1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 - Boldness In the Gospel

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

Target Date: Sunday, 24 April 2022

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Coming - εἴσοδος – a journey into

Typically carries with it the idea of a first meeting, even an introduction or first impression.

John had proclaimed before His [Jesus’s] coming a baptism of repentance - Acts 13:24

what kind of a reception we had with you - 1 Thessalonians 1:9

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus - Hebrews 10:19

Perhaps the verb here is ambiguous as to the idea of a first meeting, but it can be also easily understood to be the effect of justification, which is only commenced once.

in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. – 2 Peter 1:11

in Vain – κενός – empty-handed, useless

The idea is emptiness, futility, a waste of effort

This word does NOT imply fruitless, but emptiness.

Already suffered – προπάσχω – a specific word to denote a suffering BEFOREHAND (due to the addition of the prefix pro-).

Interesting is its construction as an aorist active – the cause of the suffering was in the past, but they were still, at that time, experiencing its effects.

This is the only use of the word in the NT, but Thayer reports it was used by Herodotus, Sophocles, Thucydides, Plato, and others.

???Since Paul only used the word and did not coin it, there seems to be a distinct meaning to the word that would add a connotation beyond the temporal aspect of the word, i.e. perhaps a meaning from being associated with a character, event, or philosophy, that Paul is trying to evoke here.

Shamefully treated - ὑβρίζω – to be treated poorly in a mocking way.

He is, of course, referring to the events in Philippi in Acts 16:12-40.

Illegally seized – v.19

Falsely accused – v.20-21

Stripped in public – v.22

Beaten with rods – v.22

Imprisoned – v.23

Held in close confinement – v.24

So grave were insults that the victim could take legal action against the person who caused the insult, similar to the way we could take a person to court for defamation of character. The authorities in Philippi had abused their power and had insulted and shamed Paul and Silas publicly, exposing them to dishonor, disgrace, and humiliation in the eyes of everyone.

This verb is held for those who intentionally seek to shame and injure the person, i.e. adding injury to insult, as it were.

Aristotle, for example, comments on insults (hubris), saying, “For insult consists in causing injury or annoyance whereby the sufferer is disgraced.”

Boldness – παρρησιάζομαι (parrhesia) – openness in speech

The word contains the element of “speech” (rhema).

They spoke the gospel of Christ boldly.

The fact they continued this in the Thessalonian opposition while they were still recovering from the Philippian beating indicates the depth of their boldness.

Thoughts on the Passage:

The arrival of Paul and his colleagues at Thessalonica was not a triumphal entry, since they had experienced suffering and had been shamefully treated at Philippi.

1 – our coming to you was not in vain – there is a good deal written about whether this word “not vain” is talking about their message or the effect of the message, as we see in 1:5, 9.

In this context, though, it is much more in line with the thought that the message they brought was not “voided”, meaning that they had not cut anything out of the message of the gospel.

They didn’t water down the message of the gospel; they didn’t make it more palatable.

They preached the gospel of God through Jesus Christ without apology and without flinching.

Verse 2 begins with the adversative “but” (alla), left untranslated in the NIV. If the thought in the previous verse is that the motives of Paul and his companions’ entry was not “empty,” the contrast presented in this verse would be that the true character of the missionaries is that they preached even though they had previously suffered for doing so in Philippi. If, on the other hand, the emphasis of the previous verse is on the results of their preaching, what kind of contrast would be presented in v. 2? Verse 2 does not present any kind of contrast with that idea, which again supports our understanding of v. 1 as a reference primarily to the charter of the mission.

2 - Paul acknowledges his suffering in 2:2, but as Malherbe (249) has noted, he does not use it as an excuse for boldness. His boldness in preaching the gospel is in spite of suffering and humiliation. For Paul and his colleagues it was God who had emboldened them to speak his gospel.

