1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 - Seeking Glory

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, 22 May 2022

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Seek – ζητέω – to desire earnestly, to crave

Can also mean “require”, which would better explain the second half of the verse.

Another possibility, however, suits the context better. ζητεῖν may by extension mean “demand” or “require,” and this offers a better translation in v. 6: “neither requiring honor from people, neither from you nor from anyone.”

Glory – δόξα – opinion, reputation

When applied to God, this noun become altogether different, with the truth of His nature overwhelming the senses and opinions of men.

Thoughts on the Passage:

6 – This is the sixth way the gospel could have been discredited if they had practiced it wrongly:

1. Error

2. Inpurity - syncretic

3. Deception

4. Flattery – insincerity

5. Greed

6. Glory - fame

6 – Glory - When applied to a person, this becomes much more of a high opinion or a good reputation, being well-thought-of by people.

This is not to say that they were kind – it is to say that the esteem of people was NEVER their goal in faithfully preaching the gospel.

And lest the church think that it was THEIR esteem the apostles wanted, he makes very clear that was also not the case – whether from you or others.

Epictetus railed against the sophists who sought glory at the expense of their disciples, saying, “And so it’s for this, is it, that young men are to travel from home, and leave their parents, their friends, their relatives, and their bit of property, merely to cry ‘Bravo!’ as you recite your clever little mottoes?”

Application – we like demonstrations. We justify our lust for glory by baptizing that lust. Athletes pray for victory because it will make God look good if His follower wins. People buy houses, pools, bass boats – whatever – saying that they will use them for “God’s glory”. Politicians play the religion card when they need support from churchgoers. But in all these things, we don’t seek God’s ACTUAL glory – we seek our own glory, and we will give him a tithe or a tip for giving it to us.

Does a larger attendance make the church more faithful to God?

Do a greater number of instruments or entertainers make worship more authentic?

Does a great orator make any change to the Word of God for the better?

If what attracts you to a church is its programs, music, fellowship, or friendliness, you are going for the wrong reason.

The Word of God is preached.

The Word of God is followed.

6 – Demands – they could have required attention, particularly from the Jews in the synagogue of Thessalonica.

What form would these demands have taken?

Miracles, signs, undeniable events.

He spoke and a man went blind. He spoke and a demon fled a girl.

It would not have been beyond their ability – they were apostles, uniquely gifted for these signs.

Joel Osteen - Consequently—and I say this humbly—I’ve come to expect to be treated differently. I’ve learned to expect people to want to help me. My attitude is: I’m a child of the Most High God. My Father created the whole universe. He has crowned me with favor, therefore, I can expect preferential treatment. I can expect people to go out of their way to want to help me.

6 – Burden – Could have brought weight to bear.

v. 7a may well refer to their decision not to be a financial burden to the church. However, over and again in ancient texts the term burden speaks of the weight of authority of a city or a person due to their character or importance. Although the financial interpretation of burden is attractive, in vv. 6–8 the argument does not revolve around their financial relationships with the church. This point is not taken up until v. 9. Here the thought is that Paul and his associates did not come to town seeking glory (v. 6), although they could have wielded their apostolic authority (v. 7a).

It brings up the question – why didn’t they use their authority to overcome the opposition?

After all, it would have made their lives easier.

It would have made the lives in the church easier.

And it might be argued that if they had simply stood in the square and performed signs, more people might have been converted, particularly the Jews.

But he says that even though they COULD, they DIDN’T exercise those powers.

They were not there to win the debate.

They were not there to cajole everyone to believe in Jesus Christ.

They were not there to make everybody live by His tenets.

They weren’t even there to make everyone accountable – God’s witness was already apparent.

They were there to find the lost sheep of Christ and bring them in.

And as will see in more detail next week, God-willing, they did so gently,

Lovingly,

Regardless of their own discomfort, they nourished this church in its infancy.

And their methods were not demonstrations, protests, or even debates:

They preached.

The preached the gospel of Jesus Christ.

They preached to everyone who would hear them so God’s people would come in.

Even when he spoke in the synagogue, he, for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, - Acts 17:2

These were not acrimonious – they were discussions, dialogues.

And you will recall that the Jews did not become hostile in Thessalonica until Paul and Silas began converting Gentiles:

some of them [the Jews] were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. 5 But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; - Acts 17:4-5

Sermon Text:

We resume this week looking at verse 6 in our text.

You will remember that this section is where Paul and Silas are reminding the Thessalonian believers of their conduct when they were among them.

Verses 5 and 6 are specifically about the example they provided in proclaiming the gospel with which they had been entrusted by God.

Last week, we saw that they didn’t come with flattery or greed.

This week, we see in verse 6 that they did not “seek glory from people”.

As we concluded last week, I mentioned what is the root problem in all three of these errors: they seek something from the one who is hearing the gospel.

In the case of flattery, the preacher is seeking their affection for themselves.

In the case of greed, the preacher is seeking what the hearer has, whether money or influence or reputation.

What Paul and Silas are saying is “We sought nothing you had – we came to give you the gospel because we seek only what God has for His faithful servants.”

