1 Thessalonianschapter 3
13 verses · Paul · AD 50 or 51 · Paul's letters
For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and caused our labor to be in vain.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 1 Thessalonians Overview.
This chapter comes from a man who had not known for months whether the church he left behind was still standing. Travel was slow and letters went only with travelers, so silence could last a long time. Paul had chosen to be left alone in a foreign city so that his helper could go and see. Listen for the relief when the news arrives. The chapter moves from worry to thanks to prayer. It ends with the Lord's coming, as each chapter of the letter does.
Context
- Who
- A church that had not known whether its founders were alive or had given up on them
- What
- The account of Timothy's visit to Thessalonica, his good report, and Paul's thanks and prayer for the church.
- Where
- Paul waited in Athens while Timothy went north to Thessalonica, and he wrote from Corinth after Timothy returned.
- When
- About AD 50 to 51, soon after Timothy rejoined Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:5).
- Why
- To show the church how deeply its founders cared, to explain that its suffering had been foretold, and to pray for its growth in love and holiness.
Historical context
There was no postal service for private people. A letter or a message traveled with someone who happened to be going, which is why churches sent trusted men as carriers and why Timothy's journey is such a large event in this chapter.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The distance mattered. From Athens or Corinth up to Thessalonica was several hundred miles of road and coastal sailing, and the sea lanes closed in winter. A round trip with a stay in the city could easily eat two or three months, and during that stretch neither end knew anything about the other.
Sending Timothy meant Paul deliberately stayed alone in a strange city. In that world, a teacher's standing rested partly on the entourage around him, so being left by himself was a real cost, not a figure of speech.
The word he uses for their trouble is the word for pressure, the squeeze of a crowd or a weight. It describes what a small unpopular group felt every day at the market and the guild hall, not one dramatic event.
Significance
For the hearers, the news that their teacher had been sleepless over them answered the accusation that he had used them and left. He had sent his closest helper at real cost to get word.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And Timothy's report becomes their evidence too: they had held. The letter hands them back a picture of themselves standing, which is worth a great deal to people who have been told daily that they made a fool's choice.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Timothy Sent, Lest the Tempter Had Won
1 Thessalonians 3:1-2
when we could bear it no longer: , Paul chose to be left on our own in Athens so that Timothy could go. Timothy's titles, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, let him speak for Paul.
1 Thessalonians 3:1
“The word "left behind" (Greek) implies that Timothy had been with him at Athens. It was an act of self-denial for their sakes that Paul deprived himself of the presence of Timothy at Athens, which would have been so cheering to him in the midst of philosophic cavillers; but from love to the Thessalonians, he is well content to be left all "alone" in the great city.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Thessalonians 3:1
“Wherefore - See 1Th 2:18. This particle (διὸ dio) is designed here to refer to another proof of his affection for them. One evidence had been referred to in his strong desire to visit them, which he had been unable to accomplish 1Th 2:18, and he here refers to another - to wit, the fact that he had sent Timothy to them. We could no longer forbear - That is, when I could not 1Th 3:5, for there is every evidence that Paul refers to himself only though he uses the plural form of the word.”
We sent Timothy: Timothy went as Paul's brother and fellow worker. To strengthen is the verb used of God Himself at 2 Thessalonians 3:3, so Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call ministers His instruments in the work. Theophylact of Ohrid notes that a teacher's troubles unsettle his disciples, which is why they needed him.
1 Thessalonians 3:2
“Timotheus, our brother - It appears that Timothy was but a youth when converted to God; he had now however been some years in the work of God; Paul therefore calls him his brother, being one of the same Christian family, a son of God by adoption: elsewhere he calls him his own son, 1Ti 1:2; and his dearly beloved son, 2Ti 1:2; because he was brought to the knowledge of the true God, and to salvation by Christ, through the apostle’s instrumentality. See the preface to the First Epistle to Timothy.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:2
"Gospel ministers do the work of God with Him, for Him, and under Him" [EDMUNDS]. establish--Greek, "confirm." In 2Th 3:3, GOD is said to "stablish": He is the true establisher: ministers are His "instruments." concerning--Greek, "in behalf of," that is, for the furtherance of your faith.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Thessalonians 3:3-4
none of you would be shaken by these trials: Timothy went so that none of you would be shaken by these trials, shaken carrying the sense of being moved loose from a fixed place. The words we are destined for this ground the answer in earlier teaching, suffering as the church's calling, expected from the start.
