Paul's Positive Report

Whenever a child goes off to camp or to college; or if your spouse or boy/girl-friend go away, there sets in that gnawing concern for their well-being. You wonder if everything is going alright for them, or if someone or something might be causing them troubles.

That’s a bit of a taste of what Paul was experiencing here with the Thessalonian believers. He and his companions had shared from their innermost being as they shared the Gospel, causing them to become believers. However, Paul and his companions were forced to leave prematurely. They didn’t know just what those opposed to the gospel would tempt them to do in hopes of leading them astray.

Today, we will be looking into a section, that I’ve entitled Paul’s Positive Report. My desire is that we would understand the following thought: No matter what the circumstances, we must not falter and must live according to God’s Word.

The Concern

In 1 Thessalonians 2:17–20, we understand that Paul had been kept from visiting these believers. “But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us. For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.”

From other verses, we discover that among the other false things the haters of the gospel were saying about Paul, was that Paul showed his selfishness and greed by leaving the young church. Paul shows that the separation was forced upon them by those evil individuals and was not at all something which Paul wanted.

Paul genuinely wanted to be physically reunited with the Thessalonian believers, so that he might encourage them and help guide them, protecting them from false teaching. Verse 18 implies that Paul wanted a face-to-face reunion. Yet, in the last part of that verse, we read about Satan’s opposition to Paul’s return. The phrase “Satan hindered us” is actually a military term which was used to picture an enemy force cutting up or destroying a road in order to make it impassable.

Why was this reunion so important to Paul? There is actually a looking to the future. It seems that Paul is suggesting that their presence with him when he receives his soul winners crown, will cause great rejoining in his heart. This is a great reminder to us that all of our work on this earth should be done with our eyes on the day of our Lord’s return.

This is further seen in the last question in verse 19. The word dealing with His coming, is actually the Greek word parousia. In secular usage, it would be likened to a royal visit to a city or a district. In the New Testament, it referred to Christ’s return. So now we start to see Paul’s concern.

So what is he going to do? The answer is found in 1 Thessalonians 3:1–5. “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.”

Timothy is being sent to visit the Thessalonians. Paul simply could not continue undergoing the suspense and anxiety which he was feeling. There had not been personal communication with them. Obviously, they did not live in the period of internet or cell phones.

But why such a deep concern? Think about what they did know and experience. If the unbelieving Jews were so relentless in their attacks against Paul and his companions, what might they be doing against the new Thessalonian believers?

So Paul describes Timothy to them and reveals just how important he is to the Thessalonians. He is not only a brother in Christ, Timothy is a fellow worker in spreading the Gospel of Christ. This shows all who will read this letter just how much Paul appreciates Timothy.

Paul then gives some guidelines on what they should expect from Timothy. His overall purpose is to help the Thessalonian Christians to become stronger in Christ. He is going to help make them firm or solid, by providing the needed mental and spiritual support. He is not going to be wasting time soothing or consoling. Instead, his purpose is to fit them for battle.

In other words, now that they are converted, or born again, they needed to be established in their faith. They needed to start gnawing on some meat. They were needing to grow in their faith and in their lives. Today, this is often spoken of as discipleship.

Paul warns them about being tossed about in their faith or wavering in their faith. My friends, when others would try to sway you away from the things of God, you should not fall to this temptation. Sometimes, this takes the form of threats against our livelihood, our families, our personal well-being. Other times, it can be disguised as caring counsel by supposedly well-meaning friends. This was part of Timothy’s responsibilities on his upcoming visit.

So, we can boil Paul’s concern down to the fact that he wanted to know the condition of the faith of the Thessalonians. Paul and all of us know that it is Satan’s goal and purpose to tempt and entice humanity to sin, causing them to fall away, losing their testimony. This is also a reminder to each of us to check up on the spiritual welfare of each other. We don’t always know what is going on in other people’s lives.

The Comfort

In 1 Thessalonians 3:6–10, Paul talks about the good news and encouragement he has received from Timothy, which gave him great comfort. “But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?”

From the wording in verse 6, you get the impression that even though Timothy’s return to Paul was fairly recent, the report must have excited Paul so much that he had to quickly start writing to the Thessalonians.

What could cause him to write back so quickly? The two topics that seemed uppermost in his mind was their faith and their love. These are the God-ward and man-ward portions of their Christian walk. These words, faith and love, summarize the total of godliness. Faith is what separates us from the world. Love is what unites the believer with other believers.

Paul had feared that the unbelievers would have taken away the Thessalonians faith towards good, as well as their affection for Paul and his companions. Instead, Timothy’s report must have shown that the Thessalonians still felt deep affection for Paul and the others. They also wanted to see Paul face-to-face.

In verses 7-10, Paul is further encouraged by the report. You can almost see the burden removed from Paul’s shoulders, when he was told that their faith had proven steadfast and unshaken. However, going through one storm or one attack should not cause us to assume it’s all over. We need to continue to stand firm in our faith. We need to have the mentality that we are soldiers repelling an enemy attack and always be prepared for future attacks. However, we are prepared, not paranoid. The reason, is that we do not fight the battle on our own. The Lord is with us, equipping us with all that is necessary to stand firm, as we are reminded from Ephesians 6. Be very wary that we do not ever take credit for any positive results which only God can produce.

In this, we find Paul at a loss, almost speechless, on how to thank God for all the joy he has as a result of the wonderful news about the believers at Thessalonica. We also understand that Paul is not willing to just let the progress stop. He desired that there would be further spiritual development in the lives of the Thessalonians. The word complete or supply or perfect, reveals that the Thessalonians needed more spiritual development, for they had not yet arrived. We know that not one of us has reached complete spiritual maturity on this earth. Yet God is continuing that good work which He began in us.

The Conduct

In 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13, Paul speaks about the conduct of the follower of Christ. “Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”

In verse 11, we see that Paul still had a desire and hope to visit this group of believers. However, he understands that there is nothing which they are able to do to get themselves there. As is always the case, it’s up to God to make this happen. This is a faith and trust area of the believer’s conduct.

There’s also a quick theology lesson contained in this verse. There is an understanding that God is the Almighty God, plus He is our Father. In addition, Jesus our Lord shows that is is not only fully God and fully man, but that He is also equal with the Father.

The word direct or clear, is singular, as well. Is that really important? you ask. Yes, because it refers to God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord. Though they have distinct personalities, they are one.

Moving forward to verse 12, we have some comments about brotherly love; another area of conduct for the Christian. Love is obviously already present by the way Paul words this. In fact, I would suggest that genuine Christian love cannot be carried to excess. Paul speaks here of love for each other, as well as other people. When we have that kind of love, we want to do all that the Lord enables us to do to present the gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation to all people.

Verse 13 appears to focus on the believer’s conduct for when Christ returns. We need to remember that growing in Christ cannot be attained through outward conformity to rules and regulations. It cannot be gained by doing what others expect you to do, in order to be like them. The only way we can be established and growing in Christ, is through that development of a conscience sensitized to the Holy Spirit and the Word. That will give us strength and stability.

The word for holiness marks that ethical quality which is seen by our purity of life. Without blame speaks to the fact that whatever charges might be brought against us, cannot be supported or maintained because they are false.

All of the development of Christ-like conduct is because of Him and through Jesus Christ.

The Conclusion

As we’ve gone through Paul’s positive report, we’ve seen that he had a great concern for the Thessalonians. He was concerned for their spiritual well being, in that they might have been tempted to go astray. He wanted to make sure they would be growing stronger and becoming established in their faith.

However, after Timothy came back from his visit with the Thessalonians, Paul was greatly comforted. This was because he was made aware that these young believers had remained steadfast. Yes, there were some problems in a few areas, like we also experience, but they were not falling away.

Paul then comes back to the goal of our salvation; to be with Christ forever. Paul looks forward with glorious hope, that upon the Lord’s return, there will be a glorious reunion.

For us, in our current time, we are reminded that we should also have a concern for other Christians, that they would walk in faithfulness with Christ. This ought to apply to ourselves, as well.

If someone should threaten us and try to force us to turn against God, we should be able to stand, because we are grounded in the Word of God. We must also be aware that Satan appears as an angel of light. So there may be those who appear to have good intentions, but they merely want to drag you down with them. This is often done by mixing truth with error. We must remain steadfast and help others to remain steadfast, as well.

It boils down to this simple truth and encouragement: No matter what the circumstances, we must not falter and must live according to God’s Word.