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1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
In the first letter we have from Paul to the assembly at Thessalonica, we learn that the apostle preached the
gospel and ministered in that city for several months with Silas and Timothy. Having been forced to leave
the city, Paul was now writing to them a month or two later, from Corinth, just after receiving word of how
that assembly was doing.
They were doing great. In the first chapter, we read of Pauls glowing commendation of the believers in
Thessalonica, which centers particularly on what he had heard about their faith.
But Paul heard about other things happening at Thessalonica. The enemies of the gospel there were
spreading vicious rumors concerning Paul and the other missionaries, attempting to discredit them. In the
second chapter, we found that Paul carefully addressed each one of the attacks against himself and his
companions.
This defense was not made for the sake of Paul clearing his own good name, but for the sake of the gospel
in Thessalonica. Based on Pauls responses, we were able to determine what the nature of those attacks
must have been.
The enemies of the gospel were portraying Paul and the other missionaries as just another band of itinerant
preachers, who wandered through the large cosmopolitan city of Thessalonica with frequency. These false
teachers of philosophy or religion would try to garner a following among people for their own personal
advantage.
Paul and the others were apparently accused of coming to Thessalonica for just such a purpose not for the
good of the people, but for the personal gain of the preachers. They were accused of teaching false
doctrine, using it to cloak their real objectives to gain money, or prestige, or power over the people. It
was even insinuated that their real intentions were to engage in lascivious acts with the people as the
pagan charlatans did, promising it as a means of drawing closer to the gods.
Paul countered each of these charges with the true account of their visit to Thessalonica, and called God
and the believers there as witnesses to the truth. In this way, Paul proved that the accusations against him
were categorically false.
Having dispelled the lies, Paul then portrayed the true picture of how the missionaries conducted
themselves while in Thessalonica. They were like a nursing mother, nourishing the new believers with the
Word of God, ensuring that they were thriving, giving of themselves their very lives out of their love for
them.
But the missionaries were also like a father to the believers; not just nurturing them, but leading them.
They led the believers by their own good example; showing them that faith works sometimes night and
day.
The missionaries provided for their own material needs, while at the same time, they met the spiritual needs
of the new believers in Thessalonica. The missionaries were not a burden to their converts; instead, their
converts were their burden a burden of love, like children on the heart of their father, who toils endlessly
for their benefit.

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And like a good father with his children, Paul and his companions admonished and encouraged the
believers in Thessalonica, training them up in the Lord, so that their walk might be worthy of God, who had
wrought them so great a salvation. The missionaries led the new believers in the way they should go.
There was a final charge which was laid against Paul by his enemies one which was very easy to support,
and the more so, as time went by. That charge was that Paul had abandoned the believers at Thessalonica;
that he really didnt care for them. We will see today Paul defending himself against this accusation; but
before he does, Paul pauses once again in his letter to offer thanks to God for the assembly at Thessalonica.
2:13 In this verse, For this reason refers not to what precedes it, but to what follows note the
because. Paul and his companions thanked God because these Thessalonian believers received the word
spoken to them as Gods word; not as Pauls word, or Silas word, or Timothys word but Gods word.
Think to whom Paul is speaking. In cosmopolitan Thessalonica, people had the opportunity to hear every
philosophy or religion that was out there, new or old. Every wind of doctrine had passed through their city,
from both east and west; they had heard it all.
But when these believers heard the gospel, they recognized it to be the truth. They took it into their minds,
and considered it; they recognized in themselves the sinners of whom Paul spoke, who were in need of a
Savior. And they openly embraced the One of whom Paul spoke, who had come into the world to put away
their sin Jesus. The good seed of the Word of God penetrated beyond their minds, into their hearts, and
conceived within them Life everlasting (1 Pet 1:23-25).
Now, why did it do that in them, and not others? Didnt Paul preach the gospel throughout Thessalonica?
Im sure he did. Was not the seed always the same? Yes; it was the good seed of the Word of God. But not
every ear received it as such; some ears received it as merely the word of men. They thought it was just
Pauls word his thinking.
Some men concluded the gospel was just another wind of doctrine, passing through their city. Perhaps
these men didnt see themselves as sinners. Perhaps they did not see their need of a Savior. Perhaps they
didnt like the Savior Paul preached Jesus. He was the one and only way to God? Surely there were
many ways, to many gods! Surely they could come to God, based on their own righteousness. In such
men, the word could not penetrate the heart, for it was hardened against the truth.
Turn to Pauls first letter to the Corinthians. When Paul wrote this letter, he began by addressing the need
for this divisive assembly to be of one mind and what mind would that be? The mind of Christ.
One of the problems with the assembly at Corinth was their love of knowledge just for the sake of
knowledge, and their love of fine rhetoric this reflects their Greek heritage. The Corinthian assembly was
entering into contentions concerning different men who had preached the gospel among them, and
professing various allegiances to them. Paul admonished them, and then wrote concerning his own
preaching among them.
[1 Corinthians 1:17-31]
v. 17 The cross of Christ Jesus Christ, and Him crucified is the center of the gospel. Any worldly-wise
wording would merely serve to detract from the simplicity of the gospel what can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

