off the path of faith and pull them back into the world.
- Return. News that they were standing firm came back and strengthened Paul himself. The labourer draws strength from the faith of those he laboured for.
and sent Timotheus, our brother and fellow-workman under God in the glad tidings of Christ, to confirm you and encourage [you] concerning your faith,
Persecution had cut Paul off from the new believers in Thessalonica, and he could not go back to them. So he sent Timothy in his place, with two jobs to do: to establish them, and to encourage them about their faith.
The verse begins with a sacrifice. Athens was the hardest possible place to be left alone, and Paul chose to be left there anyway.
Paul had been kept from coming in person, very likely by the violence of the persecution Satan raised against him. But he had sent Timothy to comfort and encourage them. Here again, as chapter 3 opens, we see in Paul the marks of a true father in Christ. He was at Athens, an especially hard and difficult city. There he felt the need of support and encouragement from like-minded fellow workers more than in most places. Yet he would sacrifice himself and stay behind alone, so that Timothy might shepherd the souls of these young believers. Timothy would establish them just when Satan was aiming to overthrow them through their afflictions.
Paul stacks three descriptions on one young man: brother, servant of God, fellow worker. Those words were the credentials Timothy carried into a hostile city on Paul's behalf.
Timothy is the model of a devoted and faithful servant of the Lord. Paul was full of praise for this companion and co-worker. In 1 Thessalonians 3:2 he calls Timothy "our brother and minister of God and our fellow-labourer in the gospel of Christ."
The Greek manuscripts vary here, and commentators note that the phrase has often been rendered "fellow-worker with God." One writer argues the sense must run the other way:
This verse comes to us with a text that varies in the manuscripts. But if we read "fellow-worker of God", as in the margin, then "fellow-worker with God" will not do. It is not the thought at all, however pleasing it may be to human nature. God uses labourers as His work-fellows; but He is no work-fellow of theirs. It is irreverent.
The two verbs are not a repetition. They describe two different kinds of work, and Paul sent one man to do both.
His work was first to establish them. That means giving them the ministry of the Word, which is the basis for firm, solid stability in standing for God. Then he was to comfort or encourage them. Establishing has more to do with teaching. Encouraging is more like shepherding, or pastoral work. How good it is when we see both together.
Timothy was young, and not a forceful man. What he brought with him is what counted.
What is it that truly establishes people? The ministry of the truth. Timothy was a very remarkable young man, though perhaps a little timid. That is why the apostle says, "Let no one despise you for your youth." God's assembly today would be all the better for an army of Timothys, for that visit did much to establish the Thessalonians.
Love drove Paul to send Timothy. Love also shaped what Timothy came to do.
Love was urgent, so he could no longer hold back from getting in touch with them. Love was unselfish, so he went without the companionship and help of Timothy, his fellow worker at Athens. He sent him to Thessalonica instead, to establish and comfort these tried saints about their faith. Paul did not send Timothy to try to remove the trial, but to support their faith in the trial. It was the same when trial came on Peter. The Lord could say, "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail." The Lord does not pray that Peter might escape the trial. Peter needed it, so that he might learn his own heart. He prays that in the trial Peter's faith might not break down.
Timothy came back with his report. Paul's reaction is the letter you are reading.
Timothy brought good news of their faith and love. So the apostle could break out into thanks and joy for their sakes before God, and he lets them know it in his first letter.
- Cost. Paul paid for this verse before he wrote it — he stayed alone in a hard city so that Timothy could go to a suffering one.
- Credentials. Timothy went out as brother, servant of God, and fellow worker. The manuscripts differ over that last title, but God uses workers under Him — He is no work-fellow of theirs.
- Commission. One errand, two jobs: establish, which is teaching, and comfort, which is shepherding. Both belong together.
- Content. The ministry of the truth is what establishes people. Timothy came to hold their faith up inside the trial, not to lift the trial off them.
- Consequence. Timothy's report was full of faith and love, so the apostle broke out into thanks and joy before God — and wrote this letter.
that no one might be moved by these afflictions. (For yourselves know that we are set for this;
Paul had left this young church in a hurry under a storm of hostility, and had sent Timothy back to steady them. Verse 3 gives the reason their suffering should not shake anyone: Paul had told them to expect it.
The ESV says believers are "destined for this." Older wording reads "we are appointed thereunto." One writer puts it in everyday terms:
"We are appointed thereunto." It reads better like this: "We are set for this" — this is our lot.