1 Thessalonians 3:3
“We are appointed hereto - Are in every respect laid in a fit posture for it, by the very design and contrivance of God himself for the trial and increase of our faith and all other graces.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:3
“That no man should be moved - The word rendered “moved” (σαίνω sainō) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means to wag, to move to and fro, as of dogs which wag their tails in fondness (Hom. Od. K. 216. AEl. A. N. 10:7. Ovid. 14:258); then to caress, to fawn upon, to flatter; then to move or waver in mind - as from fear; to dread, to tremble. See Passow and Wetstein. Here the sense is, to be so moved or agitated by fear, or by the terror of persecution, as to forsake their religion.”
1 Thessalonians 3:3
“These Thessalonians could not but perceive what afflictions the apostles and preachers of the gospel met with, and this might possibly stumble them; and also those who made profession of the gospel were persecuted, and without doubt these Thessalonians themselves were afflicted. [2.] By reason of the tempter's subtlety and malice.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
we kept warning you: Paul had warned them more than once. Thomas Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid both observe that trouble foretold does less harm, because it arrives as expected. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the verse beside John 13:19, where Jesus speaks before the event so that His disciples will believe.
1 Thessalonians 3:4
“That we should suffer tribulation - I prepared you for it, because I knew that it was according to their nature for wicked men to persecute the followers of God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you: Paul names his fear directly, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you, the title the devil bears at Matthew 4:3. The danger feared is suffering put to use, persecution prying converts loose from a faith only weeks old.
1 Thessalonians 3:5
“For this cause - Since I knew that you were so liable to be persecuted, and since I feared that some might be turned from the truth by this opposition. When I could no longer forbear - See the notes at 1Th 3:1. I sent to know your faith - That is, your fidelity. or your steadfastness in the gospel. Lest by some means - Either by allurements to apostasy, set before you by your former pagan friends; or by the arts of false teachers; or by the severity of suffering.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:5
“Note, It is the devil's design to hinder the good fruit and effect of the preaching of the gospel. If he cannot hinder ministers from labouring in the word and doctrine, he will, if he be able, hinder them of the success of their labours. Note also, Faithful ministers are much concerned about the success of their labours.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Timothy's Good Report Brought Paul Back to Life
1 Thessalonians 3:6-7
Timothy has returned from his visit: Timothy's report meets every fear at once: the good news about your faith, your love, two graces of 1:3 intact under pressure. Verse 7 names the effect on Paul, their steadiness steadying him.
1 Thessalonians 3:6
“Without question, he was a willing messenger of these good tidings. Concerning their faith, that is, concerning their stedfastness in the faith, that they were not shaken in mind, nor turned aside form the profession of the gospel. Their love also continued; their love to the gospel, and the ministers of the gospel.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:6
“When Timotheus came - We have already seen that he and Silas stayed behind at Thessalonica, when Paul was obliged to leave it; for the persecution seems to have been principally directed against him. When Paul came to Athens, he sent pressingly to him and Silas to come to him with all speed to that city. We are not informed that they did come, but it is most likely that they did, and that Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to comfort and build up these new converts.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 3:6
"But Timotheus having just now come from you unto us" [ALFORD]. Thus it appears (compare Ac 18:5) Paul is writing from Corinth. your faith and charity-- (1Th 1:3; compare 2Th 1:3, whence it seems their faith subsequently increased still more). Faith was the solid foundation: charity the cement which held together the superstructure of their practice on that foundation.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Thessalonians 3:6
“But now when Timotheus was come to us from you - Immediately after his return, St. Paul wrote; while his joy was fresh, and his tenderness at the height.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
in all our distress and persecution: The distress was Paul's own at Corinth, where Jamieson, Fausset and Brown place it, beside Acts 18:5 to 10. The comfort ran backward, from the young church to the apostle. Albert Barnes points to 2 Corinthians 7:6 to 7, where the arrival of Titus comforts Paul the same way.
1 Thessalonians 3:7
“It was easy to him to bear affliction, or persecution, or fightings from without, when he found the good success of his ministry and the constancy of the converts he had made to Christianity; and his distress of mind on account of his fears within, lest he had laboured in vain, was now in a good measure over, when he understood their faith and the perseverance of it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:7
“We were comforted over you - See the notes, 2Co 1:3-7; 2Co 7:6-7. The sense here is, that their steadfastness was a great source of comfort to him in his trials. It was an instance where the holy lives and the fidelity of a people did much, as will always be the case, to lighten the burdens and cheer the heart of a minister of the gospel. In the inevitable trials of the ministerial office there is no source of comfort more rich and pure than this.”