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v. 18 What is the message of the cross? Believe in the Crucified One, Jesus, who died in your stead, to
take away your sin and you will be saved.
To those who are headed for destruction, that sounds foolish:
Im a good person; I dont need to be saved.
Im taking self-improvement courses Self-righteousness 101; I can make myself good.
I believe in a god who accepts me as I am.
I am becoming enlightened to the god who is within me.
I do many, many good works for God; surely He will accept me, based on them.
Believe that God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not
perish, but have everlasting life (Jn 3:16)? Thats ridiculous. That would mean I acknowledge my sin, I
acknowledge I cant save myself, and I humble myself, and just receive what God has done for me.
Foolishness.
Paul goes on.
v. 19-21 Men will never know God through their own conceptions of Him; all theyll come up with is a
god of their imagination. They wont come to the true and living God that way. Theres only one way to
Him through the simple message of the gospel Christ crucified.
v. 22-25 The assembly at Corinth was composed of both Jews and Gentiles. The Jews had been taught
from their Scriptures to request a sign from God (Is 7:11). In fact, they asked Jesus for a sign, that He is
whom He claimed to be: the Messiah.
Jesus told them that the only sign they would receive was the sign of the prophet Jonah, prophesying of His
three days in the grave following His crucifixion, and His subsequent resurrection (Mt 12:38-40). Their
sign, then, was the cross.
But that sign was a stumbling block for the Jews; the cross of Jesus meant that they had to acknowledge
themselves to be unrighteous sinners something most of them could not bring themselves to do (Rm
9:30-33).
As Greeks, the Gentiles in Corinth sought wisdom but they were looking for it in this world. The popular
philosophers of the day asserted that the soul of man is good, but the body is evil; that once the body dies, it
disintegrates; it cannot be brought back to life. Resurrection was a foolish concept to the Greeks, as seen
by the response Paul received in Athens they mocked him (Acts 17:16-34).
But to those who were willing to humble themselves to lay aside their own seeming righteousness, their
own seeming wisdom and to submit themselves to God, receiving His provision for them, Jesus they
discovered Jesus to be the power of God to save them something the Jews couldnt do for themselves.