2 - οὐ κενή γέγονεν, “has not proved empty.” Lightfoot argues that κενή here means “hollow, empty, wanting in purpose and earnestness” rather than “fruitless, ineffective” (μάταιος), since it is the character of the preaching, not its result, that is in question: the writers repeat in different terms their οὐκ ἐν λόγῳ μόνον ἀλλά καὶ ἐν δυνάμει of 1:5. In fact, the character and result of the preaching cannot be separated: the latter as much as the former is denoted in the δύναμις of 1:5. The Thessalonians’ positive response to the gospel and subsequent energy in spreading it abroad bore sufficient testimony both to the quality of the preaching and to the power that accompanied it.

The easiest thing in the world to do would be to simply change their preaching to match the sensibilities of the hearers.

Preach some philosophy instead of the risen Christ;

Make a claim that this is their opinion or interpretation rather than declaring the truth.

The world, particularly those who believe themselves “good people”, are quite tolerant of opinions they can dismiss as opinion.

But they turn to fierce foes when a claim is made for abiding truth.

2 - “we spoke out freely.” They do not say, “Having been ill-treated at Philippi, we were more circumspect in Thessalonica” but rather: “we were emboldened in God to preach the gospel there too.” In Greek democratic parlance παρρησία meant “freedom of speech” and something of this sense attaches to it and its derivative verb παρρησιάζεσθαι as used in the NT, together with the sense of “courage.” Here the writers imply, “We took courage (ingressive aorist) and ‘declared the gospel of God to you frankly and fearlessly’ (neb)

The opposition they experienced in Philippians did not require a re-think of their methods or a hiatus from their activities. Opposition was expected because the message of the gospel calls men to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

They could not escape conflict, even great conflict, and still be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 – The opposition they met in Thessalonica, rather than causing them to cower in fear, proved irrelevant to them in the proclamation of the gospel.

It wasn’t that the opposition strengthened their resolve; they simply continued through it without real regard.

We tend to look at the wind and the waves, the opposition, both real and imagined. They looked at Jesus Christ, His gospel, and God’s glory.

2 – Their boldness was not from themselves – it was “in God”.

They are not touting what they had done for God or His kingdom – they are proclaiming their utter dependance on Him for even the courage to continue.

This boldness, by definition was super-natural, but NOT super-spiritual:

Meaning that the boldness was from God even as He carried them through trials THEY MUST GO THROUGH.

But that boldness is not due to their apostolic calling – it is the boldness God gives His faithful ones.

Boldness not constrained by faith and love is arrogance, and it is unworthy of a follower of Jesus Christ.

The verb translated we dared derives from two words that mean ‘all speech’; it points to feeling completely at home so that words flow freely. This includes being without fear and having complete confidence. It is difficult to find one English word that will express both these ideas, so that translations tend to choose one and leave the other (though here Moffatt renders ‘we took courage and confidence in our God’). In the New Testament the verb is always connected with Christian preaching. This is done with the help of our God (more literally, ‘in our God’; ‘our God’ is characteristic of these two epistles). Paul is not speaking of merely natural courage, but of the supernatural endowment with which God equips those who put their trust in him.

Sermon Text:

We move on this week to the next chapter of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2.

I would remind you, though, to pay little respect to the chapter or verse divisions in the Bibles we use.

They were added to the text of the Scriptures purely to help us find our place among different translations and copies.

These headings are no more inspired than the page numbers at the bottom of each page – merely a reference to allow us to all be talking about the same thing.

They are useful, I would argue vital, in our day, though, for Scripture memorization.

Never actively learn a Scripture verse or passage without being able to recite where it may be found as well.

For many, simply recalling the book or chapter might allow you to find it quickly,

But for those precious promises or praises to God we want to implant in our hearts, always lock into your heart where it may be found.

I say all that to point out the first word in this second chapter today is translated “For” in every translation I checked except the New International Version.

I don’t say that to necessarily insult the translation choice these translators made;

I only point it out so you won’t get lost if you have the NIV.

What that word “For” tells us is that everything in this chapter is related to what Paul and his companions have been talking about in chapter 1.

So they began talking about the election of the Thessalonian believers by God,

Then they provided several pieces of evidence in favor of that calling in the Thessalonian believers.

That was chapter 1.

Chapter 2 begins a section that will extend into chapter 3, verse 10.

In this section, we will see these faithful men describe in detail their experience and example with the Thessalonian church.