If suffering is appointed, then the persecutor is not the final explanation for it. Two things lie behind it:
Why there must be persecution. First, it is God's decree, "We are appointed thereunto" (1 Thess. 3:3). Whoever brings the suffering, God sends it… Second, it is God's design for the trial of His saints. "Many shall be tried." It separates true saints from hypocrites. Unsound hearts make a fair show in prosperity, but in a time of persecution they fall away. Hypocrites will follow Christ to the Mount of Olives, but not to Calvary. Suffering times are sifting times.
The warning came twice over — first from the Lord, then from the apostle.
The Holy Spirit through the apostle, as the Lord Jesus had done before him, had given full warning of the special and constant troubles that await the believer while passing through the world. There is peace within, beyond anything man can imagine, peace in Christ, but tribulation in the world. Faith alone can enjoy the one and endure the other. This is meant to be the experience of Christians while waiting for Christ, and nothing else is to be their expectation… Even the youngest must learn this, since the real hostility of the world and of its prince spares no one.
The trouble itself is not the danger. The danger is what the enemy wants to do with it:
Having expressed his love for them, the Apostle goes on to warn them about the efforts of the tempter against them. If the desire of the Apostle was to establish and comfort them in the trial, the effort of the enemy was to move them (3), and tempt them (5). Satan would seek to use these afflictions to move them from the path of faith in which their feet had been set. He would also tempt them to abandon the circle of God's people by drawing them back into the world.
Paul does not leave the affliction standing alone:
He had indeed reminded them that they were called to God's "Kingdom and glory" (2:12). But he also warned them that in passing through this world — man's kingdom — we are appointed to affliction. But he presents the future glory before he speaks of the present affliction. So we are called to face afflictions in the light of the glory.
We need this reminder often, because human nature looks for a way out:
If we should be too distressed or shaken by afflictions, is it not well to remember "that we are appointed thereunto"? It seems God's people constantly need this reminder. The apostle reminds them that when he was with them, they had made it clear beforehand that they would suffer tribulation. So it turned out, as they were witnesses themselves. Yet we can too easily forget the preciousness of the privilege of suffering for the Lord's sake. Human nature will look for an escape from this.
How far does this appointment reach? One writer marks the limit:
Now, no one denies that the Christian may be called to pass through much affliction. Scripture says, "we are appointed thereunto." But this is in a general way; it has nothing to do with "the tribulation."
- Appointed — the phrase means "we are set for this." Affliction is the believer's lot, not an accident.
- Decreed — whoever brings the suffering, God sends it. He sends it to sift: suffering times separate real faith from a fair show.
- Foretold — the Lord promised peace in Him and tribulation in the world. Trouble is the expected Christian path, not a sign that something has gone wrong.
- Targeted — the enemy wants the pain to move you off the path of faith and back into the world.
- Framed — Paul names the glory first, then the affliction. Face sorrow in the light of glory and it becomes a privilege, not something to flee.
for also, when we were with you, we told you beforehand we are about to be in tribulation, even as also it came to pass, and ye know.)
Paul had spent only a short time in Thessalonica, and the young believers he left behind were now suffering for their faith. Here he reminds them that he had warned them. While he was still with them, he said that suffering was coming — and it came.
Paul's converts were not caught off guard by hardship. He had warned them, and his time with them was short.
The trial of their faith had not come as a surprise, because he had warned them about it beforehand, even though his stay among them had been so short.
Paul said this to converts of only a few weeks. That shapes how the gospel should be presented today.
From this let us learn a lesson. It is neither right nor wise to hide from the youngest convert that tribulation from the world is the normal lot of the Christian on earth. There are abundant joys in Christianity, but not of a worldly kind. In the world we are to have tribulation, so let us not misrepresent the case, thinking that this will get us more converts. Let the truth be faced, and we shall not lose one true convert by it, though plenty of make-believe ones may be checked — for their good and ours too.
This was not a private word for one city in trouble. The same message went everywhere the apostles preached.
"That no one be moved by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we are destined for this" — it is the lot of all true believers. In fact he had forewarned them of all this when he was among them. This was part of the apostolic message, as we learn from Acts 14:22: "strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."
The order of Paul's words matters. He named their calling first, then the suffering.