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And they discovered Jesus to be the wisdom of God, through His Holy Spirit enlightening them true
wisdom, which the Greeks never had. All they had before was the word of men which is foolishness to
God.
v. 26-29 Not many wise, mighty or noble respond to the call of the gospel because they think that they
have the sufficiency to save themselves. But those who respond to the call of the gospel recognize the
sufficiency lies in God alone (2 Cor 3:5) to His glory.
v. 30-31 Of Him, God thanks to what He has purposed for us you are in Christ Jesus. In believing into
Jesus, you were baptized into His death (Rm 6:3). You have been crucified with Christ; buried with Him;
and just as Christ was raised from the dead, even so we also should walk in the newness of life (Rm 6:4).
We are now members of Christs Body; we are in Him; and being in Him, He has become for us certain
things.
He has become for us wisdom from God because the Holy Spirit was renewed to our spirit, when we
believed.
And He has become for us righteousness in Him, we possess the just character of God; His holiness.
And Christ Jesus has become for us sanctification we are now set apart unto God, and are even now being
set apart from the world and the things of it.
And Christ has become for us redemption in Him, we have the guarantee, through the Spirit within us,
that our bodies will be transformed into a glorious body, like His (Rm 8:23).
No flesh should glory in His presence, but we will glory in the glory of our Lord for He shares His
glory with us. We glory in the Lord.
[Return to First Thessalonans]
That is the difference between those who receive the gospel as the word of men or as the word of God.
For those who heard it merely as the words of Paul, it could take no effect; not penetrating into their hearts
by faith, it could not enlighten them; it could not save them.
But for those who perceived that the gospel is the word of God, and received it into their hearts, it was
effectual in them; it gave them power and light. The gospel came, not in word only, but in power, and the
Holy Spirit, and in much assurance (1 Th 1:5). Believing the word spoken to be Gods, they were saved.
The word of God then further empowered them to live out the righteousness that they had become, in
Christ. The word of God effectively worked in them.
We can see this was true for the believers at Thessalonica, as Paul commends them for their vibrant faith,
their loving service, and their constant hope, in the first part of the letter. Now Paul elaborates on another
manifestation of the effective work of the Word in them.
v.14 Lets look closely at what Paul is saying. From the previous verse, we understand that the Word of
God worked effectively in the believers at Thessalonica so that they became imitators of the churches of
God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.

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Do you remember that we came across this word imitator before? We find it in the first chapter of this
letter, in verse 6. The NKJV translates it there as followers. It does not speak of a disciple, who follows
a teacher, but of one imitating the manner of life of another.
Paul did not use this word meaning that the believers in Thessalonica were adopting the actions of other
believers into their own lives, but instead that they were following their pattern of life to live by the
Spirit, in complete dependence on God; to live a life of submission to the Lord.

Paul had written that the believers in Thessalonica became imitators of the missionaries and of the Lord;
now he writes that they imitated the churches in Judea. In the first case, the believers most likely were
purposing to imitate Paul, Silas and Timothy, in the Lord; but in the second case, they were imitating the
churches in Judea unintentionally.
In what way was Paul saying they were imitators of them? He writes that they were suffering the same
things from their own countrymen, just as the churches in Judea did from the Judeans speaking of the
Jews in Judea.
The particular term used in the Greek for countrymen has the meaning of the same tribe, race or clan. In
that the church in Thessalonica was principally composed of former pagan Gentiles, this would suggest that
the persecutors were not mainly the unbelieving Jews, but the unbelieving pagan Gentiles.
This does not mean that the Jews were not also persecuting the new community of believers, because part
of the assembly was Jewish; it just means that the bulk of the persecution came from pagans in the city. It
would not be surprising if the Jews were the ones responsible for the smear campaign against Paul and the
other missionaries, while the pagan Gentiles persecuted the believers in a more tangible manner.
Remember that it was the Jews who had instigated the Gentiles into action against the missionaries in the
first place in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-9). This happened previously in Iconium (Acts 14:2), and then later
in Berea (Acts 17:13)
So the Thessalonian churches were suffering like the churches in Judea, from their fellow Greeks. Now,
what was it that the churches in Judea were suffering, from the Jews? Persecution severe persecution. I
want to refresh your memory about what we know of the Judean churches.
Turn to Acts chapter 4. On the day of Pentecost, the Body of Christ was endued with power from on High
(Lk 24:49) the power of the Holy Spirit for their ministry of reconciling men to God. That ministry
began immediately, with a sign of great power. The disciples of Jesus began to speak in tongues known
foreign languages proclaiming the wonderful works of God no doubt, through His Son, Jesus.
Peter preached the gospel to the Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem for the feast, which included
Hellenist Jews from various parts of the Roman Empire, as well as Hebrew Jews the resident Jews of
Judea, including Jerusalem. That day, the Lord added 3000 men to the Body of Christ (Acts 2:41). For a
time, these disciples of Jesus had favor with all the people in Jerusalem (Acts 2:47).
Meanwhile, the apostles continued to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah there. Peter healed a lame man at the
temple in Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to the Jews of the city, who had gathered. The preaching about
Jesus at the temple raised the ire of the Jewish rulers. They had Peter and John arrested. But the rulers