This is all building to the corrections and teaching delivered beginning in chapter 3, verse 11 and going to the end of the book.

But you will see at each point in this second section, which includes chapter 2 and most of chapter 3,

That their example is used here and later to give the Thessalonian church flesh-and-blood examples to emulate.

They begin by telling them: For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain.

You may be thinking – haven’t we heard that in this letter before?

And if you think that, perhaps you look up to chapter 1 verse 5, and you see a very similar statement:

for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction - 1 Thessalonians 1:5

But these verses aren’t talking about the same thing.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 is talking about the EFFECT of the gospel on the chosen believers in Thessalonica.

Here in verse 1 of chapter 2, they are talking about the MESSAGE they delivered to the Thessalonians –

That the message was not empty.

Some may say that they are the same thing, or close to it:

If the message is full of truth, the effect will be in the outpouring of the power of the Spirit.

Put another way, a full preacher preaching the full gospel can expect to see the fulness of the Spirit as a result.

Except that is not the point being made here by the writers.

You see, that explanation amounts to little more than philosophy.

Often when we speak of tendencies or speculate on spiritual things, there is no specific application to them.

Those conversations are philosophical, not theological.

Meaning they are the search for understanding, not the search for God’s will.

And God’s will ALWAYS has a purpose in your life if you are one of His – sanctification.

No – what they are telling the Thessalonians here is that from their first meeting, they had preached God’s good news in full.

From the very beginning, they withheld nothing of God’s revelation from them.

And this letter is another opportunity to provide them further instruction in grace, hope, and love.

But someone might be saying – “Ho, hum. Why did Paul need to tell this church that they had preached the fulness of God’s good news to them? Isn’t that OBVIOUS?”

But we see from the following verses, particularly verse 2 today, that this was far from obvious.

It wasn’t that Paul or Silas or Timothy were suspected or accused of lying. There really isn’t evidence of that.

What we see first this week is that it would have been much easier for them to compromise the gospel.

We see it in verse 2: But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi…

You may remember that in Acts 16, specifically from verse 12 – 40, we see the brutal treatment of Paul and Silas:

Illegally seized – v.19

Falsely accused – v.20-21

Stripped in public – v.22

Beaten with rods – v.22

Imprisoned – v.23

Held in close confinement (in shackles) – v.24

So grave were insults that the victim could take legal action against the person who caused the insult, similar to the way we could take a person to court for defamation of character. The authorities in Philippi had abused their power and had insulted and shamed Paul and Silas publicly, exposing them to dishonor, disgrace, and humiliation in the eyes of everyone.

Not only were these things illegal to be done to Roman citizens, and both men were Roman citizens,

But these things were generally forbidden without a formal trial in any event.

And so they remind the Thessalonians that they had already suffered… when they came to Thessalonica.

And in the original language, that is a single word.

A Greek word used only here in the Bible, but used by many other Greek writers before and since.

But the important thing is the tense of the verb. It is called the aorist active, and it means it is talking about something that happened in the past, but still had the effect.

So when they say they had already suffered, what they are saying is that they had been flogged and imprisoned in Philippi,

And they were still suffering the effects when they arrived at Thessalonica.

It is not hard to understand why:

You can see the rest of the story in Acts 16:35-40:

Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” 38 The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city. 40 They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

Once they were released from prison, the day after they had been brutally beaten with rods,

The people of the city begged them to leave.

And so after seeing the church in Philippi once more, they left, only a day or so after they had been mistreated.

And then travelled about 100 miles to Thessalonica.

Most likely, when they arrived, the bruises still remained on their backs.

Some welts or cuts may still have been seen.

But also, the memory of the brutal treatment was still really fresh.

So much so, they add and had been shamefully treated to their explanation.

This verb, rooted in the word “hubris”, tells us that the Philippians had been very arrogant in their abuse.

Aristotle defined this word, also translated “insults” as:

“For insult [hubris] consists in causing injury or annoyance whereby the sufferer is disgraced.”

There was never a question whether what the Philippian people had done to these men was right, just, or legal.

They were a mob – who intended to abuse them into silence.