The Apostle had forewarned these young believers that we must expect tribulation. He had indeed reminded them that they were called to God's "kingdom and glory" (2:12). But he also warned them that we are appointed to affliction as we pass through this world — man's kingdom. He presents the future glory first, and then speaks of the present affliction. So we are called to face afflictions in the light of the glory.
Persecution has an aim behind it. That is why one word keeps coming back in this chapter.
In raising persecution against believers, Satan is always aiming at their faith. He would weaken it and destroy it if he could. Notice how Paul stresses faith in this passage as a result. He sent Timothy to comfort "concerning your faith." He sent to "know your faith." Timothy returned and brought "good news of your faith," and as a result he was comforted "by your faith."
Some readers take this verse, and others like it, as a picture of a future time of trouble still to come. The answer comes from the verse itself.
A little thought will show that both passages refer to this present period. Paul plainly says "as it came to pass," which points to what they were going through then.
Other writers draw the same line, while fully granting the suffering.
No one denies that the Christian may be called to pass through much affliction. Scripture says, "we are destined for this." But this is meant in a general way. It has nothing to do with "the tribulation."
Knowing something in advance and remembering it under pressure are two different things — and the instinct to look for a way out never dies.
If we are too distressed or shaken by afflictions, is it not good to remember that "we are destined for this"? It seems the saints of God constantly need this reminder. The apostle had made it clear beforehand that they would suffer tribulation. So it turned out, and they saw it themselves. Yet we can too easily forget how precious a privilege it is to suffer for the Lord's sake. Human nature will look for an escape from this.
- Told — Paul warned the Thessalonians of coming suffering during a short stay. The trial did not surprise them, because the warning came first.
- Taught — the same warning was standard apostolic preaching. Hiding it from a young convert misrepresents Christianity; facing the truth loses no true convert.
- Targeted — Satan aims at their faith. So Paul works to strengthen faith rather than to remove the trouble.
- Timed — Paul names glory before affliction, so believers face what comes in the light of the kingdom they are called to.
- Told again — knowing it in advance is not the same as remembering it under pressure. Saints need the reminder that we are destined for this.
For this reason *I* also, no longer able to refrain myself, sent to know your faith, lest perhaps the tempter had tempted you and our labour should be come to nothing.
Satan had blocked Paul from returning to Thessalonica, and the young believers there were under persecution. So he sent Timothy instead. This verse tells us what Paul feared, and what he longed to hear.
Sending Timothy cost Paul something. He gave up the fellow worker who was helping him at Athens.
Satan stopped Paul from coming himself, so love found another way to help and comfort them. Love was urgent: he could not hold back from contacting them any longer. Love was unselfish: for a time he gave up the company and help of Timothy, his fellow worker at Athens, so that he could send him to Thessalonica to strengthen and comfort these tested believers about their faith. Timothy was not sent to try to remove the trial, but to support their faith in the trial.
The title Paul gives Satan here describes his method. Two verbs run through this short passage — the enemy wants to move them and to tempt them.
Having shown his love for them, the Apostle goes on to warn them about what the tempter is doing against them. Paul wanted to strengthen and comfort them in the trial. The enemy wanted to move them and tempt them. Satan would use these afflictions to move them off the path of faith that God had set their feet on. He would tempt them to leave the circle of God's people, and draw them back into the world.
Paul did not send to ask about their circumstances or their comfort. He sent "to learn about your faith." One writer traces that word right through the passage.
When Satan stirs up persecution against believers, he is always aiming at their faith. He would weaken it, and destroy it if he could. Notice how Paul stresses faith all through this passage. He sent Timothy to comfort them "concerning your faith." He sent "to learn about your faith." Timothy came back with good news of their faith, and so Paul was comforted "by your faith." Faith is the eye of the soul. Faith is a vital link between the soul and God. Weaken that link, and everything about the believer is weakened. Satan knows this very well.
Paul's fear here is not unbelief. Two things were true of him at once.
He did not doubt the Lord's watchful eye. Still, his whole heart was stirred about them. He had sent Timothy when he could not go himself. He was overjoyed to hear the good account he got through him, because he had dreaded that the great wave of trouble sweeping over them might shake them.
The last clause looks ahead. Paul had a reward in view, and he saw it at risk.
He knew they were in the Lord's hands, that His watchful eye was upon them and that His power was enough to keep them. Yet he had deep concern and anxiety for them, for he also knew Satan's power... The day of Christ, when the servant receives the reward and the saints are "the crown of glorying," is in his thoughts. If the tempter succeeded he would not have that crown of glorying in the presence of the Lord.
