Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:
1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 (PRT)
2:17-18 Still, brothers and sisters, we were saddened to be apart from you for a brief season (apart in person, but not in heart); out of our great desire to see your faces, we made every effort and then some because we wanted to come to you. In fact, I, Paul made attempt after attempt, but Satan held us up.
vv. 19-20 For surely what do we look forward to or find joy in or wear as a token of pride and rejoicing when I stand before the Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? For you are our honor and our joy.
3:1-2 So then, since we could no longer endure this separation, we determined it would be best to stay behind in Athens on our own and send Timothy, our brother and partner in God’s work for the sake of the Good News of Christ in order to strengthen you and encourage you in your faith.
v. 3 all this is so that no one will be shaken by the pressures and persecution; for you know that we are destined for these kinds of things.
v. 4 And in fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we would suffer troubles, and you well know it happened.
v. 5 . For this very reason I could no longer endure this pressure, I sent Timothy so we could be assured of your faith and that in no way the Tempter could have somehow trapped you and our work among you would be useless.
v. 6 Just now, however, Timothy has arrived here with good news after being with you. He has told us of your faith and love and that you hold good memories of us, greatly desiring to see us just like we desire to see you.
v. 7 Brothers and sisters, we were encouraged by this report, because of your faith through the hardships and persecutions.
v. 8 For the present, if you stand firm in your faith , we continue to breathe easier.
v. 9 For how thankful we are to God concerning you. We rejoice with all possible joy before our God because of you!
v. 10 Around the clock, we pray increasingly that we might see your face and restore what is needed in your faith.
vv. 17-18 Still, brothers and sisters, we were saddened to be apart from you for a brief season (apart in person, but not in heart); out of our great desire to see your faces, we made every effort and then some because we wanted to come to you. In fact, I, Paul made attempt after attempt, but Satan held us up.
When the culture wars come, we need each other. We miss one another. Things happen that keep us from seeing each other’s faces.
Read this as a continuing of the thoughts of v. 12.
Paul didn’t want his absence to be seen as uncaring. He is unified with them and love this church. He was resolved to visit them.
“Saddened” has at its root grief, or being ripped away from them. It’s the only time he uses this word and it could mean to be “orphaned” in their relationship (though this doesn’t seem to fit the meaning so much as forced into a grief.} They have great memories in their hearts; but it’s not the same as seeing face to face.
Paul uses family as the metaphor of church life. Fathers, mothers, orphaned, baby. Here, the separation felt like being orphaned. The separation made them love and long to be with them even more.
Their plans were trashed as they planned to return after a short season. God’s plans and ours aren’t always the same.
The Enemy cut in on, or “hijacked” his plans to return to this community of small groups. He upped his efforts and still could not make it happen. He was “stuck” in Athens, so he preached in Athens and Corinth.
vv. 19-20 For surely what do we look forward to or find joy in or wear as a token of pride and rejoicing when I stand before the Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? For you are our honor and our joy.
For Paul, it was because he saw so many of them come to Christ. He invested in them.
The “crown of glory” or token of pride is an idiom for the victor’s wreath after running the race successfully. This is not Paul stealing God’s glory and honor; it is Paul lavishing value on the church for their faith and steadfastness in the face of persecution. He finds joy inside and respect from without because of their success and faith.
The wreath circle the winner’s crown when the race is done and we stand before the Father in the Kingdom. It’s the Parousia.
1 Thessalonians 3:1-10 (PRT)
3:1-2 So then, since we could no longer endure this separation, we determined it would be best to stay behind in Athens on our own and send Timothy, our brother and partner in God’s work for the sake of the Good News of Christ in order to strengthen you and encourage you in your faith.
He, and the team, could no longer stand “not knowing” and “not seeing their faces” that they determined a Plan B. He longed for new, so much so, that he pulled out all stops after being blocked by the Enemy. And he sent a stand in: Timothy, who was integral along with Silas in the planting of this church. Paul and his team stayed back and sent Timothy.
This coincides with Acts: Paul and his team left Thessalonica under cover of dark to escape the vicious beatings that they experienced in Philippi. They traveled to Berea and then Athens; but Paul needed to hear news to know he was on course in the work and sent Timothy (and probably Silas) to reconnoiter. They returned to him at Corinth with the good news about their faith.
The ”partner in God’s Work” is fellow-laborer in the ministry of the Good News of the Kingdom.
v. 3 all this is so that no one will be shaken by the pressures and persecution; for you know that we are destined for these kinds of things.