And the word of verse 6 has much to teach us today, particularly in the so-called “culture war” that rages all around us today.

Let’s begin by looking at what he means by “seeking glory.”

The word “seeking” we might all agree is similar to the way the NIV translates it – “looking”.

We were not looking for praise from people - NIV

Like when we played hide-and-seek – someone was looking for the hiders.

But there is another, stronger meaning use of the Greek word – the idea of demanding or requiring – and I think that is what he is saying here.

It is craving, with expectations of being satisfied.

There is an urgency to the word, not just meaning a casual search, but an expectation that you receive what you crave.

We see the word used this way in:

Luke 11: 16 - Others, to test Him [Jesus], were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.

Put this way, he is saying “We did not demand glory from people.”

I think this is the right way to understand the shade of meaning here because at the end of the verse, Paul tells the church “we could have made demands…”

So it makes complete sense that what he is saying is “We did not demand glory from people…even though we could have.”

That brings us to the second word – glory.

It is the same word we see used throughout the Greek versions of the Scriptures referring to the “glory of God”.

Except in this case, it is not talking about God’s glory.

It is talking about glory that people can provide.

That is an altogether different kind of glory.

This is not a cause for worship, as it would be if we were seeing God’s glory.

It is lower than that, but still among the great temptations to people.

Used in relation to men and not God, the word means much the same thing as when we use it about people today.

In talking about the glory of men, we mean a high opinion or a high reputation.

We speak of the glory of winning the Olympics, or the Super Bowl.

I recall an older football movie where, in the inspirational speech near the end of the film, the quarterback tells the team, “Pain heals…But glory lasts forever.”

So when we read the statement nor did we seek glory from people, we should not spiritualize the statement where we think they are talking about the nonsense of seeking God’s glory from men.

Of course, God’s glory doesn’t come through men.

But that is not what he is talking about.

The glory from people they are talking about here is being lifted up by men, building up their own reputations.

And then he says something important – they were not seeking that glory from the world around them OR FROM THE CHURCH.

It wasn’t just that they knew the world around them would never be impressed with them,

They weren’t even trying to impress the Christians in Thessalonica.

They weren’t even seeking a reputation among them.

How foreign is that from the cults of personality that masquerade as the church today?

The great prophet of self-promotion, Joel Osteen tells us in his book:

Consequently—and I say this humbly—I’ve come to expect to be treated differently. I’ve learned to expect people to want to help me. My attitude is: I’m a child of the Most High God. My Father created the whole universe. He has crowned me with favor, therefore, I can expect preferential treatment. I can expect people to go out of their way to want to help me.

But really, he may just be more honest about it than most.

How many preachers preach so they will be well-thought-of?

How many teachers teach to be seen as authorities?

How many believers would rather win an argument than win a soul to Jesus Christ?

To have a reputation for being right?

To be well-respected among people?

To be known as one having the right answers?

You can see how far we have wandered from the warning of Paul to the Philippians:

I quote from the King James because I love the way it is expressed here:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant – Philippians 2:5-7

And looking down through the ages through the Holy Spirit, the great prophet Isaiah described Jesus the Messiah in this way:

He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. – Isaiah 53:2-3

If our Lord had no great reputation while He dwelt on earth as a man, why would we expect such?

Why would we seek it?

Why would we allow our devotion to God, and the trust of the gospel placed with us, why would we allow this to be compromised by our selfish desire for reputation?

Paul and Silas had a choice, didn’t they?

They were apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ – it says so right here in verse 6:

We could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

They could have COMMANDED respect, as many would do today.

Except they could have done it on a grand scale.

How easy it would have made their lives if they simply went out and performed miracles in the midst of this pagan city.

Call together a healing service, to bring all the infirm to one place to receive healing.

They could have performed other miracles also.

We know that on one occasion, Paul had caused, through the Holy Spirit, a man to go blind for a time:

Acts 13:8-11 - But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, afilled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.

He also had cast out a demon in Philippi – we talked about that sign a few weeks ago.

It really would not be like these counterfeit healing services today; this would have been REAL – the Holy Spirit moving through the apostles.

They would be sought out; they would be popular.

And they could tell themselves that their fame gives them a better witness, better results with people they tell the gospel to.

Because everyone would want to follow them then.

People like Simon the magician in Acts 8, who offered Peter money to sell him the gift of performing these signs.

There are so many things they could have said, so many good reasons to USE the power they had to demand glory and reputation.

Their lives would have been free from persecution if everyone agreed with them.

Even if the people who were following them were doing so only to be close to these famous men.

Like the multitudes who followed Jesus because He might break some bread and fish and provide them a free meal.

They could also tell themselves that the life of the church in Thessalonica would be smoother, easier, with less persecution.

The ruffians hired by the jealous Jews wouldn’t dare cause problems for this tiny church.

They would be protected by the reputation of these apostles who came and shook the city.

It is hard – it takes an enormous amount of faith – to bring someone to Christ who you know will immediately be cast out of his family, or lose his job, or be ostracized by his community – all because of the gospel.

To do that, you have to be COMPLETELY sure, absolutely certain, that you are telling them the truth.

That they are following the true Savior.