Timothy came back. His report shows the shape God's help often takes.
He did not bring news that the trial was over, or that the afflictions had stopped. He brought news that these believers were being held up in the trial. When Peter saw the rough waves and began to sink, the Lord's outstretched hand did not calm the waves. It held Peter up despite the waves.
The tempter does not always work through open persecution.
Today the trials come more often from quarrels inside the Christian circle than from persecution outside it. These quarrels break up God's people. They leave small numbers, weakness, and even isolation. That is the tempter's opportunity. He works to turn our feet off the path of faith, draw us back into the world, and dim our hope of the coming glory.
But Timotheus having just come to us from you, and brought to us the glad tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have always good remembrance of us, desiring much to see us, even as we also you;
Paul had to leave the new believers in Thessalonica, so he sent Timothy back to find out whether persecution had broken their faith. This verse is the moment the answer arrives, and it turns Paul's dread into thanksgiving.
Paul had sent Timothy because he feared the tempter had already done his work. What came back was news of a faith still standing.
The apostle might well fear that the tempter would use these circumstances to dishonour the Lord in those who bore His name at Thessalonica. For now, however, the work stood in the strength and freshness in which it began. Timothy had such good news to bring back that it cheered the warm and affectionate heart of the man who sent him. His anxieties turned into thanksgiving that rose above all his own distress and affliction.
The words "brought us the good news" translate the verb behind the word gospel. One writer uses this verse to show how wide that word is.
We often say, "to preach the gospel," or "this or that is not the gospel." By "gospel" people understand a certain system of doctrine. But the word only means "glad tidings" — "good news" brought by someone. So when Timothy brought to Paul good news of the faith and love of the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 3:6), it says that he evangelized Paul about the faith and love of the Thessalonians.
Notice what Timothy did not report. One writer draws out the difference with a picture from the Gospels.
Timothy gladdened the Apostle's heart by bringing back the report of their faith and love. He did not bring news that the trial was over, or that the afflictions had ceased, but that these believers were sustained in the trial. Peter saw the rough waves and began to sink. The Lord's outstretched hand did not calm the waves; it held Peter up despite them. So it was with the Thessalonian believers. Despite their trials, their faith in the Lord stayed steadfast, and their love for the Apostle never dimmed.
The affection runs both ways — they longed to see Paul, and he longed to see them. One writer looks closely at the word behind "long to see."
The ordinary Greek word for longing never appears in the New Testament. It always carries an added preposition, which gives the idea of "straining after" the thing longed for. One writer translates it "yearning." Another calls it "homesick longing." … The Thessalonian saints passionately longed to see Paul (1 Thess. 3:6). Paul, in prison at Rome, passionately longed to see Timothy (2 Tim. 1:4).
Another writer sums up everything the good news contained.
They were standing fast in faith; they continued in love, nor had they forgotten Paul. Their hearts longed for him as his own soul desired to see them. In the middle of the troubles that had come upon them, they were blessedly sustained.
Timothy's report names their faith and their love. One writer notices what it leaves out, and links that gap to Paul's reason for writing.
When the Apostle wrote to the Thessalonian saints, a cloud had indeed overshadowed their hope, because they did not yet know the full truth. This may be why Timothy's report of their "faith" and "love" says nothing about their hope (3:6). The Apostle wrote to dispel this cloud.
Blessing does not run one way only. What Paul's work produced in them now comes back to him.
In the midst of his sorrows, and of the opposition of men — in a word, of the afflictions of the gospel — the apostle's spirit is refreshed by these tidings. He is himself strengthened. For if the faith of the worker is the means of blessing to souls, and in general the measure of the outward character of the work, then the faith of the Christians who are the fruit of his work, and who answer to it, is in return a source of strength and encouragement to him. Their prayers, too, are a great means of blessing to him.
- Fear — Paul sent Timothy dreading that the tempter had ruined the work. The news turned his anxiety into thanksgiving, and their faith became his own strength.
- Gospel — the word for Timothy's report means evangelizing. News of living faith is itself good news.
- Sustained — the storm had not stopped. They stood in it, like Peter held up while the waves still raged.
- Longing — the word means a straining, homesick yearning. It ran both ways: they remembered Paul, and he ached to see them.
- Missing — the report names faith and love, but not hope. That silence is the gap the rest of the letter fills.