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were in a quandary, because Peter and John had performed a miracle, and they could say nothing against it.
So they tried to bully the apostles.
[Acts 4:18-22] The apostles could not but speak; the love of Christ constrained them. And they continued
to do so, boldly.
After the healing of the lame man, the number of believers grew to about 5000 (Acts 4:4). Most of these
would have been residents of Jerusalem; over time, these began to gather in the city within the homes of
those believers who could accommodate large groups, presumably the more affluent members of the
community.
But affluence in Jerusalem for the believers would be short-lived. Even during the last days of Jesus, the
Pharisees had issued an edict that anyone who named Jesus as the Messiah would be put out of the
synagogue (Jn 9:22, 34; 12:42).
This meant that they would be shunned by the commonwealth of Israel; they would be excommunicated,
cut off from all religious, business and social contact. This alone would cause most men to be ruined
financially; but in addition, the Jewish rulers were apparently confiscating property within Jerusalem in the
early days of the church, from those Jews who professed Jesus to be the Christ.
[Acts 4:32-37] The early church was not a commune; all of this selling of property and sharing of
possessions was absolutely essential, as property and goods were being confiscated by the authorities. This
was the beginning of the persecution of the local church as a whole.
The apostles continued to preach, and were arrested again by the rulers. An angel released them from
prison, and they continued to preach in the temple. They were then rearrested by the authorities. They
were again threatened not to preach about Jesus, but this time they got a beating before being released (Acts
5:40). Still, in the temple and in every house they did not cease to teach and to preach Jesus as the
Messiah.
The tension between the community of believers and the rulers came to the breaking point over Stephen,
the former Hellenist Jew who debated with his fellow Hellenists in their synagogues in Jerusalem,
proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. Stephen was tried by the Sanhedrin as a blasphemer, but justice was
maligned that day, as both rulers and people settled the matter by mob action, stoning Stephen to death
(Acts 7:57-60). Stephen became the first martyr of the church.
The blood of Stephen seeded more violence against the community of believers in Jerusalem. This was
spearheaded by none other than Paul himself, who led the persecution against the church within Jerusalem
and beyond. Paul saw to it that believers were arrested, and even compelled them to blaspheme, so that
they were condemned and put to death (Acts 22:4, 26:10-11).
The great persecution in Jerusalem resulted in the believers there fleeing into the surrounding regions of
Judea, Samaria, and even beyond (Acts 8:1, 11:19-22); and wherever they went, they preached the word
(Acts 8:4).
Most of those who left were former Hellenist Jews, as they would have been the particular subjects of
persecution, for Stephen was a Hellenist. These believing Jews would have to have left everything behind
in Jerusalem: their possessions, their properties, their livelihoods.

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The apostles remained behind in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), ministering to the church that continued to re-grow
there despite persecution; these were principally Hebrew Jews. Of course, the unbelieving Jews there
continued to persecute them with a vengeance. Even the appointed Roman rulers became involved; Herod
Agrippa had the apostle James, the brother of John, executed (Acts 12:1-2).
So these were the churches of God which were in Judea in Christ Jesus; so severely persecuted and
impoverished that Paul had the Gentile assemblies that he established take up a collection for them (Rm
15:25-27).
[Return to First Thessalonians]

