For ye know yourselves, brethren, our entering in which [we had] to you, that it has not been in vain;
Paul points the Thessalonians back to the day he first walked into their city. He asks them to be the judges of what happened. His claim is modest: his coming was "not in vain." Two questions sit behind it. What made that visit anything but empty, and why did Paul need to say it at all?
The Converts as Proof
Paul offers no statistics. He calls on the people themselves as his witnesses.
The apostle calls on the saints to witness to the character of his service among them. He could not have called a better witness. He says you "know … that it was not in vain." That went without saying. They themselves were the fruit of his labours — the standing proof of the God-given ministry they had received through him.
The same writer sees a mark of character in how little Paul claims:
Yet he only says that his entrance among them was "not in vain." He blows no trumpet, and he lists no splendid results. He might have done so. Instead he simply says that it was "not in vain." In such an expression we have the first sign of a true servant of Christ. We notice his deep and genuine spirit of humility.
What "Not in Vain" Means
Paul is saying his visit was not empty. One writer names what filled it.
The apostle could confidently appeal to what the believers knew inwardly. The entering in of Paul and Silas among the Thessalonian saints had not been empty. Three things had marked their service: a divine purpose of grace, reality in pressing the truth on consciences, and energy of the Holy Spirit. These produced matching results. And no wonder. The love of Christ urged them to love perishing souls. Those souls did not know God, nor the power of the resurrection of the One who had tasted death even for them.
The same writer adds what the visit was not. It was "neither a showy display nor a holiday visit." It was "an errand so serious" to these visitors that nothing on the road or in the city held them back.
An Open Door, and Men Who Walked Through It
Another writer looks at what opened that visit, and at what Paul had just come from — beating and prison in the city of Philippi.
God had opened a door in Thessalonica, and the entering in of His servants was not in vain. They had suffered before at Philippi. They were beaten and imprisoned, and later asked to leave the city. But this did not discourage them. It did not lessen their boldness in speaking the gospel of God, though in much conflict… Their own comfort or safety was nothing compared to the precious gospel of the grace of God. How weak we are today compared with these men! They served God with calm, purposeful devotion. To them Christ was supreme.
Why Paul Defends Himself at All
Chapter 2 turns very personal. One writer explains why.
But what about chapter 2? The apostle speaks at great length about himself, his motivations and his intentions. Why? Clearly there was a great danger here. The circumstances facing the Thessalonians could create false impressions about Paul and his work, possibly through the arguments of some opponents: this man came here, caused a great stir and then disappeared, leaving you behind in all this trouble — all he wants is followers he can make money from.
A Life That Matches the Message
Paul answers the suspicion by pointing to how he lived while he was among them.
Having established these great principles, the apostle appeals to his whole walk among them with an open and overflowing heart. That walk was proof that he had walked in the same spirit he was rejoicing over in them. It was not that he urged others on while using their affection for his own advantage. It was not that he encouraged them to endure hardship without having the courage to undergo it himself.
Another writer traces this back to the message itself, which leaves a preacher no room for manipulation. Paul and his companions "addressed themselves to neither the mind nor the flesh of the natural man. Had they done that, much of the opposition they met would have been avoided" — and being "entrusted with God's truth, they could not be anything but truthful."
Summary
- Proof. Paul names no results and quotes no numbers. The converts in front of him are the evidence that his coming was not empty.
- Filled. "Not in vain" means not hollow. God's purpose, truth pressed on consciences, and the Spirit's energy gave the visit its content.
- Costly. He arrived straight from beating and prison at Philippi. The door God opened mattered more to him than his own safety.
- Suspected. Opponents could paint him as a man who stirred up trouble, vanished, and made money from followers. So he writes about himself.
- Answered. His reply is his life. He never urged on others what he would not endure himself. A man entrusted with God's message cannot be anything but truthful.