That you are pointing them to their ONLY hope.

If you think there is ANY other option for them to be saved, you shut your mouth and go home.

Paul and Silas were ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that Jesus Christ is the only Savior.

And even more than that, they were absolutely certain in the way He gave them to find His lost sheep.

They could have commanded personal respect, but they didn’t.

They could have shown the power of God to awe people, but they didn’t.

They could have carried on grand debates, but they limited those to small groups and individuals because their objective was their SALVATION.

They could have made much of themselves so Jesus might get some credit.

Instead they made much of Jesus and took no credit for themselves.

So what method did they use to get the gospel into the right hearts?

Preaching.

Poor, pathetic preaching.

We have this wrong idea that preaching was respected in this time – it wasn’t.

Men who spoke in public were a drachma a dozen.

Travelling philosophers, travelling actors, and the occasional religious nut would come through town,

Most often simply speaking for a handout the way we see guitarists busking in crowded locations today.

Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, confronts this low opinion of preaching in that church:

1 Corinthians 1:20-23 - Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness

I purposely again chose the King James version because my customary New American Standard makes a rare unfortunate editorial choice in translating “foolishness of preaching”.

In the NASB, it is translated “the foolishness of the message preached”.

You see the difference in the two, don’t you?

NASB is contrasting the “foolishness” of the gospel with the so-called “wisdom” of the Greeks.

But the King James version gets it right because Paul DOESN’T say that.

He is not talking here about the CONTENT of the message primarily, but the mere ACT of preaching.

We see it in verses 22-23:

The Jews require a sign, a miracle.

We preach.

The Greeks demand wisdom, a debate.

We preach.

And when these men of God arrived in Thessalonica bruised and battered, driven from Philippi, they preached.

No crusade, no flash, no public spectacle.

No demonstrations or protests.

They went to the synagogue, and when they were rejected there, they began to preach to the Gentiles the message of the Cross.

And when they left Thessalonica, the people of the church continued to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Don’t get hung up even on that word “preach”.

Perhaps we understand it better if I say “proclaimed” or even “represented”.

Less chance of getting it confused with what the elder does here in this pulpit each week.

Because the real temptation in our day, just like theirs, is to allow the world to dictate the conversation.

The Jews seek miracles; the Greeks want to debate.

The world around us today wants to argue their position, or to have you accept theirs as truth.

Both are traps.

We looked last week at the danger of the first option – to simply engage in a debate.

That is, to pit our opinions against someone else’s.

Why would anyone think it is acceptable to God to represent His holy truth that He gave us in His Scriptures as merely our opinion?

Particularly with someone outside the church?

Fellow disciples, we DO NOT declare that the way Jesus Christ is better for the lost than their way.

We must never cheapen the gospel to that level.

We, if we are truly representing the gospel of Jesus Christ, declare that Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to God regardless of their way.

Too many churches have sold their integrity, their souls, by promising that the Christian life is better or easier than the person’s former life.

The message of the gospel is not just that Jesus is better; it is that Jesus is LORD, and only those who are found in Him will stand in the day of judgment.

And we preach, proclaim, and represent THAT truth with all the love that Christ gave by dying on the cross for His sheep.

This is not an angry message.

It is not an argument or debate.

It is a kind ultimatum – follow Jesus Christ if you will have life.

Now for those who might think that sounds awfully Armenian, it isn’t.

This is the gospel that is preached from cover to cover.

The difference between a Reformed believer and an Armenian believer has NOTHING to do with the message of the gospel, but with our understanding of what is happening.

For the Reformed believer, we understand that we preach this same gospel,

And it is only by the grace of God that someone is able to accept it.

Where an Armenian sees choice, we see God’s sovereign grace, as proclaimed on every page of the Bible.

I said earlier that there are two traps today: this one, where we abandon proclaiming the gospel to debate.

The second is to abandon proclaiming the gospel by legitimizing the other person’s argument.

We buy into the lie: “That’s just the way they are, and they will never change”.

Except most of the time, it just comes down to the fact that we don’t love them enough to care.

We don’t proclaim the truth simply because someone doesn’t want to hear it.

That is a very common state among those who call themselves Christians.

We never speak the truth of God to them because we have already given them up – or we don’t care.

It is similar to a firefighter running into a blazing building to rescue a person inside.

But when he gets to that person’s bed, they tell him they don’t think there really is a fire – Go away.

And so the firefighter leaves.

How ludicrous is that?

Except you KNOW there is a fire that will consume the lost.

And YOU are the one who can tell them the truth.

Will you stand before your Master and tell Him you thought you did enough?

You had other things to do.

You needed to get home.

You needed to go to the store.

You didn’t have time to rescue His little one, so He had to send someone else.

If you are Reformed, if you believe in the sovereignty of God, what is keeping you from beseeching God every waking hour on their behalf?

That He would awaken their heart to be able to receive His gospel.

You believe that salvation belongs to our God, not to the whim of man – so boldly approach the throne to plead their cause.

And when you speak with them, declare the truth.

Answer their questions, yes, but don’t get drawn into their debates.

Make sure they hear the truth as God’s truth, not yours.