For Paul to write that the church in Thessalonica was suffering the same things from their countrymen that
the church in Judea did from the Jews, we can assume that the persecution took a similar form. This would
mean that the persecution was not just in word, but in actions. No precise details are recorded in the
Scriptures, but we know that the persecution of the church in Thessalonica was severe and lengthy; we find
evidence of it in Pauls second letter to the assembly at Corinth, written about eight years from this time.
Turn to Second Corinthians chapter 8. Paul was writing to the assembly at Corinth about the churches of
Macedonia, which included Thessalonica.
[2 Corinthians 8:1-5] We also know from this that the assembly in Thessalonica was impoverished, even
though the city itself was prosperous; and they were still enduring a great trial of affliction.
And whatever specific persecution that the Thessalonians endured at this time would later be superceded by
the general persecution of all Christ Ones by the Rome itself, starting with the emperor Nero. It is possible
that this church never knew anything but persecution.
[Return to First Thessalonians]
Yet the believers in Thessalonica endured as they suffered persecution they stayed under the load, and did
so with joy (1 Th 1:6) for the Word of God effectively worked in them to do so.
The believers in Thessalonica had whatever word Paul and the others had been able to share with them in
the short time they were together. That word strengthened them to endure, as they reflected on Gods
purposes for them, and how He could use sufferings in their lives; and that word gave them comfort,
because they knew that their future was assured with their Lord.
Writing about the persecution of the churches by their countrymen caused Paul to think about the ones who
were responsible for fanning the flames of hatred against the churches wherever he had gone his own
people, the Jews. He digresses momentarily at this point as he considers the unbelieving Jews in light of
the believers of Thessalonica.
v. 15-16 This is probably the most condemning statement of Pauls, as recorded in his letters, against his
own people, the Jews.
First and foremost, Paul laid this indictment against the Jews: they killed the Lord Jesus. Now, one might
assert that it was the Romans who put Jesus to death; but who orchestrated it? Clearly, the Jewish rulers;
and their people had concurred.

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Peter had also laid this charge against the Jews as a people, as he spoke to them on the day of Pentecost,
saying, Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by
lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death (Acts 2:23) it was as if the Jews did it with their own
hands.
Stephen had also pronounced judgment on the nation before the Sanhedrin, saying, They killed those who
foretold the coming of the Just One [Jesus], of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers
(Acts 7:52b). And, as the people had demanded Jesus be taken away and crucified, they had solemnly
proclaimed, His blood be on us and on our children (Mt 27:25) and so it was.
The Jews killed the Lord Jesus the supreme God master, owner, ruler. They had decided they would not
have that man to rule over them (Lk 19:14).
Paul said that not only did the Jews kill the Lord Jesus, but they killed their own prophets, who foretold of
His coming. There is ample evidence of this in Scripture (eg Jer 26:23, Heb 11:32-37, and Jesus own
words, Mt 21:33-46, Mt 23:31-45). Finally, the Jews persecuted Paul and his companions.
There is a pattern here. Jesus came, declaring the truth of God to His own people, the Jews; the OT
prophets delivered Gods words to His people; and Paul and the other missionaries shared first and foremost
the good news of Jesus with the Jews, wherever they went.
The pattern is that the Jews consistently rejected the truth; they did not believe it to be the Word of God, but
the word of men; and false words, at that. This is the fundamental difference between the unbelieving Jews
and the community of believers at Thessalonica: the Jews rejected the Word of God, and the Thessalonian
believers embraced it.
The Word of God had effectively worked in the believers in Thessalonica, causing their faith to be strong,
their service to be loving, and their hope to be durable even in severe trials. Their works reflected the
righteousness of God in them.
But the works of the Jews reflected the unrighteousness that was in them they rejected the righteousness
of God in Christ for themselves; they persecuted the righteous believers; and tried to hinder others from
coming to Jesus, and being made righteous in Him. The believers were spreading the Word of God; the
unbelieving Jews were trying to prevent the Word from going out.
Because of this, the Paul indicates that the unbelieving Jews did not please God that is, they did not do
His will; they were contrary to His purposes. Thats a very dangerous position to be in; and the Jews were
determined to hold their ground right there.
In so doing, Paul indicated that they were filling up the measure of their sins. The idea here is similar to
what God had spoken to Abraham, concerning the Amorites. Turn back to Genesis chapter 15. The LORD
God was making a covenant with Himself concerning Abraham possessing the land.
[Genesis 15:13-16] There would come a time, when the sin of the Amorites was complete; when they had
filled up the measure of their sins. At that time, God would judge them, by casting them out of the land,
through the children of Israel.
[Return to First Thessalonians]