1 Thessalonians 3:7
“Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over, you,.... Or "in you", as the Vulgate Latin version; or "from you", as the Arabic; or "by you", as the Syriac; or "for you", as the Ethiopic; that is, on account of them, either by what they had heard was in them, or had heard from them.”
For now we can go on living: ties Paul's own life to the church's condition. The clause as long as you are standing firm in the Lord names the one condition, standing in a relationship already begun.
1 Thessalonians 3:8
“He did not say: we were comforted, but: "we live," showing by this that their stumbling he considers death for himself, and their progress, standing, and firmness in Christ – life.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on 1 Thessalonianspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:8
“For now we live - Your steadfastness in the faith gives me new life and comfort; I now feel that I live to some purpose, as my labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 3:8
“MINISTERS who are really sent of God greatly rejoice in the spiritual prosperity of their people. If they see God's Word prosper, they prosper. If the Church of God is blessed, they are blessed. Their life is wrapped up in the spiritual life of their people. Never is the servant of God so full of delight as when he sees that the Holy Spirit is visiting his hearers, making them to know the Lord, and confirming them in that heavenly knowledge.”
1 Thessalonians 3:9-10
How can we adequately thank God for you: Prayer follows the thanks at once, that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking from your faith. That last clause states the letter's own purpose, a young faith whole in kind and still growing in measure.
1 Thessalonians 3:9
“For what thanks can we render to God again - That is, what expression of thanksgiving can we render to God that shall be an equivalent for the joy which your holy walk has furnished, or which will suitably express our gratitude for it.”
supply what is lacking from your faith: Most earnestly is a piled-up word, more than exceeding abundantly in the rendering of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown. Paul meant to fill that gap in person. Theophylact of Ohrid suggests it was teaching on the resurrection, which is what chapter 4 goes on to give.
1 Thessalonians 3:10
“He desired that their faith might be perfected, which he could not be the proper cause or author of; for he pretended not to dominion over their faith, nor to have the donation of it, and he therefore concludes with prayer for them. Whom he prays to, namely, God and Christ. Prayer is a part of religious worship, and all religious worship is due unto God only.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:10
“The Greek implies a beseeching request. exceedingly--literally, "more than exceeding abundantly" (compare Eph 3:20). that which is lacking--Even the Thessalonians had points in which they needed improvement [BENGEL], (Lu 17:5).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Thessalonians 3:10
And perfect that which is wanting in your faith - So St. Paul did not know that "they who are once upon the rock no longer need to be taught by man."
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
May the Lord Make You Overflow in Love
may our God and Father Himself: Paul prays: may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you. Father and Son stand together as the subject of the one verb direct, a high view of the Son stated in passing.
1 Thessalonians 3:11
“For one and the same grace is from the Father in the Son, as the light of the sun and the sun's radiance is one, and as the sun's illumination is effected through the radiance. So too when Paul prays for the Thessalonians, in saying, "Now God himself our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, may he direct our way to you," he has guarded the unity of the Father and of the Son.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 3.25.11patristic
3 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:11
“Now God himself - This is evidently a prayer. He earnestly sought of God that he might be permitted to visit them, and that he would so prepare the way that he might do it. And our Father - Even our Father. The reference is particularly to the “Father,” the First Person of the Trinity. It does not refer to the divine nature in general, or to God as such, but to God as the Father of the Lord Jesus. It is a distinct prayer offered to him that he would direct his way to them.”
1 Thessalonians 3:11
“Direct our way - This prayer is addressed to Christ, as well as to the Father.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Thessalonians 3:11
“The taking of a journey to this or that place, one would think, is a thing depending so much on a man's own will, and lies so much in his own power, that Paul needed not by prayer to go to God about it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love: The prayer asks that the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love, the grace still growing. The words just as our love for you overflows set the missionaries' conduct as the measure, the pattern of imitation traced in chapter 1.
