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.
for this reason we have been comforted in you, brethren, in all our distress and tribulation, through your faith,
Paul wrote this letter in real fear that persecution had broken the new believers he left behind in Thessalonica. Then Timothy came back with news, and the young converts Paul had sent help to became the ones who steadied him.
Paul had real grounds for fear. He had sent Timothy because he dreaded that the tempter had reached them. What came back instead reversed his whole state of mind.
The Second Letter will give plenty of evidence that the apostle had good reason to dread this. The tempter might use the circumstances to dishonour the Lord in those who bore His name at Thessalonica. For the present, however, the work stood in the vigour and freshness in which it began. Timothy had such good news to bring back that it cheered the warm and loving heart of the man who sent him. It changed his anxieties into thanksgiving that rose above all his own distress and affliction.
Notice what comforted Paul. Not the end of persecution, but their faith. One writer shows why Satan targets exactly that.
In raising persecution against believers Satan is always aiming at their faith. He would weaken it and destroy it if possible. Notice how Paul keeps coming back to faith in this passage. He sent Timothy to strengthen them "in your faith." He sent "to learn about your faith." Timothy returned with "the good news of your faith." And so Paul was comforted "through your faith." Faith is the eye of the soul. It gives spiritual vision. Paul knew that the persecution would only enrich and strengthen them, as long as the unseen things of faith were real to them. A cold shower harms an invalid, but it invigorates a man in full health. Faith is a vital link between the soul and God. If it is weakened, everything about the believer is weakened.
Paul's own hardship did not end when the good news arrived. The comfort reached him inside the affliction, and it came from their faith rather than from any change in his circumstances.
This news was a great reward of comfort to the apostle. His affliction and distress went on, yet the news proved that it had all been worthwhile. But it is their faith that comforts him — that sweet principle which looks above and beyond all present things to the living God.
The comfort here runs in two directions at once.
In the middle of his sorrows, and of the opposition of men — in a word, of the afflictions of the gospel — this news refreshes the apostle's spirit. He is himself strengthened. If the faith of the worker is the means of blessing to souls, and generally the measure of the outward character of the work, then the blessing also flows back the other way. The faith of the Christians who are the fruit of his labours, and who answer to his faith, is a source of strength and encouragement to him in return. Their prayers are a great means of blessing to him in the same way.
Paul does not treat their steadfastness as a piece of pleasant information. His own sense of being alive rises and falls with theirs, because he has tied himself to them.
And how all this cheered the apostle. He is comforted... He had his own sorrows too, his afflictions and much distress. But the good news from the Thessalonians refreshed his spirit and filled him with new energy. As a servant of God he is completely identified with those he laboured for and loved. That is why he could say, "for now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord."
This is more than a leader pleased with results. Love here feeds on the spiritual good of others.
Love finds in their spiritual welfare both its food and its joy. Faith finds there what sustains and strengthens it. You can feel the word of God in it... What a beautiful and moving picture this is of the Spirit of God at work. He delivers souls from the corruption of the world. He produces the purest affections, the greatest self-denial for the sake of others, and the greatest joy in the happiness of others. It is a divine joy, known in the presence of God Himself.
- Attack — Satan aims his persecution at one target: faith. Weaken that link, and everything about the believer is weakened.
- Survival — Their faith held. For the present the work "stood in the vigour and freshness in which it began."
- Report — Timothy carried back news of their faith, not news of easier conditions.
- Comfort — Their faith reached Paul inside his own affliction and distress. It turned his anxiety into thanksgiving.
- Return — Comfort flows both ways. The worker's faith blesses souls, and their faith comes back as strength to him. So he says, "now we live."
because now we live if *ye* stand firm in [the] Lord.
Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to learn how his young converts were holding up under trial. Verse 8 is his reaction to the report Timothy brought: Paul's own life seemed to hang on their answer.
Paul's words about living are a figure of speech. One writer explains what Paul went through while he waited for news.
When faith is kept alive in the hearts of believers they "stand fast in the Lord," and this was a great joy to the apostle. It comforted him in all his afflictions. He felt so deeply about the Thessalonians. They faced such trials so soon after their conversion. Until he knew how they had been held up in those trials, he was like a man at the point of death. The good news he got through Timothy brought him back to life.
The news was not that the storm had passed.
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 stopped. His news was that the Lord was holding these believers up 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. The Thessalonian believers were the same. Despite their trials, their faith in the Lord stayed steadfast, and their love for the Apostle never dimmed.
The phrase points to where they stood, not to strength of their own. That difference decides whether a trial breaks a believer or blesses him.
It is always the aim of the enemy to use trials to shake our faith in the Lord. But the soul can take the very trial he uses to turn us away, and turn to the Lord with it. Then the enemy is not only defeated. The soul gains positive blessing: it knows the Lord better, and it feels His love and His sustaining grace on our behalf more deeply. So it was with these believers. In their trial they turned to the Lord, and against all the power of the enemy they stood fast in the Lord. They did not try to meet the enemy in their own strength.
Paul had feared that the tempter would use their troubles against them. Timothy's report turned that fear right over.
The Second Epistle gives plenty of evidence that the apostle had good reason to dread the tempter. The tempter might well use the circumstances to dishonour the Lord in those who bore His name at Thessalonica. For now, though, the work still stood in the vigour and freshness in which it began. Timothy brought back such good news that it cheered the warm and loving heart of the man who had sent him. His anxieties turned into thanksgiving that rose above all his own distress and affliction.
Paul's joy had a painful other side, and he knew it firsthand.
For the apostle, life was worth living when his converts stood fast in the Lord. How trying it is to the soul of the servant when it is otherwise! The apostle knew something of this too. In his later years all in Asia deserted him (2 Tim. 1:15). He was also in serious doubt about the Galatians, after spending much labour on them (Gal. 4:19-20).
Blessing does not flow one way only. What the worker gives out, he also receives back.
This news refreshes the apostle's spirit in the middle of his sorrows and the opposition of men — in a word, in the middle of the afflictions of the gospel. It strengthens him. The faith of the worker is the means of blessing to souls, and it usually sets the outward character of the work. In return, the faith of the Christians who are the fruit of his work, and who answer to it, is a source of strength and encouragement to him. Their prayers, too, are a great means of blessing to him.
- Report. Timothy did not report that the trouble had ended. He reported that the Lord was holding the believers up inside it — as He held Peter above the waves.
- Revival. Waiting for that word left Paul like a dying man. Hearing it brought him back to life and turned his anxiety into thanksgiving.
- Standing. They stood fast in the Lord, not in their own strength. The trial meant to shake their faith deepened their knowledge of His love instead.
- Reciprocity. The labourer's faith blesses souls; the faith of those souls flows back as strength to the labourer.
- Cost. The love that lives when converts stand fast is the love that suffers when they fall away. Paul knew both, from Asia and Galatia.