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The unbelieving Jews had rejected Gods Word. In so doing, they were rejecting God. This left God with
no choice but to reject them. Therefore, the Jews would incur divine judgment; the wrath of God would
come upon them to the uttermost. It was just a matter of time before they had heaped up their sins to His
limit.
Paul recognized that what the Jews were doing would lead to their certain judgment; all he had to do was to
consider the history of the nation, to know that. And it is likely that Paul had heard that Jesus prophesied of
the judgment on the nation, saying to the Jews, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
(Mt 21:43), and Your house is left to you desolate (Mt 23:38).
In fact, that judgment would come upon the nation in just twenty years from the time of this letter, at which
time the Roman armies would come and destroy Jerusalem and the temple, and the Jews in Judea would be
exiled from their land, and dispersed among the nations for the next nineteen centuries.
But Paul spoke of wrath coming upon the Jews to the uttermost this speaks of the wrath of God in its
fullest expression. It points to the end, to the eternal condemnation that awaits those who choose to reject
the Word of God.
Now, we can be certain that Paul was not saying here that all Jews will come into Gods wrath why then
would he continue to go on preaching to Jews first, everywhere he went?
But how do we reconcile these words of Paul, with others that we find in later letters, where he pours out
his heart of anguish for his people, the Jews (Rm 9:1-5)? How can Paul speak of the certainty of Gods
judgment that is to come on the Jews, and yet elsewhere, write of the continuing validity of His covenant
with them, and the assurance of Israels salvation (Rm 9-11)?
In this passage, Paul was speaking of the current generation of the Jews which Jesus called an evil
generation (Lk 11:29). As a whole, that generation of Israel rejected Jesus, and those who proclaimed
Him. Subsequent generations of the nation have followed in suit.
But there will be a future generation of Israel that will believe God at His Word, and receive Jesus as their
Messiah the remnant of the nation, following the Great Tribulation. It is the believing remnant that will be
saved, that will receive the covenant promises that God made to the forefathers of the nation.
Paul then returns from his digression about the Jews to his defense concerning the accusations that the
enemies of the gospel were making about him. The final charge concerned his sudden departure, and his
seemingly irresponsible failure to return. Had Paul abandoned and forgotten the believers in Thessalonica?
v. 17-18 The Greek word for taken away means to be orphaned, or bereaved of parents. In is used in a
wider context to refer to bereavement in general; the loss of any friend or relation. Here Paul characterizes
his departure from the believers at Thessalonica as being bereaved of them. It was like a death to him.
You can see what a strong attachment Paul had with these Christ Ones, after just a few short months; being
separated from them gave him such a sense of desolation. Paul longed to see them again the feeling here
is intensely personal. He desired to see their faces again the idea is intimate fellowship.
But what Paul had thought would be a short time, turned out to be a long and painful absence. He made
every effort to come back to visit the believers in Thessalonica time and again more than once. But

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10

Paul was prevented from doing so. Who prevented him? Did the Spirit show Paul not to return? No
Paul says that Satan hindered him, and the others, from going back.
We are not told in what way Satan hindered the missionaries, nor are we told how Paul knew it was Satan
who did this. But it is not difficult to surmise.
The word translated hindered is a military term referring to digging a trench or breaking up a road. One
of the countermeasures an ancient army would take against the opposition was to dig a massive trench that
would prevent the enemy troops from reaching its men. It would seem that Satan had dug a trench, to
prevent Paul from returning to Thessalonica; from reaching his people.
Because Satan aspires to be like the Most High God, he is constantly working to thwart the progress of
Gods kingdom. Satan sets himself in opposition to God and His work, but Satan is limited in his power and
ability. Because of this, Satan tends to operate at high levels and in strategic places working through
principalities, powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age (Eph 6:12).
At this time in history, Satan was trying to check the forward momentum of the gospel, which was being
propelled principally by Paul and his associates among the Gentiles. Europe had been Satans exclusive
territory, and the servants of God had encroached upon it. The Word of God had penetrated into Philippi,
then Thessalonica.
What Satan did in Thessalonica was to bring together two elements of his world system the religious
system, with the Jews, and the political system, with the rulers in Thessalonica. Through the Jews and the
rulers, Satan created a situation that made it virtually impossible for Paul to return.
Security was taken from Jason, ensuring the peace of the city (Acts 17:5-9). If Paul returned, the Jews
would provoke the people to riot again and the community of believers in Thessalonica would be
compromised, which would prevent the spread of the gospel which is what Satan was after.
If the ruling kept Paul away, Satan could continue to try to undermine the faith of the believers, snatching
away the word of God, where it had not found receptive hearts (Mt 13:4, 19). One way or another, Satans
goal was to stop the spread of the gospel in Thessalonica a strategic city.
Now, there is only one will in the universe Gods. Satan could only hinder, if God permitted it. Why
would God allow Satan to do this? Because, although it would hinder Paul from going back, it would not
stop the spread of the gospel in fact, it would promote it.
Instead of the faith of the Thessalonians failing, it was strengthened. This example encouraged all the
churches in the area, which strengthened their faith. Satan kept Paul from going back, and preaching again,
but the Thessalonians were preaching in his stead, spreading the word of God themselves. And Paul was
freed up to go on to the work that God had for him next in Corinth. They really needed him there.
Satans seeming victories always turn out to be victories for God.
Paul himself would be able to go back to Thessalonica eventually, on his third missionary trip (Acts 20:1-2,
2 Cor 2:13), and even later (1 Tim 1:3), at which times he surely had joyous reunions with his dearly
beloveds. In the interim, his heart was still with them; and he kept them continually in his prayers.
Pauls defense here shows that he loved the believers in Thessalonica, and in no way deserted them. He
couldnt wait to see them again.

