1 Thessalonians 3:1 - Meaning and Application

In these words, the apostle explains why he sent Timothy to the Thessalonians. Though Paul was kept from going to them himself, his love for them was so strong that he could not help sending Timothy. Timothy was very valuable to him, and Paul could not easily spare him, yet he was willing, for their good, to be left alone at Athens. Ministers do not truly care for the growth and stability of their people if they cannot give up many things for that purpose.

Paul first describes Timothy. He calls him “our brother,” and elsewhere he calls him his son. Timothy was younger than Paul, had less authority, and served in a lower office, since Paul was an apostle and Timothy was an evangelist, a gospel worker sent to help church growth. Still, Paul calls him brother. This shows Paul’s humility, and it also honors Timothy and helps the churches respect him. Paul also calls Timothy a minister of God, which reminds us that gospel ministers serve God in spreading his kingdom among people. He calls him his fellow worker in the gospel of Christ. Ministers should see themselves as laborers in the Lord’s field. Their work is honorable and hard, but it is good work. If anyone wants the office of overseer, that is, church leader, he wants a good work (1 Timothy 3:1). Ministers should strengthen one another’s hands, not compete in ways that weaken the work. They are to labor together in preaching Christ, calling people to believe, and teaching them to live in a way that fits the gospel.

Paul then explains why he sent Timothy: “to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith” (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Paul had brought them to faith in Christ, and now he wanted them to be firm and encouraged. He wanted them settled in the choice they had made to follow the Christian faith, and comforted in both believing it and living by it. The more comfort believers receive in God’s ways, the more they are strengthened to continue in them, because joy in God helps keep us steady. Paul wanted them encouraged about the truths they believed, especially that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, wise, good, powerful, and faithful enough to be trusted. He also wanted them encouraged by the reward faith brings, which is more than enough to make up for every loss and effort.

Paul was also moved by a godly fear, a careful concern that they might be shaken from the faith of Christ (1 Thessalonians 3:3). He did not want anyone among them to be moved or unsettled, or to fall away. He saw real danger. One danger was affliction and persecution for the gospel’s sake (1 Thessalonians 3:3). The Thessalonians could see the sufferings the apostles and other preachers were facing, and that might trouble them. They were also likely facing suffering themselves. Another danger was the craft and malice of the tempter, the devil, who is always looking for a way to deceive and destroy. Paul feared that by some means the tempter might have tempted them (1 Thessalonians 3:5). The devil often uses both prosperity and suffering to attack people, and he has often turned hearts against religion by pointing to the troubles believers endure. We should therefore be watchful for ourselves and for others, so we are not trapped by him.

Paul feared one sad result in particular, that his labor might be in vain. If the tempter had succeeded in turning them from the faith, then they would have lost what they had gained, and Paul would have lost the fruit of his work. The devil’s aim is to block the good effect of gospel preaching. If he cannot stop ministers from laboring in the Word and teaching, he will try to stop their work from bearing fruit. Faithful ministers care deeply about whether their work succeeds. No one wants to work in vain, and ministers do not want to spend their strength, time, and effort for nothing.

To prevent this danger and its consequences, Paul tells them what care he took in sending Timothy. First, he wanted to remind them of what he had already told them about suffering trouble (1 Thessalonians 3:4). He says, “We are appointed to this,” meaning to affliction. God’s will and purpose are that through many troubles we enter his kingdom. Their persecution did not happen by chance, and it was not only the result of the hatred of Christ’s enemies. It was also part of God’s ordering of events, and Paul had already told them it would happen. That way, they would not be surprised, and being warned beforehand, they could be prepared. The apostles never told people that religion would bring them worldly ease. Instead, they plainly taught that believers must expect trouble in the flesh. In this, they followed the example of their great Master, the author of our faith.

Second, Paul sent Timothy to learn about their faith, so he could know whether they were standing firm under their suffering, or whether their faith had failed. If their faith held, they would be able to resist the tempter and all his attacks. Faith would be their shield, protecting them from the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:16).