Written ~ 10-14-2024
Read 1 Thessalonians Chapter Three
1 Thessalonians 3
When we ended chapter two, Paul was expressing his intense longing to visit the Thessalonian believers. But due to circumstances out of their control, because of the hinderances Satan was placing in the way, they couldn’t go see them. Now, in chapter three Paul is at a breaking point, he was desperate to find out what was happening to the believers in Thessalonica. That church was so young, only about two or three months had passed since Paul, Silas and Timothy helped them establish their church and Paul worried if they were able to stay firm in their faith during a very difficult time of persecution for all Christians.
1 Thessalonians 3:1-5…
1 “Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens, 2 and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, 3 and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. 4 Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come – and they did, as you well know. 5 That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless.”
Paul finally made the decision that he and Silas would stay behind and they would send Timothy to check on the new believers. Every brand-new believer needs strengthening in their faith and to have encouragement so they can stand strong in their new faith and trust in the Lord.
In this world there is always going to be trouble, there will always be things that try to distract us from keeping our focus on the Lord. Paul tells the Thessalonians just that, “…we warned you that troubles would soon come – and they did…” Knowing how easily “the tempter” could derail this new church was the main reason he couldn’t bear it any longer, he needed a report to see how they were doing. Do you have someone in your life who regularly checks in on you to see that you are standing firm in your faith? These new believers were extremely fortunate to have a spiritual father like Paul. He cared for them so deeply and wanted them to flourish.
When you have your eyes set on the things of heaven and your heart is filled with the Holy Spirit and you walk in constant communion with Jesus, you will experience troubles from living in this evil world. The enemy of God will find you as a threat to his plans and will try to thwart all your efforts to spread the Gospel message. You have a choice, either you don’t put yourself out there, you live a lukewarm Christianity and Satan won’t bother you because you are a zero threat to him. Or you live your life with abundant joy, you live to share Jesus with everyone you know and you live with the wisdom you receive from the Holy Spirit and it’s evident in your life and suffer through the attacks of the enemy. This is what was happening to Paul, he wanted to visit the Thessalonian believers but the enemy wasn’t going to allow him to go. Now, it doesn’t mean Timothy wasn’t just as much of leader as Paul, but for some reason he was able to go without any restraints. I’m going to suggest that it was because Timothy did not have the “bond” hindering him like Paul and Silas did (see Acts 17:5-9).
Can you imagine, once Paul and Silas sent Timothy on his way, how they must’ve paced the floors in prayer until he returned? They were probably very anxious to find out what was going on in Thessalonica.
1 Thessalonians 3:6-8…
6 “But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. 7 So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. 8 It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.”
Oh, thank goodness it was good news, right? These new believers were thriving, they were growing in their faith and they were full of joy. Paul, I’m sure, couldn’t have been any happier from receiving this kind of report. The Bible doesn’t say how long it took for Timothy to return, but no matter the length of time I can imagine Paul looking out his window constantly, to see if he could spot Timothy coming up the road.
I love verse 3:8, “It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.” Isn’t that so true? When you receive good news, a good report, don’t you breathe in deeply? It may have felt like you were holding your breath waiting to see what was going to happen, then when it’s good news you are filled with joy to full capacity. For Paul especially, he cares about all the new believers he has ministered to over the years, he’s concerned about their wellbeing and the strength of their faith. Think of all the new churches he has established, all those people finding their way in a troublesome world with this new life in Jesus, I’m sure Paul wished he could be with every single one of them.
In the Life Application Study Bible footnotes it says, “During times of persecution or pressure, believers should encourage one another. Christians who stand firm in the Lord are an encouragement to ministers and teachers (who can see the benefit of their work in those who remain faithful) and an encouragement to those who are new in their faith (who can learn from the steadfastness of the mature).”
How are you being an encouragement today? Are you standing firm in your faith? Even in a troubled, evil world are you a shining beacon of God’s glory? Are you remaining steadfast in the wisdom and knowledge of Scripture?
1 Thessalonians 3:9-10…
9 “How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence. 10 Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.”
If you find yourself as a mentor or teacher or minister to impressionable brand-new believers, it is the responsibility of that role to keep them in constant prayer. If you’re like Paul where you don’t have the opportunity to see the new believers on a regular basis, again it is up the you to go into the presence of God and fight for their faith to grow and pray that their wisdom and knowledge would continue to grow. Even if it can’t be you personally to go and continue teaching them in person, then pray that the “gaps of their faith would be filled in…” by someone with the same heart, the same mind and the same spirit to come along side them and help them flourish in their walks with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13…
11 “May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon. 12 And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 13 May He, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all His holy people. Amen.”
As you can see by the closing of this chapter, Paul’s longing to see these believers had not diminished even with receiving the good report from Timothy. But in the meantime he charged them with this encouragement, that they would continue to love one another and that the Lord would overflow their love and joy for others. Paul was quite clear that the love he had for them would overflow for them as well. He asked the Lord to make sure that their hearts would remain strong, blameless and holy. Those are some very powerful things to ask God to give another believer. We must stay strong in our faith. There are too many things in this world that can distract us. But when we stand firm on the Word of God those distractions don’t get a foot in the door.
I have to share what the footnotes in my Life Application Study Bible says about verse 3:12…(so good!)
- “If we are full of God’s love, it will overflow to others. It’s not enough merely to be courteous to others; we must actively and persistently show love to them. Our love should be growing continually. If your capacity to love has remained unchanged for some time, ask God to fill you again with His never-ending supply. Then look for opportunities to let His love spill over in refreshment to others.”
In this chapter we have been warned that troubles will come, but we are to stand firm when they do. We are to be watchful because we do have an enemy who would love to derail all of our efforts to grow in wisdom and knowledge. We are to pray for other believers that they too would remain steadfast in their faith even during difficult times. We learned that we should always check in on our fellow believers, especially those who are brand new in the faith to make sure they growing and remaining strong in that new faith. We have been given the charge to love one another, to overflowing. We are to pray that our hearts would remain strong, blameless and holy, because one day, when Christ comes to take us home, we will stand before God our Father in Heaven.
Stand strong my friends!
~AMEN~