This was not a judicial thing – it was brutality in the plainest sense.

In a very real way, they added injury to insult.

They not only wanted them to suffer, they wanted to humiliate them in front of everyone.

So now, I hope you see why it is perfectly appropriate for Paul and Silas to tell them that their coming to the Thessalonian church was not empty – not in vain.

It would have been so easy, so tempting to turn back.

To find a ship headed back to Antioch from Thessalonica and keep their mouths shut while they were there.

Or even if they stayed in Thessalonica, rethink their approach to the gospel, and soften it, like we see many do today.

But their message was NOT EMPTY.

Their message wasn't empty because God wasn't empty.

Then they say: we had boldness in our God…

Though their wounds may have ached,

Though their minds may have recalled the strokes,

Though their ears may still have heard the taunts and jeers,

God gave them the boldness to continue to preach HIS gospel, His good news.

And even when they saw the opposition from the ruffians the Jews of the city hired that threatened them again,

They preached the word of Jesus Christ without stopping or watering it down.

They say here in this letter they declared the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict [opposition] – right there in Thessalonica.

And it was this same opposition that the church in Thessalonica faced after the missionaries departed from the city after a trial there.

And so we are left with finding the examples to follow in this passage today, to find the application for our lives.

The first one would have to be to never allow your faith in God to flag or fail, regardless of the opposition.

You see, if the church at Thessalonica had not experienced the same persecution from the same people in the city, we might could take this simply as a hero tale about the apostles.

Many people do.

They read it and say “That Paul and Silas were really strong people.” And then they move on.

No, the message to the persecuted Thessalonian church is the same as to our culturally-besieged church today – stay faithful to God – He is faithful to you.

He has ordained that some of His chosen people will endure grave hardship,

Even telling Timothy:

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. – 2 Timothy 3:12

There are many who would dispute that promise, particularly in our country, or our state.

But I think the lack of persecution in our land has more to do with the weakness of the church than the niceness of our culture.

Why would the devil stir us with persecution when we are fine being lulled to sleep by entertainment, luxury, or greed?

But when the church wakes up in our country, and I pray we do awake, the enemy will strike us hard.

But we will find that this grace, this boldness, that God gives is super-natural but not super-spiritual.

It is God-given, but given to all his people, not just the apostles.

But boldness is not just for times of persecution – it is for times of ease as well.

It is for the times you meet someone who needs to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is for times when you have the choice to be faithful to God or indulge your flesh.

It is for times like these when people still need Jesus even when it looks like they don’t need anything.

May some laugh at us?

May some oppose us?

May some tell us they don’t need anything?

Of course – but we know better than they do their perilous position.

We know that if they face God in their sin, they will be put forever beyond His mercy and grace.

The third application is to never let our own courage outrace God’s provision.

Notice the boldness of the apostles was “in God”, not in themselves.

They didn’t stiffen their upper lip, grin and bear the torments that were dished out.

They trusted God and His will in all things.

you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, [forasmuch as it is] necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ - 1 Peter 1:4-7

Boldness that is not constrained by faith and love is arrogance, and it is unworthy of a follower of Jesus Christ.

Because our faith must not be that WE will endure it, but that GOD will bring us through it.

Our trust is never in ourselves – it is always faith in God alone.

Finally, as we will see, God willing, in the coming weeks, our boldness must be boldness in the right thing – the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We can be quite bold in many things that are not the gospel.

We are bold in sports, politics, even theology.

As a reminder, the gospel is NOT:

Declaring you should follow God’s Law.

The gospel is NOT making someone feel better about themselves.

The gospel is NOT doing enough good things to offset your bad things.

The gospel is NOT having a perfect recall of the Confession.

The gospel, the good news, of God is this:

You had no hope of salvation because of your sin.

If you stood before God, the only verdict you deserve is guilty, and you stand completely deserving of God’s wrath.

But God, in His mercy, sent His only begotten Son to live a perfect life, die to satisfy God’s wrath you deserve, and to give you His goodness – if you trust Him alone for your salvation.

Only by accepting THIS ONE WAY can you be saved from His terrible wrath.