The pressures are real, the persecution, the tribulation, the stress points affect us. Paul understands the persecution and pressures when one lives for the Kingdom. He can genuinely say, I know what you go through.
v. 4 And in fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we would suffer troubles, and you well know it happened.
No surprise. In fact, when we don’t have a sense of pressure, a longing, an urgency, we may not be in a great place. Illust. One who would catch a vision for a nation or people group.
These troubles are not personal but a result of their passion for Jesus and for their community. We may feel pressures because of our own mistakes or life issues; these troubles or pressures are different, though all very real. Persecution or pressures like Paul reminds us is from the choice we make to live the Good News, share the truth, and adopt what is on the Father’s heart as our own.
v. 5 For the very reason I could no longer endure this pressure, I sent Timothy in order to be assured of your faith so that in no way the Tempter had somehow trapped you and our work among you would be useless.
This was early, early in his mission work. One of the first in Europe. And his first letter to one o his church plants. He was concerned. He knew the tempter was working to destroy the works of the Kingdom. His pressure is for the faith of the Jesus-followers he left in and fell in love with in Thessalonica. Their pressure is to see him again and to represent Jesus well in a culture at odds with the Good News of the Kingdom.
The Tempter, Satan, the Adversary, works through his minions to seek to stifle God’s work and discourage the faith of believers. He is real, but he is not omni.
v. 6 Just now, however, Timothy has arrived here with good news after being with you. He has told us of your faith and love and that you hold good memories of us, greatly desiring to see us just like we desire to see you.
Don’t you like how Paul time-jumped here? He sent Timothy and, oh wait, he’s back. The relief he felt when he heard of their faith from the report Timothy brought back must have reassured him to keep on with the mission. By now, he is in Corinth, and the ministry there was both longer and fruitful; and with opposition.
This passage shows what surrounds a move from God. 1) The Good News is shared with success and evidence of the work of God. 2) An expectation, a movement of prayer and worship, and a unity grow. 3) The culture opposes. 4) The faith of the Christ-followers is strengthened. 5) Churches send others to the work of the Kingdom.
v. 7 Brothers and sisters, we were encouraged by this report, because of your faith through the hardships and persecutions.
The surprise – in the hardship, we stand. Again, there is the inner hardships we bear and the opposition we face when we stand for the Good News of the Kingdom. Note here that opposition comes, not because Paul or the Christ-followers in Thessalonica sought it but because the repented, they discarded idols, they chose to live by a new code, one of love for other and peace and joy inside. The opposition is because the Enemy wants the status quo, wants a culture that makes it easy to ignore God.
v. 8 For the present, if you stand firm in your faith , we continue to breathe easier.
Keep in mind that, for Paul, this Good News of the Kingdom was for all; and here, he is concerned that how they share it is validated. This is Europe’s first exposure to the Good News. The word for “breathe easy” is “to live” – as in, they can really live again and get back to real life. It’s like Paul has been holding his breath as he waited for the report.
Illust. I catch my breath when I get a call or visit from a church family member.
v. 9 For how thankful we are to God concerning you. We rejoice with all possible joy before our God because of you!
Thankfulness is the response when we hear of someone’s faith strengthening, not thankfulness for the persecution, but thankfulness in the persecution. We don’t rejoice that someone faces pressure; we rejoice that God is strong and faith continues in the pressures.
Joy-joy. It’s not just joy, but joy upon joy that he experiences in the report.
v. 10 Around the clock, we pray increasingly that we might see your face and restore what is needed in your faith.
Prayer both night and day and in increasing measure are the results of the news of the continued revival in Thessalonica, along with a longing to see them face-to-face and continue their discipling.
The “restore” is a word that comes from “mending the nets.” The Thessalonians had a solid net, but with more attention and training, it would be stronger.
Small Group Study Questions:
- When have your plans been “hijacked” by the Enemy? What was on the other side when your plans changed? (vv. 17-18)
- In this passage, Paul writes about Satan “hindering” his return and the Tempter trying to destroy their faith (2:17-18, 3:5). How real do you think Satan is? What evidence do you see of his being real?
- Paul writes that he missed the “faces” of the Thessalonian Christ-followers. How important is being “present” in others’ lives to the Christian? What “substitutes” does our culture offer that fall short of this?
- What pressures from within or trials from without concern you personally?
- What is your biggest need today regarding your faith? How can we pray for you and strengthen you as you choose to live the Good News and share truth in love (v. 10)?
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