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11

The statement that follows expresses Pauls hope looking forward to that time when he will no longer be
separated from his beloved brethren.
v. 19-20 Paul asks a rhetorical question, then answers it. Remember that in the original Greek, there is no
punctuation; translators had to add this. Many commentators believe that part of this statement is meant as
a parenthetical, specifically, Is it not even you?
Removing the parenthetical and joining it to the answer brings out Pauls meaning. It would read: For
what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ? (Is it not even
you?) For you are our glory and joy.
This is what sustained Paul here and now, during his time of separation from the believers at Thessalonica.
He had hope for the future, in which he could rejoice even now, because all believers are assured of a future
reward in heaven a crown of rejoicing.

The term for crown here is not a royal crown, but a victors wreath, awarded to the victor in an athletic
contest. The contest was the fight for the faith (1 Tim 6:12); and the victors were those who overcame
through Christ Jesus.
All true believers are overcomers. They have the victory over sin and death, through the cross of Jesus.
And with the completion of their earthly race, they will receive a reward a crown of rejoicing. What is
the nature of that crown? It is a glorified body, like unto our Lords. That is the crown, in which we shall
glory.
Paul so looked forward to that crown as every believer does. But why would he call the Thessalonian
believers his crown? Well, are they not the fruit of his labor, in spreading the gospel the work in which he
labored with the Lord? Yes. And as such, they are part of Pauls reward the glory of the Lord, that will
be housed in his vessel of honor. And they are part of the reward of Silas, and of Timothy, who labored
with Paul in the gospel.
But its more than that. The Thessalonian believers will also partake in the glory of Paul, Silas and
Timothy the glory will be shared amongst them. Paul will later write to the Corinthians, that we are
your glorying, even as also you are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus (2 Cor 1:14). How can that be?
Because they are one Body; so even as there is individual reward, there is also shared glory.
Paul recognized that the moment of this reward is when believers enter into the presence of the Lord Jesus
at His coming. The word used here in the Greek for coming is parousia. It has some general use in
Scripture, but it specifically came to be used of the arrival of the Lord Jesus, and can refer to His coming
for His church, as it does here, or to His return to the earth, in His Second Coming.
Parousia was used in the common language as a technical expression for a royal visit. When a highranking personage was to due to arrive in a province or city, he was met on his approach by a group of
leading citizens who escorted him formally for the remainder of his journey. Pomp and circumstance
always attended such visits.
But this is just a dim earthly reflection of the true glory that will be revealed on the day of Christ, when
Jesus comes for His glorious bride. Each member will reflect glory individually, as well as sharing and

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reflecting glory collectively. And whose glory is it, that they will be reflecting? The glory of the Lord
Jesus; for He has shared His glory with us.
So Paul could write to the Thessalonians, you are our glory and joy for in the day of Christ, they will
be. Then his hope will be fulfilled. And there would be no more separation from his beloveds they
would all be forever with the Lord.

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