1 Thessalonians2
New Living Translation
1You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure.
2You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.
3So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.
4For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.
5Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money!
6As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
7As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children.
8We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
9Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.
10You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.
11And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children.
12We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.
13Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.
14And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews.
15For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity
16as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.
17Dear brothers and sisters, after we were separated from you for a little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried very hard to come back because of our intense longing to see you again.
18We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us.
19After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!
20Yes, you are our pride and joy.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Thessalonians 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The apostle reminds the Thessalonians of his preaching and behaviour. (1–12). And of their receiving the gospel as the word of God. (13–16). His joy on their account. (17–20).
vv1-6
The apostle had no wordly design in his preaching. Suffering in a good cause should sharpen holy resolution. The gospel of Christ at first met with much opposition; and it was preached with contention, with striving in preaching, and against opposition. And as the matter of the apostle's exhortation was true and pure, the manner of his speaking was without guile. The gospel of Christ is designed for mortifying corrupt affections, and that men may be brought under the power of faith. This is the great motive to sincerity, to consider that God not only sees all we do, but knows our thoughts afar off, and searches the heart. And it is from this God who trieth our hearts, that we must receive our reward. The evidences of the apostle's sincerity were, that he avoided flattery and covetousness. He avoided ambition and vain-glory.
vv7-12
Mildness and tenderness greatly recommend religion, and are most conformable to God's gracious dealing with sinners, in and by the gospel. This is the way to win people. We should not only be faithful to our calling as Christians, but in our particular callings and relations. Our great gospel privilege is, that God has called us to his kingdom and glory. The great gospel duty is, that we walk worthy of God. We should live as becomes those called with such a high and holy calling. Our great business is to honour, serve, and please God, and to seek to be worthy of him.
vv13-16
We should receive the word of God with affections suitable to its holiness, wisdom, truth, and goodness. The words of men are frail and perishing, like themselves, and sometimes false, foolish, and fickle; but God's word is holy, wise, just, and faithful. Let us receive and regard it accordingly. The word wrought in them, to make them examples to others in faith and good works, and in patience under sufferings, and in trials for the sake of the gospel. Murder and persecution are hateful to God, and no zeal for any thing in religion can excuse it. Nothing tends more to any person or people's filling up the measure of their sins, than opposing the gospel, and hindering the salvation of souls. The pure gospel of Christ is abhorred by many, and the faithful preaching of it is hindered in many ways. But those who forbid the preaching it to sinners, to men dead in sin, do not by this please God. Those have cruel hearts, and are enemies to the glory of God, and to the salvation of his people, who deny them the Bible.
Key Words
γάρ (gár): properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensification; often with other particles)
αὐτός (autós): the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons
εἴδω (eídō): used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω); properly, to see (literally or figuratively); by implication, (in the perfect tense only) to know
ἀδελφός (adelphós): a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))
ὅτι (hóti): demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant); causative, because
ἡμῶν (hēmōn): of (or from) us
εἴσοδος (eísodos): an entrance (literally or figuratively)
πρός (prós): a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e. pertaining to; with the dative case, by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is predicated)
ὑμᾶς (hymâs): you (as the objective of a verb or preposition)
γίνομαι (gínomai): to cause to be ("gen"-erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive, etc.)
Cross References
1 Thessalonians 2Acts historical account of Paul being shamefully beaten and imprisoned at Philippi before coming to Thessalonica.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin, JFB
Parallel emphasis on seeking to please God who tests hearts rather than pleasing men.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Repeats Paul's deliberate choice to labor night and day to avoid being a financial burden.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Contrast between corrupting/peddling the word of God and preaching with sincerity without guile.
Supported by JFB
Paul's solemn appeal that he coveted no man's silver, gold, or apparel.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Corroborates Paul's practice of refusing financial support to avoid being burdensome to the churches.
Supported by JFB
Christ's condemnation of the Jews for killing the prophets and filling up their sins.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Historical account of the Thessalonian Jews opposing the gospel out of envy.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Connects the powerful entrance of the gospel to it not being in vain.
Supported by JFB
Identifies Paul's manual labor (tentmaking) to support his gospel ministry.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Exhortation to walk worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in all respects.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Paul's frequent desire to visit believers being repeatedly hindered by external forces.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The saints being Paul's mutual boast and crown in the day of the Lord.
Supported by JFB
Parallel reference regarding how others reported Paul's successful entrance among them.
Supported by JFB