1 Thessalonians 3:12
“And the Lord make you to increase,.... That is, the Lord the Spirit; so that the object of prayer, addressed by the apostle, is Father, Son, and Spirit, as in Rev 1:4. The Alexandrian copy reads "God". The Spirit is God, equally with the Father and the Son, and so a fit object of prayer with them, which otherwise he would not be.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:12
“Timothy brought good tidings of their faith, yet something was lacking therein; and of their charity, yet the apostle prays that this might increase and abound. Note, We have reason to desire to grow in every grace, and have need of the Spirit's influence in order to growth in grace; and the way to obtain this is by prayer.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
so that He may establish your hearts: The prayer's purpose is that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness, holiness framed as the settled aim of growing love. The chapter closes on the letter's third mention of the coming, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
1 Thessalonians 3:13
And again: "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord God, Jesus Christ, at His coming? " Likewise: "Before God, even our Father, at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the whole company of His saints."
Tertullian · written before 220 · On the Resurrection of the Fleshpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
1 Thessalonians 3:13
“To the end he may stablish your hearts - That is, “may the Lord cause you to increase in love 1Th 3:12, in order that you may be established, and be without blame in the day of judgment.” The idea is, that if charity were diffused through their hearts, they would abound in every virtue, and would be at length found blameless. Unblameable - See the 1Th 1:10 note; Php 2:15; Php 3:6 notes; Heb 8:7 note; compare Luk 1:6; 1Th 5:23. The meaning is, so that there could be no “charge” or “accusation” against them.”
1 Thessalonians 3:13
“Note, The more we grow and abound in grace, and particularly in the grace of love, the more we are established and confirmed in it. Note also, Holiness is required of all those who would go to heaven, and therein we must be unblamable; that is, we must act in every thing so that we may not in the least contradict the profession we make of holiness.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
How this psalm is built
The form: A report of Timothy's mission that turns into thanks and then into prayer, as 3:11 classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| When we could bear it no longer | The phrase stands at verse 1 and again at verse 5 in the Berean text, first with we and then with I. The repetition frames the sending of Timothy and marks the strain Paul was under.The Berean text, counted from the store, 1 Thessalonians 3:1 and 3:5, translation id 3. | 1 Thessalonians 3:1, 1 Thessalonians 3:5 |
| One verb for the Father and the Son | Verse 11 names God the Father and the Lord Jesus together and gives them one verb, direct our way. Ambrose of Milan reads it as showing that the work of the Father and the Son is one. The site's published exposition of the verse reads it as a high view of the Son stated in passing.Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.10.87. | 1 Thessalonians 3:11 |
| Worry, report, thanks, prayer | The chapter runs in four movements: the sending of Timothy in verses 1 to 5, his report in verses 6 to 8, thanks in verses 9 and 10, and prayer in verses 11 to 13. The site's published exposition of verse 11 marks the turn from report to prayer.This site's published exposition of 1 Thessalonians 3:11, The exposition_notes row on 1 Thessalonians 3:11, citing John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians, and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible. | 1 Thessalonians 3:1, 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 1 Thessalonians 3:9, 1 Thessalonians 3:11 |
Where the chapter stands in the letter
5 more paragraphs on the patterns
Chapter 2 ended with Paul's wish to return and Satan's hindrance. Chapter 3 tells what he did instead, and it closes the first half of the letter with a prayer. The prayer of verses 12 and 13 names what chapter 4 goes on to teach: love for one another, holiness, and the coming of the Lord that 4:13 to 18 describes.
How the two accounts fit
Acts 17:14 to 15 has Timothy stay in Berea while Paul asks for him at Athens, and Acts 18:5 has Silas and Timothy arrive at Corinth. Verses 1 and 2 add a trip Acts does not record, Timothy sent from Athens back to Thessalonica. Albert Barnes notes that Acts is also silent on the warnings of verse 4 and finds nothing unlikely in them (Notes on the New Testament, on 3:4).
The saints of verse 13
The Lord comes with all His saints. The site's published exposition of the verse records that most commentators read the saints as believers who have died and are already with Him, with Matthew Henry and John Gill as its sources. Chapter 4 describes the same company rising to meet Him.
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
James Denney, The Epistles to the Thessalonians (Expositor's Bible) and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.
The form and classifications
Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.10.87, on 1 Thessalonians 3:11 and This site's published exposition of 1 Thessalonians 3:11, The exposition_notes row on 1 Thessalonians 3:11, citing John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians, and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians.