1 Thessalonians Chapter 3 Overview
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Thursday, July 02, 2009
So far, in our overview of 1 Thessalonians, much of what we have encountered has been Paul expressing his love and appreciation for Thessalonica Bible Church and recalling the ministry that was performed during his brief stay in the city. Our study today, in chapter 3, remains very much in line with what Paul has already covered. This chapter is more of a recap, at least for us as readers, and gives us a detailed description of what happened after Paul, Silas, and Timothy were chased out of town. So, if hearts and minds are clear, let's dive into this chapter overview.
As we just said in the opening, this chapter primarily centers around the events that took place after Paul and his team were kicked out of Thessalonica by the unbelieving Jews. Like chapter two, we again have three primary divisions: 1) the ministry of Timothy (vv. 1-5), 2) Timothy's encouraging report (vv. 6-10), and 3) prayer for the church (vv. 11-13).
If you remember, in our survey of chapter 2, it closed with Paul longing to return to Thessalonica so that he could visit with these believers (2:17-20). Well, when you get to chapter 3, you realize that this missionary team has been forced all the way down to Athens by their protesters (3:1), after being forced out of both Thessalonica and Berea. With Paul wondering how the church was doing and wanting to go back, he and Silas decided to send Timothy back into Thessalonica. Because of his youth, Timothy was not involved in any of the scuffle that took place when Paul was chased out; therefore, he was free to return without consequence. As best we can tell from Scripture, this was Timothy's first official training assignment; his primary mission was to encourage and strengthen Thessalonica Bible Church in their faith (v. 2). We also find out in verse 5 that Timothy's secondary mission was to investigate any Satanic activity amongst the believers and report it back to Paul and Silas. This was a tremendous responsibility for such a youth, but Timothy was more than up to the task.
After an undetermined amount of time in Thessalonica, Timothy finally returns to Paul and Silas, meeting up with them in the city of Corinth (v. 6). Timothy's arrival is marked by a very encouraging report, that involves both a continued faith and love, which we find Paul making mention of in the beginning of this epistle (1:2-3). What Paul finds more than anything in Timothy's report is that everything he has felt towards the church has been reciprocated back to him, which will become a lesson for us in the reciprocal nature of spiritual encouragement. Paul thought of them and constantly prayed for the church; and, the church always thought of him and his team, always lifting them up in prayer. And just as Paul longed to see them, they longed to see him also. Because of this two-way rejoicing, Paul couldn't help but to be at a loss for words by which he could offer up praise to His Father in heaven (3:9-10); either way, Paul found a way to rejoice and give thanks.
Finally, after much thanksgiving, Paul offers up a prayer for Thessalonica Bible Church (vv. 11-13). In this prayer, he prays that God would once again lead him to them, since they both longed to see each other. He also prayed that they would continue to increase in their love for one another, but not just each other, but everyone. His desire was for them to continue to be marked by their labor of love (1:3) so that they would be without blame at the Lord's return. In other words, Paul prayed for them to live holy lives unto the Lord.
It's at this point that Paul is done reflecting upon his ministry efforts at Thessalonica. As we move forward into chapters 4 and 5, we find Paul beginning to offer up instructional teaching and doctrine that will help to solidify the truths that they have already learned. We will get into that next time; but, until then, keep your armor on and love one another!
devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/devotions/1thess007
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