1 Thessalonians 1

1 Thessalonians 3:1-8

1 Thess 3:1 “Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; 2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: 3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. 4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. 5 For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain. 6 But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: 7 Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: 8 For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.”

“Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;” We may ask ourselves, ‘why would Paul want to be left alone?’ Also, ‘why would any preacher want to be left alone?’ Sometimes, preachers need to spend time alone to pray, to read, to meditate, to study and to seek direction from the Lord for many things. Even the Lord on occasion while he walked on earth departed to be alone:

1. Matt. 14:23 “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”

2. John 6:15 “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

“And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:”

It is interesting to see that Paul and Peter did not pull rank in the ministry and take the position that I am an apostle but you are only a pastor. Rather they treated all of the Lord’s ministers as being brothers. I know that Paul also referred at one time to Paul as being his son and he of course was not his biological son, but rather was a son in the ministry. However, now Paul spoke of Timothy as a brother in Christ. Likewise, we see Peter taking the same position as we read in 1 Peter 5:1 “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:” Peter placed himself on the same level with all the Lord’s gospel ministers when he referred to himself as “who am also an elder.” Likewise, the Lord’s ministers in our day should refer to themselves as elders and brothers and not try to exalt their ministry above the ministry of others. Moreover, one brother may have been preaching for 50 or more years whereas another brother may be ordained for only a year, yet they should respect one another as fellow ministers and brothers in Christ.

Paul also referred to Timothy as a minister of God and a fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ. Paul had a deep respect for Timothy for his works’ sake as no doubt Timothy did for Paul. How wonderful it would be if all of God’s ministers had the same respect for one another as being ministers of God and fellow laborers in the gospel of Christ.

Paul sent Timothy to ‘establish’ the members of the church at Thessalonica in the faith once delivered to the saints. Having a good understanding of the faith and all of its aspects serves as a foundation for the church continuance and also in the lives of the individual members.

Another reason sent Timothy to Thessalonica was to comfort them concerning their faith. There are many things set forth in the scriptures concerning gospel comfort for God’s people. A few of these are listed below:

1. Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.”
2. Matt. 5:4 “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
3. Luke 16:25 “But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.”
4. Rom. 1:12 “That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”
5. Rom. 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
6. 2 Cor. 1:3 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

“That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.” Afflictions abide the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Lord’s church kingdom on earth and her servants. A great number of afflictions are revealed to us in the book of Acts and throughout the writings of Paul. Of course, Christ himself suffered a great multitude of afflictions himself by His own countrymen. Moreover, Christ’s sufferings on the cross cannot be measured for their extent and magnitude as he suffered for our sins to redeem us from our sins. We read what Paul wrote to Timothy: 2 Tim. 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” We have the record of the apostles as they began to suffer persecution for preaching the gospel of Christ: Acts 5:41 “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” God’s faithful disciples in all ages have suffered persecution for holding to the faith once delivered to the saints.

“For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.” It appears that Paul was concerned that because the brethren in Thessalonica had heard of his afflictions and persecutions that they would be discouraged and depart from the faith. If they had departed then Paul would have considered his labor among them would have been in vain.

“But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:” Paul received the good news that the brethren in Thessalonica had continued in their faith and charity and that they had good remembrance of Paul and thus he was assured that his labor among them had not been in vain. I would think that all of God’s called ministers would desire to know that their labor was not in vain. How good it is when those who the ministers have labored among communicate with the one which labored among them to let them know that they are continuing in the faith and charity and have good remembrance of the one who labored among them.

“Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.” Knowing that ones labor is not in vain is a comfort to a gospel minister for the gospel minister considers his life and efforts are worthwhile if the ones among whom he labors stand fast in the Lord.